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Comment & Analysis
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
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Boklash: How it all went horribly wrong for the All Blacks
14 Sep 2025Things were actually looking pretty promising at Sky Stadium - until they very much weren't, writes Jamie Wall.
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Luxon leaves Pacific Islands Forum with assurances on peace
12 Sep 2025Analysis: The prime minister believes the freshly signed Ocean of Peace as a framework for unity among countries in the region.
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Charlie Kirk's death lays bare deep US political divisions
11 Sep 2025Analysis: Conservatives will be seething and blaming liberals, while Democrats largely keep to a more reserved tone.
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Analysis: Why comparing NZ's economy to Singapore or Ireland is simplistic and misleading
10 Sep 2025The two countries are rare winners in the global race to the bottom to attract foreign capital.
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Why Murdoch family's hold on empire is vulnerable
Analysis - Rupert Murdoch's family has always been close. But if you really want to trace the extent of filial and sibling affection, you have to follow the money.
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Tāmaki Makaurau by-election: A race marked by tributes
8 Sep 2025The tragic death of Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp defined much of the campaign for the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election, writes Lillian Hanly.
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'War or peace': Which direction is China headed?
Analysis - Many watching in capitals across the West, including Donald Trump, thought their messaging was clear.
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New online gambling laws could deal a bad hand to NZ’s grassroots sports clubs
4 Sep 2025Analysis: Each year, around $170 million flows from gaming machine profits back into communities - keeping sports clubs alive.
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China's message to the West
Analysis: The leaders of China, Russia, North Korean and Iran are meeting for a huge military parade.
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Opinion: Amazon gives up building its own Auckland data centre, as power prices soar
3 Sep 2025The aborted construction of Amazon's west Auckland data centre shows just how much has changed in four years.
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Trump's health and the secret history of presidential cover-ups
Analysis - While his doctors say Donald Trump is in good health, history is riddled with tales of presidential illness kept secret.
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NZ's shift to more private healthcare will likely raise costs and reduce quality
Analysis: Studies show public healthcare is more likely to lead to better health outcomes, and diverting public funds to private healthcare erodes the quality of public care.
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No excuse for mushroom murderer's inhumane prison conditions
27 Aug 2025Opinion: A principle of modern democracies where the rule of law prevails is that people are sent to prison as punishment - not for punishment, writes Thalia Anthony.
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Next steps for RNZ in ever-changing media landscape
27 Aug 2025Radio listening remains an essential part of RNZ, even as it adapts to ever-changing audience needs, chief executive Paul Thompson writes.
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NCEA reform: Who takes an academic or vocational path?
27 Aug 2025If introduced, the reform would effectively see New Zealand return to a "tracking" system where students are grouped into two pathways.
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Why an attempt to lower electricity prices could end up doing the opposite
Analysis: The Electricity Authority's plan to lower prices rests on a naïve understanding of how New Zealand's electricity market works.
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Treasury has a great cost-benefit calculator for big-spending projects - we just need to use it better
Analysis: What is the true value of a policy project? For governments tasked with improving citizens' lives while spending taxpayers' money responsibly, this is no mere academic question. It lies at…
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Lies, damn lies and parliamentary debate
24 Aug 2025Analysis - Mendacity is the bane of good debate. In Parliament both lies and claims of lies used to be naughty, but the floodgates may have opened on the latter.
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What’s a ‘black moon’? Here’s why it’s worth looking up at the sky this week
22 Aug 2025While you've probably heard of a "blue moon" before, this might be the first time you've encountered its ominous-sounding counterpart.
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Kiwi kids see marketing for unhealthy products 76 times a day
21 Aug 2025Media headlines, industry figures and research confirm what many parents suspect: marketing to children has not only grown in scale but also in sophistication.
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Why Putin is not ready to meet with Zelensky, and may never be
Analysis: The Russian President has no reason to acquiesce at this point. Having made zero concessions, he has seen payoffs including the summit in Alaska.
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We've been sending animals to space for decades - yet there's still no rules to protect them
Analysis: As space exploration expands, the absence of legal protections for animals becomes increasingly problematic.
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Who'll win the Rugby World Cup? We ran 10,000 simulations
20 Aug 2025Analysis: So where does that leave the defending champions, the Black Ferns?
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Donbas: The object of Putin's desire and the crux Ukraine war
As negotiations over a potential deal to end the war intensify, much of the discussion has centred around a part of the country's east.
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