CHRIS HIPKINS ALLEGATIONS
Veronica Schmidt (Spinoff): The Jade Paul-Chris Hipkins story was messy for a reason
Audrey Young (Herald): Chris Hipkins allegations: When politicians’ personal lives become fair game (paywalled)
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Do voters judge politicians on their private lives? Should they?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): PM says families should be kept out of political scandal after Hipkins’ ex-wife’s claims
Henry Cooke (Post): How many people saw Facebook claims against Chris Hipkins? (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Hipkins allegations and effect
Karl du Fresne: A masterclass in damage control, and Labour’s PR flunkies didn’t have to lift a finger
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Chris Hipkins, Tory Whanau and when private lives become political fodder
Herald: Labour leader Chris Hipkins faces renewed scrutiny after denying ex-wife’s allegations
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Chris Hipkins says he considered his future in politics after ex-wife’s claims
Ben Kepes (Post): Keeping the private out of politics is a virtue to value (paywalled)
The Centrist: Hypocritkins? Hipkins, privacy and the ‘very high standards’ problem
Henry Cooke (Post): Chris Hipkins says he considered stepping down in last 24 hours (paywalled)
FUEL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF IRAN WAR
Callum Jones and Eva Corlett (Guardian): Isolated and exposed: can New Zealand’s fragile economic recovery withstand the global oil shock?
Nathan Surendran (Stuff): We’re already rationing fuel. We’re just doing it badly
Damien Venuto (Stuff): Weak points in New Zealand’s economy exposed by Trump’s Iran war
Richard Prebble (Herald): Middle East war: New Zealand’s risky bet on ‘paper’ oil reserves as war widens (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Price of fuel continues to edge up as oil hovers above US$100 (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Iran war: NZ petrol, diesel stocks dip slightly but don’t worry, say ministers (paywalled)
Kevin Norquay (Post): Fuel crisis demands NZ control its energy destiny, EV fans say (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Iran: Communism is always Wellington’s first answer (paywalled)
RNZ: Nightshift cleaner welcomes Finance Minister’s mooted support against surging petrol prices
Shamubeel Eaqub (LinkedIn): Oil: Price, Rationing, & the Long Game
David Bainbridge-Zafar (Press): As the oil market teeters, free public transport would be a fiscal masterstroke (paywalled)
DEFENCE FORCES
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Defence Minister Judith Collins reassures New Zealand will still ‘make sovereign decisions’ over force despite closer ties with Australia
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): NZ joins forces with Australia: ‘The most dangerous times in my life’
Lane Nichols (Herald): Defence Force pays $4.2m for renovated Devonport church overlooking naval base, warships (paywalled)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PM IN THE PACIFIC
Jamie Ensor (Herald): New Zealand officials have had United States critical minerals framework for months despite Christopher Luxon saying talks ‘very preliminary’ (paywalled
)Anneke Smith (Post): Christopher Luxon in Tonga: PM’s unpopularity follows him offshore (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The spike in drug shipments bedevilling NZ and the Pacific
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Prime minister retreats to safe law and order ground in Pacific
Tom Raynel (Herald): Plastics New Zealand warns of steep price rises and supply risks from Iran conflict
PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Graham Adams (Platform): Media campaign against Luxon risks backfiring
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): The fight for Te Pāti Māori voters has begun
Andrea Vance (Post): Unredacted briefing blunder reveals hidden Cook Strait ferry costs (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Minister ‘disappointed’ by Stats NZ bungling critical inflation figure
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): New poll offers solace for Luxon, but election hangs by a thread
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National higher in new poll, but Labour still ahead
Nick James (Post): National edges up as Luxon moves past resignation rumours (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): New Poll: Labour’s Backroom Campaign to Save Luxon Continues (paywalled)
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Covid spending saved lives. Superannuation spending preserves lifestyles (paywalled)
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): McSkimming fallout: Firearms Safety Authority head Angela Brazier cleared of misconduct
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Another common-sense move from Erica Stanford
RNZ: Promoters accused of holding government to ransom over big events
David Hargreaves (Interest): Govt Statistician apologises after big Stats NZ food price error
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Andrea Vance (Post): Chatham Islands Council refers Auditor-General report to Serious Fraud Office (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Chatham Islands Council paid nearly half a year’s rates to one Wellington consultancy (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Moa Point report delayed as outfall ticks past 3b litres (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Fears for trains and ferry as 31,000 fewer Wellingtonians travelling to work (paywalled)
AI DATA CENTRE
Chris Keall (Herald): Datagrid’s $5.1b Southland data centre: The three major hurdles facing the plan to build New Zealand’s largest AI ‘factory’ (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Datagrid signs electricity deal with Mercury for Southland AI data centre (paywalled)
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): Datagrid’s Southland AI centre: A $3.4 billion bet on a stagnant economy (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial – Southland’s new harvest (paywalled)
Larry Blair (NZ Energy): The 280MW question?
