NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS:
Thank you to the large number of subscribers who have recently upgraded to paid subscriptions for the Democracy Project. Your support is what makes it possible for me to run this project full-time — researching, curating, and analysing NZ politics every day.
I want to be upfront: I’m planning to increase the monthly subscription rate to $15 in the coming weeks. The current rate is $10/month. If you subscribe now at $10, that rate is locked in — you’ll keep paying $10 even after the price goes up for new subscribers. That’s Substack’s grandfathering policy, and it rewards early supporters.
If the Democracy Project is part of how you stay informed about New Zealand politics and current affairs, I’d encourage you to consider locking in the current rate while it’s available.
Kind regards — Bryce
FUEL CRISIS AND ENERGY POLICY
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): The grand and urgent political project that’s going begging (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘Very unlikely’ government will go ahead with 12-cent fuel tax rise - Willis
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Energy security is the new climate change (paywalled)
Dave Armstrong (Post): The fuel shock isn’t an accident – it’s political (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Schools on diesel heating prepare for big bills as government considers support
Rob Stock (Post): Iran war: The businesses in demand thanks to Trump’s war on Iran (paywalled)
Herald: New Zealand’s fuel stocks ‘stable’, increases in petrol and jet fuel, diesel level drops
Fiona Rotherham and Jono Mitchell (NBR): Employers and the fuel crisis: don’t panic, plan (paywalled)
Cate Macintosh (Press): Schools told to stay open — but fuel crisis raises fears for buses and staff travel (paywalled)
Will Johnston (Post): Taranaki faces major job losses as energy sector shifts, report shows (paywalled)
Catherine Groenestein (Post): Demand for solar power surges in Taranaki as power, fuel prices keep rising (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Middle East war shocks fragile New Zealand economy (paywalled)
Greg Presland (The Standard): Missing in action
PARLIAMENT, ELECTION AND GOVERNMENT
Chris Trotter (Interest): The man who should be king
Richard Harman: Luxon may have planned to get even tougher with Bishop (paywalled)
Sean Whittaker (Newsroom): Plug the gaps in political donation rules or watch trust erode
RNZ: Foreign Minister Winston Peters off to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Azaria Howell (Herald): Public sector graduate jobs down 66% as Greens warn of exodus to Australia
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Labour’s Vanushi Walters on Govt’s ‘selective’ diplomacy and the challenge of trusting Trump
Claire Robinson: The Demographic Tsunami is coming. Parliament removes the Māori seats at its peril
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Police review into Tom Phillips documentary ‘entirely appropriate’ - minister
ODT: Editorial – The right to take the proverbial (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): NZ health and safety reform: How Brazilian dam disaster illustrates problem with ‘likely’ risk in new law (paywalled)
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Why Kerrin Leoni thinks she can win back Tāmaki Makaurau for Labour
Alexia Russell (Newsroom): Big changes coming for statistics collection
Stuff: Poll: Coalition support at lowest since election, and most Kiwis think country is ‘heading in the wrong direction’
ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Eric Frykberg (Listener): The shocks that shaped the nation: How these big economic events continue to affect our lives (paywalled)
Chris Liddell (Herald): Anthropic director Chris Liddell’s warning for New Zealand - don’t miss the AI tsunami (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): OCR preview: Reserve Bank tipped to hold cash rate despite Iran war shock (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): OCR preview: Reserve Bank tipped to leave rate at 2.25%, reveal near-term forecasts (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Smiles gone from capital’s commercial sector as 1578 businesses vanish in ‘tough’ two years (paywalled)
Frances Chin (Post): ‘Absolutely flipped it’: Bar owners praise law change for Easter (paywalled)
Stuff: Butchers were ‘hidden in car boots’ during Covid-19 lockdown, supermarket boss says
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): The second wave for NZ’s medicinal cannabis industry (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy and Jaime Lyth (BusinessDesk): How Allbirds went ‘extinct’ (paywalled)
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Sydney billionaire Sam Arnaout eyes Christchurch Casino (paywalled)
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Synlait Milk sells North Island operations to focus on back-to-basics approach
The paywall now starts at halfway through all Democracy Project newsletters. Please take out a paid sub if you want to support this service and access the full content, including the following sections: LOCAL GOVERNMENT; KIWISAVER; ENVIRONMENT AND WATER; HOUSING; HEALTH AND AGED CARE; TRANSPORT; RNZ: “THE AGENCY”