NewsRoom_Digest for 3 March 2016

NewsroomPlus.com Today’s edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 4 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Thursday 3rd of March. It is best viewed on a desktop screen. NEWSROOM_MONITOR Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include: asking prices for properties in Auckland have risen to a record high, with data from realestate.co.nz showing the average asking price in the country’s biggest city jumped 13.3%, or $101,656, to $866,080 in the year to February; voting in the final referendum on New Zealand’s flag starts today; and the New Zealand Rugby Union says it has no plans to remove contact rugby from schools, despite calls from British doctors to ban it there. POLITICS PULSE Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included: Government: New Zealand’s constitutional treasures to be more accessible; Services and investment boosted under TPP; Second phase ETS Review documents released;Youth in court down 61 per cent since 2007/08;Road crashes cost us all — Foss; Speech: Amy Adams – Opening address to Media Technology-Pacific Conference, Auckland; Beetles help wage War on Weeds; New Zealand welcomes UN Security Council resolution on North Korea; Targets to provide direction for our energy future; Speech: Simon Bridges – New Zealand’s renewable advantage – moving beyond electricity; Ture Whenua Māori Bill strengthens retention of Māori land; Callaghan Innovation Board appointments announced; Youth Justice success in Wellington; PM Acknowledges Passing Of Martin Crowe ACT Party: Seymour assists Collins with reading the law; Seymour challenges Dom Post editorial writer to name themselves and visit a Partnership School Greens: Green Party Calls For Investigation Of Clean Alternatives To Huntly Coal;Condolences for Martin Crowe; Nick Smith misleads the House and the public over rentals Bill Labour: Nat MPs block call for NZTE to return to committee; Workers need more family time, not less; Don’t ask, don’t tell on illegal school fees Māori Party: Māori Party Supports Greater Trustee Control Over Wairarapa Whenua; Have your say on the flag referendum New Zealand First: Crowe’s Courage And Class Will Be Remembered – Peters NZ National Party: Technology Valley Awards will help showcase the Hutt; Bishop urges family violence conversation to continue United Future Party: Flag Referendum Needs To Look Out For Future Generations; Dunne Speaks – The Student Loan Debt Monster Rampages On LINKS OF THE DAY BUILDING ACTIVITY: Building activity reached a record high in the December 2015 quarter, with an increase from the previous quarter in Auckland but a decrease in Canterbury, according to Statistics New Zealand. More details at:http://bit.ly/1ORHrnq ETS REVIEW DOCUMENTS: Two technical documents were released today to help New Zealanders engage with the second phase of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) review. The two reports are available at: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate-change/forestry-technical-note http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate-change/operational-matters-technical-note LIFE TABLES: New Zealand cohort life tables track the mortality experience of people born in each year from 1876. These complement the more common period life tables, which show the mortality experience in a specific time period. The tables were released by Statistics New Zealand. Read more: http://bit.ly/1QML67l ROAD CRASHES COST: The Ministry of Transport’s annual Social Cost of Road Crashes and Injuries report estimated the total social cost of fatal and injury crashes in 2014 was $3.47 billion (in June 2015 prices). The latest report is available on the Ministry of Transport’s website: www.transport.govt.nz/socialcost And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Thursday 3rd March. –]]>