Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 27 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, TWG
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): CGT will only be ‘fair’ if we accept homeowners deserve a free ride
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Capital gains tax: ‘New Zealand is joining the modern world’ – academic
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Think Capital Gains Tax is expensive? Try smoking
Māori TV: Tax working group “missed opportunity” – Māori Council
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Taxpayers set to suffer most in capital gains tax rumble
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The biggest problem with the Capital Gains Tax – it won’t do enough
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Where would a watered-down, politically palatable version of the Tax Working Group’s recommendations leave us?
Herald: MPs with multiple properties liable for capital gains tax
Jeremy Sutton (Herald): The Ex-Files: How a capital gains tax could impact your divorce
Liam Dann (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson on China, tax and volatility
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Robertson coy about thoughts on Capital Gains Tax
John Anthony (Stuff):Capital gains tax: Government not bound by group’s recommendations, says minister
Megan Gattey (Stuff): Capital gains tax: Jacinda Ardern will need to compromise
David Farrar: Who will be affected by the proposed CGT?
David Farrar: A top tax accountant on CGT
Susan Edmund (Stuff): Property investor: I’ve paid more in tax in 20 years than you’ll earn your lifetime
MIchael Reddell: Reading the TWG report
Paul Drum (Stuff): Capital gains tax: Hysterical over-reaction not helpful, say accountants
RNZ: Capital gains tax concerns being heard, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says
1News: Tax recommendations: A ‘level playing field’ or attacking the Kiwi way of life?
Susan Edmund (Stuff): Here’s how New Zealanders get rich
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): CGT hysteria like the State Housing Meth hysteria & like Winston taking over hysteria – but do blame the Government
Mainzeal
Rob Stock (Stuff): Sinking Shipley: How Mainzeal collapsed and tarnished a former PM’s reputation
Jo Moir (RNZ): Future of Dame Shipley’s senior positions on multiple boards uncertain
Kim Savage (RNZ): Mainzeal saga unlikely to be over yet
Herald: $36m Mainzeal ruling: Can Jenny Shipley and co-directors pay up?
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Mainzeal: ‘I really cannot fathom what happened here’
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Mainzeal money may help trade creditors but fallout goes wider
Anne Gibson (Herald): Three Mainzeal directors speak out: taking advice on $36m decision
Anne Gibson (Herald): Ex-PM Dame Jenny Shipley and other Mainzeal directors ordered to pay $36m by High Court
Rob Stock (Stuff): Former prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley ordered to pay $6m over Mainzeal collapse
Kim Savage (RNZ): High Court rules Mainzeal directors liable for $36m
Simon Shepherd (Newshub): Former NZ Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley ordered to pay $6m over Mainzeal collapse
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Shipley must pay $6m to Mainzeal creditors, court finds
No Right Turn: The obvious question
Air NZ fares, cameras on NZ flights
Brook Sabin (Stuff): Air New Zealand airfares: The reason they’re decreasing
Ryan Bridge (Newshub): We just got scammed by Air New Zealand
John Anthony (Stuff): Air New Zealand’s new airfare pricing raises ‘a whole lot of questions’, House of Travel says
Pamela Wade (Stuff): How Air New Zealand regional airfares compare to international airfares
1News: Air New Zealand confirms entry-level fare drop on over 40 domestic routes – but won’t front with details
Herald: Price war: Jetstar pledges to beat Air NZ airfares by 10 per cent
1News: Shane Jones warns he’ll be ‘full volume’ if Air NZ’s lower fares prove to be ‘a gimmick’
Sam Farrell (Newshub: ‘I think Air New Zealand realised the game was up’: Shane Jones says the national carrier had to change
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Shane Jones: Air NZ price cuts no good if high fares keep ‘choking’ day-to-day travellers
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Air New Zealand slashing prices for regional flights welcomed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
RNZ: Air NZ cuts fares by up to 50 percent on 41 domestic routes
Kapiti News: Kapiti mayor says he wouldn’t welcome Air New Zealand back
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): ‘We don’t want them here’ – Kapiti Mayor shuns Air New Zealand
Elena McPhee (ODT):Dunedin fares to main centres slashed
Stuff: Air New Zealand’s new airfare pricing a win for Canterbury and the region
Stuff: Cheaper airfares from Nelson welcomed as part of Air NZ pricing overhaul
Mark Quinlivan and Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Leaders welcome cuts to airfares to and from Timaru
Samantha Olley (Rotorua Daily Post): Bay of Plenty rejoices at ‘long overdue’ regional flight price drops
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): Buzz at the baggage counter: Marlborough already planning more frequent flying
Ben Leahy and Luke Kirkness (Herald): Two major airlines admit ‘disturbing’ seat cameras on NZ flights
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Air New Zealand pilots: Where are the women?
Foreign affairs and trade
Gordon Campbell: On National’s extremely cosy relationship with China
John Anthony (Stuff): We need the US and China to get along, says NZ finance minster
Infometrics: Assessing China’s importance to regional New Zealand
Stephen Jacobi (Spinoff): What is the ‘new normal’ in NZ’s relationship with China?
