Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – December 14 2018
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.
Russell Brown: Just quietly, this is a big deal
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Addiction services back govt move on synthetic cannabis
John Gibb (ODT): Drug policy changes ‘game-changer’ in wake of deaths
Newshub: Synthetic crackdown: Will it reach those most at need?
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Cannabis legalised for people with terminal illness
Zane Small (Newshub): Chlöe Swarbrick confident weaker drug laws won’t encourage new users
Dan Satherley (Newshub): New drug law forces police to be social workers – Judith Collins
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Police concerns over Government moves on synthetic drugs
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Health approach to be taken for users of synthetic drugs, harsher penalties for suppliers
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Government clamp-down on synthetic cannabis dealers extends to all drugs
Jo Moir (Stuff): Two of the most common synthetic drugs to be classified as Class A
Anna Whyte (1News); Government crackdown on synthetic drugs sees two common types classified as Class A
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Discretion the question in synthetics response
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Government announces major crackdown on synthetic drug dealers
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): Government crackdown on drugs
James Borrowdale (Vice): New Zealand Government Signals “Paradigm Shift” In Drug Policy
Sam Smith (The Big Q): Is it time for a law change on cannabis use in New Zealand?
Name suppression, justice, corrections
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Onus was on Google to be aware of Grace Millane name suppression, but it may escape sanction
Ruth Hill (RNZ):Proposed suppression law hard to enforce – lawyer
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Grace Millane case: No prosecutions yet despite flagrant suppression breaches
Sam Hurley (Herald): Grace Millane case: Suppression flouted by Google and others, prosecutions to follow?
1News: Justice Minister says Google has to be called to account for breaching suppression in Grace Millane case
Dominion Post Editorial: The challenge of suppressing wild, wild west of social media
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Grace Millane: Trial of accused murderer could be threatened
Sam Hurley (Herald): Bar Association says ongoing suppression breaches in Grace Millane murder case endanger trial
RNZ: Grace Millane case: Suppression breaches could endanger trial
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Grace Millane case: Top lawyer says name suppression breaches ‘alarming’
Collette Devlin and Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Grace Millane: Google breaks name suppression in mass email
Sam Hurley and Derek Cheng (Herald): Grace Millane murder: Suppression laws labelled ‘nonsense’ after Google’s breach
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Ministry of Justice launches new guide for sexual violence victims
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Family of NZer who died in Samoan prison plead for justice
Laura O’Connell Rapira (RNZ): Opinion: Don’t forget how you felt the next time this happens
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Opinion: ‘Not all men’ is an astonishingly selfish reaction to women’s pain
1News: Jacinda Ardern sends message to Millane family as Grace’s dad prepares to take daughter back to England
Derek Cheng (Herald): New Corrections dogs to sniff out synthetic cannabis
Budget
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Why the Government won’t boost benefits in next year’s ‘Wellbeing’ Budget
Audrey Young (Herald): Grant Robertson maintains his credibility as plans for next Budget gather pace
Richard Harman (Politik): Robertson and his radical plan for the Budget
Liam Dann (Herald): Grant Robertson’s cautious approach should reassure business
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s numbers spare the Government’s blushes
Jenna Lynch and Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): ‘Too many people left behind’: How the ‘Wellbeing’ Budget will work
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Even with lower growth, Treasury predicts more tax for spending
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Growth forecast softens as migration falls, but wages will shoot ahead
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Treasury sees $27b of surpluses over 5 years
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson says ‘timing issues’ caused lower than expected surplus
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Robertson holds fire for Wellbeing Budget
Moana Makapelu Lee (Māori TV): ‘Wellbeing outcomes’ to be included in 2019 Budget
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s wellbeing budget to smash silos between government departments
Anna Whyte (1News): Opening the books: Government targets mental health, creating opportunities for Māori and Pacific people in 2019 Budget priorities
Foreign affairs, Huwawei ban
Chris Uhlmann & Angus Grigg (Sydney Morning Herald): How ‘Five Eyes’ cooked up campaign to kill off Huawei
Yanek Fan (Herald): Huawei hit back: 5G ban not the ‘kiwi way’ of doing things
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): MFAT boss defends NZ-China relationship
Nina Hall (Newsroom): Why is National joining the nationalists?
