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
Richard Harman (Politik): Goodbye Labour – Hello Brand Jacinda
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Once bitten twice shy? Not the case for Labour
Chris Trotter: Behind Every Good Woman Should Stand – Another Good Woman
Simon Wilson (Herald): The Labour scandal: why do organisations get things so wrong? (paywalled)
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): PM Jacinda Ardern needed to act sooner on sexual assault allegations
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Heat is on Grant Robertson over Labour sexual assault allegations
Tim Beveridge (Newstalk ZB): Labour sex scandal butt-covering and the art of due process (paywalled)
Spinoff: Two statements on the Labour Party inquiry
Newstalk ZB: Winston Peters calls Labour turmoil a ‘disgraceful orgy of speculation
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won’t rule out more heads rolling over Labour Party sexual assault allegations scandal
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Labour scandal: Complainant offers email records in response to lawyer’s claims
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Labour abuse allegations investigator brings in computer expert
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour investigator: No one told me about sexual assault complaints
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Labour lawyer: I wasn’t told of sexual assault claims
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Labour Party investigator: I wasn’t told about sexual allegations
Tova O’Brien: Labour Party lead investigator insists he wasn’t told about sexual assault allegations
1News: Investigation panel member says ‘at no point’ did complainant raise sexual assault allegation against Labour staffer
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour sexual assault claims: Review terms kept secret – Jacinda Ardern
Scott Palmer and Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern won’t release terms of reference for Labour review
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour scandal: Party to conduct two separate inquiries into sexual assault allegations
Anna Whte (1News): ‘We failed’ – Ardern announces separate inquiry into whether Labour acted appropriately after complaint against staffer
Jo Moir (RNZ): Ardern outlines further actions taken regarding assault allegations
Newstalk ZB: Grant Robertson: Labour’s plan to deal with sexual assault complaints -HDPA interview (audio)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Paula Bennett: PM is protecting her staff and Grant Robertson from scrutiny
Local government
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Scandal: Councils spending too little on staff Christmas parties
1News: Well known Kiwi musician, former Green MP, in running for Far North council
Daily Blog: 8pm tonight Tuesday – Pub Politics – Goff vs Tamihere
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Council plans up to 160 job cuts
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Auckland Council planning massive jobs cut
RNZ: Auckland Council to cut up to 160 staff in next year
1News: Millions of dollars promised to upgrade marae across Auckland
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): Local elections: Recycled home-made billboards hopefully the ticket into council
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Ngāpuhi rangatahi taking the lead in voting for local elections
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Three out in front of Hamilton mayoral race
Nikki Preston (Herald): Hamilton councillor apologises after using mobility car park at council event
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Mayoral candidate Lisa Lewis vows to never streak again
Robin Martin (RNZ): Council won’t reveal emails written by its members about one of its own
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Race briefing: Hutt City, where a 28-year-old might become mayor
Stuff: Lower Hutt’s five mayoral candidates have their say
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington Mayor Justin Lester supports release of Julie Anne Genter’s secret letter
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington’s latest mayoral debate leaves no clear winner as election race heats up
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Wellington ‘is a bit stuck’: Mayoral candidates debate rates, convention centre and LGWM
Dominion Post: Local elections 2019: Watch the Wellington mayoral debate in full
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Time for candidates to show their working
Mark Price (ODT): Complaint over conflict of interest
Laura Smith (ODT): Environment Southland Candidates Korero event a civilised affair
Operation Burnham inquiry
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Question of who read Defence Force report into possible civilian deaths hangs over Operation Burnham inquiry
Boris Jancic (Herald): Defence Force denies Afghanistan deaths cover-up; questions over hidden report
Boris Jancic (Herald): Denial of civilian casualty reports in Afghanistan ‘a mistake’, Defence Force says
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Sir Jerry Mateparae admits giving bad advice to Defence Minister on denial of civilian deaths
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Operation Burnham inquiry: Misleading statements and briefings come to light
Grace Cocker (Newshub): Operation Burnham inquiry: Former military official admits Prime Minister wasn’t provided with all information
Grace Cocker (Newshub): Operation Burnham inquiry: New Zealand Defence Force says there was no ‘cover up’
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The extraordinary nonsense we need to believe for NZDF war crime claims
No Right Turn: “Mistakes and errors”
Southern Response
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Landmark ruling allows NZ’s first ‘opt out’ class action lawsuit against Southern Response
Jordan Oppert (1News): Thousands of homeowners to be automatically included in class action against Southern Response
RNZ: Court of Appeal rules on Southern Response appeal
Environment and conservation
Jame Fyfe (Newshub): NZ climate emissions rising since Zero Carbon Bill introduced
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Global warming researchers say more support required despite $55 million government investment
1News: NIWA calls for national flood map as thousands at risk in extreme weather
Jamie Morton (Herald): How rising seas could cost NZ billions (paywalled)
Herald podcast: Why we can’t risk normalising climate change
Sebastian Leuzinger (Stuff): How different crops or trees help strip carbon dioxide from the air
Mirjam Guesgen (Spinoff): Should you choose to offset your emissions, and where does the money go?
