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
Housing
Bryce Edwards (RNZ): Is the government now more serious about the housing crisis?
Bernard Hickey ( Newsroom): How Phil Twyford lost housing and why KiwiBuild failed
Katarina Williams (Stuff): How NZ’s social housing problem is expected to worsen before it gets better
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour still needs a middle-class housing policy
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Twyford thrown under bus for Labour’s epic slogan fail
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Kiwibuild is broken – so how can we fix it?
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Why Twyford’s stamp won’t be rubbed off the Govt’s housing policy that easily
Bryce Edwards (Herald):Political Roundup: The Government suggests it hasn’t given up on the housing crisis (yet) (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern giving new housing team ‘a bit more time’ to fix KiwiBuild
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Megan Woods refuses to confirm KiwiBuild overall target
Brittney Deguara (Stuff):Jacinda Ardern continues to support Phil Twyford; admits KiwiBuild didn’t meet expectations
RNZ: KiwiBuild ‘horribly inefficient and unfair on taxpayer’ – developer
Dan Satherley adn Miriam Harris (Newshub): House prices going up two-and-a-half times the rate of inflation
Ben Uffindell (The Civilian): KiwiBuild house prices soar, finding new value as a collector’s item
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): New Zealand isn’t a sub-tropical destination and our homes are ‘piss poor’
RNZ: Nine to Noon: New Zealand’s cold old housing stock
Miriama Aoke (Stuff): Māori have always felt excluded from the conversation on home ownership
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Checkpoint: Family desperate to leave freezing HNZ home
Dan Satherley (Newshub): The $880 million bill looming for Kiwi landlords
Tom Furley (RNZ): Property managers urged to drop landlords who don’t insulate
Jason Walls (Herald): Greens: ‘Tens of thousands’ of rental properties not property insulated – but not all agree
Richard Davison (ODT): Possible rent rise dismays pensioner
1News: Bay of Plenty town banding together for better housing and better health
Laine Moger (Stuff): Man ‘in black’ defends removing blankets belonging to Auckland’s homeless
Denise Piper (Stuff): Life on the streets: Just getting a meal is hard for chronically homeless in Northland
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato housing help plan gets $2 million kick-start from Hamilton City Council
Mark Quinlivan and Delphine Herbert (Newshub): Earthquake Commission levy jumps up by $60 per year for homeowners
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Kirsty Johnston (Herald): IRD goes doorknocking as a quarter of speculators don’t pay property tax (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern still wants a capital gains tax, despite ruling it out forever
Cabinet, National Party reshuffles
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Has Labour found its smiling assassin in Jacinda Ardern?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Where’s Jacinda Ardern’s mettle? (paywalled)
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Why Iain Lees-Galloway escaped demotion in Cabinet reshuffle
Astrid Austin (Hawkes Bay Today): Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri focuses on electorate after reshuffle (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Jacinda’s Cabinet reshuffle going no where fast – winners & losers
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of the reshuffles (paywalled)
Government
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Exclusive: Police investigating white supremacists’ death threats against Winston Peters
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern ‘absolutely’ running for another term as Prime Minister
Week in politics
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: PM Jacinda Ardern puts housing into safer hands
1News: Inside Parliament: Everyday I’m Shuffling
National Party
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): What a populist National Party would look like
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): The proximity of Judith Collins to various negative headlines – and why it works
Newstalk ZB: Simon Bridges: ‘Christopher Luxon could stand in Selwyn’
Bill Ralston (Listener): The flaws in the alleged plot to make Christopher Luxon prime minister
Parliament
Rob Mitchell (Stuff): Why it’s easier for a rich man to get into heaven than a Christian party into politics
Phil Smith (RNZ): Adding foresight to oversight
David Farrar: Good parliamentary reform proposals
Jason Walls (Herald): Group of MPs, including a former Silver Fern, heading to the UK for netball tournament
Banks
Rob Stock (Stuff): ANZ needs a new broom for a boss, not a continuation from the dark days of banking
Chris Keall (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson puts bank bosses on final notice (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): ANZ to provide FMA with information on related party mansion deal
