PARLIAMENT, POLLS, PUBLIC SERVICE
Henry Cooke (Post): Can Christopher Luxon credibly lead a Government from 30%? (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): A long summer ahead for National after a cold Christmas poll (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Labour extends lead on cost of living as voters focus on household pressures (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): New poll puts Labour well ahead of National - and in the box seat to form government
RNZ: Labour has eight-point lead over National in latest poll
Julia Gabel & Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Green Party co-leaders gear up for 2026 election after ‘major changes’ to selection process
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): When Chlöe met Corbyn – and Varoufakis and Piketty and Polanski and Mazzucato and…
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Parliament adjourns for the year with barbed words
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): No more free food, no more last-minute voting, after controversial law change
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Electoral Amendment Bill passes its third reading in Parliament
Laura Walters (Newsroom): New mega ministry a test case for potential mergers
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Abuse survivors still unaware they were named online by Ministry of Social Development
Anna Whyte (Post): New MBIE boss also nabs ‘Secretary for Economic Growth’ title (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): The IRD’s conduct raises questions about public sector integrity (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): Foodstuffs’ failings allowed Golriz Ghahraman photo to get out – inquiry
RNZ: Privacy Commissioner names supermarket where photo of former MP was leaked
Chris Trotter: My Party, Your Party
RNZ: Headline-grabbing quote named best of the year
WAIPAREIRA TRUST
Matt Nippert (Herald): Waipareira paid bonus to allow John Tamihere to settle campaign loan (paywalled)
Matt Nippert (Herald): Waipareira avoids deregistration thanks to ‘forced’ governance overhaul (paywalled)
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING, WILLIS V RICHARDSON
Janet Wilson (Post): New Zealand is poised to become a fiscal basket case (paywalled)
RNZ: Government pushes ahead with sale of Chorus debt
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Government pulls trigger on ‘monetisation’ of $640m Chorus debt (paywalled)
Sebastiaan Bierema (Spinoff): The problem with productivity
Michael Daly (Stuff): Richardson declining debate ‘tells you the full story’, Willis says
Rachel Maher (Herald): Nicola Willis seeks further savings from public sector as debt pile grows, no surplus in sight
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): GDP — What it is and how it’s calculated (paywalled)
RNZ: Banks expect GDP rebound, more OCR nerves
RNZ: The cost of a Christmas meal: ‘Just turning the barbecue on gets expensive’
RNZ: Consumer confidence up in December but still below long-term averages index shows
Cameron Smith (Herald): Consumer confidence lifts to highest level in 2025
Eva Corlett (Guardian): The rural towns fighting for survival as New Zealand grapples with a growing exodus
MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA
1News: ‘Vindication’: Talley’s defamation case against TVNZ dismissed
Catrin Owen (Stuff): High Court judge dismisses Talley’s defamation case against TVNZ
Tom Raynel (Herald): TVNZ wins High Court defamation battle over Talley’s safety reporting
Shayne Currie (Herald): Julian Batchelor v TVNZ defamation hearing – TVNZ news boss reveals outside-court conversation with Peter Williams (paywalled)
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Peter Williams labelled Julian Batchelor ‘a nutter’ after giving expert evidence on his behalf in defamation case
Steven Price: Should the Media Council issue a retraction?
