Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – April 23 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

Capital gains tax
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Don’t blame Winston for Capital Gains Tax U-turn
Audrey Young (Herald): Lay off Jacinda Ardern over capital gains tax
Shamubeel Eaqub (RNZ): Good riddance to Capital Gains Tax and a (slightly) fairer system
Bryce Edwards (RNZ): Signs Labour didn’t intend to implement capital gains tax
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Progressives despair over the CGT decision
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Why the CGT had to be ruled out
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Capital gains tax: Jacinda Ardern took a lifeboat off a ship she could have saved
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): PM’s leadership missing on CGT issue
Liam Hehir (Stuff): Nothing the Tax Working Group came up with would fly
Richard Harman (Politik): Why the capital gains tax decision was a Labour win
Mike Treen (Daily Blog): There is a lot of noise but little light being shown on the debate over a capital gains tax (CGT)
David Slack (Stuff): God will continue to defend our taxpayers and property ‘investors’ after CGT decision
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): For all its drama and plot twists, the rules of this political Game of Thrones are simple
Michael Cullen (Herald): ‘Vested interests’ sank Capital Gains Tax idea
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Top income tax band set to swell after major tax reform put off for ’10 years’ – expert
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Hard to believe Ardern didn’t spend a cent of her political capital
John Armstrong (1News): Capital gains backdown: Jacinda Ardern’s sure touch in handling tricky matters has deserted her from go to woe
Liam Hehir (Pundit): CGT: A bad idea finally put to bed once and for all
Brigitte Morten (RNZ): CGT was a political zombie from the start
John Roughan (Herald): Political capital needs to be spent
Geoff Simmons (Interest): Capitalism can work, but only if it is a level playing field. Right now we have a game that is rigged in the favour of a few
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Leadership questions from the CGT wreckage
Joe Pagani (Newsroom): What is the Labour Party for?
David Cormack (Herald): Labour Govt had better be more than meets the eye
Steve Braunias (Herald): Secret Diary of the Capital Gains Tax
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): The CGT debate: what they really said
Terry Baucher (Spinoff): The other tax recommendations the government ignored
Gordon Campbell: On scrapping the capital gains tax
Dan Satherley (Newshub): The tax that’s better than a CGT, according to economists
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Labour’s biggest campaign burden scrapped
Mike Houlahan (ODT): PM’s pragmatism perhaps most dispiriting for Clark
Don Rowe (Spinoff): Capital gains tax is dead and some people are very, very happy about it
Ryan Bridge (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s at the wheel, but Winston Peters is driving
Jane Bowron (Stuff): You need popularity to become a leader. But it can be bad for leadership
Jessica Mutch McKay, Benedict Collins and Maiki Sherman (1News): Inside Parliament: Shock capital gains tax backdown, PM’s poll bounce
RNZ: David Seymour critical of Jacinda Ardern’s grasp of economic policy
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Capital gains tax a bitter pill for Greens, but James Shaw hopeful for other priorities in Budget
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Greens still determined to ‘even up the playing field’ after CGT dropped
Dan Satherley (Newshub): James Shaw will get rolled, not Simon Bridges – Judith Collins
RNZ: Capital Gains Tax: Government had to weigh up costs, benefits – Finance Minister Grant Robertson
1News: Robertson defends Ardern over capital gains tax fail after Jack Tame suggests PM ‘didn’t bother fighting for it’
Jason Walls (Herald): Long-time Labour activists don’t think the party will be too hurt from CGT rejection
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Young Labour furious at capital gains tax backdown, leak reveals
David Farrar: Analysing the CGT back down
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): ‘Lipstick’s come off the pig’: Sean Plunket blasts PM Ardern’s capital gain tax backdown