1News: Winston Peters unhappy with NZ Government’s offer to take Nauru refugees, but won’t go back on it
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Foreign Minister Winston Peters still waiting for an answer on New Zealand’s offer to take Asylum-seekers
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Peters and Ardern criticise Australian deportation policy
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attacks Australian deportation policy again
RNZ: NZ govt delegation starts three-nation Pacific tour
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Foreign Minister Winston Peters leads delegation to Pacific nations
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Finance Minister confident EU FTA one step closer
Eric Crampton: 1973 is the new black
Child welfare
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Up to a third of Kiwi kids struggling to live a happy life, survey shows
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Youth report racism, violence and poverty as key themes in life – report
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Porirua mother fears Oranga Tamariki could take her children away at any time
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Outrage over rise in number of Porirua children put into state care
1News: ‘It’s hitting them young’ – too much screen time risks exposing children to harmful advertising, expert warns
Juha Saarinen (Herald): How YouTube became the internet cesspit
Damien Venuto (Herald): Spark pulls all advertising from YouTube due to inappropriate kids’ content
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Spark pulls YouTube ads after revelations of inappropriate content aimed at children
Commercial fishing
Jo Moir (RNZ): Cameras would have picked up latest fisheries abuse – Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash
Southland Times Editorial: Hawke’s Bay Seafood fine must not be a pyrrhic victory
RNZ: Greenpeace praises record fine against Hawke’s Bay Seafoods
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Ngāti Kahungunu plans to purchase controlling stake in seafood company sentenced for under-reporting fish catch
Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill deferred
Zane Small (Newshub): Changing sex on birth certificates: Both sides of the debate
RNZ: Speak Up For Women welcomes deferral of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill
Isaac Davison (Herald): Green Party criticises Govt over delay to trans bill, calling it ‘deeply disappointing’
1News: Work needed on gender self-identification bill ‘to make it stick’ – Jacinda Ardern
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Transgender and non-binary communities disappointed at bill deferral
1News: Transgender community ‘devastated’ after gender self-identification delayed
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Respects to Tracey Martin – this debate desperately requires more kindness & respect
No Right Turn: In support of gender self-identification
Lime scooters
Patrice Dougan (Herald): Lime scooters: Injuries appear to drop following two council bans
Brian Rudman (Herald): Walkers need to step up in the battle of wheels versus heels
Chris Keall (Herald): Lime finally hands data to Auckland Council
Herald: Lime’s scooter suspension continues while council awaits more info
Chris Keall (Herald): Lime yet to front with info, council says
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Lime in limbo: E-scooters remain off Auckland streets after glitch
Ryan Dunlop (Herald): Lime scooters being used in Oamaru over 200km from their Christchurch home
Transport
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Rail loop cost blowout highlights our infrastructure headaches
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland faces years of holiday train shutdowns due to major upgrades of rail network
Katie Fitzgerald: March madness: Auckland Transport beefs up services ahead of commuter chaos
Alexandra Nelson (Newshub): Future of Auckland’s SkyPath hanging in the balance over intellectual property dispute
RNZ: Bus chaos in Wellington
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Death after Wellington bus controller has stroke on a ‘farcical Friday’
Education and training
1News: Majority of New Zealanders want Treaty of Waitangi lessons to be made compulsory in schools – 1 NEWS poll
1News: $20m for leaky building repairs at Auckland high school
Katie Fitzgerald and Delphine Herbert (Newshub): More schools waiting on leaky building funding – principal’s federation
John Lewis (ODT): Esol funding for refugees now a ‘slush fund’-MP
Simon Collins (Herald): Thousands of Kiwi school students join global ‘school strike for climate’
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Sex offender denies teaching music at Wellington school
Māori TV: Tarawera High School tauira to benefit from new course
Jessica Long (Stuff): Facial recognition trial at tertiary providers could lead to wider use in NZ schools
Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times): Waikato University unveils plans for new marae and student hub
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Stand Up for SIT campaign organisers sorting ‘sea of orange’ for Education Minister’s visit
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Commercial uses ‘coming out’ experience to change stigma around trades
Greg Fleming (Herald): Industry training a cost effective model
Health
Cate Broughton (Stuff): ACC tells minister justice issues have been fixed, but advocates not so confident
Duncan Garner (Newshub): The Government must intervene on behalf of Nicky Stevens’ parents
Māori TV: Smoke-free sector criticises “vaper-bashing”
Zane Small (Newshub): Health Minister David Clark dismisses 5G radiation exposure warnings
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Protest fails to save Women’s Health Collective
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): MidCentral likely to add $9.5m loss to health overspending
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Where are all the extra nurses?
