FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, TRADE, NATIONAL SECURITY
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): NZ strikes comprehensive Free Trade Agreement deal with India, now comes the hard part (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): India trade deal finalised (paywalled)
Archis Mohan and Shreya Nandi (India Business Standard): Cabinet approves India-New Zealand trade pact, paves way for signing
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Could a single market with Southeast Asia ease NZ’s productivity woes?
Robert Patman (The Conversation): Trump’s new security strategy exposes the limits of NZ’s ‘softly-softly’ diplomacy
Susana Lei’ataua and Teuila Fuatai (RNZ): Did New Zealand shortchange Samoa over HMNZS Manawanui wreck compensation?
Teuila Fuatai (RNZ): Samoan villagers still waiting for compensation more than a year after Manawanui disaster
John Braddock (World Socialists): New Zealand navy vessel joins US-led provocations against China
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Winston Peters says drivers have right to know if petrol derived from Russian oil (paywalled)
Losirene Dasalusalu (Cook Islands News): Former diplomat named Foreign Affairs head to repair New Zealand relations
Herald: Nathan Guy appointed as New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy
Virginia Fallon (Sunday Star Times): Five years, one border: Scrolling my way out of America (paywalled)
Mike Scott (Herald): The US wants to ban DJI drones due to security fears; will NZ follow suit? (paywalled)
PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Henry Cooke (Post): Winston Peters wants to put ‘responsible face on capitalism’ as he heads into 2026 (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Officials say transparency key to build trust in govt data system, release heavily redacted docs
Julia Gabel (Herald): Te Pāti Māori ‘confident’ of a comeback ahead of 2026 general election
Brent Edwards (NBR): The parliamentary select committee where consensus is the norm (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Post): Public service workforce shows signs of stabilising (paywalled)
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Treasury rounds up visitor levy figures for ‘clearer’ PR while freezing new spending
Azaria Howell (Newstalk ZB): Pāmu Landcorp boss promises better financial performance, says there are ‘conversations’ around its future
Thomas Scrimgeour (Herald): Social impact bonds and why welfare won’t work until we pay for results (paywalled)
JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS
John Bowie (LawFuel): NZ Law’s Power Lawyer List 2025
John Bowie (LawFuel): 2025 LawFuel Power List: New Zealand’s Most Powerful Lawyers
Jake Kenny (Press/Post): Reality check: overhauling New Zealand’s suppression laws (paywalled)
Catrin Owen (Stuff): ‘Humiliated and powerless’: Woman says she was ‘mocked’ by court staff who didn’t know she was watching
Gerard Eckhoff (ODT): Trust needed in judiciary, executive and legislature
INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Government mostly fulfils $7b infrastructure Christmas promise (paywalled)
Terence Harper (Post): Congestion charges won’t solve Auckland’s traffic woes – invest in infrastructure first (paywalled)
Nick Leggett (Post): The 2026 election cannot be another shouting match (paywalled)
David Farrar: Yes, Wellingtonians want a second Mt Vic tunnel
Matthew Martin (Waikato Times): Te Huia train service’s future now in the hands of NZTA (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Beware new mobile speed cameras this summer, the numbers show they’re working
Stephen Grice (Post): The Cook Strait ferry: why it’s beyond time to drag this rite of passage into the modern era (paywalled)
POLICE, CRIME
1News: ‘Complete anarchy’: Concerns raised over new citizen’s arrest bill
Jared Savage (Herald): IRD failed to report alleged kidnapping of $3m ‘money mule’ victim to police in ‘textbook example’ of poor information-sharing between agencies (paywalled)
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Construction company named in first ever cartel prosecution case
Greg Presland (The Standard): Good work if you can get it
RETIREMENT VILLAGES, AGED CARE
Janine Starks (Post): Retirement village changes swap one injustice for another (paywalled)
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): Retirement village lenders split on effect of planned reforms (paywalled)
