LABOUR
Henry Cooke (Post): Chris Hipkins dips toe into class politics with first major speech of election year (paywalled)
Graham Adams (Platform): Hipkins revives failed 2023 election tactics
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Chris Hipkins takes 2026 out for a spin (paywalled)
Simon Shepherd (NBR): Hipkins promises grassroots campaign to counter National ‘lies’ (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): ‘The clock is ticking’ on Luxon as PM, says Hipkins as Labour prepares for election
Henry Cooke (Post): Chris Hipkins paints Labour as underdog in first major speech of election year (paywalled)
ELECTION
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The 290-Day Election Marathon
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Whatever the election result, tax hikes and welfare cuts loom (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Wealthy donor Phillip Mills tips Opportunity Party to enter Parliament (paywalled)
Peter Dunne: Election date announcement sets off other processes
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): The long road to November: Luxon puts time on his side
Post: New poll: Labour leads National, NZ First on the rise
RNZ: Coalition parties extend lead over left bloc in latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll
Natalia Albert: Biggest threat to politics in 2026: Oversimplification
PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Conflict of interest messages between Teaching Council Chair and Education minister
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Luxon was flying at Air NZ but as PM he’s all at sea
Jamie Ensor (Herald): New Zealand First’s momentum shows in latest poll results, but election a long way off (paywalled)
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao News): Rātana faith helped through ‘horrific months’ - Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
Metiria Turei Stanton (ODT): Gearing up for what could be a cloud dancer of a year (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Post): ACC vows tougher line on claims as it seeks to plug funding hole (paywalled)
CLIMATE, WEATHER, DISASTER
1News: ‘A profound tragedy’: Two dead after early morning Pāpāmoa slip
Julia Gabel (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon skipping Rātana to visit weather-battered East Coast
Kate Newton (RNZ): Extreme rainfall events a ‘peek into the future’, climate experts say
Kevin Trenberth (The Conversation): NZ is again being soaked this summer – record ocean heat helps explain it
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Milford Sound could be the next White Island disaster – what are we waiting for?
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): After BlackRock: Private finance steps into climate policy hole (paywalled)
BusinessDesk: Government proposes cost cuts for forest owners (paywalled)
HOUSING AND BUILDING
Herald: Editorial – National will want house prices to rise to boost election chances (paywalled)
Penny Tucker (Herald): You are not going to incentivise anyone to build 2 million houses all over Auckland (paywalled)
Scott Caldwell (Herald): This housing back-down couldn’t be coming at a worse time for Auckland (paywalled)
Benno Blaschke (Herald): Auckland housing intensification row: Why reform needs durable rules (paywalled)
HEALTH
RNZ: Manage My Health data breach: Fraudsters attempting to contact customers
Tom Bowden (NZ Doctor): The urgent need for ‘privacy by design’
Jonathan Chilton-Towle (NZ Doctor): New advocacy group aims to fight privatisation of health services
Patrick McHugh (NZ Doctor): Inequality: The silent health crisis behind climate, happiness, and health outcomes (paywalled)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Todd Muller (Stuff): Trump is reshaping the world. New Zealand’s best response is keeping its head down
Gordon Campbell: On New Zealand’s readiness to prostrate itself before King Donald
Martin Van Beynen (Post): Statecraft is not dead - the Winnie-Donald texts (paywalled)
SUPERMARKETS
ODT: Editorial – Dealing with delisting (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Olive: The cheapest, most effective, best data-collecting dang supermarket employee ever (paywalled)
NBR: ComCom warns Woolworths for likely breach of Grocery Act (paywalled)
ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Tim Hunter (NBR): Kiwibank yes, Transpower no (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Government accounts better than forecast (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Tourism numbers at highest in five & half years (paywalled)
MEDIA
Duncan Grieve (Spinoff): The big NZ media questions for 2026
Shayne Currie (Herald): Sky-TV3 shake-up – Ryan Bridge morning news show in, sports host out and other job cuts; Is Scott Robertson really ‘gagged’?; NBR subscription battle heats up (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Mike Hosking and Newstalk ZB: Preaching to the converted
OTHER
Katie Todd (RNZ): Warbirds Over Wānaka display of deadly jets sparks backlash
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Mayors’ campaign spending revealed
Jenny Ruth: Stand your ground, Anna Breman
Alex Penk (Post): In divided times, aggression and violence need not be the only way (paywalled)
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): ‘Ill-advised’: Documentary crew told about Tom Phillips shootout by police before family
Dylan Thomsen (Post): As road toll plunges, here’s how we can push it even lower (paywalled)
Hillmarè Schulze (NBR): Food swamps and market failure (paywalled)
Kevin Norquay (Post): Plenty of fibre, plenty of fear: New Zealand’s AI handbrake (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Post): Artwork hung, loos stocked: a sneak peek inside Auckland’s new convention centre (paywalled)
CARTOONS