Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – April 8 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
Gun laws
John Armstrong (1News): ACT’s David Seymour has fallen flat on his face over gun reform
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Law reform tightrope for NZ First
Newstalk ZB: Law expert concerned over speed of gun law reform process
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Political ‘consultation’ is essential but overrated
RNZ: Gun law select committee quick, full and revealing, Labour MP Michael Wood says
Dan Satherley and Kethaki Masilamani (Newshub): Gun reform only possible in wake of Christchurch tragedy – Labour MP Greg O’Connor
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in politics: Politicians seize the moment with gun law reform
Philippa Tolley (RNZ): The shadow hovering over NZ’s gun owners
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): How Parliament is fast tracking gun law reform
Jared Savage (Herald): Police Association president Chris Cahill warns of vigilance on innovation by gun manufacturers which circumvent semi-automatic bans overseas
Collette Devlin and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Gun lobbyist said this is why ‘politicians get burnt’, Judith Collins said
Bill Ralston (Listener): The sooner the gun law passes the better
David Slack (Stuff): There are problems to be fixed, but Government will get gun reform right
Discrimination, intolerance, hate speech
Simon Chapple (The Conversation): What the data say about discrimination and tolerance in New Zealand
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): What will happen to our hate speech laws?
1News: NZ must ‘jealously guard’ freedom of speech, Simon Bridges says amid hate speech review
Stuart Smith and Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Stuff): The delicate balance of free speech v hate speech
Christchurch mosque shootings
Audrey Young (Herald): Ardern changes down a gear from speedy gun reform to social media landscape
Toby Manhire (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern: ‘Very little of what I have done has been deliberate. It’s intuitive’
Chris Marshall (Newsroom): Ardern’s ‘pitch perfect’ leadership no performance
Claire Trevett (Herald): When the call came: Inside Jacinda Ardern’s first 72 hours after attacks
Herald: What Jacinda Ardern wrote in the minutes after Christchurch mosque terror attacks revealed
Herald: Christiane Amanpour praises Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at New York event
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Christchurch terror attack victims worry about supporting families in the long term
Washington Post: Probe into links between accused Christchurch gunman and European far-right groups
AP, Herald: Accused gunman donated $3650 to far-right French group Generation Identity
Stuff: Christchurch mosque shooting suspect ‘sent $3653 to French group’
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Christchurch terror attack: Suspect linked to another far-right group in Europe
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Prison staff warned not to look up alleged Christchurch mosque gunman in Corrections database
Sam Hurley (Herald): Taxpayer foots bill for accused gunman’s lawyers
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Accused gunman ordered to undergo mental health tests
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Accused appears in court, enters no plea
Lisa Davies (1News): Victims’ families watch as Christchurch shooting accused appears in court
Herald: ‘Coward’: Victim’s family lashes out at accused Christchurch gunman
RNZ: Accused gunman appears in court via video link
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Muslims of the World competition to ‘win free trip to NZ’ to meet terror attack victims slammed
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Muslims of the World group apologises for ‘meet the victims’ competition after backlash on social media
Ashleigh Stewart/The National: ‘Insensitive and disturbing’: Backlash at competition to visit grieving Christchurch families
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Labour MPs publish near-identical opinion pieces in local paper
Social media, internet
Chris Keall (Herald): The glaring flaw in Zuckerberg’s Facebook Live defence
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Facebook inaction over livestream ‘evidence of need for better regulation’ – commentator
Ben Leahy (Herald): Facebook’s promise to take down hate speech just ‘lip service’, users say
Krista Gmelich (Bloomberg, Stuff): Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook after Christchurch terror attacks were livestreamed
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Facebook won’t put delays on livestreams – Mark Zuckerberg
Herald: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg breaks silence on Christchurch shootings
Census
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Chief statistician faces contempt of parliament over Census
