DAVID SEYMOUR SWORN IN AS DEPUTY PM
John Campbell (1News): Why is Peters laughing? And what is Seymour thinking?
Luke Malpass (Post): Winston Peters departs as deputy PM with NZ First sitting pretty (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Sunday Star Times): The ‘impossibly ridiculous’ idea of David Seymour, Deputy PM (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): David Seymour: This is the man who couldn’t get ACT over 1%. Look at him now
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Deputy PM handover: Seymour vows straight talk, Peters fires up campaign
Gabi Lardies (Spinoff): Inside deputy prime minister David Seymour’s celebration brunch
ODT Editorial: Stormy seas ahead for new skipper (paywalled)
Amy Ridout (Stuff): ‘Yes, I am dangerous’: Seymour sets tone as Deputy PM
RNZ: David Seymour reflects on past decade to ACT supporters in first speech as Deputy Prime Minister
Dan Brunskill (Interest): David Seymour twerks into the top job
Phoebe Utteridge (Stuff): David Seymour sworn in as deputy prime minister
Kelly Dennett (Post): ACT’s David takes on Goliath role (paywalled)
PARLIAMENT
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Betting the house - can the government lure foreign investment? (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Herald): Political wizard Winston Peters casts spell around Chris Hipkins (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Te Pāti Māori tries to heal rift with Labour, is it too late? (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Interest): Labour’s first and most urgent mission is to knock Te Pāti Māori out of the race
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. Prince Chipkins
Bridie Witton (Stuff): David Seymour calls charity fight challenge from Māori activist ‘immature, primitive behaviour’
ODT Editorial: Leak and ye shall find (out) (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Has the political divide gotten worse?
Natalia Albert: No Plan, No Power: NZ’s Left in Disarray
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: Categories and strategy: The path of Parliament's members' bills
Brent Edwards (NBR): Pay equity committee, Deputy PM, super, fiscal cliffs, and leaks
Mike Houlahan (ODT): In it for the long haul (paywalled)
RNZ: 'I've had a wonderful life': 90 years of Jim Bolger
Fleur Guthrie (Woman’s Weekly): MP Erica Stanford opens up on family, politics and protecting kids online
Hawkes Bay Today: Napier MP Katie Nimon has a baby on Budget day – welcome to the world, Lochie Lawson
EMPLOYMENT, PAY EQUITY
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Brooke van Velden shifts WorkSafe's focus from enforcement to advice
Julia Gabel (Herald): WorkSafe shake-up: Minister kicks off agency makeover with hotline for ‘overzealous’ road cone use
Brent Edwards (NBR): Minister gives WorkSafe clear direction to change approach (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Van Velden puts WorkSafe on notice with six-month reform window (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): Government tries to make WorkSafe friendlier in overhaul (paywalled)
Stufff: Government to launch ‘road cone’ hotline amid a range of changes
Brian Easton (Pundit): Economic Bullies
Max Rashbrooke (Post): How the pay equity ‘gift from the Government’ will keep on giving (paywalled)
Lisa Meto Fox (Spinoff): The migrant dream? My mum’s pay equity claim was cancelled and I got a tax cut
Joe Shaw (RNZ): Christchurch protesters confront Finance Minister Nicola Willis over pay equity
ODT: Civis: A heckler and raised hackles a real puzzler (paywalled)
Julie Jacobson (Post): Wellington job market? It’s a jungle out there (paywalled)
KING’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS
RNZ: Is the honours system still relevant for New Zealand?
