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.
Labour Party sexual assault allegations
John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of Ardern’s administration?
Alison Mau (Guardian): Labour’s #MeToo moment eats away at Ardern’s most prized asset – trust
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Labour’s bad week will live long
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Labour’s #MeToo political damage is with their own supporters (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (Pundit): If only the Czar knew: How long will Jacinda Ardern get benefit of the doubt over sex assault claims?
Henry Cooke (Stuff): This mess will follow Jacinda Ardern
Claire Trevett (Herald): Why Paula Bennett has waded into Labour’s scandal (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub):Jacinda Ardern ‘absolutely can’t stay in the job’ if she lied – Paula Bennett
Dan Satherley (Newshub): National’s attacks over sexual assault scandal ‘unethical’ – Willie Jackson
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern must force Labour to face itself in the mirror
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Jacinda Ardern has a lot to make right
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): On the Labour Party crisis and Jacinda Ardern
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Brand Ardern still has pulling power despite trashing
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Mud stinks, and now it’s sticking to the people at the top
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Ardern’s week ahead looks no better than the last
ODT Editorial: Serious questions about leadership
Herald Editorial: Labour flunks issue at heart of manifesto
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Sorting facts in the Labour sex abuse scandals
Alison Mau (Stuff): When people speak out, why do we find it so hard to believe?
Brigitte Morten (RNZ): Govt staff likely shell-shocked after the past week in Parliament
Derek Cheng (Herald): Paula Bennett to Jacinda Ardern: Come clean on Labour staffer’s payout
Derek Cheng (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped on terms of ex-staffer’s resignation
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Labour Party insiders told not to speak after sexual assault scandal
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour scandal: Terms of reference don’t include initial investigation, prompting council stoush
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): ‘It’s my job to fix this, and I will’ – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Labour sexual assault scandal
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Labour assault complaints: ‘We need to see reform, not just cover-ups and resignations’
RNZ: Labour youth wing member ‘heartbroken’ over handling of allegations
RNZ: Helen Clark backs Jacinda Ardern over handling of sex assault allegations
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was sent email by alleged sexual assault victim
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of the Labour Party crisis (paywalled)
David Farrar: Why did Labour work so hard to protect the staffer?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): From SpinOff sanctimony to Garner thuggery – the Salem Witch Trial weekend media pile-on against Jacinda
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why the attacks on Jacinda won’t stop
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Labour Party hierarchy failed Jacinda in a way they didn’t fail Helen Clark
Spinoff: Podcast special: On Sarah, the Labour staffer, and the botched party inquiry
Climate change
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Root & Branch: What trees can do and can’t do to address the climate change crisis
David Hall (Stuff): Climate change is already here and the majority of New Zealanders know it
Jamie Morton (Herald): How do Kiwis really feel about climate change?
Jamie Morton (Herald): Climate change: How bad could it get for NZ? (paywalled)
Eloise Gibson (Newsroom): Ups and downs of rising seas in a shaky nation
Samantha Gee (Stuff): A coastal paradise, Abel Tasman National Park forced to adapt to rising sea levels
Jamie Morton (Herald): Climate change: Why cow burps are NZ’s biggest climate headache (paywalled)
Andrea Vance, Charlie Mitchell and Henry Cooke (Stuff): New Zealand’s climate change power list
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Climate change: our next ‘moonshot moment’?
Bruce Munro (ODT): The problem with offsetting
Peter Olorenshaw (Stuff): What does transport look like in a climate emergency?
Denise Piper (Stuff): World Car-free Day: Northlanders can’t catch buses because none are running
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): Maligned to mainstream: The climate campaigners who never gave up
James Shaw: I stand with Greta, and with the strikers: James Shaw’s letter to NZ school students
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Climate change as a psychological crisis
Patrick Crewdson (Stuff): Covering Climate Now: The climate crisis is a mainstream concern
Duncan Garner: (Newshub): Stop climate change grandstanding and cut emissions
Mirjam Guesgen (Spinoff): Our climate story: Life in Auckland and Southland in 2050
RNZ: Residents call for faster action on climate change in Christchurch
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Westland mayor won’t support climate change agreement until costs are known
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Waikato District mayoral candidates conflicting views on climate change
RNZ: Victoria University aims to become lab for climate change action
Environment and conservation
Nicola Martin (Stuff): New Zealand’s biodiversity is in crisis and so are we
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ’s nature is in crisis. Why do so many Kiwis not know? (paywalled)
Veronica Rotman (Newsroom): Fishing industry spin on Maui dolphin
RNZ: 1.5 million adults involved in conservation activities – DOC
1News: NZ’s 50th Conservation Week launched with survey showing nearly half of Kiwis involved in conservation
Jeff Seadon (Stuff): Are we blissfully ignorant about the true nature of recycling in NZ?