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Aboriginal elder disappointed with deportation order: ‘He belongs to this country’
Jan Antolik/Karel Sroubek residency case
Herald: Jacinda Ardern plans to change phone number after Richie Hardcore row
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): National tries to put smoking gun in PM’s hand over Sroubek case
1News: ‘What does that mean? Winston Peters confuses National, has Government MPs in fits of laughter in Sroubek debate
Derek Cheng (Herald): National to PM – release the text from Karel Sroubek supporter
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): ‘Dishonest’ Jacinda Ardern ‘must release’ Richie Hardcore’s Karel Sroubek text – Simon Bridges
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Opposition leader says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s account of text message from Sroubek supporter ‘dishonest’
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Richie Hardcore’s Sroubek text was unsolicited
David Farrar: So why did the Sroubek supporter text the PM?
Smokefree 2025 goal in jeopardy
Newshub: Not enough Kiwis quitting smoking – study
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): New Zealand not on track to meet ‘ambitious’ Smokefree 2025 goal
Mike Houlahan (ODT): NZ Smokefree goal too optimistic: reports
Amy Wiggins (Herald): 17,000 more Kiwis need to quit smoking each year to hit Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 target
Health
Cate Broughton (Stuff): OECD report calls for extension to ACC
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Need outstrips mental health workforce: report
Indira Stewart (RNZ): Older Pasifika migrants more resilient to mental illness
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Five staff assaulted at Taranaki Base Hospital mental health ward
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Mental health nurse says Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital isn’t safe to work at
RNZ: Stalled midwife talks may trigger mass resignations – union
Herald: New case of meningococcal disease reported at West Auckland school
Herald: False sunscreen information dangerous for consumers – expert
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Advocate calls for hub and guidelines for Ehlers-Danlos patients
Mike Houlahan (ODT): ‘Living memorial’ proposed
Newshub: Tens of thousands could die in modern-day influenza pandemic – health expert
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): New Zealanders overwhelmingly in support of women breastfeeding in public
Felicity Reid (Stuff): Parking charges and time restrictions ‘penalise’ hospital visitors
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Why surgery is only part of the journey to transition
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): New healthcare guidelines for gender diverse
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Why is Christchurch Hospital displaying photos of staff in blackface?
1News: ACT’s David Seymour and Maggie Barry clash over euthanasia bill changes
IGIS questions GCSB surveillance
David Fisher (Herald): Andrew Little says the collection of Kiwi communications by the GCSB requires high-level sign off
David Fisher (Herald): New oversight report critical of spies for failing to detail methods and targets under new law
Gia Garrick (RNZ): Spying warrants under scrutiny by watchdog
No Right Turn: The GCSB appear to be breaking the law again
State sector
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Public servant numbers jump under Labour
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Robertson downplays, Adams amplifies RBNZ’s plea for more staff
David Hargreaves (Interest): RBNZ to study climate change impact on NZ house prices
Michael Reddell: Funding the Reserve Bank: focus on your statutory mandate
Environment and conservation
Mike Joy (Stuff): Reduction in farming intensity a single solution to multiple problems
Paul Gorman and Tina Law (Stuff): ECan approves higher level of nitrates in Christchurch drinking water
Paul Gorman and Tina Law (Stuff): Council spat deepening over the future of Christchurch’s drinking water
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Council and Crown at odds over who pays for Ōhakea water scheme
Eloise Gibson (Newsroom): Climate right for Government to take on water tool
Nigel Paragreen (ODT): Statutory role in protecting waterways
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Horizons Regional Council issues itself infringement notice to itself
Eloise Gibson (Newsroom): Shaw: NZ’s not seeking easy way out
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Ignoring the cow in the room
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): First major Waitākere Ranges kauri track due to reopen
RNZ: Call for ban on dog walkers along coastlines with little penguins
Alison Ballance (RNZ): NZ falcons thriving in logged pine plantations
Air transport
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Air traffic staff told to work when tired, sick
RNZ: Air NZ engineers’ strike called off: ‘Nothing really about it has been particularly clear’
David Hargreaves (Interest): Insurers’ air travel warning
Transport
RNZ: Another WOF vehicle inspector suspended
Lucy Bennett (Herald): NZTA chairman Michael Stiassny speaks to parliamentary committee on WOF scandal
Sam Farrell (Newshub): More resignations likely over botched WoF scheme, say
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Hamilton-Auckland commuter train likely to get go ahead today
