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.
Abortion and referendums
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Abortion bill heads to Parliament: What’s changing and when
Henry Cooke and Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Abortion vote will sail through with or without NZ First, according to Stuff survey
Claire Trevett (Herald): NZ First abortion referendum ploy leaves sour taste (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Why Winston Peters is wrong on referendums
Press: Abortion debate: let the politicians decide
RNZ: Winston Peters confirms NZ First seeks abortion referendum
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Winston Peters confirms NZ First will attempt to add referendum to abortion bill
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Winston Peters again pulls the wool over Labour’s eyes on abortion referendum
Julie Anne Genter secret letter controversy
Collette Devlin (Stuff): City Councillors claim Green Party agreement used as leverage to get agreement on Let’s Get Wellington Moving
David Farrar: The truth emerges
Ben Thomas (Spinoff): Julie Anne Genter and the game of hats
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Julie Anne Genter secret letter saga lands in the House for fourth day
Zane Small (Newshub): Julie Anne Genter’s justification for refusing to release letter to Phil Twyford
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘This is not a big deal’ – Julie Anne Genter continues refusal to release letter
Dave Kennedy: Green Party’s tranparency questioned
Pharmac
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Labour has ‘finally woken up’ on Pharmac cancer drug funding
1News: Patient advocates celebrate Pharmac’s proposal to fund breast cancer drug Kadcyla
Alex Loo (Manawatū Standard): Tears of joy after Pharmac announces plans to fund two new cancer drugs
Luke Kirkness and Boris Jancic (Herald): ‘It’s life-changing’: Cancer sufferers say proposed drugs funding amazing
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Pharmac considers funding breast cancer drug Kadcyla advocates have been fighting for
Emma Russell (Herald): Pharmac announces plan to fund cancer drugs Kadcyla and Alecensa
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Zane Small (Newshub): Cancer drug advocate holds back tears pleading for Pharmac funding boost
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Health Select Committee hears pleas from survivors and sufferers
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Government urged to expand Pharmac’s drug budget after barrage of emotional pleas from sufferers
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Calls for a formal investigation into Pharmac
Herald: Mother makes plea as cancer groups call for Pharmac funding and review
Health
Hannah Martin (Stuff): DHBs cut mental health funding by $55m; health spending falling overall – union
Isaac Davison (Herald): Health check: NZ children with autism wait half their life for diagnosis, and wait again for help (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Stuff): Manurewa’s preventable illness problem: thousands of children affected, foundation says
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Waikato Hospital at full capacity, no beds available
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Waikato Hospital emergency department under pressure
1News: Majority of Kiwis favour ban on adverts for prescription meds, survey shows
Pam Jones (ODT): SDHB to use locum midwives for Central Lakes
Ihumātao
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Little rules out law change to allow return of privately owned land to Māori
1News: Ihumātao protest movement has ‘based its campaign on misinformation’ – iwi advocate
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Newshub:Ihumātao: Protesters react to footage of police being racially abused
1News: ‘Here’s another foreigner’ – Ihumātao protestor filmed racially abusing police officer
Newshub: Ihumātao protest: Video shows protester racially abusing police officer
Herald: Ihumātao: Video shows police racially abused by protestors
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff):Ihumātao: Police racially abused and spat at by protesters, top officer won’t rule out action
RNZ: Ihumātao: Police presence not the cause of tensions – district commander
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Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Land near disputed Ihumātao site rezoned for public open space
MIchael Neilson (Herald): Auckland Council adds 8.9ha to public reserve near Ihumātao as part of rezoned 233ha
