Republished with Permission
Author: Bryce Edwards
GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Matt Nippert (Herald): Regulator to deregister Waipareira over political donations (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): A grim end to a very tough year (paywalled)
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): The year in politics (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Act Party’s ’triumphant’ year in government (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Battles of the year: Seymour v Luxon on Treaty Principles Bill, Winston Peters v Te Pāti Māori, gang patches and potholes (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): The Secret Diary of .. Luxon at Xmas
Adam Pearse (Herald): What democratic ‘crisis’ worries Labour leader Chris Hipkins as he recalls 2024 in politics?
Thomas Manch (Post): Labour hires former Green Party comms director Danny Stevens (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Māori ‘under siege’ in 2024, must fight back in 2025 – Ngarewa-Packer
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1News): Analysis: How a thread of unity wove its way through Māoridom in 2024
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Luxon has made the right call re Waitangi
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: Parliament's final sitting day an insight into party factions
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: Parliament fits an extra morning into final sitting day
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Labour moves Speaker from the 'nice' to 'naughty' list
Herald: On the Tiles recaps the year in politics: Which politicians performed the best - and who needs work?
No Right Turn: 2024 OIA stats
Andrew Gunn (Press/Post): Santa's Christmas grotto: Where NZ politicians unwrap their wildest wishes (paywalled)
Victor Billot (Newsroom): A final Ode to .. King Luxon
Georgina Stylianou (Post): As politicians talk us down, we should remember to keep looking up (paywalled)
Kelly Dennett (Post): Summer off politics: Nicola Willis is finally going to read Crime and Punishment (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Post): Summer off politics: Chlöe Swarbrick (paywalled)
NBR: Out of Office Reply: Damien O’Connor (paywalled)
Harriette Boucher (Post): The Art of Parliament: Forest in the Sun (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): The year in politics: Stories that dominated the headlines in 2024
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING, SPENDING CUTS
Vernon Small (Post): Grinch the primary setting as Government grinds to Christmas (paywalled)
Janet Wilson (Post): The bad and the worse of a faltering economy (paywalled)
1News: 2024: Interest rates, the lingering Covid effect and Trump part two
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Barbara Edmonds edits Facebook post incorrectly claiming Labour rapidly reduced debt — the opposite is true
Liam Dann (Herald): The only way is up for the economy in 2025 (surely) (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Of Interest Podcast: Nicola Willis on growing the economy without spending
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): The mother of all budget requests: This Government needs to slash spending even more (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: The most alarming aspect of Treasury’s gloomy forecast (paywalled)
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): NZ faces tough economic year: Lessons from 2024’s challenges (paywalled)
Oliver Hartwich: A year of hard truths
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Public service cuts: 'Rough' months ahead for those out of work
Azaria Howell (Herald): Public sector cuts: Defence force to reduce spending on flu vaccines, gym memberships and Air Force band (paywalled)
Lucy Xia (RNZ): Funding cuts to charity particularly felt over Christmas period
Maddy Road (Press): Food rescues face huge funding cuts despite surge in need
Duncan Garner (Listener): Frontline services now the target of this cost-cutting regime (paywalled)
Pretoria Gordon (RNZ): Funding cut leaves women's self-defence course Kia Haumaru fighting for future
RNZ: Consumer confidence up, despite recession
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Hard-hit industries hopeful despite unsurprising GDP figures
ENVIRONMENT, PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Charlie Mitchell (Press/Post): ‘A lot of action quite quickly’: How the Government won over the farm lobby (paywalled)
Benedict Collins (1News): Hauraki marine protection tweaked to allow some commercial fishing
No Right Turn: Climate Change: A perverse incentive
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): In the NZ town being eaten up by the sea, locals are unbothered: ‘It’s just weather’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Government quietly scraps waste minimisation policies
Jessica Rosen (1News): More than 1700 old NZ landfills could be impacted by climate change
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Fear landfill may be leaching into estuary (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Frustration at council view on 'benign' coastal landfill
Kim Griggs (Post): Helen Hughes: A ‘bloody sheila’ from Wellington who cared about the land (paywalled)
EDUCATION
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Polytech sales possible but unlikely when Te Pūkenga disestablished - minister
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Government confirms plan to dismantle Te Pūkenga, re-establish polytechs
Hanna McCallum (Post): Some polytechs could face closure as Te Pūkenga dismantle confirmed (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Post): A year in limbo since disestablishment of Te Pūkenga announced (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Polytech’s future remains undecided (paywalled)
Michael Johnston (Newsroom): Why universities must be neutral
John Macdonald (Newstalk ZB): Free speech rules shouldn't stop at universities
RNZ: Universities call for increase in equity funding for students in bottom quintile of NCEA
Lisa Darragh, Raewyn Eden and David Pomeroy (Newsroom): The real story behind the Government’s maths narrative
Sophie Lapsley (Press/Post): Parents hope for fresh start at Christchurch charter school (paywalled)
HEALTH
Rachel Helyer Donaldson (RNZ): Overloaded maternity system facing job and service cuts
Ruby Shaw (ODT): ‘Just build the damn hospital’ - Dunedin nurse says run-down facility needs replacing
