What each party wants to do with your taxes

With the election just weeks away, a new poll gives us a glimpse into how voters feel about one of the major topics this campaign season – tax.  No new taxes for working people. No new taxes full stop. Taxes for capital gains. Tax the rich. Tax inheritance. Tax landowners.  The campaign season’s …

Why this election could come down to the smaller parties

Parliament is officially over and now the gloves are coming off.   New Zealanders go to the polls on November 7, and between now and then we’re going to see the parties make their pitches, ramp up their attacks, and fight for every last vote.  The next 44 days will be filled with policy announcem…

What Nicky Hager’s Dirty Work alleges about the Taxpayers’ Union

Nicky Hager is back with a new book taking aim at one of the country’s most prominent lobby groups, the Taxpayers’ Union.  He alleges the organisation has played a key role in shifting New Zealand politics to the right, claiming they worked with the tobacco industry and focused on race-based campa…

How Reserve Bank mistakes fuelled New Zealand’s boom and bust

A damning report into the Reserve Bank’s actions during Covid, a backdown from Labour on landlord tax breaks, and a last look at the Government’s books before the election. That’s all ahead of the much-hyped release of a new book from Nicky Hager tonight. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jené…

Supermarket owners push back against break-up plans

Supermarket owners are fighting back as they find themselves firmly in the sights of almost all political parties. To recap, National and NZ First want to break up the Foodstuffs co-operative, while the Greens want to kickstart a government-owned supermarket. Labour has announced plans to split F…

Why it’s championship or bust for the Warriors

It’s do or die for the Warriors as they head into this weekend’s sudden death match against the Newcastle Knights with a spot in the preliminary final against the Penrith Panthers on the line.   Last weekend the Warriors seemed in control against the Dolphins before three late tries saw the visito…

Is an AI slowdown our next nuclear-free moment?

Should we put the brakes on AI?  Well, the bosses of some of the world's largest AI companies say we should.  Sam Altman and Elon Musk have both backed head of Anthropic Dario Amodei after he came out and said we need to slow the pace of AI development. He's warned that AI could become capable o…

How political parties plan to take on New Zealand’s supermarket giants

National and Labour have both unveiled new plans to shake up the supermarket sector.     National wants to investigate splitting Foodstuffs into two competing nationwide groups, while Labour is promising to make price gouging illegal – not just for supermarkets, but a range of essential goods and s…

Is politics costing NZ billions in wasted infrastructure planning?

Infrastructure shapes our daily lives, but some might think that it's too often planned election by election.  Infrastructure New Zealand wants to put an end to stop-start funding and shifting priorities, launching "Let's Build NZ".  The campaign promises to put choices in front of voters and rat…

Can’t afford KiwiSaver right now? Labour says your boss should still pay 6%

What we should do with KiwiSaver continues to be a hot topic this election season.   The latest party to throw their idea into the ring is Labour, which wants to lift the employer contribution rate to 6% by 2032.  They would also introduce compulsory employer contributions, even when employees ha…