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Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 14 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
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Could electoral fraud be widespread in NZ?
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Every political party mishandles election donations – Peter Dunne
Hearld Editorial: National needs to explain how big donation was handled
David Farrar: Donation legality
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Shane Jones makes outrageous claims about National Party donations in Parliament
RNZ: ‘Kiwis don’t want our democracy to be hijacked’ – Ross

Provincial Growth Fund
Claire Trevett (Herald): Shane Jones’ fatal attraction for pork barrels
Liam Hehir (Spinoff): Sorry but Shane Jones is Chris Finch from The Office
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Shane Jones saga isn’t sackable – but it’s shonky, shady, loose and arrogant
1News: Shane Jones says ‘common sense has to prevail’ over Northland organisation’s $4.6m funding boost scandal
1News: Bridges suggests Ardern is ‘making excuses for her Ministers’ appalling behaviour’ due to them being ‘stressed’
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Shane Jones is ruining the Government’s reputation

Official Information Act
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Protect the public’s right to know: cure the unhealthy Official Information Act
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Hide and Seek: How politicians seek to hide your information away
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Official information Act complaints rise by 34 per cent

Hit and Run inquiry
David Fisher (Herald): Big Read: Lawyer Deborah Manning, the NZSAS and her fight to have the voice of slain Fatima, 3, heard in New Zealand
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Hit & Run inquiry heads shrug off criticism and say they’ll ‘get at the truth’ of Afghan raids
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Afghan villagers taking new legal action against ‘Hit & Run’ inquiry
1News: Lawyers for Afghan villagers affected by NZSAS raid to file in High Court over decision to hold closed inquiry
RNZ: New legal action taken against ‘Hit and Run’ inquiry
No Right Turn: A British-style whitewash

Ron Mark
Derek Cheng (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern says Ron Mark should not use Ministerial position to plug NZ First
RNZ: Ron Mark denies canvassing for votes for NZ first during a ministerial speech
Derek Cheng (Herald): Ron Mark accused of threatening to cut Govt funding if veterans don’t vote NZ First
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Ron Mark accused of using his position as a Cabinet Minister to get party vote

Parliament
Richard Harman (Politik): Parliament buffeted by scandal allegations
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Entrenching Māori seats in parliament ‘a question of equality’
Phil Smith (RNZ): Accidental coup d’etat: the Government did what?
Phil Smith (RNZ): Oral questions versus the general debate
Phil Smith (RNZ): Parliament’s to do list: 13 Mar – One general, many committees
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): The House’s weekly plan: 12 -14 March

Insurance
Rob Stock, Julie Iles, Lee Kenny and Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Wellington’s insurance shake-up: IAG’s ‘conservative’ approach set to ripple across industry
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s what you need to know about New Zealand’s changing insurance market
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Real estate agents fear effects of insurance difficulties in capital
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Woods ‘perplexed’ at insurer’s change of tune
RNZ Checkpoint: ‘No secret’ about Wellington insurance risk – Insurance Council
Rob Stock (Stuff): State and AMI deny Wellington home and contents insurance retreat
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): IAG responds to claims it’s stopped taking on new Wellington clients
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Insurance Australia Group not withdrawing from Wellington market

Tax
Gareth Morgan: Cullen’s Tax Working Group: High on politics of envy, low on economic literacy
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Surprise card could help Labour sell a capital gains tax ‘light’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Tax Working Group dissenters less opposed to ‘CGT light’ but National unmoved
Greg Ninness (Interest): How businesses are affected by Capital Gains Tax will depend on how much it redistributes the tax burden
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Simon Bridges has a year to turn things around
Muriel Newman: The Partnership Deception
Jacqui Dean (Stuff): Capital gains tax has massive, destructive ramifications for south
Gordon Campbell: On tax dodges, and the Brexit vote
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Eric Watson’s battles: has the high flyer been brought low?
1News: Workers over-taxed over incorrect secondary tax codes set for relief after legislation passes through Parliament
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Tax experts call for one more tax-free Christmas for internet shoppers

