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 by Dr Bryce Edwards.
Greens conference
Jason Walls (Herald): The Greens had two jobs at their annual conference. They accomplished neither. (paywalled)
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Transparency falters at Greens’ annual conference
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Aspirations centred in coalition
1News: Marama Davidson rejects idea that James Shaw has taken Green Party too far to the centre
RNZ: Marama Davidson rejects accusation Greens becoming ‘too centrist’
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Green Party candidate Jack McDonald quits over James Shaw’s ‘centrist drift’
Benedict Collins (1News):Green Party candidate resigns over dissatisfaction with party co-leader James Shaw
RNZ: High ranking Greens member pulls pin before election
Jason Walls (Herald): Kiwibuild reset: Greens want rent-to-own scheme: Co-leader Marama Davidson
Scott Palmer (Newshub): ‘Fundamental human right’: Green Party releases housing policy
1News: Greens announce its rent-to-own policy as part of the Government’s KiwiBuild reset
RNZ: Green Party pushes for rent-to-buy scheme
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Greens will ‘never’ do a deal with National while Simon Bridges is leader – James Shaw
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Greens forever stuck with Labour
Scott Palmer (Newshub): James Shaw burns Simon Bridges in climate change speech
Jason Walls (Herald): Green’s co-leader James Shaw says Simon Bridges is a ‘new climate change denier’
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Bridges’ ‘calculated, short-term self-interest’ – Shaw
Jason Walls (Herald): Green co-leader Marama Davidson is urging members to ‘stay loud’ ahead of the annual conference (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Greens’ annual conference in media lockdown over ‘caricature’ fears
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Green policy enthusiasm warm on chilly Dunedin day
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Green Party co-leaders set to tell members we want to do more with housing, inequality and climate change
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The pathetic ‘policy wins’ Green members need to grill the Party over at this weekends Dunedin conference
Government on Oranga Tamariki and Ihumātao controversies, Māori issues
Audrey Young (Herald): Winston Peters becomes a voice of sanity (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Tracey Martin on uplift controversy: Oranga Tamariki ‘believed the child was in danger’
Deena Coster (Stuff): Crown needs to do more to recognise range of Māori viewpoints – iwi leader
Shane Te Pou (Stuff): Labour won back all the Māori seats – but has it delivered?
Ihumātao and Māori land disputes
Simon Wilson (Herald): Ihumātao is Ardern’s historic moment: will she take it? (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Why Ihumātao has struck a chord with so many (paywalled)
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): All eyes on Ihumātao as land occupation plays out
Māori TV: Govt. hopeful for peaceful resolution to Ihumātao dispute – Minister Mahuta (video)
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Will Jacinda come? Māori pin their hopes on PM in fight for sacred site
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Māori land rights leader calls on Jacinda Ardern to recognise Indigenous ‘crisis’
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): Ihumātao: Police deny carrying firearms at protest after Facebook video outcry
RNZ: Police remove guns from Ihumātao, protesters worried
Kereama Wright (Māori TV): Calls for police to remove guns from Ihumātao after rifle sighting
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Ihumātao: Protesters accept Kiingitanga’s offer to host hui
Alice Wilkins (Newshub): Māori king invites Ihumātao mana whenua to meeting, won’t include Government
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Ihumātao: Māori King invites mana whenua to meet to find a solution
RNZ: Kiingitanga flag raised at Ihumātao
Māori TV: Ihumātao land protectors “energised” by Kīngitanga visit
Yvonne Tahana (1News): Māori King visits Ihumātao with 800-strong support group
Māori TV: Mana whenua and SOUL welcome Kīngitanga hui (video)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Ihumātao gathering prepares for Māori King’s visit on Saturday despite uncertainty over his stance
Dan Satherley and Ella Prendergast (Newshub): Ihumātao dispute: Māori King’s visit slammed
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Asia Pacific Report): Iwi against Ihumātao occupation social media pages shut down
1News: Lawyer says declaring disputed Ihumātao land a reserve would be ‘appropriate’
John Roughan (Herald): A visit to Ihumātao – and a change of heart (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of Ihumātao (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Ihumātao inspiration leads to threat of Shelly Bay hikoi and occupation
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): Five wāhine Māori protestors (who other Māori thought were a pain in the ass)
Abortion
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Exclusive: Government’s abortion reform details revealed
Herald: Government to make long-anticipated abortion reform announcement tomorrow
Stuff: Governnment to announce of abortion reform details
Dan Satherley and Ella Prendergast (Newshub): Pro-choice activists give ‘props’ to Government’s abortion reform, despite disappointment
Bob McCoskrie (Family First): Radical Abortion Law Reform Is Deeply Anti-Human Rights
Parliament
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Major announcements and minor spats
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: a week of polls, protests and yoga pants (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): The hypocrisy over the x-rated antics in the corridors of power
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): When women do it, it’s ok, but when men do it they are evil – Andrea Vance’s jaw dropping conclusion on Sarah Dowie
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Photo essay: Capturing another side of our most prominent politicians
National
John Armstrong (1News): Simon Bridges’ ‘part-time’ dig is a garbage ploy someone like Donald Trump would use
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Simon Bridges seems to be finally settling into his own skin, but the road ahead is bumpy
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Complaining about Prime Minister on magazine covers ‘petty’ – Judith Collins
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): NZ Māori Council calls for Simon Bridges to apologise for Tokelau comments
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): Was nasty ‘part-time PM’ slur a hint Bridges is adopting Aussie smear tactics?
