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

updated 1 Nov 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

National Party Voter Decline

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

See all coverage & the data →

articles · ▲ +20/wk

Left Sudden decline in national party support StuffRead ↗ Centre Decline in National party popularity NewsroomRead ↗ Right Halloween poll shocks national leadership NZ HeraldRead ↗

More coverage of this story

Facts before prejudicePoint of Order · 29 Oct · Read ↗ Election 2026: Christopher Luxon warning voters against ‘sleepwalking’ into election, Chris Hipkins says National…NZ Herald · 29 Oct · Read ↗ David Seymour says don't vote National to 'play it safe', ACT vote will grow right blocRNZ · 29 Oct · Read ↗ 我们需要时间：国家党排名候选人陆楠在激烈选战中争取连任可能性RNZ · 29 Oct · Read ↗ 国家党民调表现持续探底，支持率不足25%RNZ · 29 Oct · Read ↗ Christopher Luxon warns against making latest poll a 'reality'RNZ · 29 Oct · Read ↗

Interim Name Suppression Lapse▲ +8/wk

LeftLegal protection of accused identityStuff ↗ CentreAccused granted name suppression order1News (TVNZ) ↗ RightFailure to protect identityNZ Herald ↗

Immigration Concerns▲ +6/wk

LeftWarning about unchecked offshore migration trendsStuff ↗ CentreFear of offshore trends impacting domestic populationRNZ ↗ RightFear of uncontrolled offshore migrationNZ Herald ↗

Long-form · OpenBrief Reports

This month's retrospective

All reports →

Featured · Monthly

NZ Discourse Report — October 2026

1 November 2026 · 10 min read

Featured report

NZ Discourse Report — October 2026

The fifth edition: with advance voting open, the election became an argument about its own rules. A fuel shock was explained in the news and blamed in party and union messaging, and a party with no MPs set part of the coalition agenda.

MonthlyDiscourseElection 2026MMPFuel prices

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.

National Party Voter Decline23 articles · ▲ +20/wk See the data → Interim Name Suppression Lapse11 articles · ▲ +8/wk See the data → Private Hospital Funding6 articles · ▲ +6/wk See the data → Immigration Concerns6 articles · ▲ +6/wk See the data →

Under-reporteddiscourse > press

The public is talking — most newsrooms are quiet.

Rates Capping Legislation 8 of 8 outlets quiet See the data → Cost Of Living Pressures On Restaurants 8 of 8 outlets quiet See the data →

Only on one channelcorpus mirror

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

Radio onlyAsian Supermarket Competitiontalk radio 4× the written pressSee the data → Radio onlyAluminium Sector Dumpingtalk radio active · press silentSee the data → Radio onlyDairy Trade Concernstalk radio active · press silentSee the data →

The lenses · top topics this week

What each corpus is talking about

Press

news · by article volume

National Party Voter Decline23 Child Assault At Myers Park12 Waiouru Training Area Fire11 Interim Name Suppression Lapse11 Open Press lens →

Discourse

commentary + talk radio

Cost-Of-Living Crisis11 Vote Splitting10 Rent-To-Buy Deposit Support9 Real Wages Decline8 Open Discourse lens →

Social

by engagement

Voting For National Party75,303 Electoral Participation26,638 Labour Party Voting Decisions24,990 Swarbrick Finance Minister21,557 Open Social lens →

Media

newsroom scorecard

Newsrooms scored8

Coverage gaps this wk2

Biggest gapRates Capping Legislation

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 →

The New Zealand Initiative 88 → 2

Public Service Association 0 → 0

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union 339 → 0

Federated Farmers 22 → 0

Greenpeace Aotearoa 79 → 0

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.