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Comment & Analysis
Comment & Analysis headlines with summaries.
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The Sampler: What to listen to this week
16 Feb 2025Irish singer Julie Dawson goes synth-pop and local slowcore band Soda Boyz take the scenic route.
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How a war on 'woke banking' could backfire on NZ
Analysis: NZ First's "woke banking" bill - takes aim at efforts to build sustainability concepts into investment practices, Martien Lubberink writes.
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With billions in ‘profit’ exempt from tax, changes to NZ’s charity rules are long overdue
19 Feb 2025The profit made on every breakfast bowl of weet-bix is tax exempt, giving the church-owned Sanitarium Health Food Company an advantage over other breakfast food companies. But this could be about to…
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What a 'Tradwife' on Married at First Sight tells us about a growing trend
17 Feb 2025Why is being a tradwife growing in popularity, and how has it become so marketable?
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NZ faces dilemma as Trump demands more defence spending
Analysis: Everywhere Trump's "eye of Sauron" lands, ructions follow - Gaza, Ukraine, Europe. Next up, will it be this side of the world? Audio
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'Ghost guns': NZ yet to act on three big legal gaps
17 Feb 2025'Ghost guns' created with 3D-printers are already posing a significant challenge in overseas jurisdictions, and it's an issue New Zealand can not ignore.
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As new charter schools open, we still know too little about how they worked last time
14 Feb 2025The evidence is mixed, according to an evaluation of eight charter schools undertaken for the Ministry of Education.
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Trump's bid for economic self-sufficiency harder than it seems, history shows
In a global market that relies on international trade, is it possible to be totally self-sufficient?
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Explainer: What is Elon Musk's DOGE? And is he orchestrating a coup?
16 Feb 2025Elon Musk's DOGE has been making global headlines recently, but, what is this new agency - so why has the world's richest person decided to centre himself in US politics?
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Musk shows why he's such a powerful ally for Trump
13 Feb 2025Analysis - Elon Musk's Oval Office address shows why he's a menacing foe for the US government and why Donald Trump is playing with fire.
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KiwiSaver shake-up's risks could outweigh the rewards
3 Feb 2025Analysis - The government has proposed changes to make it easier to invest in private assets. But does that come with dangers?
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Bad Bunny has a lot to say (about more than Kendall Jenner)
2 Feb 2025Opinion - Latin superstar Bad Bunny's new album is a love letter to Puerto Rico - not what you'd expect from a gargantuan pop release.
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What exactly is Elon Musk doing with the US government?
2 Feb 2025Analysis- Americans don't know the full extent of what Elon Musk is doing as he embeds alongside US President Donald Trump at the top of the federal government.
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Treaty bill's promise of 'equal rights' ignores democracy's blind spots
31 Jan 2025This rhetorical and ideological vagueness obscures a pivotal point: there is no such thing as a singular form of democracy, writes Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll.
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Media in the middle of diplomatic drama
9 Feb 2025Mediawatch -Trump's alarmed the world with trade tariffs, turning off aid and proposing to take over Gaza. But New Zealand's had diplomatic drama in the news too - with the media in the middle of it.
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Trump's 'God squad' holds increasing sway at White House
9 Feb 2025Analysis - Donald Trump said at his inauguration that he had been "saved by God." Now he appears to be returning the favour with an increasingly conservative, religious focus in his second term as US…
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If Luxon hoped to avoid Waitangi controversy, it backfired
7 Feb 2025Analysis - The prime minister's attendance at Ōnuku marae saw protest, distraction and delay. And it underlined his absence in the north. Audio
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Why New Zealand's latest climate pledge lacks 'good faith'
7 Feb 2025Analysis: The Paris Agreement requires nations to provide a new pledge every five years, and New Zealand's latest just meets the bare minimum increase.
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Why Trump's Gaza plan spells trouble for his Arab allies
Analysis - Simply put, the US president's apparent policy flip on Gaza - in the views of most Middle East leaders - is in no one's best interests. Not theirs, not the Palestinians' - not even Trump's.
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LA fires: 'Those who have chosen to stay are dusting off the ashes'
5 Feb 2025First person - "It is somewhat of a miracle that more people were not killed", a Kiwi journalist describes what it was like to witness the LA fires.
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If the govt wants science to have an economic impact, it has to fund it
30 Jan 2025Opinion - Success will depend on how they are implemented and, most of all, on the sector receiving sufficient funding.
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Analysis: NZ will struggle as 'digital oligarchy' grows
29 Jan 2025Companies like Meta, Google and Microsoft now operate beyond the control of most governments.
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How personalities and misunderstandings can drive foreign aid
Opinion - We are seeing power plays from the US, but it is surprising from New Zealand, writes Sione Tekiteki.
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Why Kiwis are squeamish about privatisation
Analysis - State asset sales have been a political dividing line for decades now, and it seems voters are again being asked to decide which side they're on. Audio
Top News stories
- Councillor opens up about cyberstalking experience, calls for stronger laws
- Peters denies NZ First's constitution has same diversity requirements as public service
- Russian missile attack on central Ukraine kills one person, injures five, local officials say
- Matamata College student dies after being hit by train
- Greenland's pro-business opposition wins election amid Trump control pledge
