News Briefing: 20 November 2025

PIKE RIVER, EMPLOYMENT
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Pike River and the problem of unrestrained corporate power
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): On a painful day, Pike River families go head to head with the Government
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Meeting with govt ‘complete waste of time’, Pike River families say
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Pike River ‘a murder scene’ - Winston Peters
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): The Govt to echo Uber in saying ‘take it or leave it’

PARLIAMENT, GOVERNMENT
Janet Wilson (Post): National missing the message by only listening to those it wants to
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Polls leave blade at top Of National MPs’ guillotine (paywalled)
Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): Trust in National slips further as voters turn away
Louis Collins (RNZ): Thirteen bills get urgency treatment in penultimate sitting block of 2025
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Former MP Hone Harawira weighs in on Te Pāti Māori turmoil
Michael Daly (Stuff): Former Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira tries to bring peace within Te Pāti Māori
1News: Hone Harawira calls for unity in Te Pāti Māori rebuild
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Government approves pay hikes for Crown board, authority members after fee framework changes (paywalled)
Susan St John: Some thoughts on public sector accounting as if the state is a business
Brent Edwards (NBR): New Opportunity leader says nobody is being bold enough on tax (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Post): Climate activist turned councillor named as Labour’s Kāpiti candidate
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): One MP, One Pint: A visit to Wellington’s ‘last true public bar’ with Greg O’Connor

ASSET SALES
Jack Vowles, Sam Crawley and Matthew Gibbons (Newsroom): Why National’s taste for asset sales may prove bitter
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Lotto shake-up ‘dead in the water’, Peters says
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): What could the Government actually sell? The Treasury’s $100b figure under the spotlight

POLICE
LawFuel: The Problem with the ‘Independent’ KC appointed to review Police conduct
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Twenty police staff investigated over ‘misuse and inappropriate content’
1News: McSkimming fallout: ‘About 20’ cases in review of police devices
Paula Penfold (Stuff): Twenty police staff under investigation over device misuse - charges possible
Samuel Sherry (Herald): Police probe about 20 device misuse cases in the force after Jevon McSkimming inquiry
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Firearms Safety Authority review finds conflict of interest risks
Michael Morrah (Herald): Senior police including Tania Kura visited McSkimming amid ‘serious concerns’ for his welfare (paywalled)
Mike White (Post): How the plods lost the plot
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Two police officers face trial; ex-justice minister demands accountability
Tom Day (1News): Govt’s target for 500 new police officers bumped out again
RNZ: Police attend 7370 fewer mental health calls in a year after changes

FERRIES
Luke Malpass (Post): New Interislander ferries: From mega blowout to managed pain
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): The back-to-front ferry deal (paywalled)
Nick James (RNZ): How the government plans to save $2b on new Cook Strait ferries
RNZ: New Cook Strait ferries won’t cost more than $2b, Rail Minister vows
Michael Daly (Stuff): Winston Peters reveals new ferries deal, ‘saving billions’, says consultants had ‘hijacked’ past plan
1News: Govt reveals costs of its new Cook Strait ferries
Thomas Manch (Post): Replacing Cook Strait ferries to cost $1.86 billion
Rob Stock (Post): Bluebridge ferry owner StraitNZ up for sale by Morgan Stanley, Australian media reports

HEALTH
RNZ: New Zealand receives ‘Dirty Ashtray’ award for poor progress in tobacco control
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Daily smoking numbers plateau, slight increase in vapers
Harriet Laughton (Post): Smokefree 2025 goal missed as smoking rates stall
Kaya Selby (RNZ): ‘It’s unacceptable’ Pasifika smoking rate is still twice the national average, health leader says
Henry Cooke (Post): The coalition promise David Seymour admits he hasn’t started on
Bill Hickman (RNZ): AI scribe tool rolled out to emergency departments, promises to slash clinicians’ admin
Chris Keall (Herald): Health NZ deploying AI scribe Heidi to 16 emergency departments: But what’s the story with errors and privacy? (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Consensus on Medicines Act (paywalled)
Public Health Communication Centre: Reframing the narrative: A call for a human rights-centred food system in Aotearoa

PUBERTY BLOCKERS, GENDER
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Govt halts new puberty blockers prescriptions for gender-affirming care
1News: Govt halts puberty blockers for new gender dysphoria patients
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government pausing prescription of puberty blockers for some
Raul Seatown (Spinoff): Puberty blockers banned: The reality of raising a trans child in 2025
Ani O’Brien: Puberty Blockers Banned
Miriama Kamo & Mark Crysell (Herald): What is a woman? The Elephant tackles the transgender debate

ABUSE IN CARE, CHILD WELFARE
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Abuse in care: Ministry of Education website bungle could impact survivors making claims - lawyer
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Abuse of adopted kids included burns, sexual abuse, unpaid labour
Michael Morrah (Herald): Oranga Tamariki knew of Gloriavale child suffocation claims eight years ago (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Hard choices lie ahead’ - Chris Bishop warns of ‘challenges’ with $56b Roads of National Significance (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Post): Transport Minister Chris Bishop says funding $56 billion in roads a ‘challenge’
Mandy Te (Interest): All road users should contribute in proportion to their use of NZ roads, Transport Minister says
Greg Presland (The Standard): Why does National really hate EVs?
Tom Hunt (Post): Transport planner gives NZTA Wellington plans a fail: ‘I just don’t think NZTA has tried’
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Why Auckland’s traffic is bad, in one map
Connor Sharp (Post): Pedal power surges, but Auckland infrastructure trails the biking boom

