WILLIS V RICHARDSON, ECONOMY, INEQUALITY
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): No reprieve for Nicola Willis expected from Treasury forecasts, as return to surplus in question (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Half-year update looms as key test of Government’s fiscal credentials (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Looking back to go forward - hoping to unlock the mysteries of NZ’s GDP
Eric Crampton (Post): A short Christmas wishlist to get government spending back under control (paywalled)
Ruth Richardson (Post): On Nicola’s Fudge and why the ‘middle way’ is a dangerous illusion (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Nicola Willis vs Ruth Richardson: Taxpayers’ Union backs down, requests economist moderator
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Nicola v Ruth - bring it on
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): Willis and Richardson debating would be a pointless waste of time
Richard Harman (Politik): The mother of all farces (paywalled)
Simon Bridges (Herald): 2026 will bring slow NZ recovery not ‘rock star’ growth
Aaron Smale (Listener): My Christmas Wish (paywalled)
Anaru Eketone (ODT): Call to see the humanity of every person a timeless message (paywalled)
Fiona Hurd and Suzette Dyer (The Conversation): Through the mill: Tokoroa’s tough year was about much more than job losses
PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE, YEAR IN REVIEW
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Awards for political bravery & buffoonery, from Schrödinger’s Legislation Prize to the Boo Radley Award (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Infrastructure Commission calls for government business cases, budget submissions to be public
The Standard: It’s Changed Too Much For The Nostalgia Cure
Louis Collins (RNZ): Parliament gets urgent on voting rules, climate targets
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: The week parliament pushed away the public
Marcus Ganley (Newsroom): How parliamentary urgency can be a good thing
Rob Stock (Post): Marama Davidson calls out FMA chair Craig Stobo for submitting on ‘most politically controversial Bill in recent decades’ (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): The Foggy Markets Authority is too slow for tokens, too quiet for narratives (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Just 59% of FMA staff see a future for themselves at the regulator (paywalled)
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Public service ‘not well positioned for the future’, commissioner says
Brent Edwards (NBR): The great debate, polls, RMA reform, the economic outlook (paywalled)
David Farrar: RIP Hamish Price
Peter Bale (Listener): How the global rise of radical conservatism is influencing politics in Aotearoa (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): Best book of nonfiction of 2025: Jacinda
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Harriet Laughton (Post): Local Government New Zealand refuses to state position on rates capping (paywalled)
Justin Wong (Post): Councillor warns mayors are ‘jumping the gun’ on Wellington supercity plan (paywalled)
Tara Ward (Spinoff): Sophie Barker haunted Dunedin’s Larnach Castle – now she’s running the city
EDUCATION
Hanna McCallum (Post): Crunching the numbers on the celebrated improvement in maths achievement (paywalled)
1News: Cabinet decision on NCEA abolition, replacement delayed
Anna Whyte (Post): David Seymour: School lunches programme likely to change after 2027 (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Primary teachers consider settlement after drawn-out pay talks
Elsie Williams (Press/Post): Student job applications hit record 50,000 as young people forced to move cities for work (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: New University of Waikato medical school a boost for rural communities (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Post): Partnership with Toi Whakaari saves performing arts programmes (paywalled)
JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS
Jake Kenny (Press/Post): New Zealand: The suppression capital of Oceania (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): The union that fought itself - how two Corrections officers took their union to court and won (so far) (paywalled)
Shannon Pitman (Open Justice Reporting): Experts urge compromise as Family Court orders kick in for Christmas day
CLIMATE CHANGE, CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENT,
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): New Zealand will fail its Paris Agreement climate change targets
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Local councils need to be doing more to prepare for flooding, report shows
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Humpback whale dies after being caught in rope
Victoria Meakin (Press): Art takes on environmental ‘crisis’ in Christchurch (paywalled)
TRANSPORT
Chris Knox (Herald): Drug-testing of Kiwi drivers starts today in biggest road policing change in 30-plus years
RNZ: Roadside drug testing is about to start: how it will work
Tom Hunt (Post): NZTA drops Wellington traffic forecasts on deadline (paywalled)
RNZ: Christmas comes early for fans of speed reductions
RNZ: Interislander ferry failure shows emergency tug needed - Maritime Union
RNZ: KiwiRail investigating Interislander Kaiārahi ferry steering problem
RNZ: Report into glitch that left planes circling in air released
RNZ: ‘On track’: Auckland councillor’s renewed confidence in cashless ticketing for public transport
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, TRADE
Kim Baker Wilson (RNZ): Proposal for US to require five years of social media history ‘hypocritical’ - Phil Goff
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): NZ and Australia should push back on Trump’s intrusive visa rules (paywalled)
RNZ: NZDF wants to build ground terminals for military satellite system
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Do you have a right to know if your petrol is refined from Russian oil? (paywalled)
Talaia Mika (Cook Islands News): New Zealand funding pause forces Cook Islands into early budget overhaul
RNZ: New Zealand exporters ‘coping’ six months into US tariffs - report
HEALTH
ODT Editorial: Prevention better than cure (paywalled)
Jenny Carryer (Post): Sidelining key part of health workforce means problems won’t be solved (paywalled)
Peter Williams: Silence after the scoop
CHARITIES
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Charity tax u-turn lets Sanitarium off hook but targets family foundations
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Givealittle report: Which city in New Zealand is the most generous?
Hamish McNicol and Calida Stuart-Menteath (NBR): The charity sector is on life support (paywalled)
1News: Charities feeling the pinch before Christmas
TAX
Rob Stock (Post): Lifting the veil on ‘financial abuse’ through the tax system (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): 7000 pensioners overcharged in another Inland Revenue error
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Inland Revenue accused of ‘behind closed doors’ push for tax on groups
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Borrowers get refunds in $15m student loan error
RETIREMENT VILLAGES
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): Minister ignores official advice on retirement village reforms (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Retirement village changes a good start (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Retirement village overhaul garners mixed views (paywalled)
BUSINESS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): 2025 in review: The annual Shoeshine Awards (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): Ngāi Tahu set to take 33% stake in Milford Sound Tourism
Mike McRoberts (NBR): Ngāi Tahu joins Milford operator (paywalled)
André Chumko (Post): James Cameron calls for stronger rebate system amid Avatar frenzy (paywalled)
OTHER
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): The boy who ran
Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): Bang to rights: Dame Silvia Cartwright and the fight for housing (paywalled)
Michael Serge (Herald): Insurance price hikes: Why some parts of the country are being hit harder than others
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Select committee majority sets aside most public submissions by backing online casinos (paywalled)
RNZ: Suspected illegal gambling venues uncovered in Auckland raids
Imogene Bedford (Herald): More than 1.3 million Kiwis passports due to expire by 2027 as minister urges early renewal
RNZ: Quote of the year: Luxon’s ‘go make a marmite sandwich’ in running for annual contest
Chris Keall (Herald): 2degrees to begin 3G shutdown within days, One NZ sets town-by-town timetable
Michael Reddell: And that is that
CARTOONS