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.
Housing
Henry Cooke (Stuff): KiwiBuild: Megan Woods faces the biggest day of her career
Jo Moir (RNZ): KiwiBuild: government to unveil ‘reset’ for flagship policy
Jason Walls (Herald): Tomorrow the much-anticipated KiwiBuild reset will be revealed – but what should we expect? (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson says elements of KiwiBuild will remain in the policy’s reset
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Rent-to-buy schemes could be on the cards; what are they?
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): KiwiBuild buyback? Govt spends $8m on unwanted KiwiBuild homes
Gerald Piddock (Stuff): Hamilton housing third-most unaffordable in the country, says new report
Todd Niall (Stuff): Home-building forecasts in Auckland on the up
Interim report of Health and Disability Review, health
Gregor Coster and Todd Krieble (Stuff): Health review is the easy bit: it’s leading the change that’s hard
Laura Walters (Newsroom): A case for fewer DHBs in health system shake-up
Richard Harman (Politik): No radical change for health
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Paralysis by analysis – Government’s health system report tell us nothing useful
Boris Jancic (Herald): DHB shake-up on cards after major report criticises muddled health system
Anna Whyte (1News): Health and disability system found to lack leadership, is complicated and fragmented
Zane Small (Newshub): Time, cost of transport and ‘racism’ preventing access to New Zealand’s health sector
RNZ: Report: Health sector too complicated and lacking leadership
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Ageing population key to planning: report
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Mike Houlahan (ODT): Dunedin neuro staffing levels ‘unsafe’
1News: More work ‘absolutely’ needs to be done in regulating junk food, alcohol advertising – Health Minister
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Extra $7m for parenting services as Health Minister brands child poverty an “abomination”
Katee Shanks (Rotorua Daily Post): Minister of Health in Whakatāne to announce new parental service
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Nurse Maude in-home carers ‘sporadic’, ‘worked to the bone’
RNZ: The Detail: The silent health problems that cripple women
1News: DHB psychologists start month-long partial strike over declining workforce, pay
David Loughrey (ODT): Need to keep open mind on fluoride research: specialist
David Loughrey (ODT): ACC confirms new building for Dunedin
Measles
Kendall Hutt and Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Auckland measles outbreak: Government rejects sanctions or compulsion over vaccinations
Zane Small (Newshub): PM Jacinda Ardern rules out ‘no jab, no pay’ policy adopted in Australia
Kendall Hutt and Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Auckland measles outbreak: National doesn’t back Dr Lance O’Sullivan’s ‘no jab, no pay’ concept
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Measles outbreak: How would ‘No Jab, No Pay’ work in New Zealand?
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): ‘No jab no pay’ not a magic bullet – Australian vaccine expert
Dubby Henry (Herald): Dr Lance O’Sullivan wants ‘no jab no pay’ and higher taxes for parents who won’t vaccinate
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): Measles outbreak: Doctors running out of MMR vaccine as demand grows, but Ministry satisfied enough to go round
Jason Walls (Herald): Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter vaccinates son against measles
1News: US expert weighs in on Auckland measles outbreak and why our vaccination numbers are down
Michelle Duff (Stuff): In an affluent corner of Auckland, a GP struggles against vaccination disinformation
TVNZ: Q+A: ‘Fears and concerns’ – why some Kiwis won’t get vaccinated explained by immunisation expert
Mandy Te (Stuff): Auckland measles outbreak: Bit of panic around measles might not be a bad thing, expert says
RNZ: Improved access to immunisation needed: PM Jacinda Ardern
Māori TV: Prime Minister urges families to vaccinate children against measles
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Measles epidemic: What’s the best way to talk to an anti-vaxxer?
