Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 26 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.
Capital Gains Tax proposal
1News: Q+A: The impact of a capital gains tax on the ‘Kiwi way of life’
Geoff Simmons (Daily Blog): The Tax Tweaking Group
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in state of shock at reaction to Capital Gains Tax plan
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The arguments in favour of a Capital Gains Tax
David Cormack (Herald): Profiting off the housing crisis is the Kiwi Way
Liam Hehir (Stuff): How the capital gains tax affects the average New Zealander
Ben Leahy (Herald): Automated mass valuations could be used to value Kiwi properties ahead of a capital gains tax
Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says farmers and small business owners will be top of mind when making capital gains tax decisions
Jason Walls (Herald): Sir Michael Cullen says the family home would be exempt under his CGT, but there are a few caveats
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Capital gains tax: Some examples of how it could work in practice
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Capital gains tax: Jacinda Ardern notes ‘vast majority’ would be better off
1News: Recommended tax changes ‘far from an attack on the Kiwi way of life’, says PM
Jason Walls (Herald): Economist Cameron Bagrie is not convinced a CGT would do much to improve living standards
RNZ: Capital gains proposal: ‘What we’ve got here is a tax on a tax’ – Simon Bridges
Hamish Walker (Southland Times): CGT would be another hammer blow for rural south
Gerald Cunningham (ODT): Toying with tax spells doom for Labour govts
Housing
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): World Health Organisation lays out blueprint to improve housing and potentially help NZ save millions
RNZ: Poor housing conditions costing taxpayers more than $145m
Herald: Injuries, disease from bad housing costs New Zealand up to $164m a year
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Insulation industry says up to 80,000 rentals still not insulated for 2016 law change
1News: ‘It’s a significant issue’ – Green Building Council welcomes healthier home standards
ODT: New rental rules ‘first step’
Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): Rental housing standards well received by Canterbury landlords
Susan edmunds (Stuff): Some rental standards could be financial drain, analysis shows
Zane Small (Newshub): Housing Minister Phil Twyford was warned landlords would increase rent
David Hargreaves (Interest): ‘Fewer rental properties and higher rents’
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Woman living in a cold, draughty rental says 2024 is too long to wait for changes
Jason Walls (Herald): Housing officials say new renting rules mean landlords could opt for Airbnb over renting
Zane Small (Newshub): Wrong time for new rental rules during ‘housing shortage’ – tenancy advocate
RNZ: New rental insulation rules will make it harder for landlords – Judith Collins
Michael Daly (Stuff): Rental home standards an ‘attack on landlords’, says Judith Collins
1News: National more ‘concerned about the back pocket of property investors than sick kids’, say Greens
Jason Walls (Herald): Greens co-leader Marama Davidson issues strong rebuke to National over criticism of new renting rules
No Right Turn: Making rental homes safe
1News: New ‘healthy homes’ standards another disincentive to add rental stock – Auckland landlord
David Faulkner (Spinoff): Think the rental squeeze is bad now? It’s probably about to get worse
1 NEWS poll: Public faith fades in Government’s 100,000 KiwiBuild target
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Two Cents’ Worth: The Park Mews effect
Carmen Hill (Bay of Plenty Times): Tauranga company’s plans to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Portable cabins a lifesaver while housing unaffordable for some
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Sale of portable cabins booms in New Zealand amid housing crisis
Luke Kirkeby (Waikato Times): Mayor considers turning empty shops into houses
Ben Leahy (Herald): Cheeky billboard campaign near Auckland’s Sky Tower encourages house hunters to move to Timaru
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Timaru mayor’s cheeky reasons for Aucklanders to move south
Laura James (1News): Lawyer’s Auckland city safe haven for homeless needs a little bit more funding to make it a reality
Martin Johnston (Herald): 1000-house project scrapped after developer Todd Property gives up fight
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Christchurch retirement village owner apologises, says decision to downsize difficult
Commercial fishing
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Fishery offending a flagrant case of putting profits ahead of common good
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Hawke’s Bay Seafoods and other companies fined over $1 million for under-reporting catch
Stuff: Massive fine of more than $1 million for Hawke’s Bay fishing business and directors
Laura Macdonald (Newshub): Hawke’s Bay fishing family fined nearly $1.5m for misreporting catch
RNZ: Record fine imposed on Hawke’s Bay fishers
Child welfare
1News: New Oranga Tamariki report finds a third of Kiwi kids face challenges such as racism, poverty and bullying
Delphine Herbert and Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Up to a third of Kiwi kids struggling to lead a happy life – report
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Kids report racism, bullying and violence prevalent themes in life
Isaac Davison (Herald): New Zealand ranks bottom of developed countries on youth mortality rates
Health
Southland Times Editorial: Health board deficits leave Gov’t red-faced
Karen Brown (RNZ): Junior doctors back on strike and in mediation today
1News: Junior doctors start two-day strike this morning
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Media blamed, whānau refused speaking rights as battle over Nicky Stevens inquest heats up
Herald: Green MP Chloe Swarbrick backs Mike King’s I AM HOPE campaign in heartbreaking post