Liam Dann (Herald): Will the regulators get straight answers from ANZ’s board? (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Bank shareholders voice concern at ANZ governance
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): ANZ staffer: I was fired for making money ‘appear’
Richard Stubbs: Adrian Orr is right to look at bank capital (paywalled)
Gabriel Makhlouf, Treasury, govt ministry hacking attempts
John Armstrong (1News): Gabriel Makhlouf’s refusal to resign over ‘Budget hack’ saga sets a truly awful example
Derek Cheng (Herald): Gabriel Makhlouf’s job in Ireland appears to be safe
Jeroen van der Heijden (Newsroom): Treasury pick carries risk of tall poppy paradox
Herald: Govt ministry hit with 180 million hacking attempts in less than 18 months
Cancer care, petition for National Cancer Agency
RNZ: First up: Terminally ill man’s pre-funeral party: ‘It was a really beautiful night’
Jamie Searle (Southland Times): Overwhelming support for Blair Vining’s petition to set up national cancer agency
Luisa Girao (ODT):‘We want to make it better for everyone else’
Emma Russell (Herald): Cancer disgrace: National Party’s health leader Michael Woodhouse to present petition to Parliament
Emma Russell (Herald): Cancer disgrace: Hundreds gather in public movement for change
Emma Russell (Herald): Cancer disgrace: PM Jacinda Ardern’s hand-written letter to 12-year-old Lilly Vining
RNZ: Cancer care reform: Terminally ill father’s petition crashes after immense support
Annabelle Tukia (Newshub): Terminal cancer sufferer hands over national cancer agency petition
Mike Houlahan (ODT): ‘My kids worry every day if their mum is going to die’
Jamie Morton (Herald): Star surgeon’s next case: teaching us how not to get cancer (paywalled)
Māori health
RNZ: Māori health funding poorly targeted and barely monitored – report
Isaac Davison (Herald): Waitangi Tribunal says Crown has breached Treaty of Waitangi by failing to close gap between Māori and non-Māori health
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): Waitangi Tribunal recommends new independent Māori health authority
Christina Persico (Stuff): Calls to combine sectors to improve Māori health
RNZ: New health organisation called Mahitahi Hauora launched in Northland
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Mahitahi Hauora – unifying Northland’s healthcare
Health
ODT: Clinical leads for independent maternity reviews announced
1News: Southland mums share alarming birth stories as review announced into region’s maternity system
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Southland mayor urges SDHB to reinstate maternity services at Lumsden
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Up to 1000 miss out on elective surgeries in Canterbury
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Staff stressed, tired: report
Sophie Trigger (Marlborough Express): Far-flung Marlborough Sounds patients lobby for rural status amid doctor shortage
Lana Hart (Stuff): We need to slash the number of District Health Boards
Nikki Turner (Newsroom): Vaccines – just not that simple
Teachers’ pay claim
RNZ: Teachers’ pay deal: Workload concerns not fixed but ‘time to move on’
Jessica Long (Stuff): Secondary teachers accept Government pay offer but vote margin is slim
RNZ: Secondary teachers accept government pay offer
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Auckland principals to protest outside Ministry of Education next week
1News: Secondary teachers vote to accept Government’s pay offer
Herald: Strikes averted: Secondary teachers accept latest pay offer
Fiona Connor (Newshub): Secondary school teachers union accepts the Government’s latest pay offer
1News: Secondary teachers vote to accept Government’s pay offer
1News: Area school teachers and Kura Kaupapa settle pay negotiations with Government
Education
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Daycare centre complaints the ‘tip of the iceberg’, NZ experts say
Cira Olivier (Rotorua Daily Post): Ministry shuts early childhood centre after finding 47 breaches (paywalled)
Kia King (Stuff): Learn like nobody’s watching: Make gender equality start at school
Mohamed Alansari (Newsroom): A dream to break the intergenerational poverty cycle
Melinda Webber (Newsroom): An appetite for educational change
ODT Editorial: Let’s put the phones away
RNZ: McConnell ordered to pay $1.1 million in costs over leaky school
Fiona Connor (Newshub): Father alleges Marlborough Boys’ College principal knew of sex allegations ‘well before’ parents were notified
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Hastings hub transforming women’s lives awarded $780k
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Sports fear centralised Government body will squash innovation
Alison Mau (Stuff): The school ball is a rite of passage, everyone should be allowed to go
Environment
Spinoff: An apology from an environmentalist
Laura James (1News): Report slams MPI’s handling of kauri dieback as ‘slow to act and appalling’
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): At risk and on the menu
Felix Desmarais, Matthew Tso and Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Councils declare climate emergencies, but will it result in any real change?
