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Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 11 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.
Today’s content

Government, PM’s State of Nation speech
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): ‘Let’s do this’ in a holding pattern
Simon Wilson (Herald): There is much mahi to be done
Dominion Post Editorial: Jacinda Ardern is in the business of getting stuff done
Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s State of the Nation speech recognises the importance of business
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Too much left unsaid as Jacinda Ardern faces business
Richard Harman (Politik): Making the elephant smaller
Michael Reddell: The PM’s economic plan
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlines vision of economic growth and global challenges
BusinessDesk: PM warns slowing global growth will weigh on economy
Jenée Tibshraeny & Stephen Forbes (Interest): Ardern warns of slowing global growth, talks up trade, and announces vocational training reform
Anne Gibson (Herald): New study shows extra 57,600 people needed in building sector, as PM announces trade skills push
Nicole Lawton and Anna Loren (Stuff): Labour MP Tamati Coffey expecting a baby with partner Tim Smith
1News: Tamati Coffey announces he’s expecting a baby with his partner

International relations
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Australia’s stand on Kiwi deportees a very stubborn stain on the relationship
Derek Cheng (Herald): Winston Peters pushes strongly against Australian deportation of NZers
Tom Furley (RNZ): Winston Peters raises concerns about Oz deportation policy
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Deportee Wichman Uriaere ‘doesn’t deserve’ boot to New Zealand
Derek Cheng (Herald): NZ, Oz Foreign Ministers Winston Peters, Marise Payne stress Pacific in Waiheke Island bilateral meeting
1News: Foreign Minister Winston Peters meets with Australian counterpart on Waiheke Island
Audrey Young (Herald): Foreign Minister Winston Peters welcomes Australian minister Marise Payne to his home
RNZ: Samoa inks agreement with NZ during talks
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Samoan PM’s first Waitangi visit leaves lasting impression
Chris Trotter: Hands Off Venezuela!
KIiwblog: Guest Post: Hehir on Venezuela

Vocational training reforms
Evan Harding (Stuff): Nat claims rebutted by education minister
Derek Cheng (Herald): Chris Hipkins says National is scaremongering over job losses
Derek Cheng (Herald): Government polytechnic reforms would see 1000 job losses, National says
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National leaks ‘far-reaching’ changes in vocational training
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): More vocational education funding mooted by govt

Teaching NZ history, Treaty in schools
Aroha Harris (E-Tangata): Don’t get me started on compulsion
David Slack (Stuff): A brief impartial history of New Zealand
Peter Dunne: We need to know and understand properly who we are
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Unacceptable not to teach children ‘complete’ NZ history

Education
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Investigation ordered into claims of packed and cancelled classes
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Early childhood centres like ‘kiddie prisons’, teachers say
Adele Redmond (Stuff): Nearly $14m donated to Canterbury schools in 2017
Imran Ali (Northern Advocate): Northland schools struggle to keep pools afloat; Whangārei primary’s $276K repair bill
Peter Lyons (ODT): Skilled people needed to fulfil Government’s aims
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Green Party calling for return of food in school guidelines to keep kids healthy
Ruby McAndrew (Stuff): NZ authority on resuscitation pushing for schools to teach life-saving skills
Simon Collins (Herald): NZEI and PPTA ‘optimistic’ that talks may stave off more teachers’ strikes
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Te Puke High School student Brody Hide told to shave off beard or face consequences
Nikki Preston (Herald): Wintec to spend $75,000 on appointing new chief executive

Waitangi
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Jacinda Ardern should have been able to recite the Treaty
Pete George: “Jacinda Ardern should have been able to recite the Treaty”
Māori TV: Tame Iti: planting the seeds of self-determination
Dominic O’Sullivan (The Conversation): The Crown is Māori too – citizenship, sovereignty and the Treaty of Waitangi
Jordan Watson (Stuff): How-to Dad: Waitangi Day is celebrated better in the UK, why not here?
Whanganui Chronicle Editorial: Shouting down Don Brash at Waitangi not the answer
Pete George: Don Brash championing Apirana Ngata, but…
Steve Braunias (Herald): Secret Diary of Waitangi

