News Briefing: 27 June 2025

TAKUTAI TARSH KEMP
Liam Rātana and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Kia au tō moe, Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): Tāmaki Makaurau by-election: What happens next? (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Parliament unites in grief as tributes flow for Takutai Tarsh Kemp
Glenn McConnell and Bridie Witton (Stuff): Emotional tributes paid to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp
Maiki Sherman (1News): Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp dies
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (RNZ): 'Believe in you, believe in me, believe in Māori': Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp dead at 50
1News: Te Pāti Māori 'devastated' by passing of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, says Waititi
Te Ao Māori News: “A beautiful soul and gracious servant leader.” tributes flow for Te Pāti Māori MP, Takutai Moana Kemp
RNZ: Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp dies
David Farrar: RIP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp

PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Ministers cleared of fast-track conflicts – but schmoozing, party donations queried
David Fisher (Herald): Lawsuit targets Trevor Mallard’s use of ‘bad music’ and sprinklers to drive Parliament protesters away
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: ‘Mr Peters wants to call me a dickhead’
Neil Sands (Law News): Labour’s finance spokesperson coy on capital gains tax, rules out means-tested superannuation
Mahvash Ikram (Law News): Labour commits to reversing pay equity changes but won’t talk about funding
Audrey Young (Herald): Parliament in shock over unexpected death of MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp (paywalled)
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Front Page: Healthy Homes to golden visas: How Government’s July 1 changes could affect you
Anna Whyte (Post): Meet your new Chief Ombudsman John Allen (paywalled)
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): 'Carried on behalf of all of us': Northland iwi Ngātiwai defends the mana of moko

REGULATORY STANDARDS BILL
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Why a tiny Parliament crest on David Seymour’s ‘victim of the day’ posts has raised big questions
Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT): Personal attacks by minister also attacks on democracy (paywalled)
Natalia Albert: Public Money, Personal Attacks: A Line Crossed in NZ Politics

FAST-TRACK, ENVIRONMENT
RNZ: Iwi granted Waitangi Tribunal hearing into fast-tracked plans to mine seabed off Pātea
Jonny Osborne (Spinoff): Greater Wellington must stay the course on its freshwater quality rulebook
Madeleine Powers (Waikato Times): New seawall shedding plastic has Raglan locals ‘flabbergasted’ (paywalled)
David Williams (Newsroom): Chathams carbon forestry case settled out of court

HEALTH
RNZ: 'Postcode healthcare' persists - new report by government watchdog
Isaac Davison (Herald): Ending healthcare’s postcode lottery remains a distant dream (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Herald): New virtual GP service could offer cheaper consultation fees, angering family doctors (paywalled) v
ODT Editorial: New hospital waiting room (paywalled)
Nik Dirga (RNZ): Melatonin, ADHD medication and magic mushrooms - what are NZ's new changes in access to them?
Maddy Croad ((Press): ‘Only a matter of time’ before another ‘run it straight’ death, clinicians warn (paywalled)
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Seymour asleep at wheel as Kiwi medical innovator spreads wings
harlotte Bellis (Listener): The cost of giving birth: Aotearoa v Europe

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): Are regional councils on the chopping block?
Greg Severinsen (Post): Tread carefully on the future of regional councils (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Local government reform could mean reshaping, not ditching, regional councils (paywalled)
Nick James (RNZ): Council vote to pass Wellington's amended long-term plan
Tom Hunt (Post): Two plans, one park and a well-needed pause: Tory Whanau clears last major headache (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): 12% rates hike confirmed: But Wellington City finally has plans (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Brown not gloating over Auckland rates rise – 2026 looms higher
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Golf Wars 2: The golf course strikes back
RNZ: Problems with Auckland's Watercare bills after more than 13,000 smart meters not working
Tina Law (Press): Water meters, more chlorine-free taps on the way as council approves 6.6% rates hike (paywalled)
Tina Law (Press): Cathedral levy gone as Christchurch ratepayers face 6.6% rates increase (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Voters back bed tax, but cold on stadiums and second NRL team (paywalled)

INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING, RMA
Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News): Māori urged to engage on draft Infrastructure Plan - ‘Where the investment goes matters.’
RNZ: Housing makes 'a lot of sense' close to new Auckland train stations - Chris Bishop
Ethan Manera (Herald): Kāinga Ora could lose millions on Wellington site after housing plans scrapped (paywalled)
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Should this flood-prone land be listed for development? Councils differ
Jaimie Monk (The Conversation): Stable public housing in the first year of life boosts children’s wellbeing years down the track – new research