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Government Statistician Liz MacPherson faces parliamentary contempt complaint over 2018 Census data
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Chief Statistician ordered by MPs to produce information on Census 2018
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Simon Bridges ‘losing faith’ in official statistics
Eric Crampton: Census Whoas
Euthanasia
Graham Adams (Spinoff): Maggie Barry is euthanasia advocates’ secret weapon
Sinead Donnelly (Herald): Canada shows euthanasia soon extended to more than the terminally ill
Dan Satherley Newshub: Euthanasia advocate wants Bill wording tightened
Bob McCoskrie: Patients’ trust in doctors central in End of Life Choice Bill debate
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Crucial vote for End of Life Choice Bill
Herald; Report due back on Act leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill
Health
1News: Diet now a bigger killer than smoking, study finds – ‘food industry needs to be held accountable’
Mike Houlahan (ODT): SDHB faced insolvency before extra funding
Nikki Preston (Herald): Waikato DHB lawyer calls for coroner on Nicky Stevens’ inquest to be investigated for improper conduct
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Grieving limbo – five years of waiting and still no answers
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): ‘Time for you to front’ – Mike King lashes Govt over slow mental health response
Alice Webb-Liddall (Newshub): ‘Vulnerable and broken’: Mike King’s plea for mental health profiling to stop
1News: New Zealander of the Year Mike King urges Kiwis to dig deep for Gumboot Friday
Hinemoa Elder (Stuff): Gumboot Friday: Why staunch rural Kiwi men need our help
Tess Brunton (RNZ):Lumsden Maternity Centre downgrade looms
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): MP Walker to present Lumsden Maternity petition to Health Select Committee
Ruth Nichol (Listener): Vaping is attracting the cautious support of anti-tobacco campaigners
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Debate over whether store is a high-end wine outlet or ‘peddler of cheap RTDs’
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Medicinal cannabis allows paralysed Christchurch man to live ‘good life’ free from pain
Tony Wall (Stuff): Prescription drug gabapentin, linked to opioid overdoses, has taken off in NZ
Katie Fitzgerald and Ella Predergast (Newshub): Around 150 surgeries cancelled in Rotorua due to anaesthetic technicians strike
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Grandmothers lobby govt for rare genetic disease medication
Oliver Lewis and Tom Kitchin (Stuff): New Christchurch Hospital car park by 2020 no longer possible
Matthew Tso (Stuff): DHBs revamping hospital menus to reflect the communities they serve
Environment, conservation
Jim Salinger and Raymond Desjardins (Herald): Opinion: Why a ‘two-basket’ emissions approach to climate change is hot air
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Further decline of Mackenzie Basin likely if tenure review continues, Minister told
Laura Wiltshire (Hawkes Bay Today): David Parker says he will have failed if rivers not healthier when he leaves politics
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): ‘The world’s least unsustainable airline’: Air New Zealand’s climate dilemma
Alistair Lynn (Newshub): Auckland professor says Kiwis should quit air travel to protect the environment
Joanna MacKenzie (RNZ): Hauraki Gulf clean-up push needed ahead of America’s Cup – business group
Albert Redmore (Newshub): New Zealand needs to plan for future climate disasters – expert
Julie Iles (Stuff): Woman horrified to find man turned Department of Conservation hut into ‘brewery’
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Waikato volunteers, DOC clash over bat claims
Poverty, inequality
Rob Stock (Stuff): The essentials poor Kiwi families give up first
Michelle Dickinson (Herald): Research shows impact of poverty on children’s brain development
Lorraine Taylor (Spinoff): A quarter of a million NZ kids are living in poverty, and it comes as no suprise
Child abuse
Michael Hall (RNZ): Questions on conflict of interest in abuse inquiry ‘shut down’ – survivor
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Minister refuses state abuse inquiry chair’s resignation amid conflict criticism
Anna Leask (Herald): Ratana Church minister Daniel Nehemia pleads guilty to child sex offending mid-trial
Doug Laing (Hawkes Bay Today): 20 years on from one of NZ’s worst child abuse cases: ‘Nothing’s changed’
Foreign affairs
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): APEC contracts to be reviewed after audit concerns
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): It’s not me it’s you: China’s changing face and what it means for NZ
Liam Dann (Herald): PM gets win on China problem she never acknowledged
Liam Dann (Herald): US/China specialist: NZ shouldn’t have to choose a side
Michael Reddell: Xinjiang: an opportunity for Ardern and Bridges
ODT Editorial: How should we react to Sharia?
