LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Gwynn Compton (Local Aotearoa): Coalition lays groundwork for local government amalgamations
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Regional councils aren’t being abolished, territorial authorities are being amalgamated (eventually) (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Local government reforms: Need for local voices stressed
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Ministers want mayors to take over regional councils, as they pitch amalgamation
Russell Palmer (RNZ): No more regional councils - major shake-up of local government announced
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government proposes scrapping regional councillors and nudging councils towards amalgamation
Nick James (RNZ): Deloitte report suggests Wellington City Council has 330 more staff than it should
Mandy Te (Interest): Government proposes regional councils shake-up saying local government has lost its social licence
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Why regional councils will cease to exist, and what comes next
Harriet Laughton (Post): Regional councils replaced by boards of mayors in radical Government push (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR) Local Government faces its biggest shake-up since 1989 (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Government proposes major regional council overhaul, opens door to amalgamation (paywalled)
Charlie Mitchell and Liz McDonald (Press): Mayors could rule as ECan faces the chopping block (paywalled)
Steve Hepburn (ODT): Mixed reactions to end of ORC (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (BusinessDesk): Port ownership up for debate amid regional council reforms (paywalled)
David Farrar: Excellent local government reform
No Right Turn: Overturning local democracy
Peter Williams: Replacing Regional Councillors with Mayors Isn’t Reform
Ethan Manera (Herald): Wellington City Council overstaffed by 330, job losses likely as review recommends cuts (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington City Council: Too many staff, time for ‘right-sizing’, new report shows (paywalled)
Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): Is the Golden Mile pause the beginning of the end?
Grant Miller (ODT): Mayors open to working on regional deal (paywalled)
Tim Scott (ODT): ‘I had messages in the middle of the night saying I should die’
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Mayors welcome law to combat ‘vicious, sinister’ harassment
Grant Miller (ODT): Steep drop in satisfaction levels with DCC before election (paywalled)
Julie Jacobson (Post): Porirua spends less than Wellington’s food bill on swearing-in (paywalled)
Andrew Ashton (ODT): Details of work on water plan released (paywalled)
LUXON LEADERSHIP
Henry Cooke (Post): The case for and against National dumping Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): PM says he has ‘no’ concerns MPs may lose jobs after election
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Prime Minister’s office moves to clarify Christopher Luxon comment on concern over National MPs’ futures
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Chris Bishop says he’s not plotting to roll Christopher Luxon
Post: ‘He is doing an outstanding job’: Chris Bishop still backs his boss (paywalled)
PARLIAMENT
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Electoral Commission boss: ‘We are fixing the trust crisis’
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): National deletes AI video of police seizing gang patches
RNZ: 30 with Guyon Espiner: Sir Bill English believes Christopher Luxon will lead National to election victory
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Voting process slows but doesn’t stop bills under urgency
No Right Turn: The Commerce Commission’s weak case for secrecy
Spinoff: Juggernaut 2: The wild story of the first MMP election
TE PĀTI MĀORI
Mihingarangi Forbes (RNZ): Tākuta Ferris alleges ‘despicable’ treatment of dying MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp
Karina Cooper (Northern Advocate) Te Tai Tokerau hui backs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi amid Te Pāti Māori row
Tim Selwyn (Daily Blog): Te Pati Maori and the anatomy of mathematics
KIWISAVER, SUPER
Aaron Gilbert (The Conversation): Lifting Kiwisaver contributions to 12% makes sense – when the whole scheme is fixed
RNZ: Labour Leader Chris Hipkins labels raising superannuation age ‘unfair’
Rob Stock (Post): Has National just proposed a better future for KiwiSaver? (paywalled)
Michael Daly (Stuff): National KiwiSaver policy lacking detail, Hipkins says, support needed to get low income workers into scheme
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): New Zealand has a boomer problem
REGULATORY STANDARDS ACT
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): NZ First tosses Labour’s scheme to repeal Regulatory Standards Act in the scrap heap
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘Political games’ Winston Peters hits back at Labour over Regulatory Standards repeal, attacks spelling mistake
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Labour lodges member’s bill to repeal Regulatory Standards Act, asks NZ First for support
Harriet Laughton (Post): Winston Peters rejects Labour offer to team up to repeal Regulatory Standards Act (paywalled)
TAX
Tom Rose (Herald): Labour leader Chris Hipkins backs capital gains tax, says no further major levies coming
Herald Editorial: Fancy a CGT with your sausage and tomato sauce this summer? (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: Treasury on tax
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Gordon Campbell: On Our Faith-Based Economic Recovery
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: The rising cost of taking a gamble on the what-ifs
Liam Dann (Herald): How low will they go? Reserve Bank to cut rate today, but will the banks pass it on? (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): NZIER’s ‘shadow board’ mostly favours OCR cut this week - but then that should be the finish
David Hargreaves (Interest): OCR cuts from RBNZ ‘too little too late and the delay has cost us’
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Reserve Bank set to deliver further cut to official cash rate
Andrew Patterson (Newsroom): Will expected rate cut mark end of easing cycle?
