Week ahead in politics: NZ’s first infrastructure plan, State of Origin, and an interest rate call
Monday, 16 February 2026
Monday: Rugby League and Cabinet
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed at Eden Park that a State of Origin rugby league match will be played in Auckland in 2027 — the first time the iconic series between New South Wales and Queensland has been hosted on New Zealand soil.
The Post understands the match, likely to be the second in the three-game series, has cost the Government a $5 million hosting fee from the $70m Major Events Fund Luxon announced in September.
Previous bids to bring State of Origin across the Tasman have failed, and the announcement will be a feather in the cap for the fund, which has faced questions about whether it can deliver.
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Cabinet also meets on Monday, with a post-cabinet press conference expected in the afternoon at around 4pm.
Tuesday: Long-term infrastructure plan
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop will table the country's first National Infrastructure Plan, prepared by the Infrastructure Commission at his request.
The commission consulted on a draft last year, and the final document is understood to be beefed up from that version. The Government will have six months to formally respond, and Bishop is requesting a special debate in the House to discuss it.
All parties have been invited for briefings on the plan as it was developed — as Bishop is pushing for cross-party buy-in for what is intended to be a long-term document that would span several governments.
Wednesday: Cash rate decision
The Reserve Bank releases its Monetary Policy Statement and OCR decision — the first under new Governor Anna Breman.
The OCR is widely expected to be held at 2.25%, where it has sat since November. But with inflation running at around 3.1%, slightly above the target band, markets will be watching closely for any signal about when rates might start rising again, especially as the Australian Reserve Bank just hiked rates. Westpac expects the Bank to bring forward its forecast for the first OCR increase.
Wednesday is also a members’ day in Parliament.
Thursday: Breman fronts select committee
Breman will front the Finance and Expenditure Committee at 8am to be grilled on the decision she announced the day before, joined by Assistant Governor Karen Silk and Chief Economist Paul Conway.
On Thursdays the major party leaders typically leave Wellington and this week will be no different. Opposition leader Chris Hipkins heads south to Otago University for O Week — a chance to press the flesh with students as the long campaign toward the November election gets underway.
In the House
Parliament sits all week with a stack of contentious legislation on the order paper. The Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which introduces a salary threshold for personal grievance claims and a new “gateway” for whether a worker in an employee or a contractor, faces strong opposition. The Public Service Amendment Bill, which would strip DEI provisions from the public service, specifically removing the requirement that the public service “reflect the community that it serves”. This could well be one of the last bills Judith Collins steers through the House.
Wednesday is a members’ bill evening. It is likely that National MP’s Carl Bates’ Juries (Age of Excusal) Amendment Bill will pass into law, which will allow older people to be called up for jury service.
Watching brief: The TPM court decision
The High Court is expected to rule soon on whether Te Pati Māori's expulsion of MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was lawful - and indeed whether John Tamihere is lawfully president of the party. (It seems unlikely that he will be removed from that role.) That ruling could come at any time, with the Judge saying he was conscious of moving fast ahead of the election.
The second phase of the Covid-19 Royal Commission report is also due by February 26 and could arrive this week.
And parties are making all sorts of decisions about lists and the selection for various seats right now.