This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 10 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Thursday 10th September.
NEWSROOM_MONITOR
Top stories in the current news cycle include the reduction of the Official Cash Rate by the RBNZ from 3% to 2.75% citing slowing domestic activity, the Queenstown Lakes District Council says it will be working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to put pressure on local landlords to comply with government tenancy regulations and the Auditor-General has found no evidence the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) allowed illegal swamp kauri exports.
Note: As well as providing a precis of leading broadcast bulletins each day, our NewsRoom_Monitor service does a daily paper round with succinct ‘news picks’ from the main metropolitan papers emailed by 9am each morning. If you’re interested in a free trial please email monitor@newsroom.co.nz
POLITICS PULSE
Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:
Government: Better air services with Qatar welcomed; More free-to-air sport and TV for the Pacific; Speech: Peter Dunne- Opening of 2015 RACMA Scientific Conference; $345,000 for wilding conifers in War on Weeds; Three new appointees to Waitangi Tribunal; Solid Energy report welcomed; More colonoscopies delivered, wait times reduce; Minister opens new DOC Queenstown Visitor Centre; Sole parent students take up accommodation change
Greens: OCR wind-back highlights need for Reserve Bank governance reform; Minister withholding full extent of SERCO failure; Conservation Minister negligent for allowing proposal for oil drilling in Maui’s dolphin sanctuary; Minister withholding full extent of SERCO failure
Labour: Governor acts while Finance Minister fiddles; Flag design advice done and dusted in four hours; Credit rorts, ‘ghost students’, ‘lives forsaken’ in latest tertiary scandal
New Zealand First: Light rail solution for Wellington; No Suprises In OCR Cut; More support needed for māori boarding schools
United Future Party: Dunne Speaks – What to do about Child Abuse
LINKS OF THE DAY
Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014 at newsroom-nz.tumblr.com. We are currently building an archive of these at:http://newsroomplus.com/resources/resourceful-links/
CARD SPENDING UP: Retail spending using electronic cards reached $4.5 billion in August 2015, up $181 million (4.2 percent) from August 2014, Statistics New Zealand said today. For details see:http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/businesses/business_characteristics/ElectronicCardTransactions_HOTPAug15.aspx
DHB CHARGES PATIENTS MILLIONS: Research by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union reveals that District Health Boards have raked in more than $44 million in parking charges at New Zealand’s public hospitals in the last three years alone. Information compiled from Official Information Act requests is included in a briefing paper released today. Click here for the briefing paper: http://www.scribd.com/doc/277087075/Taxing-the-ill-briefing-paper-on-public-hospital-parking-charges
GUEST NIGHTS UP: Statistics NZ’s Accommodation Survey out today shows domestic guest nights were up 4.4 percent, and international guest nights were up 3.3 percent. The survey collects data for guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, and holiday parks in New Zealand each month. For more information on monthly accommodation statistics see:http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/accommodation/AccommodationSurvey_HOTPJul15.asp
NZ WELCOMES REFUGEES: This Thursday thousands of New Zealanders will gather around the country at candlelit vigils where they will have a moment of silence for the innocent lives lost and light candles for the additional lives that could be saved if the government acts immediately to double the refugee quota. For a full listing of events visithttp://www.actionstation.org.nz/refugees_welcome
OUTLOOK FROM BEEF+LAMB: The New Season Outlook 2015-16 was released by Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Economic Service today. It predicts the average sheep and beef farm in New Zealand will see its profit before tax lift to $109,900 this season – 9.6 per cent more than last season, but 3.1 per cent below the five-year average. The full report can be found at http://www.beeflambnz.com/economic-reports
SURGEONS IN NZ & AUS: An investigation has revealed almost half of all surgeons in New Zealand and Australia say they have experienced discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons says a culture change is needed. Read more here: https://www.surgeons.org/news/eag-launches-campaign-on-discrimination,-bullying-and-sexual-harassment
SHEEP FARMERS: “With spring comes more stock handling,” says Al McCone, WorkSafe’s Agriculture Programme Manager. “Injuries often happen when people do routine tasks like tailing/docking over and over again. Before you or your workers start any job on the farm, stop and consider what you need to watch out for and how to get it done safely.” For more information on staying safe on farms, go to http://www.saferfarms.org.nz
TENANCY REGULATIONS: The Queenstown Lakes District Council says it will be working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to put pressure on local landlords to comply with government tenancy regulations. Click here for more: http://mbie3.cwp.govt.nz/
WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY: Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. The Movember Foundation is using this occasion to spark conversation about the high numbers of male suicide within the community. The Movember radio podcast is available at: https://nz.movember.com/news/radio Another great initiative harnesses #HandOverHeart selfie to share a powerful message – see http://zeal.nz/handoverheart, and alsohttp://www.livefortomorrow.co.nz
YOUTH & JUSTICE: The Youth Custody Index found that nearly three quarters of incarcerated youth go on to commit more crime, and almost half end up back in custody. More information is available at:http://www.erjustice.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/YCI-2015.pdf
And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Thursday 10th September.
Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>
