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Friends and friendly foes alike recall Jim Bolger as a leader who confounded expectations. He was warm and always open-minded. He listened to experts, he asked questions, he challenged received wisdom.

Previously, visitors to Ascension winery in Matakana were after a glass or two of wine; now they're more likely to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit after communion. Auckland's Catholic Diocese is selling its old church in Warkworth to pay to convert the former winery into a new…

Today from The Detail: It's very valuable but you can't buy it, and if you lose it there can be serious consequences. Why a social licence to operate is now a must for corporates.

For many Pacific Island nations, climate change isn’t a distant threat or an abstract statistic – it’s an everyday reality reshaping homes, traditions, and futures. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, increasing temperatures and severe weather events – from cyclones to drought to unpredictable deluges – all combine to threaten traditional…

The day will come when the big oil tanks on the headland south of Whangārei will no longer contain petroleum; when the site’s owner will get out of fossil fuels entirely, says Channel Infrastructure chief executive Rob Buchanan. But that day is still decades away and so, this month, he…

Analysis: It’s only taken 13 years! But this afternoon, health ministers are expected to announce a compromise that shares responsibility for procuring $1.5b of medical devices a year. Simeon Brown and his associate David Seymour are seeking to stamp their authority on Health NZ and Pharmac, after the agencies and their predecessors…

Ministers are set to announce a package of energy reforms tomorrow morning, based loosely on recommendations from a long-awaited report by international consultancy Frontier Economics. It’s understood the Government has stopped well short of the radical shake-up sought by NZ First and its associate energy minister, Shane Jones. At present…

This coming month, New Zealand could elect two Karen Morgans as mayor – one in Mackenzie District, one in Hutt City. But these aren’t the pejorative stereotype ‘Karens’; rather than complaining about the problems in their communities, they’re stepping up to make a difference. Mackenzie’s Karen Morgan, who’s been acting…

Ruapehu District Council was hailed a “ratepayer hero” by the Taxpayers’ Union lobby group last week. That was because the small North Island council managed an unexpected $700,000 overspend by cutting services and infrastructure investment, rather than hiking rates and fees.  But, highlighting the difficult balancing act between high rates…

The use of standardised, repeatable designs has become a Government mantra – and the education minister says that all started with her project to cut costs by building modular classrooms. "We've halved the cost of building a classroom," she tells Newsroom. "And I can see other ministers looking at us,…

The topic of US exceptionalism has been prominent over the last few years. It’s been a richly deserved moniker given America’s resilient economy, strong corporate profits and leadership in artificial intelligence. However, things may be starting to change.