Republished with Permission
Author: Bryce Edwards
GOVERNMENT
Derek Cheng (Herald): In the pocket of the gun lobby? Firearms Minister's messages revealed (paywalled)
Janet Wilson (Post): Ministers can claim the political win, but democracy is the loser (paywalled)
Vernon Small (SST): Luxon’s venting over ‘frickin’ targets’ is a bit rich (paywalled)
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Big frick energy
Claire Trevett (Herald): National’s law and order push and why PM Christopher Luxon got grumpy about the frickin’ targets (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Red tape ministry got budget boost while other agencies made cuts (paywalled)
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Govt urged to release list of fast-track projects
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): The $3b child poverty price tag: Why National minister won’t write that cheque
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: 'Crime wave' puts government's target in doubt
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Agencies take months to agree on transport ministry’s performance review (paywalled)
LABOUR, TAX
Max Rashbrooke (Post): How a capital gains tax could help fix the economy (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Post): Can Chris Hipkins learn how to talk about tax from Keir Starmer? (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (SST): Can Labour re-write a new playbook with British help? (paywalled)
Bryan Bruce: Rich Pickings
Nigel Haworth (The Standard): On Labour’s Enduring and Unrelenting Historic Role
PARLIAMENT
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Christopher Luxon says referendum on four-year political term could be at next election
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Opposition forcing long debates on brief committees
Brent Edwards (NBR): Economy stupid, tough on gangs, health woes, bad behaviour
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Getting a good workout during the environment estimates (paywalled)
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: Wā Pātai: Māori language week at Parliament
Catherine Hubbard (Stuff): SovCits used fake ID to access Parliament, Government House, police say
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Police reviewing historical sexual abuse allegations against former National MP
GREENS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Waka-jumping law could be triggered: What’s next for former Green MP Darleen Tana and the Green Party?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Green Party given all-clear to expel Darleen Tana after failed High Court bid
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Darleen Tana’s High Court attempt to stop Greens using waka-jumping rule fails
RNZ: High Court judgment clears path for Greens to waka jump Darleen Tana - expert
RNZ: Darleen Tana fails High Court bid against Green Party investigation
RMA, EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES, ENVIRONMENT
Richard Harman (Politik): Yawning gaps in RMA proposals (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government announces plans to axe RMA and replace it with two new laws
Robin Martin (RNZ): Resource Management Act to be replaced by two new laws
Brent Edwards (NBR): RMA reform should be completed in 2026 (paywalled)
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Rocky road: The rock in the hill a quarry really, really wants to get out
Martin Van Beynen (SST): IRD recoils at $38m tax rebate to oil company (paywalled)
RNZ: Canadian energy company eyes oil and gas in Taranaki
John Drummond (ODT): As we race towards 50°C temperatures, we need to act now
Hamish MacLean (ODT): South D risk assessment delayed after review (paywalled)
Tina Morrison (Newsroom): Gisborne landowners may seek compo for retiring erosion-prone land
WELLINGTON, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): $2m spend on Māori wards while deriding nice-to-haves
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Windbag: Tory Whanau keeps making unforced errors
Tom Hunt (Post): $70m funding hole the third fly in Wellington City's long-term ointment (paywalled)
Justin Hu (1News): Wellington Mayor clarifies after appearing to backtrack on car sale claim
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says ‘walkable city’ main reason she sold car, not to pay bills
Isaac Davison (Herald): Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau backtracks on claim she sold car to pay her bills
RNZ: Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau sold car to walk to work, not pay bills
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. Tory Whanau
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): Abandoned Wellington teachers college up for sale after ‘unnecessary’ heritage demolition
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): Is working from home killing Wellington?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Working from home habits hit Wellington’s economy hard (paywalled)
Kevin Norquay (Post): Capital Conversation: Reinvigorated cities prove Wellington is far from its Waterloo (paywalled)
John Duguid (Herald): Auckland Council’s Plan Change 79 is about putting the safety of Aucklanders first (paywalled)
Will Harvie and Keiller MacDuff (Press/Post): ECan chair gives up council car, apologises (paywalled)
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Marae keen to re-engage with council: Marama Fox
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): What's the Christchurch Council's beef with food trucks?
