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.
National Party donation, political donations
Matt Nippert (Herald): $150,000 donation – Money in politics and why it matters (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Political donations – just a quid, or a quid-pro-quo? (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Politicians must pick up pace on donations reform
Jason Walls and Boris Jancic (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says National’s $150k donation was ‘against the spirit’ of the law
Thomas Coughlan (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern said National donations “outside the spirit of the law”
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): National MP Todd McClay responds to ‘outside spirit of the law’ donation allegation
Newshub: Jacinda Ardern describes $150,000 donation to National ‘outside spirit of the law’
RNZ: National denies former trade minister Todd McClay helped facilitate $150k donation
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog):So is the National Party just a front for Chinese interests?
No Right Turn: The whiff of corruption
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Craig McCulloch (RNZ): NZ spy agencies call for greater transparency on political donations
Jason Walls (Herald): Top spy boss tells MPs blanket ban on foreign political donations wouldn’t be effective
Zane Small (Newshub): NZSIS boss Rebecca Kitteridge throws doubt on Greens’ call for foreign donations ban
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Spy bosses tell MPs ban on foreign donations would not work
National Party
Audrey Young (Herald): The best and worst of National Party’s first fifteen MPs (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National and Labour on the same page on debt
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Paul Goldsmith concedes higher debt target, as Government borrowing costs hit record low
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): National no longer sees need for government debt-to-GDP ratio to fall
Shamubeel Eaqub (Stuff): The big headline for the election next year will be tax cuts
1News: Tax cut election promise not ruled out by National
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Simon Bridges won’t rule out New Zealand First coalition despite superannuation differences
Brigitte Morten (RNZ): Opposition’s early release of policies plays useful function
Dominion Post Editorial: National sets its stall: They’ll burn ideological bridges to win next election
Brent Edwards (NBR): Parliament grapples with power and fuel prices – National gives its view on the reviews under way (paywalled)
Suicide
Gordon Campbell: On our suicide rates
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Multifaceted action plan needed to address New Zealand’s rising suicide numbers
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Health authorities urged to target growing male suicide
Belinda Feek (Herald): Shocking suicide statistics: Not a ‘brown economic problem’ but a NZ problem, Mike King says
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Mike King surprised suicide figures aren’t higher
Henry Cooke (Stuff): PM: Suicide stats ‘staggering,’ Government moving as fast as it can
1News: Government working to reduce NZ’s record suicide rate, but targets aren’t the answer – Ardern
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): MidCentral Health district’s suicide shame counted
Mandy Te (Stuff): Suicide statistics a ‘symptom’ of bigger problems, Auckland foster father says
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Adults warned on suicides: Support children or ‘see them leave before you’
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Treating suicide as mental illness “will not work” – Baker
Deena Coster (Stuff): Taranaki prevention worker says NZ must work towards a zero suicide target
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): Nine suspected suicides in five months in Hawke’s Bay gang community
Samantha Olley (Rotorua Daily Post): Lakes DHB suicide figures reach highest number since 2010/2011 (paywalled)
MP pay
1News: Moves to reign in MPs’ pay don’t go far enough – Greens
Newshub: Difficult to fairly judge appropriate pay for MPs – employment law expert
Boris Jancic (Herald): Government introduces new rules to slow pay rises for politicians
RNZ: Government curtails MP pay rises after review of salary system
1News: Iain Lees-Galloway hopes taxpayers see salary of ‘around $295k’ as good value, with MPs’ pay in the spotlight
1News: Government announces bill to prevent ‘unacceptably high’ MP pay rises in the future
Zane Small (Newshub): John Key-era law tying MPs’ salaries to average wage to be repealed
Henry Cooke (Stuff): MP pay freeze ends with responsibility handed back to Remuneration Authority
Government
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern says drop in popularity natural for Government taking on big issues
Brent Edwards (NBR): Greens defend their record so far (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Clarke Gayford, Chris Bishop clash on Twitter over legislation numbers
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why Jacinda’s international fame may spell doom for the Greens on election day
Bob Jones: Jacinda – the de-facto President
Clare Curran to retire at election
George Block (ODT): ‘Time for me to move on’
George Block (ODT): ‘Carpetbaggers’ unlikely to be welcome in Dn South
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Dunedin South battler Clare Curran calls time
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Clare Curran retiring from Parliament at next election
Jason Walls (Herald): Labour MP Clare Curran steps down – a year after she was sacked from Cabinet
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Clare Curran to leave Parliament at 2020 election
RNZ: Labour MP Clare Curran to leave Parliament at 2020 election
Climate change
Richard Harman (Politik): Shaw says climate change targets can change
Jason Walls (Herald): Simon Bridges says National still deciding if it will support Zero Carbon Bill’s second reading
Phil Vine (Pundit): The Amazon Burns; Is New Zealand Fiddling?
