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.
Climate change
Sharon Murdoch (Stuff): 4000 Days: A climate change story where you choose the ending
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): New Zealand can’t point the finger at Brazil over Amazon fires
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Jacinda Ardern on rising to the climate change challenge
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Everything you need to know about the United Nation’s upcoming climate summit
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Has climate change changed during the past decade?
Audrey Young (Herald): The twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand (paywalled)
Thomas Nash (Spinoff): Fossil fuels are an existential threat. Stop messing around and just ban them
Harrison Christian (Stuff): The scenario for New Zealand if temperatures keep rising
John Gibb (ODT): Free public transport and more govt action called for
Al Gillespie (Stuff): The climate revolution is coming to NZ – albeit slowly
James Renwick (Stuff): Climate Explained: Why we won’t be heading into an ice age any time soon
Skara Bohny (Stuff): EVs and planting trees ‘no-brainer’ path to carbon neutral future
Yuki Fukuda (Stuff): More native trees for one billion tree programme
Mirjam Guesgen (Spinoff): Putting a cork in cow burps (and farts)
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Kiwis fighting for their waterfront as coastal communities face future at sea’s mercy
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ’s rising fire risk (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Why we’re ‘covering climate now’
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Carbon emitters face higher legal risks
1News: Growing movement urges passengers to ditch air travel to tackle climate change
Labour Party sexual assault allegations
Chris Galloway (Herald): Reputation expert: Labour has a ‘Jacindamania’ dilemma (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Labour sex assault: Deputy PM Winston Peters backs investigator over complainant
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Winston Peters labels Labour sexual assault claims ‘innuendo’, NZ First MPs back him up
RNZ: PM Jacinda Ardern calls time on public exchanges over sexual assault allegations
1News: ‘It can happen anywhere’ – Jacinda Ardern vows to take wider look at justice in wake of sex assault allegations
David Fisher (Herald): Dyhrberg: ‘Reserve judgement’ over Labour sexual assault allegations
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour Party sex assault case: Complainant insists she told panel what happened to her
1News: Victim advocate calls for independent commission in wake of Labour assault investigation
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Simon Bridges says he did everything right during Jami-Lee Ross scandal
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour scandal: Simon Bridges says review must include Beehive or it will be a ‘whitewash’
Jason Walls (Herald): National Leader Simon Bridges says Labour’s sex assault review at risk of being ‘whitewash’
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Labour assault complaints: Terms of reference ‘need to be wider’ – Bridges
Local government
Emma Dangerfield (Stuff): Women-only mayoral races could signal a new progressive era for local government
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Super city monorail: Auckland Transport not keen on ‘perfect plan’ to tackle transport woes
Matt Shand (Waikato Times): Controversial gifting of million-dollar section to Maori Trust revisted by council
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Tauranga mayoral race: 10 candidates chase top job
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Napier Council FB monitoring: Investigation terms of reference will not be public
Christina Persico (Taranaki Daily News): Energy transition and The Block NZ among topics at New Plymouth candidate meeting
Catherine Groenestein (Taranaki Daily News): Iwi get together to encourage Maori in South Taranaki to vote
Virginia Fallon (Dominion Post): Local elections 2019: Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidates talk rates, housing and transport
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Andy Foster gets another entertainment name backing Wellington Mayoral campaign
RNZ: Wellington mayoral candidates come face to face in debate
Stuff: Local elections 2019: Four in the running for South Wairarapa’s mayoralty
Stuff: Local elections 2019: Four bid to become Carterton mayor
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Sounds residents use Google Maps, unsuccessfully, to distance themselves from Picton
Hannah Bartlett (Stuff): Nelson’s election signs under the microscope
Paul Gorman (Stuff): Bickering over issues at the latest Christchurch mayoral debate
Dominic Harris (Press): Canterbury districts should pay up to ‘save city ratepayers $200m’ over Christchurch stadium
Alice Geary (Timaru Herald): South Canterbury electoral rolls consistently missing thousands
ODT: Waitaki: Wide area, smaller rating base tough mix
Chris Morris (ODT): Major challenges loom for new mayor
ODT: Questions for DCC mayoralty candidates
ODT: Questions for Dunedin City Council candidates
Josie Adams (Spinoff): Race briefing: Dunedin, the left-wing utopia/drunken hellhole of the south
Jono Edwards (ODT): Environmental challenges await
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Herculean task awaits new health board
Pam Jones (ODT): Central Otago: Water, housing front of mind
Mark Price (ODT): Queenstown Lakes: Growth, environment high on agenda
