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.
TV3 sale
Tim Batt (Metro): What if THREE’s problem isn’t TVNZ but… MediaWorks?
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Why the MediaWorks crisis is bad news for journalism
Damien Venuto (Herald): Anatomy of a media disaster: How MediaWorks TV ended up on its knees (paywalled)
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Who can save TV3 now?
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Comedy cuts aren’t funny, but Jesse Mulligan protests too much
David Farrar: One can no more save TV3 than you can save the horse & buggy
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): New Zealand media: a health check
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Saving the media will be a very hard sell for the public. Will Kris Faafoi want to?
Jack Tame (Newstalk ZB): How the digital revolution killed TV3
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Is Three bluffing?
Lew Stoddart (RNZ): We need Three, in spite of its flaws
Paul Thompson (Stuff): Why MediaWorks’ rivals won’t be celebrating its struggle
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How Faafoi buys MediaWorks TV and saves public broadcasting
Curwen Ares Rolinson (Daily Blog): Blaming TVNZ For Mediaworks’ Woes A Case Of Ideological Shiver Looking For Spine To Shoot Up
Finn Hogan (Newshub): Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi isn’t ruling out a Govt purchase of Three
Collette Devlin, Tom Pullar-Strecker and Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Government remains coy on TV Three sale, TVNZ and the media industry future
1News: Ardern acknowledges ‘uncertainty’ for MediaWorks staff after Three sale announcement
Zane Small (Newshub): David Seymour urges Government to ‘recognise the folly’ of subsidising TVNZ
Guy Williams (Stuff): There were plenty of MediaWorks bosses, but no one could fix Three
Damien Venuto (Herald): MediaWorks boss Michael Anderson angrily rejects claim TV arm will be closed by Xmas
Kim Baker Wilson (1News): MediaWorks chief executive ‘categorically’ says Three won’t be shut by Christmas
Damien Venuto (Herald): MediaWorks sells off TV network: Slim pickings for new owner warns media expert Alex Lawson
Tom Pullar-Strecker & Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Television channel three ‘a good business’ struggling in a skewed market, says MediaWorks boss
Isaac Davison (Herald): End of TV3? Up to 550 jobs hang in balance at Mediaworks as TV business goes for sale with no buyers in sight
Nikki Preston (Herald): MediaWorks sale: Three’s top TV talent could jump ship
RNZ: MediaWorks to sell TV Three: ‘Everyone is in a state of shock’
Herald: MediaWorks employees’ plead on social media for someone to buy company
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): Media expert Bill Ralston warns ‘hundreds’ of journalism jobs could go if no Three buyer found
Herald: Hilary Barry ‘sad and concerned’ at MediaWorks’ sell-off plan
Teresa Ramsey and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Celebs react: Hilary Barry ‘incredibly sad and concerned’ about Three sale news
Herald: MediaWorks staff reeling at plan to sell off TV network, Auckland headquarters
Kerre McIvor (Herald): MediaWorks’ TV3 told me to lose weight to be the weather girl (paywalled)
Oscar Kightley (Stuff): TV3 was a special place to work, I’d be devastated to see it go
Kylie Klein-Nixon (Stuff): Three forever! These are the shows MediaWorks can’t afford to lose
Herald:The MediaWorks sale: what will happen to The Block, MAFS, Mark Richardson and Patrick Gower?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): MediaWorks producer says Three needs to look after star staff like Patrick Gower
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): MediaWorks quits television: Three will be sold – or closed
RNZ: TV Three is up for sale, and everyone’s talking
Herald: Cash-strapped MediaWorks to sell off TV business, building
James Croot (Stuff): TV3: Nearly 30 years of entertainment
NZ First
Richard Harman (Politik): NZ First looks forward while Winston looks back
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): NZ First shows its woke side, but don’t think Winston Peters is going anywhere
Claire Trevett (Herald): Claire Trevett: two days, two sides of NZ First Winston Peters (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Peters light on policy, heavy on punches as National attacks continue
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Young NZ First steps up to be heard
Jo Moir (RNZ): Young New Zealand First made its presence felt at conference
Claire Trevett (Herald): Is Winston Peters’ dance with Labour a danse macabre? (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): NZ First conference: No policy announcement from Peters
Jo Moir (RNZ): How will NZ First carve out its own path to avoid election defeat?