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Behind closed doors at the RBNZ: The marathon to set interest rates (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Worried savers look for other options as interest rates fall
1News: Is the New Zealand economy finally turning?
ABUSE IN STATE CARE
Anneke Smith (RNZ): State abuse survivors want more time to give input into redress bill
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Ministry privacy breach sees the names of five people seeking compensation for sexual abuse published
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, TRADE
Tiana Haxton and Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): Cook Islands ‘will continue to act in good faith’ with New Zealand - Mark Brown
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Cook Islands PM attacks NZ ‘coercion’ in spat
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Ministry talking to petrol firms about Russian sanctions gap (paywalled)
Logan Church (1News): Trump govt warns NZ of migration ‘risk’, asks embassy to collect data
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): ‘Repeating the same mistakes’: Ex Defence Minister over ‘ticking time bomb’ soldier
Anna Sargent (RNZ): New building for equipment maintenance and repairs at Burnham Military Camp opened
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Why the long wait for a new Cook Strait tug continues
Nick James (RNZ): Government to end Cook Strait open ocean tug contract early
Tom Hunt (Post): Government confirms Cook Strait rescue tug to go, no replacement coming (paywalled)
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Clean vehicle bill changes passed under urgency
RNZ: Govt providing money for West Coast settlement to upgrade wharf
Jonathan Killick (Post): Auckland port boss on why the world calls us ‘No Zealand’ (paywalled)
HOUSING, BUILDING
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Social housing agency Te Toi Mahana hikes rents at double the rate ministry initially agreed to
Matthew Nash (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell hits back at Labour’s homeless strategy criticism
Brent Edwards (NBR): Insurance Council says work needed on insurance for new builds (paywalled)
Greg Ninness (Interest): Percentage of residential properties selling at a loss hits 12-year high
Mike Jones: New Zealand house prices: flat trend to bend upwards in 2026, supply to limit gains
EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Primary principals urge Minister to slow down curriculum changes
Tova O’Brien (Stuff): School kapa haka group issues Treaty challenge to Erica Stanford
Rebekah Graham: Giving effect to Te Tiriti in education
Sean Rush: Letter to the Roseneath School Board
Sara Tolbert, Ben Kennedy, Sibel Erduran and Troy D Sadler (The Conversation): NZ’s draft science curriculum favours rote learning over critical thinking
Sarah Alexander (Post): Who is the Government listening to about the care of our youngest children? (paywalled)
Mary Argue (RNZ): ‘Grade inflation’: Think-tank warns ‘A’s will soon be most common university grade
Herald: New analysis finds A grades set to overtake Bs as most common mark at universities
Evie Richardson (RNZ): Students struggling to find work to keep food on the table
Hirini Kaa (Spinoff): The reason the government can never erase mātauranga
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Govt’s IP shake-up puts researchers first as universities face equity stakes caps
BUSINESS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
RNZ: Commerce Commission takes legal action against Mobil
Stuff: Commerce Commission taking Mobil to court over petrol pricing transparency
Post: Mobil breaching law designed to ensure ‘best prices’, ComCom alleges (paywalled)
John Weekes (Herald): Co-operative Bank repays $7.2m after unlawful loan fees
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Co-operative Bank penalty for unreasonable fees to be determined by High Court
Nik Dirga (RNZ): What is Black Friday and why is it a big deal in New Zealand?
RNZ: Consumer warns shoppers to be wary of sales
Chris Keall (Herald): Starlink revenue surges as Spark’s market share slips in Commerce Commission report (paywalled)
ASBESTOS PRODUCTS, SILICA
Simon Connell (Newsroom): How ACC can cover asbestos-contaminated sand claims
RNZ: Consumers warned to assume imported products not being tested after asbestos scare
Imogen Wells (Stuff): Parents consider class action as asbestos concerns widen over kids’ sand
Chris Marriner (Stuff): Asbestos sand warning: Two more products test positive
Herald: Coloured sand products test positive for asbestos contamination as more products recalled
RNZ: More coloured sand products recalled over asbestos concerns
Wynsley Wrigley (Gisborne Herald): Silica fears prompt repeat call to ban product in New Zealand (paywalled)
HEALTH
RNZ: ACC focused on getting ‘less serious’ injuries off its books, chief executive says
Amy Williams (RNZ): Call for national data on where people are discharged to after hospital stay
Anna Whyte (Post): Government vows to fix decades of delay with unified patient record (paywalled)
RNZ: Hospitals to move away from paper records to new digital systems
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Women’s health services ‘flooded’ with referrals from cervical screening increase
RNZ: What NZ would look like if we didn’t have enough psychologists?
CARTOONS