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Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 13 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

SFO investigation into National Party
Audrey Young (Herald): Just when Simon Bridges had turned a corner, along comes Serious Fraud Office probe
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Spectre of Ross allegations back to haunt National leader Bridges
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Someone is likely to end up as toast after Serious Fraud Office probe
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Shane Jones saga isn’t sackable – but it’s shonky, shady, loose and arrogant
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Serious Fraud Office investigation ‘big development’ in Ross saga
Zane Small and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Simon Bridges distancing himself from National Party following Serious Fraud Office investigation
Andrew Geddis (Pundit): Simon Bridges, National and the Serious Fraud Office – what does it all mean?
Jamie Ensor, Kethaki Masilamani (Newshub): Serious Fraud Office will consider if electoral system ‘rorted’ over National’s political donations – law professor
Newstalk ZB: Law expert: SFO investigation isn’t damaging for National – yet
David Farrar: SFO investigating donations to National
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Great news! NZ’s best political drama of 2018 has been renewed
Zane Small (Newshub): $100,000 donation ‘was not broken up by me’ – Jami-Lee Ross
Derek Cheng and Lucy Bennett (Herald): ‘Every time I’m told I’m wrong, I come up with something’: Jami-Lee Ross on SFO National Party donation probe
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Serious Fraud Office ‘tracking’ donation to National Party
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Complaint about political donations referred to Serious Fraud Office
1News: Political donation complaint by Jami-Lee Ross against National Party to be investigated by Serious Fraud Office
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jami-Lee Ross political donations complaint referred to Serious Fraud Office
RNZ: SFO to investigate Jami-Lee Ross’ complaint on National Party donations
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): SFO to investigate National donation allegations
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Bridges: Electoral fraud complaint referred to SFO a matter for National
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Jamie Lee Ross Battleship: He’s hit National hard
No Right Turn: Not a good look

Provincial Growth Fund
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Bunny boiler jokes aside, Shane Jones’ threats could be chilling
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Does everyone want Sonny Bill on their team?
Gordon Campbell: Shane Jones, and a Huawei update
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Time someone yanked on Shane Jones’ chain
1News: Shane Jones says Opposition making ‘mountain out of a molehill’ as pressure continues over conflict of interest
Zane Small (Newshub): Winston Peters unleashes on David Seymour in fiery defence of Shane Jones
Hamish Rutherford and Collette Devlin (Stuff): ACT accuses Shane Jones of contempt of Parliament in privilege complaint
Derek Cheng (Herlad): Shane Jones accused of misleading Parliament
Herald Focus: Shane Jones on Northland tourism proposal (video)
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern says Shane Jones’ remark on journalist is not appropriate
David Farrar: Jones calls a journalist a bunny boiler with no consequences
David Farrar: Even Winston referred to Shane Jones as the Chair of Manea
Cathy Odgers: Prediction Time – Shane Jones Will Launch A New Urban Growth Fund
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why Shane Jones & NZ First must be destroyed

Measles outbreak
Conan Young (RNZ): Parents sending unimmunised children to school despite warnings
RNZ: Measles outbreak: Canterbury school asks unimmunised students to stay home
1News: Around 18,000 vaccines to hit Canterbury shortly as measles cases continue to rise
1News: Mass immunisation struggles amid Canterbury measles outbreak as vaccines dwindle
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Canterbury measles outbreak: Vaccine needed for 125,000
1News: Health Minister’s blunt message to anti-vaxx advocates, in midst of Canterbury measles outbreak – ‘Vaccines work’
Theo Brandt (Newsroom): Freedom of choice puts babies at risk
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Measles and MMR vaccination in NZ: The facts
Herald: Measles outbreak: People born between 1969 and 1992 might not be fully protected, health services warn
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Measles: What you need to know
Jess Berentson-Shaw (Spinoff): The problem with false balance reporting on vaccination
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Anti-vax murderers shouldn’t get access to the welfare system
Herald: 18,000 extra MMR vaccines to arrive in Canterbury to tackle measles outbreak
Rachel Graham (RNZ): Canterbury measles outbreak: Police prosecutor contracts virus
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Christchurch police prosecutor diagnosed with measles could have infected ‘many’ people
Kim Nutbrown (Stuff): Rangiora Borough School pupil amongst those confirmed with measles in Canterbury
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): New Zealand medical professionals worried about anti-vax tour
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): New Zealand doctors move clinics outside in bid to stop measles’ spread