ODT: Questions for Queenstown Lakes mayoralty candidates
ODT: Questions for Queenstown Lakes District Council candidates
Richard Davison (ODT): Clutha: Workers and housing pose problems
Richard Davison (ODT):Infrastructure top of agenda
Luisa Girao (ODT): Invercargill: Challenges confront southernmost city
ODT: Questions for Invercargill mayoralty candidates
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Candidates fight for the southern grey vote
Luisa Girao (ODT): Hundreds attend to meet candidates
Foreign affairs and trade
Audrey Young (Herald): PM gets Trump meeting after Winston Peters’ work (paywalled)
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern’s meeting with Donald Trump won;t be as warm as Scott Morrison’s
Newshub: Excitement for Jacinda Ardern’s bilateral meeting with Donald Trump
Anna Whyte (1News): Jacinda Ardern announces bilateral meeting with Donald Trump next week
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet US President Trump in New York next week
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern and Donald Trump to have formal sit-down in New York
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern to formally meet with Donald Trump for the first time
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern-Donald Trump bilateral: PM won’t say if women’s rights to be raised
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub) Jacinda Ardern to meet Donald Trump in New York
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern to meet Donald Trump for first formal meeting
David Farrar: The first formal Trump-Ardern meeting
RNZ: Tongan PM Pohiva now lying in state in Nuku’alofa
Immigration
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Migrant Workers Association criticises New Zealand work visa overhaul
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Let’s have a conversation about migration
Jason Walls (Herald): Government unveils new work visa rules including reinstating ability for lower-paid workers to bring in families
RNZ: New employer-led work visa to replace six categories
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s restriction on low-paid migrants bringing their families to New Zealand reversed
1News: New work visa process to help 30,000 businesses, says Immigration Minister
Dita De Boni (NBR): Meat sector targets overseas workers (paywalled)
Operation Burnham inquiry
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Defence Force tries to suppress note revealing Defence Minister concerns
Thomas Manch (Stuff): SAS commander says he wrongly dismissed possible civilian casualties due to misunderstood acronym
Boris Jancic (Herald): Mystery man, acronym, and misunderstanding blamed for Afghanistan civilian death denial
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Operation Burnham inquiry: Senior military official says he may have been purposely misled
Grace Cocker (Newshub): Operation Burnham inquiry: ‘Misinterpretation’ led to false declaration that no civilians were killed
1News: ‘Miscommunication’ led NZ army officer to believe no civilians died in Afghan raid
Grace Cocker (Newshub): Operation Burnham inquiry: Top military official says possible civilian casualties were due to mechanical gun fault
Water
Rachel Stewart (Herald): Farm leaders in a gloomy dance over freshwater plan (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): There will be trees on them thar hills
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Waterway clean up won’t harm economy, NZIER says
Brent Edwards (NBR): DairyNZ slams report for ‘narrow view’ (paywalled)
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Water from controversial Christchurch company sold below cost in China
Fisheries
Lesley Hamilton (Newsroom): Fishing industry says its adverts are justified
Māori TV: Te Ao with Moana: Police involvement in Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē dispute must be avoided, Fisheries Minister
Environment
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Groundwater contaminants to continue spreading for 125 years – report
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): NZ’s litter problem: Citizen scientists hope rubbish data will provide wake-up call for Kiwis
Gina Dempster (ODT): Kicking recycling up a gear
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Kōkako after the court case
1News: Kākāpō population reaches record after bumper breeding season despite infection
Breanna Barraclough (Newshub: Kākāpō population cracks record high after booming breeding season
Louisa Wall promotes alcohol industry funded cancer event
Sophie Bateman and MIchael Morrah (Newshub): Experts call Louisa Wall’s promotion of alcohol industry-funded cancer event ‘disturbing’, ‘very strange’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Parliament ‘whisky vs gin’ cancer fundraiser is ‘disturbing’ given known link between alcohol and cancer – health experts
Jamie Ensor and Delphine Herbert (Newshub): Louisa Wall defends promoting alcohol-industry funded cancer event
Life insurance industry
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Regulators’ soggy bus ticket didn’t work
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Minister Faafoi pledges regime ‘where banks & insurers are primarily focused on their customers’
RNZ: Life insurers ‘weak appetite for change’ disappointing – regulators
Graham Skellern (NBR): Life insurers told to resubmit work plans (paywalled)
Fuel pipeline rupture inquiry
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Fuel firms told to invest at Auckland airport by June or Government should step in