TRANSPORT
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): The test to get most bang for NZ’s bucks when building roads (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s $5.5b City Rail Link to open with 19,000 peak passengers, below earlier forecasts (paywalled)
RNZ: Auckland rail disruptions expected until Christmas, KiwiRail admits
Justin Wong (Post): Kāpiti Coast Council rejects proposed Māori names for former state highway (paywalled)
Hawkes Bay Today: Greg Murphy on plan to give full licence without second practical test: ‘That’s not economics, that’s just stupidity’

EDUCATION, CHILD WELFARE
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Little evidence of success for schools' truancy fund, data analysis shows
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Te Pūkenga disestablishment continues despite $16.6m surplus
Hanna McCallum (Post): Te Pūkenga ends 2024 in first ever surplus of $16.6m (paywalled)
Cate Macintosh (Press): ‘They are broken’: Ara sheds 23 jobs in plan to stand alone (paywalled)
Sereana Naepi & Peter Davis (Post): Free speech concern in universities is a manufactured crisis
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Weapons in schools are the canary in the mine
Maddy Croad (Press/Post): Dirty, hungry, and cold: Students in need getting ‘exponentially worse’
Maddy Croad (Press/Post): Dirty, hungry, and cold: 1 in 7 Kiwi children say their families lack money to buy food (paywalled)

BANKS
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Lawyer accuses Government of doing billion-dollar backroom deal with banks ahead of court case (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth: Poppycock and scaremongering to justify the unjustifiable (paywalled)
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Banks warn lending disclosure regulations threaten financial system
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): $600m in annual tourist spend at risk from regulation: Mastercard (paywalled)
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Kiwibank makes move into startup finance (paywalled)

BUSINESS
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Finance Minister Nicola Willis tells Sam Hayes she’s ready to use ‘financial stick’ on supermarkets
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Nicola Willis gives supermarkets two weeks to respond to pricing concerns (paywalled)
RNZ: Gender pay reversal identified by directors' fee survey

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Gianina Schwanecke (RNZ): Animal rights advocates renew calls to end colony-cage egg farms
Rob Stock (Post): Federated Farmers lays Worksafe complaint against Greenpeace (paywalled)
Monique Steele (RNZ): Ageing farm, orchard owners need succession to protect $150bn of assets - new report
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Land prices and social media threaten farmers’ succession plans
Blayne Slabbert (Press/Post): Family farm or family feud? Succession in rural NZ (paywalled)

ECONOMY, TAX
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Inland Revenue weighs up ways of hiking taxes to pay for ageing population
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Simon Watts willing to nix tax on non-profits, subject to Cabinet approval (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Opposition mounts to new tax for organisations
David Hargreaves (Interest): ASB economists now pick OCR to go no lower than 3.00%
Maria Slade (BusinessDesk): Monthly CPI reporting platform takes Stats NZ into the future (paywalled)

POPULATION, IMMIGRATION
Keith Woodford (Interest): New Zealand needs a population policy
Liu Chen (RNZ): ‘Torturous’ Parent Resident Visa ballots leave families in limbo
Ankur Sabharwal (Post): Parent Boost or Parent “Boot” visa – which will it be? (paywalled)

JUSTICE
Andrea Vance (Post): Rushed laws, legal aid crisis threaten justice system, new report warns
RNZ: New law to give victims final say over sex offenders' name suppressions
Louise Ternouth (RNZ): 'We were the silent victim' - children with parents in prison form new panel to help kids
David Harvey: The Harmful Digital Communications Act and "Deep Fakes"
David Harvey: The Privacy Paradox: Privacy and Crimes

ENERGY
Michael Sergel (Newstalk ZB): Power plan comparison: Electricity Authority to end support for Powerswitch, plans AI service
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: The double-whammy bill natural gas users have to pay
Tim Hunter (NBR): SolarZero investigation ‘ongoing and complex'

MEDIA
Norma Harris (Law Fuel): Precision, Propaganda, and the Plausible: A Lawyer’s Crusade Against Media Mischief
Shayne Currie (Herald): Paul Henry set to join TVNZ board in major shake-up; Hayley Holt’s new business career; Good magazine shelved; Jacinda Ardern book sales (paywalled)

OTHER
Mick Hall: More military spending looms after Luxon joins aggression-backers at NATO summit
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News/Press): Top academic says small towns, regions risk being ‘overlooked’ after Census scrapped (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Employers once more able to penalise workers for refusing extra duties (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We need leadership on the Ngāpuhi settlement
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Opposition mounts to new tax for organisations

Cartoons

Murdoch - The Post 27 June 2025

Emmerson - NZ Herald 27 June 2025

Emmerson - NZ Herald 21 June 2025