Chris Morris (ODT): DCC proposes Govt climate-change fund
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Climate emergency declaration followed by airport plan allowing growth
Peter Griffin (Stuff): We need a climate change moonshot
Elena McPhee (ODT): Birds at risk of local extinction
Alex MacMillan (ODT): A clean Bill of health
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Action plan aims to restore top of South Island’s natural landscapes
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Wairoa Gorge mountain bike park gifted to New Zealand public
Delphine Herbert (Newshub): Deer and possums ravaging the Raukumara Range – Conservation Minister
Jamie Morton (Herald): Plague warning: maps reveal extent of ‘mega mast’
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Aerial 1080 could combat ‘tsunami of rats’ far better than trapping
Hayley Jacobsen and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Bottle refund scheme will have people raiding trash for cash – Wellington Mayor Justin Lester
MIchael Hayward (Stuff): From gorse-infested pasture to lush native bush: documentary tells the story of Hinewai Reserve
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Department of Conservation finds ‘significant failures’ in lead-up to Cape Kidnappers landslide
1News: Fox River landfill disaster leaves a filthy, toxic mess four months on from huge storm
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Cruise ships to make clean getaways
Plastic bag ban, Plastic Free July
Andrea Vance (Stuff): The Pacific is choked with plastic, but banning bags won’t stop this environmental catastrophe
Amanda Saxton (Stuff): NZ plastic bag ban: The exemptions and the rules explained
Jamie Morton (Herald): Plastic bags binned: What it means
1News: Single-use plastic bag ban goes into effect today
RNZ: Axe looms for plastic bags
Martin Johnston (Herald): Plastic bag ban to protect environment – some retailers hanging on until last minute (paywalled)
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Plastic still pervades despite ban, shop owner says
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Single-use plastic shopping bag ban kicks in on Monday
Newshub: Breaching plastic bag ban could see $100,000 fines
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Plastic Free July: Life before plastic was about reusing and repairing
Ruth Blunt (ODT): Time to pack it in
New laws
Georgia Forrester and Joel McManus (Stuff): Warmer homes, no plastic bags: A handy guide to all the new NZ law changesady started
Sam Farrell ((Newshub): Plastic bags, petrol and paid parental leave: What Monday’s law changes mean for you
1News: Raft of new laws to come into effect tomorrow
Isaac Davison (Herald): Where the fuel taxes have gone: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says eight projects alre
Stuff: Petrol tax up another 4c from today
1News: New family violence laws set to come into force
Defence, Operation Burnham inquiry
RNZ: Operation Burnham: Helicopter videos show men with weapons
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): New footage shows Operation Burnham was ‘not what it was made out to be’, says Nicky Hager
RNZ: Defence Minister to make first visit to China
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Defence minister says $18m all-terrain vehicles approved
1News: Video released of New Zealand SAS raid on Afghanistan village in 2010
Sam Hurley (Herald): Alfred Keating embassy toilet camera case: Navy officers warned not to speculate or talk to media about allegations (paywalled)
Sam Hurley (Herald): Top military brass held concerns over what accused attache Alfred Keating would wear at his trial (paywalled)
Sam Hurley (Herald): Support for accused top attache, NZDF emails show
Foreign affairs and trade
Richard Harman (Politik): The crisis to come
Simon Draper (Stuff): A China-US trade deal could be a threat to New Zealand’s exports
John Gibb (ODT): Optimism over zero carbon goal
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Background checks before cashing cheques for advocacy ads
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Broadcasting policy unravels in ‘year of delivery’ (audio)
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Taking transport stats for a ride
Colin Peacock (RNZ): The Spinoff strives to recruit its readers
Immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration NZ denies racial profiling to rank applications
Bob Jones: Our shameful refugee record
Euthanasia
Audrey Young (Herald): Why the euthanasia bill is not all it seemed (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): MPs wrestling with life and death
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Euthanasia debate: Labour MP Kris Faafoi pleads for colleagues not to drag it out
Brad Flahive (Stuff): Euthanasia in NZ: Meet the doctor who has helped end 150 lives
John Roughan (Herald): Someone’s right to die steals someone’s right to live (paywalled)
Oranga Tamariki
Luke Kirkness (Herald): ‘It seems preventable’: Victim support advocate says death of toddler could have been avoided
Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): Leaked letter criticising Newsroom sent to hospital staff
Astrid Austin (Herald): Hawke’s Bay DHB CEO takes shot at outspoken board member in staff-wide memo
