A collage shows people walking together holding woven bags, a group seated outdoors being filmed by media crews, and a press conference with speakers and microphones. Text reads "WAITANGI 2026.

Photos: Getty Images; Hayden Donnell

PoliticsFebruary 5, 2026

Live updates from Waitangi: Luxon’s speech met with boos and heckles

Staff writers

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A collage shows people walking together holding woven bags, a group seated outdoors being filmed by media crews, and a press conference with speakers and microphones. Text reads "WAITANGI 2026.

Photos: Getty Images; Hayden Donnell

All the news from Waitangi as it happens.

Breton Dukes, author of Party Boy, pays homage to some good blokes in his confessional.

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'These three men have shifted my inner writing landscape.'

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 18th March, 2026

Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon. (Image: Tina Tiller)

New poll offers solace for Luxon, but election hangs by a thread

The PM will be relieved after ‘near hysterical’ flurry, despite a new survey pointing to a hung parliament.

By Toby Manhire | 18th March, 2026

Editor-at-large

Design: Tina Tiller

Pour one out for these soon-to-be-departed Wattie’s products

Grab your tissues and a piping hot mug of Gregg's Red Ribbon Roast, it's the end of an era for some heroes of the Kiwi kitchen.

By Tara Ward | 18th March, 2026

How’s it going down there? (Image: Tina Tiller)

Checking in with Bluff oyster season

How’s it going down there?

By Emma Gleason | 18th March, 2026

Contributing writer

Finance minister Nicola Willis during her 1pm Iran economic response update in her Beehive office, March 16, 2026. (Photo: Mark Mitchell /New Zealand Herald via Getty Images)

Deja vu at the Beehive: How the fuel crisis might transform the government’s fortunes

Jacinda Ardern's handling of a crisis led to a landslide win for Labour. Could a little of that magic wear off on Nicola Willis?

By Catherine McGregor | 18th March, 2026

Contributing writer

Image by Tina Tiller

‘I feel like I have no future’: Calls to scrap ‘ageist’ student loan policies in challenging job market

With one in three Jobseeker beneficiaries now over the age of 50, there are calls for the government to scrap 'ageist' student loan policies.

By Alex Casey | 18th March, 2026

An example of how oil might get from the UAE to New Zealand.

New Zealand’s petrol supply is terrifyingly fragile

How can New Zealand protect its energy independence in an era of war?

By Joel MacManus | 18th March, 2026

Chris Hipkins choked up when asked about his children

Chris Hipkins and Jade Paul: How the personal became public and political

Confusion swirled around claims and denials.

By Veronica Schmidt | 18th March, 2026

From left to right: Pip Wheaton, Martha Jeffries, John Lang and Marc Daadler seated in Ngā Pou Ruahine which has stunning artwork by Darcy Nicholas (Te Āti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Hauā).

The inaugural talk at Wellington’s library was a plea to normalise climate conversations

'Will our species survive the climate crisis? That’s a good story...'

By Claire Mabey | 17th March, 2026

Politics

Nicola Willis and the emergency. Image: Tina Tiller

Live: Nicola Willis gives the fuel crisis the full 1pm briefing treatment

Strap in for Covid-91.

By Toby Manhire | 17th March, 2026

Editor-at-large

How car parks became a new frontline in the intensification war

An obscure regulation that makes a surprisingly big difference to the future of New Zealand cities is now under review.

By Joel MacManus | 16th March, 2026

The legal challenge to New Zealand’s ‘incoherent’ climate plan, explained

A group of lawyers has taken the government to court, alleging its scrapping of climate policies was unlawful and its new plan is inadequate.

By Shanti Mathias | 16th March, 2026

Are Luxon’s struggles special, or is he a victim of a global incumbency curse?

Do we really hate them all?

By Toby Manhire | 16th March, 2026

It was a good week for… Mark Mitchell’s love life

The police and corrections minister has always been a strong supporter of the three strikes law. Now that he's on wife number four, he's eligible for a lifetime sentence.

By Joel MacManus | 13th March, 2026