Gordon Campbell: Islamic State Meets The Searchers
Janet McAllister (Spinoff): If Australia’s PM is more than empty talk on Christchurch, here’s what he must do
Crusaders name change
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Crusaders should hold the line, and keep their name
Catherine Delahunty (Spinoff): In praise of white man’s guilt
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Get a life, rugby fans: There’s more at stake than the name of a team
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Don’t worry, Crusaders fans, we’ve got your new name sorted
John Roughan (Herald): NZ saddled with outdated attitudes
Beck Vass (Herald): Crusaders’ name change after mosque shootings just the tip of the iceberg
Herald: Super Rugby: Crusaders can survive name change, says brand expert
Jacob Page (RNZ): Uncertainty in the stands about changing Crusaders’ name
Housing
Jason Walls (Herald): Half of all KiwiBuild homes already under construction before being brought into the programme
RNZ: Majority of KiwiBuild homes underway before being tied to scheme
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins grills Phil Twyford over KiwiBuild homes built before 2017 election
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff: Wellington braces for ‘long, arduous and painful’ debate over housing intensification
1News: Auckland village of Ihumatao divided over housing development
Chris Hutching (Stuff): ‘Affordable’ home means the dwelling not landscaping, says developer
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Manifesto ban divides media
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Ebony Duff: It’s my role to tell the Māori radio story
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): BSA ruling on Heather du Plessis-Allan justification you ‘can’t say things like that’
Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Socio-economic data shows low decile schools holding own in rankings
1News: No significant differences found in performances of low- and high-decile schools, study shows
Dan Satherley and Ella Predergast (Newshub): No difference in quality between decile 1 and decile 10 schools – study
RNZ: Primary teachers to announce today if a third strike on the cards
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Principals on five-year contracts? Maybe not, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins
John Boynton (Newshub): Māori education experts sceptical of Government’s ambitious Te Reo strategy
Aliso Mau (Stuff): Sex assaults part of university ‘entitlement’ culture
Elena McPhee (ODT): Knox College says it is working to address complaints
Polytechs and vocational training
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Hipkins pans training organisations’ ‘misleading’ words
ODT Editorial: The future of polytechnics
Logan Savory (Southland Times): SIT leaders ask education minister Chris Hipkins to leave SIT alone
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Southern mayors join together to fight polytech merger
Eleanor Rarity And Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Heald): SC business leaders express concern about proposed tertiary education reform
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Opportunities for Māori in MIT’s new $55mil tech facility
Tax
Paul Barber and Louise Delany (Spinoff): Why we’re shouting about a capital gains tax
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Tax Justice Aotearoa launches campaign pushing for capital gains tax
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): What’s behind BusinessNZ’s claim CGT would cost $5 billion?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Amazon tax’ may force Alibaba and eBay to close to Kiwis over holiday season
Jared Savage (Herald): Police freeze $11m of assets in alleged tax fraud; Gisborne farmers say ‘we’ve done nothing wrong’
Justice, crime, corrections
George Block (ODT): Assaults at prison a record high
Edward Gay (Stuff): Auckland prisoners penned into a space the size of a hallway ‘doomed to reoffend’, court hears
Kereama Wright (Māori TV): Māori to address “racist” justice system
Andrew Geddis (Pundit): Physician, heal thyself?
Kelly Dennett and Bevan Hurley (Stuff): Convicted sex offender living next to preschool and primary school
Jo LInes-MacKenzie (Stuff): Guards on watch as trouble brews in prisons
Tom Hunt (Stuff): How our criminals stay healthy and hygienic behind bars
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Ex-prisoner Arthur Taylor told off for ‘game-playing’ over claims he can’t pay court costs
RNZ: Law firm censured after charging $19,000 for photocopying
Police
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): Wally Haumaha will not apologise over ‘improper and unprofessional’ behaviour
Bryan Cadogan (Stuff): Clutha has 312 outside-hours police calls and they call it thumb-twiddling time?
Primary industries
Kate Gudsell (RNZ): Intensive forestry creates ‘too many environmental risks’ – lawyer
Andrea Fox (Herald): Live animal export review needs a close look at welfare in destinations: SAFE
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Sri Lanka dairy scheme blamed for cow deaths unlikely to send more from NZ
1News: More than 90,000 cows have been culled to eradicate M. bovis from New Zealand – MPI
Rod Oram (Newsroom):Stop defending patch and show ambition
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Recognising Māori farming excellence and potential
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Fonterra to recognise high-performing farms in new sustainability approach
Jo McKenzie-McLean (Stuff): Lack of available workers leaves fruit harvests short across New Zealand
Regional development
1News:Panguru, one of New Zealand’s most deprived towns, receives Government visit of hope
1News: Government announces $18.5m cash infusion to Northland to create ‘more reliable water supply’
Mike Dinsdale (Herald): More Provincial Growth Fund money for Northland with another $21million funding announced
RNZ: Provincial Growth Fund: $18.5m for Northland water storage
Māori TV: Hokianga big winners in latest Provincial Growth Fund announcement
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Who should get Auckland’s clever ideas over the line?
