Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 18 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.
China-NZ relations
Simon Collins (Herald): China chill hits New Zealand schools: Student downturn may hits Kiwi parents in pockets
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): China will keep squeezing NZ
Audrey Young (Herald): China is proving to be a real test of Jacinda Ardern’s political skills
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Plenty on the menu for Winston Peters’ dinner date
Liam Dann (Herald): Focus on NZ diplomatic independence crucial
1News: Bridges accuses Ardern of not taking ownership of ‘cowboy-like’ Winston Peters amid strained NZ-China relationship
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Grounds to be concerned’ about NZ-China relationship – expert
1News: ‘China-NZ relations developing healthily with stability’ says Chinese ministry amid worrying signals
RNZ: Chinese foreign ministry addresses NZ-China relationship
Derek Cheng (Herald): National MP Mark Mitchell heads to Hong Kong amid cooling NZ-China relations
Gia Garrick (RNZ): Chinese tourism numbers ‘could halve’ if relations go sour
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Fork in the road – dead ahead – in NZ-China relationship
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newsroom): New Zealand-China rift: Is it really that bad?
Herald: Editorial: Big powers mustn’t dip their toes in our politics
Bryan Gould: The Chinese “message”
Damien Venuto (Herald): New Zealand faces big fight winning back Chinese hearts and minds: academic
1News: Tourism Industry Aotearoa tries to quell fears of boycott of New Zealand by Chinese travellers
Grant Bradley (Herald): How to repair damage to 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism
David Farrar: The empire strikes back again
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Explainer: Why NZ can’t afford to mess with China
Paul Buchanan: Spare a thought for Anne-Marie
Chris Trotter: Mixed Messages
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Huawei ban: Chinese state media claims tourists avoiding New Zealand
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: China, the government’s elephant in the room
Gia Garrick and Tess Brunton (RNZ): Chinese tourism numbers ‘could halve’ if relations go sour
Michael Reddell: Unfit to govern
1News: ‘China-NZ relations developing healthily with stability’ says Chinese ministry amid worrying signals
RNZ: New Zealand goods still clearing Chinese border – Ministry for Primary Industries
Li Xuanmin (Global Times): Chinese travelers wary of NZ as strains increase
Sandeep Singh (Indian Weekender): After China, NZ government found dozing on relations with India
KiwiBuild and housing
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Is KiwiBuild broken beyond repair?
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): KiwiBuild: the solution you come up with when you don’t want to fix the problem
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Labour Minister Kris Faafoi hints $1000 KiwiSaver kickstart may be coming back
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government ‘arrogant’ for thinking people want KiwiBuild houses in Te Kauwhata – Judith Collins
ODT: Editorial – Housing shortages will change city
Richard Meadows (Stuff): Budget Buster: The case against homeownership
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Priced out: Home buyers who can’t afford provincial cities are heading to these hot spots
John Braddock (World socialist website): New Zealand housing crisis intensifies under Labour government
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Manawatū-Whanganui house prices driven to new heights by frustrated house hunters
Alexis Carey (OneRoof): China’s rush to buy Aussie homes could boost NZ house prices
Katarina Williams and Nick Truebridge (Stuff): A rat hole not worth a dollar: The Auckland motel ‘profiting’ off the housing crisis
Point of order: In four months, zero applications for Kiwibuild homes in the Waikato
Greg Ninness (Interest): Contracts to sell thousands of KiwiBuild homes could be available to real estate agents
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): South Auckland housing development protesters remain resolute
Amanda Saxton (Stuff): Sex for rent adverts placing women at risk as dark side of housing crisis exposed
Polytechnic reform
Adele Redmond (Stuff): Shock, apprehension and hope: Can the radical plan to fix New Zealand’s polytechnics work?
