"Versions of basically all the rules were more or less agreed upon by all political parties until the Auckland lockdown dragged on ... Fundamentally, people were sick of it and just about everyone was vaccinated."

BREAKING: High Court has ruled that Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was unlawfully expelled from Te Pāti Māori. The Judge has ordered that the party write to the speaker to advise that she is once again an MP for the party.

Describing the move as “superficial, unhelpful”, and “not welcome” the signatories note homelessness is a growing issue, being felt throughout New Zealand.

The main target - Green MP and former city councillor Tamatha Paul - has hit back: “I put my name and face to everything I say and do because unlike them, I’m not a coward.”

“I’ve asked the chief executive to ensure budgets for events like this reflect community expectations to keep council spending under control.”

The big online harm SC inquiry report is out. As expected it recommends an under-16 ban. It also suggests a new regulator explore banning VPNs… Greens and ACT both very against that and caution against the social media ban.

This is part 3 in our series, The Tipping Point, looking at the story behind the story of small business closures.

Column this morning is on the original sin of KiwiSaver - the fact we all empty it out to buy homes www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Andrew Little is advocating for a reversal of the law that means Crown buildings – including Parliament, schools and hospitals – do not pay rates.

"For years, we just accepted people off the ballot, there wasn't any real problem - there weren't any pressures. It's only in the last 10 years that as we started to grow, we really needed to enforce our zone."

NZ putting itself closer to the European position (neither endorsing nor condemning US attack, calling for resumption of talks) rather than the more pro-US Aus + Canada position www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

"Ableism is something you have to accept. It just means you don’t have to take on the frustration and the absolute absurdity of people’s views, because it just wears you down."

In an interview with me in The Post this morning, the Infrastructure Commission head says equity arguments about the impact of congestion charges must be balanced with the equity issue of building roads we don’t need www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

A curious update from the original poster: “I will be addressing the matter in full in my next newsletter.”

🚨We're reviving an old newsletter from the Stuff days tomorrow morning - Politically Correct. It'll be a fun summary of the week in politics with some gossip about job changes and the like. And all the stories linked with be de-paywalled. Sign up: accounts.news.stuff.co.nz/newsletter

"We do have a history of building large projects that we know are going to significantly add to people's lives and to improve economic performance."

"The reality is, town and city centres need to be inclusive environments - but when something changes that you need to make a move."

"I'm not convinced that the sign posting is that well done. I’m also not convinced that we need to have a bus lane that is 12 hours a day, seven days a week."

“How in the 21st century, clean and green New Zealand can specify new environmental standards that set limits several times above decades-old resource consent limits will forever remain beyond reason.”

"The spread of misinformation and disinformation makes this work so much harder than it needs to be."

On July 18, 2025, National’s chief of staff Cameron Burrows received a text from a ministerial adviser. “We’re not saying anything re Jevon, right?” “That’s right, no comment,” Burrows replied.

The Green Party’s strict new process for its party list is prompting turmoil within the membership as former candidates have been excluded from potentially becoming MPs. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

He took a punt this term trying to build political space for a shocking amount of new housing, for the notion that it might win the political right voters who aren’t already wealthy and sorted, even if it hurt them with those that were. @henrycooke.bsky.social

New Post/Freshwater poll has Labour seven points clear of National: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW: Chris Bishop just opened the door to cancelling or severely delaying the Wellington tunnels, if a congestion charge shows they aren't needed in the first place. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

NEW: The Infra Commission just released its official plan, and it's a massive challenge to the Govt and NZ to: - Trim transport spending - Double spending on renewal/maintenance - Spend twice as much on hospitals

Yes, it was cold - but at least Round the Bays wasn't today!

And as the city reels from millions of litres of untreated sewage spilling daily into Cook Strait, The Post can reveal the inside story of why the plant’s cost has doubled.

“Transparency with Wellingtonians and all New Zealanders is essential, so it would be my expectation that all reporting should be proactively released as appropriate.”

“We'd have to anticipate this is a major rebuild, at least a re installation of equipment. And that doesn't come cheap.”

“This is not all one mayor’s fault or one council’s fault. This was out of sight, out of mind.”

“...It looks like parties are potentially looking to their own self-interest and managing the information that goes out, as opposed to ensuring that there's a generally independent investigation.”

Across New Zealand, water infrastructure is a multibillion-dollar fiasco of epic proportions, writes Andrea Vance.

"This is a serious situation, and we anticipate the plant will be shut down for an extended period."

“They spent all that money to make sure they are legally covered, but are not prepared to spend money on keeping people safe.”

"When flood velocity is included in the assessment, the areas classified as high risk for people walking increased by more than 80%. Medium-risk pedestrian areas, including for children and older people, more than tripled."

“It would have been a bit of a stomach-drop moment for the staff member that discovered it.”

“It is a busy street. I don’t expect it to be quiet anyway – it is life in the city ... it is going to be what it is.”

The council argues information available when it wrote its submission did not "adequately demonstrate" how NZTA's roads would integrate with the council's own networks and how much integration would cost the city.

Documents obtained by The Post show the ferry terminal project was rated an “extreme” financial risk, with residual risk remaining “very high” across 2024 and 2025.

“Nobody disputes the merit of getting across the city fast and efficiently. The argument is are there better ways of spending that money to get the outcomes we want?”

I had an extended interview with Winston Peters on foreign policy on Wed. He said: - He doesn't take Trump's expansionist talk seriously - He disagrees with the PM on econ - Carney's speech was nothing new and perhaps not written by him - No one will cry for Maduro www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Cuba St Tavern's Richard Walshe on a tough 2025: “I think we managed to scrape through it, definitely scraping through.”

This is just ... science...

Papakura offers a corrective path. Yet there is a counter-theory: that the seat could fall victim to the old “rule of leaders”, writes Andrea Vance.

"Things have steadily worsened. It feels like the frog in boiling water analogy, except now people are finally realising how hot it is."

“Everyone was sad that we’re going, but it’s just our time.”

"It’s really easy for a brand to put your name on the side of a building and walk away and never do anything. You’re looking for a partner who’s going to leverage the opportunity."

"For one child our bill came to $400 before you add the rain jacket, shoes, bag, or the 'optional but strongly encouraged' extras. I have three."

“There’s a reason why NASA wants to do research with us, they’re interested in what we have here, which is technically quite good.”