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
Paris social media summit
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Christchurch Call: Tech companies, 17 governments sign New Zealand-led pledge – but not the US
Henry Cooke (Stuff): US snubs Christchurch Call tech pledge, but says it endorses ‘overall goals’
Herald: US will not sign Christchurch agreement to stamp out online extremism amid free speech concerns
Jo Moir (RNZ): Tech companies and 17 countries sign up to Christchurch Call
Derek Cheng (Herald): Governments and tech companies sign unprecedented agreement to tackle violent online content
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Christchurch Call: 16 countries, eight tech giants sign up
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Facebook says new rule would have stopped Christchurch shooter livestreaming
Derek Cheng (Herald): Facebook changes would have blocked gunman’s livestream
Henry Cooke (Stuff): PM tells tech companies they must take on more responsibility
Kim Willsher (Guardian): Leaders and tech firms pledge to tackle extremist violence online
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern calls on social media companies to be more accountable
Jo Moir (RNZ): Ardern puts pressure on tech leaders at Paris
Dan Jerker B. Svantesson (The Conversation): It’s vital we clamp down on online terrorism. But is Ardern’s ‘Christchurch Call’ the answer?
Kelsey Munro (Stuff): Christchurch Call: Jacinda Ardern’s Paris pitch a sign of tech giants’ power
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): The media here is generally self regulatory
Press Editorial: Cleaning up the dark corners of the internet
ODT Editorial: Ardern’s star qualities reflect our own
Stuff: Christchurch Call: Jacinda Ardern’s speech at Paris summit
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Christchurch Call: What to expect as Jacinda Ardern finalises her tech pledge in Paris
Brad Flahive (Stuff): Online advertising: NZ Government spends millions with Facebook, Google and other social media platforms
Derek Cheng (Herald): Profit-chasing leads YouTube users to radicalisation and conspiracy theories, say tech experts
Derek Cheng (Herald): Christchurch Call summit day: The start of a new collaborative approach
Paul Brislen (Stuff): Facebook: Jacinda Ardern’s Christchurch Call is a small win, but a way forward
Jess Berentson-Shaw and Marianne Elliot (RNZ): Facebook: a tiny step in reining in a Goliath of global power
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern says Facebook Live crackdown shows Christchurch Call is being acted on
1News: Facebook’s live streaming restrictions ‘good first step’ but more work to do – PM
1News: Facebook tightens restrictions on live streaming following Christchurch terrorist attacks
Derek Cheng (Herald): Facebook restricts livestreaming, invests in AI on eve of Christchurch Call Summit
RNZ: Facebook to ban some users from its livestreaming service
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Facebook announces how it will protect users from livestreaming breaches
Zane Small (Newshub): How Helen Clark would regulate Facebook’s livestreaming
RNZ: Christchurch attacks: UK PM to call for curbs on internet terror
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Philippines considers action against 4chan and 8chan
Christchurch mosque shootings, gun control, free speech
David Seymour (Stuff): Don’t let politicians use the law to shut down speech they don’t like
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern admits New Zealand’s been too focused on Islamic extremism
Todd Noak (Washington Post): Why won’t US ban guns like NZ? How gun lobby influence differs
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): ‘I don’t understand’: Jacinda Ardern mystified by lack of US gun control
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Christchurch terror attack victims ‘never consulted’ on Victim Support fund allocation
Kurt Bauer (Herald): Talk of Hollywood dramatisation of Christchurch mosques attack slammed by Al Noor
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Egyptian film maker’s decision to make a movie about the Christchurch terror attack sparks anger from Muslim community
Thomas Mead (Newshub): Christchurch attack – how do we move on from the terror?
Spinoff: Podcast: the unheeded warnings in the leadup to the Christchurch attacks
Government
Claire Trevett (Herald): Are Labour’s KiwiBuild and fees-free policies heading to U-turn town (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Is the Green Party’s Eugenie Sage the most ‘dangerous’ minister in Jacinda Ardern’s Government? (paywalled)
Herald: Shane Jones goes on offensive: I’m not everyone’s cup of tea
Kate MacNamara (Stuff): If Kiwis start worrying about their jobs, wellbeing will be front of mind
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Provincial Growth Fund looking dodgier by the day
Pete George: Online threats against Ghahraman continue
Welfare
Newshub: Ministry for Social Development spied on beneficiaries – Privacy Commissioner
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): MSD investigators systematically misused their powers hunting down fraudsters – privacy commissioner
Herald: Ministry of Social Development benefit fraud investigators infringed privacy of individuals
Moira Lawler (Spinoff): It beggars belief that we’re still doing this to people clawing their way off welfare
Renee Manella: Act urgently – change fundamentally. The time is now.
