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Dr Oliver Hartwich argues Election 2026 is becoming an auction of other people’s wealth, with parties competing over nationalisation, new taxes, subsidies and taxpayer-backed schemes. He warns that weakening property rights and redistributing existing wealth risks discouraging the investment New Zealand desperately needs. With productivity already trailing Australia, Hartwich says the priority should be growing the economic pie, not fighting…

Educational performance across parts of the developed West has deteriorated substantially over the past 15 years. TrendCompass argues the decline deserves much greater scrutiny, but its provocative suggestion that Western education may be deliberately producing less capable populations goes considerably beyond what the educational data itself establishes. INR Report: Based on analysis published by TrendCompass HERE. · TrendCompass begins with a…

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly left talks in Kiev surprised by the conduct of senior Ukrainian officials, according to Ukrainian MP Anna Skorokhod. Her account comes as Washington intensifies efforts to find a negotiated settlement after the envoys travelled directly from talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE. · US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and…

The Alternative for Germany has won 43.8 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, but the political consequences could extend far beyond the state parliament. German media reports have raised the possibility that EU funding could be withheld if an AfD-led government comes into conflict with Brussels, reviving a fundamental argument over democracy, sovereignty and the European Union's financial power. INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE. ·…

An Auckland couple were found equally culpable for nearly nine years of tax evasion and fraud totalling more than $554,000. But while the husband was sent to prison, the judge reduced his wife’s sentence to home detention on humanitarian grounds, saying imprisoning both parents would be too hard on their children. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by RNZ HERE. · An Auckland woman has avoided imprisonment for tax offending after a judge…

OceanaGold wants to extend the life of its Macraes gold mine for another decade, targeting around one million additional ounces of gold. The proposal promises hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity, but it also raises a bigger question: when a finite New Zealand resource is extracted, how much of that wealth should be preserved for future generations? eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Tess Brunton for RNZ HERE. ·…

After more than a century of proposals, political reversals and competing transport priorities, Auckland’s City Rail Link is finally preparing to carry passengers. Its history shows the consequences of repeatedly postponing major infrastructure including a final price that climbed to $5.5 billion. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Matthew Theunissen for RNZ HERE. · Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) is finally due to open this weekend after a…

ACT is campaigning to end the Waitangi Tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction, arguing the institution has become increasingly ideological and expansive. Critics say the proposal misunderstands the Tribunal’s original purpose and would remove an important mechanism for scrutinising how government decisions affect Māori rights. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Giles Dexter for RNZ HERE. · ACT has placed the future of the Waitangi Tribunal…

Australia’s military integration with the United States is reaching far beyond AUKUS submarines, according to reporting cited by RT. The expansion raises questions about how independently Canberra could act if a US-China confrontation erupted in the Indo-Pacific — and what that would mean for New Zealand INR Report: Based on reporting by RT, drawing on reporting by The Guardian and research from the Nautilus Institute for Security and…

As civilians in Russia's Belgorod region come under daily drone attacks, we exclusively report on how hospitals, ambulances and locals are dealing with the casualties. Russia's security service thwarts a planned Ukrainian attack on the British embassy in Moscow. Kiev had planned to use intel to take aim at the UK ambassador and pin the blame on Russia. With the BRICS summit just days away in New Delhi cooperation between India and Russia is in…