Navigation for News Categories
Comment & Analysis
Featured Comment & Analysis stories
A year after recommendation to abolish time limits on abuse cases nothing has changed
Without that reform, survivors of historic abuse remain vulnerable to being turned away by the legal system - not because their experiences aren't credible, but because the law still treats them as being out of time.
-
How Trump used America's power to get what he wanted
1 Aug 2025Analysis - At the core of the trade war is a consistent concept: leverage.
-
Kingmaker: The growing influence of libertarian tech titan Peter Thiel
1 Aug 2025The billionaire PayPal founder is building a new political order, part startup, part strongman state.
-
Census changes threaten visibility of rainbow communities
31 Jul 2025There are no sources of administrative data that include adequate rainbow demographic markers such as sexual orientation, gender, transgender experience or…
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
-
NZ is prepared to take ‘further action’ over the Gaza crisis – here are 5 options
30 Jul 2025International pressure and condemnation of Israel's actions has been increasing, with news and images of malnourished and starving Palestinians now hard to avoid.
-
How should a company deal with a scandal like the Coldplay kiss cam?
When a scandal goes viral - as it recently did at a Coldplay concert - companies face nuanced challenges in a new era of crisis communication.
-
Trump's trade war victory is already under siege
30 Jul 2025Analysis: The economy was supposed to crumble. The trade war was expected to escalate out of control. Markets were forecast to plunge. None of that happened - at least, not yet.
-
Butter wars: 'Nothing cures high prices like high prices'
25 Jul 2025Analysis - But solving the problem is not a matter of waving a magic economic wand.
-
Auckland FC's women's A-League team still in limbo
25 Jul 2025Analysis - Why has the Australian Professional Leagues taken so long to confirm the worst kept secret in football?
-
Energy reform has to go beyond cheaper off-peak power
24 Jul 2025The spotlight is again on New Zealand's energy sector, with a group of industry bodies and independent retailers pushing for a market overhaul.
-
Auckland is NZ's 'primate city', but its potential remains caged in
23 Jul 2025Analysis: When a "primate city" is mismanaged, it reveals our fundamental misunderstanding of how modern economies work.
-
Do countries have a duty to prevent climate harm?
23 Jul 2025The world's highest court is about to answer this crucial question.
-
The end of open-plan classrooms: how school design reflects changing ideas
Depending on who you ask, these classrooms were an opportunity to foster collaboration and flexibility or an exercise in organised chaos.
-
Five big questions about Trump's ties to Epstein
20 Jul 2025Analysis - A Wall Street Journal report earlier this week added new scrutiny to President Donald Trump's relationship with the late sex offender.
-
Why have foreign investment rule changes had so little scrutiny?
21 Jul 2025Analysis: If the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill becomes law, it could have far-reaching consequences.
-
Watch: First video of Earth's surface lurching sideways in quake
21 Jul 2025Analysis - The footage sheds new light on just how earthquakes work. Video
-
New Barbie has type 1 diabetes
The doll comes with a visible insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor, devices many people with diabetes rely on.
-
Who are the Druze and why is Israel bombing Syria to protect them?
Explainer: Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority.
-
Trump tries to rewrite history on being 'fooled' by Putin
Analysis: It remains to be seen just how lasting and severe President Donald Trump's turn against Vladimir Putin will be. Audio
-
Analysis: ACT's campaign calculus
14 Jul 2025The party's challenge this term has been - and remains - how to stand apart from its coalition partners without pulling apart the government. Audio
-
Music is at the forefront of AI disruption, but NZ artists still have few protections
14 Jul 2025Analysis: Was the recent Velvet Sundown phenomenon a great music and media hoax, a sign of things to come, or just another example of what's already happening ?
-
Where next for Regulatory Standards Bill?
11 Jul 2025Anaylsis: Critics of David Seymour's controversial bill are in for disappointment. Audio
-
NZ's new AI strategy: Big tech dreams, small safeguards
13 Jul 2025While the government talks up AI-driven productivity, its strategy offers little protection for jobs, ethics, or equity. Audio
-
Why real 'de-extinction' is unlikely to fly
11 Jul 2025The announcement that New Zealand's moa nunui (giant moa) is the next "de-extinction" target has caused widespread alarm among scientists.
-
Rugby headgear can't prevent concussion - but new materials could soften the blows
11 Jul 2025Analysis - "Isotropic" materials could potentially reduce the impact forces experienced by players.
-
How will NZ pay the higher premiums for defence spending?
Analysis: Defence spending is like insurance - you have to pay for it but you hope you never have to use it.
-
What happens when people want to quit vaping?
8 Jul 2025One suggests many New Zealanders are now trying to quit nicotine vapes, and some face real barriers to doing so.
-
Fast-track mining projects: The hard questions NZ must ask about the claimed economic benefits
7 Jul 2025Analysis: The claims of economic benefits from fast tracking mining projects need to be scrutinised closely, and if those benefits don't stack up, any adverse environmental impacts become harder to…
Top News stories
- Father of man found dead on Wellington's waterfront says safety balustrades a step in the right direction
- Forest & Bird slams reform as 'conservation retreat', but minister defends economic push
- Mediawatch: The politics of PayWave
- Car hits pedestrians on Auckland's Queen Street, two arrested
- 'You could read the news and not know anything about te reo Māori'