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 leak
Richard Harman (Politik): The National security panic
Derek Cheng (Herald): Five Eyes intelligence partners contacted NZ over Budget ‘hack’
Stacey Kirk and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Five Eyes partners sought GCSB assurance following Treasury ‘hack’ claim
Derek Cheng (Herald): Paula Bennett challenges Government narrative on Budget ‘hack’
Jo Moir (Stuff): Five Eyes made information requests after Budget hack claim
Zane Small (Newshub): Beehive reveals Treasury knew it had not been ‘hacked’ for 12 hours
Jo Moir (RNZ): Budget ‘hack’ timeline clears air but burning questions remain
Brent Edwards (NBR): Analysis: Political game play trumps the substance of politics (paywalled)
RNZ: Ireland pledges ‘utter integrity’ at central bank amid Makhlouf inquiry
Housing
Pattrick Smellie (Herald): Phil Twyford’s cavalry is coming on KiwiBuild, but slowly (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Housing Minister Phil Twyford pulls out of KiwiBuild Summit on the eve of the policy’s reset (paywalled)
Herald: Pressure builds on Phil Twyford over KiwiBuild policy
1News: Government eyes build-to-rent scheme – ‘A lot of us are going to be renters for a long time’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Twyford seeks ‘build-to-rent’ advice as Nats ramp up Kiwi dream attack rhetoric
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): Housing Minister Twyford exploring ‘build-to-rent’ for Kiwibuild reset
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Twyford eyes build-to-rent schemes
Brent Edwards (NBR): Government considers build-to-rent scheme (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Herald): Housing organisations urge Govt to include rent-to-own option in refreshed KiwiBuild scheme
Jason Walls (Herald): The KiwiBuild reset will also include a wider shake-up of the Govt’s whole build programme
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): KiwiBuild questioned for promoting low interest rate on $500k mortgage (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Deserving a home
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Emergency housing stocktake uncovers complaints about gangs, sex workers and dirty rooms
Emma McKay (Herald): Homelessness in Lower Hutt an invisible crisis affecting everyone and increasing by the day
Don Rowe (Spinoff): Two weeks from the rental deadline, the insulation industry is at total capacity
Alwyn Poole (Kiwiblog): Guest Post: To Minister Twyford on Western Park Village
Defence
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The camouflaged military spend-up (paywalled)
John Gibb (ODT): Prof says military spending comes with independent policy
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt mulled new base for Singapore fighter jets
Press Editorial: Defence prepares for climate change
1News: Climate change disasters pivotal to Government’s thinking around $1 billion-plus acquisition of Hercules fleet
Point of Order: There’s much more to the govt’s Defence Capability Plan than the $1bn purchase of C-130J Hercules
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Yay! Mission Accomplished! We won in Iraq and Afghanistan!
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Chris Trotter visits Fortress Aotearoa and the $20b military spend up
Parliament, parties
Claire Trevett (Herald): The scrap for credit between Winston Peters and the Greens (paywalled)
1News: Bridges ‘absolutely’ confident National’s caucus supports his leadership despite Collins more popular as preferred PM
Derek Cheng (Herald): Speaker Trevor Mallard still ‘no comment’ on his ‘rape’ comments
RNZ: Trevor Mallard on rape comment, Parliament code of conduct
RNZ: Housing Minister Twyford says unpublished meeting ‘not a secret’
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Housing Minister Phil Twyford accused of holding ‘sneaky’ undisclosed meeting
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Parliament scraps idea of going solar powered
Fishing industry
Stuff: Forest and Bird release letters, slam trawling companies over seabed protection
Amy Williams (RNZ): Letters reveal fishing companies’ anti-conservation lobbying tactics
Environment and conservation
Gareth Hughes (Spinoff): Ludicrous but true: mining consents don’t factor in greenhouse gas emissions
Andrew MacFarlane (1News): ‘More will die’ – DOC’s dire warning about the future of NZ’s kākāpō population
Emily van Velthoove (1News): Spate of kākāpo deaths ‘the devastating outcome of the really great breeding season’
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Fungal disease claims life of seventh kākāpō
Kimberlee Downs (1News): Plant based milk ‘a better choice’ than cow’s milk if you’re concerned about the environment
D’Angelo Martin (Māori TV): The underlining truth of our dairy products and dairy industry
1News: Suspected sewage leak in Wellington Harbour leads to warning
Emma McKay (Herald): Wellington Harbour users asked to stay out of water in inner harbour
RNZ: First up: Milford Track huts booked out in minutes for summer
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Grey District Mayor hits out Forest and Bird’s e-bike stance on new Paparoa Track
1News: French swimmer to slog through Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with aid from NZ company
RNZ: The Detail: 1080: ‘The answer is really clear’
Bob Brockie (Stuff): Alarmist claims on extinction can lead to apathy
Bryan Leyland: The Zero Carbon Bill will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Muriel Newman: The Controversial Zero Carbon Bill
Climate change emergencies
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Climate emergency: What Auckland Council’s declaration actually means?
