Hospitals, waitlists, workforce and medicines — a system playing catch-up.

Demand up, services stretched — the state of mental health care.

Te Aka Whai Ora scrapped — what fills the gap in Māori health?

A region waiting years for a promised new hospital.

A flagship hospital rebuild dogged by budget blowouts and cuts.

Rural and regional kidney patients travelling hours for treatment.

By December 2024 Health NZ had cut around 2,042 roles amid a projected $1.4b deficit, including Māori and Pacific health, public health and data/digital teams.

Can regulated psychedelics safely treat depression and PTSD?

The $24m youth mental-health deal — is the money reaching kids?

The coalition repealed the world-first smokefree generation law under urgency in February 2024 — scrapping the post-2009 sales ban, the 90% retailer cut and the low-nicotine rule.

Long waits and enrolment gaps — can you get in to see a doctor?

A transgender health group has taken the Government to court over its November 2025 ban on new puberty blocker prescriptions for under-18s, in a three-day High Court hearing that began on 14 July 2026.

The squeeze on households — tax, rents, food, childcare — and the policies aimed at it.

Two chains, high prices — the fight over what we pay at the checkout.

Real raises, or wages falling behind the cost of living?

Sector-wide pay deals, repealed before they took effect.

Deficits, debt and tax cuts — does the Budget maths add up?

Kiwis leaving for higher pay across the Tasman — how big is the outflow?

The Government has opened a six-week consultation on capital market reforms aimed at lowering the cost of raising money for businesses and improving investor returns, running from 14 July to 25 August 2026.

Ram raids and retail crime — the crackdown, and whether it works.

Testing for drug presence, not impairment — is it fair?

Australia deporting Kiwis with criminal records — the '501' fallout.

Escalating disruptive protests, the church's money, and the police response — from the Te Atatū library storming to seized firearms.

Parliament has passed the Antisocial Road Use Amendment Bill, reviving vehicle destruction ('car crushing') as a penalty and allowing it on a first offence for street racing, burnouts or fleeing police, with most changes due to take effect within six months.

A government bill expanding police powers to move people on and detain them has cleared select committee with recommended privacy limits and a six-month delay to its start, but Labour, the Greens and the Privacy Commissioner remain opposed.

Theft of pounamu (greenstone) — a taonga owned by Ngāi Tahu — is feeding a booming black market and illegal export, especially to China, prompting the first successful export prosecution in 2026 and Ngāi Tahu's calls for tougher laws.

Freshwater, farming rules and the RMA — growth versus environmental protection.

After the floods — are towns being rebuilt to cope with the next one?

Does NZ's clean-green image match its environmental record?

Two critically endangered orca died as set-net bycatch — a NZ first. Minister Shane Jones called it an "unpleasant outcome" and a "kodak moment", drawing strong criticism.

PM Christopher Luxon warns that states are increasingly using grey-zone tactics such as cyber-attacks, disinformation and sabotage against countries like New Zealand, but has declined to release the security advice he received, citing national security.

The Government says New Zealand will explore joining the Ocean of Peace Alliance, a new mutual-defence arrangement between Australia and Fiji, though Cabinet has made no final decision.

China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific in July 2026, which Foreign Minister Winston Peters called an unwelcome and concerning development as regional security tensions grew.

A Cook Islands–China deal tests the free-association ties with NZ.

Cutting rules to go faster — smart deregulation, or cutting corners?

Delays and refusals put the Official Information Act under strain.

When ministers override official advice — who is accountable?

Decades of under-investment in roads, pipes and public works.

Keeping the taps on for a growing city — dams, demand and drought.

Burst pipes and boil notices — the capital's failing water network.

Sentencing, gangs, police and meth — the tougher-on-crime agenda, and whether it works.

Overcrowding, unrest and staffing shortages behind the wire.

The fight for victims to have a louder voice in the justice system.

Power bills and the risk of winter electricity shortfalls.

Closing the refinery left NZ reliant on imported fuel — how secure are we?

A bill to define the Treaty's principles in law — and the backlash.

Should NZ join the non-nuclear technology tier of the AUKUS pact?

From November 2026, most 18- and 19-year-olds will need parental support rather than their own JobSeeker benefit. The Government says families should step in; critics say the change will harm sick and vulnerable young people.

The Government is weighing an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, while ACT's David Seymour has floated banning smartphones for that age group instead, targeting the device rather than the apps.

The Government will keep the Clean Vehicle Standard that charges importers for high-emission vehicles, but has not yet set the emissions limits that will apply from 2028.

Replacing the ageing Interislander ferries — the on-again, off-again saga.

Building more homes, the RMA overhaul, and whether infrastructure keeps up.

Phones, literacy, curriculum and qualifications — lifting student results.

The Government has decided against an outright ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, opting instead for targeted regulation-making powers to curb their use in money laundering.

Councils vs Wellington — who decides what happens in your town?

Record arrivals then a sharp turn — the migration rollercoaster.