NZ MAGA'fuckation | September 2026 Edition

Not too long ago I was discussing the government and their attacks on Te Tiriti with a group of people. One of them said I know there’s been the Treaty Principles Bill, but has there really been much else? One of the things this Government does is ’flood the

Steps to combat dementia now could free up thousands of aged care residential beds in the future, a new public health expert briefing says.

Parents say the Jobseeker benefit can be a lifesaver for their families if their teenagers can not find work after high school.

A survey of more than 1000 people has found most respondents support introducing a funded vaccination for RSV.

The Foreign Minister has taken another crack at the Prime Minister’s political experience, after Christopher Luxon said remaining in the Paris climate agreement would be a bottom line in coalition negotiations.

Free flu vaccines for children under five are available as of Tuesday, as the health system struggles with the worst flu outbreak in years.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston has apologised for a “significant problem” after some people’s benefits were wrongly suspended, saying it is “extremely unsatisfactory”.

The government’s proposed move-on orders look set to be watered down, with MPs recommending that 14 to 17 year olds be excluded, RNZ can reveal.

Organisations supporting homeless people still want move on orders scrapped completely, but say the likely exclusion of 14- to 18-year-olds is a good first step.

The Government has shelved plans to ban hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene from food and beverage packaging, and Zero Waste Aotearoa says big brands may be to blame.

Both National and the Greens are refusing to back down over inaccurate claims they’ve made about their political opponents, as the election campaign heats up.

A proposal to cut 12 percent of the workforce at the National Library and Archives NZ will decimate both organisations and have a significant impact on service levels, says the Public Service Association (PSA).

New Zealand’s largest gas user Methanex is to effectively close its plant and sell off its gas contracts.

The number of people in apprenticeships and workplace training hit a 15-year low last year and continued falling in the first quarter of the year.

Explainer - If you plan on casting a vote in November’s general election, the clock is ticking - unlike past elections, you have to enrol well before Election Day this year to get your say at the ballot box.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston cannot say whether the government will consider compensation for people whose benefits were wrongly suspended.

The number of young people enrolled to vote has increased over the past month, but almost 188,000 18- to 24-year-olds remain unenrolled ahead of this year’s general election.

Doctors say they’re disheartened and exhausted by the current health system, as they challenge politicians to work together on long-term reforms.

ACT is promising to stop motorists’ money being spent on roadside sculptures, cultural monuments and decorative artwork, saying fuel taxes and road-user charges should pay for roads instead.

The NZ Transport Agency is cutting the amount of funding it gives some councils to help with essential infrastructure, prompting calls for a review of how the calculations were done.

South Wairarapa’s Cape Palliser Road has received a three-year reprieve from planned funding cuts.

ACT leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour says a university medical programme that targets Māori and Pacific students is built on “racial discrimination”, and a new review hasn’t proven otherwise.

New Zealand First says it will be campaigning for conservation land to be opened up for economic development.

The Green Party is campaigning on establishing a publicly owned supermarket chain to break up the duopoly and drive down food prices.

The ACT party has vowed to get rid of the net zero emissions target, repeal the Zero Carbon Act and cut carbon tax if elected.

Elective surgeries are being postponed as the health system responds to the highest levels of demand seen in recent years.

A shortage of cardiac beds and staff in Wellington and Christchurch hospitals is leaving patients at risk and waiting weeks for treatment instead of the recommended days - a situation one doctor describes as a “shambles”.

Explainer - It’s two months until Election Day and campaign billboards have been sprouting up like multicoloured weeds, with catchy slogans and smiling candidate portraits lining the roads.

The Advertising Standards Authority has partly upheld a complaint against a National Party attack ad, and told the party not to use it again in its current form.

A pensioner in frail health was left distressed and out of pocket after both his Winter Energy Payment and Disability Allowance were stopped due to government botch ups.

The number of New Zealanders returning from Australia has increased 14 percent in the past year, but the number heading across the ditch is more than double the number returning home.

Three of the Government’s nine key targets risk not being met, the latest update shows.

Labour’s leader Chris Hipkins is lumping National in with ACT and New Zealand First’s promises to exit the Paris Agreement, after weeks of National doing the same with Labour and tax.

The Post has reported that Labour volunteers had to form a protective barrier around health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall to fend off anti-vaccination protesters at an event in Wellington on Tuesday night.

Labour is calling the government’s stance on Israel an embarrassment to the country, and says it is failing to meet its responsibilities under the genocide convention.

The infrastructure minister says a law change is imminent that will address council concerns over development contributions for out-of-sequence projects.

Insolvency numbers are likely to remain at record levels until well into next year, one practitioner says.

More than three weeks after it was discovered thousands of pensioners and veterans had not received their winter energy payment entitlements the Minister has accepted responsibility for a series of mistakes.

After a decade of delays, cost blow-outs and disruption to business and commuters, Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) is finally due to open this weekend.

The Impacts of a campaign built on BS

Families across New Zealand are eager to adopt greyhounds after racing was made illegal last month.

The National Party will set up a dedicated Auckland Transport police team if re-elected.

The prime minister says councils will get support over development contributions, but he is unwilling to pause referrals of fast-track housing projects.