Kelly Dennett (Post): When it’s not an honour: How to decline a King’s Birthday gong (paywalled)
Giles Dexter and Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Two former finance ministers receive King's Birthday Honours
Cherie Howie (Herald): King’s Birthday Honours 2025: Abuse survivor accepts honour, slams Government on redress
Robin Martin (RNZ): King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care
Cherie Howie (Herald): King’s Birthday Honours 2025: Six new Dames and Knights among almost 190 recognised nationally
1News: Dai Henwood, Suzy Cato, Steven Joyce get King’s Birthday Honours
Tom Raynel (Herald): Brendan Lindsay knighted for business and philanthropy contributions (paywalled)
Karyn Scherer (NBR): Two new knights in New Year Honors for business (paywalled)
BusinessDesk: Wayne Boyd, Brendan Lindsay, Mark Cooper knighted
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira and Pokere Paewai (RNZ): 'This is not a recognition I carry alone' - Māori honoured in King's Birthday list
Kate Judson (Stuff): Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission chair knighted
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Mark Cooper – a judge knighted (paywalled)
CHRIS BISHOP AT THE AOTEAROA MUSIC AWARDS
RNZ: Chris Bishop's comments during Stan Walker's performance have 'no place' at Aotearoa Music Awards - producers
Natasha Gordon (Herald): Fur Patrol hit back at Chris Bishop’s ‘crap’ music awards comment, David Seymour wades in
Mani Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): ‘Load of crap’ Minister Chris Bishop on Stan Walker AMA performance
RNZ: 'What a load of crap': Chris Bishop caught 'ranting' during Stan Walker's Aotearoa Music Awards performance
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Explainer: Chris Bishop at the Aotearoa Music Awards
Simon O’Connor: Call it what it is
Ani O’Brien: "Load of crap": how radical Māori activism is beyond reproach
JACINDA ARDERN BOOK
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): Jacinda, the first review
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): An appointment with Jacinda
Henry Cooke (Listener): What Jacinda Ardern’s A Different Kind of Power reveals about our former PM (paywalled)
Tracy Watkins (Sunday Star Times): Jacinda Ardern through her own eyes (paywalled)
Katharine Viner (Guardian): ‘Empathy is a kind of strength’: Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America
Kim Knight (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s memoir and the untold stories from her time as Prime Minister
Emily Simpson (1News): Jacinda Ardern on her cancer scare and a chilling public bathroom encounter
1News: Jacinda Ardern on a lifetime of feeling 'never quite good enough’ (book extract)
Julia Gabel (Herald): Dame Jacinda Ardern gets personal in much anticipated memoir
Frances Morton (Stuff): Dame Jacinda Ardern: Just because you lack confidence doesn't mean you can't be a politician
Guardian: ‘I asked Queen Elizabeth II if she had any advice for me’: Jacinda Ardern on her time as a pregnant prime minister (book extract)
Post: Now here I was, in the middle of trying to become prime minister, and I was pregnant’ (book extract)
Max Stephens (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen Elizabeth II’s parenting advice
RMA, ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION
Catherine Knight: ‘The dismal swamp’ and other barriers to 'progress'
Rachel Helyer Donaldson (RNZ): Councils plead for bipartisan Resource Management Act reform
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Tairāwhiti environmentalists call Resource Management Act forestry proposals ‘deregulation’
Alexa Cook (RNZ): 'There's been no transparency': Ruataniwha Dam protest outside meeting
Melanie Kay (Newsroom): It will pay to tread carefully in herbicide review
RNZ: Australian Mining company gets lucrative Marlborough Sounds exploration permit
Rachel Helyer Donaldson (RNZ): Aquaculture animal welfare code 'anti-Kiwi', Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): NZ King Salmon reduce harvest due to small, 'stressed' fish
Kate Green (RNZ): New Zealand’s air quality improving, but winter smoke still an issue
Rob Stock (Post): Worst case disaster scenarios for Auckland, Wellington (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Maybe we can take the win after all?
REGULATORY STANDARDS BILL
Ryan Ward (E-Tangata): How the Regulatory Standards Bill gives companies more rights than the public
Mountain Tui: Psst, Regulatory Standards Bill Is A Trojan Horse
Noel O’Malley (ODT): Four strikes and not out — the Regulatory Standards Bill
BUDGET, GOVT SPENDING, RETIREMENT
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Budget 2025 tests poorly with voters, according to Talbot Mills Research poll
Vernon Small ((Sunday Star Times): We gave them an inch, they took a mile: Can KiwiSaver be saved? (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Compulsory KiwiSaver: It’s time NZ had a serious debate about it (paywalled)
Murray Harris (Post): Why NZ’s KiwiSaver success story risks a retirement shortfall (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: If you didn’t like this year’s Budget, just wait until the superannuation one (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Tourist tax: Govt boosts DoC coffers by $20m, keeps bigger slice for itself (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): The WWE term that sums up post-Budget week (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Budget documents raise alarm that universities could collapse
Kris Faafoi (Post): It's time for future Budgets to invest in resilience and recovery (paywalled)
DEFENCE, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE
