On track for lockdown relief on Aug 26 / Changes to L1 look likely / A rough week for Labour / What the Cabinet really thinks of Ashley Bloomfield / Could the election date change? / Rio Tinto still looking for a deal / Wage subsidy sleeper?

Election 2020: a kind of phony war / What would it take to change the govt? / Pressure at the border / RMA reform and climate change preparedness / Winston’s last speech? / Set-piece election dates / Election and lockdowns

An exhausting and tawdry fortnight in politics / Assessing Judith Collins’s impact / NZ First starting to panic? / Interpreting Marsden Pt’s strategic value / Quarantine and border issues / National’s debt target / NZ-China relations

National Party leadership / Crusher vs Kindness - Judith Collins resets the election campaign dynamic

National’s terrible week / Tiwai Point - no bluffing meets no patience / Border strategy coming - but tech solutions on slow track / Hints of a big announcement on open aquaculture / The smelter’s one thing, the refinery quite another / China tensions rising / Greens producing eye-catching policy

Keeping coalition tensions in perspective / Border bungles puncture Labour’s balloon / How desperate will NZ First get? / Health reforms and covid / Light rail - up in the air? / Kiwis heading home from Aussie / No local refinery?

Can the govt maintain the early level 1 mood? / National - a house divided / Shovel-ready tussle / NZ First’s SFO headache / 18 sitting days left / Hugo Group CEO Retreat 2020

Legislative race on as election looms / Foresters stunned by licencing proposal / Todd Muller’s shaky start / Divide and rule / International education / Level 1 sooner than June 22? / Media sector turmoil

Budget still in rescue mode / More spending and debt to come / Fiscal sustainability remains intact / Rather bullish economic expectations / Legislative drag-race / Trans-Tasman bubble by July? / Election on Sept 19 looks increasingly secure

HVxtra - National Party leadership