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Council 'got it wrong' with Links Ave closure, meeting told
Mike Tweed (Whanganui Chronicle): New Whanganui ratepayers association kicks off with strong message for district council
TRANSPORT
Brian Easton (Pundit): Pricing Road Usage
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Government urged to intervene in Cook Strait ferry woes
RNZ: Concerns Marlborough and South Island will lose tourism over unreliable ferries
RNZ: SeaLink offers pay rises to staff threatening to strike
Aimee Shaw (SST): Inside NZ’s stalling EV market - and how the country fares on infrastructure roll out (paywalled)
Maia Ingoe (RNZ): Auckland Transport officers need to be deployed outside of the central city - driver
RNZ: Dunedin moves to introduce ANPR cameras to police car parks
Michael Daly (Stuff): The towns and cities where roadworks are causing the most disruption
Eric Crampton (Post): The economics behind Auckland’s planned parking revolution (paywalled)
Tom Hunt Post): Wellington train relief coming down the line (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Are airfares really getting cheaper?
POLICING, GANGS, CRIME
Phil Pennington and Ben Strong (RNZ): Police begin testing new approach to 111 calls, pulling back on social harm callouts
Press Editorial (Post): Gang bans create new problems (paywalled)
Amanda Gillies (RNZ): The Detail: Gang search clause a step too far?
Craig Hoyle (SST): Why Kiwi crime stats don’t tell the full story (paywalled)
Chris Knox (Herald): Fact check: What Police Minister Mark Mitchell didn’t tell you about his assault figures (paywalled)
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): Nearly 80 fraud and scam cases reported to banking watchdog every month, report shows
Herald: Front Page: Economic cost of fraud and scams in New Zealand and how people get away with it
David Farrar: Jury trial consultation
Belinda Feek (Open Justice Reporting): Waikato Police Superintendent Bruce Bird gets temporary role after bullying ruling
TREATY
Damien Grant (Stuff): Church leaders wrong over Treaty debate risks
Julia Gabel (Herald): Treaty Principles Bill: Ngāi Tahu says policy a ‘pointless, divisive, expensive discussion’
Julia Gabel (Herald): Foreshore & seabed: Supreme Court orders Crown to pay more than $100,000 to cover claimants’ court costs
No Right Turn: The Supreme Court stands up for fairness
Arena Williams, Stuart Smith (Stuff): A successful Treaty Partnership delivers what’s best for all Kiwis
ENERGY
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): Crisis or opportunity? Electrification could transform NZ’s energy landscape (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey and Patrick Reynolds: Kaka project: What could a revamped Entrust do with/for/to Vector?
Brendon Harre (Interest): Is there a localised solution to our energy trilemma?
Shane Te Pou (Herald): Energy crisis: What NZ needs to deliver cheaper power for Kiwi families (paywalled)
HEALTH, EUTHANASIA
Rachel Thomas (Post): ‘Hideous’ atmosphere at Health NZ as staff await redundancy decisions (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Mr Radich goes to Wellington (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (Post): Wellington ED expansion expected to beat health cuts, but will the Hutt mental health build make it? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Police can now prosecute sellers of ‘nangs’, or nitrous oxide
RNZ: Government taking urgent action to restrict sale of nitrous oxide
Isaac Davison (Herald): Nang ban: Government cracks down on selling and inhaling nitrous oxide, threat of jail time
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): No new bottle stores recommended for ‘vulnerable student area’
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Proposal would ban new liquor stores from student quarter
Tim Scott (ODT): Dunedin alcohol policy on agenda: Off-licence changes seen as ineffectual (paywalled)
ODT: In-person support preferred
Donna Chisholm (Listener): Are environmental toxins be behind NZ’s alarming increase in Parkinson’s Disease? (paywalled)
Nikki Macdonald (SST): The still-murky world of drug company fees and freebies (paywalled)
Jamie Morton (Herald): Health star ratings: Why researchers say it’s time to rethink them
Herald Editorial: Asthma and other lung diseases skyrocketing in New Zealand – what’s behind the increase? (paywalled)
1News: Three years of assisted dying in NZ: How well is the law working?