Gerald Piddock (Stuff): NZTA board due to decide whether to fund Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service
Simon Wilson (Herald): Speed limits, the fast and the furious
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins, Julie Anne Genter clash over Auckland Transport’s speed limit proposal
Tom Hunt (Stuff): No knees please: Wellington bus drivers banned from wearing shorts
RNZ: Petrol delivery strike canned
Education
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Education plan seeks far-left reform
Bryce Edwards (Newsroom): The sound of ideologies clashing
Frank Greenall (Whanganui Chronicle): Full speed ahead for Yesterday’s Schools
Brad Lewis (Newshub): Rugby: Ex-All Black Ian Jones part of panel probing Auckland college poaching fiasco
RNZ: College Sport to investigate St Kentigern’s spat
Hawkes Bay Today: Nursing students benefiting from two years free education
RNZ: Otago University Students’ Association reveals plans for bar they bought
Quote of the year
Herald: Political slip of the tongue claims top spot in this year’s Quote of the Year
RNZ: Quote of the Year: Simon Bridges’ Paula ‘Benefit’ gaffe
Media
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Shake up for NZME community newspapers
RNZ: Guyon Espiner moves from Morning Report in RNZ changes
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Guyon Espiner leaves RNZ’s Morning Report
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): RNZ shake up: Panel host Jim Mora and Sunday’s Wallace Champan switch roles
Newshub: Duncan Garner’s touching tribute to departing RadioLIVE friends
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): MediaWorks in 2018: Starving itself to prepare for a sale?
Newstalk ZB: Watch: Leighton Smith talks to Hosking about retiring after 33 years
Primary industries
Stuff: Coromandel farmer fined for illegal work on a wetland near Whitianga
RNZ: More famers feeling financial pressures
Housing
Susan St John (Newsroom): Tax Working Group unlikely to sort housing inequality
Yvonne Tahana (1News): ‘An indictment for us as a nation,’ PM says of Māori homelessness rate while announcing $1 million for marae
Julie Iles (Stuff): Lack of housing supply makes renting in Wellington as expensive as Auckland
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Hundreds of thousands of rentals still uninsulated with just 6 months til deadline
Local government
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Chief Ombudsman investigates TDC’s official information practices
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Revealed: How much Auckland Council’s Christmas celebrations will cost you
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Proposal to have electric vehicle chargers in Wellington’s suburbs stalls
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Opposition stops electric charging stations plan in its tracks
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Wellington convention centre finally given the go-ahead
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Revised plans for $179 million Wellington convention centre given the green light
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Councillor opposes victim’s restraining order, more complaints revealed
Tina Law (Stuff): Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel reveals husband’s cancer diagnosis
RNZ: Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel intends to stand for a third term
Sport
Gregor Paul (Herald): How Black Ferns’ Kendra Cocksedge has shattered rugby’s biggest lie
RNZ: Cycling and football unscathed by damning reviews in latest funding
Other
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Labour MP names Judith Collins politician of the year
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Royal Commission admits email mix-up with abuse survivors
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Salvation Army’s Latest Report: Identifying the Sins – but not the Solutions
RNZ: Checkpoint: MSD’s treatment ‘didn’t make me feel human’
Gia Garrick (RNZ): Mental fatigue becomes major focus in govt’s workplace strategy
David Rankin (Herald): Disillusioned Ngapuhi will fight ake ake
Morgan Godfery: Controversial Waitara Lands Bill passes third and final reading
Tom Pullar-Stecker (Stuff): Online voting ‘no silver bullet’ for low turnout, study finds
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): TOP Wants to work with Māori Party for 2020 election
RNZ: Insurance payouts for extreme weather events hit $226m for 2018
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ Post and Kiwibank grilled over branch closures
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): State-of-the-art National Geohazards Monitoring Centre opens
RNZ: Death highlights risk of old buildings in quakes – Coroner
RNZ: Methane purge begins at Pike River Mine
RNZ: Police use of pepper spray on man unlawful – IPCA
RNZ: Financial sector worth more than agriculture, report shows
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): ‘Go back to the gas chamber’: Auckland men targeted in appalling homophobic rant
Te Karere: Trans woman speaks of cousin’s inspirational words before receiving moko – ‘This is us cuz’
James Croot (Stuff): Once Upon a Deadpool: NZ Censor breaks with Australia and bans under-13s
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Roger Sutton on a mission to help Christchurch’s downtrodden
Herald: Jacinda reveals Neve’s Christmas costume
