Latest Politics Headlines
Deal Or No Deal? Christopher Luxon's India Trip Puts Trade Promise To The Test
Saturday, 15 March 2025, 7:44 pm | RNZ
Two trade experts based in Delhi expressed some mild optimism about Luxon's chances, but with a major caveat: NZ would have to abandon hope of including dairy in any deal.. More >>
A Tough Budget Preached In A Revivalist Tent
Friday, 14 March 2025, 8:54 pm | RNZ
Parliament has debated its inquiry into the 2025 Budget Policy Statement. The government side was evangelical on growth, but the numbers did not suggest a promised land. More >>
The Cost Of A Meal That Sticks In The Throat
Friday, 14 March 2025, 8:22 pm | RNZ
The school lunch debacle is causing an increasing clamour to rip it up and start again. More >>
How Much Can NZ Boost Its Military Spending, Really? And Is It Really Needed?
Friday, 14 March 2025, 8:19 pm | RNZ
Analysis: New Zealand is being urged to spend 2% of GDP on defence, but is that possible and would it make a difference? More >>
Undermining Democratic Process
Friday, 14 March 2025, 3:32 pm | St Peters on Willis Social Justice Group
A first step of good faith would be the reinstatement of a Social Sector Budget lockup for Budget 2025, inviting a cross-section of organisations representing the diversity of our population to hear key Budget messages firsthand. More >>
Economists, Campaign Groups Hit Out At PPP’s Labelling Them ‘Ideological, Reckless’
Friday, 14 March 2025, 3:25 pm | ActionStation
“There is no financial case for PPP’s in New Zealand where the Crown can borrow more cheaply”, said CTU Economist Craig Renney. More >>
Luxon’s Mining Obsession Drives Away Second Offshore Wind Investor
Friday, 14 March 2025, 11:24 am | Greenpeace
Newsroom has reported today that a second offshore wind group, Sumitomo, has been forced to halt plans for massive new electricity generation in the south Taranaki Bight after the government announced it was promoting seabed mining in the same space. More >>
Tory Whanau Considered Quitting Wellington Mayoralty While 'Humiliated'
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 8:29 pm | RNZ
Tory Whanau opens up about being "humiliated in front of the whole country" and gaining a thick skin. More >>
New Zealand Has Not Joined The 'Coalition Of The Willing', Judith Collins Says
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 8:24 pm | RNZ
The government says New Zealand is not among about 15 countries that have committed to join the coalition of the willing on Ukraine. More >>
Infrastructure Summit: Italian Business Among Potential Bidders For Building Northland Expressway
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 8:06 pm | RNZ
Some attendees are already showing strong interest in the government's plans for Public Private partnerships, the Finance Minister says. More >>
Government Cleaners, Security Guards, And Caterers Counting On NZ First
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 4:01 pm | Living Wage Aotearoa
Our position is clear – this procurement rule must not be scrapped. It’s a practical way for the Government to improve lives and show these workers that they are valued, says Gina Lockyer, Executive Director of the Living Wage Movement. More >>
Chief Ombudsman Publishes OIA And LGOIMA Complaints Information For July To December 2024
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 12:04 pm | Office of the Ombudsman
The number of complaints about the way government agencies handle OIA requests continues to trend upwards. In the most recent six-month period, the Ombudsman received 1,029 complaints, a rise from 946 in the previous half year. More >>
Luxon’s Investment Claims Undermined By Breaches Of Free Trade Agreements
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 11:06 am | Greenpeace
Questions on New Zealand’s commitment to the environmental chapters have already been raised in the UK and EU Parliaments. More >>
Erica Stanford And David Seymour Meet Over Free School Lunches Programme Fiasco
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 9:01 pm | RNZ
Erica Stanford and David Seymour have met to talk about the school lunches programme. The Education Minister and her associate were set for one of their regular meetings last Tuesday More >>
Tax Reforms Needed To Bolster Economic Growth - IMF Report
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 9:00 pm | RNZ
The government needs to get control of its finances and make broad based tax and regulatory changes, according to the International Monetary Fund. More >>
'Nonsense': Hipkins And Peters Clash Over 'Wokeness' In Public Sector
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 8:55 pm | RNZ
The New Zealand First leader is adamant diversity is being preferred over merit for people getting jobs in the public sector. More >>
Minister Weeds Wokeness Out Of MFAT
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 8:25 pm | Family First New Zealand
It’s time that MFAT got back to their core activity – foreign affairs and trade, security in the region (including especially the Cook Islands), free trade deals – rather than ramming down DEI and Wokeism 101 down the throat of every other country. More >>
New Zealand Government Spending Should Benefit New Zealand
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 8:10 pm | WEAll Aotearoa
