NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for February 23 Edition, 2016

Today’s edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 1 resourceful link of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 23rd February. It is best viewed on a desktop screen. NEWSROOM_MONITOR Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include: relief supplies starting to arrive in Fiji as the country begins the massive task of cleaning up after Cyclone Winston (at least 29 people have been killed); United Future leader Peter Dunne calling for a review of the Clean Slate Act, saying too many people are being burdened with decades-old convictions for minor offences; and perhaps tens of thousands of New Zealanders being eligible for a Resident Return Visa (RRV) – a faster and cheaper way of getting Australian citizenship that is not pegged to work skills or earning at least $NZ57,000 a year. POLITICS PULSE Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included: Government: Government Provides Extra Support For Buller; Good progress under Bay of Plenty Housing Accords; Processed timber a big winner under TPP;Hawke’s Bay mental health inpatient unit opens;First phase of Land Access Reforms to speed up UFB rollout; Good progress on quarterly health targets;Out of Gate helping more prisoners to be crime-free; Student achievement continuing to rise; NZ joins $200 million science investment fund Labour: ECan legislation an affront to democracy NZ National Party: McCully will not contest East Coast Bays in 2017 United Future Party: Time to Review Clean Slate Act LINKS OF THE DAY PHARMAC SEEKING NEW MEMBERS: PHARMAC is seeking nominations for two Māori members of its Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC).Information about the vacancies and how to apply are available on the PHARMAC website: https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/news/vacancy-2016-02-05-cac-maori-members/. And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Tuesday 23rd 20th February. –]]>