Josie Adams (Spinoff): How the law stands in the way of Auckland combatting its climate emergency
RNZ: Climate emergency declaration: Phil Goff talks cost of inaction
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Climate emergency just ‘politics’ – Simon Bridges
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Auckland Council’s ‘climate emergency’ declaration is just nonsense
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): You can’t declare a climate crisis without declaring a crisis of neoliberal capitalism
State care of children
Chris Trotter: Ripped Away From Their Parents
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): Yes, we are the Stolen Generations
Tim Murphy and Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Judge declines OT action vs Newsroom
Michelle Duff (Stuff): One baby dies. Another is taken from its mother. What will $1.1b investment in child protection do?
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Māori midwife says the uplifting of tamariki needs to stop
Alex Baird (Newsroom): Oranga Tamariki defends policy after alarming newborn footage
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Māori can have greater “hope” Oranga Tamariki is changing – Minister
Health
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Thousands of children have hospital dental treatment
Jason Walls (Herald): New DHB financial results show the total deficit is up $40m in just a month to $264m (paywalled)
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato DHB sacking ‘democracy lost’, former member tells select committee
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Elective surgery target SDHB priority
Mike Houlahan (ODT): ‘I’m still waiting’: Man waits 30 months for procedure
Deena Coster (Stuff): National MPs raise concern about elective surgery wait times in Taranaki
Mandy Te (Stuff): Around 800 people have waited longer for surgeries in Auckland because of doctors’ strike
Emma Russell (Herald): ACC to dying mum: ‘If you refuse extension, your claim may be declined’ (paywalled)
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): ACC to subsidise quad bike crush protection devices
RNZ: More wells with nitrate levels above safe standard – Forest and Bird
RNZ: How safe is it to drink from public water fountains?
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Measles vaccinations for Auckland children now available from 12 months old
1News: Auckland children should now be vaccinated against measles at 12 months, authorities advise
RNZ: Auckland health authorities giving measles vaccine to younger kids
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Best methods to reduce sugary drink intake revealed – global study
Dan Satherley (Newshub): What stops kids drinking sugary drinks and what doesn’t
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Urgent demand for plasma forces New Zealand Blood Service to try and double its donor list
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Men’s Health Week: How a Canterbury man came to terms with his mental illness, and hopes to inspire others to open up
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): Rise of the wanderers: 1 in 5 land searches involve people with dementia or other impairment
Newshub: Podcast on death, love, grief and hope launched by Mark Longley
Maternity services
Amy Wiggins and Lane Nichols (Herald): Lack of specialist after-hours cover in hospital birthing units spark safety fears for mums and babies (paywalled)
RNZ: Lumsden maternity centre downgrade ‘a Treaty of Waitangi breach’
Mark Price (ODT): Access issue at maternity space
ODT: Location of Wanaka maternal hub revealed
Jo McKenzie-McLean (Stuff): Mum airlifted to hospital without baby after unplanned birth in Wanaka
RNZ: Wanaka midwives support group rejects DHB’s claims over office birth
ODT: Chch mum told no food unless breastfeeding
Amber Allott (Herald): Mum cries foul over hospital practice of only feeding breastfeeding mothers of patients
Inequality, poverty
1News: ‘Fundamentally wrong’ – Ministry referring beneficiaries to loan sharks, activists claim
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Prepaid power customers borrowing to pay bills, survey show
Besa Chembo (RNZ): Porirua’s fight against gambling: ‘Pokies steal from our poor’
