The Govt quietly announced a loosening of climate rules at 8pm last night: - Decoupling the ETS from Paris - Shifting ETS resets to every 2 years - Delaying the public sector target by 25 years - Removing CCC advice from *before* emission reductions plans: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Firework bans win out over gender politics: NZ First say its bill banning private fireworks sale is replacing its definition of a man and woman bill in the biscuit tin.

Labour’s medicard is an attempt to make a promise physical, to put a little bit of the welfare state right inside your wallet. Will it work? Column today: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

At about 4am on the night before he met Trump, it sure seemed like the PM couldn’t sleep. Could you blame him? My wrap of the weeklong trip to Asia: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

I’m in Korea this week and the country is really showing off. Oodles of free skincare, impressive tech, and delicious food. All this from a country that was 15x poorer than us just 70 years ago. Christopher Luxon wants us to replicate that success - my column today is on whether we can

Is there space for Christopher Luxon at the Trump show? My piece from Malaysia on how NZ fits into the new world of intense personality-driven diplomacy that Trump has created: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Is National’s version of bipartisanship just demanding Labour back whatever it decrees is in the the national interest? Column today: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Labour’s future fund could be huge or tiny. It can mean anything you, a target voter, wants it to mean. Column today on the benefits and risks of this much ambiguity: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW: Labour's first election policy is a 'future fund' - an investment fund aimed at NZ infra and businesses. It would be built on an unspecified capital injection + dividends from an unspecified range of crown-owned assets. The super fund guys would run it. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

National usually lead on the economy. They are now behind on two most important economic issues for voters, and sliding elsewhere: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

many are saying it can’t be beat on a good day

Former PM Jim Bolger has passed away following months of treatment for kidney failure. He was 90. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

It’s raining polls: New Talbot Mill/Anacta is the second in two weeks to show National below 29 www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW POLL: Half of voters want Christopher Luxon to step down - and Christopher Bishop is the top choice to replace him www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW: I caught up with TPM MP Tākuta Ferris on his way into Parly. He’s clearly not happy with the email + said he backed his electorate committee voting no confidence in the leadership thepost.co.nz/politics/360855030/mp-speaks-out-te-pati-maori-email-his-electorate-votes-against-party-leadership

Is Chris Hipkins leading a Ardern restoration project, and if he did would that be smart? Column this week: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW poll from The Post/Freshwater Strategy has National flirting with 30% and Hipkins well ahead as preferred Prime Minister www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

I’ve made a professional Instagram for videos on politics and whatnot. www.instagram.com/reel/DPstenh...

“We’re just living how we believe ... and that doesn’t make us dangerous. Weird? Maybe. But not dangerous.”

Amelia Wade dives into the Family Boost policy, which was designed in a hurry using guesswork, and is now so complex one Kindergarten has hired a staffer explicitly to help parents navigate it: www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

In a column today I try to guess the election date 🎄🎄🎄 www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Long graph-filled piece out today on all the stuff the opposition agree on - and some of the things they really don’t. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Every time I went along one of these (which I did most days for nearly 5 years) I felt extremely George Smiley-ish. Something about the slow pace, bland decor, and sense of bureaucratic anonymity really pulled it all together. Excellent experience, 10/10, I will remember it always.

Another huge paper (+website!) full of politics reads this morning - Luke Malpass on the decline of the right - Thomas Manch talks to a Kiwi aid worker in Ukraine - Stewart Sowman-Lund on how the Ardern ended up in a Pike River film - RIP travelators thepost.co.nz

True tragedy at Parliament this week: www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

Government fails to count www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Have we ever really had a bipartisan foreign policy consensus? My column this week argues it is largely a myth: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW: Andrew Hoggard pushed to double the lead-in time for new rules around farrowing crates- pushing them out to 2035 when his officials suggested they could be done by 2030. The last Govt wanted something in place by Dec this year. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

The news that Toitū Te Tiriti are breaking away from TPM so publicly changed the stakes of this chaotic saga for TPM. The party's 'reset' next week will be a huge test and shape the next 12 months in opposition politics. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declines to criticise Israel for potentially detaining Kiwis in international waters, repeats that MFAT advice is to not to try and travel to Gaza.

Officials drafting Government policy say more than half of the time they are being "constrained" from following a normal policy process. New story from me in The Post: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Huge story from Māni Dunlop: Toitū Te Tiriti is breaking off relations with Te Pāti Māori. They led the hikoi last year and were seen as interwoven with TPM - but apparently no more: www.teaonews.co.nz/2025/10/02/t...

The Govt explored the idea of barring people from voting outside of their electorate - about 149k votes last time - but ultimately ditched the idea. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

We may be heading into a period of one-term Governments, making tax reform very tricky to stick. My column today is on the one weird trick that would still let Labour change the tax system anyway: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

EXC: Plans are underway for a coordinated strike across the public sector on October 23 featuring: - Nurses - Teachers - Doctors - and more If the ballots go ahead it could well be the biggest coordinated strike in NZ history www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Cabinet papers are typically written by ministerial staffers with direction from Ministers. But the paper canvassing the options on recognising Palestine and deciding on one was written by Winston Peters' office instead. From my colleague Thomas Manch: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

A long road from UNSC Resolution 2334 - undertaken by the last National Government, in the teeth of extreme opposition by Israel - to today.

BREAKING: Winston Peters says is NZ is "not ready" to recognise Palestinian statehood. "We do not think the time is now." He says recognition at this time would be "open for political manipulation by both Hamas and Israel".

Winston Peters is expected to speak at the UN - finally revealing NZ’s position on Palestinian statehood - at around 11am NZT. Livestream here webtv.un.org/en

Whoops...

The Government's controversial voting law will result in a 411% increase in the number of votes being thrown out, according to the Electoral Commission. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

The Govt's stated reason for restricting voter enrolment in the last two weeks of the election has been speeding up the final count. But the Electoral Commission just told the Justice Select Committee that wouldn't happen - with or without the law change it would take 20 days. t.co/N0vRXHMbMt

INBOX: The Parliamentary Registrar into Pecuniary Interests is doing an inquiry into National MP Carl Bates. NZH reported recently that his family trust has 25 different properties that were not declared.

Ever feel like New Zealand is stuck? Like our politics are in a kind of stagnant stasis? Me too. Column this week: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

The Government is quietly pushing through a bill that allows IRD to more quickly share tax data with other agencies www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

New read from me this AM w exclusive polling: Luxon headed into a $1500 a head donor dinner with his leadership of the economy and country under serious pressure. Polling shows more think the county is on the wrong track than at any point since the election www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

The horror GDP print reminded me of this passage from WH Oliver quoted in Tony Simpson’s book on the depression of the 30s.

Both of the ministers announcing the Eden Park concert review at post-cab on Monday received free concert tix from Eden Park in recent years. But they say it is totally above board and a "decision" has not actually been made. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NZNO nurses are quite literally turning their back on a speech from Health Minister Simeon Brown at their AGM

I wrote about why I came back to NZ, and the political impossibility of convincing that many more Kiwis to do so any time soon www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...