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Auckland measles outbreak: Third of Manurewa High students not immunised
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Measles outbreak: Calls for unvaccinated students to be banned from AIMS Games
Amy Williams (RNZ): Auckland students prepare for exams amidst measles outbreak
Luke Appleby (1News): Air NZ passenger unhappy after airline refuses to change name on ticket after measles warning
RNZ: No measles outbreak in Samoa, says health chief
RNZ: Cook Islands readies for measles threat
1News: Measles alert after person flies between Auckland and Sydney with disease
Katie Fitzgerald and Perry Wilton (Newshub): Waikato University on measles watch after visit from infected student
Bryan Bruce: Dismantling Anti-Vaxxer conspiracies
David Farrar: This is what happens when you abandon health targets
Government
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Finance minister Grant Robertson resists calls for fiscal stimulus
Boris Jancic (Herald): Greens members leave after ‘transphobic’ article in magazine
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Green Party members resign over trans rights-critical newsletter article
Local government
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): Autopsy report finds pensioner died alone and from hypothermia in council flat
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): NZ’s right-wing turn up in force for controversial free speech case
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Napier pool judicial review to go ahead after settlement offer withdrawn
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Potential ratepayer liabilities of $100m revealed for Waimea dam project
Luis Day (Star News): Controversial child care vote likely before elections
Local government elections
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Local board candidate offers virtual cash credits to potential supporters on WeChat
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Revealed: The famous and interesting candidates standing in our local elections
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Waikato region home to four poorest local body voter turnouts at last election
Marguerite Delbet (Stuff): Vote Friday: local elections impact us all, so why do so few people vote?
Bernard Orsman (Herald): The TOP party hijacks John Tamihere’s 0800 Jacinda hotline
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Waikato Chamber of Commerce to poll public on mayoral favourites
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Attendance numbers: no Stratford councillors hit 100 per cent
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Christchurch mayoral candidates share their riverside red zone ideas
Ian Telfer (Otago Access Radio): Rattling the Chains: Bob Barlin, Christine Garey & Lee Vandervis (video)
Foreign affairs, trade
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Opinion: Cracking the China code – Kiwi journalists receive lucrative travel offers from Chinese govt
1News: Using Huawei for 5G would ‘absolutely not’ impact NZ’s Five Eyes role – White House official
Rob Scollay (Newsroom): Global thinkers to talk trade in Auckland
Justice, corrections
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: ‘Everything Govt does is strategy to prevent Māori going to prison’
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: ‘Their dreams are no different from yours or mine’
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: Urgent need for tikanga Māori prisoner release support
Luke Kirkness (Herald): What prisoners can’t read in jail: Porn, gang-related, overtly violent material off limits
Rob Kidd (ODT): Prison wish an ‘extreme’ cry for help – judge
RNZ: Homeless man succeeds in returning to prison after crime spree
Loan sharks
Zane Small (Newshub): Loan sharks to get interest rate cap after backlash over legislation ‘full of loopholes‘
Luke Kirkness (Stuff): Government adds new measures to pending bill to protect borrowers against loan sharks
RNZ: Govt announces extra protection against loan sharks
1News: Government moves to cap interest rates to protect ‘vulnerable’ borrowers from loan sharks
Cannabis
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Helen Clark says she would have moved on cannabis in fourth term
Katie Fitzgerald and Hayley Jacobsen (Newshub): New Zealand cannabis market already ‘enormous’, although it’s illegal – Helen Clark Foundation
1News: Helen Clark Foundation recommends Kiwis vote yes on cannabis referendum
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Helen Clark Foundation report gives cannabis legalisation green tick
Don Rowe (Spinoff): Helen Clark: New Zealand needs legal weed
RNZ: Helen Clark Foundation backs cannabis legalisation
Sport
Hamish Bidwell (RNZ): ‘Gobbledigook’ – a different view on youth sport initiatives
Harry Lock (RNZ): International sportspeople back changes to youth sport
Press Editorial: New approach to youth sport should be widely welcomed
Herald Editorial: Sports opt for joy over winning
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Kids and sport – They want to win, encouraging participation just breeds mediocrity
ODT Editorial: What ‘man up’ really means
Education and training
RNZ: Government to invest $45m in new school, 50 new classrooms
Zoe Hunter (Bay of Plenty Times): New primary school for Tauranga: $16m invested into Brookfield Primary School (paywalled)
1News: Area school principals vote to accept Ministry of Education pay and conditions offer
George Block (ODT): Woman says students should have been expelled
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Matamata’s pilots-in-training to be transferred after flight school goes into liquidation
Climate change
RNZ: ‘These kids are taking charge of their future’ – Universities support climate strike
