Thomas Coughlan: Act prepares for state of the nation, but what’s the state of Act?
As leader David Seymour heads to Christchurch this weekend to discourse on the state of the nation, an…
What’s behind Peeni Henare’s decision to quit, and the Government’s plan to welcome a very powerful visitor – Thomas Coughlan
And while MPs, diplomats and lobbyists were able to temporarily emancipate themselves from the turgid waft of stewing…
Thomas Coughlan: Chris Hipkins and Nicola Willis go to war over who broke the economy
The annual debate on the Prime Minister’s statement is one of the few parliamentary fixtures that live up…
National MPs’ angst over housing crash as Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins mull reshuffles – Thomas Coughlan
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon turned over a new leaf at the end of last year when he fled…
What the last week of the political year tells us about 2026 election and Christopher Luxon’s life-changing defection – Thomas Coughlan
Since the Reserve Bank began cutting interest rates in August last year, the Herald has noted economic forecasts…
Government gets its way with new planning reforms – Thomas Coughlan
The reforms include binning the Resource Management Act (RMA) and replacing it with a Planning Act and a…
Labour knows exactly what’s wrong with New Zealand; it doesn’t know what kind of Labour Party to be to fix it — Thomas Coughlan
The Labour Party of 2025 is no such opposition. It assembled in Auckland a year away from what…
Regional councils aren’t being abolished, territorial authorities are being amalgamated (eventually) – Thomas Coughlan
The full story, when it came out in an embargoed press briefing at 2.30pm, was both less and…
National is still fighting the last war and risks losing the next one – Thomas Coughlan
The Ipsos Issues Monitor is unlike other polls. Conducted four times a year, it asks voters which issues…
John Tamihere will need to do something he’s never done before if he wants to survive – Thomas Coughlan
That MP was John Tamihere. By the time the next election rolled around, that new, separate Māori Party…
It’s a National leader’s job to kill CGTs, is Christopher Luxon up to it? – Thomas Coughlan
Normally, tax fights die the moment the ink dries. This one didn’t. Labour’s ban on interest deductions –…
Author Rachel Weston finds joy and biodiversity in chaos gardening
While writing it, she realised she wasn’t a superwoman who could maintain a picture-perfect garden, manage a busy…