HEALTH
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Bribe allegations about NZ vape kits in employee secret recordings
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Costello rejects 'premise' of questions around $575,000 contract to Chinese vape company RELX (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (Post): Simeon Brown says health privatisation ‘not my focus’ (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Treasury sinks key National election promise (paywalled)
Mary Williams (ODT): Hospital decision expected
RNZ: New Dunedin hospital announcement imminent
Kathryn van Beek (Newsroom): Worrying about Dunedin Hospital
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Cancer patient calls for a fair decision by govt
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): 'Very significant concerns': Documents reveal tension over proposal to close Dargaville Hospital
RNZ: General practices about 'to cross a tipping point', new Health Minister warned
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Cardiac and mental illnesses fuel surging benefits bill
Jack Riddell (Herald): Government invests $67m in Hawke’s Bay Hospital upgrades
Cherie Stayner and Jim Mann (ODT: Prevention our only viable option
Ian Powell: Reckless Disregard Or Cruelty (Or Even Trumpian!)
Barbara Fountain (NZ Doctor): Ministerial execution
Barbara Fountain (NZ Doctor): A–Z: On the cards for health in 2025 (paywalled)
Martin Johnston (NZ Doctor): One regulator to rule them all? Health workforce body mooted (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Herald): ‘Gay blood ban’ to be removed next year, New Zealand Blood Service says
RNZ: Rules preventing blood donations from men who have sex with men to change
Caron Copek (Stuff): Removal of a blanket gay blood donation ban celebrated
Maddy Croad (Press/Post): Lack of support sees half of breast cancer survivors shun treatment after their illness (paywalled)
Alex Penk (Ethos): Puberty blockers will keep generating conscience issues
PRIVATISATION, ASSET SALES, ECONOMY
Peter Dunne: Act looks backwards
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Singapore has Temasek – Why not KiwiSec for New Zealand? (paywalled)
Sally Wesley (RNZ): ACT pushes for sale of Pāmu to offset drain on taxpayer funding
Herald Editorial: NZ for sale - Should we sell state assets? If so, what? (paywalled)
Tim Hunter (NBR): Political posturing mars privatisation debate (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Public assets, private investors: a match made in investment heaven? (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Luxon won’t say ‘yes’ to housing development in his Botany electorate
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): The Nation of No? Welcome to New Zealand in 2025, says the PM (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): NZ could become 'net exporter' of population
RNZ: Public services, workers' wellbeing hit hard by government cuts - union
Nicola Gaston (The Conversation): If the government wants science to have an economic impact it has to put its money where its mouth is
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Scientists to Govt: Put your money where your mouth is
Eric Crampton (Newsroom): When politicians campaign on competition, be very worried
David Hargreaves (Interest): 'NZ's long-run economic growth about expanding the population and rising house prices'
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): We need to unlock a 'Go’ economy (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth: Does our banking system contribute to NZ's low productivity? (paywalled)
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Business confidence, economic growth to improve from mid-year - Infometrics
Liam Dann (Herald): ‘Over $400 a month’: Economists see mortgage savings boost to economy in 2025 (paywalled)
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Tourist towns doubtful of government support
PARLIAMENT
Martin Van Beynen (Press/Post): Sometimes you just need to swallow your hurt (paywalled)
Stewart Bowman-Lund (Spinoff): Is Winston Peters already gearing up for 2026?
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): Members of NZ's Latin American community shocked, offended by NZ First MPs' comments
RNZ: Winston Peters backs down over comments after Mexican ambassador raises concerns
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Mexican Embassy wades in after NZ First minister’s comments: PM Christopher Luxon repeats ‘rhetoric’ warning
Sam Smith (Stuff): NZ First accuses Greens of ‘pearl clutching’ and ‘faux outrage’ as culture war hostilities escalate
RNZ: Watch: Christopher Luxon tells MPs to 'watch their rhetoric' as NZ First accused of racism
RNZ: David Seymour calls Te Pāti Māori 'race fanatics' after Karen Chhour comments
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Grand coalition would head off ‘extreme politics’
Audrey Young (Herald): David Seymour, Winston Peters steal spotlight (again) as Christopher Luxon takes a hiding (paywalled)
Greg Dixon (Listener): Could Jacinda-mania be our economic savour? (paywalled)
RNZ: Green MP Benjamin Doyle snapped with no seatbelt
MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, TARANAKI MAUNGA COLLECTIVE REDRESS BILL
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: In 2025, a pivotal year for Māori-Crown relations
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Treaty principles bill: Is $6m a reasonable cost for a national debate?