Government spending should deliver public value and economic benefits to New Zealand and prefer New Zealand businesses — big, small and Māori and Pasifika-owned. It is good to see this proposed. More >>
Palestine Forum Of New Zealand Calls On Government MPs To Support Sanctions Bill Against Israel’s Unlawful Occupation
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 8:07 pm | Palestine Forum of New Zealand
In September 2024, New Zealand voted alongside 123 UN member states in support of sanctions against those responsible for illegal settlements and settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Despite this, the Government has yet to ... More >>
Manaaki Rangatahi Invites Christopher Luxon To Attend Regional Hui To Address Youth Homelessness
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 7:34 pm | Manaaki Rangatahi
We look forward to hosting him in a few weeks time to talk about how everyone has the right to housing, and what we can do to work together to ensure that housing and peoples well-being, and the well-being of our children are human rights. More >>
Peters Needs To Tell Trump To Stop The Israeli Bullies
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 5:50 pm | Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
“We want Mr Peters to remind the US administration that the rules apply to Gaza as well” says PSNA Co-chair John Minto. “Mr Peters should be suggesting to the US that it should stand up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” More >>
Infrastructure Summit Should Prioritise Environmental Outcomes
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 4:05 pm | Environmental Defence Society
New Zealanders want high environmental standards to be met. Despite the Government’s efforts to derail good environmental outcomes with the shameful Fast-track Approvals Act. More >>
Government Plan To Scrap The Living Wage For Contracts “abhorrent”
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 3:01 pm | E Tu
Currently, contractors who deliver cleaning, security, and catering services for government agencies are required to pay at least the Living Wage ($27.80 at present time) to all their workers. In a media release today, Nicola Willis has announced ... More >>
Sad Day For Low Paid Workers As Govt Rolls Back Living Wage Requirement
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 2:38 pm | PSA
"The Government again shows it doesn’t care about the most vulnerable workers in New Zealand," said PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons. More >>
New Procurement Rules Hurt Low-income Workers
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 1:43 pm | NZCTU
“The Minister of Finance Nicola Willis has proposed a new rule saying that the Living Wage no longer needs to be paid in cleaning, catering, and security guard services that are procured by government. These workers now face the potential of ... More >>
Prime Minister Fails To Address Concerns Over Young Children Identifying As Gender Neutral
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 11:54 am | Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is the only political party that has consistently and strongly urged caution against the widespread adoption of "gender affirming" policies in schools. More >>
Five Biotechnology Teams Saved At Callaghan Innovation, But Hundreds Of Redundancies Still Expected
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 11:05 am | PSA
"This whole approach has been clumsy from the get-go with job cuts last year coming ahead of the science system reform plan this year, causing unnecessary distress and uncertainty for many Callaghan workers and their families." More >>
New Zealand Diplomat Sacked After Criticizing Trump
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 10:42 am | Socialist Equality Group
Goff, appointed in 2022, is a former Labour Party leader, foreign affairs minister and Auckland mayor. The position is one of NZ’s most important diplomatic posts. More >>
Asia New Zealand Foundation Joins Prime Minister’s Visit To India
Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 9:51 am | Asia New Zealand Foundation
The delegation will include a diverse group of business, community and government leaders, including Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive Suzannah Jessep, Foundation Honorary Advisers Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand and Sameer Handa, and Trustee Hone McGregor. More >>
Minister Looking At Further Interventions At Wellington's Councils
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 8:48 pm | RNZ
Simon Watts says he is concerned about Wellington Water, and the lack of a City and Regional Deal proposal which prompted the PM to call the councils "lame-o". More >>
School Lunch Provider Libelle Group Auckland Financially Struggling For Months, Liquidator Says
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 8:44 pm | RNZ
Liquidators taking financial control of the failed school lunch programme say it owes money to multiple suppliers and to its 500 staff - but wages will be paid in the interim. More >>
Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' Widow Reflects On Grief, Legacy, And A Life Without Him
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 8:39 pm | RNZ
Vasa Fia Collins opens up about the heartbreak of losing him, the struggles of grief, and the powerful legacy he left behind in an exclusive interview with RNZ Pacific. More >>
