Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – April 29 2019
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Today’s content
Budget, inequality, poverty
Branko Marcetic (Spinoff): Stop demonising the boomers
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Purse strings hold the key to ‘wellbeing’, but will the coming Budget deliver?
MIchael Fletcher (The Conversation): New Zealand’s dismal record on child poverty and the government’s challenge to turn it around
“Christchurch call” social media campaign
Gordon Campbell: On Ardern and Macron’s campaign against violent social media content
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Speculation rife on value of ‘Christchurch Call’
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Does social media reform have the law on its side?
Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern is knee-deep in planning joint initiative with France
Bruce Munro and Robert Patman (ODT): Global Insight: Teaming up against terrorism on social media
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ISPs’ terror block backed by minister
Audrey Young (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern comments after San Diego synagogue attack
Siva Vaidhyanathan (Guardian): Regulating Facebook will be one of the greatest challenges in human history
Christchurch mosque shootings
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Christchurch terror attack: More than 100 people being monitored by police
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): ‘Radical’ Muslim convert happy for police to do ‘due diligence’
Hanlie Booysen (The Conversation): Why New Zealand needs to translate its response to Christchurch attacks into foreign policy
Gyles Beckford (RNZ) Insight: New alt-right political groups hiding in plain sight – investigation
David Clarkson (Stuff): Philip Arps guilty of sharing livestream of Christchurch mosque massacre
Mel Logan, Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Christchurch terror attack: Business owner pleads guilty to reposting livestream
Cate Broughton and Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Destiny Church members reclaim Christchurch ‘for Jesus’
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Preacher to Destiny Church protesters: Stop judging Muslims, show love
Hate speech
Andrew Little (Herald): Hate speech threatens our right to freedom of speech
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Criminalising hate speech: New Zealand considers policing hateful expression
RNZ: Louisa Wall’s approach to free speech ‘novel’ – Stephen Franks
National Party
Richard Harman (Politik): Questions remain after National Party conference
Audrey Young (Herald): National leader Simon Bridges speaks out on leadership, discipline and unity
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Simon Bridges’ destabilised leadership
Bill Ralston (Listener): Simon Bridges needs to find another issue to fight – and fast
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Bridges says Labour would be ‘much higher in the polls’ if they were doing a good job
Greens
RNZ: Secret Green Party donor to match contributions up to $25k
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Greens focused on ‘delivering what we can’ – Genter
Meka Whaitiri
Tūranga FM: Interview
Gisborne Herald:‘I did nothing wrong’
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘I didn’t touch her’: Meka Whaitiri opens up about bullying accusations
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): She’s shot herself in the foot big time – Former Minister on Meka Whaitiri
Herald: Former minister Meka Whaitiri still denies assault allegations, wants portfolios back
RNZ: Former minister Meka Whaitiri continues to deny assault
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Beehive staffer says she ‘cried all the way home’ after Parliamentary bullying
Corrections, justice
Edward Gay (Stuff): Corrections repeatedly failed to give meds to HIV positive prisoner
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Davis knocks down Destiny’s ‘Man Up’ programme
RNZ: Corrections Minister defends slushy machines for prison staff
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Corrections’ $1m slushy fund to keep prison guards cool during summer heatwave
Herald: Corrections ‘splashes out $1 million for slushy machines’
1News: Government slammed after Corrections revealed to have spent $1 million on slushy machines in prisons
RNZ: National says slushy machines for prison staff wasteful
Albert Redmore, Ella Prendergast (Newshub): Simon Bridges lashes out at ‘slushie fund’ for prisons
Arthur Taylor (Daily Blog): The real scandal behind the Slushy machines in prison
Police, guns, crime
Ben Strang (RNZ): Theft heightens police concern on securing guns before disposal
Stuff: Eight of 11 firearms stolen from Palmerston North police station recovered
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Rushed gun laws meant police station safety not properly checked before gun thefts – MPs
Herald: Police Minister Stuart Nash demands answers after gun theft from police station
Jamie Ensor, Ella Prendergast (Newshub): National’s Chris Bishop demands answers from Minister Stuart Nash after firearms stolen from police station
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Police create Evidence-Based Policing team to fight crime with data and research
Michael Reddell: Lawless Police
Herald: Gang expert: Concern as tension rises between Killer Beez and Tribesmen
Employment
Liam Dann (Herald): New data to show wage growth still missing in action
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): The autism employment conundrum