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Lincoln staff and students free to join September’s climate change strike
Victoria University of Wellington: Climate despair and eco anxiety
Anna Rawhiti-Connell (Newsroom): Come clean about climate motives or make a move
Victoria University of Wellington: A climate of social action – event
Rachel Stewart (Herald): Nope, I’m not taking a guilt trip in my V8 (paywalled)
Kelley Tantau (Stuff): Extinction Rebellion protester arrested for spray-painting MP’s Thames office
Environment and conservation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Water quality policy bound to please no one
Robin Martin (RNZ): Poor summer for Taranaki freshwater swimming holes
1News: Subdivision developers fined $42,000 for contaminating Clutha River
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Ngāti Porou move closer to realising aspirations for Mana Moana
Māori TV: Fresh Water protection discussed at Wai Māori Conference
Jack van Beynen (NZ Gardener): The kaitiaki who’s spent over 30 years reforesting a Banks Peninsula reserve
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Fishing affects whitebait numbers
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Electoral officer steps in over letter sent by group opposed to waste-to-energy plant
David Hughes (Stuff): Time for a grown-up conversation about gene editing
NZ litter audit
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Littered takeout containers enough to fill 25 rugby fields, study finds
Jamie Morton (Herald): 50 swimming pools of nappies: Why NZ’s not so clean and green
Emily van Velthooven (1News): Shocking results of national litter audit spark calls for change
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Over 10 billion cigarette butts pollute country’s ecosystem
Transport, road safety
Georgina Campbell (Herald): KiwiRail accused of flouting the rules in Wellington Railway Station stoush
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Drivers recruited from Philippines to help man Wellington’s buses
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington Mayor Justin Lester called out for ‘backflip’ over stance on transport plans
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Fair pay for bus drivers a hot topic in Wellington elections
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Bus driving: An 11-hour day, paid for eight
1News: Police frustrated by drivers using cell phones after road safety operation in Wellington
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Roadside rubbish likely to appear in greater amounts after NZTA reduces frequency of cleanups
Primary industries
Rachael Kelly ((Stuff): Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor says winter grazing campaign dented NZ reputation
Yvonne O’Hara (ODT): Sheep winter grazing research project begins
Jamie Mackay (Herald): What will water announcement mean for farmers? (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Ending dairy in Canterbury
Waatea News: Dairy industry drops Māori from oversight role
Andrea Fox (Herald): Beehive interest in Fonterra woes: should governance be a DIRA matter? (paywalled)
Maja Burry (RNZ): Westland Milk delivers non-competitive payout, says new owners will do better
Tim Miller (ODT): Virus suspected at egg farm
Labour camp assault trial
Sam Hurley (Herald): ‘Excessive amounts of alcohol’ at Labour Party summer camp on night of sexual assault allegations
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Young Labour camp assault trial: ‘I knew he was incredibly intoxicated’
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Labour youth camp trial: Teen allegedly assaulted in front of ‘Let’s do this’ sign
Laura James (1News): Teen testifies that defendant put hand down his pants while posing for photo at Labour Party camp
Defence
Robert Ayson (Incline): Frigates After 2030? I’m Still Uncertain
Simon Ewing-Jarvie: Divergent Options
Insurance
RNZ: Insurance fraud bureau aims to save policy holders, industry $60m
Tim Grafton (Stuff): Insurance fraud isn’t a victimless crime – other policyholders pay
Other
Tim Hazledine (Newsroom): Whitewashing the ‘ruthless pillaging’ by top execs
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Why a bit more party disunity wouldn’t be a terrible thing
RNZ: Crown should apologise to Māori beaten as children for te reo, says Dover Samuels
Michael Belgrave (The Conversation): Land occupation at Ihumātao: why the New Zealand government needs to act cautiously but quickly
Claire Achmad (Spinoff): Free school lunches is just part of something much, much bigger
Andrew Little (Herald): Pike River re-entry requires no law exemptions (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: Obstructionism from SSC
John Weeks (Stuff): Felix Donnelly dies: Renegade priest was also broadcaster, novelist, and Youthline founder
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Payroll firms say they’ve been shut out of Holidays Act taskforce
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Tourism industry debates its future as slowdown anticipated
Hawkes Bay Today: Small towns like Dannevirke being decimated by meth, says Paula Bennett
Stuart Smith and Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Stuff): No excuses for government data breaches
Anan Zaki ((RNZ): Student speaks out over racial abuse since moving from Tonga
AP: Police investigating man suspected of importing cheap gun magazines from Australia to cash in on NZ buyback
Mark Price (ODT): Three southern airports to work together
Kurt Bayer (Herald): A NZ spy, massacres, and a daring rescue. East Timor 20 years on. (paywalled)
Gerogia Forrester (Stuff): ‘The hurt never goes away’: Why these Kiwi families want to rid NZ of its suicide problem
Whanganui Chronicle: Labour MP Kiri Allan’s brother Eric Mete pleads not guilty to murdering Lorna-Anne Marie Thompson
