The launch of State of the City 2026 on 26 August carried Auckland’s competitiveness into New Zealand’s national news. The NZ Herald, The Post, RNZ and NBR each took their own angle on the report, which The Business of Cities prepared for the Committee for Auckland, working with Deloitte and Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Most of the coverage turned on the same question: how much of what Auckland attracts it manages to keep. The Post’s Auckland editor Amelia Wade framed it as a retention problem, with students, visitors, investment and new companies arriving more readily than they stay. The NZ Herald set Auckland’s rise as a tech hub against a falling share of visitor spending, RNZ reported the business ecosystem rising 11 places alongside a warning that the city could slip back, and NBR paired improved affordability with weaker investment appeal.
- NZ Herald: Auckland as a gateway to NZ: Visitor spending falls, the city as a tech hub rises
- The Post: Auckland can’t hold onto its own success, report finds
- RNZ: Auckland on the rise but shouldn’t rest on its laurels
- NBR: Auckland ‘more affordable’ but losing investment appeal: report
Read about the report here, or access it from the Committee for Auckland here.
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