Navigation for News Categories
Comment & Analysis
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
-
National straddles two strategies as it prepares for nail-biter election
26 Jun 2023Power Play - In letting slip its election-night target of 45 percent this weekend, the National Party revealed some of its inner thinking around its campaign strategy.
-
Week in Politics: National goes hard on law and order
25 Jun 2023Analysis - National pushes Labour on gangs and disorder as it settles on one of its primary campaign narratives, writes Peter Wilson in a look at the Week in Politics.
-
Sorry prime minister, Joe Biden was right – Xi Jinping really is a ‘dictator’
23 Jun 2023Opinion - It's not every day that a NZ prime minister takes China's side in a disagreement between Washington and Beijing. But these are extraordinary times.
-
Housing market drives inequality - why not tax houses?
Opinion - The Green Party made waves recently when it proposed to tax net wealth over $2 million for individuals and $4m for couples, Susan St John writes .
-
Struggling universities put NZ's entire research strategy at risk
20 Jun 2023Opinion - While funding shortfalls and sweeping redundancies in the university wider research sector are now making headlines, the underlying problems have been evident for years, Nicola Gaston writes…
-
Then and now: Lessons Mark Robinson took from his time as an All Black
16 Jun 2023The NZ Rugby chief executive isn't usually short of a word, but one question has him wondering: what was it like to be an All Black? Video
-
Cutting fruit and veg GST not the best way to help - tax expert
17 Jun 2023Opinion - Rising food prices bring up debates on removing GST from fresh produce - but is this a good idea? And if not, what alternatives might there be to help people afford fruit and vegetables?
-
Week in Politics: National and Labour go courting at Fieldays
16 Jun 2023Analysis - National would have had clear air for its agriculture policy if Christopher Luxon had not come down with a case of foot in mouth, writes Peter Wilson.
-
Week in Politics: Chris Hipkins' worst week
9 Jun 2023Analysis - For a competent minister - and he has shown himself to be that - Michael Wood has got himself into a real muddle, writes Peter Wilson.
-
How NZ's own law helped Australia win the Manuka Honey trademark war
5 Jun 2023Analysis - The mānuka honey trademark case shows how Aotearoa New Zealand's law lacks substantive protections for Māori intellectual property rights, writes David Jefferson.
-
ACT preens as party in waiting ahead of Election 2023
6 Jun 2023Power Play - ACT Party leader David Seymour will be patting himself on the back after a sell-out annual conference in central Auckland this weekend.
-
The Ben Roberts-Smith verdict shocked the military. Why didn't its leaders act sooner?
6 Jun 2023Analysis - The Ben Roberts-Smith verdict has reopened the wounds of a shameful period of Australian military history that demonstrates how the leadership of the ADF has failed, writes Mick Ryan.
-
The war in Ukraine is escalating - and NZ won't escape the consequences
Opinion - Russia's war with Ukraine is now at a critical turning point. The relentless missile and drone strikes on the capital Kyiv may look like a sign of strength, but appearances can be deceiving.
-
Week in Politics: Party members cop heat over problematic remarks and plans
Analysis - National pulls out of the bipartisan agreement on housing density and gets itself into a muddle over bilingual road signs, while the prescription fee saga rumbles on.
-
Did 'wokeness' cancel Police Ten 7?
When TVNZ cancelled reality TV show Police Ten 7 earlier this year, it certainly rattled some law-and-order cages, Antje Deckert and Juan Marcellus Tauri write.
-
Samoan Language Week: Preserving culture and a sense of belonging
5 Jun 2023Analysis - The theme for Samoan Language Week is, "Be proud of your language and grounded in your identity." Anric Sitanilei explores what this means, in both Gagana Samoa and English.
-
Holograms can bring stars back from the dead - but will fans buy it?
4 Jun 2023Opinion - Fans can mourn the passing of music legends for years, so it's little wonder recent advances in holographic and AI technology have found a ready market for shows from beyond the grave.
-
Slow down Simeon Brown – bilingual traffic signs aren’t an accident waiting to happen
30 May 2023Opinion - When the National Party's transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, questioned the logic of bilingual traffic signs, he seemed to echo his leader Christopher Luxon's earlier misgivings, Richard…
-
'Whose side are you on mate?' How no one is free from bias – including referees
27 May 2023The range of reasoning shortcuts we all use to make decisions can lead us astray, write Tim Dare and Justine Kingsbury.
-
How Mike Wahrlich became 'the juggler', and the lessons it leaves us
26 May 2023Opinion - The death of Mike 'the juggler' Wahrlich in last week's fire in Wellington prompts David Cohen to examine Mike's past and how that activity became such a source of self-esteem in his life.
-
Simply The Best: Tina Turner, rugby league icon
Opinion - News of Tina Turner's death was greeted with great sadness by many, as well as a wave of reminiscence in Australasia due to her successful but unlikely connection with rugby league, Jamie… Video
-
Kiwi research makes predicting river course changes, thanks to quakes, possible
30 May 2023When the Waiau Toa started flowing again after the Kaikōura earthquake, it had a new course.
-
'Coalition of chaos' versus 'coalition of cuts' - the voters will decide
29 May 2023Power Play - Labour is ramping up its pitch to regain power, telling voters they "deserve to know the choices they have" in election year, Jane Patterson writes.
-
Ongoing questions on telecommunications resilience unanswered
29 May 2023Analysis - Hawke's Bay dodged a much worse cellphone and internet blackout in Cyclone Gabrielle when fuel supplies ran critically low, papers show. Audio
Top News stories
- At 85, Sir Roger Hall is still taking centre stage
- Hundreds rally to save Petone Wharf
- After the Christchurch attacks, Twitter made a deal with Jacinda Ardern over violent content. Elon Musk changed everything
- The secret ingredient behind Taylor Swift's songwriting success
- Quad bike deaths present worrying trend - Safer Farms