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Bid for Ngāi Tahu seats on Environment Canterbury voted down in ‘charade’, chairman says
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Phil Clearwater stepping down from Christchurch council for ECan election bid
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Major losses for city if Wellington City Council had cut CAB funding, PWC report finds
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Wellington infrastructure woes: ‘We need to see action’
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): From Hataitai to Whātaitai: Council te reo naming policy set to reshape Wellington
David Farrar: Let’s blame Poseidon also
Elton Rikihana Smallman (Stuff):‘Awesome’ pay rise to $20 an hour for Hamilton City Council cleaners
Tom O’Connor ((Waikato Times): That’s not a good look, Hamilton
Richard Swainson (Waikato Times): ‘Why I won’t join the Casson pile on’
Herald: Hamilton councillor James Casson makes ’emotional and genuine’ apology to Muslims
Stuff: Hamilton City Councillor James Casson apologises to Waikato Muslims
Tom Rowland (Hamilton News LIve): Hamilton city councillor James Casson meeting Muslim community today
1News: In wake of controversial bylaw, Tauranga’s first women’s shelter opens doors
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Former councillor Anthea Keenan banned from Westland council office for perceived threat
Denis Tegg (Herald): Councillors’ ‘middle finger’ to youth
West Coast flooding
RNZ: Westland landfill washout: Sage assesses risks elsewhere in NZ
Laura Mills (Greymouth Star): Funding would set precedent: O’Connor
RNZ: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ for West Coast clean-up
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Westland landfill washout: Herbicide; asbestos; ‘containers that say toxic’
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Environmental catastrophe after West Coast storm exposes old landfill
“The Naki” and Bennydale
Kris Boult (Taranaki Daily News): Call for businesses that use ‘Naki’ to find a new name not welcomed by all
Leighton Keith (Stuff): Changing offensive ‘Naki’ business name a costly task, butchery owner says
1News: King Country town divided over proposal to change its name to a Māori one
Employment
RNZ: WorkSafe wins legal fight with Talleys over accident which paralysed employee
Alex Loo (Stuff): Cafe owner advertises for younger staff, ignores discrimination laws
Dominion Post Editorial: Minimum wage rise brings fear of fool’s gold
Virginia Nicholls (ODT): There must be a fairer way to get fair pay
Transport, road toll
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s $6 billion light rail programme could be scaled back, says Transport Minister Phil Twyford
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland’s regional fuel tax drives long-haul public transport use – report
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Blind and visually impaired people want e-scooters off the footpath for good
1News: Members of blind and visually impaired community say they want e-scooters off our footpaths
Isaac Davison (Herald): ‘This week has been a tragedy’: Julie Anne Genter says after 26 die on New Zealand roads
Herald Editorial: A terrible time on the roads
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): The road toll is a national crisis
Ben Strang (RNZ): More heavy vehicles off the road after latest Transport Agency ruling
Richard Davison (ODT): NZTA revokes licences
Anzac Day
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Armed police at some of this year’s Anzac Day services
RNZ: Communities to decide whether to consolidate Anzac Day services – RSA
RNZ: Police want fewer Auckland Anzac Day events in interests of public safety
Laura Tupou (Newshub): Anzac Day services could be cut over security fears
John Moore: Anzac Day cultural wars
Defence
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Citations for Vietnam War veterans ‘long overdue’
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Increase in sexual violence complaints in Defence Force
Erebus memorial
RNZ: Erebus memorial key to ensuring crash memories survive – historian
Scott Palmer and Breanna Barraclough (Newshub): ‘A privilege’: Jacinda Ardern’s emotional reaction to Erebus memorial design
Charlotte Carter (Stuff): Design for national Erebus memorial unveiled in Auckland
1News: Te Paerangi Ataata – Sky Song design selected for Auckland’s National Erebus Memorial
Herald: Long-awaited National Erebus Memorial design unveiled by Jacinda Ardern
Breanna Barraclough (Newshub): Final design selected for National Erebus Memorial
Other
Matthew Engel (New Statesman): New Zealand, a land for all seasons
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): In search of a way to do good that amounts to more than feeling good
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): ‘Overly complex and full of loopholes’ – Budgeting group slams proposed loan shark law
Richard Harman (Politik): More rights for Maori under new planning rules
Phil Taylor (Herald): Christchurch earthquake repairs tipped to cost $1 billion
Trevor Willis (Stuff): Why museums need science staff
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): NZ First feels very wrong in Govt after Christchurch attack
Raniera Harrison (Māori TV): “We need to establish a Ngāpuhi Parliament” – Hone Harawira
Māori TV: Indigenous delegation offers NZ advice on UN declaration
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): An insight to a dark time in NZ history
Michael Neilson (Herald): Jacinda Ardern calls for country to ‘choose’ diversity at Auckland International Cultural Festival
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s heartwarming tribute to 95yo anti-racism marcher
No Right Turn: Why we need fixed election dates
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Businesses and immigrants hit out at visa delays
Jeremy Couchman (Interest): Kiwibank senior economist on the top 5 drivers of rising populism
Anne Gibson (Herald):Failed national builder Ebert claims rise to massive $108m, second only to Mainzeal
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Anglicans respond to Sam Neill’s call to dismantle Christ Church cathedral
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Clarke Gayford: The dad, the first man and the guy who gets to go on fishing ‘work trips’