1News: Debate rages over new technology that turns plastic into oil
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Ocean microplastics could double by 2050, a scientific study warns
Robin Martin (RNZ): New Plymouth sewerage pipes fail risk assessment
Water
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Environmental failure over nitrates could ‘ruin’ Christchurch drinking water
Mike Houlahan (ODT): There’s a storm brewing over fresh water
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Two-week extension for new freshwater rules consultation period
Karoline Tuckey (RNZ): Freshwater plan: ‘This is going to be huge, this is not just a farming package’ – Federated Farmers
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Canterbury farmers unhappy with freshwater plan
Miranda Cook (ODT): Farmer frustration evident at water quality roadshow
Emma Dangerfield (Stuff): Hurunui mayor blames public opinion for ‘unattainable’ water targets
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Wellington Water fined $67,500 for illegal discharge into sea near Titahi Bay
Local government
Elspeth McLean (ODT): Many factors contribute to low voter turnout
MItchell Alexander (Newshub):Revealed: Councils spent over $100,000 on 2018 Christmas parties
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland residents less likely to vote in local body elections; less than half know who is running
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland mayoral election: Complaint lodged over Phil Goff’s 2016 election expenses
Perry Wilton and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Tamihere slams Goff over council-controlled organisation appointments
Newshub: Auckland monorail promise ‘pie in the sky’ – expert
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Going way back with Auckland’s monorail-promising mayoral candidate
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Piha locals feel left out by council decision makers
Hayden Donnell (Stuff): Hope, change, and a sprinkling of bigotry at Hamilton’s big mayoral debate
Georgia May Gilbertson (Stuff): Local elections 2019: Napier City Council candidates have their say
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Napier mayoral candidate David Hannay to have open heart surgery
Stuff: Local elections 2019: Central Hawke’s Bay District Council candidates have their say
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): Māori mayoral hopeful says NZ history lessons could stamp out racism
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Why New Zealand’s first wet house never got built in Wellington
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Local elections 2019: Wellington City Council Southern ward candidate profiles
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Mayoral candidate Andy Foster puts up plan for housing in ‘horrendous’ Happy Valley
RNZ: More Māori names likely in Wellington, despite debate
Joel Maxwell (Dominion Post): Porirua mayoral candidates set out plans for city on brink of massive developments
Tina Law and Dominic Harris (Stuff): The ‘other’ contenders: 10 Christchurch mayoral hopefuls you hear little about
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): First mayoral debate held in Greymouth in 15 years
Jono Edwards (ODT): No issue with a sitting councillor and competitor being the face of election debates
Jono Edwards (ODT): Ombudsman investigating ORC after councillor complains
Kerrie Waterworth (ODT): Candidates call for new focus by ORC
Chris Morris and Tim Miller (ODT): How they rated: Dunedin City Council
Jono Edwards (ODT): Quick-fire forum brings out diverse views
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Scout Barbour-Evans takes second shot at Dunedin mayoralty
Education
Jessica Long (Stuff): Compulsory New Zealand history curriculum will ‘open Pandora’s box’
Paul Moon (Stuff): Compulsory New Zealand history is a turning point for our schools and society
Aroha Harris (Spinoff): Teaching Māori history must not be simply a spray tan to brown up the past
Tom O’Connor (Waikato Times): Telling our stories took time but worth it
Bryan Cadogan (Southland Times): Home poverty, not poor parenting, justifies free school lunches
Brittany Keogh (Stuff):Auckland Uni using Communist Party-backed staff to liaise with Chinese Consulate
RNZ: National Party starts petition to keep Otago out of polytech merger
Finn Hogan (Newshub): Crushing student debt putting kids off getting political – author
Canterbury quakes, Southern Response
Thomas Mead (1News): Exclusive: How the controversial decision to hide info from Christchurch earthquake claimants was made
RNZ: Checkpoint:Southern Response chairperson Alister James reveals $1.1 million staff bonuses
Gun laws
Lally Weymouth (Washington Post): Jacinda Ardern on how to respond to gun violence
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Firearms register announced as part of Government’s second tranche of gun law reforms
Anna Whyte (1News):Government introduces second set of laws aimed at cracking down on guns
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government’s tighter gun laws include register to track firearms and new offences and penalties
RNZ: Government to bring in harsher penalties for illegal trade of firearms
Perry Wilton (Newshub): No point in gun owners waiting for a better offer – Police Association
Dominic Harris (Press): Scepticism and enthusiasm for new gun laws as buy-back figures approach 20,000
RNZ: Thousands of guns flood in during buybacks for outlawed weapons
Christchurch mosque shootings
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern on Christchurch attacks: ‘Racism almost became normalised’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Christchurch mosque shootings six months on: PM praises victims’ families ‘extraordinary’ response
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Government announces mental health funding for Canterbury post-March 15
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Christchurch mosque shootings: PM speaks as more mental health support pledged for victims and families
1News: Government allocates $8.7 million to help those impacted by Christchurch terrorist attack
Holly Carran (Newshub): Muslim community still struggling with the trauma six months on
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Six months on, have we reckoned with the far-right?