Economy, Official cash rate cut
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): The building case for big and long fiscal stimulus everywhere
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Official cash rate cut: Seize the moment and spend up on ailing infrastructure, govt told
Liam Dann (Herald): Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr bets big (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): RBNZ eyes unconventional options
Richard Harman (Politik): Reserve Bank prepares for negative interest rates
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the 0.5 per cent cut to the OCR is good news for Kiwis
Jamie Gray (Herald): Reserve Bank slashes OCR to reflate NZ’s flagging economy
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Why the RBNZ believes ‘more sooner’ is safer than ‘slower for longer’
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): ANZ: Rate cut will hurt savers more than it helps homeowners
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Official cash rate cut: The big winners and losers
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Not all good news following Official Cash Rate cut
1News: Good news for borrowers and bad for savers as OCR drops to a new record low
1News: Kiwi banks slash mortgage and savings rates as OCR cut to record low
Herald: Reserve Bank cuts OCR to 1 per cent, major banks lower mortgage rates
Greg Ninness (Interest): Latest cuts to interest rates may only reduce mortgage payments by a dollar or two a week
RNZ: Reserve Bank cuts Official Cash Rate by 0.5 percent to sit at 1 percent
David Hargreaves (Interest): RBNZ shocks with double cut: OCR down to 1.00%
Foreign affairs
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Soybeans or Hamburgers
Jason Walls (Herald): Respect NZ freedom of speech, Foreign Minister Winston Peters tells China
RNZ: NZ government caution to China over Hong Kong signals relationship ‘adjustment’ – Anne Marie Brady
Anne-Marie Brady (Noted): Facing up to China’s undiplomatic diplomacy
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): University of Auckland Hong Kong Lennon Wall allegedly vandalised by Chinese students
RNZ: The Detail: Aussies toughen up on ‘Kiwi’ deportees
Anna Leask (Herald): Kiwi who published ‘instructive advice’ on how to abuse children deported from Oz
Drug law reform
Zane Small (Newshub): Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill proposing police ‘discretion’ over drugs passes third reading
Anna Whyte (1News): Parliament approves ‘most transformative change in drug law in over 30 years’
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘Decriminalisation’ drug law change tightened at 11th hour
Don Rowe (Spinoff): The ‘most significant drug reform in 40 years’ is about to become law
Immigration
RNZ: Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway wanted to extend Christchurch response visa
Donna Miles-Mojab (Stuff): New Zealanders’ white anxiety needs a democratic outlet
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Visa rejected despite ‘compelling evidence’ of genuine relationship
George Block (ODT: Relief as wife receives last-minute deportation reprieve
Banks
Kate Macnamara (Stuff): ANZ’s elastic standards at the top
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): ASB ramps up compliance and risk staff numbers (paywalled)
Herald: ASB CEO Vittoria Shortt’s pay packet revealed
Primary industries
Jamie Mackay (Herald): Winston Peters: Why farmers should back New Zealand First (paywalled)
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Winter cropping practices ‘unacceptable’ – govt
Sally Rae (ODT): Taskforce to look at winter grazing
Esther Taunton (Stuff):Fonterra farmers to get unique emissions profile
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Fonterra fails to find a buyer for Beingmate
Pattrick Smellie (Herald): Deep ocean fish-farming comes a step closer
Housing
Dubby Henry (Herald): No excuses for flouting insulation rules as tenants win first nine cases
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Landlord ordered to pay tenants with sick child for failing to insulate rental property
Sam Kelway (1News): Tauranga landlord fined, ordered to install insulation in ‘very cold’ home
Anne Gibson (Herald): ‘KiwiBuild works, no cost to Crown’: $26m Onehunga project developer backs state scheme (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): Tiny house court case a ‘landmark’ for future of owners in New Zealand
Education and training
Elena McPhee (ODT): Students `positive’ on polytechnic reforms
ODT: Government steps in to save Telford
Richard Davison (ODT): $4.7m lift for Telford a delight and relief