John Bassett (The Spinoff): What the future might look like for New Zealand’s polytechnics
Kerre McIvor (Herald): Polytech shakeup is long overdue
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Palmerston North mayor keen to grab another education coup
Stuff: ‘Crying need’ for wholesale change in polytechnic sector – MP
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Hipkins sits on political dynamite
Chris Hipkins (Stuff): The country is facing skills shortages
Matt Brown (Stuff): Proposals to fix the ‘broken’ education sector shakes top-of-the-south
Logan Savory (Stuff): Southern Institute of Technology battle, why Southlanders should care
Wintec education scandal
Florence Kerr (Stuff): Wintec employees risked a lot to get story out
Richard Swainson (Stuff): Wintec shambles shows if you pay millions you can still get monkeys
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): A long road to the truth in Wintec case
Parliament and parties
Colin Peacock (RNZ): TV political poll hype hits new heights
Damien Grant (Stuff): Polls are as effective as chicken entrails to divining the will of the people
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The Greens are looking forward to 2020 already, and the possibility of a world without Winston
Steven Cowan: Why the Green Party won’t propose a Green New Deal for New Zealand
Ryan Jones (RNZ): Another reason to lose faith in democracy
Stuff: Below the beltway
Land tenure review abolished
The Press: Editorial – Ending the ‘tragedy’ of high country land sales
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Uncertainty ahead after tenure review process axed
Richard Harman: Questions about Sage ending the South Island high country freehold rort
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Government wants to stop privatisation of ‘iconic’ Kiwi landscapes
No Right Turn: Not one hectare more!
Greg Presland (The Standard): The end of tenure review
Herald: Tenure review changes: Public feedback sought on pastoral land leases
RNZ: Eugenie Sage slams the selling of Crown land to farmers under tenure review
Pat Deavoll (Stuff): Molesworth Station: What’s next for our biggest farm?
Justice, corrections
Keri Morris (Herald): Family justice puts children first
David Fisher (Herald): Corrections notes claim ‘Māori nationalist groups’ threaten from behind prison walls
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Government strategy to reduce Māori prison numbers gets wary response
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Report spells out overcrowding and security risks at country’s busiest court
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Victims of crime urged to have say on fixing ‘broken’ criminal justice system
RNZ: Crime victims’ views on criminal justice system to be surveyed
Luke Duane Oldfield: Arthur Taylor has a point on prisons, however
RNZ: Man’s criminal information illegally passed to ex-partner
Drugs, and law reform
Jack Tame (Herald): Protect kids from cannabis – legalise it
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): No more poachers turned gamekeepers thanks
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Strong dose of regulation needed with medicinal cannabis, ESR warns
Deena Coster (Stuff): Taranaki’s medical cannabis crowdfunder raises $1.8 million
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Could mushrooms be the next drug to be decriminalised?
Sam Hurley (Herald): Film director and cannabis campaigner escapes conviction over drug charges
Corporate environmentalism
Zane Small and Lisette Reymer (Newshub): James Shaw praises The Warehouse for achieving carbon neutrality
Catherine Harris (Stuff): The Warehouse says it’s now carbon neutral, but it’s not perfect on plastic and packaging
RNZ: Warehouse announces ‘carbon neutral’ certification but how green has it gone?
Newshub: Warehouse’s carbon neutral status just ‘creative accounting’ – critic
Grant Leach (Herald): Eight rules for making better eco-choices in the supermarket
Environment, conservation and biosecurity
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Govt blocking breakthrough technology that could make New Zealand predator-free
Jim Salinger (Herald): Q&A: Why we must hasten action on climate change
Elisabeth Ellis (ODT): Joining global effort on climate change rational choice for NZ
Leighton Smith (Herald): Climate change alarmists push their barrow over fires
Will Harvie (Stuff): Climate change will move New Zealand weeds
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Weedkiller ban busting Christchurch’s budget for pest plant eradication
Sean Nugent (ODT): Hydrogen fuel seen as new industry
Newshub: Claws out over proposed Southland cat ban
RNZ: Cat lover says plan to ban felines was hidden by Southland council
Katie Bradford (1News): Growing pressure on Government to prosecute litterbugs
1News: Latest Auckland fruit fly incursion expected to cost at least $1 million
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Response to fruit fly in Devonport too slow says North Shore MP Maggie Barry
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Fruit fly find: Upset shop owner faces loss for dumped stock
Health
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Political Sadism, Or Moral Inertia? Explaining David Clark
Jihee Junn (The Spinoff): The Health Star Ratings are set for a major shake-up, but how much is changing?
