Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – December 05 2018
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry report
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Nothing will come from another mental health inquiry
Press Editorial: The report’s in, now the real work starts
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Politics, money and lives – Govt torn three ways on mental health
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Mental Health Inquiry report: Government should have had an action plan
1News: Mental Health Foundation says ‘significant omissions’ in major inquiry
Stuff: Experts react to the release of Government’s Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry
Oliver Lewis and Cate Broughton (Stuff): Sector welcomes mental health inquiry report, awaits government action
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Suicide victim Nicky Stevens’ family blasts Government’s mental health targets
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Parents of Nicky Stevens welcome report but call suicide target ‘weak’
RNZ: New Zealanders plead for help from failing mental health system
Kyle MacDonald (Herald): Time to put people at heart of mental health system
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Drug Foundation backs move to treat personal drug use as health issue
Bob McCoskrie: Mental Health Inquiry Will Worsen Mental Health With Soft Approach On Drugs
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Mental Health and Addiction report: What you need to know
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Mental Health Inquiry: What it means for Māori
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Mental Health report “not radical enough” for Māori
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Too important to be political football
RNZ: Mental health inquiry: ‘We’re treating this with urgency’
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Government will respond to mental health report in March
1News: Government inquiry finds serious flaws in New Zealand’s mental health system
Zane Small (Newshub):‘Outdated and inadequate’: Govt mental health inquiry paints damning picture
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Major new target to boost access to mental health services, top recommendation from inquiry
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Mental health shake up urged
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Mental health report recommends re-think on drug charges
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction released
Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): Mental health inquiry: change long overdue
Māori TV: Mental Health Act outdated – Inquiry
Spinoff: Once in a generation’: The crucial passages from the mental health inquiry
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Crisis in New Zealand health services as depression and anxiety soar
Fiona Connor (Newshub): Father-of-three loses eight-year battle with mental health
Maggie Barry bullying allegations, Parliamentary inquiry
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Maggie Barry bullying claims: Ex-staffer speaks out
Newshub: Exclusive: Leaked email reveals Maggie Barry told parliamentary staff to do National Party work which could be unlawful
RNZ: New leak didn’t come from National MP – Bridges
Jason Walls (Herald): Internal National Party email advising MPs on what to reply to bullying questions has been leaked
Derek Cheng (Herald): National MP Maggie Barry says she was cleared of bullying claims
1News: ‘I create a positive environment for all staff’ – National’s Maggie Barry speaks out over bullying allegations
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Maggie Barry asks for investigation into staff recordings
Zane Small (Newshub): Simon Bridges stands by Maggie Barry over bullying denial
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Bullying and bad behaviour: Parliament’s perfect storm
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Winston Peters blames ‘language Nazis’ for bullying scandals
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters can’t be sure he hasn’t been a bully
Environment and conservation, waste
The Conversation: 12 years from climate change disaster, can we change our fate?