Education
RNZ: Coalition faces ‘student backlash’ if no-fee policy revised
Zane Small (Newshub): Government was warned fees-free could see enrolment spike
Simon Collins (Herald): Fees-free policy ‘unfair’ to apprentices who enrolled early
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): National’s Shane Reti blasts fees-free funding reallocation
Greg Presland (Standard): Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success
1News: Exclusive: Buying essays from ghostwriters allegedly widespread among international students at NZ universities
Simon Collins (Herald): Angry teachers to vote on resuming talks
Jessica Long (Stuff): Ministry of Education asks primary teachers union NZEI to return to negotiations
Alex Powell (1News): ‘Pay is not why we do it’ – why the upcoming teachers strike’s about more than just money
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): NCEA change package will not mean more exams, says associate Education Minister
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): School’s tactics to manage disruptive special needs pupil shock mother
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Funding needed for science kits in Upper Hutt
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): The resurgence of peaceful protests in New Zealand
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): School Strike 4 Climate sets date for another nationwide climate strike
1News: Students gearing up for climate change strike later this month
Loneliness amongst elderly
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Loneliness and social isolation drive elderly into rest homes
Thomas Mead (Newshub): Heart-breaking study reveals loneliness is the reason behind elderly people moving into rest homes
Health
Alex Perrottet (RNZ): Checkpoint: Desperate cancer patients: ‘They dont have world class care’
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Battle for the cancer charity dollar
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Rot, decay and mould: The long road to fixing Middlemore Hospital
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): School mental health programme helps more than 1500 children in first year
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): As measles spreads, so does circulation of a petition for compulsory vaccination
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Petition launched to make vaccination mandatory
Lois Williams (RNZ): Whangārei school’s immunisation rates not as low as thought
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Kiwis falling well short in the exercise stakes but netball, touch and hula could be the much-needed silver bullet
Peter Saxon (Newsroom): The tide turns on HIV
Alex Perrottet (RNZ): St John Ambulance paramedics ‘burnt out, exhausted’ in Waikato
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Union accuses bosses of trying to split workers during industrial action
Foulden Maar mine proposal
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Dunedin mayor demands facts from fossil-mining company
Tim Miller (ODT): Diatomite promoter hits back
Tim Miller (ODT): Foulden Maar petition attracts support
Simon Hartley (ODT): Diatomite company’s ownership uncertain
Crime
Chester Borrows (Spinoff): A huge chunk of crime affects a tiny group of people. Why?
Edward Gay (Stuff): After weeks of silently suffering brutal abuse, Chozyn Koroheke was shot dead by her partner
MIchelle Duff (Stuff): The persistent message that ‘women are lesser’ normalises abuse
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): What is overkill, and why is it so common in New Zealand?
