New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
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Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.

New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.

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

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