Mary Williams (ODT): Hospital computer system fails - again
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): I asked people who had cancer about the Government’s tobacco policies - here’s what they said
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Fears delays in check-up colonoscopies will result in more bowel cancers
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Govt ends pilot programme for Māori and Pacific, sparking outrage
Lee Scanlon (Westport News): 'There will be deaths because of this' - Warning over Health NZ IT cuts
Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporting): Obstetrics cuts ‘devastating’, mayors say
Rachel Graham (RNZ): Nelson Hospital conditions 'unbearable' - staff
Liva Polack (RNZ): The hidden costs of periods could be more than $4 billion a year
Damien Grant (Stuff): ACC is the uniquely Kiwi success story we need to ask questions about
Corazon Miller (1News): More exam spots for overseas-trained doctors wanting to work in NZ
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Warning over cosmetic cowboys as industry pins hopes on new regulation
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Anne-Marie Brady (Stuff): Opinion: On developing political competency with China
Barbara Dreaver (1News): Cook Islands govt puts NZ citizenship at risk
Sam Smith (Stuff): Cook Islands plan break with New Zealand
Kate Green (RNZ): How diplomats have broken the law in NZ - and what happened next
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Police failed to test Wellington assault victims for spiked drinks
Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZ tight-lipped over membership of space network
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Government issues tender to replace the NZDF’s ailing jets
TRANSPORT
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Unions' economist predicts new Cook Strait ferries will cost at least $1.7 billion
RNZ: Transmission Gully partnership breakdown will not hurt future public-private partnerships, Infrastructure Minister says
Wayne Brown (Herald): Auckland Transport ‘surgically changed’: Now Aucklanders are back in charge of decisions
Simon Kingham and Matt Morris (The Conversation): Getting people out of their cars is possible with the right plans and policies – case study
Bronwyn Howell (Asymmetric Information): KiwiRail myths and realities
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): End of Clean Car discount, road user charges see EV sales decline
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington Railway Station still earthquake prone despite years of strengthening work
JUDGE’S ALTERCATION WITH WINSTON PETERS
Andrea Vance (Post): Judge not, lest ye be judged? Unless you’re an actual judge (paywalled)
Greg Presland (The Standard): Much ado about nothing
David Farrar: Greg makes it worse for the judge
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Andrea Vance (Post): The Wellington Power List ‒ 2024 (paywalled)
K Gurunathan (Post): Finding a vision for Wellington we can all share (paywalled)
Julie Jacobson (Stuff): Early Christmas present for Wellington bridge supporters
RNZ: Wellington council pauses demolition of City to Sea bridge
RNZ: James Cameron to launch new 'vision' to save struggling Wellington
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): Wellington community hub Te Wāhi Āwhina closes
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown set to seek a second term with polls showing he’s become a hit with voters (paywalled)
Simon Wilson (Herald): Swim time! Wayne Brown goes swimming while the Government fishes for council savings (paywalled)
Herald: Karanga Plaza Pool: Downtown Auckland pool a hit after Mayor Wayne Brown commissions it
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Council approves equestrian park's $250k irrigation system despite criticism
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Invercargill's Christmas lights fall victim to cost-cutting
Kate Green (RNZ): 'Unfair system': Who will pay to fix Waimate's water problem?
Reynold Macpherson (Rotorua Daily Post/Herald): Local Government Act reforms needed for transparency and accountability (paywalled)
Matthew Martin (Waikato Times): Region’s leaders take first step in Government deal (paywalled)
Benn Bathgate (Waikato Times): Trash talk: Waipā mayor, council hit out at Te Awamutu waste-to-energy plant proposal (paywalled)
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Demolition plans put to public
Jonathan Killick (Sunday Star Times): Debate revs up over turning Rosebank Speedway into a dog park (paywalled)
RNZ: New Plymouth mayor takes tumble, breaks wrist at skatepark opening
MEDIA
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Mediawatch ranks media's best-of 2024 lists
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): This Herald column is no more (paywalled)
Herald: NZ Media Council upholds complaint about NZ Film Commission pōwhiri being called ‘parties’
HOUSING, PROPERTY INDUSTRY, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt walks away from infrastructure alliance
Mary Williams (ODT): ‘Now I have been given my life back’ (paywalled)
Greg Ninness (Interest): Home ownership the most affordable it has been for 1st home buyers since October 2021
RNZ: Homeless evictions in Whanganui: about 7 remain from 50
Max Frethey (Local Democracy Reporting): Surprise delay to Nelson housing plan after hazard maps challenged again
Esther Taunton (Stuff): These are the suburbs with the sharpest rent rises this year
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Material Matters: what we’ve learned (paywalled)
ENERGY
Herald: 2024: A wake-call for NZ energy security - Genesis CEO
RNZ: Contact's proposed $2 billion takeover of Manawa Energy delayed
Jemima Huston (RNZ): Meridian Energy, Nova Energy combine to build solar farm
Stephen Ward (Waikato Times/Post):$660m solar farm on cards for just east of Taupō (paywalled)
CRIME, POLICING
Rachel Helyer Donaldson (RNZ): Victim advocates warn women fearing for safety this Christmas may not call police
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Former political figure who abused teens confirms appeal
1News: King Cobra members charged after social media post
RNZ: Gang members charged after social media post
SAFETY
Martin Van Beynen (Press/Post): Quad bikes: A farmer’s best friend or worst enemy? (paywalled)
Sarah Morcom (Waikato Times): Puke Coal’s decade of interactions with WorkSafe (paywalled)
Wayne Brown (Sunday Start Time): The spectre of safety: ‘We all die eventually’ (paywalled)
Cartoons
