Jacinda Ardern and three former Labour ministers declined to appear at the Royal Commission’s public COVID hearings, leading to the cancellation of the week-long session. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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Briefing for 15 Aug 2025

A different kind of cower: Ardern skips public COVID hearing

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has refused to front the Royal Commission’s public hearings into the COVID response.

While Ardern has submitted evidence in private, she declined to appear in public alongside former ministers Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall, who also all declined, prompting the inquiry to cancel the planned week-long public session altogether.

Hipkins squirms as taxpayer-funded lawyers tell Labour not to front COVID inquiry

Mike Hosking dismantled Labour leader Chris Hipkins on air in a searing Newstalk ZB interview focused on the former prime minister’s refusal to front the COVID Royal Commission in public.

“Do you realise how shocking this looks?” Hosking opened, bluntly. Hipkins replied, “Well, I have turned up. I’ve answered every question they’ve asked. They ran out of questions,” he claimed. But Hosking kept pressing.

Swarbrick’s Gaza theatrics show Parliament has lost the plot

Broadcaster and former MP Michael Laws tore into Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick for what he called a self-indulgent stunt in Parliament, after she was expelled for refusing to apologise for her Gaza-related remarks.

Laws said her actions, and the emotional energy poured into foreign conflicts, show just how far Parliament has drifted from the concerns of ordinary New Zealanders.

RNZ warned its flagship station losing touch

A leaked internal review has exposed deep problems at RNZ National, accusing the taxpayer-funded broadcaster of losing its way and failing to connect with mainstream New Zealand.

Written by former RNZ news chief Richard Sutherland, the scathing report says audience numbers are in “persistent decline” and blames internal complacency, niche programming, and a Wellington-centric worldview.

Wellington is New Zealand’s dirty front door

Former ACT MP and Wellington lawyer Stephen Franks has delivered a stinging assessment of the capital’s decline, likening it to a national warning sign.

Echoing Donald Trump’s line that a dirty restaurant front door signals a filthy kitchen, Franks calls Wellington “New Zealand’s dirty front door” – a symbol of collapsing ambition, failing leadership and cultural rot.

Red tape hits the beach: Council move to block coastal access sparks fury

A South Wairarapa District Council proposal to block public access to a “spectacular” stretch of coastline has outraged outdoor users and legal experts alike.

The draft bylaw, described as “unprecedented,” seeks to close an unformed road near Cape Palliser, shutting off entry not just to vehicles but also to hikers, cyclists, hunters, surfers, and fishers.

Win for democracy: Waitākere advisory body to curb ethnic-based voting

Auckland Council has walked back its original proposal for equal Māori and Crown representation on a new advisory body overseeing the Waitākere Ranges.

Instead of a 5–5 co-governance model, the revised structure grants six seats to Crown and council entities, and five to iwi, effectively ending the push for equal voting rights.