Nicola Willis has hinted National will campaign on changes to the research and development tax credit after businesses hailed its success.

What do rich donors expect for their contributions? We ask two big donors who give to opposite sides of the spectrum why they donate to politics.

With just two weeks remaining in the 54th Parliament, you might imagine that the legislative agenda is winding down as MPs turn their focus to campaigning in the lead-up to the November election, but the opposite is true. The Government intends to move into urgency on Tuesday afternoon, which may continue until midnight Saturday.

The health system has been under significant pressure this winter, with Auckland City Hospital saying it’s been worse than expected.

National has made a supermarket break-up a key part of its election pitch, proposing to sever Pak’nSave from New World in a bid to drive down grocery prices.

An online charter school that opened just nine months ago already has permission to become one of the country’s biggest schools.

The government’s controversial bootcamps bill is poised to become law, after passing its third and final reading under urgency on Thursday night.

The government’s controversial move on orders legislation has passed its third reading in Parliament, under urgency.

Australia and New Zealand could follow Canada in becoming “associate members” of the European Union, the president of the European Parliament has suggested.

ACT is pledging to keep the gentailers whole and use market forces to curb the costs of lines management and increase solar repayment rates.

A Tauranga teen is urging the government to set up a youth advisory committee to give the country’s rangatahi more of a say in political decision-making.

Outgoing National Party MP Andrew Bayly (Port Waikato) knows better than most the highs and lows of public office. In his valedictory speech on Wednesday he described his resignation from cabinet as one of the most brutal experiences of his life.

Paul Henry brought a bit of showbiz razzle-dazzle to the campaign trail on Friday night as his Unlocked roadshow rolled through New Plymouth.

A re-elected National government wants to ban screen time in early childhood education centres and intends to limit screen use in years 1 to 3.

New Zealand First has released its plan to “Make NZ Healthy”, promising to put prevention at the centre of healthcare if re-elected.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters insists his party wrote its own health policy, which appears nearly identical to content on a campaign group’s website.

Whanganui Hospital’s emergency department treated almost seven times the number of people it was built for over the second week of September.

More than 700 people have been killed in work-related deaths in the past decade, despite the Key government’s overhaul of workplace health and safety laws following the Pike River Mine disaster. The coalition government has again changed the law, this time to cut red tape and ease compliance costs, but critics say more New Zealanders will die at work as a result. South Island correspondent Timothy Brown reports.

The prime minister says his fuel ministerial group will be meeting again tonight to discuss the fuel response - including the price surge.

New Zealand’s recognition of Palestinian statehood is inevitable, the Foreign Affairs Minister says.

Thousands of children under five have had a flu shot since it was made free for all of them.

National is defending the use of footage showing violent crime under its own government in attack ads against Labour.

The Green Party wants to cap political donations at $30,000, stop companies from donating and set up a public register for lobbyists to get “big money” out of politics.

Investigative journalist and author Nicky Hager has released a new book called Dirty Work, an “exposé“of the Taxpayers’ Union (TU), “the latest front for New Zealand’s radical right,” he says.

Right-wing pollster David Farrar has flatly denied some allegations made against him in Nicky Hager’s new book, and dismissed another as “hilarious”.

The Taxpayers’ Union has rejected a claim in Nicky Hager’s latest book that it settled an employment dispute involving allegations of sexual harassment against its executive director.

The prime minister and deputy prime minister are dismissing claims in a new book that argues the Taxpayers’ Union used anti-Māori racism as a political tool - especially during its Stop Three Waters campaign.

The Education Minister says information about the feedback she personally gave on curriculum changes “does not exist”, amid accusations of a culture of secrecy.

The head of the Ministry of Education says she is “not happy” with a manager caught on video appearing to suggest staff skirt the law, nor a scathing internal review of the culture in its curriculum division.

ACT and New Zealand First have all but confirmed a decision on whether the government should underwrite a new liquefied natural gas terminal has been put off until after the election.

The government is putting $40.5 million towards two gas exploration projects, from the government’s $200m gas exploration fund.

The immigration minister has confidence in top official Nic Blakeley “for now”, following revelations an IT project’s costs have ballooned to more than $50 million.

The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Government had no clear alternative plan for Māori health when it scrapped Te Aka Whai Ora - the Māori Health Authority.

Commentator says Israel’s ruling coalition faces a tough return to power in the October general elections, with polls showing them consistently stuck with a minority of parliamentary seats

The ACT Party is pledging to crack down on noisy vehicles and hike fines for drivers causing a nuisance.

National and Labour have officially launched their bids for power at November’s election, with very different functions in Auckland.

The court of Rangiora’s Mainpower Stadium is usually reserved for team sports like basketball and netball.

Chris Hipkins has made a campaign commitment to reverse pay equity changes in the first 100 days of a Labour government, during a packed public meeting in Christchurch.

The latest report from the college of emergency department doctors shows unprecedented demand and increasing case complexity are taking a toll.

Analysis - A rosier than expected opening of the government books would have lifted the Finance Minister’s spirits after another bad poll that could see Nicola Willis not even return to Parliament.

Climate activists are putting their weight behind a claim New Zealand has broken its climate change promises in the free trade agreement with the EU.