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Brutal climate-change challenges will put an end to ‘magical thinking’
Peter Matheson (ODT): Next generation needs climate change action
No Right Turn: Climate Change: National are still dragging their feet
Sally McKechnie (Stuff): Vanuatu v the developed world: Taking climate change inaction to court
David Farrar: No small nations do not make up 30% of emissions
1News: Greenpeace investigation allegedly finds scattering of NZ waste being processed in ‘illegal’ Malaysian factories
Greg Roughan (RNZ): Hard truths about recycling – it’s mostly PR
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Cash-for-trash bottle refund scheme petition presented at Parliament
Stuff: Gated community discharges human waste into Hamilton stream
Herald: Hamilton body corporate fined for dumping poo in stream
Foreign affairs and trade
AP: New Zealand to allow smoother border access to South Koreans
RNZ: NZ has not provided aid to North Korea in 10 years – PM
Harrison Christian (Stuff): South Korean president talks North Korea sanctions, Pacific reset with Jacinda Ardern
Keith Locke (Herald): Our defense policy and exercises align us with the US against China
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Looming tech cold war could impact NZ
Juha Saarinen (Herald): Huawei mess was entirely predictable
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Winston Peters increases diplomatic footprint in the Pacific
RNZ: Government has its ‘eyes wide open’ on China: Winston Peters
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The global migration agreement causing a stir
Derek Cheng (Herald): UN migration agreement criticised for hindering NZ sovereignty
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government still to decide on United Nations migration pact, but National says it wants NZ out
Scott Palmer and Jamie Ensor (Newshub): National wants out of controversial UN migration pact
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Kelvin Davis to attend George HW Bush’s state funeral
Health
1News: ‘I’m sad and scared’ – breast cancer sufferer gives emotional plea to select committee over funding
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): I’m sick of seeing my friends die: Breast cancer fighter’s desperate plea for medication
Mānia Clarke (Māori TV): Mulholland supports calls for PHARMAC Inquiry
Emma Russell (Herald): Revealed: Junior doctors running ED night shift unsupervised
1News: What you need to know about meningococcal and the emergency vax programme starting today in Northland
RNZ: Emergency vax clinics open in north to combat menW
Rotorua Daily Post: No change to Bay of Plenty and Lakes districts’ meningococcal vaccine recommendations
Ruth Nicol (Stuff): Surgical mesh deemed unsafe for one medical problem is being used for another
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Public advised to visit GP first after nearly seven-hour wait at Middlemore emergency department
1News: Nurses ‘angry and scared’ after recent attacks at mental health facility in Christchurch
RNZ: Short-term fix to protect nurses: more security
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Medical alarm confusion ends in elderly Wellington woman’s death
RNZ: Adverse comments likely in alarm inquest findings
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): Fitness programme Patu Aotearoa a step into the light
Phil Taylor (Herald): Fear of blindness prompts Vanuatu sea voyage to Fred Hollows Foundation ‘Outreach’ clinic
Phil Taylor (Herald): Battling superstition – the life of a Fred Hollows Foundation eye nurse in Vanuatu
Education
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Inland Revenue loses track of thousands of Kiwi student loan debtors in Australia
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teachers blame numeracy and literacy focus: ‘Science gets pushed to the side’
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Science educator shocked by children’s poor science results
Adele Redmond (Stuff): Four in five students are not prepared for high school-level science, study finds
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Treaty of Waitangi ‘not taught enough’ and not taught well
Herald: Wairau Intermediate School blasted for ‘sexist’ disco policy
1News: Māori, Pasifika students get access to top Auckland schools with homes in zones – ‘I saw the difference between the haves and the have nots’
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Trade training grads not up to demands of new technology says engineer
Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): Damon Salesa: Pākehā are Pacific Island people too
1News: Teachers reject Government’s latest offer on pay and conditions
Jessica Long (Stuff): Teachers and principals vote on Government’s latest contract offers
Herald: Primary teachers and principals reject Ministry of Education’s latest offer
RNZ: Primary teachers and principals to vote on strike action
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Teachers’ strike: Primary principals and teachers reject latest pay offer
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Meet Lara: The principal doubling as teacher, librarian, counsellor and plumber
Child welfare, abuse
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Abuse survivor complained to school and was told to leave or be expelled
Maria Grace (Spinoff): The one-man battle to help parents keep their kids safe online
CPAG: Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy welcomed by CPAG but levers for change needed
State Sector
Jared Savage (Herald): Wally Haumaha: State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes confirms new review into how Justice and Corrections handled bullying allegations
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Beehive caught off guard by change of government
No Right Turn: Redacting their dirty laundry
Herald: New appointment means half of public sector chiefs are women
RNZ: Half of public service chief executives are now women
Parliament
1News: ‘The Government wants to screw the scrum’ – will it become easier for support parties to get into Parliament?
