ELECTION 2026
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): ‘It’s extraordinary how things change’ - NZ election strategies dissected at summit
Alexia Russell (Newsroom): The absent champions of the left
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): What the election slogans say – and what they whisper
Michael Swanson: What’s in a Political Slogan?
Michelle Duff (Guardian): ‘So hacked off’: as election nears, New Zealanders despair at the main parties – and Opportunity knocks
Richard Prebble (Herald): Tāmaki electorate: How a National win could leave Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop out under MMP (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Former chiefs of staff on how to negotiate with NZ First’s Winston Peters after election (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Labour defends small target strategy while National talks tax, tax, tax (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Stuff): Kiwis can no longer enrol on election day - Labour says that’s changed its campaign
Micah Watkin and Reuben Watkin-Ward (Stuff): $222k or median wage: First time voters campaign on what politicians should be paid
Stuff: AI goes rogue on Nat MP’s photo to remove ‘ugly’ blurring
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Blurred, then gone! Nat supporters disappear from MP’s photo
Janet Wilson (Post): National’s panic has put Labour in control of legislation (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): National, Labour agree to disagree over two policies they agree on
The Post: Editorial: Voters share blame with politicians for current mess (paywalled)
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): National and Labour spar over how to help struggling NZers get ahead
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nicola Willis and Barbara Edmonds square off over financial policies
Anna Whyte (Interest): Nicola Willis talks up fixing basics, Barbara Edmonds focuses on purchasing power
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Chris Hipkins receives death threat while out walking
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Labour’s Max Harris on his push to ‘reclaim’ Tāmaki
Ricardo Simich (Herald): Meet National’s Auckland Central candidate Candace Kinser, the Texan polo-playing businesswoman taking on Chlöe Swarbrick (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Christopher Luxon challenged on localism at Kāpiti public meeting
Henry Cooke (Post): Christopher Luxon in happy explainer mode at packed Kapiti meeting (paywalled)
Julia Gabel (Herald): Child poverty experts urge politicians to adopt recommendations before election
RNZ: Government can reverse growing number of children in poverty, retired paediatrician says
TE PĀTI MĀORI TAX POLICY
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori unveils ‘Kiwi tax plan’ with new 5 percent ‘stamp duty’
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Te Pāti Māori proposes 48% income tax rate, tax credit for kai
Henry Cooke (Post): Te Pāti Māori pushes for $30k tax-free income threshold as leaders unveil tax policy (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Te Pāti Māori promises five new taxes, income rate shake-up, ‘Kai Credit’
1News: Te Pāti Māori launches new tax policy, says most would pay less
Mandy Te (Interest): Te Pāti Māori unveils tax policy targeting vacant homes, tax avoidance practices and wealthiest 3%
Stuff: Māori Party’s tax plan gives National fresh ammunition against Labour
NZ FIRST CANDIDATE STANDS DOWN
RNZ: NZ First candidate steps down after earlier shopping himself around to other parties
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): NZ First candidate resigns after accepting he tried to stand for other parties
Herald: NZ First candidate George Ngatai stands down amid claims he was blackmailed (paywalled)
MBIE AND THE PRIVILEGES COMMITTEE
Adam Pearse (Herald): Public Service Commissioner refuses MBIE boss’ offer to resign after deliberately misleading MPs
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Top officials slammed by parliament for ‘misleading’ MPs about bungled IT project
Russell Palmer (RNZ): ‘There is a rot’ - Stanford expresses confidence in Blakeley to fix MBIE
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Privileges Committee finds MBIE officials deliberately misled Parliament, committed contempt
Mahvash Ikram (LawNews): Damning report finds MBIE and officials in contempt of Parliament over botched $31 million immigration project
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Lack of consequence for MBIE boss who misled MPs sends the wrong message - expert
No Right Turn: So when is he resigning?
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): The social media ban has scrambled the party lines
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Luxon defends prioritising rates cap over social media ban
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Social media U-16 ban: Digital ID doesn’t have to be dystopian, it could save democracy (paywalled)
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Under-16 Social Media Ban Raises a Bigger Question — How Much Privacy Are We Willing to Give Up?
