Thomas Coughlan: Nicola Willis tells Labour there’s a new sheriff in town
There’s very much a new sheriff in town. And the differences don’t stop there. Willis has funded this…
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon survives gruelling days at Parliament – Thomas Coughlan
This week is a Parliamentary sitting week, which means Luxon, who shuns media more often than his predecessors,…
As Middle East erupts into conflict, Christopher Luxon struggles to articulate where New Zealand stands – Thomas Coughlan
But taking questions on his Monday morning media round, and later at his post-Cabinet press conference, Luxon struggled…
Thomas Coughlan: The art of the U-turn – National’s big transport dilemma, and Labour’s pay equity conundrum
Bishop was clearly too integral to these projects to be dismissed, and so he stayed, earning gongs from…
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…