Health
Tom Furley (RNZ): Health experts call for dental health reform in NZ
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Demand for public dental care on the rise in Auckland
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Elderly man found dead in his Napier home weeks after he was last seen
Elena McPhee (ODT): Alcohol laws’ effect on Maori questioned
Emma Russell (Herald): New Zealand’s high poison deaths a concern, expert says
James Baker (Waikato Times): SMA patients could wait four years for new wonder drug Spinraza
Fiona Connor (Newshub): ‘Charlotte and all those like her don’t have time’: Plea to fund toddler’s life-saving drug as vital muscles weaken
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Hamish Walker appeals to Health Minister to keep Maternity Centre open
Deena Coster (Stuff): Protester apologises to ACC for ‘over the top’ protest, New Plymouth court hears

Tax
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Capital gains tax changes should not be ‘over complicated’, says Prime Minister
Geoff Simmons (Daily Blog): Davidson is Wrong: Capital Gains Tax Will Hurt the Poor
David Farrar: More on how CGT is a double tax on business
ODT: Water abstraction tax concerns
ODT: Work to be done: tax group

Eric Watson tax avoidance case
Matt Nippert (Herald): Eric Watson’s Cullen Group could face years of court battles over multimillion tax judgment
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): High-flyer Eric Watson out of parachutes as taxman bites
Matt Nippert (Herald): Eric Watson’s firms face bill of at least $112m after losing High Court tax avoidance battle
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Watson structured affairs to dodge tax, High Court finds
Kim Savage (RNZ):Eric Watson’s Cullen Group avoided $51m in tax, High Court confirms
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Judge rules businessman Eric Watson owes $51.1 million in back taxes

Parliament
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘I think I just made history’: Speaker orders Simon Bridges to apologise twice in Parliament
Jason Walls (Herald): National Leader Simon Bridges is calling for a ban on foreign donations to political parties
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Parliament bingo
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Parliament’s to do list: Tuesday 12 March 2019

Rainbow Ministry proposal
Zane Small (Newshub): Green MP Jan Logie’s ‘Rainbow Ministry’ idea dismissed by Jacinda Ardern
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Ardern pumps brakes on idea of Rainbow Ministry floated by Green Mp Jan Logie

Pike River
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Pike River mine re-entry to begin on May 3, Andrew Little announces
Derek Cheng (Herald): Pike River re-entry on May 3, Government says
1News: Date for planned Pike River Mine drift re-entry announced by Government
Zane Small (Newshub): Pike River Minister Andrew Little confirms re-entry date
RNZ: Pike River Mine re-entry to begin in early May, govt confirms
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Pike River Mine re-entry on track to go ahead
Newstalk ZB: Andrew Little announces Pike River re-entry date

Cameron Slater
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Cameron Slater privacy breach: Victim doubts he’ll get his $70,000 damages
David Fisher (Herald): Bankrupt blogger Cameron Slater carried out ‘character assassination’ – ordered to pay $70,000 in landmark media ruling
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Whale Oil bankrupt blogger Cameron Slater ordered to pay $70,000 in landmark ruling
RNZ: Blogger Cameron Slater ordered to pay businessman $70k

Water bottling
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Lianne Dalziel’s family business links to Cloud Ocean Water concerns council colleagues
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Resolution to controversial water bottling, export issue on the way – Jacinda Ardern

Environment and conservation
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Kahurangi National Park to expand by area half the size of Auckland
RNZ: Kahurangi National Park expands by 14 percent – more than half the size of Auckland
1News/Sky: Kahurangi National Park to be expanded by area half the size of Auckland
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Greenpeace ads targeting individual companies a step too far, authority rules
Danielle Clent (STuff): High Court appeals over marine dumping off Auckland’s Great Barrier Island
Michael Neilson (Herald):‘It is disgusting’: Appeals lodged as Great Barrier Island set to take millions of tonnes of Auckland’s waste
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Recycling not worth the extra $80 for Upper Hutt ratepayers
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Chatham Islanders finally step out of their rubbish holes to join the recycling movement
Stuff: Ideas sought for recycling New Plymouth’s landfill site
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Monitored lakes in wider Manawatū failing environmental standards
Rosalie Willis (Kāpiti News): Waikanae River one of 14 catchments chosen for funding
Stuff: High bacteria levels found at popular Northland swimming spots
Andrew McRae (RNZ): ‘No immediate benefit’ from new wood burners – Rotorua resident
David Williams (Newsroom): The truth behind ‘tahr-mageddon’
Brian Rudman (Herald): Sick to death of poison-based pest remedies

Climate change
Steven Cowan: Is school strike for climate a government propaganda exercise?
Andrew Beecroft (Stuff): We should be proud of the courage of student strikers
John Dew (Stuff): We need to listen to young people about climate change
Albert Redmore (Newshub): Listen: Sean Plunket attacks Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft over his lack of support for non-protesting students
Donna Awatere Huata (Daily Blog): Secondary Principals Council must not punish climate change striking students
Newshub: Expert says NZ Super Fund should divest shares in oil and gas
No Right Turn: Climate change: Time for divestment
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Transport, air travel Environment Canterbury’s biggest greenhouse-gas emitters

