Common Sense - 21/02/2026
News
Main stories
Housing Minister Chris Bishop has announced a long-rumoured U-turn on Auckland's upzoning policy after pressure from Cabinet, slashing the number of dwellings Auckland Council must plan for from a (potential) 2 million down to 1.6 million.
Bishop to slash 400,000 dwellings from Auckland’s 2m capacity requirement - Jonathan Milne (Newsroom)
Opposition parties react to Auckland housing U-turn - Lillian Hanly (RNZ)
'Very strange': Auckland councillors' mixed reaction to government's housing backdown - Felix Walton (RNZ)
Govt retains right to second-guess changes to Auckland housing - Tim Murphy (Newsroom)
Bishop’s housing backtrack is a hollow victory for Parnell - Hayden Donnell (The Spinoff)
Te Waihanga (the Infrastructure Commission) has released its long-awaited National Infrastructure Plan, advising the government to focus on health, water, electricity, and maintenance, while moving away from huge roading projects.
NZ must invest in small health needs before big roads – Infrastructure Plan - Jonathan Milne (Newsroom)
National Infrastructure Plan: NZ challenged to cut transport spending and fund billions more on health and energy - Henry Cooke (The Post, paywalled)
National infrastructure plan: Too much new, not enough maintenance – The Front Page - Chelsea Daniels (NZH)
Heavy rain, wind, and flooding battered the central North Island to the South Island late last week and this week, with some areas experiencing 100km/h+ winds and over 100mm of rain in 24 hours.
Weather tracker: New Zealand hit by storms and widespread floods - Ishani Mistry (The Guardian)
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says managed retreat an option as nationwide flooding risk map being pieced together - Azaria Howell (NZH)
Climate change is here. NZ isn’t ready - Marc Daalder (Newsroom)
Round up
National struggles for traction as NZ First gains ground - Andrea Vance (The Post, paywalled)
Besieged mining firm withdraws fast-track bid to plough Taranaki seabed - Fox Meyer, Jonathan Milne (Newsroom)
New bill to disband environment ministry as part of agency merger - Marc Daalder (Newsroom)
Reserve Bank signals a ‘structural change to the housing market’ in Anna Breman’s debut - Joel MacManus (The Spinoff)
Unclear how takeover of Moa Point wastewater plant by new water entity will work - Lauren Crimp (RNZ)
“Rooted in racism” Hostility and disinformation overshadow Moa Point public meeting - Māni Dunlop (Te Ao Māori News)
Government scraps plans for referendum on four-year term - (RNZ)
Ready to feel $4 richer a month as the planet burns? Why importing LNG isn’t the answer - Verity Johnson (Stuff)
Judge deciding whether to overturn Papatoetoe election ruling - Gaurav Sharma (RNZ)
MSD claw backs will 'financially cripple' state abuse survivors, advocate says - Anneke Smith (RNZ)
The winners and losers from the India trade deal - Alexia Russell (Newsroom)
Pharmacists vote to accept Health NZ pay offer - Kate Green (RNZ)
'Impossible deadline': Union questions shorter consultation period for Māori curriculum - Pokere Paewai (RNZ)
Big Gay Out: protests erupt with the politicians’ panel getting cut short - Daniel Perese, Lineni Tuitupou (Te Ao Māori News)
Bill to make English an official language of NZ introduced to Parliament - Giles Dexter (RNZ)
Employment Relations Amendment Bill debated for final time - Lillian Hanly (RNZ)
Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa iwi back major green hydrogen and methanol development near Whanganui - Moana Ellis (NZH)
Promises to ban paywave surcharges 'going nowhere' - Anneke Smith (RNZ)
Children ‘still no safer’ four years after Malachi’s death – Monitor finds - Māni Dunlop (RNZ)
Kaushal defends near $1m contractor bill as retail crime group winds down - 1News Reporters (1News)
Retail crime group rented expensive Symonds Street space against advice - Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ)
Wealthy Americans top ‘golden visa’ surge in New Zealand and applications from China double - Eva Corlett (The Guardian)
Wellington mayoral desk files: report reveals council’s failures leading to privacy breach - Ethan Manera (NZH)
