ANDREW COSTER RESIGNATION, POLICE
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): In losing his job, Andrew Coster has got off lightly
Luke Malpass (Post): No spin, no excuses: Coster takes the hit (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster will never work in a high-profile job again (paywalled)
Luke Malpass and Anna Whyte (Post): ‘They’ll be watching me very closely’ - Sir Brian Roche on handling Andrew Coster’s resignation (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Why Andrew Coster would have been sacked if he hadn’t resigned – Sir Brian Roche
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): I would have sacked Andrew Coster if he hadn’t quit, Sir Brian Roche says
Thomas Coughlan & Adam Pearse (Herald): Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigns from Social Investment Agency after damning IPCA report into Jevon McSkimming
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Andrew Coster breaks silence after resigning from Social Investment Agency
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Former police boss Andrew Coster resigns as head of the Social Investment Agency
1News: Former top cop Andrew Coster quits govt role amid McSkimming fallout
News: Full statement: Andrew Coster resigns over McSkimming saga
Richard Maher (Herald): Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says McSkimming saga distracting from trust goals
Adam Pearse (Herald): Police Commissioner Richard Chambers asks for time amid call from Jevon McSkimming victim for stronger inquiry into police culture
RNZ: Scrutiny Week: Top cops field questions in Parliament
Adam Pearse (Herald): New police targets revealed to improve trust, reduce public violence
PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Janet Wilson (Post): Fractiousness on both sides of the divide has only just started (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Te Pāti Māori and NZ First skip electorate offices, spend funding on outreach (paywalled)
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): Why does it feel like everyone hates the state?
Ian Taylor (ODT): NZ politics cycle of petty point-scoring and childish theatre
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): Expelled MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi takes Te Pāti Māori president to the High Court
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi takes Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere to court after expulsion
Tom Day (1News): Mariameno Kapa-Kingi files court action against party president
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Ousted Te Pāti Māori MP taking president to court
Adam Pearse (Herald): Expelled MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi files court action against Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere
Cameron Slater (Good Oil): Willie Jackson Accused of Bullying, Union-Busting and Cronyism to Protect His Missus
David Farrar: Willie Jackson accused of bullying and anti-union behaviour
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Public Service Commission ‘likely’ to run social media ads on public sector negotiations again
Anna Whyte (Post): Why performance pay for top public service bosses is stalling (paywalled)
Louis Collins (RNZ): Scrutiny week: High profile issues dominate opening days
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): Whānau Ora continues to be ‘underfunded’ despite proven success, Te Puni Kokiri tells MPs
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): New RBNZ governor faces her first public grilling (paywalled)
ODT: Leary admits ChatGPT email blunder
Sam Smith (Stuff): ACT’s chief of staff announces resignation after five years in role
RNZ: ACT chief of staff resigns
CLIMATE, CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENT
Henry Cooke (Post): Government near incoherent on 2030 climate target (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): NZ’s climate obligations don’t count in the public finances (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Nicola Willis reneges on Paris in plain sight (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Government not ‘sending billions overseas’ if climate target not met, Finance Minister says
RNZ: Impossible to meet Paris Agreement targets without buying offshore carbon credits - experts
Kate Newton (RNZ): Emissions Trading Scheme: Year’s final auction fails to sell a single carbon unit
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): NZ’s final 2025 carbon auction: No takers for 6 million NZUs (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Climate Change: A year of failed auctions
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Treasury U-turns on emissions offsets after Minister says no to sending money offshore
Kate Newton (RNZ): Government needs to get carbon credit story straight, faces trade risks - climate lawyer
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: Calls for urgent action over deer control
Te Kawa Paora (Te Ao Māori News): Rotokākahi Board of Control takes Council to High Court over sewerage pipeline threat to sacred lake
Jill Herron (Newsroom): Evolving wilding pines swallow up the South Island’s high country
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Michael Sergel (Newstalk ZB): Council rates hikes reach historic highs, hit 34% during last term
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Rates caps may mean more expensive parking, libraries and pools, mayors say
Tom Hunt (Post): Every Wellington council on rates cap crash course, mulling what to cut (paywalled)
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Rates cap divide: Ratepayers cheer as mayors urge caution
Charlie Mitchell (Press/Post): Why a rates cap won’t stem the flow of costs (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Rates cap performance (paywalled)
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Rate caps and the art of avoiding responsibility (paywalled)
James Ross (Post): Rates cap is welcome, but 2029 is three years too late (paywalled)
Mandy Te (Interest): Rates cap on local councils ‘credit negative’ S&P Global Ratings says
Tho gmas Manch (Post): Rates cap will ‘tighten the screws’ on strained councils – S&P (paywalled)
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Rates cap 2029: Gisborne mayor urges exemptions for councils ‘in a timely fashion’
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Grinch’ mayor Max Brough may save Taranaki’s Winter Festival
RNZ: How much are public Christmas tree displays costing us?