Moana Makapelu Lee (Maori TV): Husband demands inquiry into Pharmac costs for life saving cancer drugs
Mei Heron (1News): Fears Government has dropped the ball on rheumatic fever as cases rise
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): 40 weeks pregnant woman sent home twice by Auckland Hospital instead of being induced
Jendy Harper (1News): Hanmer Springs kicks off first-of-a-kind smoking and vaping ban – but not all are convinced
Michelle Dickinson (Herald): Should breast cancer screening start at 35?
Tom Dillane (Herald): German spine surgeon warned it’s illegal to practice in NZ, after dining with Kiwi patients in Auckland
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Top health executive leaves Ministry, investigation continues into procurement
Dale Husband (E-tangata): Owen Sinclair: Fighting the racism in our health system
Pike River mine
Newshub: Pike River ‘cover-up’: Missing cabinet sparks police enquiry
Herald: Police investigate new discovery which may hold clue to Pike River mine explosion
Stuff: Pike River families claim ‘vital’ evidence from mine explosion has been lost
John Campbell (1News): Former chief mines inspector says missing piece of evidence could point to cause of Pike River Mine disaster
RNZ: Vital evidence in Pike River mine disaster missing, say families
Capital gains tax
John Roughan (Herald): All taxpayers might be in for good news this week
Anne Gibson (Herald): Capital gains tax debate heating up: final recommendations out on Thursday
RNZ: James Shaw: Capital gains tax key to fixing wealth gap
OneRoof: The tax that could upend NZ’s property market
Transport and NZTA
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): E tū union official questions whether former Chorus boss Mark Ratcliffe ‘right person’ to reform NZTA
Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZTA says it will be tougher on garages, certifiers from now on
Stuff: Hamilton WOF inspector let unauthorised people use his credentials
Bob Edlin: Genter stalls on question about NZTA safety campaign costs – so what does this tell us about her performance?
Damian George (Stuff): More disruption for Wellington rail commuters as rush hour trains are delayed
Local government
Dave Cull (Herald): Moving local voting online will help Govt too
Bill Ralston (Listener): It’s time to empower the mayor and make Auckland liveable again
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Auditor General notes growing debts and rising costs at councils
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Eden Park seeks ‘$100m bailout’ to keep hosting All Blacks and major events
David Loughrey (ODT): A decade on, stadium scars remain
RNZ: New Plymouth councillor stepping down after remarks on te reo
Deena Coster (Stuff): Maverick councillor Murray Chong resigns chairmanship role ahead of crunch meeting
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Former mayor reveals $20,000 legal bill to fight defamation case
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland rate rises: If 2.5 per cent is the answer, what is the question?
National Party
John Armstrong (1News): Media script requires Bridges to end up as dog tucker
Steve Braunias (Herald): Secret Diary of Simon Bridges
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): It’s time for the nuclear option
RNZ: Simon Bridges tight-lipped on Judith Collins’ leadership conversation
David Fisher (Herald): Sarah Dowie and the text message inquiry – what the police won’t tell you
The Standard: The NZ National Party is the Wizard of Oz
National’s KiwiBuild advertisement
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Make no mistake, National’s BBQ attack ad is sexist
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: National’s deliberate ‘woke-provoking’ ad
Newstalk ZB: People outraged over ‘sexist’ National attack ad have ‘fallen into trap’
Damien Venuto (Herald): The mistake National keeps making in its terrible ads
Government
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Six months after 12 priorities launched, Government still working on indicators for progress
Christopher Bishop (The Spinoff): The Fyre Festival was just like this Labour government – all smoke, no fyre
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Be bold to thrive in a changing world
Jason Walls (Herald): National says the Government needs to front up with details of its $50m in loans to businesses
Doug Laing (Hawkes Bay Today): PM on the other side in Art Deco Parade
Herald: PM Jacinda Ardern at Napier Art Deco Festival, a favourite of John Key’s
Doug Laing (Hawkes Bay Today): PM Jacinda Ardern at Hawke’s Bay’s Art Deco Festival: I’ll be back
Brad Flahive and Jacques Steenkamp (Stuff): PM Jacinda Ardern sends heartfelt note to grieving family after death
Employment
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Health Minister David Clark vetoing DHB pay agreements, union claims
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Law to punish firms that exploit workers hurts migrants, advocates say
Paula Hulburt (Stuff): Senior doctors get $500 an hour, or $4000 a shift, for strike cover
Don Franks (Redline): “How many are coming from your job?”: notes on the Wellington Trades Council
No Right Turn: Why is Labour subsidising bad employers?
