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Comment & Analysis
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
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The Week in Politics: 'Outrageous' spending and traffic light settings
17 Dec 2021Analysis - Parliament's final week was marked by decisions on traffic light settings, a scathing report on rents paid by MSD, and fresh revelations around MPs behaving badly, writes Peter Wilson.
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New Zealand's Defence Assessment and its Pacific future
15 Dec 2021Analysis - Victoria University Professor of Strategic Studies Robert Ayson breaks down the Pacific trends informing New Zealand's 2021 Defence Assessment.
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'What unites us is stronger than what divides us' - Race Relations Commissioner
15 Dec 2021Opinion - Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon is calling for unity as contentious conversations heat up over the summer holidays.
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Will abuse in care inquiry's report spur reformation of political culture?
15 Dec 2021Opinion - The biggest-ever official inquiry in New Zealand history finds itself fast approaching midlife, with all the strengths and natural disadvantages that age confers, writes David Cohen.
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New Caledonia's indepedence vote a hollow victory that will ratchet up tensions
13 Dec 2021Analysis - New Caledonia had a contentious independence referendum, marred by low voter turn out. Pacific expert [David Robie examines the result.
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The Week in Politics: Christopher Luxon's first test
10 Dec 2021Analysis - Christopher Luxon goes head-to-head with Jacinda Ardern; the government unveils a new strategy to combat family and sexual violence; and a world-leading plan to ban tobacco sales is…
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China strategy dominates New Zealand's foreign policy year
Analysis - New Zealand's ambiguous China strategy was successful in 2021, but the stakes are getting higher and higher, writes Geoffrey Miller.
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NZ needs a royal commission into its Covid-19 response
10 Dec 2021Opinion - The National Party's recent call for a royal commission of inquiry into NZ's pandemic response may have been part of a political strategy, but there are good, non-political reasons for…
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The uninvited Christmas guest: is New Zealand prepared for Omicron’s inevitable arrival?
8 Dec 2021Opinion - As New Zealand gets ready for the festive season under the new traffic light system, the emergence of the Omicron variant is a reminder this pandemic is far from over.
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Australian PM behind in polls and beset by division, faces tough road to re-election
6 Dec 2021Analysis - A chaotic parliament session has left Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking a reset as his conservative coalition trails in opinion polls and infighting derails his legislative…
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Why France faces so much anger in West Africa
6 Dec 2021Analysis - Africa Programme's Paul Melly break down where things gone have wrong for France in West Africa and why the European nation appears so unpopular in Africa.
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The Week in Politics: Lighting up a new era
3 Dec 2021Analysis - The traffic lights are switched on and New Zealanders are finding their way into the new Covid-19 era. The vaccination rate nudges 90 percent and National's new leader sets off a media…
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Opinion: Verification will be essential for vaccine passes
2 Dec 2021Opinion - Venue operators should scan vaccine passes to lift confidence it is legitimate, otherwise, it is simply too easy to fake a vaccine pass, writes Andrew Chen.
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Covid-19: Seeds of vaccine mistrust sown by neglect of Northland
5 Dec 2021Analysis - Vaccination rates are slow in Te Tai Tokerau, where government neglect of the region has created fertile ground for mistrust, writes RNZ reporter Nita Blake-Persen.
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Can Christopher Luxon survive long enough for his party to unite?
30 Nov 2021Analysis - It is only thanks to the cloak and dagger politics Luxon's colleagues engaged in over the past three years that someone with barely a year in parliament can take the helm, writes Tim Watkin…
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Can New Zealanders be confident about ethics in public service?
1 Dec 2021Analysis - New Zealand has a reputation for being transparent and free from corruption - but how true is this really?
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Can the former Air NZ boss make National straighten up and fly right?
30 Nov 2021Analysis - Massey University Professor of Politics Richard Shaw breaks down the uphill battle Christopher Luxon faces as he leads the National Party into a new era.
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As Aucklanders anticipate holiday trips, Māori leaders ask people to stay away
30 Nov 2021Analysis - By travelling to areas with low vaccination rates among Māori we risk tragedy in places - anyone choosing to go on holiday should have a plan, researchers write.
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Chris Luxon front runner as National Party seeks saviour
29 Nov 2021Power Play - Some believe Luxon could have a better shot at uniting a caucus riven with distrust and resentment after its most recent bout of self-flagellation, writes Jane Patterson.
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Week in Politics: What was Judith Collins really thinking?
26 Nov 2021Analysis - Judith Collins loses the National Party leadership after disciplining Simon Bridges, the prime minister sets 3 December as "freedom day" and there's a mixed reaction to plans for re-opening…
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How Collins crushed her own leadership
25 Nov 2021Power Play: The expectation was Judith Collins would be rolled by the next election, but it was her own actions that precipitated a pre-Christmas bloodletting, Political Editor Jane Patterson writes.
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Collins may be gone but NZ's search for a credible, viable opposition is not over
25 Nov 2021Analysis: When Shane Reti replaced Judith Collins at the helm of New Zealand's National Party today, he became the fifth National leader Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has faced.
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Collins and Bridges: MP disputes should allow some natural justice
26 Nov 2021Analysis - In the wake of the National Party's unceremonious toppling of leader Judith Collins, former ministerial adviser Brigitte Morten argues the case for utilising natural justice in party…
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Are New Zealand’s universities doing enough to define the limits of academic freedom?
23 Nov 2021Misinformation is incompatible with performing a role as critic and conscience of society Matheson Russell writes for The Conversation.
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