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
Education
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Teacher deadlock proves there’s always money when political stakes are high enough
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Collective bargaining shouldn’t rely on old timey warfare
Duncan Garner Stuff): Chris Hipkins blinks, then buckles – and shows that strikes work
Josephine Franks (Stuff): New pay offer for teachers: What you need to know
RNZ: Teachers’ latest pay offer: Dismay still prevalent amid celebration
Anna Whyte (1News): Most current teachers to get $12,000 pay rise if they accept Government’s new offer
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Primary teachers to vote on offer of $1500 and salary increase of up to 18.5 per cent
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government is confident teachers will accept the new pay offer – now at almost $1.5b
RNZ: Teacher unions to recommend latest pay deal is ratified – Hipkins
1News: Jacinda Ardern explains where extra $271 million for teachers’ new pay offer came from
Jessica Long (Stuff): Hipkins finds extra $271m for teachers in bid to end pay dispute
Jason Walls (Herald): Government ups pay offer to teachers to $1.4b, possibly putting an end to industrial action
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Teachers dispute breakthrough: Government, unions agree on revised offer
Simon Collins (Herald): Non-union teachers angry at three-month wait for pay rise
Newshub: Could early childhood teachers be the next to go on strike?
John MIchael Swannix (Newshub): The Pitch: Nikki Kaye explains why National didn’t pay teachers more
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Vic Anderson and Liz McDonald (Stuff): Canterbury children ‘wrongly diagnosed and medicated’ – researcher
Vicki Anderson (Stuff): Saving our Einsteins: lessons needed in special education
Amanda Saxton (Stuff): Pasifika teachers painstakingly make course materials by hand
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): NCEA changes prepare Boys’ High students for ‘benchmark academic qualification’
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): 99 years and bust – what now for Taratahi farm training school?
Julie Iles (Stuff): Wellington social housing redevelopment scrapped and sold to Victoria University
Katy Jones (Stuff): Revolutionary approach to learning sees school named a finalist in education awards
Act Party
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Are these the last rites for the ACT Party or its rebirth?
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Analysis: Guns and free speech integral to Act Party ‘relaunch’ (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Government’s clampdown on free speech dangerous for all of us
Alex Braae (Spinoff): The Bulletin: ACT to the future for rebranded party
Collette Devlin (Stuff): More colour, no surprises in ACT Party re-brand but ‘hairy goal’ set of 14 MPs at next election
Nicholas Jones (Herald): ‘Intolerant left’ wants to censor your thoughts and speech, Act Party leader David Seymour says
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Flat tax, flexible education fund: David Seymour rolls out new ACT policy platform
RNZ: ACT Party re-launches itself with ‘act for freedom’ slogan
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Act goes pink for party revamp
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Nazis and racists ‘offensive’ but shouldn’t be arrested – David Seymour
Ollie Ritchie (Newshub): David Seymour faces backlash over Freedom to Speak Bill
1News: ACT Party says new bill will ‘protect freedom of expression’
Joel McManus (Stuff): ACT Party rebrand: no name change, will focus on repealing hate speech laws
RNZ: ACT Party members’ bill would repeal parts of Human Rights Act
Newshub: Māori leader ‘sick and tired’ of free speech advocates looking for ‘excuse to call me the N-word’
Government
Zane Small (Newshub: Jacinda Ardern facing questions over former chief of staff’s lobbyist role
Alex Braae (Spinoff): More questions around lobbyist’s role with Ardern admin
Richard Harman (Politik): Makhlouf warns Robertson: Don’t raise the debt target
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): KiwiBuild, the PGF and politicians hanging themselves on targets
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): ‘We can do this better’: Government departments look to review OIA processes
Audrey Young (Herald): From Taji to teachers, Government has had an exceptional week (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: A big week for the government – and nothing went wrong
Claire Trevett (Herald): What Winston says: The claims, prophesies and hyperbole of Winston Peters
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The man who could be king-maker: Shane Jones in pole position to replace Winston Peters
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of Golriz Ghahraman (paywalled)
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Will the welfare, mental health and justice reports make any difference?
