The week in NZ political coverage — who's covering it, who's not

updated 3 Aug 2026

We watch the watchers, so you stay informed.

OpenBrief tracks New Zealand's significant political news, opinion, podcasts and social media — a curated, transparent set of sources, not the whole internet — then surfaces the signals the daily scroll hides: what's spiking, what's being ignored, what's fading, and how the left, centre and right frame the same story. Click any story to read it at the source — or open the data behind any signal.

Read ↗ opens the original story on the outlet's site

See the data → the articles & charts behind the signal

Which sources, and how the signals are computed → Methodology

The Spread · the week's biggest stories, three ways each

How the sides are framing it

#1 spike

Racist Rhetoric In Parliament

The biggest jump in the press this week — read how the left, centre and right each told it.

See all coverage & the data →

articles · ▲ +11/wk

Left Political rhetoric targeting ethnic identity StuffRead ↗ Centre Political speech deemed offensive to immigrants 1News (TVNZ)Read ↗ Right Controversial remarks deemed racist NZ HeraldRead ↗

More coverage of this story

We must name racism when it happensE-Tangata · 1 Aug · Read ↗ Open Mike 01/08/2026The Standard · 31 Jul · Read ↗ Luxon has shown his old Winston weakness, not his new Stuart Nash strengthThe Daily Blog · 31 Jul · Read ↗ Aotearoa’s very own Donald TrumpThe Standard · 31 Jul · Read ↗ Race Relations Commissioner says Winston Peters comments in Parliament ‘racist’NZ Herald · 30 Jul · Read ↗ #politics: Luxon Rebukes Peters as Coalition Tensions Spill Into Election CampaignWaatea News · 30 Jul · Read ↗

Foreign Minister Responsibility▲ +8/wk

LeftGovernment balance between loyalty and conductStuff ↗ CentreStatements affecting diplomatic relations with China1News (TVNZ) ↗ RightEthical boundaries in diplomatic speechNZ Herald ↗

Government Accountability▲ +6/wk

LeftTransparency into taxpayer-funded travel costsStuff ↗ CentreIntegrity of public service governance under review1News (TVNZ) ↗ RightResponse to media scrutiny of financial claimsNZ Herald ↗

Long-form · OpenBrief Reports

This month's retrospective

All reports →

Featured · Monthly

NZ Discourse Report — July 2026

1 August 2026 · 12 min read

Featured report

NZ Discourse Report — July 2026

The third monthly edition: a shipping-lane blockade became the vocabulary of a domestic campaign in twenty-one days, a missile test produced the month's only real consensus, the Foreign Minister out-covered the Prime Minister, and half of all measured agenda-setting traced to one organisation.

MonthlyDiscourseCost of livingLobbying

Read the report →

The signals · what the coverage data shows

Rising, ignored, fading & one-sided

Rising nowvs prior 4-wk avg

Topics climbing fastest in the press this week.

Racist Rhetoric In Parliament11 articles · ▲ +11/wk See the data → Foreign Minister Responsibility8 articles · ▲ +8/wk See the data → Government Accountability10 articles · ▲ +6/wk See the data → Parental Leave Expansion9 articles · ▲ +6/wk See the data →

What's being forgottenvs prior 4-wk avg

Dominated last month — now gone. Did the story end, or did we move on?

Iran Military Strikes9/wk → 1/wk · ▼ -89%See the data → India-Nz Strategic Ties8/wk → 0/wk · ▼ -100%See the data → India-Nz Free Trade Agreement7/wk → 0/wk · ▼ -100%See the data →

Only on one channelcorpus mirror

Stories living in just one place — missing from the rest.

Radio onlyTreaty Settlement Renegotiationtalk radio active · press silentSee the data → Cost Of Livinga social conversation · 170% newsSee the data → Government Accountabilitya social conversation · 390% newsSee the data →

The lenses · top topics this week

What each corpus is talking about

Press

news · by article volume

Missing Person Search16 Racist Rhetoric In Parliament11 Government Accountability10 Police Accountability9 Open Press lens →

Discourse

commentary + talk radio

Cost Of Living Pressures On Events11 Cost-Of-Living Crisis11 Parental Leave Expansion11 Cost Of Living10 Open Discourse lens →

Social

by engagement

Cost Of Living191,061 Political Accountability To Constituents53,696 Government Accountability34,079 Government Policy30,461 Open Social lens →

Media

newsroom scorecard

Newsrooms scored8

Open Media scorecard →

Money & influence · earned-media penetration

Lobby story penetration

How many of each group's press releases turned into carried coverage — fluctuates week to week as issues move.

Full scoreboard →

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union 163 → 56

Greenpeace Aotearoa 50 → 33

Retail NZ 131 → 17

Free Speech Union 29 → 15

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions 78 → 13

Read it as posted → carried. Releases issued vs stories that earned coverage. A high carried-to-posted ratio means a group's message travels far beyond what it puts out.

Releases postedStories carried

Track a lobby group →

Profiles & briefings · the people behind the politics

Who's who this term

Every MP with a living dossier — donations, pecuniary interests, directorships, ministerial diaries and media mentions.