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Local government shake-up explained: Rate caps, mayors board and services
Alan Somerville (ODT): How best to improve local government?
ODT: Is creating a Christchurch Unitary Council a good idea?
Tom Hunt (Post): Paid motorcycle parking in central Wellington paused and tipped for scrapheap (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Consent granted for Frank Kitts Park but decision awaits (paywalled)
Kira Carrington (Local Democracy Reporting): Are we about to see more unitary councils like Marlborough?
ASSET SALES, CAPITAL GAINS TAX
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Barbara Edmonds says National ‘planning to sell off public assets’ after Treasury confirms it is halfway through asset review (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Treasury just over halfway through review of state asset ownership
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Location, Location, Location
BENEFITS, SOCIAL SERVICES, CHARITIES
Julia Gabel (Herald): Ministry of Social Development says 12 non-financial sanctions applied to beneficiaries in six months
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Greens say applications for advanced benefit payments ‘skyrocketed’ last year
Henry Cooke (Post): Louise Upston admits coalition pledge on ‘approved list’ of doctors not happening (paywalled)
Amy Williams (RNZ): Foodbanks warn of closures if government fails to give ongoing funding
Virginia Fallon (Post): Boxing day comes early for the prime minister, again (paywalled)
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Women’s Refuge CEO Ang Jury passes the mantle after three decades
CORRECTIONS, JUSTICE
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Criminal justice advocate warns of ‘loneliness and abuse’ in pursuit of reform
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Ministry signals another boot camp could be around the corner for young offenders
Julia Gabel (Herald): Oranga Tamariki officials admit some young people being held in secure units longer than legally allowed
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Prisoner segragated after allegedly assaulting cellmate at Auckland’s Mt Eden Corrections Facility
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): Kaupapa Māori study exposes gaps in prison data and support for Māori
Neil Sands (Law News): Judicial Conduct Commissioner refers seven judicial bullying complaints to heads of bench, 253 complaints received this year
EDUCATION, SCHOOL LUNCHES
John Gerritsen (RNZ): New primary English, maths curriculum results exceeding expectations, ministry says
Jaime Cunningham (Herald): Principal crisis: One in five new school leaders quit within a year
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): Iwi file urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry over education Treaty changes
Bronwyn Houliston, Jane Jarman, Kārena Ngata (Spinoff): Why the new history curriculum will deepen divisions in Aotearoa
RNZ: Food safety authority doubles down on mouldy lunches being school’s fault
RNZ: ‘No political agenda’: Principal says CCTV proves mouldy meals weren’t last week’s leftovers
Michael Daly (Stuff): School principal: Official mouldy lunch explanation doesn’t stand up, and our evidence proves it
Sue Parkes (Spinoff): Not achieved: A home economics teacher’s school lunch assessment
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Tertiary institutions enrolling extra students to meet demand
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Vocational Education Minister reveals first polytech council appointments post-Te Pūkenga
RNZ: Kindergarten staff’ ‘angry, aggrieved’ at play sand asbestos clean up
HEALTH
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Health NZ spent $283k to look into Starship Hospital bullying claims, reviews to stay secret
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Health select committee erupts into heated debate over roll out of oral tobacco and nicotine products
RNZ: Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey open to another alcohol tax hike
RNZ: Labour’s claims of corporate clinics not prioritising community ‘not reflective of the data’
Samuel Sherry (Herald): Mike King urges Ingrid Leary to focus on electorate after audit clears Gumboot Friday contract
Stuff: ‘She’s obsessed’: Mike King calls out Labour MP after latest I Am Hope review
Mary Argue (RNZ): Paediatrician worries new measles wave spreading undetected
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): The second Mt Victoria tunnel is a money pit, but there could be a silver lining
Ellen O’Dwyer and Nick James (RNZ): Green MPs, councillors launch campaign against second Mt Vic tunnel in Wellington
Ethan Manera (Herald): Wellington to wait a decade for second Mt Victoria Tunnel, SH1 improvements project
Russell Palmer (RNZ): New Interislander ferries to be diesel hybrids, more manoeuvrable - ferry company tells MPs
Brent Edwards (NBR): Work on port infrastructure for new ferries brought forward (paywalled)
RNZ: Shocking number of cars with overdue registration, WoF
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): The new roadside drug testing regime, explained
Lane Nicholas (Herald): Nearly half of drivers fail retests after claims VTNZ licensing officers took bribes
Brent Edwards (NBR): More infrastructure projects added to priority list (paywalled)
ENERGY
David Williams (Newsroom): Why mine, minister, when you can cut power bills?
Jamie Gray (Herald): Open letter warns LNG import terminal would lock in higher power prices
Brent Edwards (NBR): MPs told there’s plenty of generation, if we’re willing to use it (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Transpower hopes to be allowed to invest more, earlier (paywalled)
RNZ: Far North substation repaired after major power outage
CARTOONS