Auckland Pride, sexuality
Michael Neilson (Herald): Jacinda Ardern returns for first Big Gay Out as Prime Minister
1News: Jacinda Ardern says we must ensure our communities remain inclusive to LGBTI
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, Simon Bridges take stage at Big Gay Out
Michael Neilson (Herald): Sun, rainbows and a baby announcement for the Big Gay Out 20th anniversary
1News: Thousands flock to Auckland’s 20th Big Gay Out
Alison Mau (Stuff): Pride after the fall – what next?
1News: Auckland’s Pride March draws hundreds after bigger parade scrapped
Anna Loren and Tommy Livingston (Stuff): ‘By us, for us’: Auckland Pride march takes over central city
Stuff: Auckland’s 2019 Pride march: all the best photos
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Auckland’s Pride march bursts with colour, joy
Herald: Rainbow flags aplenty as Our March takes over Auckland CBD
Laura Tupou and Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Thousands turn out for new Auckland Pride March up Queen Street
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): LGBT Pride and dating: How bisexual women face stigma and hostility in relationships
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): Our love was turned into a circus act
John Roughan (Herald): Freeing sexuality from politics is the last hurdle
Mandy Te (Stuff): New Zealand’s first HIV-positive eatery launches for Big Gay Out in Auckland
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): ‘I’m not really into homosexuality’: Simon Bridges’ former gay views revealed

National Party, Jami-Lee Ross
Audrey Young (Herald): Strong performance by a few National MPs forced Jacinda Ardern onto the defensive
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Simon Bridges doesn’t look like a Prime Minister in waiting yet, but he’s trying
ODT Editorial: Does Bridges have a plan after all?
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jami-Lee Ross taunts National Party leader Simon Bridges over mental health
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Jami-Lee Ross takes Simon Bridges to task over mental health tweet
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Jami-Lee Ross rips into Simon Bridges in mental health tweet
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): National discusses sinking Winston Peters’ vote at caucus retreat
1News: Commentator says support for Sarah Dowie appears slim within National Party

Tax
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): IRD admits fault over ‘overtly political’ $125,000 poll questions
John Armstrong (1News): Labour’s capital gains tax push is political Russian roulette
Geoff Simmons (Interest): On why we need to kill, not tax, capital gain
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Wealthiest Kiwis would pay vast majority of capital gains tax
Zane Small (Newshub): PM Jacinda Ardern confirms changes to tax system coming
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Capital gains tax: Discussion still to come on Tax Working Group report, PM Jacinda Ardern says
Leighton Smith (Herald): I’m sick of hearing ‘pay your fair share’ of tax

Govt to ban smoking in cars carrying children
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Car smoking ban: ‘10,000 less asthma episodes’
1News: Smoking, vaping in cars with kids to be banned in NZ by year’s end, Govt announces
Herald: Smoking to be banned in cars when children under 18 are present, Govt announces
Scott Palmer and Laura Tupou (Newshub): Government bans smoking in cars with children
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government to ban smoking in cars with children
Stuff: Smoking and vaping in cars with children to be banned
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Govt to ban smoking in cars carrying children
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Simon Bridges backs ban on smoking in cars with kids
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Will police really enforce a ban on smoking in cars with kids?
Newshub: Duncan Garner: Smokefree by 2025 a farcical goal

Health
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: When cancer is political
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Wellbeing Budget total nonsense when too many are dying early
Jess McAllen (RNZ): Mental health working group replacement criticised
RNZ: Meningococcal clinics set up in Northland high schools
Eva Corlett (RNZ): Nicky Stevens’ mother devastated at DHB’s payout delay
Tim Brown (RNZ): Ministry of Health releases Dunedin hospital rebuild plans
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Midwives to strike next week
RNZ: Admin and clerical workers in hospitals to stop work for two hours
Simon Wallace (Herald): Rest homes need to keep up with pay

Employment
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): A new frontier for employment law
Stuff: Cafe worker awarded $9000 for a day’s work by ERA
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Employment Relations Authority awarding $9000 to cafe worker on trial is ridiculous

Commercial fishing
Russel Norman (Spinoff): Nash and Jones are leading NZ fishing into rotten waters
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): There’s something fishy going on, Minister