Steve Hepburn (ODT): Data centre means more turbines: Mercury (paywalled)
ECONOMY, WORK AND BUSINESS
Phoebe Utteridge (Stuff): ‘I don’t have lunch any more’: Food prices bite as pensioner left with 33 cents after weekly shop
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): GDP update expected to confirm economy entering potential fuel squeeze against backdrop of moderate growth (paywalled)Federico Magrin and Liz McDonald (Post): Too many airports? Rising costs force reckoning for regional air links (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Why 3.7% inflation is no worst case – and what should really worry us (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): NZ’s widening current account deficit faces oil price headwinds (paywalled)
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Rural KiwiSaver changes will come back to bite, officials warn
HEALTH
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Health NZ warned financial control ‘one of the thorniest’ aspects of decentralisation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ rejects WHO pandemic rule changes, aligning with ‘fringe’ RFK Jr
Hannah McQueen (Herald): Why a short stay in an NZ hospital can change older people’s lives forever (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘Pick and choose’: Cheaper MDMA, rising ketamine in party drug scene (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial – Alcohol harm downplayed (paywalled)
HOUSING
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): ‘Buyers know they have the power’: Property market off to slow start, Cotality data shows
1News: First home buyers defy ‘sluggish’ housing market as sales fall again
Brent Melville (NBR): Private property investors chip in $24.8b to economy (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Buyer caution keeps housing market subdued as sales fall again (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Big spike in overseas buyer interest in luxury homes (paywalled)
THE PRESS SOUTH ISLAND POWER LIST 2026
Blayne Slabbert (Press): The quiet voice for Canterbury business who has ministers on speed dial (paywalled)
Philip Matthews (Press): Who are the two power couples named on The Press Power List 2026? (paywalled)
Philip Matthews (Press): A banker, a bishop and a business giant named on The Press Power List (paywalled)
Philip Matthews (Press): Entertainment visionary, a philanthropist and a rural leader named on The Press Power List 2026 (paywalled)
Liz McDonald (Press): From hammer to high-rise: the school leaver who built a property empire (paywalled)
Philip Matthews (Press): Hugh Wilson: The man who led a botanical revolution (paywalled)
Luisa Girao (Press): Phil Rossiter: The West Coast changemaker (paywalled)
CLIMATE
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful (paywalled)
Tina Law (Press): Christchurch council emissions jump 23%, casting doubt on 2030 carbon-neutral goal (paywalled)
RNZ: Call for low-emission zones in Auckland
Laura Robichaux (Herald): Climate adaptation in Aotearoa: Why communities need to just start now
NEW BOOK ON BUREAUCRACY AND BUSINESS
Amanda Gillies (Newsroom): Make stupid rules, win stupid prizes
Natasha Hamilton-Hart (The Conversation): Too many ‘stupid rules’, too little authority: how organisations create their own red tape
CARTOONS