Measles outbreak
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Unvaccinated kids won’t be blocked from school – Health Minister David Clark
1News: ‘No jab, no school’ – Dr Lance O’Sullivan says vaccination should compulsory for kids
1News: Should kids who aren’t vaccinated be banned from going to school in New Zealand?
1News: Canterbury measles vaccine supplies set for further boost today as outbreak tipped to worsen
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s ‘strong message to everyone’ on Canterbury measles outbreak
Kim Nutbrown (Stuff): Unvaccinated children putting others at risk at Canterbury school – medical officer
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Canterbury measles outbreak: Unimmunised cases new priority
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Call to delay flu vaccine in Canterbury as GPs struggle with measles outbreak
RNZ: Measles outbreak: GPs inundated with vaccination jobs
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): Expert says herd immunity is threatened by anti-vax movement
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Auckland measles map: Track the fast-moving outbreak
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Two infected in Auckland measles outbreak
Herald: Warning after two measles cases identified in Auckland
1News: Nigel Latta weighs in on psychology behind the anti-vaccination campaign as Christchurch measles outbreak takes hold
Chris Morris (ODT): Measles: two cases in Dunedin
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Measles: Rest of NZ just as vulnerable to outbreak, experts warn

Pharmac and cancer drug funding
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Givealittle not a Pharmac substitute: Terminal breast cancer patients push for Pharmac inquiry and the funding of life-preserving drugs
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Pharmac funding should be doubled – breast cancer advocate
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Medavivors tell their story to select committee
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Women with advanced breast cancer appear before health select committee to plead for drugs
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate): Northland family’s race to raise $100k for Whitinga Harris’ cancer treatment

Health
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Held to Account: Mental health a crisis the Government knows how to fix
Isaac Davison (Herald): ‘Every hour is questioned’ – Advocates say Health Ministry quietly reducing funding for disabled after ruling out big cuts
Pam Jones (ODT): St John requests more government funding
1News: Tobacco giant Philip Morris will stop selling cigarettes in NZ tax break or not
Newhsub:Vaping saving lives and money – study
Phil Pennington (RNZ): DHBs unsure how to pay possible millions owed to staff
Phil Pennington (RNZ): District Health Boards owe staff $45m in underpayment – union
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Left inside: Drill bits among items left in patients

Aged care
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Overstretched aged care staff say residents ‘lie in pain rather than making a fuss’
RNZ: Aged care workers ‘sitting in their cars and crying’
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Damning survey shows aged care workers are burnt out, understaffed and unable to provide adequate care
Melissa Nightingale and Emma Russell (Herald): ‘Rotten care’: Elderly rest home residents dying due to low level of help – union

Pike River
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Pike River secrecy agreement about ‘tightening up’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Pike River Recovery boss says he is under no political pressure
1News: ‘This is a chapter of NZ’s history that is not closed’ – Pike River Recovery on latest developments
RNZ: Pike River Recovery Agency boss says he underestimated re-entry works
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Pike River recovery operation fraught with danger – chief executive