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Moana NZ workers strike for living wage
Jono Edwards (ODT): People killed at work honoured
Al Williams (Timaru Herald): Workers’ memorial unveiled in Timaru
Transport
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter backs NZTA boss, despite early departure
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Transport Agency chair Michael Stiassny steps down saying he’s done his job
RNZ: Transport Agency chairman Michael Stiassny announces resignation
Duncan Garner (Newstalk ZB): Dramatic action needed to make roads safer
1News: Government approach on roading as bad as Kiwibuild, Simon Bridges says after horror month of crashes
RNZ: April road toll equals 10-year high after Taupō tragedy
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Crash victim calls for zero alcohol limit for
Michael Hayward, Steven Walton (Stuff): Electric scooter company Lime adds step to cut down on drunk riding
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon claims NZTA ‘shut out’
Julie Iles (Stuff): Procurement process for new Interislander ferries kicks off
Ports
Todd Niall (Stuff): Moving Auckland’s port – the curtain rises
John-Michael Swannix (Newshub): ‘No point’ investing in Northport without building rail link – working group
Brad Flahive (Stuff): Upper North Island ports inefficient, detriment to NZ, Government working group told
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Loss of Auckland ports could cost ratepayers extra 4 per cent a year
RNZ: Port shift: Government looking to expand rail, says National
Health
Malcolm Mulholland (Stuff): Living with advanced breast cancer: Diary of a broken-hearted whānau
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Terminally ill father calling on Prime Minister to help prolong his life
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland parents forced to pay $100 or miss out on booster for MenW vaccine
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Pharmac failure to fund effective contraceptive ’embarrassing’
Jason Walls (Herald): Canadian-based NorthWest Healthcare ticked off for lobbying Minister over ACC stoush with Vital
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Measles alert as schools return on Monday
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): CDHB warns funding gap makes secure mental disability service ‘unsustainable’
Alison Mau (Stuff): Experts say mental health patients not to blame for a rise in violence in hospitals
Libby Wilson, Gerald Piddock (Stuff): Women are taking over male-dominated obstetrics and gynecology field
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Sixty per cent of Waikato DHB staffers have seen bullying at work: survey
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Waikato Hospital staffer says bullying left her distraught, in tears
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Health apps come with warnings after private data given to Facebook, Google
Junior doctors’ strike
RNZ: Senior doctors’ union condemns DHBs’ divisive approach
1News: Work rosters are sticking point as junior doctors strike again today
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Junior doctors’ longest strike yet: what you need to know
1News:Junior doctors set to strike in their thousands for five days
RNZ: Strikes by junior doctors have cost millions, says union
Damian Rowe (Southland Times): Southland doctor’s union delegate concerned negotiations could make juniors vulnerable to exploitation
Helen Harvey (Taranaki Daily News): Strike for better working hours and continued training, says junior doctor
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Hospitals focus on emergency cases during strike
Environment and conservation
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Kea deaths linked to 1080 trial
Jono Edwards (ODT): Gas drill briefing deferred
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Should national parks be locked up or liberated for public use?
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): DOC facing opposition to helicopters, bikes and races in National Park
Rod Oram (Newsroom): The sixth wave is coming
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Kaikōura farmer’s standoff over Emissions Trading Scheme fines for cleared pines
David Stevenson (Herald): Rising international air travel flies in the face of global warming crisis
Tom Powell (Stuff): Train, bus, car or air?: An ‘eco-warrior’ explores how to get to Christchurch
Daphne Herbert, Dan Satherley (Newshub): Another fruit fly found: Restrictions back in place in Northcote
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Foam pouring into the Waikato River sparks search for source
Herald: Council investigating foamy substance seeping into Waikato River, Hamilton
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Recycling operation to undergo review
David Haynes (Stuff): Nature, not natives, must be the priority for Molesworth
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): NZME puts a price on its paywall
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The NZ Herald is about to put up a paywall and the stakes are scarily high
Pete George: Herald announces digital subscription model for premium content
Herald: NZ Herald lifts wraps off glittering digital-subscription package – welcome to New York Times, Financial Times, The Times and Harvard Business Review
Herald: NZ Herald launches digital subscriptions for premium journalism, reveals pricing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): NZME launches paid content on NZ Herald website
ODT Editorial: Are we losing the fourth estate?