BONDI SHOOTING, GUN LAWS
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): What NZ needs to watch as Australia reforms gun laws after the Bondi terror attack
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Divergence, messaging and word choice inside party responses to Bondi attack
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): The Wrong Speech
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Cultural relativism will destroy liberal democracy (paywalled)
Juliet Moses (Stuff): ‘Australia is lost to its Jews’ and New Zealand should pay attention
Herald: I’ve experienced more anti-Semitism since moving to New Zealand than entire life overseas (paywalled)
RMA, ENVIRONMENT, MINING
Aeron Davis (Post): RMA reform is the path of least resistance - but not to salvation (paywalled)
Richard Prebble (Herald): RMA reform could be the big fix that Nicola Willis will be able to trump over Ruth Richardson (paywalled)
Don Brash: RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
Liz Moncrieff (Post): Regulatory relief in the Planning Bill – who pays for the compensation? (paywalled)
Liz Moncrieff (Post): A new planning system: Your next summer BBQ conversation? (paywalled)
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): What Gisborne’s politicians say the RMA reforms could mean for the region
Crux: Gold Mine: The (almost) impossible battle that regional New Zealand can’t win
RESERVE BANK, INTEREST RATES, BANKS
RNZ: New Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman talks to Corin Dann: ‘Financial market conditions have tightened’
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): What do new bank rules mean for home loans
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Reserve Bank makes it cheaper for banks to meet controversial capital rules - savings expected to be passed onto customers
Michael Daly (Stuff): Small banks expected to be able to compete better against big four banks under Reserve Bank rule changes, Willis says
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Reserve Bank eases capital requirements on banks
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Capital requirement tweaks strike right balance, says RBNZ (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Mortgage brokers not happy at ASB commission move
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Blink and you might have missed the lows for interest rates (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Local Government Minister Simon Watts responds after judge voids Sth Auckland election result amid voter fraud claims
Jonathan Killick (Post): Auckland’s ‘infected’ election: Ousted members considering legal options (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington mayor tips amalgamation referendum in 2028 council election (paywalled)
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington ratepayers to fork out an extra $40 on average after error
Will Peet (Post): Faster progress on water services is in reach
Tom Hunt (Post): Security sweep for bugs, phones searched after councillor’s hot mic moment (paywalled)
Nick James (RNZ): Councillors scrap plans to charge motorbikes for parking in Wellington City
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Fortnightly rubbish collection in Auckland: The great idea that almost everyone absolutely hates
Libby Kirkby-McLeod (RNZ): ‘Somebody ends up paying’ - council considers funding for Tauranga’s civic precinct
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Trees face the chop in Masterton CBD
Steve Hepburn (ODT): Otago mayors pledge co-operation (paywalled)
Kevin Malcolm (ODT): Your regional council is still here and it is still hard at work
TRANSPORT, ROAD CONES
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Government pulls plug early on road cone hotline
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): The Government’s ‘Road Cone Hotline’ to close
Conor Sharp (Greater Auckland): What’s in the RoNS files?
Keiller MacDuff (RNZ): New WOF system could lead to pricier repairs, motor industry says
RNZ: First day of roadside drug testing in Wellington gets positive feedback, police say
Stuff: Medicinal cannabis doctor’s note can’t be used to avoid a roadside drug test, police say
1News: Third contractor sentenced over ‘corrupt’ $1m roading scheme
EDUCATION
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Primary principals warn new year-by-year curriculum won’t work for mixed-level classes
RNZ: Change from Treaty focus to closing achievement gap paying off, Erica Stanford says
ODT Editorial: NCEA decision delay (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Primary school teachers reject government’s latest pay offer
Herald Editorial: What the most-improved schools reveal about real reform (paywalled)
HEALTH
RNZ: Minister Simeon Brown sets Health NZ ‘efficiency targets’ of $500m
Mariné Lourens (Press/Post): Health NZ regions asked to find a further $510m in savings (paywalled)
Pretoria Gordon (RNZ): Plan to ditch flu tracking tool will leave big data gap, epidemiologist says
RNZ: Pharmac scraps plan to cull applications for medicines unlikely to get funding
RNZ: Puberty blockers ban delayed by judicial review
Mariné Lourens (Press/Post): High Court orders temporary suspension of Government’s puberty blocker ban (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Enjoined!
Joseph Tyro (Post): The health system fails Māori; this bill will make that even worse (paywalled)
NBR: David Cunliffe to chair aged care advisory group (paywalled)
Shannon Pitman (Open Justice Reporting): Northland youth suicide cluster: Coroner calls for central Kaiārahi navigator role
Amy Williams (RNZ): Northland youths who died in suicide cluster got lost in the system, coroner finds
Megan Wilson (Herald): Rotorua’s QE Health: Potential sale collapses after Health NZ refuses contract transfer (paywalled)
HOUSING
Bella Craig (RNZ): Auckland’s hidden homeless living in cars, abandoned buildings
Nik Dirga (RNZ): What changes to New Zealand’s foreign buyers real estate ban will mean
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Treasury warns new home warranty rules could hurt housing supply
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): 2025 the year of first-home buyers - and biggest rent drop in 30 years
Jamie Ensor (Herald): House price predictions: Treasury reveals forecasts for annual growth in 2026 to 2030 years
Greg Ninness (Interest): Housing market looking soggy in the lead up to Christmas
Robin Martin (RNZ): Former New Plymouth mayor bids for Kāinga Ora flats neighbouring his apartment development
Anne Gibson (Herald): Real New Zealand house values down 31.3% since 2021 peak, economists cite ‘renewed weakness’ (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): By the numbers: The housing market at year’s end
Miriam Bell (Post): Housing market ‘edging in right direction’ (paywalled)
Stuff: The surprise region that was the most expensive for renters last month
CARTOONS