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Christchurch man uses ACC payout to raise awareness of suicide
Christina Persico (Stuff): Taranaki DHB cuts back services for doctors’ strike
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Fears flight nurse jobs at risk in Ministry of Heath air ambulance review
Daniel Birchfield (ODT): Action group expresses concerns over hospital
Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill deferred
1News: Minister responds after ‘big call’ to defer bill to make gender self-identification easier
RNZ: Births, deaths and marriages bill deferred to allow more public consultation
Herald: Bill making it easier for trans people to update birth certificate deferred
Zane Small (Newshub): Government halts proposed law for changing sex on birth certificates
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill deferred
1News: Controversial Bill that would make it easier for people to change gender on birth certificate put on hold
Bob McCoskrie: Ideological Birth Certificate Proposal Rightly Deferred
Lime scooters
ODT Editorial: Setback for transport innovation
Herald Editorial: Scooters here to stay but need to be safer – New Zealand Herald
Press: E-scooters are fun, but Kiwis need assurances
Chris Ford (Spinoff): Why disabled people are cheering the Lime ban
RNZ Checkpoint: Auckland Council found out about Lime defects through media
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Lime e-scooters off Auckland streets for at least another 24 hours after glitch
1News: Waiting game for Lime users as Auckland Council mulls allowing them back on street
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Stop sending me ‘damn’ emails about Lime – Mayor Phil Goff
David Loughrey (ODT): Cull questions Lime’s ‘irritating’ email campaign
Tim Miller (ODT): Lime scooters waiting on safety verification
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Lime operations unchanged in Lower Hutt – for time being
Tina Law (Stuff): Christchurch city officials accept Lime’s safety assurances
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Lime e-scooter glitch: Injured Auckland man calls on Mayor Phil Goff to take action
Mitchell Price (Stuff): Lime e-scooters are safe, sustainable transport but public trust is key after glitch
Local government
Cherie Sivignon (Nelson Mail): Petition seeking referendum on Tasman District Council voting system nears goal
No Right Turn: Will Tasman choose STV?
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Politicians juggle jobs and civic duties in small communities
Tom McRae (Newshub): ‘A stain on our harbour’: Locals fight Auckland Harbour cruise ship extension
Christina Persico (Taranaki Daily News): Half-yearly financial report sees New Plymouth District Council return $14m deficit
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Another budget blow-out for Invercargill City Council as extra $68,000 needed for storage shed
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Town Hall should be the council’s priority, but it doesn’t seem to be
Felix Desmarais and Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Developers claim contractors counting on contingency for Wellington Town Hall project
Che Baker (Stuff): Karen Arnold made bankrupt after failing to sue mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt and media company Stuff
Kelley Tantau (Waikato Times): ‘Straight-talking’ Te Aroha councillor Ash Tanner contending Matamata-Piako mayor
Education, childcare and training
Simon Collins (Herald): Childcare costs jump to equal private school fees
Catherine Harris (Stuff): The cost of raising a child in New Zealand has risen, with a big jump in childcare expenses
Northern Advocate: Kaihu School pays for all pupils to be vaccinated for meningococcal disease
Cira Olivier (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua school attendance ‘shocking’
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Dowie to host public meeting about education review
Kelly Tantou (Matamata Chronicle): Teachers, parents convene for Tomorrow’s Schools Review discussion in Matamata
TVNZ: Sunday: Is screen-time in schools really helping New Zealand children?
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): King’s College lambasted for ban on $100 notes at tuck shop
Herad: King’s College bans students using $100 notes at tuck shop
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Auckland school bans Uber Eats over safety concerns
Stuff: Police studies starting at Bay of Plenty High School
Florence Kerr (Stuff): No golden handshake for Wintec chief executive
Nikki Preston (Herald): Wintec calls off search for new Hamilton-based CEO
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Fees-free tertiary study: How it could hurt those it’s meant to help
Jacoba Matapo (Newsroom): The key to understanding Pasifika education
Alexia Russell (Newsroom): Winning over parents to get kids on the tools
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): Massey experiences widespread Stream outage on first day of semester
Foreign affairs and trade
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attacks Australian deportation policy again
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Australia has every right to send crims packing to New Zealand
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Chinese institute expands influence in Auckland
RNZ: NZ’s plan for engaging with China’s Belt and Road intiative five months late
Māori TV: Peters to tour Pacific this week
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): NZ may feel heat of UK-EU trade fight after Brexit
Richard Harman (Politik): UK Minister threatens massive tariffs on NZ lamb
RNZ: First NZ diplomat of Pacific heritage to take up Pacific post
Transport
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): NZTA borrows big to build
Ben Strang (RNZ): SkyPath plan mired in row over whether designers should be paid for intellectual property rights
Todd Niall (Stuff): Driver shortage and lack of buses ‘add to the pressures’ of Auckland’s March Madness
Todd Niall (Stuff): Is a new kind of March Madness upon Auckland?