Luke Appleby (1News): No consequences likely for kauri hunter who ruptured Auckland’s main fuel pipeline causing estimated $48m in damage
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Report into fuel pipeline fiasco reveals ‘vulnerable’ fuel supply system
NBR: Winston has a dig over pipeline digger (paywalled)
1News: Fuel pipeline rupture from Marsden Point to Auckland caused by digger, inquiry finds
Cook commemorations
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Gisborne iwi refuse to hold pōwhiri for replica of Cook’s ship Endeavour
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Iwi Claim Endeavour Replica Voyage Organisers Failed to Consult Them
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): ‘He’s a barbarian’: Māori tribe bans replica of Captain Cook’s ship from port
Newshub: Tuia 250 flotilla expected to bring attention to touchy historical subject
Abortion
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Late-term abortions dominated debate at first hearing on new law
RNZ: Late pregnancy abortions point of contention at Parliamentary Abortion Legislation Select Committee
Health
1News: ‘De-nicotinised’ cigarettes could help NZ achieve Smokefree 2025 goal, study suggests
Damian Rowe (Stuff): Health Minister: Charity hospital in Southland is not a long-term solution
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Measles Update: “Pacific People are the most affected”
RNZ: Pharmac may have to compete for measles vaccine if newest batch runs out
1News: Thousands of measles vaccines arrive as Auckland outbreak tops 1100 cases
Mandy Te (Stuff): Auckland measles outbreak: cases yet to peak, health official says
Libby Wilson (Waikato Times): Waikato measles cases rise to 16, warning for kapa haka festival
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Measles alert for Dunedin, Central Otago and Southland
Parliament
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Governance, consulting, diplomacy: Here’s how former PMs now make a living
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington’s Bowen House earthquake risk report imminent
Claire Trevett (Herald: Parliamentary Rugby Team beat France, make finals v Australia in Parliamentary Rugby World Cup
Education
RNZ: Māori, Pasifika teens suffer more ethnicity-related discrimination from teachers than peers – report
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Education Ministry Report says Māori students discrimination more likely
MIchael Belgrave (The Conversation): Why it’s time for New Zealanders to learn more about their own country’s history
RNZ: NCEA attainment rates fall, Māori schools buck trend
Gus Gilmore (Herald): Where the fees-free policy is making a big difference (paywalled)
Justice, corrections
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Police ‘came down hard’: Waitangi Tribunal declines urgency for police prosecution claim
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Young offenders learning new skills from life down on the farm
Transport
Damian George (Stuff): NZTA warns regional council funding could be cut because of problems with contract management
1News: Aucklanders set to get faster route to airport with ‘efficient, modern’ rail option
Gun laws
Jason Walls (Herald): Christchurch mosque shootings: Auditor-General to assess gun buyback scheme (paywalled)
RNZ: Effectiveness of firearm buy-back scheme to be investigated
Facebook
Jo Moir (RNZ): Facebook announces raft of changes, some prompted by the Christchurch call
Derek Cheng (Herald): Christchurch mosque shootings: Facebook using real firearms footage to develop auto-blocking AI
James Fyfe (Newshub): Facebook reveals updates aim to combat spread of hate online
Housing
Michael Rehm (University of Auckland): Why is housing so unaffordable?
Meghan Lawrence (Herald): Hundreds of landlords face Tenancy Tribunal for insulation breaches (paywalled)
Megha Lawrence (Herald): Landlord ordered to pay almost $6000 to tenants evicted after mould, damp complaints
Tim Brown (RNZ): Campground residents evicted for a billion-dollar development may end up homeless
Animal welfare
RNZ: Live export ship arrives in Napier for thousands of cows without certification
Heath Moore (Herald): Watch: Shoppers hit out as vegan protesters storm St Lukes supermarket
Saudi oil field attacks
RNZ: Petrol price: Gull says NZ rise ‘over the top’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Attacks on Saudi felt at pump as Z and BP raise petrol by 6 cents a litre
1News: Petrol prices jump after attack on Saudi oil supplies
1News: AA calls on NZ petrol companies to think twice about pushing up prices after Saudi oil site attack
Other
Peter Lyons (Herald):We need a rethink to save our zombie economy (paywalled)
Benedict Collins (1News): Urgent report ordered into Ministry of Social Development’s use of controversial food grant calculator
Laura Dooney (RNZ): Why Te Papa’s move to South Auckland wasn’t funded
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Maniapoto Māori Trust Board questions authenticity of cloak
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Forestry industry officials gloomy about log trade
RNZ: Consumer confidence remains at seven-year low
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): New Zealand spies helped track down cyber-attackers on Australian Parliament
RBZl: The Detail: The gender equity report that shocked a bank
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): Ihumātao protest: meet the ‘protectors’ still occupying the site
Mike Watson (Stuff): Suspension of $300m offshore Taranaki drilling programme ‘will cost jobs’
RNZ: Hell Pizza told off, but not punished
Keith Woodford (Interest): Fonterra’s capital structure is no longer fit for purpose