RNZ: Defence Minister Judith Collins endorses Trump's Golden Dome amid contract frenzy
Samuel Hume: New Zealand cribbed Australian defence documents
AP: US defence secretary warns Indo-Pacific allies of 'imminent' threat
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt’s modern slavery trade commitments questioned in the UK
1News: Peters hails 'breakthrough' in India trade talks, no timeline for deal
RNZ: Hamish Cooper named as new ambassador to London to replace Phil Goff
John Hobbs (ODT): Clarity needed on our Gaza stance
RNZ: Father of Kiwi killed in Ukraine says government offered 'virtually nothing' in support
RNZ: New Zealander killed in Ukraine 'very professional' in role, former defence minister
Rachael Waugh (Herald): Foreign aid isn’t just about survival today, it’s about hope for tomorrow
Thomas Manch (Post): 'Energetic' Australia's new high commissioner
JUSTICE
Neil Sands (Law News): Cut fees to improve access to justice, Attorney-General tells lawyers
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Former Justice Minister Judith Collins refuses to apologise to Lake Alice survivor
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Justice reforms spark concerns over civil liberties (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Govt pulls funding for rollout of ‘desperately needed’ justice programme before review finishes (paywalled)
Mahvash Ikram (Law News): Fast-track Commercial List to be re-established in High Court at Auckland
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Tom Hunt (Post): Hope for ‘warts and all’ report as $2.1b Wellington debt looms (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): ‘Pathetic’: Wellington Water hides the bill (paywalled)
Dave Armstrong (Post): When reality harpoons the world of satire (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): 'Not a priority': Limited council amalgamation support in Wellington City (paywalled)
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington Airport plans to buy Lyall Bay property to upgrade community facilities
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Porirua residents to decide on super-council, Pacific leaders urge protection of local representation
Katie Ham (Post): A watchful eye: Inside Lower Hutt’s revamped CCTV hub (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Council releases details from secret meeting
Wayne Brown (Post): How Auckland (and the country) can get out of productivity funk (paywalled)
Felix Walton (RNZ): Auckland War Memorial Museum to partially reopen after asbestos discovery forced closure
Teuila Fuatai (RNZ): Pacific wardens funding will improve coordination - Auckland councillor
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Rates rise trimmed to 5.8% for Canterbury ratepayers
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘It stinks’ - Weary Grey District locals gear up for another round in dump fight
Felix Walton (RNZ): 'Going to take some time': Dargaville water supply still not fixed
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Resident has to travel to cemetery for safe drinking water
Alexa Cook (RNZ): Napier City Council backtracks on proposed library closure
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Explained: The campaign signage rules for local body elections
Stephen Ward (Waikato Times): Split council vote after waters asset valuation curveball (paywalled)
HEALTH
Ian Powell: Gisborne Hospital senior doctors strike highlights important health system issues
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Largest private medical scanning company wants more deals with public health system
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Cut-back in facilities alarms midwifery body (paywalled)
Ganesh R Ahirao (Public Health Communication Centre): Social contract needed to deliver a 'no BS' public health agenda
Mariné Lourens (Press/Post): 1400 cancer diagnoses every year due to obesity (paywalled)
RNZ: Health and Disability Commission says operating budget $1.9m less than previous years
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Pending legal ruling could have ‘material effect’ on ACC's troubled finances (paywalled)
RNZ: ACC chair Tracey Batten resigns
Brent Edwards (NBR): ACC chair resigns while government ministers expect a turnaround (paywalled)
Phoebe Utteridge (Stuff): Why a hospital worth $17 million is near-empty and with no plan in sight
Jen Nolan (Sunday Star Times): Hospice: Trust me, there’s no better place for beloved to die (paywalled)
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Māori tobacco control and advocacy spotlight of new documentary
RNZ: New Zealand not prepared for another pandemic - epidemiologist
RNZ: Covid-19: New wave could be coming after 11-month reprieve
Louise Thornley (Spinoff): ME/CFS patient estimates have doubled – but the disease is still ignored
Dita De Boni (Post): Pharmacists flock to talks on how to be profitable in tight, confusing health system (paywalled)
EDUCATION
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Parents could be prosecuted for truancy, but principals say it won't work
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Early childhood sector facing 'dark future', pay parity to freeze for two years
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Dark future ahead’: Surprise pay ‘cuts’ cause ‘pain’ for early childhood teachers
Herald Editorial: School lunches programme needs improvement (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Not going to police ‘matter of choice’
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Universities will be weakened by Budget focus on STEM and science - professor
Cartoons
And then there was the good news…..oh, nothing, ok then, maybe tomorrow.