Employment bill enables Kmart-style ‘fire-at-will’ without remedy – unions - Jonathan Milne (Newsroom)
AI and deep fakes becoming problematic for courts - Phil Pennington (RNZ)
Hastings residents will pay cyclone recovery rates for next 16 years - Linda Hall (RNZ)
NZ risks being left high and dry as High Seas Treaty enters into force - Joanna Mossop (Newsroom)
NZ under fire for move to weaken deep-sea coral protections - Andrea Vance (The Post, paywalled)
'Machines will play an increasing role in targeting' - NZDF's vision for the future - Phil Pennington (RNZ)
Charging $9 toll wouldn't cover cost of new Auckland harbour crossing, advocate says - Morning Report (RNZ)
Opinion pieces / long form
4 lessons NZ should take from another summer of weather disasters - Iain White, et al. (The Conversation)
What the PM said at Waitangi was wrong - Carwyn Jones (E-Tangata)
A state of emergency, again and again and again - Amanda Gillies, Sharon Brettkelly (The Detail)
NZ doesn’t take data breaches nearly as seriously as it should - Flynn Acworth (Newsroom)
NZ is slowly slipping on the global corruption index. Is it time for an anti-corruption agency? - Matevz (Matt) Raskovic (The Conversation)
More women are professors, but gender gaps continue to plague NZ universities - Kim Hebert-Losier, et al. (The Conversation)
Stuck between a neoliberal rock and a populist hard place - Ryan Ward (Free Market Moralism)
The Māori seats explained: Why they exist and why they’re under threat - Liam Rātana (The Spinoff)
Why would New Zealand disestablish the Ministry of Environment? - Mountain Tūī
Who has most access to the top? What 5 years of transport ministers’ diaries reveal - Caroline Shaw, Katherine Cullerton (The Conversation)
ACTing Out: How Neoliberal Grifters Helped Dismantle the State - Conspiracy of Equals
Our prisons cause more harm - Paula Toko King (E-Tangata)
Petitions
Get people in prison the basic supplies they are legally entitled to
Gig Guide
Online
ASTR (Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga) in Action: Ten Years of Solidarity Webinar
Time: Saturday 14 March, 11:00am
Link: www.tinyurl.com/ASTR10
Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland)
Rainbow Action Tāmaki Rally + Launch Party
Time: Sunday 22 February, 12-3pm
Location: Auckland Women's Centre
Free Warm Kai
Time: Mondays weekly, 6-8pm
Location: Gemmayze St, St. Kevin's Arcade, Karangahape Road
How to en"Roll" This Gov - Join a lineup of comedians & MPs for a brutally honest take on the current political landscape of Aotearoa today
Time: Wednesday 25 February, 6:30pm
Location: Q Theatre, CBD (ticketed)
Anakbayan Aotearoa + Aotearoa Philippines Solidarity - Youth Solidarity Tour Report Back
Time: Saturday 28 February 2026 1-4pm
Location: Aaiotanga Community Space, 22 Emily Place, Auckland CBD
Toitū: Visual Sovereignty - South Asian Solidarities Special Q&A Screening
Time: Sunday 1 March
Location: Capitol Cinema, Dominion Road, Balmoral (ticketed)
350 Aotearoa x Everybody Eats Auction Dinner 2026
Time: Friday 6 March, 6:30-9pm
Location: Everybody Eats, 306 Onehunga Mall, Onehunga, Auckland (ticketed)
Time: Saturday 7 March, 8:30am - Sunday 8 March, 5pm
Location: Auckland University / The Taro Patch, Papatoetoe (RSVP)
UnionAID Quiz Fundraiser 2026 - Raising funds for international union partners in Asia and the Pacific
Time: Thursday 12 March, 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: NZEI / NZNO offices, 101 Carlton Gore Road (ticketed)
Tauranga Moana
Aroha in Action - Community fundraiser for landslide victims
Time: Saturday 21 February, 2pm
Location: 1 Enterprise Drive, Pāpāmoa
Te-Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington)
Pedal for Palestine Bike Rally
Time: Saturday 21 February, 12pm
Location: Pukeahu War Memorial
Ōtautahi (Christchurch)
Join The Resistance - Climate Liberation Aotearoa Workshop
Time: Sunday 22 February, 1-5:30pm
Location: Waimairi Community Centre, 166 Waimairi Road
Anakbayan Ōtautahi - Youth Solidarity Tour Report Back
Time: Saturday 28 February, 4pm
Location: Trade Unions Centre, 68 Langdons Road
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