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘That line went down a treat in the focus groups’
John-Michael Swannix (Newshub): The Pitch: Brett Hudson reveals his plan for police if National win in 2020
Government
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): A breakdown in communication (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s fairy dust is starting to wear off
Cancer care
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): ‘Every New Zealander should have access to high quality cancer care’ – Health Minister David Clark
Jason Walls (Herald): The $25m of funding towards new cancer-fighting machines has been welcomed by the Cancer Society
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): The day my mother called in tears to say she had terminal cancer
Jihee Junn (Spinoff): Cheat sheet: New cancer treatment for regions announced
Mike Houlahan (OST): SDHB to get cancer support
Sophie Bateman and Laura Macdonald (Newshub): Cancer treatment overhaul: Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki and Northland to get new radiation machines
RNZ: Some regions to get radiation equipment for first time, govt announces
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Government announces package to aid cancer treatment in the regions
Katie Bradford (1News): Government announces new cancer treatment services for regions
Herald: Government’s cancer response: PM Jacinda Ardern unveils 12 new cancer-fighting radiation machines
Helen Harvey (Taranaki Daily News): New machine means Taranaki cancer patients won’t need to travel for radiation treatment
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Select Committee won’t recommend inquiry into Pharmac
Ella Prendergast, Hayley Jacobsen and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Cancer drugs petition rejected
Hannah Martin (Stuff): More than 300 bowel cancer cases detected in national screening programme’s first two years
Health
Katie Fitzgerald and Jared McCulloch (Newshub): New Zealand’s fragmented health system fueling inequity – report
Richard Harman (Politik): What National and Labour get wrong about health
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Why the Serious Fraud Office closed case against Waikato DHB boss Nigel Murray (paywalled)
RNZ: Health boards deficits forecast to hit $508m
Boris Jancic (Herald): DHB deficit explodes to $423 million, more than double last year
Isaac Davison and Emma Russell (Herald): Kids health: B4 School Check to be overhauled and children could be screened at younger than 4 years old (paywalled)
Emma Russell (Herald):Kids health check: Thousands of children who can’t see or hear slipping through the cracks (paywalled)
Nicola Martin (Stuff): An unhealthy climate around government’s DHB priorities
Derek Cheng (Herald): Most health professionals believe GPs should prescribe cannabis medicines – survey
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Health sector would struggle if specialist sign-off needed for medicinal cannabis prescribing
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Surgical mesh patient: ‘It is a constant battle’
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Health star rating system ‘just laughable’
RNZ: Hawke’s Bay DHB member in ‘stand-off’ with her own board
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): ls for greater access to treatment for Kiwis with atrial fibrillation
Damian Rowe (Southland Times): Climate measures for Southern District Health Board
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Dunedin Hospital using a lot of nitrous oxide
Damian Rowe (Stuff): Nga Kete to launch addiction service for youths with traditional Māori values
ACC
RNZ: Treasury cautions cover for mosque victims with mental health issues
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): ‘Deanna would be absolutely furious’: ACC appeals ‘hug of death’ asbestos ruling
Foreign affairs and trade
Robert Patman (Stuff): After the Christchurch mosque shootings, NZ should not be pandering to far-Right nationalist leaders
John Weekes (Stuff): China’s rise, Iran tension touted as talking points as US military visits New Zealand
RNZ: Top NATO, US Defence officials to visit New Zealand next week
1News: US secretary of defence to visit New Zealand next week
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Millions in APEC contracts approved through flawed process
Robert Ayson (Newsroom): The importance of a letter
Lisa Davies (1News): Jacinda Ardern announces NZ government will partner with Tokelau to ensure better health care
Jane Kelsey (Daily Blog): Is NZ about to break its promise again by accepting investment disputes in RCEP?
