NZCPR Newsletter: State of the Nation 2026

As we begin the final year of the National, ACT, New Zealand First Coalition’s first term of Government, it is instructive to look back at the commitments they made when first elected.

At that time the country faced significant challenges as a result of six years of mismanagement by Labour – firstly under the direction of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and then Chris Hipkins.

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Should Luxon rip the band-aid off?

It is election year, of course, and I reckon we should get this thing over and done with quickly.

Let's rip the band-aid off - Luxon should go to the polls early.

The argument's always been - and we talked about this a lot last year - that they should wait till November, go late, let the economy recover.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 18.1.26

Tuesday January 20, 2026 

News:
State of the Nation - PM promises to ‘fix the basics’ sets agenda for election year
Despite the breadth of the speech, there was no direct reference to Māori rights, Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, iwi-Crown relationships, or kaupapa Māori policy, nor any acknowledgement of Māori-specific impacts in education, justice, economic development, or health.

Pee Kay: The Man Who Refuses to Confront He Puapua

Sometime in, probably late October this year we will returning to polling stations all around the country with hope, doubt, confusion and very probably frustration as some of the emotions we carry to the voting booth!

Many of us thought the 2023 election was the most important election of a generation. Co-governance, 3 Waters, Maori Sovereignty, Covid and the state of the economy were all playing a part in further widening the ethnic rift that had been created and cultivated by the 7th Labour government of Ardern and Hipkins.

DTNZ: Luxon invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been invited to take part in a new US-led initiative on Gaza, with President Donald Trump proposing the creation of a “board of peace” as Washington looks to move beyond the current ceasefire.

John MacDonald: Pharmac funding weight-loss drugs is a no-brainer

The personal responsibility brigade will be going ape over Pharmac looking into funding weight loss drugs.

This wouldn’t be for anyone wanting to lose a few kilos here and there. This would be for people who are obese and at risk of serious health complications. Around 200 potentially serious health complications, actually. Such as Type 2 Diabetes.

Mike Hosking: What a year 2026 is going to be

I don’t think there’s a scriptwriter in Hollywood who could out-dramatize real life right now.

It seems the show is back just in time for a year of… who knows what.

Venezuela - was it illegal? Probably. But the key question is: who is going to do anything about it? And if you protest, you look like you’re backing a dictator and a thug.

Michele White: Trump Ups the Ante Over Greenland With New Tariffs

It’s a matter of national security, the president says.

President Donald Trump has announced the next step in his pursuit of Greenland, stronger US national security, and world peace. Starting February 1, the US will impose an additional 10% tariff on all goods sent to the United States from Norway, the United Kingdom, and six European Union countries: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland. That tariff will jump to 25% on June 1 and continue until a deal is reached for the US to purchase Greenland.

Dr Bryce Edwards: The Green Party’s culture war quagmire

In my last column, I laid out the sorry state of the Green Party as 2026 kicks off. Scandals piled up, staff jumped ship, polls slid south, and the leadership clung to excuses about algorithms and the Coalition Government being responsible for turning people off the Greens. All this despite a coalition in chaos and a Labour Party that’s barely visible.

The symptoms are clear, but what’s the disease? Today, I’m digging into the deeper mess: a party bogged down in culture wars and identity politics that’s pushed aside its environmental roots and failed to connect with the voters who matter most. It’s a trap of their own making, one that’s left them looking like a middle-class club more interested in pronouns and Palestine than power bills and polluted rivers.

Joe Bastardi: The weather proving to European climate warriors that stupid is as stupid does

The leaders of Europe have put their people in jeopardy with their insane climate policies. They remain heavily dependent on Russia for natural gas. The Russian winter is turning punishing, as I feared it would when I wrote about its possible impact on the war back in August. Natural gas storage is at 52% of capacity. There is no reason for such a low level except for the nonsensical climate policies these leaders have pursued. You may think they have a suicide pact with their other policies, but it’s nothing compared to what could happen in the coming weeks.

Leesa K Donner: Will the Real Fascists Please Stand Up?

The New York Times recycles a tired trope.

The progressive left in America is particularly adept at name-calling and labeling those with whom they disagree as adherents of despotic political movements – fascists, Nazis … take your pick. It’s a recurring theme they can’t resist – so they recycle, rinse, and repeat it again. Thus, this week, when The New York Times ran an article by Michelle Goldberg titled “The Resistance Libs Were Right,” droves of Times commenters happily added their collective amen to her preposterous assertion that President Donald Trump is the embodiment of a fascist.

Monday January 19, 2026 

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Damien Grant: Rules based order is no more, NZ has a choice to make

In the Mediterranean there is a Greek island. Melos (now Milos).

It is unremarkable. Larger than Waiheke with just over five thousand residents who survive on mining and tourism. However. In 416 BC Melos was caught in a dilemma.

Greece was consumed with the Spartan/Athenian conflict and Melos was both independent and geographically in the Athenian sphere of influence. Athens demanded Melos’ submission or face annihilation.

Roger Partridge: The Hidden Architecture of Government Failure

Bad incentives, not bad people, keep breaking New Zealand’s institutions – and only structural change will fix them.

New Zealand has never spent more on public services, administered by a workforce that has grown by a third in less than a decade. And yet hospital waiting lists stretch into years, students leave school unable to read, and infrastructure crumbles.

More money. More people. Worse results. If resources are not the problem, what is?

David Farrar: Fran on India FTA

Fran O’Sullivan writes:

Bold ambition and fearless execution – that’s what it has taken to get intense bilateral negotiations between India and New Zealand finalised so a trade deal could be announced just before the country broke for Christmas.

Matua Kahurangi: Indian mass immigration and the price we are paying

Western governments have found the perfect shield against accountability. Flood a country with people, then label anyone who notices a racist. It is lazy, dishonest, and it is now failing in real time.

New Zealand is living it. Canada is drowning in it.

Dr Will Jones: Trump to Hit Britain With Tariffs Over Greenland

Donald Trump has announced tariffs on the UK and other European countries for their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland as he ratchets up the pressure in his move to acquire the Danish Arctic territory. The Telegraph has more.

Centrist: Households now paying the real price of bread

New Zealanders are paying a lot more for basic food not because inflation has suddenly spiked, but because years of artificially low pricing have quietly ended.

New data from Stats NZ shows food prices rose 4 percent over 2025, while the price of a standard loaf of white bread jumped almost 60 per cent.

Lushington Brady: Japan Returns to the Polls, Again

Here they go again, for Japan’s long-suffering voters. Just months after electing their fourth prime minister in five years, Japanese voters are going back to the polls for another snap election. The election will decide the future of Japan’s first female leader, who remains hugely popular even as her party’s fortunes remain dire.

Sunday January 18, 2026 

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