Jo Moir (RNZ): NZ First would only work with a National that ‘goes back to what it used to be’
Boris Jancic (Herald): Winston Peters lashes out at National but doesn’t rule out working with them
1News: ‘National party with a capital n’ – Winston Peters baits National, declares NZ First is the party of the centre
Newshub: Watch: Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ speech at New Zealand First party conference
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): NZ First revs engine on first day of party conference
Boris Jancic (Herald): Winston Peters starts election run-up with scattergun attack, MediaWorks jab
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Winston Peters admits there’s a ‘succession plan’ for New Zealand First leadership
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Cantankerous Winston Peters digs deep against National, MediaWorks and gun owners at NZ First conference
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Tracey Martin wants to run in Ōhāriu, the first of a wave of NZ First women candidates in Wellington
Tracy Watkins: SST Editorial: Poor Winston Peters? Poor us
Boris Jancic (Herald): ‘Good riddance’: Winston Peters lets loose on MediaWorks
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Winston Peters’ message for MediaWorks: ‘Good riddance’
RNZ: Winston Peters lashes out at media
1News: Winston Peters savages Mediaworks’ situation, saying it’s ‘good riddance’ to some staff
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Winston Peters says ‘good riddance’ to Three after sale announcement
Dan Satherley and Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Drug testing company welcomes NZ First’s rethink
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Young NZ First gets party to change drug policy
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): New Zealand First to reconsider its policy against drug testing pills at festivals
Jo Moir (RNZ): NZ First to reconsider position on drug testing
Boris Jancic (Herald): NZ First to rethink pill testing at music festivals
1News: NZ First to reconsider stance on pill testing at festivals
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): NZ First: Being young isn’t a crime, but teens should still do compulsory community service
Herald: Compulsory community service for teens? NZ First members say yes
Jo Moir (RNZ): NZ First conference: 90-day job trials for ex-prisoners among remits
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Winston Peters meets frustrated gun lobbyists at New Zealand First conference
Miriam Harris and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Gun owners pin hopes on NZ First
Jo Moir (RNZ): Gun owners force Winston Peters out of NZ First conference
Herald: NZ First greeted by gun-owning protesters at annual conference
Derek Cheng (Herald): Gun owners to dangle prospect of losing votes at NZ First conference
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘… the limelight has a way of craving me’
Paul Little (Herald): Should Cabinet ministers be allowed to play with guns?
Operation Burnham inquiry
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Defence chief says it ‘appears’ three-year-old Fatima killed in SAS-led raid
Boris Jancic (Herald): Burnham bombshell: 3-year-old girl appears to have died, NZDF chief admits
No Right Turn: Bullshitting the Minister
David Fisher (Herald): Opinion: Oversight of our military needed as Wayne Mapp bumbles into the carnage of the Operation Burnham inquiry (paywalled)
1News:‘I didn’t take any action’ – Former Defence Minister under scrutiny as Operation Burnham inquiry wraps up
RNZ: Ex-Minister knew of Operation Burnham report but didn’t pass information on
Newshub: Operation Burnham: Former Defence Minister says it was his decision to keep possible civilian deaths secret
Government
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Ending broken promises now key for Government
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Jacindamania II is not on the cards (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Jacinda Ardern faces her toughest year yet (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Learn to count’: Labour MP Willie Jackson fires shot at media over poll reporting
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): Floating in a liberal bubble about Jacinda
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Can Jacinda Ardern’s star dust weather domestic storms?