Bill Ralston (Listener): Why Jacinda Ardern needs a serious cabinet reshuffle
Michelle Dufff (Stuff): The important legacy of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern having a baby while in office
Herald: Jacinda Ardern’s bundle of Joy: A year in the life of Neve, the First Baby
Emily Brookes (Stuff): The first baby’s first year: Memorable moments as Neve Ardern Gayford turns one
Budget/Budget leak
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Budget 2019 not over yet
Justin Field (Sydney Morning Herald): New South Wales should consider following New Zealand’s lead on Wellbeing Budget
Christine Emba (Washington Post): NZ’s Wellbeing Budget ‘a major step’
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘No one really cares’ about Budget leak story – Labour MP Kris Faafoi
Jason Walls (Herald): Paula Bennett: SSC boss Peter Hughes’ praise of Gabriel Makhlouf ‘extraordinary’ given investigation (paywalled)
Polling
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Can we still trust the polls?
Colin Peacock (RNZ): ‘Bugger the pollsters’ – and the broadcasters?
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Pursuing a reliable polling method
Mike Williams (Stuff): Why Jacinda-mania might have been a rogue poll
ODT Editorial: Does data detail Bridges’ demise?
Spy agencies
David Fisher (Herald): Spy agencies frustrate watchdog in NZSAS inquiry, blocking email access and ‘overlooking’ potential evidence (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Insight: Christchurch Attacks – Are intelligence agencies watching the right people?
State care of children
Miriam Harris and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Children’s Commissioner reviewing Oranga Tamariki’s uplift policies
Scott Palmer and Cleo Fraser (Newshub): Children’s Commisioner to review Oranga Tamariki over child removal
Herald: Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft announces review into Oranga Tamariki’s child uplift policies
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Findings of internal inquiry into Oranga Tamariki child ‘uplift’ won’t be public
1News:Inquiry announced into handling of attempted uplift of a baby in Hawke’s Bay last month by Oranga Tamariki
RNZ: Minister orders inquiry into Oranga Tamariki ‘uplift’ practice
Herald: Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki uplifting baby from Hawke’s Bay Hospital
Newsroom: Two inquiries into baby ‘uplifts’
Simon Collins (Herald): Children’s Minister steps into Oranga Tamariki baby uplift case
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Minister for Children says she will meet with Māori leaders about Oranga Tamariki child uplifts
Lesley Max (Newsroom): Big questions beyond baby uplift video
Ian Hyslop: Oranga Tamariki – A tipping point
Liz Beddoe: The spotlight is on us – an apology is due
Aaron Hendry (Herald): Social workers want to help families – not tear them apart
Te Wharepora Hou: The “Taken Generation” is not a Māori Problem – it is a Colonial Racism Problem
Te Wharepora Hou: Hands Of Our Tamariki : He Waka Eke Noa
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Damned if you do and damned if you don’t’: MPs back Oranga Tamaraki’s child uplift policy
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Christine Rankin angry Oranga Tamariki uplifts becoming a race issue
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Baby uplift story raises awkward questions
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Oranga Tamariki uplift backlash taking its toll on social workers
Jacoby Poulain (Newsroom): We need a new OT complaints agency
Newsroom: Child uplifts: an Open Letter to the PM
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): Māori will no longer tolerate the removal of babies by the state
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Advocates rally around letter demanding end to uplifting babies
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Petition for Oranga Tamariki name change gains traction online
Carolyne Meng-Yee (Herald): Mother and child take DNA test to prevent child being uplifted by Oranga Tamariki (paywalled)
David Slack (Stuff): New Zealand is a great place to uplift children
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Finn Hogan and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): ‘Alone in a room with no support’: Abuse survivor slams Royal Commission
Justice, corrections
Catherine Hutton (RNZ): Family Court review calls for 70 changes costing up to $60m a year
Collette Devlin and Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Report on Family Justice reform recommends combined family justice service
Audrey Young (Herald): Panel recommends reversing many of Judith Collins’ Family Court reforms
1News: Changes urged for Family Court law after independent panel reviews the system
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Possible overhaul for New Zealand’s family justice system on the cards
RNZ: Family justice review urges integrated approach to services
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): ‘Monocultural’ Family Court must change – report
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Chester Borrows: The blue leftie
Damien Grant (Stuff): The rate of Māori incarceration is a crisis. We must start asking the right questions
Patrick Gower (Newshub): How our justice system helped kill Nicole Tuxford
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): Inmates’ special request: to celebrate
Environment and conservation
MItchell Alexander (Newshub): Another Government website bungle reveals proposals to extend Maui dolphins’ sanctuaries