Environment and conservation
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Environment Aotearoa: Government stocktake describes New Zealand environment on the brink
Jamie Morton (Herald): Special Report: The tragedy of our environment in four dismal figures
Alex Baird (Newshub): New Zealand a ‘chainsmoking couch potato’ when it comes to environment
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand’s ‘dirtiest industry’ blasted over environment report
Zane Small (Newshub): Freshwater in farming regions high in faecal bacteria, report finds
Dominion Post Editorial: Does the Government have stomach to tackle its ‘nuclear-free’ moment?
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): ‘One or a two’ out of 10: Forest and Bird CEO Kevin Hague blasts Government
Kevin Hague (Herald): Transformative change needed now for the environment
RNZ: Environment report shows harm from dairy sector – Greenpeace
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Many NZ species at risk of extinction according to shocking report
James Renwick (Spinoff): New Zealand is failing on climate change
Robert McLachlan (The Conversation): Climate change is hitting hard across New Zealand, official report finds
Rod Oram (Newsroom): An Easter to reflect on our fragile home
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): ‘Decades of denial’: major report finds New Zealand’s environment is in serious trouble
Kate Gudsell (RNZ): Lifestyle blocks a threat to fertile land in New Zealand – report
Peter Griffin (Stuff): Too much ‘versatile land’ lost to urban sprawl in New Zealand
Robert McLachlan and Steve Trewick (Stuff): Climate change: A reply to the five most common comments
Troy Baisden (Herald): Enviro report shows our poor grasp of causes
John Lewis (ODT): Glaciers gone after record hot summers
Kate Gudsell (RNZ): Erosion is costing NZ up to $300m a year
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Protection order on Christchurch aquifers could limit drinking water supply
Simon Hartley (ODT): Leaked report sheds light on mine project
Herald: DNA expert Michael Bunce appointed top scientist at Environmental Protection Authority
Jamie Morton (Herald): Is this what the clean, green future of NZ energy looks like?
1News: DOC supports Northland iwi’s ban on visiting Mermaid Pools, polluted with rubbish, urine
Aroha Mane and Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): Rāhui to protect Mātapouri Mermaid Pools
RNZ: Most respect rāhui placed on famous Mermaid pools
Northern Advocate: Rahui in place over the Mermaid Pools from tomorrow morning
Kelvin McDonald (Māori TV): Northland marae’s concern for wāhi tapu
Rotorua Daily Post: Incursion response on Mokoia Island after traces of rat and mice found
RNZ: Northern dotterel back from brink after protection programme
Wayne Linklater (Newsroom): Cat problem can only be solved by owners
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Pacific climate migration a political tug of war

Media
Dan Satherley (Newshub): New Zealand ranks seventh in latest Press Freedom Index, up one spot
Jeremy Rose (RNZ): Accounting for carbon in the age of climate change
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Sitting on a sensational story for safety’s sake
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The strangely aimless late career of John Campbell
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): John Campbell’s roving days over
Damien Venuto (Herald): John Campbell’s move to Breakfast makes no sense
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): TVNZ current affairs upgrade
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Newstalk ZB’s unsentimental giant signs off with a tear in his eye
Glen McConnell (Stuff): After 27 years, Larry Williams leaves Newstalk ZB
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): NZME radio is all Talk
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Mike Hosking is ‘the king of radio’, but Magic Talk is planning a revolt

Health
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Vulnerable man who drank own urine spends last hours ‘constantly moaning and calling for food and water’
1News: Overwhelming majority of Kiwis think St John should be fully funded, new poll finds
1News: Calls for ‘standalone Māori heath authority’ as DHB model labelled ‘not fit for purpose’
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Ineffectual Waikato DHB leaves Health Minister David Clark few options
Tom O’Connor (Waikato Times): DHBs ‘costly, troublesome amateurs’
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato ED performance shows ‘sharp up-swing’
Whanganui Chronicle: Health Minister David Clark hails Whanganui District Health Board over cheaper doctor visits
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Breast cancer patients caught short with inadequate insurance policies
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Face of bowel cancer campaign regrets not going to GP soon
Lois Williams (RNZ): Lower vaccination rates leave Northland people ‘extremely exposed’
Herald: Auckland pharmacy group fined $92,500 for underpaying trainees
Pauline Norris (ODT): People should be central
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Better mental health resources needed for Māori men in Aus
Hinemoa Elder (Stuff): As a doctor who swore to first do no harm, the End of Life Bill really bothers me

Disability
Albert Redmore and Alastair Lynn (Newshub): Report reveals ruthless cuts to NZ disability sector proposed
1News: Disabled Kiwis ‘enormously grateful’ after ministers push back on $30m funding cuts
RNZ: Disability sector thankful planned funding cuts scrapped
Herald Editorial: Life’s basic need – Let’s treat disabled people right
Laine Moger (Stuff): Printed braille shows NZ needs legislation to enforce the language on all signs – experts