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): A dehydrated national icon
David Williams (Newsroom): Drilling into the past to predict the future
Barbara Kuriger (Taranaki Daily News): “I respect the climate is changing, but we cannot afford to move faster than the rest of the world in our response”
Rebecca Black (Stuff): Here are three farmers who are taking action on climate change
Rebecca Black (Stuff): Modern farm uses ancient method to maintain productivity while adding biodiversity
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Has climate change become a religion?
Annabelle Tukia (Newshub): Fears as New Zealand’s largest glacier continues to shrink
Harry Lock (RNZ): New app tackles litter and the ‘throwaway society’
Jono Edwards (ODT): High hopes for albatross season as first bird returns
Water
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Farmers ‘scaremongering’ about the impacts of Government’s freshwater changes – Fish and Game
Brent Edwards (NBR): Freshwater standards: Federated Farmers and conservationists go head to head (paywalled)
Todd Muller (Herald)r: Freshwater consultation process a farce
D’Angelo Martin (Māori TV): Far North Wastewater doesn’t Receive the Treatment it Deserves
Education
RNZ: Māori, Pasifika teens suffer more ethnicity-related discrimination from teachers than peers – report
Elizabeth Rata (Newsroom): The NZ history curriculum – a Trojan horse
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff):‘Fears’ about Māori immersion schools proving unfounded
Alistair Lynn (Newshub): Principals describe 2019 as ‘the worst year’ for teacher shortages, despite hundreds waiting for an interview
Elena McPhee (ODT): Make-up of polytech subsidiary boards still unclear
Elena McPhee (ODT): University defends cost of flash TV screen
Brent Melville (ODT): Visa processing issues having big impact on education sector
Foreign affairs and trade
Herald: ‘On the Map’ podcast: Disturbing signs ahead for NZ trade
Anna Whyte (1News): NZ ‘important priority’ for free trade agreement with UK post-Brexit, visiting official says
1News: Kiwis will ‘absolutely’ be welcome in UK on working holidays post-Brexit says trade secretary
Jamie Ensor and Laura Macdonald (Newshub): UK says New Zealand top priority for post-Brexit trade deal
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Post-Brexit trade relationship talks with UK’s Liz Truss agree to step up progress
RNZ: UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss holds talks in Beehive over trade agreement
Audrey Young (Herald): UK Trade Minister Liz Truss makes surprise visit to New Zealand for post-Brexit talks
1News: UK’s Trade Minister visits New Zealand to talk trade after Brexit
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘I’m no apologist for China’: National’s Simon Bridges defends state TV interview
Michael Reddell: Recalling Jian Yang’s past: questions for him and his leader
Christine Rovoi (RNZ): Thousands attend Auckland memorial for ‘Akilisi Pohiva
RNZ: NZ to fund efforts to combat rhino beetle in Pacific
Parliament
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Electioneering on Facebook under scrutiny (paywalled)
William Boyd (University of Auckland): Q+A with Lara Greaves : To give or not to give? The problem of political party donations
Cook commemoration
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Captain Cook replica banned from docking in Mangonui during commemoration
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Replica Endeavour to skip Mangōnui during Captain Cook commemoration due to iwi anger
Fuel pipeline rupture inquiry
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Ruakaka pipeline crisis: Action needed now to safeguard fuel supply
Madison Reidy (RNZ): Fuel pipeline rupture: inquiry tells companies to invest in infrastructure
1News: Fuel pipeline rupture from Marsden Point to Auckland caused by digger, inquiry finds
Saudi oilfield attacks
1News: Minister says ‘we’re not even close’ to calling on crude oil reserves after attack on Saudi fields
Jamie Ensor, Reuters (Newshub): Long-term economic impacts possible from Saudi Arabia oil attacks – expert
Liam Dann (Herald): The expensive cocktail that could hit Kiwi motorists (paywalled)
Immigration
Anna Whyte (1News): NZ’s ‘racist and discriminatory’ refugee policy must be fixed, new Race Relations Commissioner says
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek waits for Parole Board decision