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Nitrate leaching in Canterbury water: Need for study divides opinion
Rob Mitchell (Stuff): National Portrait: Mike Joy, passionate advocate for the environment
Paul Gorman (Stuff):Demand for less secrecy over Crown-owned South Island land decision-making
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Ngai Tahu seeks iwi involvement in High Country Crown Pastoral Lease land
Nic Rawlence (The Conversation): Proposal to mine fossil-rich site in New Zealand sparks campaign to protect it
Robin Martin (RNZ): Greenhouse gas emissions: Climate scientist warns of dangers ahead
1News: Critically endangered kākāpo dying from fungal disease
RNZ: Only 27% of Wellington forests are left
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland councillor who drank forest water after 1080 drop defended from complaints
RNZ: Kahurangi National Park 1080 drops: Deer repellent to protect rare herd
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Home fires burn strong as rāhui put in place
Taroi Black (Māori TV): A load of rubbish? Disagreement over Dome Valley dump rahui
Caroilne Williaims (Stuff): Dome Valley landfill: Rāhui placed despite lack of iwi support
Dominion Post Editorial: Back to the days of bottle drives and buy-back schemes
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): A tree in the hand isn’t worth two already in the bush
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Abel Tasman region cleared of Wilding pine pest
Alex Baird (Newshub): Nelson surfers face raw sewage from leaking pipeline
Tom Kitchin (Stuff): Mysterious 150m oil spill in Christchurch creek still not cleared
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Aucklanders’ bad recycling habits see 32,000 tonnes of rubbish sent to landfill over two years
Climate change emergencies
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Rebelling against extinction
Nicola Martin (Stuff): New Zealand science and tech, not climate emergencies, the biggest hope for global impact on climate change
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Councillors say climate change projects key after calls to declare ‘climate emergency’
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): More than 1200 Invercargill and Bluff homes at risk from sea level rise
Health and disability
Karen Brown (RNZ): Crown monitor appointed to support deficit-plagued Canterbury DHB
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Crown monitor appointed to help manage Canterbury DHB deficit
Karen Brown (RNZ): District Health Boards on path to $390 million year-end deficit
Damian Rowe (Stuff): ‘Institutional racism’ is blocking Pacific and Māori access to health care, doctor says
Jamie Morton (Herald): Poverty partly to blame for high Maori, Pacific child obesity rates
Dan Satherley and Miriam Harris (Newshub): Poor neighbourhoods driving obesity for young Māori – study
RNZ: The Detail: Swapping ciggies for vaping
1News: National accuses Government of misleading Northlanders over lack of Meningococcal vaccines
Peter Griffin (Stuff): Kiwi kids to be tracked for universal flu vaccine research
Lois Williams (RNZ): Government should fund tooth-brushing programmes: Dentist
Besa Chembo (RNZ): Legionnaires’ disease study prompts call for mandatory water tests across NZ
RNZ: Fears carers’ strike may put disabled people at risk
Miriam Harris and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Care workers go on strike
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Elder abuse is ‘New Zealand’s hidden secret’ says Age Concern CEO
Transport and road safety
Ben Strang (RNZ): Proposed import ban on less safe cars would affect top sellers
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Lowering your speed does save lives, NZTA says
1News: As fatalities rise, advocates question police reduction of road safety enforcement
Matt Rilkkoff (Stuff): Thousands of speed cameras necessary part of the road toll solution
Anna Whyte (1News): Is 100km/h too fast past a school? Frustrated Bay of Plenty principal fighting ‘red tape’
RNZ: 16 people in 2.5 hours caught drink driving ‘beyond alarming’
John Roughan (Herald): Someone needs to watch this agency’s dashboard (paywalled)
Hawkes Bay Today: Shane Jones says blocking the sealing of State Highway 38 to Waikaremoana ‘hillbilly thinking’
Georgina Campbell (Newstalk ZB): This week’s Let’s Get Wellington Moving headache: A second Mt Victoria tunnel
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): E-scooter wars advance on capital’s narrow streets as Flamingo and Jump launch in Wellington
Todd Niall (Stuff): Waiheke Island’s ferries face a frustrating future
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Auckland visitor charged $295 towing fine after being seven minutes late to car
Dan Satherley and Miriam Harris (Newshub): Pets now allowed on Auckland trains
RNZ: Whanganui to benefit from $50 million training deal for Indian pilots
Rail
Sean Hogan (1News): After seven long years, crucial railway link between Napier and Wairoa re-opens
Andre Chumko and Bethany Reitsma (Stuff): KiwiRail celebrates re-opening of Napier to Wairoa line
RNZ: Napier to Wairoa rail line opens seven years after storm damage closed it
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): KiwiRail firms up plans for biodiesel trials despite supply doubts
Primary industries
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): SAFE protesters take a stand against export of live farm animals
Matt Shand (Stuff): Kiwifruit picking: ‘Hot hard work that nobody wants to do’