Social media
Derek Cheng (Herald): Social media crackdown: How New Zealand is leading the global charge
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Grant Robertson confirms global conversation on social media company crackdown, announcement coming

Christchurch mosque attacks, gun laws, Crusaders
Tony Wall (Stuff): A version of the Christchurch mosque shooter’s gun remains legal, despite law changes
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Sir Peter Jackson’s armoury of weapons untouched by gun law changes – for now
Wyatt Creech (Pundit): Owning a gun is a privilege: Firearms licences may need better checks & balances
Southland Times Editorial: Feelings without facts are poor guides into our post-attack new normal
Herald: Security expert says claims Sri Lanka attacks revenge for Christchurch massacre unlikely
Michael Hayward, Tom Kitchin and Cate Broughton (Stuff): Christchurch terror attack families to be assigned case managers
Blair Ensor (Stuff): Calm amidst chaos: How police responded to the terror attack
Damien Grant (Stuff): I downloaded the Christchurch mosque shooter’s manifesto, that makes me a criminal
Nick O’Malley (Stuff): Christchurch shooting: ‘Unprecedented’ surge of online extremism after terror attack
1News: ‘Striking’ new poll indicates vast majority of Kiwis want Crusaders to keep their name
Stuff: Crusaders name: Poll suggests 75 per cent of New Zealanders want name to stay 
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): University of Auckland cancels graduation walks over terror attack fears

Shelly Bay
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Big Read: The battle for Wellington’s Shelly Bay
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Iwi owners remind Sir Peter Jackson Shelly Bay development is ‘our decision’
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Wellington Mayor won’t take legal action over Sir Peter Jackson’s Shelly Bay serve
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Wellington Mayor confirms new regional park in wake of Sir Peter’s tirade
Cushla Norman (1News): Sir Peter Jackson again lashes out at Wellington council and ‘snake oil salesmen’ staff
RNZ: Jackson hits out over council approach to Shelly Bay project

Housing
Jamie Ensor and Lauren Paddy (Newshub): Community groups call on Government to support ‘KiwiBuy’ low-income home ownership schemes
Michael Daly (Stuff): Twyford looks to Auckland-Hamilton corridor as key to housing crisis
David Hargreaves (Interest): The high-end of town will be chuffed with the Government’s torpedoing of CGT, but the less well-off won’t be. A successful revamp of Labour’s flagship housing policies could help a lot
Tim Cadogan (Stuff): Confronting Central Otago’s biggest single issue
Laura Wiltshire (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Hawke’s Bay needs housing help
RNZ: Airbnb likely cause of high rents in Queenstown – researcher
Ben Leahy (Herald): Accountant says ring-fencing rules will serve younger investors up as dinner to the rich
Laura James (1News): Housing NZ tenants evicted over flawed meth testing still struggling to find their feet, say more must be done

Ihumātao
Leith Huffadine (RNZ): Select committee to decide fate of contentious land at Ihumātao
RNZ: Select committee weighs options for land occupied by Māori in Auckland

Israel Folau
Gavan O’Farrell (Pundit): Doesn’t hate-speech need to include some hatred?
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): How much polite respect do Folau’s beliefs deserve?
Karl du Fresne: On the Israel Folau hysteria
Paul Cully (Stuff): Israel Folau’s Instagram trail shows why he can’t win a religious freedom argument

Immigration
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Shut out: The oil rig sending jobs offshore
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Stranded Afghan interpreter begs Government to rescue his sick wife
RNZ: Anonymous calls to Immigration NZ double

