GOVERNMENT
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): David Seymour runs the risk of taking things too far (paywalled)
Janet Wilson (The Post): Luxon wields his power, but now has to confront his limits (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (The Post): Luxon does what he said he would ‒ in a way only he could (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon takes a leaf from Yellowstone in dealing to under-performing ministers (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial: Christopher Luxon shows a ruthless side few thought he had by axing poor performing ministers (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Listener): Why pay an MP $249,839 when they’re not up to it? (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Newstalk): A Reluctant Revolutionary? (paywalled)
Moana Maniapoto (E-Tangata): Tama Potaka: Te Tiriti is fundamental to our country
Jason Walls (Newstalk): Shades of the Smiling Assassin – Luxon’s sackings a warning shot to Ministers (paywalled)
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Government six-month report card: Is the coalition on the right track? (paywalled)
Grant Duncan: This is how heads roll: did Luxon take a leaf out of Machiavelli's The Prince?
Isaac Gunson (Whakaata Māori): Christopher Luxon blasts Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s claim of misogynistic demotions
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Willie Jackson slams Christopher Luxon's demotion of Melissa Lee weeks after calling her 'useless', 'stupid' and 'incompetent'
Jack Tame (Newtalk): Undermining a greater issue
Greg Dixon (Listener): The PM and the busted flush (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): The demotion of ministers Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds sets a standard that may be difficult to sustain
Whakaata Māori: David Seymour on Waitangi Tribunal, school lunches and euthanasia
Laszlo Szollosi-Cira: Government reshuffle: two overlooked aspects
Audrey Young (Herald): The remarkable comeback of Paul Goldsmith; PM’s shock reshuffle completely justified (paywalled)
Newshub: Trish Sherson praises PM Christopher Luxon's handling of Melissa Lee, Penny Simmonds' sacking
1News: National 'resolute' on Treaty Principles Bill stance - minister
David Farrar: Coalition Operating Agreement
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Act-National tensions worsening (paywalled)
PAULA BENNETT APPOINTMENT TO PHARMAC
RNZ: Former Deputy PM Paula Bennett appointed Pharmac board chair
1News: Former National minister named Pharmac board chairperson
Thomas Manch (The Post): Paula Bennett appointed chairperson of Pharmac (paywalled)
FAST-TRACK BILL
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): FastTrackWatch: The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
RNZ: Fast-track bill could affect NZ's reputation - Transparency International
Ellen Rykers: ‘The worst piece of law proposed since 1979’: Reactions to the Fast-track Approvals Bill
Vernon Small (Sunday Star Times): Government may be on a fast-track to trouble (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Govt repeats mistakes of Muldoon’s authoritarian excesses
Mark John (ODT): Iwi mulling fast-track bids (paywalled)
Greg Presland (The Standard): This is fine
Andrew Gunn: Fast-Track Bill Renamed After Making Trains Seem Cool (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Transpower says fast-track bill needs to ensure access to grid and changes to reduce litigation (paywalled)
GREENS
Herald: James Shaw admits he came ‘really close’ to quitting during his career
RNZ: Green co-leader James Shaw came 'very close' to resigning as minister under Labour govt
Shilpy Arora (1News): Outgoing Green MP James Shaw says he nearly resigned ministerial post while in government
1News: James Shaw reveals he nearly quit ministerial post while in govt
Jack Tame (Newstalk): The legacy of James Shaw
1News: James Shaw claims Greens in a 'good place' despite MP scandals
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Julie Jacobson (The Post): The country’s eyes, ears and voices - meet New Zealand’s diplomats (paywalled)
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): NZ scrambles for trade - is China out, AUKUS in? (paywalled)
Herald: What would one of our top diplomats make of Aukus?