Jason Walls (Herald): NZ Government mulling mandatory classification rules for Netflix and other streaming services
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Don’t feed the troll
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Allow media to help shine a light on Pacific issues
Primary industries
John McCrone (Stuff): Does NZ win or lose as world agriculture gets remade for a planet of 10b?
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): Horticulture and forestry replace dairy as primary sector darlings
1News: ‘Our right to farm’ – Govt responds to calls to better protect fertile horticultural land from ‘urban creep’
Foreign affairs and trade
Liam Dann (Herald): New Zealand export earnings at all-time high as China trade booms
Simon Hartley (ODT): Surprise trade surplus of $922m
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Trade Minister David Parker commits NZ to China’s grand plan
Wu Xi (Herald): How New Zealand could benefit from Belt and Road Initiative
Thomas Nash (Newsroom): How NZ could take a page out of Norway’s book
Gill Higgins (1News): Racing Minister Winston Peters gifts Japan with ‘sacred’ white horse
1News: Trevor Mallard discusses terrorism, Christchurch attack livestream in meeting with Turkish president
Education
Simon Collins (Herald): School reforms could cost $2 billion a year, principals warn
Adele Redmond (Stuff): NZQA wants to make micro-credentials official: What are these ‘nano-degrees’ worth
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Waikato University consult staff over proposed restructure
Local government
Paul Little (Herald): Queens Wharf cruise ship berth won’t be temporary
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Lines drawn in ratepayer vs property owner liability battle
1News: Pensioners will go hungry under Waikato council 16 per cent rent hike says budgeting service
Alex Loo (Stuff): Horowhenua mayor Michael Feyen to seek second term as mayor
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Councillors little better than children during South Waikato conduct squabble
Earthquakes
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Owner of Wellington building given 20 days to act as ‘risk to the public is unacceptable’
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Inner-city Wellington building at 43 Ghuznee Street cordoned off, deemed earthquake-prone
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Structural problems add earthquake strength to Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge, report finds
Cannabis
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The great weed wars of 2020 could be defined by blue on green friendly fire
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Police cannabis seizures up despite looming referendum on personal use
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Medicinal cannabis firm Pure Cann New Zealand gets $6 million investment
Financial sector reforms
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Soft’ banking and insurance sales commissions to be banned
RNZ: Proposed financial sector reforms to put consumer first
Tax
ODT Editorial: Incremental not transformational
John Minto (Daily Blog):Labour and Capital Gains Tax – Is it a surrender if you fail to fight?
Andrea Black: An alternative progressive tax policy
Patrick McCalman (Stuff): No capital gains tax; but change is certain
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The CGT is gone, but this Government’s ideology has not
Ngāpuhi treaty settlement process
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Ngāpuhi hui to aim at uniting 110 hapū on treaty settlement
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Discussions still underway for Ngāpuhi mandate
Housing
Janine Starks (Stuff): Houses earn more than their owners in many parts of the country
RNZ: Mahuta welcomes opening of Māori trust’s homes on ancestral land
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Capital co-housing group redefining the Kiwi-dream
Sport
Suzanne McFadden (Newsroom): Sports struggling to appoint more female directors as diversity deadline looms
RNZ: Spark fails to ignite for sport livestream with RWC looming
Alice Wilkins (Newshub): Concern over reliability of Spark’s sport service after livestream failure
Māori TV: Spark’s Black Sticks coverage doesn’t bode well for RWC
Other
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: PM could gain acclaim for international accord with social media organisations
Billie Jo Ropiha (Newshub): King Country locals give up the basics to manage the cost of power
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Half of children deported from New Zealand since 2014 were born in the country
Collette Devlin (Stuff): KiwiSaver withdrawals for people with life-shortening conditions delayed
CTV: ‘Hold on to what they are, not what the abuse makes them’
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Time to push refresh on Anzac Day commemorations
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Inland Revenue says IT switch-over went smoothly despite grizzles
Laura Tupou (Newshub): The Salvation Army attempt at beating shopping trucks proving successful
Liam Dann (Herald): Petrol prices rise as Trump pumps oil market
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Tā moko marks milestone in whakapapa journey for NZ Defence Minister
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Māori language app brings the voices of native speakers to life
Venetia Sherson (North & South): How domestic violence has been normalised in New Zealand
Spinoff: A plan for New Zealand: What our comedians would do if they were president