Matthew Tukaki (Waatea News): Ban the Kids or Regulate the Platforms? Legal Expert Says NZ Has a Rare Chance to Get Online Safety Right
PARLIAMENT AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Andrea Vance (Post): DOC staff spent 500-plus hours in single month on fast-track coal proposal (paywalled)
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Steve Abel links climate change deaths to Holocaust in Parliament speech
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): ACT MP Mark Cameron concedes he’s ‘stuffed’ due to health issues in his valedictory speech
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): ‘Poor leadership costs money’: Public Service Commission backs executive training spend (paywalled)
Azaria Howell (Herald): Inland Revenue spent $50k on advertising fees-free after learning policy would be axed
Jacob Jones (Herald): MSD staff faced at least 22 security incidents a day last year
RNZ: New charges over alleged corruption in North Island prisons
RATES CAP AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Which councils could meet government’s proposed rates cap?
Julia Gabel (Herald): Desperate residents want council rates cap far sooner than Government proposal
Nick James (Post): Labour to support council rates cap bill to first reading (paywalled)
1News: Communities will ‘have to sacrifice’ under rates cap – mayors
RNZ: Councils not spending ratepayer money ‘willy nilly’, mayor says over rates cap
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Rates cap: Can councils deliver more with less under a 4% rates limit?
Lucy Cooper (Post): Rates cap could put buses, trains and flood protection at risk, regional council says (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Rate caps – not a moment too soon
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Remind me why a rates cap is a good idea
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): A rates cap won’t suddenly balance council books
Katie Bradford (Herald): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says relationship with Government will settle after election
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Wayne Brown has given up on the government
Tom Hunt (Post): Consultant’s council staffing report faces fresh scrutiny over alleged data errors (paywalled)
Mathew Nash (Herald): Rotorua Lakes Council rejects probe into how $70m of projects entered long-term plans
Rick Pettit (Crux): Former QLDC councillor: “$500 million lost due to growth not paying for growth”
Mathew Nash (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘About us, without us’: Trust seeks rewrite of Rotorua lakes funding deal
Anita Baker (Post): Tiaki Wai must fix service failures fast to earn public confidence (paywalled)
BED TAX AND TOURISM
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Luxon sacrifices a good local solution on the altar of a 10-second soundbite
Amelia Wade (Post): ‘Throwing the toys’: Wayne Brown and Simon Watts clash over bed tax u-turn (paywalled)
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell says bed tax conversation ‘is not over’
Ruby Shaw (ODT): Closed door meetings on regional deal after National’s bed tax U-turn (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Here’s why a bed tax would support NZ tourism’s future (paywalled)
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Tourism industry calls on political parties to back sector as refreshed strategy unveiled
HOUSING AND PROPERTY
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): House sales slow again
Deborah Morris (Post): Property sales fall for the seventh month in a row (paywalled)
Stuff: Property sales drop as both buyers and sellers remain cautious
Georgina Bond (LawNews): Residential property sales drop for seventh consecutive month amid failed deals
Katie Todd (RNZ): Why Invercargill is defying New Zealand’s housing slowdown\
Herald: The Financial Times says Auckland has solved its housing crisis ... has it?