Prime Minister’s science awards
Jamie Morton (Herald): James Renwick: Dauntless hope in the face of a climate catastrophe
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Exploring climate change through creative arts a focus for Prime Minister’s science award recipient
Herald: Victoria University professor wins $100,000 prize for climate-change work
Alice Wilkins (Newshub): Crime solving Kiwi researchers collect $500,000 prize from Prime Minister

Employment
1News: Christchurch dairy owner fined after employee forced to work 12 hour shifts, seven days a week
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Christchurch convenience store owner to pay $41,000 for exploitation
Herald: Dairy and its owner to pay over $40,000 for worker exploitation
Liu Chen (RNZ): Indian priests say they have been exploited by employer
RNZ: Christchurch dairy to pay more than $40,000 for worker exploitation
1News: Man killed in workplace accident in Wellington the fourth fatality in a month
Alex Ashton (RNZ): Line workers’ lawyers prepare class action against Visionstream
ODT: Lack of Kiwi workers a problem
John Milford (Stuff): People with a disability or health condition the answer to skills shortages

Vodafone
Chris Keall (Herald): Vodafone must learn from past mistake in sending work offshore: Watchdog
Newshub: Vodafone restructure leaves thousands of staff at risk (video)

Housing
RNZ: Collins grills minister over KiwiBuild underwrite guarantees
Henry Cooke and Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Government will not extend special housing areas law beyond September
Mark Price (ODT): No extension of housing law
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): LED light bulbs weren’t considered for KiwiBuild
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Hamilton landlord tells tenants rent increase is Labour’s fault
1News: Are kitset homes the answer to New Zealand’s housing crisis?
Samantha Motion (Bay of Plenty Times): Developer on Tauranga land supply ‘crisis’: I’ll be laying people off

Ihumātao
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Petition against housing project ‘desecration’ taken to Parliament
Herald:Russian feminist punk-rock band Pussy Riot throws support behind protesters this afternoon
Spinoff: A message of solidarity from Pussy Riot to the people of Ihumātao
Oliver Lovell (Stuff): Pussy Riot marches to Parliament over Auckland housing development 
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Pussy Riot says New Zealand can be an ‘example’ to Russia and Australia

Insurance
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): IAG turning down new property insurance in Wellington region
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Govt warns insurers following IAG’s Wellington pull-back
Lee Kenny and Susan Edmunds (Stuff): IAG’s ‘conservative approach’ to Wellington home contents insurance does not mean other insurers will follow suit

Justice, corrections
Sean Hogan (1News): Hastings students lock themselves in small metal cage in protest at ‘inadequate’ prison conditions
Frank Macskasy (Daily Blog): Anti-trans activists fudge OIA statement – Report

Police
Herald Editorial: Police need a smarter response to fleeing drivers
Anna Leask (Herald): The Chase: Pursuit toll – 79 dead in police chases since 2008
Herald: The Chase: Inside police radio of a double-fatal
Anna Leask (Herald): The Chase: Woman who survived pursuit crash that killed her three mates ‘begged’ driver to stop
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Fleeing driver in Nelson triple fatal was on meth
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Police ‘justified’ in triple-fatal pursuit crash – IPCA
Chelsea Boyle (Herald): Watchdog rules triple fatal Nelson pursuit was justified
Tim Newman (Stuff): Police pursuit deemed justified before Nelson triple-fatal crash
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): IPCA investigating alleged sex attack and inappropriate police behaviour claims
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Southlanders upset at gun laws and police

Transport, road safety
Fergus Tate (Stuff): Why we should set our sights on zero road deaths
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Number of police drink-drive breath tests drops by more than a million in five years
Damian George (Stuff): Calls for central Government to step in and help fix Wellington’s bus problems
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Fears Inner-City Bypass mistakes will be repeated with Let’s Get Wellington Moving
Todd Niall (Stuff): Fare-free weekend public transport for Auckland under-15s sought
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Timaru District rejects ECan’s transport funding request
Herald: Auckland Airport and Uber team up
Danielle Clent and Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Wave e-scooters to take on Lime e-scooters in Auckland
George Block (ODT): Another e-scooter company expected
Brook Sabin (Stuff): New Zealand’s dire shortage of budget airlines
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Applicant missed out on $95k air traffic control job after ‘arbitrary’ personality test

Boeing 737 Max
Tom McRae (Newshub): Civil Aviation Authority deems Boeing’s planes safe, despite two recent disasters
1News: ‘I wouldn’t be happy flying on one’ – retired captain wary of Boeing Max 8s after crashes
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Top US aviation expert tells New Zealand to ban Boeing 737 MAX from airways
Grant Bradley (Herald): Boeing 737 Max scare widens with more authorities banning plane, Fiji Airways quits flying to Australia
RNZ: Fiji Air continues to fly Max 8s into NZ
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): CAA says Fiji Airways Boeing 737 Max flights safe, Singapore ground their fleet
Reuters: Britain, Germany, France close airspace to Boeing 737 MAX
ABC: Aus suspends use of planes involved in Ethiopian crash

