Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – May 02 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
Drugs
Derek Cheng (Herald): Watershed bill described as drug decriminalisation – despite Govt claims to the contrary
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Concerns police discretion under new health-based drug law could see de facto decriminalisation of all drugs
1News: Concerns raised over Government’s proposed legislation to crackdown on synthetic cannabis crisis
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Can addiction services cope with drug law change?
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Revealed: The number of synthetic drug seizures at the border has shrunk
Ben Strang (RNZ): Drug law change ‘goes too far’ – Police Association
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub):Proposed law changes will ‘decriminalise drugs’, make prosecutions harder, MPs told
Anna Whyte (1News): Concerns proposed threshold for synthetic cannabis supply risks turning heavy users into suppliers
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Synthetics threshold to arrest suppliers not realistic – Māori health provider
Derek Cheng (Herald): Concerns that police ‘unconscious bias’ for charging drug users could hurt Māori (paywalled)
1News: Wastewater drug testing leaves ‘a lot of questions unanswered’, drug research expert says
Russell Brown: What does the wastewater testing for drug use actually show?
Christchurch mosque shootings, police
George Block (ODT): Police security team operated in South
Herald: Australian white nationalist group ‘tried to recruit’ accused Christchurch gunman
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Police investigation into leaked watchlist ‘contradictory’, security analyst Paul Buchanan says
Jo Moir (Stuff): Police Minister treating public with ‘contempt’ over watchlist denial, says National
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Police launch investigation into watch list leak after Christchurch terror attacks
Hal Crawford (Newshub): Opinion: Why naming Brenton Tarrant is the right thing to do
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand media organisations agree to protocols for covering Christchurch terror attack trial
RNZ: Christchurch mosque shootings: Media agree on trial coverage protocols
Stuff: Christchurch terror attack: How New Zealand media will report the trial
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Former army major helps with Ramadan security
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The latest twist in my case against the Police is unbelievable
Budget
1News: Government promises thousands more teachers over the next four years – at a cost of $95million in pre-budget announcement
Zane Small (Newshub):Budget 2019: Government sets aside $95 million to boost education workforce
StaceytKirk and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Budget 2019: Government hopes to pour $95 million over four years into teaching resources
Derek Cheng (Herald): $95 million in Budget package for thousands of new teachers
Richard Harman (Politik): Mental health funding to dominate Budget
Health
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Health Minister won’t sign off on annual plans for Canterbury, Waikato, Counties DHBs
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Antibiotics prescribed to nearly half of all New Zealanders who visit a GP
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Why Pharmac won’t fund lifesaving Epipens
Stacey Kirik (Stuff): Calls to fund $1 million drug Spinraza reach Parliament with 15,000-strong petition
1News: ‘They need this treatment’ – petition presented to Parliament for access to spinal muscular atrophy drug
RNZ: Pharmac funds new haemophilia treatments
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Diabetes amputation horror: “I was clawing at the walls” (paywalled)
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Kuia receiving cancer treatment calls for more Māori nurses
Janine Rankin (Manawtū Standard): Strike pain will continue after junior doctors go back to work
Laura Smith (ODT): ‘All we want is a fair deal’: Striking doctors in Invercargill
Mike Houlahan (ODT): SDHB able to cope with strike
Jordan Oppert (1News): Online tool helping children manage their emotions rolled out in Christchurch
Jason Walls (Herald): Independent MP Jami-Lee Ross talks about mental health with his psychiatrists in podcast
Euthanasia
Graham Adams (Noted): Euthanasia debate: Conflating youth suicide and assisted dying is a bad move
Grant Illingworth (Stuff): End of life choices: The Crown’s duty of protection
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Euthanasia bill has decent but not certain chance of surviving second reading
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Greens will support euthanasia bill through second reading
Shelly Bay
Sydney Mepham and Catherine Love (Dominion Post): Iwi members support Peter Jackson’s questions over Shelly Bay sale
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Majority of iwi land at Shelly Bay sold for fraction of purchase price
Damian Geroge (Stuff): Wellington Mayor Justin Lester votes to delay review into council’s handling of Shelly Bay development
RNZ: Shelly Bay property developer says Sir Peter Jackson’s claims are false
Housing
Jane Patterson (RNZ): KiwiBuild: Housing Minister doubts ministry head will front over ‘minor’ matters
Herlad: Housing Minister Phil Twyford was ‘surprised’ to learn officials carried out KiwiBuild assessment verbally
1News: Phil Twyford ‘playing fast and loose’ with taxpayers’ money underwriting KiwiBuild houses – Judith Collins
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Notorious Scarfie ‘tender’ flat linked to high profile rugby players
Elena McPhee (ODT): Flat Debacle: Property managers apologise over tender
Luke Appleby (1News): Renters given refunds after big property manager caught charging ‘key money’ by plucky Wellington tenant
National Party
Tim Watkin (Pundit): The impossibility of being Simon Bridges
RNZ: National’s Judith Collins on leader Simon Bridges: ‘I think he’s doing well’
Claire Trevett (Herald): National Party leader Simon Bridges and the whispers of enemies within (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Leaks within minutes: National MPs speaking out despite Simon Bridges saying caucus unified – Tova O’Brien
Audrey Young (Herald): Simon Bridges takes quite a risk in the House – and it pays off (paywallled)
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s Simon Bridges lets rip in Parliament labelling MPs ‘clowns’
Census
Gabrielle Baker (Spinoff): Stats NZ won’t release iwi data, and that’s a problem
RNZ: Census delay: Māori leader says official data crucial
Operation Burnham
RNZ: Operation Burnham: Inquiry unlikely to hear from Afghan villagers
No Right Turn: The whitewash continues
Justice, corrections, crime
The University of Auckland: Q+A: What is going wrong inside New Zealand’s prisons?
