LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Regional councils demise: The plans, timeline and thorny issues
Harriet Laughton (Post): Regional council shake-up: What you need to know (paywalled)
Ellen O’Dwyer (RNZ): Government’s reforms will pressure councils to amalgamate - Andrew Little
RNZ: Regional council revamp ‘pretty serious attack’ on Treaty rights - Andrew Little
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Greater Wellington deputy chairperson slates proposed local government reforms
RNZ: Minister Shane Jones says ‘green banshees’ in regional council are stifling growth
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): ‘Demonic eggbeater’: Shane Jones has a normal one on RNZ
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Local government reforms: Need for local voices stressed
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): Mayors can’t represent Māori - West Coast iwi chair
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): Regional council overhaul an attempt to narrow Māori influence, yet again, expert warns
Martin Williams and Annette Brosnan (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Amalgamation is back on the table: Two opinions on the planned abolition of Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): We’re reforming the wrong part of government
ODT Editorial: Plan has more questions than answers (paywalled)
Jack McDonald (Post): Proposal will widen the gap between communities and decision-makers (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): More magical thinking borne of 1989
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): The lanyard class and the limits of legitimacy (paywalled)
Ani O’Brien: Government axes Regional Councils in historic overhaul
Ethan Manera (Herald): Wellington City Council’s Labour Greens majority clash under Mayor Andrew Little (paywalled)
Ruby Shaw (ODT): ORC targets nil rates increase ((paywalled)
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Government’s pricing push as it signs off Whanganui-Ruapehu water plan
PARLIAMENT, GOVERNMENT
Tova O’Brien (Stuff): Winston Peters for Prime Minister? Chris Hipkins on what’s up for grabs in coalition talks next election - and what’s not
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nicola Willis suggests National may join other parties campaigning to repeal Regulatory Standards Act
No Right Turn: An utter shambles II
Richard Prebble (Herald): National has squandered its economic edge, here’s what it must do to survive the next election (paywalled)
Richard Prebble: When Everything Is Called Corruption, Democracy Suffers
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour Party conference all about preparing for 2026 election (paywalled)
Tom Rose (Herald): Andrew Little weighs in on Christopher Luxon’s polling challenge and local government reform
Adam Pearse (Herald): Claims Te Pāti Māori tried to oust ill MP ‘brought clarity to matters long carried in silence’ – MP’s family
Louisa Wall (Post): The future of Māori politics must lie with iwi, not parties (paywalled)
Katrina WharePaikea Te Putu (Post): When power forgets its purpose: the systemic governance crisis facing Maaori
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: Police credibility ripples, Com Com value for money and more (paywalled)
Gaby Hinsliff (Guardian): An uncomfortable truth for our leaders: there’s a limit to how ‘human’ we want you to be
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): One MP, One Pint: Karen Chhour on state care, self-care and being the sober driver
FAST-TRACK, MINING
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Sneaking in turbocharged Muldoonist powers to the Fast Track Act
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): The Detail: The fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau
Garth Bray (BusinessDesk): Fast-track decision backs OceanaGold plan to mine under Coromandel Forest Park (paywalled)
Garth Bray (BusinessDesk): Fast-track amendment could trigger surge in judicial reviews (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Bishop channels Muldoon (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): West Coast frustrated with “Wellington knows best’ views (paywalled)
NBR: OceanaGold’s newCoromandel mine gets draft consent (paywalled)
ECONOMY, OCR, RESERVE BANK
Liam Dann (Herald): Will the Reserve Bank really be boring again in 2026? Here’s hoping (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Reserve Bank narrows odds on new Governor cutting in February (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Will Bremen be patient on the sidelines in 2026? (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Reserve Bank - it’s back to being ‘boring’ for us
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Official cash rate cut to 2.25 percent
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Door ajar for another OCR cut in 2026 (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): RBNZ rate cuts likely done but the door remains open (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Reserve Bank delivers 0.25% interest rate cut, but it looks like the last (paywalled)
Sam Smith (Stuff): Reserve Bank cuts OCR again as optimism around economic recovery grows
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): What now for home loan rates?