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Nothing’ done to get Kiwis into electric cars – Simon Bridges
Peter Dowden (ODT): Ticket to ride
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Government not involved in Air New Zealand fares slash – Jacinda Ardern
1News: Air New Zealand to slash entry-level fares on over 40 domestic routes, 1 NEWS understands
Herald: Petrol prices rise 8 cents in February
Justice, corrections
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Teina Pora ‘doing it tough’, despite Malcolm Rewa’s conviction
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Apologise: Still no closure for Arthur Allan Thomas’ family
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Parole after four years for sex offender described as a ‘skilled manipulator’
RNZ: Sex offender released after serving under half his jail term
Kelly Mahika (Rotorua DailyPost): Convicted Rotorua rapist and sex abuser Bryan Hughes released from prison
Environment
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Cape Kidnappers slip: ‘Unacceptable risks’ raised in 2017 report
RNZ: Devonport fruit fly restrictions could be in final days
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Third Queensland fruit fly found on Auckland’s North Shore
1News: Second Queensland fruit fly found in Auckland’s Northcote
RNZ: Second Queensland fruit fly discovered in Auckland suburb of Northcote
Rob Butcher (Whanganui Chronicle): Conservation Comment: Wild pines a fire risk
Lois Williams (RNZ): ‘Quite a big drop’ in fairy terns egg numbers after mangrove removal
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Computer technology measures forces behind kauri dieback
RNZ: Otago irrigators told to conserve water ahead of dry forecast
Jess Cartwright (1News): NZ’s lakes get a $12m health check as ‘beasties’ and bacteria sampled
Laine Moger (Stuff): Māori carvings taken to Antarctica’s Scott Base for NIWA research programme
National’s Blue-Green conference
No Right Turn: Ignoring the elephants in the room
David Farrar: National’s environmental discussion document
Provincial Growth Fund
Alex Penk and Julian Wood (Spinoff): Think Big 2.0: The Provincial Growth Fund risks turning into a fiasco
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government’s Provincial Growth Fund requires course correction – report
Farming
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): ‘Absolute bollocks’: Rural Exchange host’s shock at rogue stock agents behaviour
Maja Burry (RNZ): Farmers warned over workplace deaths
Glen Herud (Stuff): Nitrogen fertilise is not a fundamental part of NZ dairy farming
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (Stuff): Surge in climate change gas methane means fix for burping cows urgently needed
Defence Force
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Government urged to commit to urgent defence force upgrades
RNZ: Severe or multiple disasters may compromise NZ’s regional response
Immigration
Lois Williams (RNZ): Māori teacher’s husband barred from New Zealand due to multiple sclerosis
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Shchetkova family anxious for immigration update, as David Seymour lends support
Fiona Cooper (Newshub): Woman’s desperate plea to stay in New Zealand with Kiwi husband
Freedom camping
1News: Stoush erupts between residents and council over ablutions block for freedom campers
Mark Quinlivan, Al Williams and Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Close to 7000 overnight stays logged by freedom campers in Mackenzie in January
Te Matatini
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): PM talks to politics raised on Te Matatini stage
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Te Matatini – more than a biennial haka festival
Moana Makapelu Lee (Māori TV): Obama’s sister meets rising Māori leaders at Te Matatini
Wellington zoo
RNZ: Euthanasia of male baboons highlights need for species planning – Zoo boss
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Why did Wellington Zoo’s baboons have to be euthanised?
Media, advertising
Herald: 12 Questions: Amanda Millar
Whaleoil: An update on Cam’s health
Richard MacManus (Newsroom): Digital billboards will save media. Yeah right
Other
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: China’s move against Australian coal is a warning to the government
John Moore: Critical politics alternative analysis – New rental rules, the war on Lime, Jordon Peterson’s NZ tour
Chris Keall (Herald): Mike Williams’ lobbying work for Lime alarming: academic
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): How Big Is Your Army?
Susy Frankel (Newsroom): Intellectual property – a patent paradox
Don Gilling (Briefing Papers): The Future of Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): New Zealand passport price to rise: Are we paying more?
Ben O’Connor and Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Watch: Jordan Peterson’s New Zealand fans explain why he’s having such a moment
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Chance for Courtenay Central complex tenants to move on
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Ngāti Paoa Trust Board calls for removal of negotiator
Lane Nichols (Herald): Disgraced real estate agent Aaron Drever censured and fined for buying clients’ home
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Man Up director says facilitator to ‘be held accountable’ for telling woman she deserved beating
Michael Hall (RNZ): Cardinal Dew’s claim met with criticism from abuse victims
Simon Hartley (ODT): Economy expected to bounce back: Westpac
RNZ: Retail spending up 1.7% in last quarter
Herald: Customs officer mistakenly lets unruly tourist James Nolan leave New Zealand
Imogen Neale (Stuff): Customs error enables alleged roof scammer James Nolan to flee NZ
Eleanor Weman (Stuff): Mullet challenge thrown at MPs ahead of Wellington charity cricket match