Brianna McIlraith (Taranaki Daily News): Social services prepare to keep families warm in Taranaki as the winter chill kicks in
Don Franks: Jacinda Ardern and the working poor
One Billion Trees
RNZ: Checkpoint: How hard is it to plant trees for a living? Lisa Owen finds out
RNZ: One Billion Trees scheme on track despite shortages – Minister Shane Jones
Education
Ross Webb (Jacobin): New Zealand Teachers on Strike
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Manager of under-investigation daycare running holiday programmes
Jessica Long (Stuff): Teachers’ limited access to professional development could be driving students’ writing attitudes south
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Teachers turning to foodbanks and hardship grants after loss of pay from striking
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): School’s launch points to increased demand for Islamic education in New Zealand
Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour’s ‘fees-free’ students policy: is it worth it? (paywalled)
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Visa delays could cost international student market $33m
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Do you need a degree? Some job seekers getting practical experience in lieu of amounting thousands of dollars of debt
Emma West (Dominion Post): Victoria University slammed for ‘inadvertently promoting binge drinking’ by kicking student partygoers out of halls
Tax
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Revenue Minister Stuart Nash asks IRD to investigate allowing investment tax refunds
Thomas Coughland (Newsroom): Nash looks for advice on tax rule change
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Treasury & the IRD oppose the one new housing-related tax the Govt’s open to
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Lack of capital gains tax will give short-term boost to property market: Westpac
Local government
Rachel Moore (Dominion Post): Residents ‘misled’, family disappointed by Porirua City Council’s Titahi Bay plans
Dominic Harris (Press): Charges in pipeline for high water users as Christchurch faces $380m bill
Jono Edwards (ODT): Debate continues on iwi appointments to committee
Pete George: Non-elected iwi representatives will have voting rights on Otago Regional Council
Angela Foster (Stuff): Wellington library building more than just bricks and mortar
Georgina Campbell (Herald): New MBIE guidelines put Wellington buildings under fresh seismic microscope
Charlotte Carter (Stuff): Auckland Council drops proposed superyacht levy
Sadie Beckman (Herald): Horowhenua mayor’s parking stoush: Campaign car not allowed at work
Chris Morris (ODT): Waitaki waste no longer being dumped in Green Island landfill
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Boult will seek another term as mayor, says more to do
Matt Shand (Stuff): Ensemble cast in production of Tauranga’s Mayoralty Race face public debut
Transport
Ben Strang (RNZ): Speed cameras ‘not about stinging motorists with fines for no reason’
Ben Strang (RNZ): Road safety strategy: Increased speed camera use divides experts
Henry Cooke (Stuff): NZTA ends period with no permanent leadership as Sir Brian Roche appointed board chair
David Hargreaves (Interest): Government announces Brian Roche as new chairman of NZ Transport Agency for a three year term
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Pets permitted on Auckland trains for three-month trial
Kim Dotcom
David Fisher (Herald): Megaupload would have made pre-internet copyright pirates ‘green with envy’ – the US case for Kim Dotcom extradition
David Fisher (Herald): Megaupload just like Dropbox and YouTube, Kim Dotcom’s lawyer tells Supreme Court
David Fisher (Herald): The art of legal magic in the gruelling arena of the Supreme Court (paywalled)
Kate Newston (RNZ): Kim Dotcom Megaupload extradition case: Finn Batato finally appoints lawyer
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): What is at stake for New Zealand in the final moves of the Dotcom Chess battle
Tapu Te Ranga Marae, marae safety
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Marae ‘potting shed’ actually a three-bedroom home, tenant says
RNZ: Tapu Te Ranga Marae: Council finds no consents