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Preferred PM polling’s proving pretty unpopular
Jeremy Rose (RNZ): Mediawatch: NZ on Air funded programmes taxing your wallet and your eyeballs
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Stripping back nude attitudes
Transport
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Sexual harassment at Civil Aviation Authority ‘swept under the carpet’ – staff
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Open and transparent? Release your letter Julie Anne Genter
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Increase in unwarranted vehicles involved in serious crashes ‘concerning’
Katie Bradford (1News): Bridges says he’ll run down Queen St in ‘underpants’ if Govt starts work on Auckland light rail project before election
Luke Kirkness (Stuff): Road safety review sparks call for foreign driver ban
Local government
John Weekes (Stuff): Who wants to be mayor? Lessons from the good, the bad and the crazy
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council boss refuses to talk about superyacht hospitality in Bay of Islands
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Welcome to Westland: The saga of the mayor, the stopbank, and the suspended CEO
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Local council figures respond to new water authority
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Porirua mayor Mike Tana begins re-election campaign
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Report into toxic Waikanae library slams Kāpiti council and warns other properties could be at risk
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Federated Farmers slams Shadbolt comments about cows
Pam Jones (ODT): All-female team thought to be NZ first
Education
Finn Hogan (Newshub): Newshub Nation: Chris Hipkins slams ‘scaremongering hogwash’ over polytech merger
ODT Editorial: Building on polytechnic strengths
1News: Education Minister rebuts claim polytechnic merger has ‘ripped the heart out of Invercargill’
Katie Fitzgerald and Ella Prendergast (Newshub): Tim Shadbolt vows to fight polytech mega-merger
Imran Ali (Herald): Autonomy key for NorthTec in new national merger of polytechnics
Leonid Sirota (Newsroom): For a university that deserves the name
Jacob Edmond (Spinoff): We must speak out on AUT, China and threats to academic freedom
RNZ: Auckland University student cops abuse after dispute at Hong Kong protest
RNZ: Checkpoint: What are fees-free students actually studying?
—————
RNZ: The Detail: Where Aotearoa lets its kids down
RNZ: Schools ‘gutted’ after missing out on support staff
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Children with complex needs allocated 600 support staff
Birttany Keough (Stuff): Primary principals to vote next week on whether to strike again
Ella Prendergast (Newshub): School principals mulling strike action over fairer pay
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Schoolboy takes Auckland Grammar to court over hair-length rule
Herald: Auckland Grammar student James Hunt takes school to court after stand-down for long hair
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Sorry James Hunt, if Auckland Grammar says cut your hair you have to
Alison Mau (Stuff): School uniform costs another pressure for stressed parents
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Free food pantry at Auckland school feeds students and community
Wealth, inequality
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The Mega-rich problem in New Zealand (paywalled)
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): NZ’s super-rich seek safe investment
Tom McKinlay (ODT): Reel take on wealth, inequality
Bryan Bruce (Daily Blog): Politics, Polls and Property
Phil Taylor (Herald): New Zealand’s benefactor Julian Robertson shows the love through $2.7 million gift
RNZ: Health boost: US donor’s $2.7m gift ‘a game-changer’ for Liggins Institute
RNZ: Government spends $4.6m on state housing families via Kāinga Whānau Ora
Māori TV: Manawatū and Whanganui whānau to receive wellbeing support
Banks
Rob Stock and Adele Ferguson (Stuff): BNZ made payment for ‘oil’ from Iran breaching its own sanctions policy
Rob Stock and Adele Ferguson (Stuff): BNZ accidentally sent Foodstuffs $100 million
Adele Ferguson (Stuff): The Kiwi who put the hard sell into Australian banking
Herald: BNZ struggled to meet anti-money laundering laws – report
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Banks, insurers’ complacency ‘hard to comprehend’ – FMA
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Is your bank funding nuclear weapon-makers?
Kate MacNamara (Stuff): Shane Jones says his party can punish ANZ, but expert says it can’t back up threat
Economy
Liam Dann (Herald): Trump and Ardern stuck on the same economic page (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Why another OCR cut will make Grant Robertson a bit hot around the collar
RNZ: Consumer confidence falls – ANZ Roy Morgan index
Gun buyback scheme
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Is the gun buyback worth the money?