Housing
Peter Lyons (Herald): Good data crucial to interpreting housing issue
Herald Editorial: A big KiwiBuild contract could get materials more cheaply
Phil Taylor (Herald): Government told to hire overseas builder to drive down costs
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Six Wanaka KiwiBuild houses on open market
Tom Hunt (Stuff): $700,000 state home on Kāpiti Coast sits empty for 20 months
Deena Coster (Stuff): Taranaki charity putting the humanity back into housing
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Bed maker eyes north Waikato for possible factory, affordable housing

Immigration, refugees
Liam Dann (Herald): Lower immigration numbers could have changed history
Greg Ninness (Interest): New estimates showing much lower levels of migration have probably reduced the size of Auckland
Meghan Lawrence (Stuff): Fireman fighting Nelson fire bush fire faces ‘unfair’ deportation: Online petition questions immigration
Megan Lawrence (Herald): Fireman fighting Nelson fire bush fire faces ‘unfair’ deportation: Online petition questions immigration
Alexandra Nelson and Scott Palmer (Newshub): Hundreds rally in support of Ukrainian family facing deportation
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Possible new bid for residency as Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek obtains passport in real identity
Sam Farrell (Newshub): Former refugee concerned about Government’s regional resettlement options
RNZ: Refugee group unhappy with new settlement location
Zane Small (Newshub): Bangladeshi couple charged with human trafficking in New Zealand

Air NZ
Richard Harman (Politik): Why was the AirNZ plane turned back
Vaimoana Tapaleao and Chris Keall (Herald): Aviation experts say Air NZ Auckland to Shanghai flight debacle airline mistake
Chris Keall (Herald): Air NZ flight to Shanghai forced to turn back to Auckland mid-flight
Charlotte Carter (Stuff): Air New Zealand flight bound for Shanghai, China turned around mid-flight
RNZ: Air NZ flight turned back from China

Transport
Tom Furley (RNZ): Roading contractors nervous as projects finish: ‘All of a sudden we see a dramatic ramp down’
Dominic Harris (Press): Sweet result for Lime fans as scooter trial gets set for extension
Katie Todd (RNZ): Keep Lime scooters in Christchurch – recommendation
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Shuttle company ‘out of business, just overnight’
RNZ: Concrete poured for northern Auckland rail tunnel

Justice, corrections
George Block (ODT): Many in fear at Milburn prison
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Northland prison inmates allegedly locked in ‘inhumane’ hot cells all day
Mitch McCann (Newshub): Corrections dismisses hundreds of harassment complaints as ‘reasonable’
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Prisoners care for kittens in fostering programme at Arohata Prison wing in Upper Hutt
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Te reo in the courts and ‘language trauma’
Stuff: Veteran prisoner Arthur Taylor released from prison: ‘It’s a great day to be free’
RNZ: Career criminal Arthur Taylor released from prison
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Notorious career criminal Arthur Taylor released from prison

Police
Emilie Rākete (Spinoff): Police uniforms were a deal breaker at Pride. So why weren’t they at Waitangi?
1News: Police launch internal investigation after protestors strip naked on busy Auckland road
Herald: Police investigating assault of two females on Karangahape Rd following powerful protest
Hannah Martin and Charlotte Carter (Stuff): Women stand naked on Auckland’s Karangahape Road in protest of police inaction after alleged assault
Imogen Neale (Stuff): Samoan cop sacrifices years with his family to study cannabis in New Zealand

Media
Moana Maniapoto (E-Tangata): Brown were in town. We were on a high. Hope was in the air.
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Big issues, barbecues and curly questions at Waitangi
Jeremy Rose (RNZ): Cancer and the unbearable asymmetry of BS
Mediawatch: Brett Phibbs: A life in pictures

Environment, conservation
Graham Adams (Noted): The shaming of the West Coast refuseniks
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Red herrings and wrong notes from Nats climate change spokesperson
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Potential protection order for Hawke’s Bay river divides region
Jamie Morton (Herald): The battle to save New Zealand’s under-threat ‘warm’ forests and our birds
Jamie Morton (Herald): What these creatures are telling us about climate change in NZ
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): ‘Crisis’ in native plant industry
RNZ: Police appeal for info on little blue penguin theft
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Two armed men caught on camera sought over endangered bird killings
Zane Small (Newshub):Images show men suspected of shooting ‘most endangered gull’ in Rotorua
RNZ: Water bans possible for coastal Taranaki
Sean Connelly (ODT): Eating in a safe space

