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NZ report card 2025: How we fared in key global and domestic rankings
To borrow a phrase from old school reports: Shows great potential but needs to try harder, Alexander Gillespie writes.
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JD Vance tries to have it both ways on Nick Fuentes and antisemitism
23 Dec 2025Analysis - Vance could inherit a conservative movement that is increasingly riven over antisemitism and conspiracy theories in its midst.
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Parliament's year in numbers: Who spoke the most and how many bills were introduced?
21 Dec 2025Analysis: We look back at this year's Parliament in data, including just how much coffee fuels our democracy?
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Australia defeats words with actions to complete rapid Ashes romp
22 Dec 2025Anaylsis: In the pre-series furore, with England crowing and injury concerns mounting, Australia stayed quiet. Its response was emphatic.
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
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How Bondi shooters gained access to now-banned guns
Analysis: With Australia's strict gun laws, how was Sajid Akram able to legally own the gun he used to slaughter innocent people in Bondi on 14 December?
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Putin's brazen new tactics
Analysis: Undercover Russian personnel have been placed on board ships carrying the country's oil and they're spying on Europe, intelligence sources say.
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Takeaways from Trump's primetime address
19 Dec 2025In case there was any doubt, Trump made clear his message will continue to feature a heavy dose of the B-word: Biden.
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What is the BRICS ‘UNIT’ – and could it really challenge the US dollar?
18 Dec 2025At a major summit in Russia last year, a banknote was unveiled that carried more symbolism than monetary value.
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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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Falsehoods and deepfakes spread online after Bondi attack
A deepfake image depicting one of the victims is among a slew of false content spreading online.
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Trump chief of staff says president 'has an alcoholic's personality'
17 Dec 2025Analysis: From criticism of JD Vance to admitting Trump is out for retribution, here's what we learnt from Susie Wiles' unvarnished interviews.
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Intervene, run or hide? What to do during public violence like at Bondi
16 Dec 2025A man tackling a shooter has prompted the question of what the public need to do during attacks.
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Americans think Trump knew about Epstein's alleged crimes
Analysis: But it's not just a poll that suggests the public believes he has something to hide.
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Faster, cheaper … but better? The devil in the RMA reform detail
12 Dec 2025Anaylsis: When the government this week unveiled reforms to finally replace the RMA, many of us would have been glad to see the back of it, writes Bill McKay.
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Data reveals what crash delays really cost Auckland
11 Dec 2025Analysis - Rolling back speed limits ignores the hidden costs of delays caused by an increased number of crashes, Timothy Welch writes.
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Why the government shouldn't bring oral nicotine pouches to NZ
11 Dec 2025Tobacco and nicotine companies want to introduce oral nicotine pouches, claiming these are a "cleaner way to enjoy nicotine".
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Through the mill: Tokoroa’s tough year was about much more than job losses
Around the world, small towns built around a single industry or company are feeling the effects of decisions made far beyond their borders.
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Will NZ's new tertiary strategy encourage more entrepreneurs?
9 Dec 2025Universities and polytechnics are now expected to promote innovation, accelerate commercialisation and build significantly stronger entrepreneurial capabilities.
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How the internet has become worse - and how to fix it
Analysis: One theory explains how the internet became 'ensh**ified'. Audio
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Why your credit card rewards might shrink
Banks are scaling back credit card perks as regulators tighten the cap on interchange fees. Audio
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NZ rejecting emission targets risks international law breach
5 Dec 2025Analysis: The government rejected the Climate Change Commission's emissions target recommendations.
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Analysis: Can Andrew Coster come back from this?
4 Dec 2025Analysis - Writers had their fun calling it 'Coster's Last Stand', and like the general's doomed battle, it ended with a crushing fall, writes Craig McCulloch.
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No time to relax for Liam Lawson
4 Dec 2025Analysis: The New Zealand driver can probably afford to sit back and take a couple of deep breaths following the 2025 Formula 1 season, but he won't have long to relax, writes Barry Guy.
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Putin sends Trump's messengers packing
Analysis - The Russian president does not want a deal, and the sweetness of being begged is something he relishes. Audio
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What led Trump to pardon foreign leader convicted of flooding the US with drugs?
3 Dec 2025Analysis: US President Donald Trump says his country is at war with drug-smuggling "narco-terrorists".
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The clam invasion threatening our drinking water
2 Dec 2025Nothing prepared me for the rapid transformation unfolding in the Waikato River since the invasion of the Asian clam, Adam Hartland writes.
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The narrow window to stop the yellow-legged hornet
1 Dec 2025Unless New Zealand rapidly scales up its search effort, we could soon be confronting an incursion far tougher and costlier to stamp out.
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The Phillips tragedy is a chance to fix a broken system
28 Nov 2025When children go missing for years, the public has a right to understand if agencies acted with the necessary urgency and coordination, writes Anna Marie Brennan.
