Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 04 2019
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.
Employment, income
Shamubeel Eaqub (Stuff): Full employment: This is probably as good as it gets
Richard Wagstaff and Kirk Hope (Stuff): Have we really reached full employment?
John Anthony (Stuff): How near to full employment can New Zealand get?
Rob Stock and John Anthony (Stuff): Unemployment is low, but for many Kiwis aren’t feeling the benefits in higher wages
Dominion Post Editorial: Why back to the future on pay might not work
Dave Kennedy: Fair pay will not destroy the economy
Henry Cooke (Stuff): $82m slated for regional employment initiative from Provincial Growth Fund
Ross Webb (Jacobin): The Strike Returns to New Zealand
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Households earning up to $100,000 a year but still struggling to make ends meet
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): I admit it, I have no financial buffer for when things go wrong
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): Kiwi quality of life can be a harsh reality
Richard Meadows (Stuff): In defence of manual labour
Emily Writes (Spinoff): An honest living
RNZ: Claim of discrimination against wāhine Māori to go ahead
RNZ: Rotorua wood processer fined $680k for workers’ serious injuries
Government
Audrey Young (Herald): Coalition Government lining up smorgasbord of targets for National
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): After Davos, a reality check for Jacinda Ardern
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): ‘Let’s do what?’ The politics of accountability
Bryan Gould: New Zealand and Davos
Waitangi
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern’s Waitangi sequel a test of relationship
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern had a great Waitangi last year – will she repeat the trick?
Simon Wilson (Herald): Waitangi Diary 1: Jacinda Ardern returns to Waitangi
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Changes for official powhiri at Waitangi
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki to speak at Waitangi event
RNZ: Don Brash at Waitangi: ‘We’re trying to create partnerships’ – Reuben Taipari
Laura Tupou (Newshub): Don Brash guaranteed protection at Waitangi speech
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Boycott Don Brash’s Speech at Waitangi – Hilda Halkyard-Harawira
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash to speak at Waitangi
Ben Strang (RNZ): Don Brash set to return to marae at Waitangi
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Former National Party leader Don Brash to speak at Waitangi, where he was once pelted with mud
Herald: No comment from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Waitangi placenta burial idea
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): For many, Waitangi Day is just a day off work
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Waitangi Day 2019 – With Brash going, could it explode?
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Reduced funding puts strain on paddlers’ Waitangi prep
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): Waitangi extravaganza: Auckland Harbour Bridge to feature exploding volcano, soaring birds
Philip Matthews (Stuff): National portrait: Matthew Wright, Treaty historian
Yvonne Tahana (1News): Māori canoe builder and much-loved chief to be knighted tomorrow
Point of Order: Two Māori ministers are off to share the Waitangi spirit with Kiwis in the Land of Oz
Māori land development funding
Zane Small (Newshub): Shane Jones on defence: Why should we fund all this ‘flash’ science?
1News: Government announces $100m in funding to unlock under-utilised Māori land
Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces $100m funding package for Māori development and infrastructure
Henry Cooke (Stuff): $120m of Provincial Growth Fund announced, $100m fund for Māori landowners
RNZ: Govt to spend $100m on supporting Māori landowners
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Government offers Māori landowners $100m from Provincial Growth Fund
Zane Small (Newshub): $100m for Māori landowners ‘complete waste of money’ – Simon Bridges
Stuff: Simon Bridges likens spending on Māori land to ‘beads and blankets’
Iwi Chairs Forum
RNZ: Iwi leaders tell PM: We don’t want our message diluted
David Fisher (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets with iwi leaders at Waitangi
Housing
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): KiwiBuild noose tightens; Labour’s flagship policy is a dead duck
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Government scale of complaints against Barclay
David Slack (Stuff): Is Kiwibuild a flop, or good policy that just needs a chance to develop
Charlotte Graham-McLay (News York Times): New Zealand Vowed 100,000 New Homes to Ease Crunch. So Far It Has Built 47.
Harrison Christian (Stuff): ‘Pathetic’ landlord leaves tenants out of pocket and facing homelessness
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Wellington students in housing struggle get temporary relief
Laura Macdonald (Newshub): Wellington hostel rents rooms to students for $20 a night due to rental crisis
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Human Rights Tribunal decision may help guide dog users
Elton Rikihana Smallman (Stuff) :Anti-money laundering law slows listings, spikes asking price but market steady
Primary industries
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Shane Jones in hot water over support for Talley’s accused of illegal fishing
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): What on earth does the fishing industry have over Shane Jones?
Robin Martin (RNZ): 58 Taranaki farms in breach of their consents
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Running Dry – Can rural NZ thrive without irrigation?