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: On their final day, MPs consider quality of our final years
Megan Wilson (Herald): Dementia care in New Zealand: What makes Rotorua’s CARE Village stand out (paywalled)
ABUSE IN CARE, CHILD WELFARE
Sam Olley (1News); Abuse in care: No independent investigation for 4000 unmarked graves
Jane Phare (Herald): Dilworth victims want their alleged abuser returned from China to face charges (paywalled)
Jake Kenny (Stuff): They welcomed him into their home. Months later, they were shocked to discover who he was
Elodie Berthe (Post): The children waiting for safety, not Santa (paywalled)
BUSINESS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Herald Editorial: Migrant exploitation continues to plague NZ (paywalled)
Matt Nippert (Herald): Government funded Whakatōhea Mussels losses widen to $17.4m, firm seeks extra $15m (paywalled)
John Anthony (BusinessDesk): ‘Ruthless approach’: Expert calls for insolvency overhaul (paywalled)
Stuff: Rocket Lab wins huge US contract worth $1.7 billion for missile defence satellites system
RNZ: Rocket Lab signs huge deal with US space agency
Dita De Boni (Sunday Star Times): Five biggest corporate fumbles of 2025 (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Deloitte Top 200: Fonterra, Rocket Lab standout performers among top index (paywalled)
Aimee Shaw (Post): Claims offshore outsourcing to ripple through the ranks at The Warehouse Group (paywalled)
Eden Bradfield (BusinessDesk): Company directors’ endless feedback loop of mediocrity (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): On the Money: Bernard Whimp, Wayne Brown, Winston Peters, Anna Breman, the new transparent RBNZ, and more (paywalled)
RNZ: Business confidence rises to 30-year high
Brent Melville (NBR): After a nightmare year, construction firms will continue to fail (paywalled)
Brent Melville (NBR): Who are the property sector’s ‘bad Santas’? (paywalled)
PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Gianina Schwanecke (RNZ): Privatised meat inspections could increase costs, reduce flexibility - report
Rob Stock (Post): Leaked BDO report says privatising meat inspections will drive up costs (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Primary sector exports forecast to hit record $62b in June 2026 year
Sandy Eggleston (ODT): Concern dam policy could cost farmers (paywalled)
Brent Sheather (NBR): The sad story of forestry as an investment asset in NZ (paywalled)
Blayne Slabbert (Press): Apeek inside a dairy farm’s pay cheque (paywalled)
BANKS
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Kiwibank scraps plan for part-privatisation for now, due to Reserve Bank capital rule change
RNZ: Kiwibank scraps $500 million capital raising plan
Rob Stock (Post): Kiwibank decides against raising more capital (paywalled)
Andy Macdonald (BusinessDesk): RBNZ capital review boosts Kiwibank growth plans (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): ASB drops Motorola Solutions from investment funds after review
Rob Stock (Post): ANZ shareholders vent anger at former Kiwi boss at bank’s Sydney AGM (paywalled)
BONDI SHOOTING, GUN LAWS, TERRORISM
1News: Rally warns of rising anti-Semitism a week after Bondi shooting
David Williams (Herald): Auckland rally condemns rising anti-Semitism after Bondi Hanukkah attack
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Two far-right networks designated as terrorist entities
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): These places should be safe, so let’s keep the light on
James Nokise (Post): Finding the connections, whether we’re looking for them or not (paywalled)
MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA
David Harvey: Safer Online Services Lite
Te Ao Māori News: Ngāi Tahu son Peter Arnett dies at 91, leaving a global journalism legacy
Jane Clifton (Listener): Jane Clifton signs off after 30 years of Listener columns
Centrist: Outrage erupts over Jacinda book ads during Graham Norton broadcast
NBR: Fourth firm pays damages for NBR copyright breaches
HOUSING
Herald Editorial: Rotorua emergency housing motels: As the dust settles, it’s time to reflect (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Homeless shower options still being explored in Invercargill
Catherine Smith (One Roof): Explainer: When will foreigners be able to buy real estate in New Zealand – and what happens next?
Miriam Bell (Sunday Star Times): Housing in NZ vs Australia: the reality (paywalled)
Ben Leahy (Herald): Karaka developer spends millions on water fix, unlocking 5000 new homes (paywalled)
HOUSING