Drought declared for top of the South
Gerard Hutching (Stuff): Top of South Island now officially in drought as Government extends assistance
1News: Support for Tasman drought’s extended to cover Marlborough and Buller
RNZ: Drought support expands across top of South Island

Auckland
RNZ: No buy-out option in offer to flood-hit Piha homeowners
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Motorbike club shut out by Auckland Council as old track sits idle
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Speedway offered new home in Auckland at Waikaraka Park
Grant Bradley (Herald): Emirates Team New Zealand says proposed Auckland anchor fee for superyachts short-sighted
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Auckland locals struggle to keep storm-damaged track open

Education, industry training
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Ministry moves to terminate Lower Hutt childcare centre’s licence following investigation
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Hutt Hospital Childcare Centre to be permanently closed after probe into complaints about care
Jean Bell (Bay of Plenty Times): Intellectually challenged student ‘stood down’ from school after beard row
Marae: Should correct pronunciation of Māori names be compulsory in schools?
Tom Kitchin and Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): St John pushes to have first aid training compulsory in all New Zealand schools
1News: Christchurch schools set for major revamp to manage enrolment numbers
Richard Prebble (Herald): Taskforce could destroy your local high school
Samesh Mohanlall and Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Residents unhappy with state of former Pareora school
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Students to march on Parliament demanding promised grants for postgraduates
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Wintec HR head scoops national award, credits team culture
Jono Edwards (ODT): Hiring of novices at risk: ITO
1News: Proposed polytechnic shake-up could see 70 per cent of employers hire fewer apprentices, education consultant claims

Banks
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Economist: Bank capital changes would add thousands to borrowers’ bills
Jenny Ruth (Herald): Cabinet memos: RBNZ warned the govt of ‘intensive lobbying’ by banks
MIchael Reddell: An unserious organisation, with serious consequences

Primary industries
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): East Coast forestry companies plead not guilty to slash damage
Mike Chapman (Newshub): Opinion: Horticulture’s ask from 2019 Budget
Māori TV: Māori Fisheries Conference 2019 announced

Racism
Leo Horgan (Māori TV): “Racism is real whānau” – wahine subjected to abuse in online video
RNZ: ‘Racism is real’ – Māori woman verbally abused after alleged roading incident
Herald: ‘Racism is real’: Wāhine toa verbally abused in ‘racist’ road rage tirade
Emma Clark (Newshub): Worker verbally abuses Māori woman on camera, claims he was ‘set up’
Mandy Te (stuff): Man from woman’s viral video rant accusing him of racism denies claims

Michael Jackson documentary, sexual abuse
Ian Chapman (ODT): Character flaws provide no grounds for banishing memory of individuals
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Things we need to consider if we want to social media lynch Michael Jackson
Graeme Tuckett (Stuff): You think you’ve seen Leaving Neverland? You probably haven’t thanks to TVNZ
Dominion Post Editorial: Michael Jackson’s predatory sex offending is a lesson for all of us
1News: Black Power member tells his story of abuse in wake of Jackson documentary

Other
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Key ‘Hit & Run’ players lose faith in Government inquiry into SAS raids
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Ron Mark accused of using ministerial role to get votes
Richard Harman (Politik): National Party members propose change
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Jami-Lee Ross rides again
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): The Mainzeal tragedy: a story in 10 chapters
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Why Isn’t JA Channelling AOC?
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): Candidate gutted over ‘male’ MP message
Peter Cullen (Stuff): The white heterosexual male: the disadvantaged species?
Katy Jones (Nelson Mail): Nelson fire: disparity tackled in rewards for volunteer firefighters
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Waitara Land Bill reaches milestone
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): Climbing Everest: gender equality
Southland Times: Invercargill deputy mayor Rebecca Amundsen to run against Sir Tim Shadbolt for mayoralty job
Amanda Larsson (Noted): High time for NZ to beat the gas blues using sunshine
Stuff: Captain James Cook monument to be re-installed in time for 250th commemoration
Hawkes Bay Today: Hawke’s Bay residents tell Māori man to ‘speak English’ at public meeting
Lois Williams (RNZ): Toliets on Russell wharf: ‘We’re saying no’ – tangata whenua
Daily Blog: The Liberal Agenda – Bryan Bruce interviews Max Rashbrooke
Chris Keall (Herald): ‘We not spyware’ – after school controversy, Family Zone hits back
RNZ: Dame Annette King – The Authorised Biography
RNZ: Bill to overhaul drug laws passes first reading in Parliament

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