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Our farmers need a Volkswagen moment
RNZ: Farmer faces legal action over ‘land farm’ discharge
John Saker (Stuff): How climate change is threatening New Zealand’s wine industry
Sean Hogan (1News): Beekeepers say there’s not enough food for all hives as more and more are created
Cancer care
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Time for inquiry into Pharmac’s funding of cancer drugs
Emma Russell (Herald): Calls for national cancer agency to put a stop to ‘unacceptable’ ‘post code lottery’
RNZ: Cancer conference puts action plan in motion
RNZ: Some cancer drugs with a ‘huge price’ don’t work
Health
RNZ: Govt to review drug advertising policy
RNZ: Minister rejects claim that lack of health targets cause early deaths
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Mental health patients in seclusion given cardboard box as toilet
Conan Young (RNZ): Investigation into how patient was locked in shed withheld from media
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Hundreds of Auckland mental health workers resigning, some blaming stress
Mike Houlahan (ODT): GP salary issue revived by Otago academics
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Otago group urges Government to fund free GP visits
1News: Teens who vape are three times more likely to start smoking cigarettes later – study
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Social media ‘influencer’ paid by tobacco giant to promote vape deletes Instagram posts
Matt Burrows (Newshub): ‘I’m missing from so many family photos’: St John worker’s heart-wrenching letter protesting poor work conditions
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Midwives’ union positive after return to negotiation with DHBs
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Health Minister David Clark stops cut to Aids Foundation budget ahead of 2019 Ending HIV Big Gay Out
RNZ: AIDS Foundation funding re-instated a week before the Big Gay Out
Hone Edwards (Māori TV): Iwi and medical union in dental dispute
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Five times more transgender Kiwis lining up for surgery
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Tax on red meat — is this the way to go?
Cannabis law reform, alcohol
Doug Sellman and Joe Boden (ODT): Question an important ‘bit of detail’
Mitch McCann (Newshub): New Zealanders lack knowledge around alcohol – study
Tax
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): ‘Why shouldn’t I call it income?’ – Grant Robertson’s CGT sales mission begins
Liam Dann (Herald): Pot and property tax pose double dilemma for PM
Jason Walls (Herald): Tax Working Group gives Finance Minister Grant Robertson its final report
Liam Dann (Herald): Government has received capital gains tax recommendation
Gia Garrick (RNZ): Tax group delivers report to government
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Tax Working Group final report out February 21, govt response in April
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Looming tax report ‘lost opportunity’ for small business
Tom Pullar-Strecker and Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Government may wait until April before deciding on capital gains tax
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The political smarts behind National’s new tax attack
Amy Adams (Stuff): It’s time to end ‘tax by stealth’ taking more money from New Zealanders each year
David Farrar: How the stealth income tax increases make you worse off
Environment and conservation
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): New Zealand’s disappearing wetlands continue to be destroyed
1News: Farmers called on to build wetlands as unique ecosystem enters steep decline
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): ECan disputes Fish and Game NZ’s unswimmable river levels
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Several fish found dead after riverbeds dry up in wider Marlborough region
RNZ: Unprecedented rise in South Island ocean temperatures
Todd Muller (Herald): There is plenty to learn as a climate change novice
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): West Coast council debates that ‘climate change crap’
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Bottling expansion could see 9 billion litres of pristine Christchurch water sold overseas
1News: Water activists concerned after Chinese bottling company reveals plans for second Canterbury plant
Bryan Bruce (Daily Blog): Watershed moment for democracy
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Could turning aquifers into managed reservoirs prevent water shortages and seawater contamination?