Zane Small (Newshub): How the more than $200 million gun buyback cost was estimated
Jason Walls (Herald): Government warned by KPMG its information ‘not robust enough’ to provide costing of gun buyback
Collette Devlin (Stuff): KPMG report warned Government to be cautious over gun buyback scheme costs
Laura Walters (Newsroom): The pro-gun pile-on is real
Housing
Isaac Davison (Herald): Government is building more public houses than any time in the last 20 years. But the queue for them keeps getting longer
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Public housing waitlist cracks 12,000, even as Government vastly exceeds building target
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Over 12,000 people still waiting for social housing
Katie Bradford (1News): Number of people waiting for state housing continues to rise
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Damaged red-zone houses in Christchurch being refurbished by prisoners
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Christchurch social workers to help homeless build positive future
Environment and conservation
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): NZ to world: We’re bringing back our dawn chorus
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Conservation advocates disappointed Greens, Labour pre-election promise remains in limbo
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Labour and Greens at odds over Coromandel mining decision
Benedict Collins (1News): Slim majority support electric vehicle discount and high emitter fee
1News: Government announces the country’s first Cross-Government Climate Action Plan
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Government announces climate action plan
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Climate action plan: New vehicles in Government’s fleet to be fully electric by 2026
Dan Satherley and Jared McCulloch (Newshub): National launches petition against ‘car tax’
Jamie Morton (Herald): Climate scientist: It’s cold now, but NZ region just saw its warmest July
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Wellington expects to go under
David Farrar: WCC chooses hysteria over science
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): A tika Māori approach to climate change action
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Plan unveiled to boost struggling yellow-eyed penguins
1News: Hopes hoiho numbers will increase with recovery strategy
John Gibb (ODT): Hope as penguin strategy outlined
TVNZ: Sunday: Devastating disease killing our kākāpō baffles scientists
Stephen Forbes (Interest): China’s ban on the importing of recyclable materials is being felt here as New Zealand’s waste problem grows
RNZ: Auckland Council urges feasibility study for paper recycling options
RNZ: Buller Mayor calls on govt to fund fixing industrial waste dump
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Concerns ‘spring tides’ could unearth old dump in Foxton
Ella Prendergast and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Sheep enlisted in fight against Waiheke Island marina plans
RNZ: Sheep heading to Parliament for Waiheke petition
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Feral cats, wallaby, urban deer on regional council pest hit list
Primary industries
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Getting ready for the food revolution
Conan Young (RNZ): Commercial tarakihi fishing quota may be slashed
1News: Otago dairy company fined $39,000 for effluent discharge
Robb Kidd (ODT): Dairy farmer fined $40,000 after effluent runs into Pomahaka River
Defence
Sam Kilmister and Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Veterans with genetic defects from nuclear test protests desperate for descendants to be cared for
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Grandchildren of Mururoa nuclear veterans face ongoing medical problems
Matthew Tso (Stuff): New Zealand Defence Force switches uniforms following review and complaints
Police
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): My trial against the NZ Police starts this month in Wellington – an invitation to NZ media
Ben Strang (RNZ): Mosque shootings fast-track new $4.6m police body armour
Phil Taylor (Herald): Obituary: Graham Perry, legendary old-school cop who bent the rules and saved the day (paywalled)
Employment
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Government delays Holidays Act revamp as employers scramble to repay staff
RNZ: NZ Pacific job programme expanded by success
Immigration, refugees and asylum seekers
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Government’s immigration approach called ‘harsh and draconian’
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Asylum seekers in NZ waiting 7 months on average for decision
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Visa protest rally: My life has been put on hold, husband says
Canterbury quakes
Dominic Harris (Press): Red zone reconfiguration will be ‘biggest surveying job in NZ history’
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Bishop chooses demolition for Christchurch’s historic Catholic cathedral
RNZ: Christchurch cathedral damaged in quake to be demolished
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Christchurch convent claims post-quake demolition left $500K asbestos bill
Christchurch mosque shootings
Anna Leask (Herald): Farid Ahmed: Why Christchurch terror survivor shook hands with Trump, and his wife’s legacy
1News: Christchurch terrorist attack survivor focuses on positivity in wake of tragedy – ‘I love NZ’
Other
Jamie Morton (Herald): Three state research institutes on watch amid funding concerns (paywalled)
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): National Portrait: Meng Foon, te reo Māori speaker, race relations commissioner
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Mother of Kiwi man with Down syndrome calls for pre-natal testing to be banned
Bevan Hurley (Stuff): Growing dismay over Lorraine Smith’s guilty plea for murder of granddaughter Kalis
RNZ: Dozens protest against live cattle shipment to China
Sam Hurley (Herald): Blogger’s convictions for ‘malicious and misogynistic attacks’ on former MP, business people stick (paywalled)
Stuff: Government to remove birth certificate gender change fee
Robin Martin (RNZ): NZ ‘losing its heritage buildings at a massive rate’
RNZ: Standing Room Only: What price art and culture? Paying for museum admission in NZ
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Vodafone beating Spark to launch 5G to put more pressure on the Government to upset the US and embrace Huawei
RNZ: Cook Islanders in NZ to celebrate their ‘God-given’ language
David Cooke (Herald): On Trump, racism and calling out the politics of exclusion (paywalled)
Newshub: Newshub Nation Backstory: Marja Lubeck
Carly Gooch (Stuff): Tuia 250 commemoration sails into Marlborough
