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Politics headlines with summaries.
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Labour, National clash over what economic rebound shows
18 Dec 2025'Better times are ahead,' the finance minister says, while Labour is arguing things are still worse.
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Watch live: Nicola Willis responds as economy bounces into growth
18 Dec 2025More to come on this breaking story.
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Health NZ set 'efficiency targets' of $500m
17 Dec 2025The savings in back-office and procurement functions would be re-invested into patient care.
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MPs on Bondi: Divergence, messaging and word choice inside party responses
17 Dec 2025Parliament's week began with condolences for the Bondi attack, but their divergences and message choices said a lot.
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Labour has eight-point lead over National in latest poll
17 Dec 2025Labour has an eight-point lead over National in the latest The Post/Freshwater Strategy poll.
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Parliament adjourns for the year with barbed words
17 Dec 2025The prime minister likened Labour to "picked-over box of favourites", with the good ones gone and "most of them like a Cherry Ripe".
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Government pushes ahead with sale of Chorus debt
17 Dec 2025The plan is to free up money for capital projects.
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Controversial election law changes pass final reading in Parliament
17 Dec 2025The bill ends same-day voter enrolment, bans prisoners from voting, allows for larger anonymous political donations, and clarifies the ban on giving out food at voting places.
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Government pulls plug early on road cone hotline
17 Dec 2025Labour is calling it an 'absurd waste of public money' while the government is claiming victory.
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Pharmac scraps plan to cull applications for medicines unlikely to get funding
17 Dec 2025The government drug-funding agency had put forward a plan to remove some low-ranked medicines on its list of medications that it would like to fund.
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What NZ needs to watch as Australia reforms gun laws after the Bondi terror attack
17 Dec 2025Analysis - The Bondi terror attack on Sunday has seen Australian federal, state and territory governments agree to the biggest overhaul of firearms regulations since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
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Overturned board election fires up concerns over postal voting
17 Dec 2025A judge has ordered a new election to take place for seats an Auckland board over manipulation of voting papers. Audio
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Economists forecast tough calls to get books back to black
17 Dec 2025Experts say the government is stuck between a rock and a hard place off the back of Treasury's latest economic forecasts. Audio
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Focus on closing achievement gap for tamariki working - Stanford
17 Dec 2025However, there is nothing stopping schools continuing to emphasise te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Education Minister says.
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How changes to the foreign buyers ban will work
17 Dec 2025Explainer - New Zealand's ban on overseas buyers of real estate has been softened - but there's one rather large catch. Audio
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Transport subsidies for elderly and disabled people reduced
16 Dec 2025The Total Mobility scheme provides discounted taxis and public transport fares for those with long-term impairments.
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Finance minister hits back at criticisms from Labour and Taxpayer Union
16 Dec 2025Nicola Willis has mounted a defence of her "deliberate, medium-term" strategy, and attacked her opponents on both the left and the right.
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Earthquake strengthening law changes pass first reading
16 Dec 2025Buildings under three storeys and in towns with under 10,000 people will not need strengthening, remediation or warning notices.
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Willis v Richardson debate unlikely to go ahead
16 Dec 2025Ruth Richardson says she "will not be party to a circus or a sideshow designed to distract from fiscal failure".
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Mega ministry merger: Bishop can't say how many jobs will be lost
16 Dec 2025A plan was unveiled today to merge housing, transport, and local government functions into one ministry.
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Legislation to replace RMA sent to Environment Select Committee
16 Dec 2025The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill, which set out a new system putting more emphasis on property rights, passed their first readings Tuesday afternoon.
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Warning from Willis as government finances get gloomier
The Finance Minister says agencies and ministers will need to manage "with little or no additional funding".
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'No quick fixes' for high visitor numbers at iconic sites
16 Dec 2025Car parking fees are being trialled from this week at three major sites.
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Government books bleaker as surplus gets further away
The government's financial position is looking worse for longer with a delay in getting to surplus and bigger deficits, according to new Treasury forecasts.
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