Primary industries
Stuff: New Zealand apple industry under threat from climate change
Nicole Rosie (Stuff): To the farmers of New Zealand – Quad bike change must be led by you
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Farmer confidence in economy lowest since 2009

Finance
Rob Stock (Stuff): Misery caused by high-interest loans revealed by budget agency survey
1News: More than a quarter of budgeting service clients have crippling debt, survey finds
Brian Gaynor (Herald): The power of banks to create money
Damien Grant (Stuff): Public servants exceeding their legal authority is far more serious than troubles in the insurance industry

NZ Cricket
ODT Editorial: Silence is not an option
Herald: Sexual consent protest banners removed again following apology by New Zealand Cricket
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Martin Devlin in wild on-air attack on ‘chick from the Spinoff’ over cricket banner

Local government
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Mayor Gary Tong reports to councillors on China dealings
Dominic Harris (Press): How will Christchurch find the $1.19 billion it has to spend next year?

Racism, culture
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): Not a racist bone in your body? Please meet implicit bias
Sally Blundell (Listener): Did Pākehā painters Goldie and Lindauer exploit their Māori subjects?
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Woman slams ‘racist service’ after group referred to as ‘Asians’ on Auckland cafe receipt
Herald: Auckland Falls Restaurant accused of racism after group called ‘Asians’ on receipt
Michael Neilson (Herald): Misuse of haka Ka Mate ‘tramples’ on mana, call for greater protection in New Zealand and overseas

Gender
RNZ: Nine to Noon: The complexity of gender transition in children
Susan Strongman (RNZ): Sex self-identification debate a ‘cesspool of harmful stereotypes’
Susan Strongman (RNZ): Person with wrong sex on birth certificate feels ‘like a fraud’

Drug reform
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Cannabis referendum could be New Zealand’s Brexit – Simon Bridges
Peter Griffin (Stuff): New Zealand’s relationship with illicit drugs changing rapidly
Lana Hart (Stuff): Cannabis: I wish this referendum had a third option

Tourism, freedom camping
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): ‘Ain’t no toilet in there’: New Zealand flush with fake ‘self-contained’ bumper stickers
ODT: Queenstown working on local visitor tax

Trade
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ exporters urged to ready for ‘no deal’ Brexit as UK warehouses hit capacity
Simon Draper (Stuff): There’s reason to be optimistic about trade in 2019

Other
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Regional fund could become election liability
Jason Walls (Herald): National casts doubt over bulk of expected Provincial Growth Fund jobs to come from one project
Bill Ralston (Listener): The problem with the Provincial Growth Fund
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Uphill battles await both parties upon return to Parliament
Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): Māori land reforms moving back on track
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Next development in Huawei saga may not be about 5G
RNZ: Shane Jones fires back at Brian Tamaki’s ‘spud’ comment
Chris Keall (Herald): Facebook ‘doubling down’ on data
RNZ: Privacy failure: ‘She felt vulnerable and unimportant’
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Minister reject payout to red-zoned retirement village residents left thousands out of pocket
Charlie Gates (Press): Christchurch’s new Anglican Bishop takes on restoration, dwindling congregations and same sex blessings
Madison Reidy (RNZ): Iwi becoming a growing financial force – report
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Dunedin’s rubbish problem could be shipped out of town
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Women’s Refuge opposes R. Kelly’s NZ show amidst sexual misconduct allegations
Matt Shand (Stuff): Ministry of Education concerned about ‘fire-resistant’ plywood
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Inside the mission to trap and desex Auckland’s stray cats
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Opinion: This kitten is adorable, but she shouldn’t exist
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): New technology could stop misuse of mobility parking
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): Wellington City encouraged to give te reo Māori a go
Phil Taylor (Herald): Online contract terms and conditions unreadable, study finds
Deborah Russell and Stuart Smith (Stuff): Why families earning $100,000 still struggle
Alison Mau (Stuff): A lesson NZ could learn from Julie Bishop, the woman who ought to be PM

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