New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
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Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.

New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.

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

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