Revealed: Nelson’s $660,000 Saltwater Creek Footbridge
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 2:05 pm | Taxpayers' Union
“It doesn’t have to be barebones, but when one-sixth of the cost of a footbridge is simply on flourish, it’s probably time to pull back. The people of Nelson deserve better from their council in terms of spending decisions.” More >>
A 'Destruction Of Whānau Ora By Stealth' - Providers
Monday, 10 March 2025, 9:13 pm | RNZ
A change in direction at Whānau Ora has drawn the ire of agencies, which are set to lose their long-held positions as commissioning bodies and say up to 1000 jobs could be lost. More >>
'All Roads Lead To The Deciding Minister': Greens Wary Of Government's Environment Court Bypass Proposal
Monday, 10 March 2025, 9:06 pm | RNZ
If it goes ahead, most landowners would not be able to submit objections to large infrastructure projects to the Environment Court. More >>
Victoria University Law Students Take Oil Exploration Case To Supreme Court
Monday, 10 March 2025, 8:52 pm | RNZ
The group has argued that the 2021 decision to grant permits for onshore exploration to two companies did not properly consider the climate change impacts or views of Māori. More >>
Introducing The Unity Party: A New Vision For New Zealand
Monday, 10 March 2025, 6:13 pm | Unity Party
Nigel McFall's Journey to a Politics That Works for Everyone More >>
Government Hellbent On Ignoring Evidence On Impact Of Social Investment For Most Vulnerable Whānau
Monday, 10 March 2025, 3:47 pm | Te Putahitanga o Te Waipounamu
Government had significantly changed the goalposts within the tender process, which was announced without warning in August 2024. The focus had essentially shifted from a model driven by whānau aspirations to a range of targeted government services, ... More >>
How Kiwis Are Feeling About Govt Performance
Monday, 10 March 2025, 2:57 pm | Horizon Research
The government’s performance is making only 10% feel pleased, 5% excited, 4% proud, and 4% inspired. Respondents were shown a randomised list of words and asked to choose the words they feel when they think about the current performance of the coalition ... More >>
Over 12,000 Say NO To Corporate Tax Cuts
Monday, 10 March 2025, 12:36 pm | Action Station
The petition was launched in the wake of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister recently suggesting that the Budget might contain cuts in the corporate tax rate and has harnessed widespread public opposition to tax policies. More >>
Hipkins Overtakes Luxon As Preferred Prime Minister, Centre-Left Extend Lead
Monday, 10 March 2025, 12:11 pm | Taxpayers' Union
Based on these results, the Centre-Right bloc drops 1 seat to 58, while the Centre-Left bloc gains 1 seat to 62. On these numbers, National and ACT could not form a government even with the support of New Zealand First. More >>
Say NO To Corporate Tax Cuts - Petition Delivered To Luxon & Willis
Monday, 10 March 2025, 11:44 am | Tax Justice Aotearoa
Reducing the corporate tax rate by just 1 percentage point would result in a loss of around $650m in revenue and you could do a lot with that money to make New Zealand a better place for all. More >>
Going For Growth: Taxpayers' Union Urges Government To Adopt Full Capital Expensing In New Briefing Paper
Monday, 10 March 2025, 8:29 am | Taxpayers' Union
With Finance Minister Nicola Willis set to deliver Budget 2025 in less than three months, the Taxpayers’ Union is urging the Government to seize the opportunity and implement the policy to come into effect on Budget night. More >>
Four More Years? MPs Debate Bill To Extend Parliamentary Term
Sunday, 9 March 2025, 7:53 pm | RNZ
The current government is 16 months old. In just another 18 months or so, NZ will once again be at the polling booth. More >>
Say NO To Corporate Tax Cuts Petition Delivery Event
Sunday, 9 March 2025, 1:19 pm | Tax Justice Aotearoa
Tax Justice Aotearoa chair Glenn Barclay says the timing of the petition’s delivery is set to coincide with the Government’s investment conference, and reinforces the call for economic policies that prioritise public wellbeing over corporate interests. More >>
Gene Technology Changes: What You Need To Know
Saturday, 8 March 2025, 6:30 pm | RNZ
Explainer - The current GMO regime is out of date, experts agree. But proposed changes sideline Māori, some say. More >>
Chris Hipkins Promises Political Bipartisanship, Chris Bishop Isn't So Convinced
Saturday, 8 March 2025, 6:17 pm | RNZ
Analysis - Chris Hipkins' state of the nation speech highlighted political bipartisanship, but less than an hour later National was taking swings. More >>
Remembering The Communist Roots Of International Working Women’s Day
Saturday, 8 March 2025, 4:14 pm | Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement
The transformation of IWWD from a communist-led day of rebellion into a feel-good holiday of corporate branding is no accident. Capitalism thrives on absorbing and neutralising radical movements. More >>
It’s Time For Beehive Women To Get Real On Pay Equity
Saturday, 8 March 2025, 6:33 am | NZCTU
“We are calling on the women who work in the Beehive to show some solidarity with working women by getting real on pay equity,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges. More >>
What Was Actually Wrong With What Phil Goff Said?