Local government
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Queenstown mayor Jim Boult subject of ‘orchestrated smear campaign’ but not blackmail, police say
Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Government and Westland Council in deadlock over who should pay for landfill washout
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Opposition labels Westland beach rubbish cleanup a ‘patch-up job’
RNZ: National wants government to help fund West Coast clean-up
Maria Slade (Spinoff): A millionaire wants to land a helicopter on the beach. Herne Bay is ready to fight
Laura Tupou (Newshub): Council staff enforce Waitākere Ranges track closures
RNZ: Kauri dieback: council crackdown should have started sooner, critic says
Joanna MacKenzie (RNZ): Kauri dieback: ‘Finding those who are breaking the rules’
Kethaki Masilamani and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Auckland Council won’t try to stop ancient kauri’s felling
Katie Bradford (Herald): Auckland mayor calls for stormwater system overhaul to prevent plastic flowing into ocean
RNZ: Wellington city’s te reo ambitions supported with partnership
Katy Jones (Stuff): Mayor explores chances of returning a $16m island to local ownership
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Coffee with John Palino, the forgotten 2019 Auckland mayoral candidate
Gavin Ogden (Herald): Local Focus: Rotorua Mayor has unfinished business
Gavin Ogden (Herald): Local Focus: Mayoral runner-up aims for top spot
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Old hand at Nelson council announces bid for mayoralty

Māori role in World Wars, Anzac Day
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Monty Soutar: Making sure our soldiers aren’t forgotten
Wira Gardiner (E-Tangata): Forever Brave
Kate Green (Press): War veteran would rather hide family ‘in the hills’ than see them fight
Samantha Olley (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua World War II veterans, aged 98 and 103, meet 75 years after fighting together
George Driver (RNZ): Anzac pou maumahara on Belgian battleground honours NZers
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Anzac commemoration at Gallipoli gets strong Turkish support
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): How sad there will be no local Anzac Day parade

Justice, corrections
Rob Kidd (ODT): Concerns over OCF transfers
RNZ: Gang members in prisons ‘create violence, fear’, report finds

Pike River
1News: National Party now supports Pike River Mine re-entry, but insists it’s not a U-turn
Derek Cheng (Herald): Politics off the Pike River table as National backs re-entry
Derek Cheng (Herald): Pike River: Rick Durbridge tells of anguish of ‘bullying’ son to work at mine before explosion

Sexual assault, state care inquiry
Katie Bradford (1News): Survivors of historical abuse in state care call for separate inquires to prevent religious bias
ODT: CTV Series: NZ’s sexual trauma story: ‘We have failed to protect our children’
ODT: Gang raped in the army showers: ‘I know I’ll never see justice’
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): ‘Brutalised inside and then I had to live with that shame’
ODT: Raped by a woman: They ask ‘why didn’t I like it’
ODT: ‘We’re stuck with their sh*t’
Ros Lewis (Struff): Ros Lewis was sexually assaulted by James K Baxter at Jerusalem. She wasn’t the only one.
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Baxter and rape: Now what?

Primary industries
Mona Oliver (Stuff): When will the Government’s brand Kindness be extended to animals?
RNZ: Mānuka honey regulatory definition throws industry into turmoil
Janika ter Ellen (Newshub): Honey retailer admits to adding synthetic chemicals to its product

Banks
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): New Zealand banks make more money than global peers
Liam Dann (Herald): Time for a close look at how much risk banks take

Parliament, elections
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Parliamentary staff allege rampant bullying at the Beehive
Phil Smith (RNZ): Some MPs have superpowers
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): National MP Jo Hayes keen to stand in Māori electorate

NZ First, Tommy Gear
ODT Editorial: Is it still New Zealand first?
Richard Harman (Politik): Peters right hand man dies

Jacinda Ardern
Rebecca Watson (Newshub): Fortune magazine names Jacinda Ardern world’s second best leader
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern named world’s second greatest leader by Fortune magazine
Joel MacManus (Stufff): Jacinda Ardern second in Fortune Magazine’s World’s Greatest Leaders list
RNZ: Fortune names Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern second greatest leader in world
Herald: Jacinda Ardern named world’s second greatest leader by Fortune Magazine
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Where Jacinda Ardern ranks among highest-paid world leaders
Herald: Kiwis praising Jacinda Ardern for Easter post from 2014
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern and Pink organised a play date before pop star’s NZ show
Herald: Behind-the-scenes of Jacinda and Pink’s backstage rendezvous

Transport
Zane Small and Mitch McCann (Newshub): Auckland City Rail Link: Phil Twyford blamed for ‘biggest project blowout’
Herald Editorial: City Rail Link ‘billion dollar blowout’ entirely predictable, let’s do this
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Lower public transport fares possible as NZTA reviews policy behind Auckland price hikes
Todd Niall (Stuff): No agreement on bus driver breaks as deadline nears
Mike Lee (Herald): Auckland Transport is slow to answer questions on crash data
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Things will get worse for Auckland drivers