Catherine Leining (Stuff): Climate explained: How emissions trading schemes work and can they help us shift to a zero carbon future
RNZ: Climate Crisis declared a critical threat to Pacific health
Laurel Stowell (Whanganui Chronicle): Horizons seeks regional co-operation in face of climate change
Economy, monetary policy
David Cormack (Herald): The depression of recession (paywalled)
John Anthony (Stuff): Business confidence is falling and there’s little we can do about it, economists warn
John Anthony (Stuff): In late 2010 New Zealand had a recession and no one knew about it – here’s why
Superannuation
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern firm on keeping the retirement age at 65
1News: Q+A: National optimistic for manual workers if Super age rises to 67
Treaty of Waitangi, Ihumātao
Tim Watkin (Pundit): Simon Bridges’ Treaty Settlement Tweet May Foresee The Future – For Better Or Worse
Boris Jancic (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won’t rule out talk of loan for Ihumātao purchase
Michael Sergel (Herald): Ihumātao four years on
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: Crown must ‘give away some power’ to honour Treaty
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: ‘Opportunists will stir division, but emerging generation want Treaty justice for Māori’
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: ‘Untapped’ Māori knowledge way forward for NZ
Smoking, vaping
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Tobacco giant Philip Morris’ attempt to target poor Kiwis ‘absolutely not’ okay – Jenny Salesa
Wilhelmina Shrimpton (Newshub): Outrage over tobacco giant Philip Morris’ attempts to target poor Kiwis
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Vaping ads rocket ahead of proposed regulation
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Don’t be fooled by vapes, the so-called ‘alternative’ to cigarettes
Health
Art Nahill (Herald): Healthcare in dire condition and needing a rethink – stat! (paywalled)
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Cross-party group of MPs formed to advocate for mental health
Katie Fitzgerald and Perry Wilton (Newshub): Nicky Stevens’ father calls for change after Waikato DHB patient’s body found in river
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Counties Manukau DHB’s care delays for women labelled ‘calculated neglect’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Sewage ‘coming through the ceiling’ closed room in Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department
Herald: Middlemore Hospital sewage leak through ceiling closes emergency department room
Fiona Connor (Newshub): ‘Living hell’: Call for more family support as mother dies days after cancer diagnosis
Samantha Gee (Stuff): Holiday pay part of health board’s $20.5 million blowout
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Measles outbreak: Pharmacists ask to be allowed to give MMR vaccines
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Chlorine to stay in Christchurch until end of year as Govt ‘shifts the goalposts’
Oliver Lewis (Press): Hospital pharmacists in Canterbury plan another four-day strike
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Child in Horowhenua dies of meningococcal disease
Emma Russell (Herald): Hygiene danger: Hospital staff not washing hands risking patients’ lives (paywalled)
Pauline Norris (ODT): Hand sanitisers? No, we’re the great unwashed
Herald: Capital & Coast DHB caught out by email phishing scam – but no privacy breach
Banks
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Revealed: What former ANZ boss David Hisco paid for Sir John Key’s Omaha holiday home
David Hargreaves (Interest): The problems at ANZ NZ and why I’ve been opening new bank accounts
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): ‘Nothing’s too big to fail’, warns Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr
Local government elections
RNZ: The Detail: Local body boredom – why every council election is a fizzer
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The one, stupidly obvious change that would vastly improve our local elections
Local government – Wellington
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Iwi out of Shelly Bay after final block of land sold to Wellington developer
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Justin Lester doubling down on Wellington’s Shelly Bay saga
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Movie museum not dead yet as construction starts on Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre
Local government – Auckland
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Auckland mayoral race: Tamihere faces blockages if he tries to scrap part of City Rail Link
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Can we find a single councillor who supports John Tamihere’s rates freeze?
