FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, TRADE, NATIONAL SECURITY
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Luxon lands India bauble, but now needs Labour’s helping hand
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Labour won’t say if it’ll back India free trade deal, says it’s a ‘good step forward’
RNZ: FTA with India: ‘Bad deal’ or ‘strategically significant milestone’?
Luke Malpass (Post): 1.4 billion reasons to cheer: Luxon and McClay’s India trade deal (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Peters unlikely to stop India Free Trade Agreement (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly and Russell Palmer (RNZ): Free Trade Agreement with India confirmed
Stuff: National celebrates ‘game-changing’ free trade agreement with India, but NZ First says it’s a bad deal
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Horticulture, wine win as NZ agrees India trade deal
Luke Malpass (Post): ‘Once in a generation agreement’: Details of NZ’s FTA with India revealed (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Comprehensive India Free Trade Agreement with NZ announced, pledge to invest US$20b
NBR: New Zealand secures long-sought FTA with India (paywalled)
PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori insists no left bloc without it, prepares to mobilise support again next year
David Farrar: Is very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): Hipkins targets clean sweep of Māori seats, says Government driving a wedge with Māori
Chris Trotter (Interest): Crowning Parliament
Anna Whyte (Post): David Seymour’s 2026 ‘is about winning’ (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Finance Minister Nicola Willis not standing for electorate seat at election
Post: Nicola Willis standing as list-only candidate for Election 2026 (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Winston Peters makes u-turn on Chorus debt sell-off
Brent Edwards (NBR): The committee influencing banks and government performance (paywalled)
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Smoke, mirrors and pressure politics: how Matt McCarten tried to force a deal at MUMA
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Who will pass the summer barbie test in NZ politics?
NBR: Out of Office Reply: Judith Collins (paywalled)
Spinoff: Our 10 wild political predictions for 2025, revisited
RMA, ENVIRONMENT
Geoffrey Palmer (Newsroom): The vaulting ambition of Chris Bishop
Mark Abbot (NBR): Three key considerations for successful RMA reform (paywalled)
Maxine Jacobs (Press): Nearly a third of Canterbury swimming spots declared unsafe this summer
RNZ: Holiday makers warned to check destination water is safe to drink
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING, INEQUALITY
Greg Clydesdale (Press/Post): The politically expedient poverty trap we need to stop falling into (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Spinoff): Sorry! The economic recovery you ordered has been delayed
Elsie Williams (Press): Economist warns ‘painful’ job hunt won’t ease until April but youth will be last in line (paywalled)
Damien Venuto (Stuff): Seven major trends that could hit your wallet, Kiwisaver and investments in 2026
Christoph Schumacher (NBR): The New Zealand economy: review 2025 (paywalled)
Zoe Madden-Smith (1News): ‘I can’t survive on $55 a week’: Benefit cut due to hospital stay
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Tom Hunt (Post): Failed Porirua candidate made to pay for recount but ratepayers still stung with bill (paywalled)
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): Auckland mayor Wayne Brown says it would be better for council to run police
Ethan Manera (Herald): Wellington City councillor Ray Chung under scrutiny for grants that included funding for a relative
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington about to embark on cycleways through heart of city (paywalled)
Connor Sharp (Post): In 2026, Auckland’s 30-year transport plan will take shape: Carpe Diem (paywalled)
RNZ: Government commits $850k to keep boaties safe
Dave Armstrong (Post): The travel problems that another tunnel won’t solve (paywalled)
BUSINESS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Roeland van den Bergh (Post): Airports lose High Court review of how the value of their assets is set (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): FMA warns potential Bernard Whimp or Chance Voight investors to ‘fully inform themselves’ (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): FMA warns Chance Voight investors over Bernard Whimp payment requests
Rob Stock (Post): Regulator investigates Bernard Whimp’s Chance Voight after High Court appoints liquidator (paywalled)
BANKS, INTEREST RATES, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
David Chasten (Interest): Kiwibank finally delivers its fixed rate hikes
Tim McCready (Herald): Deloitte Top 200 2025: Top 30 financial institutions lift profits 10.6% in 2025 (paywalled)
Paul McBeth: Finance company lessons still unheeded (paywalled)
MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA
Shayne Currie (Herald): Battle at breakfast - NZME announces new Herald business show, RNZ and TVNZ confirm new talent for Morning Report and Breakfast (paywalled)
Times/Post: Famed Kiwi journalist who made his name covering the Vietnam War (paywalled)
Robert Bartholomew (Post): After Bondi, the time is overdue to rein in social media (paywalled)
HEALTH
RNZ: Health workers should accept proposed collective agreement - union
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Cabinet overrode health advice in decision to ban puberty blockers
Fiona Ellis (Waikato Times/Post): WorkSafe to investigate district nursing crisis (paywalled)
Mei Heron (1News): Loafers Lodge: Brother of fatal fire victim urges law overhaul
ENERGY
Kate MacNamara (Herald): High electricity prices have cost New Zealand over $5 billion, Government advised (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): LNG for New Zealand ‘stacks up’, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis (paywalled)
Martin Gummer (Herald): Energy warning: An open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
EMPLOYMENT, WORKPLACE SAFETY
RNZ: WorkSafe defends ‘simply wrong’ change to electrical safety rules
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Engineers warn that changes to electrical safety rules create new hazard
RNZ: Labour inspector ordered to release employment information to Gloriavale
Michael Wright (Press/Post): The year of the workplace personal grievance, as lawyers can’t keep up (paywalled)
Jared McCulloch (1News): Orchards flooded with Kiwi job applicants, young workers flock to Otago
EDUCATION
Cate Macintosh (Press/Post): The principal v the politician: Peggy Burrows’ long history of standing her ground (paywalled)
Phoebe Utteridge (Stuff): It’s a common assumption that teachers get buckets of holidays. Here are the facts
Adam Burns (RNZ): Concerns Gloriavale children will struggle to adapt once school closed
RNZ: What will happen to Gloriavale’s students once the school closes?
AI
Alan Kenyon (1News): Fears super intelligent AI could turn against us – ‘We have to be wary’
Michael Serge (Herald): AI in New Zealand: Kiwis remain more wary than other countries
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The impact on NZ if the AI bubble bursts
FREE SPEECH, HATE SPEECH
David Harvey: The Elephant in the room – Let’s talk about hate speech
Ian Powell: Free Speech – the ethics of conviction and the ethics of responsibility
Dane Giraud: The Compassion Racket
ANIMAL WELFARE
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Greens call for total betting ban on greyhound races; Labour mulls it over
RNZ: Animal shelters gearing up for busiest time of year
CARTOONS