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Treaty principles bill hearings, day two: Kiri Allan and Sandra Goudie make submissions
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Treaty Principles Bill will set New Zealand back decades, doctor tells justice committee
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): ‘That’s a lie’: Former justice minister Kiri Allan calls Treaty Principles Bill a ‘simple abomination’
RNZ: Watch: Select Committee hearings on Treaty Principles Bill resumes
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Conservation, health, justice highlighted in Treaty principles hearings
Neil Sands (Law News): Allan slams Treaty Principles Bill, Harvey says not all KCs oppose it
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): No captions or interpreters cut deaf people out of live Treaty Principles submission hearings
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Waitangi Day 2025: The conversations, commemorations and celebrations taking centre stage
Matthew Dallas (Manawatū Standard): An insult to Māori’: Waitangi Tribunal appointment scorned
Julia Gabel (Herald): Taranaki maunga becomes legal person, Govt acknowledges ‘immeasurable harm’ inflicted on iwi
Emma Andrews and Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Taranaki Maunga becomes a legal person as treaty settlement passes into law
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Haere rā Mt Egmont’, as Taranaki Maunga becomes a legal person
Te Karere: Te Kāhui Tupua: Taranaki Maunga granted legal personhood
MINING
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): More mines, but where? Shane Jones set to share mining plan
RNZ: Minister expected to launch govt minerals strategy, final critical minerals list
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Government's plan to progress Waihī mining under fast-track legislation attracts support and criticism
RNZ: Country's biggest oil and gas producer takes New Zealand assets off the market
CLIMATE CHANGE, NATURAL DISASTERS
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt targets new emissions cuts of as little as 1%
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Almost a third of native species will be 'highly vulnerable' to climate change in 2050
RNZ: New Zealand's second emissions reduction target revealed
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Government updates 'Paris' climate change commitment (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Climate adaptation will cost, but so will nothing (paywalled)
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Sharp rise needed in emissions target to help avoid 'crises', advocates say
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Beyond irresponsible
Rob Stock (Post): Govt to work out principles for residential managed retreat ‘cost sharing’ (paywalled)
Reid Bahser (Post): Disasters cost us billions, so where’s the risk management? (paywalled)
Linda Hall (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘They have to do what they said’: Frustration as Whirinaki flood resilience costs rise
BANKS
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Debanking debate gets political, but are banks right to ditch ‘dirty’ customers? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): BNZ tells coal mine it will shut bank accounts by 2030, Shane Jones wants intervention, Nicola Willis wants banks back before committee
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): First Union's recommendations to combat 'bankflation'
EDUCATION
Alwyn Poole (Post): As education fails Māori, so it fails the country (paywalled)
Jamie Lyth (Herald): Parents upset over ‘unidentifiable’ school lunches after scheme shakeup
Felix Walton (RNZ): David Seymour defends new school lunches that some compare to prison food
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua school lunch programme delays: Schools furious ‘bland’ meals arrive hours late
Kevin Norquay (Post): Painful teething problems with new school lunches (paywalled)
Kim Knight (Herald): David Seymour’s $3 school lunch programme: A restaurant critic’s verdict
CHILD WELFARE
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Minister overrides Oranga Tamariki decision to pull funding from Barnardos helpline
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Future 'grim' for intervention services after Oranga Tamariki cuts
Anna Whyte (Post): Minister overrides her ministry over children’s helpline cuts
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Gwynn Compton: The sorry state of local government funding in comparative countries
Simon Wilson & Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson not ruling out Auckland mayoralty bid
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Speculation Desley Simpson will stand for Auckland mayoralty at next election
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington City Council crown observer report revealed
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): The initial observations of Wellington’s Crown observer