Education
Herald: Overseas teachers paid below legal minimum wage
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Auckland schools overcrowded with out-of-zone students
Cleo Fraser (Newshub): Push to teach New Zealand history in schools becomes more desperate
Carolyn Meng-Yee (Herald): Auckland Muslim school at centre of top-level probe
Mandy Te (Stuff): Al-Madinah School’s board dissolved following complaints of financial mismanagement and staff problems
Katy Jones (Stuff): Parents switch houses or schools amid zoning policies
RNZ: Treaty claim filed over polytechnics merger proposal
Doug Laing (Herald): Hawke’s Bay man’s treaty claim calls for vocational training rethink

OIO
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Chinese owner of Wairarapa sheep station selling up after xenophobic abuse
Sally Rae (ODT): PGW Seeds sale to DLF gains OIO approval

Poverty, inequality
RNZ: Access to hardship grants hits record high
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Auckland no longer the best place for Pacific people to live, critics say
RNZ: Pēpi Koha Packs: Hawke’s Bay police provide basics for babies

Huawei
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Huawei piles pressure on Govt with ads and sponsorship, security experts say
Rupert Neate (Guardian): Where is Huawei banned from working on critical networks?

Cook landing commemorations
1News: For first time in 19 years, $17m replica of Captain Cook’s Endeavour will return to NZ
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Artists challenge commemoration of Captain Cook’s ‘discovery’ of NZ

Provincial Growth Fund
Southland Times: Southland share of Provincial Growth Fund small
ODT: Two projects to receive PGF funding

Cannabis
1News: New poll suggests only 18% of Kiwis support recreational cannabis legalisation
Benedikt Fischer (Newsroom): NZ’s potential cannabis policy pitfalls

Easter trading
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Easter trading: Wellington retailer says staff before profit
Katie Fitzgerald and Lauren Paddy (Newshub): Retail NZ calls for changes to Easter trading laws

Other
Ben Strang (RNZ): Government may not meet target to add 1800 police in three years
Andy Fyers (Stuff): The OIA is broken, but we are not keeping track of how badly
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): Peace, Rest and the Monkey Emoji Moon: playing Heartwork cards at Treasury
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Commerce Commission details how it will examine retail fuel market
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Retirement villages are booming, but what are the catches?
Jason Walls (Herald): Alibaba officials are flying to New Zealand to explore creating a logistics hub in regional NZ
Grant Bradley (Herald): New Zealand’s $53 million push to get noticed at Expo 2020 in Dubai
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Neighbours fear asbestos danger at west Auckland development
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Depression and smoking apps are quietly sharing your data – study
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Paying staff above minimum wage where competitors outsource work to developing countries
Helen van Berkel (Herald): Māori asset base now past $40 billion
Rob Stock (Stuff): KiwiSaver could turn New Zealand into a Pacific Tiger economy
RNZ: Tourism NZ to be reviewed in ‘future-focused’ report
Al Williams (Stuff): Freedom camping ‘out of control’ in Lake Tekapo
1News: New poll: Government should not help Kiwi jihadi Mark Taylor return to NZ, majority says
RNZ: Beleaguered Waitangi National Trust gets $1 million government grant
Steve Kiilgallon (Stuff): Cash-free pokies: a great opportunity, or a huge dent in charitable funding?
Bruce Munro (ODT): Trust is the new love
Elizabeth Rata (Newsroom): Abandoning reason endangers our survival
Eleanor Black (Herald): ‘They are so sheltered’: Why Generation Z are so soft
Cushla Norman (1News): Police took more than 55,000 silent 111 calls last year, new figures reveal
Māori TV: Minister heads to UN to offer strategies for other indigenous peoples
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): PM visits Waipatu Marae, Hastings
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Invercargill Licensing Trust ‘sticks to its knitting’ for 75 years
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): CGT was icing on a massive cake: five key triumphs in Boomers’ blessed lives
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Mr Gay NZ to wear Tino Rangatiratanga flag on international stage
Don Rowe (Spinoff): 1000 Words: Peter Meecham and the David Cunliffe log
ODT: Former politician Metiria Turei shares her art (video)