Climate change 
Joanne Black (Listener): Why the growing alarm over catastrophic climate change is justified
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Zero Carbon Bill ’95 percent of the way there’
Zane Small (Newshub): Student asks Jacinda Ardern what difference School Strike 4 Climate will make
1News: As mass school walkout looms Jacinda Ardern says climate change is ‘biggest issue facing next generation’
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): Some schools will allow students to strike for climate change
Jono Edwards (ODT): Pupils air climate change frustrations
Katy Jones (Stuff): Primary schools back Nelson’s climate change ‘strike’
Josephine Franks (Stuff): School climate strike: What’s planned in Auckland
Herald: Kindergarten kids join school strike for climate in Waihi
Astrid Austin (Hawkes Bay Today): ‘We should have a voice’: Hawke’s Bay students to strike for action on climate change
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Climate change strike: What goes into planning a school strike
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets student climate change protesters in Wellington
Herald: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Green Party minister James Shaw talk climate change with Wellington school students
Mia Sutherland (Stuff): Climate change: Why are we striking?
Scarlett Powell (Stuff): High school student explains School Strike 4 Climate NZ to her elders
University of Auckland: Q+A: Is New Zealand ready to go carbon zero?
Aziz Al-Sa’afin (Newshub): Opinion: Climate change strike should be celebrated, not ridiculed
Emily Writes (Spinoff): The kids of NZ are absolutely owning adults and it’s bloody magnificent
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Kids need to care about our climate but don’t need to protest
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Climate strike just a day off school
Brian Easton (Pundit): Up in the Clouds

Environment and conservation
Jamie Morton (Herald): Kahurangi National Park grows by 64,400ha after Mokihinui conservation land added to area
Manawatū Guardian: Little Penguin loses eye in Himatangi Beach dog attack

Water bottling
David Farrar: Influence trading in Christchurch
Steven Cowan: Water for need, not profit

Transport
Brad Flahive (Stuff): Lime lobbying rushed NZTA to exempt e-scooters from vehicle regulations
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Confusion over e-scooters’ vehicle status
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Onzo abandons plans to enter New Zealand’s e-scooter rental market
Tim Miller (ODT): Authorities to keep an eye on Lime race
Damian George (Stuff): Transport Minister Phil Twyford rejects calls for Government intervention in Wellington’s bus ‘debacle’
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Some road barriers on SH1 and SH2 may be unsecured – report
Anuja Nadkarni, Debrin Foxcroft and Amanda Cropp (Stuff): NZ suspends Boeing 737 Max 8s after Ethiopian Airways crash
1News: Civil Aviation Authority temporarily suspends Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from entering, leaving NZ
RNZ: CAA suspends operations of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft both in and out of NZ
RNZ: Fiji Airways suspends use of Max 8 aircraft

Housing
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Canterbury KiwiBuild house was on market last year and did not sell
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): KiwiBuild house was already built and on the market
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Waitlist for public housing over 11,000 as ‘hidden homeless’ come forward
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): “If there is a fire, throw yourself out of your wheelchair, and crawl outside”
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Stats NZ index shows housing rents rose 3.3% in year
Mark Price (ODT): Thousands more houses needed as Queenstown booms
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Westpac rolls out loans for factory built houses
Herald: Number of properties sold in Auckland through February sees dramatic decrease

China-NZ relations, Huawei
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): How to handle Chinese interference
Audrey Young (Herald): Shane Jones blasts Spark for going public over GCSB’s interim decision on Huawei in 5G
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): NZ should not relent to Huawei pressure – former diplomat
Mike Smith (Standard): More political interference on Huawei
Peter Griffin (Listener): What the controversy over Huawei and 5G is all about

Police chases
Andrew Becroft (Herald): The Chase: Why I’ve changed my mind
Chelsea Boyle (Herald): The Chase: Police pursuits a life and death issue – step on it or ba
Chelsea Boyle (Herald): The Chase: Police pursuits – how it’s done around the world

Education, vocational training
Pat Lynch (Herald): Careful what you wish for on school reforms
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Govt frustrations rise over teacher pay negotiations
Adele Redmond (Stuff): Government cash injection needed after multi-million budget blowout on Christchurch Schools Rebuild
George Heagney (Stuff): Ministry offer doesn’t scratch the surface of teacher workloads, educators say
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Mother reveals fears as Hutt childcare centre is closed over claims of mistreatment
Elena McPhee (ODT): Relationships with Maori would continue
Vaneeta D’Andrea (ODT): Govt looking in the wrong direction