EDUCATION, TRAINING
Lane Nicholas (Herald): Whistleblower claims Teaching Council spent public funds with firm run by CEO Lesley Hoskin’s husband, sparking high-level probe
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): The warning signs for New Zealand in England’s ‘back to basics’ school reforms
Jae Major (Post): Feedback for Education Minister Erica Stanford: Do better
Kim Baker Wilson (RNZ): Kelston Boys’ board hopes no other school will face unwanted charter bid
Indira Stewart (1News): Trust drops hostile takeover for Auckland state school
RNZ: Kelston Boys’ High School charter takeover bid abandoned
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Good vocational pathways ‘capped and trapped’ - tradie trainers
Richard Prebble (Herald): Why New Zealand’s school attendance problem signals deeper decline (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Review finds school phone ban is working, could smartwatches be next?
Janhavi Gosavi (Re:News): Uni halls were a rite of passage, now they’re a financial headache

ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION, CLIMATE CHANGE
Robin Martin (RNZ): Accusations of ‘green washing’ after tests find no contamination at Paritūtū Dow chemicals plant
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Asbestos, waste found at old Tolaga Bay sports site near Gisborne
Kate Newton (RNZ): NZ silent so far on climate summit push for a ‘fossil fuels’ roadmap
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Govt policies won’t change path to emissions reduction: Genesis CEO
Andrea Vance (Post): Accidental turtle killings ‘a major conservation failure’

NATURAL HAZARDS
Mandy Te (Interest): Government delays decision on whether to increase Natural Hazards Levy
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Natural Hazards Commission to remain underfunded, as Government delays levy hike until after the election (paywalled)
Deborah Morris (Post): Taking a look at why we are still not ready for the big one

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Mandy Te (Interest): Economic divide between the North Island and the South Island continues - Infometrics
Liam Dann (Herald): Economic recovery gathers pace, from the south up - Infometrics (paywalled)
1News: Investor confidence bounces back, but faith in housing dropping
David Hargreaves (Interest): Reserve Bank gets three green lights for OCR cut next week
Mandy Te (Interest): ‘No obstacles’: Economists forecast OCR to be cut and inflation to drop
Liam Dann (Herald): The real reason economists are confident the recovery is coming (paywalled)
Amy Williams (RNZ): Christmas without food and presents? More families struggling, expected to go without
RNZ: Many households likely turning to debt to pay for this year’s presents
Aimee Shaw (Post): Gen Z turns to side hustles to fund Christmas spending

BUSINESS, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Fair Trading Act fines to rise to $5m, ban on indemnity insurance abandoned
Jason Walls (1News): ‘Play by the rules’ - Huge jump in fines for misleading promotions
Tim Scott (ODT): Fair trading breach fines to be raised (paywalled)
Matt Burrows (Newstalk ZB): Why Consumer NZ takes joy in being ‘inconvenient and annoying to businesses’
RNZ: Māori business leaders feeling upbeat about performance after primary sector strengthens

MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, TREATY, TE AO MĀORI
Tureiti Moxon (Post): Why taking our complaint to the United Nations was the last resort
Kingi Smiler (Spinoff): Why a Māori collective is arguing for the protection of New Zealand’s water
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Whakapapa, not birthplace: Should citizenship be a birthright for all Māori?

SOCIAL MEDIA
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Stanford promises change after social media ban petition outside parliament
Harriet Laughton (Post): Gaming, AI considered in under-16 social media ban (paywalled)
Cecilia Robinson (Herald): Why momentum is building for a social media age ban (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): Social media firms earn ‘billions’ in revenue from scam ads: How they could be stopped (paywalled)
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Disability advocate has Facebook account shut down

MEDIA
Harriet Laughton (Stuff): ACT looks to abolish Broadcasting Standards Authority
David Farrar: Some useful BSA research
Greg Bruce (Listener): Is the criticism of Radio NZ National fair? (paywalled)
Anna Rawhiti-Connell (Spinoff): YouTube killed the TV star: What new NZ On Air stats tell us about media’s last decade
Mitchell Hageman (Herald): Censorship in New Zealand: How Caroline Flora is helping keep viewers safe (paywalled)
Shane Currie (Herald): Why Jenny-May Clarkson’s Breakfast time is over; Laura Tupou leaving Three News; TVNZ in spotlight over Trump speech report; Unauthorised Dame Jacinda Ardern book sales (paywalled)

EMERGENCY SERVICES
Harriet Laughton (Post): Emergency services face record number of call outs
Laine Priestley (ODT): Fenz restructure sending anxiety levels ‘through the roof’ (paywalled)
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Firefighter unions head to Employment Relations Authority over restructure
RNZ: FENZ restructure poses ‘tremendous human cost, union says
Natasha Gordon (Herald): PSA and Firefighters Union take urgent legal action to stop ‘reckless’ FENZ restructure