This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains media 5 release snippets and 3 links for the day of Tuesday 14th July.
Top stories in the current news cycle include ongoing contention surrounding the use of data about property buyers in Auckland, a survey of general practitioners that indicates as many as one in 10 have helped a terminally ill person die and Nicky Hager’s High Court challenge of the issuing of a search warrant for his home and the search last year.
SNIPPETS OF THE DAY
* Politics
Time For Foreign Buyers Register: It is time the Government set up a foreign buyers register so New Zealanders can see exactly how many of our houses offshore speculators are purchasing, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says. He later on added that “A register would provide a searchable and up-to-date database which would inform the market and public debate. Without one, the Government will simply pick and choose data to support its false claim foreign speculators only account for 1 per cent of all house sales.”
Attorney-General Satisfied With Conduct Of Crown Law: Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson today announced he is satisfied with the conduct of Crown Law in relation to R v Banks. “The proceeding was commenced as a private prosecution by Mr Graham McCready”. “The decision to commit Mr Banks to trial was an independent judicial decision”, says Mr Finlayson.
Auckland Kids Missing Out On Free GPs: Thousands of Auckland children are missing out on free doctors’ visits despite claims from the Government that take-up had exceeded expectations, 22 of 26 practices in Auckland Central have chosen not to opt into the scheme.“That means up to 5000 six to 12 year olds will not be able to see their GP for free.” Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says.
* Business
WTO Agreement To Benefit Kiwi Companies: Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser today announced that New Zealand has finalised its accession to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and it will come into effect next month. New Zealand businesses will have guaranteed access to bid for an estimated US$1.7 trillion in annual overseas government contracts through joining the GPA, which creates new opportunities for Kiwi businesses to export more products and services to more destinations, Mr Joyce says.
* Primary Industries
West Coast Rimu Needs The Same ProtectionNew Zealand First is demanding that the same protections afforded to the export of Northland swamp kauri be extended to windblown rimu from the West Coast.“New Zealand First opposed the bill because the Government refused to require windblown timber to be processed before export, as is required of any other native timber from any source”says Primary Industries Spokesperson Richard Prosser.
LINKS OF THE DAY
DRAMATIC CHANGES IN HOUSING AND POPULATION: The size of New Zealand’s households has halved – but it’s taken over a century to do it, according to new analysis from Statistics New Zealand. A century of censuses: Long-term trends from the Census of Population and Dwellings to 2013 shows that at the most recent census in 2013, there were on average 2.7 people in each occupied dwelling – nearly half the number from 1886, when 5.2 people was the average. Read more here: http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/century-censuses.aspx
VALUE OF MEAT EXPORTS INCREASE: Over the first nine months of this season, beef and veal returns and volumes have been higher than lamb and mutton.Because of the significant size of the market, changes in Chinese demand – specifically, less lamb and mutton and more beef – impacted across all categories of New Zealand meat exports.Meanwhile, the USD / NZD exchange rate averaged 0.76 in the first nine months of the current season, compared with 0.84 over the same period last season – a 10 per cent drop. This NZD weakness contributed significantly to this season’s higher average export values across all products. Click here for statistics: portal.beeflambnz.com/tools/export-tool
DISTRICT HEALTH BOARDS FALL SHORT: “District health boards are continuing to fall woefully short when it comes to providing a workplace culture that encourages clinical leadership in health decision-making,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). See here, for more:http://www.asms.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DHBs-need-to-improve-commitment-to-distributive-clinical-leadership_163958.2.pdf
And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Tuesday 14th July 2015.
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