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Remind me what was wrong with plastic shopping bags
David Williams (Newsroom): Withdraw ‘flawed’ plans, DOC urged
RNZ: More time to feedback on national park proposals
Leith Huffadine (RNZ): Not just ‘greenies’: More diversity wanted for conservation boards
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Visitors have trashed one of New Zealand’s most scenic lakes, Waikaremoana
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Selfie takers are the latest threat to Auckland kauri
RNZ: Australasian bittern numbers may be lower than 1000
RNZ: Tight water restrictions now in place for Coromandel Town
RNZ: Hamilton warned over high water use
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Devonport firefighting foam: Defence Force rejects further investigation
RNZ: Contaminated Taranaki eel ‘little risk’ if consumed – study
Robin Martin (RNZ): Sewage spill stinks up suburb
Eric Frykberg (RNZ):EPA considers bringing beetle to control ‘threat’ to NZ fauna
RNZ: Household chemical disposal guidelines issued
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Conservationists colour-code canines in Otago
1News: Warning to pet owners after two blue penguins found dead after dog attack
RNZ: Wellingtonians warned to watch for toxic algae
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Martinborough residents to boil drinking water until at least Monday as E.coli issue continues
Katie Fitzgerald and Laura Macdonald (Newshub): E. coli in water supply threatens Martinborough Fair
Bridget Grace (Newshub): Waste management company says cheap tents should be banned as festival rubbish piles up
Lisa Davies (1News): More scenic flights proposed for Mount Cook – but some are concerned about noise
Education
Simon Collins (Herald): Battle over school reforms begins this week as 70 public meetings begin
John O’Neill (Herald): Taskforce proposals will make schools better, says John O’Neill
Zane Small (Newshub): Education overhaul: National to hold 40 meetings to address concerns
1News: ‘We need to get out there and talk and listen’ – Simon Bridges touts education tour
Josephine Franks (Stuff): ‘Bums on seats’ approach puts children at risk in early childhood education centres, teachers say
Ben Leahy (Herald): Demand hot for rentals near Auckland Grammar School as families move into zone
Laura James (1News): Hundreds of teaching positions left vacant despite overseas staff being available
Simon Collins (Herald): Ten teachers for 13 kids in new Flat Bush school despite record teacher shortage
Emma Cropper (Newshub): Bus driver shortage leaves Tauranga school children stranded
Jessica Long (Stuff): NCEA course in how to be a police officer launches in three Wellington schools
RNZ: Wellington students embrace chance for close look at policing
John Roughan (Herald): Education does not need to restrain the strong
Parliament
Simon Chapple and Thomas Anderson (Newsroom): Reviewing the political donation rules
Alison Mau (Stuff): #UsToo – what’s the fix for Parliament’s harassment problem?
Damian Grant (Stuff): Sarah Dowie has paid a painful price for her liaisons, let her torment end there
Heather Roy: New Political Parties’ Success Rests with Electoral Reform
Immigration
RNZ: Deported Indian students: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her support is ‘no longer appropriate’
Sam Hurley (Herald): Rich building boss guilty of immigration fraud after residency granted, loses court battle with Herald
Liam Dann (Herald): NZ has fewer people than we thought … so we don’t need to build so many houses
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Oops, maybe we haven’t got as many New Zealanders as we thought…
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): New Zealand has nearly 20,000 fewer immigrants than previously thought, data reveals
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Watch: Police step in as Wellington crowd turns on anti-immigration protesters
Alex Braae (Spinoff): ‘Integrate or get out’: at the anti-UN rally in Aotea Square
1News: Petition for Ukrainian family to avoid deportation grows overnight
1News: Thousands support Ukrainian family facing deportation
RNZ: Thousands support Ukrainian family facing deportation
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Thousands sign petition to save Ukrainian family from deportation
National Party, Jami-Lee Ross
Simon Wilson (Herald): Could Simon Bridges be our Angela Merkel?
Bill Ralston (Listener): Why it’s time for Simon Bridges to swallow his pride over Jami-Lee Ross
The Daily Blog: Exclusive: TDB interview with Jami-Lee Ross
Greens. Blue-Green party
Chris Trotter: There Can be Only One Green Party.
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Incredible Lightness of Being Green
Peter Dunne (Interest): The challenges for a possible ‘blue-green’ party and the National Party’s quest to get the numbers to allow it to govern
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The real purpose of the Blue Greens and New Conservatives
Auckland Pride
David Herkt (Herald): Auckland’s Pride festival: What went wrong?