Hone Harawira (Daily Blog): Kelvin Davis: Time to Man Up
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Hone Harawira supports Destiny Church in war of words with Government over prison programme
Māori TV: Brian Tamaki should apologise – Davis
Stuff: Man Up a turning point, former Mongrel Mob chapter president says
1News: South Auckland communities call for more police to fight gang crime
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): ActionStation report long overdue for one victim
Primary and extractive industries
Simon Hartley (ODT): Greenpeace wants permits revoked
Christina Persico (Stuff): Taranaki onshore drilling block offer opens for tender
1News: SAFE releases video of deformed, suffering chickens at ‘free range’ Auckland farm
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Labour inspectors visiting Bay of Plenty kiwifruit businesses as harvest peaks
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): Fixing accommodation woes for kiwifruit pickers ‘not easy’
Andrea Fox (Herald): Time’s up: Is this Fonterra’s sink or swim moment? (paywalled)
Environment and conservation
Jo Moir (Stuff): NZ First voters will be happy with Zero Carbon Bill deal – Peters
David Williams (Newsroom): Uncertainty swirls over Mackenzie dairy plan
Nicole Lawton (Stuff): Climate change strike: School children across New Zealand take second day of action
Matt Shand (Stuff): 1180 Tauranga homes at risk due to climate change: council report
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Trust buys large chunk of land on Te Mata Peak for public access after successful crowdfunding campaign
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Biodegradable bags still usable after 3 years underground and in water, study finds
Education
1News: School leaders struggle to get help for vulnerable students – report
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Warm water too expensive to provide for children’s hand washing, schools say
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Auckland businessman invests $450,000 in free lunches for Taita College students
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Tertiary staff ‘bullied’ to pass students, new report says
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): University of Auckland racism hui highlights huge problems
RNZ: Students Association backs complaints about racism at Auckland University
Social media
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Facebook could clean up its act, but probably won’t – professor
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Rid the world of the horror found along the cyber highway
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): ‘Digital self-harm’ on the rise among Kiwi teens – Netsafe
1News: Research finds some Kiwi teens are posting mean or harmful content about themselves online
Stuff: Netsafe finds 6 per cent of teens digitally self-harmed in the past year
RNZ: Kiwi-run Facebook page admin: ‘The first rule of the group is to keep children off live’
Pike River
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Pike River re-entry team ‘pretty pumped’ to head inside mine – Patrick Gower
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Revealed: The three men who will undertake historic Pike River Mine re-entry
Newshub: Pike River survivor wants answers when mine reopens
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Pike River coal mine re-entry to try to recover 29 dead miners: All you need to know (paywalled)
Immigration
Rob Stock (Stuff): Global report ranks New Zealand as 7th most popular bolthole for millionaires
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): More than 5000 wait on delayed migration decision
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Immigration Minister needs to front up over fireman’s residency bid
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Permanent residency for Nelson volunteer fire fighter denied despite claims of successful business
RNZ: Thousands sign petition for residency for Nelson firefighter
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): ‘It’s tearing them apart’: Nelson firefighter denied residency despite 53,000-strong petition
Media
Stuff: Seven stories that illustrate why journalism matters
Press Editorial: True or false, we need the news
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Stuff orphaned as Nine sells Aust papers
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): On leaving Morning Report: What I won’t be apologising for
Employment
Liam Dann (Herald): Low unemployment doing nothing for workers
RNZ: Unemployment figures drop slightly
Alan Kenyon(1News): Brownlee ‘overcome with kindness’ after Ardern suggests he retire, during humorous exchange over unemployment rate
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s Amy Adams blasts Government over ‘slight drop’ in employment