1News: Advocate for sexual assault victims takes aim at ‘rape culture and toxic masculinity’ in New Zealand
Thomas Manch (Stuff): More than 1500 truck drivers scrutinised in organised crime investigation
Child welfare
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Family Court review: ‘We’re failing traumatised children’
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Not enough mental health support for families whose children are taken by the state
Environment and conservation
David Williams (Newsroom): Mega mast: the forests left unprotected
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Environmentalists ‘alarmed’ but Environment Canterbury says water survey results ‘expected’
RNZ: Forest and Bird uneasy despite plateau in nitrate levels
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Tool for assessing water quality not reliable – scientists
Kristy Wynn (Herald): Spat farm on untouched Coromandel coast could endanger orca, say angry locals
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Waitākere residents oppose kauri dieback walking restriction plan
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): More access, in quicker time frame: Public dispute council’s plans to reopen Waitākere Ranges
Alison Ballance (RNZ): Worrying times for kākāpō
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Natureland’s tuatara numbers cut in half after four die due to inadequate enclosures
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): Volunteer guardians needed to keep New Plymouth’s resting fur seals safe
Drug-driving testing
Zane Small (Newshub): Drug-driver testing document highlights ‘conflicting’ objectives to health-based approach
Anna Whyte (1News): Government asks for public input on drug driving tests
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government plans public consultation on drug driver testing
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Government seeks public views on drugged-driving testing regime
RNZ: Public’s help sought to crack down on drug-affected drivers
Transport
Damian George (Stuff): Multibillion-dollar plan to fix Wellington’s traffic congestion to be announced on Thursday
RNZ: Auckland brings in automatic slow zones on e-scooters
Luke Appleby (1News): Rail union says safety checks and maintenance on Auckland trains will be piling up as strike action continues
1News: ‘It hurts us in lots of ways’ – small business owners under stress due to Auckland’s City Rail Link project
Brooke Jenner (RNZ): Auckland ranked seventh best city in the world for cycling
Housing
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The KiwiBuild betrayal (paywalled)
1News: First KiwiBuild homes for Bay of Plenty go on the market tomorrow
Michael Neilson and Luke Kirkness (Herald): ‘Disgusted’: Retired Housing NZ tenant fights for months to fix mouldy, rotten kitchen
Tara Shaskey (Stuff): People turning to campgrounds as Taranaki’s rental property shortage bites
Local government
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Environment Minister David Parker steps into Auckland’s latest row over wharf extensions (paywalled)
John Weekes (Stuff):John Banks won’t rule out running for Auckland mayor, suggests Sir John Key enters race
Tim Brown (RNZ): Council’s move to have committee members picked by iwi labelled ‘worse than racist’
1News: Otago Regional Council vote to include iwi representatives
Jono Edwards (ODT): ORC to appoint iwi members
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Wellington student president launches city council campaign
Emma McKay (Herald): Wellington council candidate ready to start a ‘youthquake’ in capital
Steph Rangi (Waikato Times): Taupō Mayor bounced back from transplant, ready for elections
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): Cannabis referendum: Marlborough councillors mostly keep views to themselves
Media
Tom Pullar Strecker (Stuff): Newshub restructure may result in 6pm news bulletin getting ‘softer’, head of journalism school says
Damien Venuto (Herald): TV news war: MediaWorks journos brace for cost-cutting in restructure plan to improve Newshub Live at 6
Emily Brookes (Stuff): MediaWorks, or does it?: A brief history of Three’s news
Construction Tycoon
Mitch McCann (Newshub): ‘Gamification’ to be offered in schools next week, encouraging students to go into trades
Damien Venuto (Stuff): Why six major businesses and Government invested in a video game
Police
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Police officer should have been charged for driving over 160kmh, IPCA says
No Right Turn: Above the law
Other
RNZ: New consent attempt for controversial Shelly Bay development
Liam Dann (Herald): Is NZ’s economy in trouble? Here are top five indicators (paywalled)
Jane Kelsey (Daily Blog): Add ‘Trade for All’ to the list of government sell-outs
Herald Editorial: Vodafone, Trade Me, Restaurant Brands, Tip Top sales raise questions on capital markets (paywalled)
Gabrielle Baker (Spinoff): The public sector is white to its core. Here’s why that’s a problem
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Family members of SDE workers to ramp up council lobbying
Chris Keall (Herald): Telcos brace for Commerce Commission’s mobile market verdict – and possible new regulation (paywalled)
Karl du Fresne (Stuff): Inclusivity means accepting everyone’s views – even Israel Folau’s
Luke Appleby (1News): InternetNZ says copyright law is ‘irrelevant and unused,’ as file sharing crackdown whimpers out
Stuff: When mum is hooked on meth: NZ’s P epidemic has left me a single dad
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Agreement could level the playing field for shearers and wool handlers
Marta Steeman (Stuff): The Government is looking at whether more buildings may be earthquake-prone
John Weekes (Stuff): Don Brash and Māori Council open to having ‘cup of tea’ after trading insults
Connor Whitten (Newshub): Kiwis in Australia could be granted the right to Aussie citizenship this election
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Do regulators need yet another hurry up on disclosure rules?
RNZ: NZ Defence Force provides dental treatments in Samoa
Adam Burns (ODT): ‘Unfair’ prosecution over 2018 census
Richard Morrison (Newshub): Is farming under attack?
1News: Woman fined for docking tails of Rottweiler pups using docking bands
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Tourism industry to target young employees