Julie Jacobson (Post): Begonia House protest heats up with planned sit-in (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Wellington suburbs eye a world first in climate action
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Potential Nelson-Tasman councils merger presented to members
Grant Miller (ODT): Rates rises exceeding 10% mooted after debt increased (paywalled)
Herald: Gisborne District Council launches resource plan consultation
HOUSING
Sam Smith (Stuff): ‘Turfed out into the streets’: Political reaction mixed to introduction of no-cause eviction laws
Ruby Shaw (ODT): Renters band together in new union
Miriam Bell (Post): NZ’s return to ‘no cause’ evictions contrary to international trend (paywalled)
RNZ: Kāinga Ora to allow wool carpet providers for its homes
Kate McVicar (NBR): Decision to reissue carpet proposals a ’step in right direction' (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Kāinga Ora reopens carpet bid to include wool suppliers (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Kāinga Ora backtracks on excluding wool carpets from state homes (paywalled)
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post): New Kāinga Ora apartments on Malfroy Rd impress Rotorua locals, but concerns remain about tenants
Greg Ninness (Interest): Home values show signs of flattening out after last year's slide
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Housing market set for rebound, CoreLogic says
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Did I make the right bet on my mortgage six months ago?
David Chaston (Interest): BNZ tweaks mortgage rates lower
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Greg Presland (The Standard): Most kiwis blame Willis for Ferry Fiasco
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Rakaia speed reversal puts 'saving seconds over safety'
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Queenstown congestion charge discussed by Mayor Glyn Lewers
RNZ: Mayors back rollback of speed reductions on roads
Lachlan Rennie (Herald): E-scooter injuries and ACC payouts surge – Govt to consider rule changes
Brent Edwards (NBR): Relax employment rules for infrastructure: Commission chair (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Infrastructure Commission boss tells MPs what’s keeping him awake at night (paywalled)
MEDIA
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Goldsmith’s media solution could be Trumped
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan leaving Sky TV; Jarden’s Arie Dekker on NZME cuts; BSA rules on Seven Sharp ‘arsehole’ comment (paywalled)
David Harvey: Media Mutterings - Part 2, The Call for Regulation
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: Increased defence spend by NZ on cards
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): New Zealand-born Kiribati MP defends Taneti Maamau over snub of Winston Peters
ODT Editorial: Backpacking to buffoonery (paywalled)
Whatitiri Te Wake (Te Ao Māori News): “Mehemea he hoia nō Israel ki konei, kāore mātou e tautoko ana.”—Rāwiri Waititi
Kate Green (RNZ): Royal NZ Air Force to retire C-130H Hercules fleet
BUSINESS, FAST TRACK
David Hargreaves (Interest): ANZ Business Outlook shows 'lingering inflation challenges under the surface'
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Business confidence survey ‘less encouraging start to New Year’
RNZ: Business confidence dips as reality sets in over interest rates
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Business confidence falls, inflation expectations rise: ANZ (paywalled)
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Datagrid seeks fast-track approval for submarine cable to Australia
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Kawerau plant's fast-track status a boost for Foresta
OTHER
Nadine Roberts (Stuff): Farm consultants behind company that left cows in ‘appalling’ conditions
Tim Hunter (NBR): Risks of online betting monopoly highlighted for select committee (paywalled)
No Right Turn: The SIS and the "mosaic effect"
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): How secure is New Zealand against quantum computing?
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Y2Q: Inland Revenue looks to protect information from threats posed by quantum computing
Michael Reddell: Reviewing Covid experiences and policies
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Questions after kiwi found dead in trap
Harry Wynn (Spinoff): What I learnt making a documentary about Aotearoa’s queer history
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Businesses need confidence to invest in renewable energy infrastructure, Ballance's CEO says (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Revealed: How the NZ Police estimates crowd sizes
Cartoons
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: Increased defence spend by NZ on cards
That headline could be interpreted as saying the NZ Defence Force is going to spend more on cards. To keep staff deployed in remote areas entertained?