Table of Contents
Republished with Permission
Author: Bryce Edwards
GOVERNMENT, PRIVATISATION, ASSET SALES
Richard Shaw (The Conversation): David Seymour says Kiwis are too squeamish about privatisation – history shows why they lost the appetite
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Asset sales are on the agenda. So, what could be sold?
Jo Moir (RNZ): Christopher Luxon hints National will campaign on asset sales in the 2026 election
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Christopher Luxon floats National potentially campaigning on asset sales at election
Thomas Manch (Post): Luxon Government takes Key-era approach to asset sales (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): David Seymour’s privatisation comments push his agenda back into spotlight (paywalled)
Richard Prebble (Herald): On asset sales: How privatisation can be a success story (paywalled)
Maioha Panapa (Te Ao Māori News): Willie Jackson urges Prime Minister to rule out privatisation
Thomas Manch (Post): Interislander ferry plan cost $1m before Peters took hold (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt smashes record for laws passed without select committee scrutiny
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Nicola Willis joins government voices in support of more mining
Denise Piper (Northern Advocate): Sand mining protest expected to be first of many against fast-track projects
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Govt pivots to faster migration & tourism (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Luxon lays out government agenda for the year (paywalled)
MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS
Laura Walters (Newsroom): External consultants to analyse record Treaty Principles submissions
Ruby Shaw (ODT): Submitters have their say on divisive Treaty Bill
Tumamao Harawira (Te Ao Māori News): Hapū leader advises David Seymour to stay away from Waitangi
PARLIAMENT
Andrea Vance (Post): Manurewa Marae data use claims: report due next week (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): The Yeah-Nah Parliament of 2025
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: An unruly first day back at the school of growth
Kelly Dennett (Post): Parliament has ‘beginning of the year’ energy (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Poll shows support for extending parliamentary term to four years
Spinoff: What the critics are saying about the Jacinda Ardern film that just premiered at Sundance
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern documentary featuring home videos premieres at Sundance
HOUSING, INTEREST RATES
Derek Cheng (Herald): New report: Younger Kiwis feel increasingly locked out of home ownership, more than almost anywhere else in the world (paywalled)
Ipsos: New Zealand Housing Monitor 2025
Maria Slade (BusinessDesk): Kāinga Ora properties sit derelict while reviews continue (paywalled)
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Kāinga Ora taking new hard line, tenants ousted in rent arrears cases worth over $72,000
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Where Auckland rents are rising fastest
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Here's how much falling interest rates might save you
Dita De Boni (Post): Household finances looking more flush in 2025 thanks to lower borrowing costs: Westpac (paywalled)
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): The regions that can expect the biggest mortgage drop
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Kiwibank joins interest rate cuts on its shorter-term loan fixes
David Chaston (Interest): Kiwibank moves down, targets a low one year fixed rate
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Kiwibank drops home loan rates
Henry McMullan (1News): Wairoa retirees to take landlord to tribunal over rent increases
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Why Auckland Council is still consenting hundreds of new homes in flood zones
Brent Edwards (NBR): Climate Adaptation certainty key to insurance affordability (paywalled)
ECONOMY, DIGITAL NOMADS, EMPLOYMENT
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Labour: Growth needs business lending, not visa tweaks
RNZ: 'People are being pushed out': Spain resident warns of 'digital nomad' visa change
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Visas for 'digital nomads' a positive step, commentators say, but there are potential complications
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand relaxes visa rules to lure digital nomads and influencers
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: growth vs productivity, investors vs property owners, Upton vs Seymour, and more … (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Inside Economics: Productivity problem - where should ordinary Kiwis invest? (Paywalled)
Andrew Patterson (Newsroom): Will 2025 be the year of the rebound?
David Hargreaves (Interest): Another monthly rise in the number of filled jobs in December may indicate that New Zealand's rate of unemployment is close to peaking
Herald: New Zealand economy added more jobs in December, Stats NZ says
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, EDEN PARK
Tom Hunt (Post): The $1667 chasm between Wellington rates plan and reality (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington City Council changes tune on profitability of electric car chargers (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: The ‘apolitical’ positivity battle for Wellington (paywalled)
Chris Lynch: “Abuse of public trust” Council logos “exploited” for partisan political fundraising event
Tina Law (Press): Ban on shops selling alcohol after 9pm mooted to cut harm (paywalled)
Maxine Jacobs (Press): Ratepayers to fund wastewater system with no apparent owner (paywalled)
Hamish MacLean (ODT): ORC outlines steps sought for QLDC plant
Grant Miller (ODT): Simms pitches mayoralty bid (paywalled)
Grant Miller (ODT): Rates affordability high on councillors’ agendas (paywalled)
Chris Schulz (RNZ): 'Turn it into a retirement village': Inside the war of words over Eden Park
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: Behind the scenes with Eden Park's CEO
Luke Oldfield (Newsroom): Swift response on infrastructure is the right tune
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): What’s ahead for kerbside food waste collection?