RNZ: Oranga Tamariki stats: Increase in Māori children taken
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern admits she hasn’t watched harrowing Oranga Tamariki uplift video
Mihingarangi Forbes (Newshub): Māori Dames and Sirs take aim at Oranga Tamariki
RNZ: Hands Off Our Tamariki urges PM Jacinda Ardern to acknowledge Oranga Tamariki abuses
David Slack (Stuff): You may roll your eyes, but Oranga Tamariki child uplifts are a symptom of NZ’s colonial history
Matthew Ronsenberg (Stuff): Foster parents to over 100 children say they quit after children wrongly uplifted
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Girl in hiding from Oranga Tamariki claims abuse in state care
Mosque shootings
RNZ: Demands for clarity on donations from national Islamic groups
1News: Pittsburgh Jewish community to donate almost NZ$1 million to victims of Christchurch terror attacks
Joanna MacKenzie (Stuff): From Pittsburgh to NZ: almost $1m raised for shooting victims
Stuff: A US Jewish federation donates nearly $1m to victims of Chch mosque shooting
Charlie Gates (Press): Christchurch Foundation gets $4 million in donations for mosque attack victims
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Austrian far-right extremist claims he is suspected of starting terrorist group with accused Christchurch mosque shooter
Transport, roading, road safety
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ):‘Slow’ roll-out of median barrier despite reducing head-on deaths by half
RNZ: Vision Zero policy assumes drivers make mistakes – Swedish transport adviser
Hayley Jacobsen and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Drivers should be distracted by driving – NZTA
Alex Loo (Stuff): Levin property owner distraught at lack of power in NZTA land sale talks
RNZ: Unauthorised inspector, lightspeed WOF: Vehicle inspectors suspended
RNZ: Coroner backs random roadside drug testing after deadly Taranaki crash
Robin Martin (RNZ): Crash victims’ family frustrated over lack of action on roadside drug testing
Shawn McAvinue (ODT): Breath testing tactics changed
1News: Iwi trialling natural paving material for road going through territory in central North Island
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Economics vs environment: the battle for the electric bus
RNZ: Electric buses added to the Christchurch fleet
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Transmission Gully completion date extended with further delays likely
Sam Farrell (Newshub): Lower Hutt residents turn out in force for Melling interchange
1News: Hundreds of Hutt Valley residents rally for Government to fund transport project
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): People and politicians turn out to urge a rethink on Melling Interchange
Local government
Julienne Molineaux (Spinoff): There’s a land in the South Pacific where you can vote based on owning property
Todd Niall (Stuff): Veteran Auckland councillor Mike Lee’s vote-splitting decision to run again
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Mike Lee seeking fourth term on Auckland Council
1News: Phil Goff wants to change Auckland freedom camping rules, without impacting on the homeless
Herald: Auckland mayoral candidate pushing for a socialist state like Cuba
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Wellington Mayor Justin Lester’s China ‘junket’ wasn’t approved by council
Zane Small (Newshub): Wellington Mayor Justin Lester supports ban on public firework sales
Southland Times Editorial: When is it time to go, for Sir Tim or anybody?
RNZ: Checkpoint: Tim Shadbolt’s performance as mayor slipping – councillor
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Minister for Women says gender imbalance at Nelson, Tasman councils a concern
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Dunedin City Council flying high with third highest travel expenditure in country
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Horizons should leave Palmerston North buses alone
Stephanie Ockhuysen (Taranaki Daily News): New Plymouth council candidate vows to put signs back up
Justice, corrections
1News: Government invests $27 million into community based homes for youth offenders
RNZ: Corrections rejects ‘significant rise’ in violence at Otago prison
Rob Kidd and George Block (ODT): School given assurances over offender
Maddison Nortrhcott (Press): Art exhibition paints harsh reality of ‘tainted’ life for ex-prisoners
Primary industries
RNZ: Ondaedge Farms fined $30,000 for effluent discharge into Waikato River
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): ‘I hope this sends a very strong message’: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomes honey company prosecution
RNZ: Judge rules mānuka honey producer motivated by greed
Dan Satherley and Emma Cropper (Newshub): Manuka honey company which added illegal chemicals ‘driven by greed’
Sally Rae (ODT): Bovis takes a human toll
Sally Rae (ODT): ‘M. bovis’ anguish: ‘frank’ feedback helping in long process
Tim Newman (Stuff): New Zealand’s agricultural future is bright if farmers can adapt
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Why Westland is being gobbled up by Yili
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Westland Milk sale will see the xenophobes out in force
Gambling