David Williams (Newsroom): Six months on, aroha at Linwood
Finn Hogan (Newshub): Christchurch shooting: Victims would ‘never sanction’ revenge attacks – Al Noor mosque spokesperson
Anna Leask (Herald): The man who forgave terror: Farid Ahmed on Christchurch six months after losing wife in mosque attack
Sam Farrell (Newshub): Christchurch terror attacks: Survivors still healing six months on
Perry Wilton and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Christchurch shootings, six months on: ‘You’ll never be able to go back to March 14’
Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): Christchurch terror attack tributes reminder of ‘aroha’ shown to the city
Government
Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern on her international profile … it’s not about me, it’s about New Zealand (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Getting under Jacinda Ardern’s skin
Stuff: Tears, cheers and chills at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Christchurch school visit
Daisy Hudson (Mountain Scene): Twyford in town to talk transport, bed tax
National Party
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): National MP Jian Yang backs Simon Bridges’ praise of China’s leadership
Alex Braae (Spinoff): The increasingly uncompromising Todd Muller
Parliament, political week in review
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Winston Peters tweets and Mark Mitchell gets into a tight spot (paywalled)
1News:Inside Parliament: Who knew what when? (paywalled)
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Could a constitution save us from chaos?
Phil Smith (RNZ): Learning in the firing line – Lessons from question time
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ):A vision enacted – Rua Kēnana’s lament in law
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Death and a pardon at Parliament
Phil Smith (RNZ): A nip here, a tuck there: why edit law?
Phil Smith (RNZ): ‘To which god it may concern…’ – when MPs pray
Operation Burnham inquiry
Jonathan MItchell (RNZ): NZDF leaders to be grilled over Afghanistan civilian deaths
Perry Wilton and James Fyfe (Newshub): Hit and Run: NZ Defence Force to answer questions on Operation Burnham raid
Health and disability
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Cancer plan ‘going to take time’
Simon Wilson (Herald): Should we screen? A tale of cancer, testosterone and springtime (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Screening detects 101 cancer cases
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): Insecurity of some white people hinders investment in Māori health, says oncologist George Laking
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): More Māori and Pacific health workers should be doctors, nurses and managers – Dr Matire Harwood
RNZ: Vaping is ‘a real danger’ and needs regulation
Cira Olivier (Rotorua Daily Post): Cutting through the smoke: Is vaping the answer to quitting smoking – or is it the new danger? (paywalled)
Katie Fitzgerald and Melissa Chan-Green (Newshub): Government looking at banning most flavours of vape liquid, would only allow three
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Welcome to anti-vaxville, Raglan the town with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country
RNZ: MMR vaccine supply problems continue to frustrate Auckland doctors
Sandra Conchie (Bay of Plenty Times): Bay of Plenty measles vaccine shortage: Anger and tears ‘understandable’ (paywalled)
RNZ: Inmates, prison staff member catch measles in Auckland
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Another Lumsden birth crisis
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Facebook use by midwives explained
Hannah Martin (Stuff): British MPs want women to be offered menopause leave. Should NZ do the same?