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Climate change and the rural way of life
Gerard Hutching (Stuff): James Shaw soothes farmer fears over excessive forest planting
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): A warm reception for the Prime Minister at Fieldays
Edward O’Driscoll (Newshub): Health and safety officials alarmed by farmers’ reaction to quad bike crush protection devices
Pam Jones (ODT):Irrigation project put on hold
1News: Water storage crisis continues for Central Hawke’s Bay farmers as Govt promises $17m for solutions
Tom McKinlay (ODT): Fleshing out the future
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): New Zealanders divided over the safety of genetically modified food
MItchell Alexander (Newshub): New Zealand’s archaic genetic technology law stifling breakthrough science
Jehan Casinader (Stuff): Sir Peter Jackson and James Cameron team up to promote meatless future
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Can Hollywood save New Zealand?
Emily Brookes (Stuff): James Cameron: New Zealand ‘not living up to its own image’
Gun laws
Ben Strang (RNZ): Politicians mistakenly agreed to ban magazines for all firearms
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Gun buyback details to be announced imminently as police count 600 unlawful rifles
Chrischurch mosque shootings
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Christchurch mosque shooting victims to receive $2.7m
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Christchurch mosque attacks survivor outraged over Victim Support spending
Jason Walls (Herald): PM’s office lobbied Facebook to not release certain Christchurch attack info as it could cause ‘significant concerns’ (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Muslim leader urges special training for police to handle hate crime
Herald Editorial: Why we are publishing the name and photograph of the mosque shooting accused
Kate Lyons (Guardian): Christchurch mosques shooting trial: what happens next?
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Accused gunman Brenton Tarrant pleads not guilty to 51 murder charges
Newshub: Alleged gunman pleads not guilty to all charges
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Brenton Tarrant pleads not guilty to all charges
Katie Todd (RNZ): Mosque attack survivors’ and families’ painful day
David Williams (Newsroom): The broken-hearted are broken again
Annabelle Tukia (Newshub): Emotional scenes unfold as alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant faces court
Mark Quinlivan and Emily O’Connell (Newshub): Man charged, granted bail after disorderly behaviour outside court as alleged gunman appears
Katie Todd (RNZ): Man to appear in court after scuffle with Muslim men outside court
1News: Kiwis more receptive to Muslim community three months on from Christchurch terrorist attack, Muslim student leader says
Cleo Fraser (Newshub): Muslim women say Islamophobia worse after Christchurch mosque attack
1News: Kiwis need to do more to foster inclusiveness following Christchurch terrorist attack: Islamic Women’s Council
Housing
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Build-to-rent – it’s all about tax
Mandy Te and Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): House prices nationwide are tipped to soar by 20 per cent over the next four years
Simon Hartley (OD): Capital gains tax threat’s end impacts house prices
Greg Ninness (Interest): KiwiBuild’s problems mean it should be tweaked rather than scrapped
1News: Gisborne house prices increased more than $2500 in one day, new data shows
Simon Hartley (ODT): Fewer overseas investors buy homes
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Hutt City Council commits $500,000 a year for three years to fight homelessness
Building and construction
Rob Mitchell ((Stuff): State of shock: How our buildings save lives but little else
Ella Prendergast and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Goff calls for Building Act overhaul
Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal launched, EQC
Tina Law (Press): New tribunal launches to resolve long-running earthquake insurance disputes
1New: Government hopeful of quicker case resolutions as Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal launched
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): EQC may confirm 30 job cuts centred in Wellington and Hamilton next week
Local government
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Lower Hutt councillor faces conflict of interest claims over $1.3 million grant
Jo McKenzie-McLean (Stuff): Queenstown motor camp residents being turfed out for short-term holidaymakers
Georgina Campbell (Stuff): Green Party bids for a green infrastructure bond in Wellington
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Phil Goff and Shane Jones uncanny bedfellows…
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Southland District Council’s only female says diversity more than gender
Chris Morris (ODT): DCC silent on evidence behind allegations
Richard Davison (ODT): Worksafe issues notices after 3-year-old’s drowning
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): War memorial imagery banned from Marlborough local elections
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Carbon credits to cost Timaru District Council $700,000 per year
Alcohol licensing
Bethany Reitsma (Stuff): National controls needed to repeal failing liquor licence law – advocates
Emma West (Stuff): Wellington’s ever expanding liquor-free areas – are they helping?