Sam Kelway (1News): Government accused of failing to address labour shortage as kiwifruit harvest nears
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Frustrated paramedics deface ambulances
Andrew Mcfarlane (1News): Ambulances left needing repair work after St John staff write slogans on them during pay dispute
Banking and financial sector
Cameron Bagrie (Herald): Kiwi banks heading for big changes
Bruce Cotterill (Stuff): Imagine a world where the banks actually helped us
ODT: Money laundering regulations proving cumbersome
Jordan Peterson
Herald: Editorial: Jordan Peterson shows speakers of ‘far right’ views not all denied an Auckland Council platform
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Canadian psychologist and ’12 Rules of Life’ author Jordan Peterson visiting New Zealand
Newshub: Watch: Sean Plunket takes on Shane Te Pou over Jordan Peterson
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jordan Peterson labels New Zealand activist interview ‘more painful’ than other ridiculed videos
Hit and Run inquiry and defence forces
Alison Mau (Stuff): Op Burnham inquiry secrecy conflicts with these Camp Taji photos
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp will give evidence to public ‘Hit & Run’ hearing
Stuff: New Zealand Defence Force staff face drug charges
Media and information
Leroy Beckett (The Spinoff): The internet is the new public square. And it’s flowing with raw sewage
Matt Rilkoff (Stuff): The problem with the pace of modern outrage
Mihingarangi Forbes (E-tangata): Our future is in collaboration
Atakohu Middleton (E-tangata): Māori media revamp: Where’s the focus on quality journalism?
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Media big and small step up to keep fires covered
Colin Peacock (RNZ): TVNZ hints at bold digital moves
Cameron Slater defamation trial
David Fisher (Herald): Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater loses defamation case and gets told: ‘Your day will come’
Matthew Blomfield (Daily Blog): High Court lifts suppression on strike out of Whale Oil defamation defence
Greg Presland (The Standard): Blomfield beats Slater
Pete George: How many victims of Slater and Nottingham?
Other
Carly Gooch (Stuff): ‘Offensive’ painting of Māori hero taken from gallery
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Maori TV): Dual name for Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay approved
Doug Laing (Hawke’s Bay Today): ‘Significant and irreversible prejudice’: Urgent Waitangi tribunal hearing to settle Napier claim issues
Hannah Martin (Stuff): New research presented to law makers in abortion reform debate
Bruce Munro (ODT): Looking out for each other
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Farmers’ confidence at lowest point in a decade
Stuff: Falloon implores Minister to refund road charges
Scott Palmer and Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Government refuses to refund truckies delivering Tasman farm aid
Matt Shand (Stuff): Second ‘flame-resistant’ product found to be of lower quality
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Where are the Pasifika and Māori skilled tradies?
1News: Ministry for Children forced to apologise after social worker tries to access private medical records
Carla Penman (1News): More allegations of bullying at the Ministry for Children
Max Rashbrooke: 2019: The prospects for fairness and openness
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): NZ’s net migration falls in 2018
Rodney Dickens (Interest): There are still issues with new migration numbers even after some major revisions
Katie Fitzgerald and Lauren Paddy (Newshub): Protesters to demonstrate outside Waikato rodeo
Grant Shimmin (Stuff): ‘Average Kiwi bloke who snapped’ narrative can get in the sea
Andy Glenie (Stuff): Business law revamp could have far-reaching consequences
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Rod Carr’s hard yards
Karl du Fresne (Stuff): Sir John Jeffries: From school failure to career overachiever
Paul Gorman (Stuff): National Portrait: Margaret Austin – Shining a light on darkness
Richard Griffin (Stuff): Setting the stage for the mid term
Rod Emmerson (Herald): What lies ahead for political cartoonists
Syd Keepa (Daily Blog): This is what colonisation in 2019 looks like
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): Why Scott Kuggeleijn shouldn’t be playing cricket
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newsroom): Auckland Pride Festival: Organisers already planning for 2020
John Moore (liberation): Polytechnic reform; Islamophobia in Dunedin; media crackdown in Philippines
Mikaela Collins (Northern Advocate): Northland principals: More truancy prosecutions needed