Bob McCoskrie: Simon O'Connor on Q&A this morning
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): Phillip Mehrtens' hostage-takers claim bribe was paid to secure release
Thomas Manch (Post): Safe release of Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens was far from guaranteed (paywalled)
RNZ: 'Extremely grateful and relieved': Family of Phillip Mehrtens react to release
RNZ: NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed from captivity in West Papua
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘Extremely grateful and relieved’: Mehrtens family on Kiwi pilot’s release
Stuff: Freed Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens: ‘so happy to be back with my family soon’
Ben Tomsett (Herald): Family of freed NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens make statement and share details of efforts to rescue him from Papuan rebels
Herald: After release from West Papua rebels: Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens’ first hours of freedom
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Jo Moir (RNZ): Foreign Minister Winston Peters and former PM Helen Clark united on failings of UN Security Council
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): New Zealand strengthens ties with US as Christopher Luxon navigates political landscape (paywalled)
RNZ: GCSB completes audit of systems, including capabilities of foreign partners
Paula Penfold (Stuff): ‘We don’t feel safe here in New Zealand’: Call for urgent inquiry into foreign interference
Teuila Fuatai & Falema'i Lesā (E-Tangata): Falema’i Lesā: The law is unfair and racist
Nic George (Stuff): Compromised NZ devices found in CCP-linked spy network
RNZ: Defence Force offered zero pay increase start industrial action
HOUSING
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Most leaving emergency housing are being supported into homes - minister
RNZ: Government celebrates as number of whānau in emergency housing drops by more than half
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): Kāinga Ora block in upmarket Auckland suburb fenced off and left empty - why?
Janine Starks (Post): Stunts, mischief, fish-hooks: retirement village highlights and lowlights (paywalled)
RNZ: What do you really have to do for a rental inspection?
Greg Ninness (Interest): Cost of home ownership down an average $81 a week for typical first home buyers over the last six months
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Housing crunch: 'You can't build them for these prices'
Julie Asher (ODT): Plan for 500-plus homes: Hurdle set to be cleared
Megan Wilson (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua housing shortage: Twenty-eight rentals for Koutu
Martin Van Beynen and Joanne Naish (Press/Post): Owners of collapsed Hanmer building company urged to do decent thing (paywalled)
WORKSAFE
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): The 'private communication' WorkSafe says never occurred
RNZ: Eleven staff lodge personal grievances against WorkSafe
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
1News: Govt decision to not advance modern slavery law criticised
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Prezzy Card still an issue for consumers
Miriam Bell (Post): The long & winding road to gender equality at work
Rob Stock (Post): 10 things we learned from the responsible investment forum (paywalled)
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Simon Watts tries to win over sceptical ethical investors (paywalled)
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): New Zealand lawyers unhappiest in the world (paywalled)
Natalia Sutherland (1News): Sorry New Zealand, I'm heading overseas because I need a job
RNZ: Should we tip hospo staff in New Zealand?
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): High cost of living hits incomes, with more households falling into ‘in-work’ poverty
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Could lower interest rates change NZ’s political fortunes?
Steven Joyce (Herald): PM needs to focus on economic recovery not gang patches
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Kiwis pushed across the ditch as unemployment rises
Robert MacCulloch: A succession of National and Labour governments have turned NZ into one of the planet's worst performing economies
EDUCATION
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): NZ students could take courses from multiple universities under potential shake-up (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Minimum teacher-child ratios not good enough for two-year-olds - unions
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Students using artificial intelligence to cheat on assessments, teachers warn
Ben Leahy (Herald): Out-of-zone students swamp Auckland Grammar, Epsom Girls’ Grammar and other public schools (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Post): Calls for more reo Māori teachers in secondary schools as demand increases
RNZ: NZ Space Agency offers internship at NASA
Cartoons
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