Express: Auckland Pride board member goes on expletive-laden rant, Mika questions lack of Māori representation in festival programme
David Farrar: A vicious attack on gay men
Stuff: Auckland Pride 2019: Stuff’s festival event guide
Justice, corrections
Chester Borrows (Herlad): Why prisoners need care
George Block (ODT): Otago prison ‘more hostile’
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Inmates at Rimutaka Prison take on roles as dog handlers
Listener: Justice’s blindfold appears to have slipped in Grant Hannis’ sexual assault case
CTV building collapse
Martin van Beynen (Press): CTV families dismayed over legal ‘shenanigans’ to challenge investigation
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Alan Reay, whose company designed Christchurch’s CTV Building that collapsed in quake, lodges appeal
RNZ: CTV building designer accused of ‘gaming the system’
Public relations
Helen Harvey (Taranaki Daily News): The rise and rise of PR in the public sector
Matt Rilkoff (Taranaki Daily News): Democracy and public relations are not easy bedfellows
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): A potential political party hooks the media
Tim Murphy and Mark Jennings (Newsroom): MediaRoom: Putting a price on trust
Māori TV: Call for submissions on Māori media sector change
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Money for media mockery
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): ‘Nightmare’ media company hired by MP to cover euthanasia debate
Social media
Laine Moger (Stuff): Facebook cracks the whip on Kiwis using the term ‘gypsy’
Herald: Facebook bans New Zealanders from using the word ‘gypsy’ following unruly tourists’ saga
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Facebook clamps down on the word ‘gypsy’ after unruly tourists saga
Breanna Barraclough (Newshub): Opinion: Hey men – stop being terrible on social media
Building and construction industry, safety
Matt Shand (Stuff): Top fire resistant plywood used in various buildings found to be flammable
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Possible Commerce Commission probe into building material suppliers – Kris Faafoi
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Closer scrutiny of building safety in Queenstown
Kate Nicol-Williams (!News): Wellington City Council wants a law change to make quake-prone reporting compulsory
Transport, roading
Jo Moir (RNZ): $20m spend no consolation for ignoring Northland expressway – Goldsmith
Kawe Roes (Māori TV): NZ’s newest rail line a step closer for Northland
RNZ: Public ferry service may be on the cards for Queenstown
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Shane Jones says he won’t ‘dance on political grave’ of Air NZ safety video
RNZ: Bay of Plenty bus services reduced due to driver shortage
Rodeo
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Rodeo events ‘inherently cruel’ Martinborough protesters say
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Protesters take on the cowboys at Martinborough bull ride
Pat Deavoll (Stuff): Rodeo: Ultimate sport, family fun or blatant animal abuse?
Aotearoa New Zealand petition
Tom Furley (RNZ): Aotearoa petition: No longer a ‘vicious response’ to te reo
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Man petitions to make ‘Aotearoa’ official, alongside ‘NZ’
Stuff: Petition for referendum to include Aotearoa in official name of New Zealand
Tourism
RNZ: Deadline for sharing ideas on new tourism strategy looms
1News: Mess left by tourists in Himalayas serving as warning to New Zealand
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Ultralight backpacking trend hitting New Zealand raising safety questions
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Will Phil Goff run again for Auckland mayor? His Twitter strategy says yes
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Phil Goff’s wife on mayoralty race: ‘Don’t you ever want to have a life?’
Kelley Tantau (Stuff): Uncontested mayors on why hard work the key to getting a tick
Huawei and NZ-China relations
Chris Keall (Herald): Spark boils over Huawei saga as NZ falls behind Oz on 5G
David Farrar: A security professional on Huawai
MIchael Reddell: Donations, the PRC etc
Insurance, banking industries
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Life insurance: Who can you trust?
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Tougher NZ lending conditions biggest likely impact from Oz bank inquiry
RNZ: Westpac to refund almost $6m in fees to customers
Economy, consumer confidence
RNZ: Consumer confidence off to a positive start in 2019
RNZ: NZ credit outlook improves from ‘stable’ to positive’
Business
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Developing business aspirations within the community
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Lack of women on boards is ’embarrassing’ for NZ – advocacy group
Auckland
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Radical reforms could shift Auckland’s port
Stuff: Stuart Smith and Deborah Russell: Aucklanders urged to move south for homes, jobs
Other
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: National springs policy surprise as government kills off KiwiBuild targets
Morgan Godfery: Kaupapa Māori politics, and why it matters
RNZ: Tuhoronuku not right for Ngāpuhi settlement – Little
Simon Chapple (Herald): How many Māori lived in Aotearoa when Captain Cook arrived?
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Canterbury economy ‘lacklustre’ as rebuild continues slowing
Stuff: Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust faces $549,000 legal costs claim
Gia Garrick (RNZ): New law introduces strict controls on brokering firearms
Matt Rilkoff (Taranaki Daily News): Respect for police authority is greater protection than body armour
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The real toll of the great NZ heatwave? Batshit opinion columns everywhere
Zoe Madden-Smith (Vice): We Asked the Mongrel Mob Why the Predominantly Māori Gang Uses Nazi Symbolism
RNZ: Govt to spend $30m on fixing broken payroll system
Zane Small (Newshub): DNS Flag Day: Global change to Internet could disturb unprepared websites
Tainui Stephens (E-Tangata): The Boss Is Dead: A tribute to Hiwi Tauroa
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Robyn Bargh: Building the wall of tino rangatiratanga
Buddy Mikaere & Cliff Simons (E-Tangata): Humanity and honour at Gate Pā
RNZ: Smoky crematorium distresses families in Taranaki
Marc Daalder (Spinoff): The furious world of New Zealand’s far right nationalists
Lucy Bennett (Herald): What ever happened to David Cunliffe? We catch up with politicians who have left
Derek Cheng (Herald): Security called to calm gym stoush involving Police Minister Stuart Nash
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): New Zealander at heart of latest Brexit stoush
M Claire Dale (Newsroom): Time to address our rapidly ageing population