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): How low is too low for house prices
Diane McCarthy (Herald): Rotary Shelterbags distributed to people sleeping rough in Whakatāne
HEALTH
Paddy Gower (Stuff): ‘Time bomb in your chest’: Cancer screening plan that could save 25 lives a week sits on Health Minister’s desk
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Starship Hospital defers less urgent cases to cope with ‘flood’ of kids with flu symptoms
Gill Higgins (1News): My three weeks in hospital: Why our health system can’t cope
Emma Gleason (Spinoff): New Zealand’s hospital headaches, by the numbers
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): ‘I’ve waited 8 hours in ED’: F&P boss Lewis Gradon on a health system under strain (paywalled)
Samantha Heath (The Conversation): Nursing students are rejecting careers in aged care – a staffing crisis is coming
RNZ: Flu vaccine to be free for all under fives
RNZ: Winter illnesses putting a ‘dent’ in blood donations
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Rise in elderly malnutrition as cost-of-living continues to bite (paywalled)
Alexia Santamaria (Post): The unexpected social factor shaping how Kiwis age (paywalled)
Mary Argue (RNZ): Meth study sparks academic furore with claims of exaggeration, cherry-picked evidence
Megan Wilson (Herald): Human Rights Commission report: No plans to add illness linked to chemical mix PCP to ACC law
ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): No really, the economy is improving
Herald: Westpac economists tip return to growth this quarter as economy shakes off Iran war
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Time for an independent fiscal watchdog, long proposed but never delivered (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): FMA directors unhappy with response to staff complaint report (paywalled)
Paula Penfold (Stuff): ‘Culture of fear and retribution’: What the FMA investigation is examining
Dita De Boni (Post): Last year the gender pay gap reduced; this year it’s ticked up slightly as men make more (paywalled)
Herald: Survey reveals employees putting culture ahead of pay
Chris Keall (Herald): 2degrees, AST SpaceMobile open ground station, paving the way for full satellite-to-mobile service (paywalled)
SUPERMARKETS
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): ‘Wrong’ for Woolworths to bank big profit, Consumer NZ says
RNZ: Woolworths’ New Zealand supermarkets earn more but still struggle
Tom Raynel (Herald): Woolworths NZ sales rise to $8.49 billion as e-commerce grows (paywalled)
Jaime Lyth (BusinessDesk): Woolworths NZ sales rise to $8.49b as second-half trading proves challenging (paywalled)
ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY
RNZ: Meridian Energy returns to profit
Jamie Gray (Herald): Meridian Energy returns to $130m profit after drought-hit loss, promises to keep energy price increases below inflation in coming year
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Meridian earnings surge 72% after drought-hit year (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Meridian says ‘no chance’ next drought hits as hard (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Meridian ups dividend as energy margin soars to almost $1.5b (paywalled)
WINTON LAND
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Steven Joyce resigns as Winton chair after seven weeks, in ‘fundamental’ clash with founder
Hamish McNicol and Brent Melville (NBR): Winton directors quit on ‘fundamental misalignment’ with Meehan (paywalled)
Maria Slade (BusinessDesk): Winton chair Steven Joyce, director Guy Fergusson resign (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Winton chair Steven Joyce and director Guy Fergusson resign from property development firm (paywalled)
Post: Steven Joyce leaves board of controversial developer, NZX-listed Winton Land (paywalled)
ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE AND RMA
Kate Newton (RNZ): Time to take forestry out of the emissions trading scheme - environment watchdog
Mandy Te (Interest): Major reform needed for ‘rudderless’ ETS ‘heading for the rocks’
RNZ: Fears raised over amendments to Resource Management Act replacement bill
Moana Ellis (Post): Horizons calls halt to 11 iwi partnership processes ahead of RMA repeal (paywalled)
RNZ: ACT Party revives policy to disestablish Climate Change Commission
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Let’s hope ACT can actually get rid of the Climate Change Commission this time
Claire Falck (Post): What the Mount Maunganui review tells us about our most overlooked natural hazard (paywalled)
Richard Templer (Post): We know the risks, so why don’t we act to mitigate them? (paywalled)
TRANSPORT
Nick James (Post): Decision on whether to raise fuel taxes to be made by Monday (paywalled)
RNZ: Always stuck in traffic? How Aucklanders can have their say on congestion issues
Imogen Brophy (Herald): Gisborne bus patronage falls 16% as public transport network faces changes
EDUCATION
Hanna McCallum (Newsroom): Build a wall: $41m classroom changes driven by ideology, not research – expert
Rachel Maher (Herald): Carrington site considered for second Mount Albert Grammar School campus as roll surges (paywalled)
Amy Ridout (Post): After years of challenges, Massey University is ready to switch gears (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Government considers effectiveness of teacher education
LAW AND JUSTICE
Ian Taylor (Stuff): David Seymour got 8.64% of the vote. He shouldn’t be rewriting the rules of our courts
Hamish McNicol (NBR): The Lawyers 2026: A period of double-digit growth at Dentons (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): The Lawyers 2026: What’s driving growth at alternative providers (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): The Lawyers 2026: DLA Piper’s complete, global integration (paywalled)
Michael Andrew (LawNews): A foot in two camps: why some Kiwi lawyers are plying their trade offshore
CARTOONS