Rob Stock (Stuff): AMP Capital’s six shopping centres to pay ‘living wages’ to cleaners and security staff
1News: Bullying remains prevalent in Kiwi workplaces, researcher says
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): New Zealand has made progress but LGBTI employees still face bullying and discrimination
Fiji trade union arrests
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Fijian union leaders detained as dispute with Water authority of Fiji intensifies
RNZ: Fiji unionist Felix Anthony arrested
Hobson’s Pledge, hate speech
John Weekes (Stuff): ‘Divisive group of haters’ in Hobson’s Pledge must be investigated, Māori Council says
Herald: New Zealand Māori Council asks Human Rights Commission to look into Hobson’s Pledge
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Hate speech law being used as a ‘political weapon’ – David Seymour
Auckland
Simon Wilson (Herald): More mischief and mayhem at the port
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): How to find $500m in a fortnight
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): City Rail Link: Auckland councillors to consider $500m extra for underground tunnels
Local government
Tina Law (Stuff): Christchurch ratepayers spend $5m bailing out Adventure Park
1News: Budget issues, unrealistic concepts – Tauranga City Council slammed by public for its handling of projects
Insurance
RNZ: Wellington Mayor Justin Lester to tackle insurance premium hikes in forum
RNZ: Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan: Coastline concern: insurance costs
Transport
Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): Replacement for Ports of Auckland needs robust case
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Transport Agency says migrant workers did not blow the whistle on Northland transport company
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘About bloody time’ Hamilton had a commuter train to Auckland – economist
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): NZTA to replace GUN number plates for free
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Why fuel prices could be about to rocket for New Zealand motorists
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): EV advocates unimpressed as date slips for Cabinet to consider new incentives
Damian George (Stuff): Hutt Valley reps request NZTA to urgently review decisions to defer roading projects
Elena McPhee (ODT): E-scooter problems on campus continue
Vodafone
Chris Keall (Herald): Vodafone staff being time-pressured to sign Tech Mahindra contracts: advocate (paywalled)
1News: Vodafone fined $350,000 for incorrectly billing customers
RNZ: Vodafone fined $350,000 for billing customers after contracts ended
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Vodafone fined $350,000 for Fair Trading Act breaches
OIO
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Hunter Valley Station: Matt Lauer spent $17.5m for lease, OIO reveals
Chris Hutchicng (Stuff): SkyCity seeks Overseas Investment consent to buy Queenstown hotel land
Blair Peach
Amanda Saxton (Stuff): Blair Peach 40 years on: Kiwi killed by British cops at anti-fascist protest remembered
Steve Braunias (Herald): Who killed Blair Peach? The mystery surrounding the Kiwi schoolteacher’s death (paywalled)
Other
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Keeping an eye on the information gatekeepers
David Fisher (Herald): Project Doris: When France secretly built a beacon on NZ soil to target nukes (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Backlash to Kris Faafoi’s proposed law limiting loan sharks’ grip
1News: Israel Folau comments have caused ‘division’ in Pasifika communities, expert says
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Demand for Christchurch’s Cholmondeley Children’s Centre up 150 per cent in nine years
RNZ: NZ Treasury boss Gabriel Makhlouf appointed to head Ireland’s central bank
Grant Bradley (Herald): Maori Television chairman Jamie Tuuta named chair of Tourism New Zealand
RNZ: Customers could end up paying the cost for higher bank capital, ANZ warns
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Kai Kitchen under fire after accusations of racial profiling in advert
Christina Persico (Stuff): Kai Kitchen accused of ‘racial profiling’ in ad for child model
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Farmers criticised for scales and hair removal gadgets in Mother’s Day brochure
Mary Wareham (RNZ): Why NZ should ban killer robots
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Meet the Kiwi campaigner trying to stop the rise of killer robots
1News: Nearly 100 complaints of discrimination against transgender people received
RNZ: Independent complaint service setup for athletes
1News: Tauranga marae challenges power company in court over powerline changes
Stuff:Deputy PM Winston Peters to open Hindu conference in Auckland on Saturday