Liz Wylie (Whanganui Chronicle): Whanganui UCOL welcomes polytechnic merger: Rangitikei MP Ian McKelvie predicts devastation for region
Iain Hyndman (Whanganui Chronicle): Funding for shearing industry training is desperately needed to attract newcomers
Climate change
Kate Lyons (Guardian): ‘Fight for our lives’: Fiji calls world leaders ‘selfish’ as it lays out climate crisis blueprint
RNZ: Fiji proposes new climate change laws
Leith Huffadine (RNZ): ‘No-brainer’: Women are choosing to not have kids due to climate change concerns
Environment and conservation
1News: Chinese water bottlers mothball controversial Christchurch plant
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Cloud Ocean proposes mothballing Christchurch water bottling plant
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Oil giant OMV and the mythical cup hearing – two days I’ll never get back
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Nikki Kaye accepts petition from Waiheke woman and her sheep to ‘save the penguins’c
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Ngāti Paoa Trust Board says ‘no’ to marina development
Herald: Protest sheep says proposed marina on Waiheke Island would be baaaaad
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Fury and confusion over claimed whitebait ‘ban’
Stuff: ‘Absolutely no plans’ to ban whitebaiting, conservation minister says
1News: Opposition ‘mischief-making’ over measures to protect whitebait, says Conservation Minister
Local government
David Fisher (Herald): Claims of bias against Māori as Far North mayoral candidate is forced to register to vote three times (paywalled)
RNZ: No decision yet on Westland council oversight, officials say
1News: Porirua mayor ‘feeling sorry’ for smiley face logo ‘getting a bit of a beat up’
Samantha Motion (Bay of Plenty Times): ‘Viciousness’ – Tauranga City Councillor calls it quits after social media hate (paywalled)
ODT: Economic strategy uniting councils
Justice and corrections
David Fisher (Herald): Investigation: How the Ministry of Justice put coroners’ files for 33,000 people on public access in a massive breach of privacy (paywalled)
1News: Victims ‘not feeling properly supported’ through court system, Chief Victims Advisor says
RNZ: Killing of granddaughter shows severity of carer burnout – advocate
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Killer grandmother Lorraine Smith: ‘Rare’ occasions when murder doesn’t merit life in prison
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Elderly man who entered suicide pact with wife but didn’t die faces possible five years in jail
Anna Leask (Herald): Corrections wants strict supervision order for recidivist child sex offender who threatened to spread HIV
Defence
1News: Former NZ Navy officer who received apology over sexual harassment says quest for justice was about helping others in Defence Force
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Ron Mark apologises for ‘misspeaking’ about Iraq deployment
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Defence Force trying to track down veterans as support funding sits idle
Other
Simon Chapple (The Conversation): New survey reveals which religions New Zealanders trust most – and least – after Christchurch shootings
Herald: Sexual harassment claims: Labour president Nigel Haworth says party has behaved ‘appropriately throughout process’
Jane Patterson (RNZ): $130k paid out to ministerial staff after relationship ‘breakdown’
Karl du Fresne (Stuff): Have we reached peak lunacy?
David Fisher (Herald): Big Read: Jacinda Ardern and Facebook’s emails after Christchurch massacre (paywalled)
Matt Nippert (Herald): White supremacist terror operates as a wolfpack (paywalled)
1News: Jacinda Ardern defends jobseeker benefit rise after questioning by Simon Bridges
RNZ: National calls Andrew Little ‘sneaky’ about Electoral Amendment Bill
Matt Shand (Stuff): Racist undertones in submissions on prospect of land being gifted back to Tauranga iwi
Māori TV: Crown Forests return to Rangitāne Iwi
Daily Blog: Pub Politics 8pm Monday September 2nd livestreamed @ Chapel Bar: The Cannabis Referendum with Paula Bennett, Chloe Swarbrick, David Seymour & Chris Fowlie
Lois Williams (RNZ): Council and police defend shutting down hellfire preacher in Whangārei mall
Spinoff: John Sato: ‘I am not a bleeding heart or a do-gooder, but I can feel for people’
ODT Editorial: Blame game does not help
Samantha Gee (Stuff): Widow’s fears after WorkSafe drops charge following Nelson lift accident
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Number of dangerous cars taken to mechanics on the rise