Friday, 7 March 2025, 9:04 pm | RNZ
Explainer: The UK High Commissioner's case is not an example of the coalition looking to get rid of a Labour appointee, Giles Dexter writes. More >>
Trust In Media Plummets Further: New Polling Shows Centralised Regulation Will Not Help
Friday, 7 March 2025, 6:33 pm | Free Speech Union
If trust in media is going to return, Kiwis need to see transparency in reporting, and independence from political and ideological influence. Trust will not increase with further regulation, especially from authorities in which the majority of Kiwis ... More >>
Have Your Say On The Referendums Framework Bill
Friday, 7 March 2025, 4:28 pm | Justice Committee
The bill would provide a legislative framework for the conduct of referendums. The framework would be largely the same as that used for the next general election. More >>
No Place For Privatisation In Health - Alarm Bells Should Be Ringing
Friday, 7 March 2025, 1:11 pm | PSA
"The Government’s privatisation agenda has been well and truly exposed in Minister Brown’s priorities," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. More >>
Organics Aotearoa NZ Calls For Key Amendments To The Gene Technology Bill To Safeguard New Zealand Organic Farming
Friday, 7 March 2025, 9:15 am | Organics Aotearoa New Zealand
OANZ has been consistent through its submission and articulating to all political parties and the Government that the best outcome would be to have food and environment exempt from the bill. More >>
NZ Governments Enjoy An ‘Executive Paradise’ – A Longer Parliamentary Term Won’t Change That
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 8:08 pm | The Conversation
Supporters of a four-year term say it would give governments more time to make better policy. But without deeper changes, it may only increase political uncertainty. More >>
Shock And Orr: The Sudden Resignation Of The Central Bank Governor
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 7:26 pm | RNZ
'These things happen' was all the chair of the Reserve Bank really had to say about the sudden departure of governor Adrian Orr, writes Gyles Beckford. More >>
Who Is Phil Goff, Sacked NZ High Commissioner To The UK?
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 7:18 pm | RNZ
Will Goff's time as high commissioner prove a disappointing end to a 44-year political career, or a minor detour on his lengthy resume? More >>
Prebble's Resignation From Waitangi Tribunal Leaves Lawyer With 'A Sour Taste In My Mouth'
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 6:27 pm | RNZ
A prominent Treaty lawyer is questioning whether Richard Prebble's resignation from the Waitangi Tribunal was a ploy for media attention. More >>
Simeon Brown Appointed Prominent Oil, Gas Lobbyist To Energy Savings Board Against Official Advice
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 6:24 pm | RNZ
A top government minister personally added a fossil fuel lobbyist to the shortlist of candidates to help govern the country's main energy-saving agency. More >>
PSA Oranga Tamariki Social Workers, Supervisors, Care And Protection Workers, To Strike Tomorrow
Thursday, 6 March 2025, 3:39 pm | PSA
Members across the country will take part in the total withdrawal of labour, including social workers and members working in care and protection residences, youth justice residences, residential homes, and the national contact centre. More >>