Migration
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government’s quiet immigration crackdown: 600 fewer residence visas a month
Michael Reddell: What is going on with residence approvals?
Zane Small (Newsub): Statistics New Zealand no longer measuring ‘brain drain’ to Australia
1News: Auckland restaurant owner appeals to MPs to remain in New Zealand
RNZ: Please let us stay in New Zealand’, says family being deported to Ukraine

Justice, family violence, child abuse
Isaac Davison (Herald): Law Commission recommends tighter controls for evidence in sexual and family violence cases
Blair Jackson (Southland Times): David White in Invercargill for family violence discussion after daughter’s death at hands of Gregory Meads
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Teacher who indecently touched young pupil allowed to have contact with children
Sam Hurley (Herald): Child, Youth and Family caregiver pleads not guilty to sexual, physical abuse charges

Local government
Southland Times Editorial: Where was the good grace, Sir Tim?
Elton Rikihana Smallman (Stuff): Hamilton mayor’s political opponents label beggar billboards as early electioneering
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): Golliwogs banned from Picton market after complaints from cruise passengers

Auckland
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Plans to sell Auckland Council owned land for development at Westpark and Gulf Harbour marinas still on ice
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s new $1.2 billion sewer tunnel the size of a giraffe
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Monster $1.2 billion sewer pipe to clean up Auckland beaches gets the go-ahead
Todd Niall (Stuff): Western Springs speedway: Announcement expected on track’s future
Vanita Prasad (Newsroom): City air pollution still too high
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Council top executive resigns

Primary industries
Kirsty Lawrence (Manawatū Standard): All-women panel challenges the status-quo at AgriFood Week
Gerard Hutching (Stuff): Dutch company DSM keen to trial methane cutting tech this year
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Controversial Greenpeace billboard ruled ‘misleading’

MIchael Jackson documentary
MIchelle Duff (Stuff): Can we continue to enjoy the art of Michael Jackson and others?
Sinead Corcoran (Stuff): Cotton On staff ‘told not to sell Michael Jackson apparel’
Herald: Psychologist: Kiwis ‘triggered’ to get help by Michael Jackson doco Leaving Neverland

Other
Chris Keall (Herald): Privacy Bill: Commissioner misses out on two wish-list items
Shane Te Pou (Stuff): Why Nats need to start planning for life after Simon Bridges
Bryan Gould: The health of the public debate
Herald: Commerce Commission scrutinises upmarket fashion label Adrienne Winkelmann
Lynn Prentice (Standard): Human Rights decision is quite pointed
Pete George: Why did the Human Rights privacy decision against Slater take so long?
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Fonterra making move to environmentally cleaner fuel option
Newshub: Could the new tourism levy create travel chaos? (video)
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Northlake residents fear speaking out on hotel development
RNZ: Pacific peoples fight to find themselves in NZ’s Far North
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Revealed: Large majority of Kiwis want abortion law change – Newshub-Reid Research poll
RNZ: Funeral grants not keeping up with rising costs of burial
Chris Morris (ODT): Sports club’s approach to alcohol ‘bewildering’
Tim Miller (ODT): Student bar fights to keep longer hours
Leighton Smith podcast: Talking Michael Jackson, climate change and addiction
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Does NZ want corporates producing potent cannabis here?
Bill Ralston (Listener): What the Govt should do about Kiwi jihadist Mark Taylor
Amy Ridout (Nelson Mail): ‘Feminism is for everyone’, say the women bringing Pussy Riot to Nelson
RNZ: NZ to boost its policing support to Vanuatu
Tina Law (Press): New $11m golf driving range planned for QEII Park a step closer
Cas Marrett (Stuff): Life yet for earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ scientists call for moratorium on human genome editing
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Calls for a freeze on editing reproductive DNA
Dionne Christian (Herald): Auckland Writers Festival 2019 lineup revealed: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to star
Herald: NZ’s ‘First Baby’ Neve hit by bird poo, reveals Jacinda’s Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford

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