1News: Volunteer firefighter who fought Tasman fire made to wait for disability funding after developing rare autoimmune disorder
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Fourth annual disability pride week to start in Wellington, hopes of national festival by 2020
Nicole Bremner (1News): Two mums fighting Pharmac over anti-depressant switch should have been heard long ago
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Social media can lead to ‘downward spiral’ for heavy teen users – NZ health expert
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Not enough ‘lived experience’ on Government’s new mental health commission – advocate
Emily van Velthooven (1News): Kiwi mental health advocate makes suicide a global conversation at United Nations campaign
1News: Plunket nurses vote in favour of pay offer
1News: Man who battled ACC for 45 years dies
Cannabis
RNZ: Govt commits to helping cannabis debate focus on facts and evidence
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Helen Clark says new medicinal cannabis scheme too expensive
Anna Whyte (1News): Ex-PM Helen Clark lashes out at current cannabis laws in NZ as a ‘nonsense regime’
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): Five ways to make the best bill ahead of next year’s 2020 cannabis referendum
Herald: Secrets of illegal medicinal cannabis users
Te reo Māori
Te Ururoa Flavell (Stuff): Te reo opens door to a whole culture
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): Meet Rawinia Higgins, our first female Māori Language Commissioner
Media, social media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Stumbling blocks: filtering extremism from the net
Jeremy Rose (RNZ): Mediawatch: Time to bring back RNZ’s te reo Māori news?
David Cohen (Stuff): Sam Hayes who? The new generation doesn’t care who reads the news
Anna Whyte (1News): Google’s latest suppression breach in Grace Millane case ‘disturbing, disappointing’ – Andrew Little
Immigration, race relations, refugees
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): ‘Not only is there racism, but frankly, there is cowardice’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Finance Minister’s U-turn on millions to stop boat people after PM’s intervention (paywalled)
Shawn McAvinue (ODT): Deportee slams Govt for delay
Amanda Saxton (Stuff): The last Pākehā: how Auckland’s superdiversity and ethnoburbs shape racism
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Is New Zealand racist as …?
Kamala Hayman (Stuff): Being Kiwi: We must measure racism to successfully tackle it
Foreign affairs and trade
Richard Harman (Politik): How China threatens the spirit of ANZAC
Liam Dann (Herald): Hong Kong’s tough choice makes NZ look lucky
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Horror scenario’ of petrol at $3 a litre possible after Saudi strike – economist
Pacific
RNZ: Tonga declares public holiday for PM Pohiva’s state funeral
Māori TV: Tonga’s Parliament suspended due to PM’s death
RNZ: Dignitaries to attend memorial in Auckland for late Tongan Prime Minister
RNZ: Pacific leaders pay tribute to ‘Akilisi Pohiva
1News: Government contributing $10 million to help Pacific nations combat cyber security risks
RNZ: The Detail: Pacific teams the have-nots of world rugby
Housing
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Homeless moved from cars to motels: ‘It’s just shifted the problem’
Carmen Hall (Bay of Plenty Times): Revealed: Just how much housing Tauranga homeless has cost taxpayers (paywalled)
1News: ‘Third world living conditions’ – Northland family of 11’s plight not unusual says emergency housing provider
RNZ: Christchurch’s 900 social housing units to get $16m upgrade
Employment
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Man remembered for love of job that killed him as Worksafe calls for better protection of employees
Matt Rilkoff (Stuff): Benefits of the gig economy will not be shared by all
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Leave calculations ‘penalise working parents’
Transport
Dan Satherley and Perry Wilton (Newshub): Govt keeping congestion charging figures secret – AA
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington commuters warned more transfers could be required under proposed mass transit system
Royal Commission into abuse in state care
Chris Morris (ODT): Survivors’ stories of abuse heard
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Tiptoeing past conflicts in the Royal Commission into abuse in state care (paywalled)
Other
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Everyday New Zealanders are crucial even if they don’t exist
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): When is an everyday Kiwi not an everyday Kiwi?
Ben Strang (RNZ): Bullying in the police: Victims say Speak Up complaints system lets them down
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): A universal basic income could be a better option for New Zealand … or it might not
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Silicon Valley company met with several govt agencies
ODT Editorial: Ellis appeal should continue
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Bank complaints rise more than 20pc to five year high
RNZ: Liquidated construction company may not have held retentions
RNZ: Tongariro Prison ‘safe and well-managed’, inspection finds
Stuff: Sale of Māori chief’s cloak in Britain halted after abuse from New Zealand, police called in
Kennedy Warne (E-Tangata): Rua Kēnana and the teaching of history
Matt Shand (Stuff): CultureSafe NZ director’s rape stance shocks
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Being Kiwi: Racism often confused Pākehā woman raised in Māori family
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Life story: Ngāi Tahu leader Tahu Potiki ushered iwi into era of success
Rob Rattenbury Whanganui Chronicle): Call for New Zealand Wars remembrance day (paywalled)
1News: Conservationist and author Wade Doak dies, aged 79
Phil Taylor (Herald): ‘Wrong design, wrong place’: Opposition to Erebus plane crash memorial at Parnell Rose Gardens grows
Alanah Eriksen (Herald): Revealed: The best cities to live in if you are Generation Z