Todd Niall (Stuff): John Tamihere’s debate no-show follows differences on format and choice of MC
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Auckland councillor Paul Young subject of racist flyers claiming Chinese communist links
Liu Chen (RNZ): Chinese councillor’s re-election campaign vandalised
James Fyfe (Newshub): ‘Unacceptable and childish’: Auckland councillor Paul Young on billboard vandalism
Local government – NZ
Matt Shand (Stuff): Hard line taken by Tauranga City Council over begging ban by-law changes
Jimmy Ellingham (Manawatū Standard): Mayor taking own council to Disputes Tribunal clearly a matter of public interest
Alex Loo (Manawatū Standard): Horowhenua mayor’s former advocate has $15,000 claim dismissed by tribunal
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Waimea dam project legacy spills over into 2019 Tasman District Council elections
Michael Hayward (Press): Christchurch City Council faces tough decision: fix some roads now, or more roads later
Press: Three Christchurch mayoral hopefuls in public debate
Kerry Burke (Stuff): New ECan council must find other ways to gain community input
Otago Access Radio: Rattling the Chains: Ian Telfer speaks with Dunedin Mayoral candidates Aaron Hawkins, Andrew Whiley & Richard Seager (audio)
Otago Access Radio: Rattling the Chains: Ian Telfer speaks with Dunedin Mayoral candidates Carmen Houlahan & Jim O’Malley (audio)
Otago Access Radio: Rattling the Chains: Ian Telfer speaks with outgoing Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull (audio)
Chris Morris (ODT): Conduct of companies questioned
Chris Morris (ODT): Enthusiasm for regional economic approach
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Invercargill councillor calls for end to messy recycling tender process
Employment
Tony Burton (Spinoff): Our unemployment statistics are ignoring those most in need of help
RNZ: Call for pay scale transparency law to ensure fair wages
1News: ‘This is the time’ – Advocates call on Government to require pay transparency to combat gender gap
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Immigration Minister signals tougher rules for labour hire companies employing migrant workers
Hawkes Bay Today: More charges in employment slavery case
Ministry for Culture and Heritage digital privacy breach
Zane Small (Newshub): Embassies and high commissions contacted over Ministry for Culture and Heritage digital privacy breach
Marc Daalder (Newssroom): Identity theft by the numbers
Meng Foon begins as Race Relations Commissioner, racism
1News: New Zealand is racist ‘in quite a few areas’, new Race Relations Commissioner says
1News: New Zealand history should ‘absolutely’ be compulsory – Meng Foon
1News: Africa and Middle East refugee policy ‘discriminatory’ and should change – Commissioner
RNZ: New Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon wants to target ‘hate speech, phobias and isms’
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Kirk Sargent (Newsroom): Abused waitress Mia is our future
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Māori waitress deserves a better apology, James Hardie should investigate racist comments: Lawyer
Newshub: The Project: Teenage waitress Mia Griffiths opens up about racist abuse at James Hardie dinner
Lana Andelane (Newshub): The Project: Samoan-Maori author Lani Wendt Young says NZ’s publishing industry is ‘racist’
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Samoan-Māori author Lani Wendt Young calls out NZ publishing industry
Gun laws
1News: National unlikely to support further gun law changes after buyback ‘fiasco’, Simon Bridges says
1News: Government’s proposed gun legislation leaked to Opposition outlines harsher penalties, new rules
Herald: Draft of Government’s gun laws leaked
Christchurch mosque shooting
James Lynch (Newshub): Spy agencies silent on monitoring of alleged Christchurch gunman’s white supremacist supporters
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Christchurch shooting: White supremacist Philip Arps’ jail sentence appeal dismissed
1News: High Court dismisses appeal against prison term by distributor of Christchurch terrorist attack video