Kim Dotcom
Kate Newton (RNZ): Kim Dotcom and the seven-year itch
David Fisher (Herald): Megaupload: US says copyright charges can be swapped out for criminal when seeking Kim Dotcom extradition
RNZ: Dotcom extradition: Copyright breaches could still be criminal conspiracy, Crown says
Immigration, refugees
Umesh Perinpanayagam (Spinoff): Government’s ‘saving lives at sea’ rhetoric rings hollow
Conor Whitten (Newshub): Dramatic increase in Manus Island suicide attempts
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): Social media a digital lifeline for refugee NZers
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Woman separated from family as appeal over visa drags on
Ben Leahy (Herald): Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki attacks Muslims, but others slam him for hate speech
Energy
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Why we’re lagging with wind power
No Right Turn: Why hasn’t New Zealand been building more wind farms?
Scott Willis (ODT): Putting solutions together
Cannabis
Damien Venuto (Herald): Government invests $2.5 million in firm with ties to medicinal cannabis industry
Chloe Swarbrick (Herald): Why I back legalising cannabis
Te reo Māori
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Requests to avoid te reo on netball courts ‘shows the ignorance still out there’
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Reserve Bank further embraces Māori language and culture
Economy
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Bleak manufacturing numbers signal New Zealand’s economy may be slowing further
Liam Dann (Herald): Swine fever casts new shadow on global economy (paywalled)
Inequality, poverty
Maria Slade (Spinoff): A big purple weapon against exploitative truck shops
Liz Koh (Stuff): Time to take the ‘child’ out of ‘child poverty’
Other
Bevan Rapson (North & South): One thing is certain: Political biffo is unavoidable in NZ Parliament
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Tapu te Ranga Marae: Bureaucrat’s nightmare or light in the darkness? Or both?
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): Old school methods of dealing with colonialism aren’t working, we must try a new way
Rachel Moore and Emma West (Stuff): Volunteers heart and soul of giving back to our communities
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Tsunami warnings from 7.0 magnitude Kermadec Island earthquake confusing
Herald: Pet Refuge: What will the $300,000 raised be spent on?
Monty Soutar (E-Tangata): Equality on the battlefield — but not at home
1News: Two NZDF Hercules C-130s back in action, one day after entire fleet grounded
Pam Jones (ODT): Mysterious space radar facility build on target
David Farrar: Film industry 1 hobbit haters 0
1News: Global Tourism New Zealand campaign focuses on people and culture
Steve Deane (Newsroom): Peters will be ‘kingmaker’ over sports funding
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Animal rescue shelter pleads for people to adopt nearly 80 puppies
RNZ: IRD and NZTA seek temporary offices after building deemed quake risk
Rebecca Stevenson (Stuff): We are all paying for Tiwai Point
Bridget Grace (Newshub): Helen Clark trekking through Nepal to mark 100 years since Sir Edmund Hillary’s birth
1News: Face of the Māori world on display for Australians as Ta Moko exhibition opens
Amy Williams (RNZ): Deputy mayor among critics of desecration of Māori carving
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Parliament hears call to ban conversion therapy
Anna Connell (Spinoff): Memo to WINZ: Don’t use Twitter to clap back at your clients
Grant Shimmin (Timaru Herald): You call me a social justice warrior like it’s a bad thing
RNZ: Supporters of euthanasia legislation confront Whangārei National MP