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE
1News: Peters holds tough line over diplomatic rift with Kiribati
Thomas Coughlan (Heald): Kiribati defends Winston Peters snub, but Peters isn't buying it
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Winston Peters rejects Kiribati leader’s explanation for canning trip
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): Winston Peters rejects Kiribati's excuse as Hipkins urges constructive diplomacy
Lydia Lewis (RNZ): NZ-Kiribati fallout: Maamau govt minister says 'impacts to be felt by the people'
No Right Turn: A disrespectful foreign policy
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Foreign ministry braces for cutbacks
RNZ: 'Genocide hotline' sets a dangerous precedent - Chief Human Rights Commissioner
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Promotion of ‘Genocide hotline’ must end, says top Human Rights Commissioner
Mike McRoberts (NBR): What Groser sees for NZ trade under Trump economy (paywalled)
POLICE
Poppy Clark and Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Police propose disestablishment of 37 executive roles
RNZ: Police boss believes leaner police executive will deliver on his priorities
Katie Ham (Post): Police troops praise proposal to cut 37 executive roles (paywalled)
1News: Proposal to reduce number of executive roles at NZ Police
Stuff: Te Pāti Māori MP ‘appalled’ by police’s Operation Trolley in Rotorua
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua police’s Operation Trolley prompts political war of words
Stuff: Te Pāti Māori MP ‘appalled’ by police’s Operation Trolley in Rotorua
HEALTH
Rachel Thomas (Post): Health NZ boss signing off every paper to ministers, adding to 17-step process, staff say (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): South’s wants expressed
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): Staff shortages key driver as more general practices turn away new patients
Mariné Lourens (Post): Half of Canterbury GPs not accepting new patients (paywalled)
RNZ: Checkpoint: Call service to combat loneliness needs more volunteers
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): Govt must get off the couch and back health innovation
RETIREMENT
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): Enough talk: why the pension spending conversation is heating up (paywalled)
Ella Somers (Interest): $500,000 or less could get you through retirement
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Inflation puts strain on retirement savings buffer (paywalled)
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): An employers’ guide to KiwiSaver contributions (paywalled)
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Planning for retirement in your 40s? Really?
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Government announces roads where speed limit reductions will be reversed
Max Frethey (Local Democracy Reporting): 'Hugely frustrating': Tasman communities grow impatient for lower speeds
Michael Sergel (Herald): Auckland public transport complaints plummet, but public still critical of Auckland Transport
RNZ: Auckland commuters face more train cancellations after month-long network closure
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Will sealed roads become a luxury in the south?
BUSINESS
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Government and Opposition put heat on Reserve Bank over business lending (paywalled)
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): IRD hardline approach on company tax arrears causes frustration (paywalled)
Phil O’Reilly (Post): Collaboration key to converting confidence into tangible results (paywalled)
MEDIA
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Trump threat could put $493m hole in NZ accounts and complicate media help
Bob McCoskrie: Media missed the (trust) memo
OTHER
David Fisher (Herald): Former MP Golriz Ghahraman critical of police’s ‘weird’ pursuit of Pak’nSave alleged shoplifting incident
Rob Stock (Post): The future of facial recognition in NZ retail
Tina Mitchell (Herald): Los Angeles wildfires: Could the insurance gap that affected victims happen in New Zealand?
Robin Martin (RNZ): Work needed to remove barriers to offshore wind industry - mayors
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): AI on a budget: DeepSeek's disruption and NZ's opportunity (paywalled)
Sarah Ramsay (ODT): Science reforms changing system for the better
Mike and Ruth Williams (ODT): Do not rush Bill and shut the farmers out
Duncan Connors (ODT): Turning the Minister for the South Island into a role with teeth
Anne Gibson (Herald): Property Insider: Questions about ‘defective’ Kingsland Apartments; Westmere helicopter pad update; how Māori traditionally regarded land; Wyborn Capital projects; engineered stone submissions (paywalled)
Julie Asher (ODT): Fulltime equivalent students are key: Potiki (paywalled)
Cartoons