Education
Peter Lyons (ODT): Performance pay for teachers is already here, so let’s be honest about it
John Gerritsen (RNZ): New special ed roles ‘flawed’ and ‘unworkable’, Educational Institute says
Jessica Long (Stuff): Schools threaten to halt recruitment for learning support coordinators
1News: Secondary school principals to announce if they’ve accepted Government’s latest offer
Simon Collins (Herald): School census: Cars now rule in transporting kids to school each day (paywalled)
David Williams (Newsroom): Pressure builds over offensive law revue
Elena McPhee (ODT): Uni projects postponed for hospital build
Environment and conservation
RNZ: Grower calls for ban on ‘GMO advocate’ Jack Bobo at wine conference
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): New water storage proposed for Hawke’s Bay to meet increased demand on irrigation
Jessica Long (Stuff): Too much rubbish for Wellington to handle, council set to expand landfill
Gerald Piddock (Stuff): Lack of government funding puts kauri dieback fight in danger
1News: Concern for ‘pending environmental disaster’ as high tides expected near West Coast landfill
Annabelle Tukia (Newshub): Department of Conservation hits tahr culling target
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Pest found in Lake Karāpiro after dam maintenance
Housing
Carmen Hall (Bay of Plenty Times): Heartbreak motels: Millions spent to house Rotorua homeless
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Record-breaking rents expected around the country for summer
Julien Leys (Stuff): Kiwis’ obsession for building bespoke houses is costing them a fortune
Corrections
Jo Lines-MacKenzie (Stuff): A new initiative to get offenders into employment
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Female inmates win freedom from addictions finishing programme
Media
Herald: NZME’s balancing act for growth shows promise
Herald: NZ Herald Premium subscriptions hit new milestone, NZME half-year operating Ebitda at $19.4 million
RNZ: NZME reports drop in profit and revenue
Brent Melville (ODT): NZME encouraged, despite 73% decline in profit
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): MediaRoom: Herald rakes in paywall millions
Other
Brian Easton (Pundit): Populist Versus Liberal Democracy; The Choice Before Us?
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Bias and inconsistent decisions raise concerns about authorities tasked with liquor licensing
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ‘Trickle up’ approach to cutting petrol profits likely to disappoint
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Government action demanded as insurance premiums rocket
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Business owners ‘frustrated’ at transport agency delays, say it’s costing them
Emily Keddell (Newsroom): New uplift figures paint disturbing ‘racialised’ picture
RNZ: Banned firefighting foam found at Port Taranaki, Dunedin Airport
Duncan Garner (Newshub): New Zealander of the Year nominee David White pens moving letter
RNZ: Call for more reading and literacy in Pasifika homes
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Call to bring back youth workers to tackle South Auckland violence
1News: Far North hapū protest proposed cellphone tower on sacred mountain
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Taonga of Captain Cook’s ship to return home
RNZ: Iwi leaders forum to discuss opportunities in hemp and housing
Glen Herud (Stuff): Fermentation might lead to a dairy protein to make fake milk
Joanne Carroll (Stuff):$3.9m Govt investment to help offset ‘huge blow’ of losing Fox Glacier access road
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Hopes for a Pride Parade return dashed after Rainbow Pride Auckland misses out on funding
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Waikato District Council recommends re-vesting land to iwi
Māori TV: Māori trust harbours big aspirations for Whakatāne
Stuff: Former Ngāi Tahu chief executive Tahu Potiki dies
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): Preparations to house Poseidons start soon at Ōhakea