Newshub: Karel Sroubek tells parole board he made a ‘terrible mistake’ in bid for early prison release
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Czech drug-smuggler Karel Sroubek tells Parole Board ‘I made a terrible mistake’
1News: Karel Sroubek appears before Parole Board, says he made a ‘terrible mistake’
Stuff: Czech drug-smuggler Karel Sroubek teaching yoga after ‘terrible mistake’
Housing
Lee Beattie (Newsroom): Solving our housing crisis will require a change of tack
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland developer to be prosecuted for billing home buyers separately for basics
Anne Knox (Taranaki Daily News): The complex issues surrounding homelessness
Ihumātao
Rawiri Taonui: Ihumātao: National Party proposals fail to ‘step-up’
Rawiri Taonui: Auckland Council $1.18 billion answer to ‘Māori problem’
Gun laws
John Gibb (ODT): Unity crucial for gun laws: academic
RNZ: Approved gun dealers start to accept weapons as part of buy-back scheme
RNZ: National: Gun bill may stop gunowners seeking mental health help
Christchurch mosque shootings
1News: Cantabrians want permanent memorial for terror attack victims
1News: Christchurch’s Muslim community still learning to deal with new reality, six months on from attack
Health
Karen Brown (RNZ): Nurses’ union president Grant Brookes survives removal attempt by own leadership team
ODT Editorial: Butt out, Big Tobacco
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Measles outbreak: More than 100 babies hospitalised after contracting measles this year
Katie Fitzgerald and Heather McCarron (Newshub): Extra MMR vaccines arrive as stocks run now
RNZ: Extra doses of measles vaccines to go to GPs from Thursday
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Teens challenge anti-vax parents and choose to get immunised
Emma Hatton (RNZ): More complaints of taxi drivers avoiding ACC jobs
Teresa Ramsey (Stuff): TV personality Mike King calls for suicide notes in 1000 Letters study
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Mental health workers to decrease time with patients in third month of strike action
Cannabis
John Weekes (Stuff): Legalise weed, criminal lawyer group president says
David Cormack (Herald): The cannabis debate and the lives devastated by drug use (paywalled)
Teulia Fuata (Herald)i: Cannabis reform critical for Māori men (paywalled)
Lana Andelane (Newshub): US activist Asha Bandele says cannabis legalisation would ‘provide protection’ for youth
Transport
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Call for report into transfers on Wellington’s mass rapid transit
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Exclusive electric claims as charging stations appear in Wellington suburbs
Dave Armstrong (Dominion Post): Here are my solutions to Wellington’s trolley folly
Primary industries
Gareth Hughes (Stuff): Time for live exports to end
Maja Burry (RNZ): Value of primary industry exports expected to dip next year
Other
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): No senior Māori managers at 28 government bodies, Stuff survey finds
Brent Edwards (NBR): Coalition staggering, battered on three fronts
Gordon Campbell: On allegations of left wing bias in the mainstream media
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Lowballing construction contracts a ‘massive problem’
Katie Doyle (RNZ): The power of tikanga Māori in rehabilitating young offenders
RNZ: Complaints against banks up 20 percent
Māori TV: Te Puni Kōkiri welcomes new CEO
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Disused former Christchurch Women’s Hospital site a ‘roadblock’ to city progress
1News: Ngāpuhi initiaive aims to put new life into tribe’s endangered dialect
RNZ: Cotton On workers protest to demand living wage
RNZ: Lake levels lowered due to earthquake risks
RNZ: ComCom report doubled actual company returns, says Z Energy
RNZ: Kiwis shopping around for power companies
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): No award for PTSD for worker who tried to help colleague crushed by beam
RNZ: The Detail: What’s behind south Auckland’s recent crime spike
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Hell Pizza escapes formal action over Beyond Meat stunt
Zane Small (Newshub): How New Zealand could act as a broker between Australia and Iran for return of detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert
Kendall Hutt and Mandy Te (Stuff): Prominent New Zealand publisher Alister Taylor dies aged 75