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): First banks move after OCR cut
Tony Alexander (One Roof/Herald): What the OCR drop to 2.25% means for mortgages and house prices in 2026
Miriam Bell (Post): OCR cut ‘not enough to provide stimulus needed’ (paywalled)
Guardian: ‘I love my country. I don’t want to leave’: readers reflect on the exodus from New Zealand
Michael Reddell: The new Governor….and those responsible for her
Christop Schumacher (NBR): RBNZ sheds staff but takes on costly premises lease (paywalled)
EMPLOYMENT, WELFARE
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Ministers were warned against teen welfare crackdown, documents reveal
Derek Cheng (Herald): Govt’s parent-income welfare gateway for 18- to 19-year-olds blasted by officials (paywalled)
David Burton (Post): Uber drivers court ruling is conclusive and unsurprising (paywalled)
Roger Partridge: Supreme Court matters: The Flaw at the core of the Supreme Court’s Uber decision
John Weeks (Herald): RBNZ says job-finding rate is worst in 30 years but businesses are hesitant to fire staff (paywalled)
HOUSING, BUILDING
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Leaky home lawyers fear mandatory warranties on new builds won’t be enough to protect home owners, and will leave apartment owners exposed (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Post): Here’s what the Government’s new liability system overlooks (paywalled)
NBR: Government lays out next steps to speed up housing growth (paywalled)
Michael Cugley (Te Ao Māori News): “Wrong Lens”: Māori Advocates Challenge Move-On Order for Auckland Homeless
MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, TREATY
Carwyn Jones (The Conversation): What is happening with the government’s contentious review of the Waitangi Tribunal?
RNZ: New Zealand’s track record of racial equality under review at the UN
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Māori health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon delivers complaint to UN in Geneva
CLIMATE CHANGE
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Revealed: Billion-dollar trade partners worried about NZ’s climate backdowns
Kate Newton (RNZ): Cancelled Kapuni carbon storage scheme scrapped from national emissions plan
RNZ: COP30: Minister defends NZ’s lack of committment to phasing out fossil fuels
RNZ: ‘We look foolish’: Opposition criticises lack of commitment to cutting fossil fuels
Jacqueline Rowarth (Herald): Cop30 and climate targets: Balancing food security and farming
BUSINESS, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Liz McDonald (Press/Post): Christchurch to be single consenting authority for major supermarket developments (paywalled)
Felix Walton (RNZ): Retailers hope to convince government to soften stance on card surcharge ban
Damien Venuto (Stuff): Banks are making huge profits. So why are they cutting credit card perks?
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, TRADE
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Black mould, leaks, flooding force govt to fix neglected defence bases
Adam Pearse (Herald): Billions being used to fix flood-prone, mouldy defence estate, $4b for Devonport Naval Base upgrade
RNZ: Government allocates $2.5b to keep the lights on at defence facilities
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Chris Penk promises overhaul of mould-ridden Defence housing in new plan
RNZ: Hamilton’s Company-X to supply virtual reality training to UK defence contractor Babcock
POLICE, JUSTICE, CRIME
Ellen O’Dwyer (RNZ): Judge accused of heckling Winston Peters wants clarity
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Minister defends ‘ambitious’ goal as coalition officially misses 500 new police target
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Police continuing to investigate 17 over ‘misuse and inappropriate content’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): How much do people fear crime in New Zealand?
Isaac Davison (Stuff): Duty lawyer drought in wine country: Why this town is relying on help from afar
Neil Sands (Law News): Chief Justice says courts in a ‘tricky’ spot, not automatically entitled to respect
Adam Pearse (Herald): Police accept Jevon McSkimming sex allegations will hurt recruitment
Ananish Chaudhuri (Centrist): Rule-breaking by the police and why it matters
Amelia Wade (Post): Only 10 per cent of sexual assaults are reported: There’s a new plan to change that (paywalled)
ENERGY
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Contact fires election-year warning as it ramps up $2b renewables push (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Genesis sets out gas strategy as Tariki storage moves toward 2026 close (paywalled)
Ruby Shaw (ODT): $300 power hike ‘kick in the nuts’ (paywalled)
RNZ: Chatham Island wind farm to slash power prices, cut carbon emissions
Jamie Gray (Herald): Genesis pushes ‘go’ on Edgecumbe Solar project
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Lawsuit filed against Transpower and contractor Omexom over Northland power pylon toppling
Dita De Boni (Post): Transpower, contractor sued for ‘avoidable’ tower collapse that cut Northland’s power (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Northland outage: Class action law suit launched against Transpower over felled pylon
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Class action against Transpower, Omexom over Northland outage (paywalled)
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Wellington’s latest transport mega-project: the costs, the benefits and the caveats
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The reason it’s so hard to build stuff in New Zealand
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Air NZ to airports: Stop subsidising Jetstar (paywalled)
Will Mace (BusinessDesk) Aviation CEOs work well together despite ongoing price ’tension’ (paywalled)
HEALTH
RNZ: Mental health data won’t be misused by new AI navigation tool - minister
Katie Todd (RNZ): Plan to overhaul Otago and Queenstown healthcare announced
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Wairarapa Hospital misses out on ring-fenced payout
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Nurses sick of being used as ‘chess pieces’ by Health NZ, in second week of work-to-rule strike
Anna Whyte (Post): Frontline health jobs at Wellington hospitals left waiting months for approval (paywalled)
FREE SPEECH
Miriama Kamo & Mark Crysell (Herald): When does free speech become hate speech? The Elephant covers both sides of the story (paywalled)
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): Free speech, but only one way to think
Dane Giraud: Why Dame Anne Salmond misunderstands the Enlightenment
CARTOONS