Thomas Manch (The Post): The Aukus question: What could New Zealand really sign up for? (paywalled)
K Gurunathan (The Post): The thread between Aukus, geopolitics, rogue spies and Kiwi racism (paywalled)
Ben Leahy (Herald): Winston Peters’ Anzac Day Gallipoli speech borrows from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (paywalled)
Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): Did Christopher Luxon land the right moves in Southeast Asia? (paywalled)
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: How NZ can contain China (paywalled)
Benn Bathgate (The Post): Above the law - Inside the world of the gun-toting fake diplomats (paywalled)
Teuila Fuatai (E-Tangata): Winston Peters’ contradictory foreign policy in the Pacific
ECONOMY, BUSINESS AND BANKS
Luke Malpass (The Post): Nicola Willis: Inflation still top priority as NZ grows poorer (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (The Post): Small rise in unemployment expected to belie ‘brutal’ patches in jobs market (paywalled)
Virginia Fallon and Kevin Norquay (The Post): Rage vs wage: Bosses battle Gen Zers over workplace rights (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Economic confidence falls to gloomy GFC levels — finally (paywalled)
Herald: New Zealand supermarket sector shake-up - independent store in Hamilton set to open
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): The NZ ties to an alleged $100m fraud in China (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial – Greying of the workforce (paywalled)
PUBLIC SERVICE
Anna Whyte (The Post): What next for the public service? (paywalled)
Kelly Dennett (The Post): Could AI fill the backroom the Government is desperate to cut? (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (The Post): Ex public servant has no regrets on leaking health data (paywalled)
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Where to axe – which agencies have the most senior leaders? (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (The Post): Who knew what: The Suicide Prevention Office (paywalled)
PARLIAMENT
Thomas Manch (The Post): Luxon moves on, as Labour tries to sink knife deeper (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (The Post): Hipkins says ministerial demotion isn’t enough (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Lending and planning rules, emergency response, three strikes
Johnny Blades (RNZ): Fish and quiz: The many uses of written parliamentary questions
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Days of drama and demotions
MEDIA
Haimona Gray: How to fix media distrust and our increasingly partisan culture
Barrie Saunders: Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Stuff): TVNZ hints at digital Fair Go return, Willie Jackson attempting Parliament media summit
David Harvey: Lessons from "The Newsroom"
The Post: Stuff Group paywall revamp wins international award
Tracy Watkins (The Post): A leap of faith turns into next steps as The Post chalks up its first year (paywalled)
Julie Jacobson (The Post): Dropping the D-word: The Post a year on (paywalled)
RNZ: Fixing a screen industry in crisis
Miriam Bell (The Post): Postal rate increases add to media crisis ‒ MPA (paywalled)
FREE SPEECH DEBATES
Grant Duncan: University challenged – and found wanting
Erin Gourley (The Post): Victoria University postpones ‘challenging’ free speech event (paywalled)
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Free speech vs hate speech: Victoria University postpones debate after student backlash
Newshub: Postponing Victoria University free speech event 'tragi-comic' - David Seymour
David Farrar: Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
Newstalk: 'Travesty for society': Victoria University Vice-Chancellor on the concerns generated by free speech event
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Sapeer Mayron (Sunday Star Times): Aotearoa’s most popular mayor: Dan Gordon of Waimakariri (paywalled)
Tracy Watkins (Sunday Star Times): We’re about to pay a very steep price for our local government apathy (paywalled)
Tory Whanau (Sunday Star Times): Local Government spotlight (paywalled)
Ryan Boswell (1News): Minister tells councils to prioritise must-haves over nice-to-haves
Nicholas Boyack (The Post): Upper Hutt council faces backlash over massive rates increases (paywalled)
Justin Wong (The Post): Inaugural Māori councillor election could go alongside referendum (paywalled)
RNZ: Proposed 21.4% rates rise hardest issue for problem-ridden Gore council
Andrew Gunn (The Press): A bold plan to get Christ Church Cathedral Back on Track (paywalled)
Wyatt Ryder (ODT): Significant Natural Area conflict claim wrong (paywalled)
ODT: Council seeking feedback on how it represents residents (paywalled)
WELLINGTON
Tom Hunt (The Post): Spend $550k on a video campaign? You Would in Wellington (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (The Post): $180m final cost for Let's Get Wellington Moving released (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (The Post): ‘Eye-watering’ rates rises coming for Wellington city (paywalled)
Alex Matthews (The Post): The tides of Wellington are starting to turn (paywalled)
EDUCATION
Jaime Lyth (Herald): School truancy: Kids explain why they skip school (paywalled)
Brett Kerr-Laurie (The Post): School absenteeism a ‘complex phenomenon’ for many countries, not just NZ (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial – In the debate over truancy, we’re leaving out the most important voices (paywalled)
Adam Burns (RNZ): School phone ban: How effective will it be?
Natasha Gordon (Herald): Nationwide school phone ban comes into force tomorrow. Will smart watches provide a loophole?
Frances Chin (The Post): Schools prepare for phone ban (paywalled)
Mike Grimshaw (Plain sight): Some advice from our tertiary history for the University Advisory Group
HOUSING
Miriam Bell (The Post): New Zealand inches back up global house price ranks (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (The Post): By the numbers: What’s up with first home buyers? (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (The Post): Social housing tenants in ‘limbo’ as exit deadline approaches (paywalled)
HEALTH
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Targets proposed to shrink healthcare wait times predicted to cost $723m over two years (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (The Post): Hospitals countrywide tighten belts by $105 million (paywalled)
RNZ: Former Te Whatu Ora chairperson Rob Campbell criticises Health NZ's 'savings' directive
Rachel Judkins (Spinoff): Is the health star system past its use-by date?
LAW AND ORDER
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): History of the Three Strikes policy interesting, but the history it upends is more important (paywalled)
David Farrar: Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
Tova O’Brien (Stuff): How the original architect of Three Strikes became my unlikely pen pal