Eric Crampton: The Midwives have a history
Te Karere: Auckland high school student loses over 40kgs after school bans fizzy drinks
1News: Three measles cases confirmed in Canterbury in past four days, none of those affected fully immunised
RNZ: Measles outbreak confirmed in Canterbury
Junior doctors’ strike
RNZ: Progress reported in mediation between DHBs and junior doctors
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Junior doctors eye week-long strike as settlement with DHBs eludes
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Thousands of Aucklanders had appointments, operations postponed due to doctors’ strikes
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Junior doctors walk off the job again
Housing
1News: Jacinda Ardern: New rental property standards will benefit landlords, most of whom want to provide healthy homes
Astrid Austin (Herald): 68 new state homes planned for Hastings
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Refugee family face of homelessness problem in Lower Hutt
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): New affordable homes cost less than renting for Queenstown family
Tim Miller (ODT): Dunedin housing woes to be discussed at summit
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Unitary plan praised for record building activity in Auckland
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Record building activity in Auckland with 10,000 dwellings approved in 2018
Infometrics: How to calculate housing affordability
Spinoff: I was a landlord, and I hated the person it made me become
Primary industries
RNZ: River status sees environmentalists and farmers go head to head
ODT: Tenure proposals ‘jump gun’
Ken Muir (ODT): ‘M. bovis’ levy pitched to farmers
Luisa Girao (ODT): Farmer pleads not guilty to five ‘M.bovis’ charges
Hamish Walker (ODT): Farmers tired of bearing blame
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): New rural innovation lab secures Government funding
Environment
Sean Hogan (1News): ‘Extremely concerned’ – DOC to review safety of walks after it ignored safety warnings at Cape Kidnappers
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): New Zealand’s ‘great’ day walks being reviewed after Cape Kidnappers slip
Sean Hogan (1News): DOC promoted Cape Kidnappers walk despite ‘unacceptable risks’ warnings of slips and rockfall
Gerald Piddock (Waikato Times): Gold and silver found on conservation land in Coromandel
Jamie Morton (Herald): Climate warning for NZ business: ‘adapt or get left behind’
Pep Canadell (Stuff): Eighteen countries showing the way to carbon zero
Employment
Julie Iles (Stuff): Wellington conference to look at the future of work
Maria Slade (Spinoff): NZ truckies queue up to take cases against food giant Goodman Fielder
Laura Wiltshire (Hawkes Bay Today): Hawke’s Bay apple grower: ‘If someone walks through the doors with two arms and two legs, I’ll give them a job’
Emma McKay (Herald): Cinema staff made redundant as building remains closed over earthquake risk
Alison Mau (Stuff): Muffin Break internship drama: It’s no shock millennials don’t want to be exploited
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Muffin Break boss Natalie Brennan is right – millennials do lack drive
Peter Cullen (Stuff): Sexualising female staff as ‘tethered goats’ to lure customers unacceptable
Customs
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): ‘Unruly’ tourist’s passport breach first of its kind: Customs
RNZ Checkpoint: Unruly tourist flees NZ using someone else’s passport
1News: Customs promises to ‘foolproof’ its processes after border official lets accused British roof scammer leave
Herald: Unruly tourist James Nolan fled NZ on wrong passport: Customs Minister Kris Faafoi says it shouldn’t have happened
Ben Strang (RNZ): Mistake by border official allows British tourist to leave NZ
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Kris Faafoi slams Customs for blunder leading to rowdy tourist James Nolan’s escape
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Unruly escape: Customs mistake sees tourist James Nolan bolt from New Zealand
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Police on both sides of the world looking for notorious British tourist James Nolan
Local government
Audrey Young (Herald): John Tamihere considers legal action after Labour Party rejects bid to renew membership
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Environment Canterbury responds to 20 times more OIAs since commissioners
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Decision today on Wellington Town Hall after budget blow-out
David Farrar: Town Hall renovation now $130 million
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Councillor critical of plan for governance with iwi over water catchments
RNZ: Invercargill city councillor Karen Arnold declared bankrupt after losing defamation suit
Cherie Sivignon (Nelson Mail): Councillor seeks rating ‘fairness’ to cover retirement village occupiers
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Auckland fireworks ban: overwhelming public support to outlaw private fireworks
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland’s Queens Wharf extension meets overwhelming opposition
Welfare
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): Introducing the Social Income: a new way to do welfare in the 21st century
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Welfare Advisory Group reports back to Government
Other
David Williams (Newsroom): Bungled, costly census to produce less
Sam Brett (Spinoff): Why would anyone train to be a journalist in NZ in 2019?
Megan Gattey (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped on number of Kiwis in Syria conflict zone
Benedict Collins (1News): Debate sparked over drug harm reduction as cannabis referendum looms
John Moore: Critical politics alternative analysis – Gender identity bill deferred, Muffin Break vs millennials, political Oscars
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Church told to admit abuse ‘happened and is happening’
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Error made in rejecting man’s asylum claim was ‘harsh’
Barbara Brophy (Stuff): My partner ended his own life, I’m angry but it was his choice
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): One of New Zealand’s biggest piggeries is farmed by prisoners
David Fisher (Herald): Cameron Slater’s stroke – what defamation victim Matt Blomfield says the evidence shows about the blogger’s health
Pete George: What Whale Oil isn’t telling their reader
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Human Rights Commission comments on Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ use of ‘Indian giver’ phrase
RNZ: Canadian husband of Whangārei teacher now allowed into New Zealand
Nick Bond (Herald): Outrage after Jason Momoa asked to perform ‘haka move’ on Oscars red carpet