Phil Smith (RNZ): Tuesday’s things to do: Reserve bank guidance, job rules & medical dope
Jason Walls (Herald): Speaker Trevor Mallard apologises for saying Simon Bridges’ comments were ‘smart-arse’
Watch: Speaker Trevor Mallard apologises after accusing Simon Bridges of making ‘smart a***’ comments in Parliament
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘Smart-ass’: Speaker Trevor Mallard calls out Simon Bridges during Question Time
Newstalk ZB: Trevor Mallard slams Simon Bridges for ‘smart arse’ comments
Zane Small (Newshub): Lightning strikes: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stranded at Auckland Airport
Housing
RNZ: Payouts for flawed meth testing regime: ‘If we’re unsuccesful, we won’t give up’ – Housing NZ
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): ‘Seasoned public servant’ appointed boss of big new housing ministry
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Questions raised over whether KiwiBuild can help Queenstown’s housing woes
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): 153 homes announced for long vacant HNZ Epuni land
Chorus
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Communications Minister Kris Faafoi following Chorus’ investigation ‘with interest’
Chris Keall (Herald): Labour Inspectorate charges two Chorus subcontractors
Joe Gallagher (Stuff): Ultrafast broadband network ‘built on the cheap’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Allegations of bribery and ‘improper behaviour’ investigated in broadband roll-out
Employment
Southland Times: Tender mercies? Southland councils are testing more than the market
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Workplace Bullying: what are your rights?
Peter Cullen (Stuff): Some employers are getting too personal with health questions
Karin Lasthuizen (Newsroom): Ethics starts at the top
Matt Brown (Stuff): Kiwis ‘too good’ for seasonal work as employers cry out for skilled fulltime staff
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Job losses loom as RCR Energy Dannevirke workers get pre-Christmas shock
David Loughrey (ODT): South Dunedin restaurant in trouble for work practices
Herald: Dunedin pair to pay $11,500 for breaching employment law
Christmas
Melanie Taylor (Stuff): Christmas is for kids, not adult agendas
Stuff: Santa-free parade not much of a Christmas present for the kids
Paula Hulburt (Stuff): ‘Heart-breaking’: Family budget service to close before Christmas
Jay Hall (Spinoff): ‘Black Pete is a symbol of slavery, oppression, racism and ignorance’
Charity
Bryan Gould: Making charitable gifts and paying taxes
Josie Mitchell (North & South): Night riders: The Sikh community’s Free Kitchen helps the homeless
Ewan Sargent (Stuff): Charity group: Don’t donate white pants
1News: Charity group says women don’t want your white pants
Transport
Joel McManus (Stuff): Auckland vehicle inspector suspended over dodgy WoFs
RNZ: Further 4000 drivers may have dodgy warrants
Herald: NZTA warns more Kiwi motorists to get their cars’ Warrant of Fitness rechecked
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Cycleway for Manawatū Gorge replacement highway pitched as win-win for cyclists and motorists
No Right Turn: NZTA, ANPR and privacy
Primary industries, animal welfare
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Live cattle export operation under way in Port of Timaru
1News: Northland farmer filmed allegedly hitting cows with steel pipe facing charges
Herald: Charges laid over cows beaten with pipe and other implements
1News/Sky: Heartache and trauma’ – many farmers say human toll of eradicating M. bovis too high
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): New national food standard to rid markets of phoney organic produce
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Hawke’s Bay feedlot battle: Strategist hit with legal costs
RNZ: Maize crops sick, seeds failing
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Tasman council takes no legal action against forestry after storm damage
Treasury wellbeing indicators
Richard Harman (Politik): How Treasury is changing the way Government works
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): New Zealand in four charts
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister says the Treasury’s new set of wellbeing indicators is a ‘significant step forward’
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Treasury releases first version of Living Standards Framework Dashboard that will help inform Grant Robertson’s ‘Wellbeing Budget’
Audit Blog: Well-being from the centre of government and well-being “on the ground”…
Construction industry
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Some thoughts on solving our construction sector woes
Anne Gibson (Herald): Construction sector ‘house of cards’: Corbel Construction failure tip of iceberg, lawyer says
Anuja Nadkarni, John Anthony and Chris Hutching (Stuff): Another big building player folds: Corbel Construction in liquidation
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Corbel subbie owed $700k didn’t know about longstanding problems
RNZ: Christchurch-based building company Corbel fails
Madison Reidy (RNZ): City Rail Link pulls $500m contract off the table
Justice, corrections
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): How can the criminal justice system be more effective?