Dan Satherley (Newshub):Fight against problem gambling to focus on Māori, Pacific and Asians
RNZ: Problem gambling: Government gives another $60m over three years
KiwiSaver
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): KiwiSaver: Widening the gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Unlocking KiwiSaver: Why 500,000 Kiwis will now be able to join (paywalled)
Employment
Denise Garland (RNZ): Construction industry deaths at a 10 year high
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Debt collectors chasing employers for payments to exploited workers
Brenda Harwood (ODT): Concern workers need food bank
Matariki Awards
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Māori excellence celebrated at 2019 Matariki Awards
Herald: Māori making a difference rewarded at Matariki Awards
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Honoured for a lifetime commitment to te reo, tikanga and Māori arts
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Papa honoured for championing revitalisation of te reo
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Wahine tech entrepreneur wins Matariki young achievers award
Stuff: On a mission to teach Kiwi kids about saving and money
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Legendary Māori country singer honoured for contribution to music
Māori TV: Kauri dieback researcher wins at Matariki Awards
Māori TV: Noeline Taurua receives Te Waitā Award for Sports
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Whale Watch Kaikoura dive in for the win at Matariki Awards
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Legacy of Talei Morrison honoured at Mātariki Awards
Pacific
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): NZ’s cocaine and meth habit takes toll on Pacific Islands
ODT: Climate change action needed in Pacific
MacKenzie Smith (RNZ): Samoa defends ‘hard line’ on misbehaving RSE workers
Denis Piper (Stuff): NZ Defence Force delivers vital hospital equipment to Samoa
Tourism
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Henare focuses on challenges facing regional tourism sector
Infometrics: Recapping a summer of tourism
Huawei
RNZ: Huawei move by US unlikely to change NZ’s security assessement
RNZ: Huawei concessions: Trump’s move may force GCSB ‘to revisit’ risk to NZ
Trades Hall bombing
Jack van Beynen (Stuff): Cold Case – the Trades Hall bombing case is close to getting its suspect
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime suspect in Trades Hall bombing to give DNA evidence in decades-old case
Ardern namechecked in US Democratic Primary debate
Jason Walls (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern says being referenced in a Democratic Primary debate was ‘unusual’
1News: Jacinda Ardern responds to ‘girlfriend you are so on’ comment made by US presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson
Joel MacManus (Stuff): ‘Girlfriend, you are so on’: US presidential hopeful’s bizarre bid to better Jacinda Ardern
Herald: ‘Girlfriend, you are so on’: US presidential candidate Marianne Williamson’s bizarre challenge to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
Other
David Seymour and Andrew Little (Stuff): Freedom of speech: Do we need to update our Human Rights Act?
Chris Trotter: Contracting Out Of Religious Freedom
Paul Gorman (Stuff): MetService called back to Parliament to ‘please explain’ 5G issues
Bryan Gould: How much foreign control is acceptable?
Liam Dann (Herald): The economic numbers that would have blown us away in 1980s (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: Cavalier lawlessness
1News: Antarctica’s Scott Base to get $250 million upgrade
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Meth testing: From boom industry to pariahs
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Big property players and building manufacturers back bigger fines for Building Act breaches
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Real-time pricing to mark biggest electricity market change since birth in 1996
Chris Morris (ODT): Dunedin’s renewable energy use declines
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Writers worried they won’t get paid under new copyright law
RNZ: Disappointment at decline in cultural respect in Waikato
Fiona Connor (Newshub): Hinemoa Elder calls for end to ‘structural racism’ against Māori in New Zealand
Herald: An extract from Alan Duff’s new book: A Conversation with my Country
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Kerensa Johnston: Holding out for justice
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Oscar Kightley: I never want to embarrass my mum
RNZ: Wellington predicted to be economic powerhouse in new report
Denise Piper (Stuff): Waitangi Treaty Grounds: Why they’re the birthplace of our nation
Herald: The Pākehā slave captured by Māori as a child
1News: Kiwi memento left behind in UK after WWI turns 100 years old
Steve Maharey (Pundit): The emergence of the Third Way: From Douglas to Clark (via Clinton & Co)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Is Auckland ugly? Top urban design and planning experts weigh in
Richard Davison (ODT): Kai rulz: reviving a small town
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Investigation reveals devastating Wellington marae fire was accidental