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Tapu Te Ranga blaze sheds spotlight on lack of fire safety across all marae
Sport
Hamish Bidwell (RNZ): Opinion: Crusaders’ name change excuse not good enough
Stuff: Sport NZ to sports bodies – reach board gender equity or risk funding
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We are trying our best to destroy elite sport
Thomas Manch (Stuff): No prosecutions for rugby players with drugs on century-old shield
Herald: Ranked: New Zealand sport’s top 20 power brokers (paywalled)
Stats NZ visitor figures
RNZ: Easter dates change pays dividends for tourism
1News: Visitor arrivals from China down in April
Greg Ninness (Interest): There has been a surge in long term arrivals coming to this country in the year to April
Employment
Brent Edwards (NBR): Changes needed to reduce the cost of personal grievances (paywalled)
Donal Curtin: Yet another reason why workable competition matters
Damien Venuto (Herald): Richlister’s advice to Govt: Do this if you really care about wellbeing
Craig Hudson (Stuff): Farming can be a volatile industry, but looking after mental health will bring dividends
Te Reo Māori
Kelvin McDonald (Māori TV): PM – Govt must ensure te reo spoken across multiple platforms
Te Karere: Tauranga school’s netball team criticised for using Te Reo Māori on the court
Callaghan Innovation govt funding
1News: Callaghan Innovation’s Lower Hutt facility gets $75 million taxpayer funded upgrade
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): Coalition invests $75m into Callaghan’s Gracefield site (paywalled)
Cannabis
Russell Brown (Herald): Experts want an end to legal sanctions on cannabis use and possession
Herald: Mike Hosking calls Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick MP ‘naive’ over cannabis reform debate
1News: Decriminalising cannabis could reduce availability of and demand for meth, experts say
Joanne Holden (Timaru Herald): Timaru man self-medicating by smoking cannabis avoids conviction
Other
MIchael Johnston (Stuff):It’s not the state’s role to decide which ideas are right or wrong
Carwyn Jones (Spinoff): Restoration, not punishment, is key to criminal justice reform for Māori
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Whānau Ora needs to deliver on its $80mil budget – National
Stuff: How many NZers? Economists say ‘who knows’
Kate MacNamara (Stuff): Trump may have killed our trade deal, but the door to more access has been left open
RNZ: Ihumātao campaigners seek to avoid repeat of Ōrākei/Bastion point occupation
Liam Hehir (Pundit): Dear friends: please stop hating on Clarke Gayford
Rodney Hide (NBR): Opinion: Kiwis need to see the ‘banality of evil’ trial (paywalled)
Herald: New Zealand Police, Europol, sign first Memorandum of Understanding
Madison Reidy (RNZ): Audit firms pour cold water on transparency
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): My, my: the mystery of Treasury’s Project ABBA
John Lewis (ODT): Govt funding for museum called for
Mark Quinlivan and Mel Logan (Newshub): Queenstown struggling as gang and methamphetamine presence skyrockets
1News: Concerns raised as meth use increases in Central Otago tourism spots
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Chorus ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with Spark home-phone sales move
Jean Bell (Bay of Plenty Times): ‘Vile and racist’: Tauranga community reacts to white supremacist flyer
Mandy Te (Stuff): Three Auckland steers live to see another day after community rallies together
Rob Kidd (ODT): Man who beat cat to death sentenced to community work
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): There are bigger issues at play behind ANZ NZ’s censure by the RBNZ, well beyond calling for John Key to go
Samesh Mohanlall (Timaru Herald): Large dam owners welcome MBIE safety consultation
Dominic Godfery (RNZ): Cook Islands sexual abuse of young males double NZ’s
RNZ: ‘Questionable material’ led to US detention of Cooks girl
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Group close to forcing referendum over West Auckland alcohol monopoly
Peter Griffin: How the Government can improve its use of artificial intelligence
David Chaston: Interest.co.nz launches a daily podcast – Economy Watch