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Inmate’s rights breached over prison fight as visiting justice failed to allow him a lawyer, court rules
Police
RNZ: Strangulation legislation enforced on day one
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Auckland man arrested under new family harm legislation, charged with strangulation
Stuff: Woman left alone in cells at New Plymouth District Court for almost six hours
RNZ: Police criticised after woman left unattended in cells for hours
RNZ: Police chase leaves two dead in Christchurch
George Block (ODT): Officer rainbow-friendly face of police
Jan Antolik/Karel Sroubek residency decision
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Karel Sroubek’s estranged wife is ‘afraid for her life’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Political attacks increase fears for Karel Sroubek’s wife – National
Newstalk ZB: Winston Peters criticised for over comments about Karel Sroubek’s wife
Children banned from cafe
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Banning kids from cafes won’t solve the problem
Newshub: Nelson’s Abbey Road Burgers, Bar and Café cops criticism for banning children
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Nelson cafe owner vows to stand by his child ban until Kiwi kids are ‘educated’
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): Nelson restaurant says it’s ‘been like heaven’ after decision to ban children
Local government
Christina Persico (Stuff): New Plymouth councillor told off for backing Confederate flag during radio show
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington’s CBD liquor ban could be extended, but drunken Kilbirnie revellers can stay
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Buses, trains, taxis, parking machines – nothing in Wellington seems to work
RNZ: First hydrogen fuel station planned for Ports of Auckland
Tommy Livington (Stuff): Man takes Auckland Council to Court of Appeal over destruction of Biggie the dog
America’s Cup
Todd Niall (Stuff): Report reveals Auckland Council’s $100m extra spend on America’s Cup works
Mandy Te and Todd Niall (Stuff): Government commits extra $22.5 million for America’s Cup infrastructure
Jason Walls (Herald): Government announces extra millions for America’s Cup
RNZ: Extra $22.5 million approved for America’s Cup
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Team New Zealand boss accuses minister of ‘mischief making’ during crunch time America’s Cup talks
Other
Thomas Manch (Stuff): What it will take to die: setting a straight path down the ‘slippery slope’
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Shane Jones’ $10m Westland dairy loan could turn out to be costly for New Zealand
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Revealed: Experienced miner Tony Forster will be the first back into Pike River Mine
Rob Stock (Stuff): Call to link NZ Super age to ‘health expectancy’ could mean working until 70
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Coroner calls for increase of alcohol purchasing age following death of drink-driving teen
Alison Mau (Stuff): Navy rape survivor hails Defence Force promise to talk first with victims, rather than fighting them through the courts
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Govt departments spend up on Facebook and Google
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB: Is NZ becoming a politically correct society of sycophants?
Mackenzie Smith (RNZ): NZ Pacific research institute to be overhauled
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern named among world’s most powerful women
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern named in world’s most powerful women list
Zane Small and Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Judith Collins trumps Simon Bridges in Twitter’s top-mentioned New Zealand politicians
1News: Twitter reveals the top topics Kiwis talked about this year – and the ‘Golden Tweet’ about our PM
Damian Vaughan (Spinoff): Music doesn’t just happen: Why you should care about the Copyright Act review
Imogen Neale (Stuff): Auckland tow truck driver closes boot, hooks up car with guide dogs inside
Cherie Sivignon (Nelson Mail): Waimea dam approval ‘sad day’ for Tasman, says group
Herald: PM reveals plans for Baby Neve’s first Xmas
Spinoff: Four different perspectives on reproductive rights
RNZ: Call for immediate probe of Trivago travel website
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): 9 Spokes desperate for cash, reveals Callaghan grant