Michelle Duff (Stuff): What Jacinda and Clarke teach us about gender roles
Week in politics
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: PM Jacinda Ardern’s brain fade, National’s ad backdown (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in politics: Drop in polls bad news for Labour
Brent Edwards (NBR): Political jostling begins ahead of next year’s election (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Diary of All Blacks v Ireland (paywalled)
Parliament
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 12 months till the NZ election – what does the political landscape look like?
Derek Cheng (Herald): Simon Bridges bows to Speaker’s ruling and pulls National’s videos
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National back down on Parliament TV ads
RNZ: National agrees to take down parliamentary TV videos
Newshub: National leader Simon Bridges agrees to remove videos using Parliament TV footage
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Taking shots at MPs: the rules for filming the House
Warwick Rasmussen (Stuff): Winston Peters breaks into top 10 list of longest-serving MPs in New Zealand’s history
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Members’ worthwhile Bills left to languish
Morgan Godfery (E-Tangata): ‘They travel with shadows’
National Party
Dita De Boni (NBR): Deodorant king turned airline boss turned MP-in-waiting (paywalled)
Rod Oram (Newsroom): National has its own climate crisis
Fiona Connor (Newshub): National MP Mark Mitchell opens up about the toll of mental health on the frontline and within family
Police
Mark Hanna (RNZ): More cops with guns means more people shot by police
Tim McKinnel (RNZ): Do we need armed police in special vehicles patrolling communities?
Rob Rattenbury (Whanganui Chronicle): I was shot at twice, it’s time we armed our police officers
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): It’s a sad reality but Kiwi cops need to be armed
John Weeks (Stuff): Police to trial new armed unit after terror attack, ongoing meth and organised crime risk
Anna Whyte (1News): Specialist police trial criticised as treating areas ‘like a warzone’
RNZ: Armed police in special vehicles to patrol parts of the country
Reuters: New Zealand police to start armed patrols after Christchurch massacre
Ben Strang (RNZ): Police bullying claims: AOS member ‘feared’ for his safety during training
Local government – Wellington region
Amber-Leigh Woolf and Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Foster tests new councillors’ appetite for ‘asset recycling’ Wellington Airport shares
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Justin Lester says recount in Wellington in mayoralty race ‘likely’
Felix Desmarais, Katarina Williams and Amber-Leigh Woolf (Dominion Post): 62 vote defeat has ousted Wellington mayor Justin Lester considering a recount
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Wellington Mayor Andy Foster wins by just 62 votes
James Fyfe (Newshub): Justin Lester hints there could be a recount in Wellington City mayoralty race
Newshub: Wellington’s Mayor-elect Andy Foster doesn’t want a recount
RNZ: Wellington mayoralty: Andy Foster’s winning margin reduced in final count
Julie Iles (NBR): New mayor ‘suspicious’ of Let’s Get Wellington Moving business case (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Bring back sleeper train to Auckland, says councillor Thomas Nash
Mandy Te (Dominion Post): First week on the job: How are Wellington City Council’s youngest councillors doing?
Harry Lock (RNZ): Leaked email skewed election results, says outgoing Porirua mayor
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Mike Tana calls for formal investigation into council elections
Local government
Newshub: The Hui: Meet the new Māori you elected to council this year
ODT Editorial: Councils are not there yet
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Unsuccessful candidate says ‘root and branch’ change needed
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): ‘Unreliable’ postal service a turn-off to voters, say election companies
Laura O’Connell Rapira (Spinoff): Postal voting is a flimsy antique. The future is social voting
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Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Why is Auckland Council so eager to sell prime waterfront real estate to a millionaire developer?
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland’s new-look council: there’s a lot at stake
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Auckland Council could get greater oversight of AT, other CCOs as review promised by Christmas
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland mayor Phil Goff’s top advisor David Wood has gone
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Mike Lee’s career in local politics over: final results confirm Pippa Coom has won his seat
James Baker (Stuff): Auckland’s youngest councillor takes path less travelled
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Council development agency CEO Roger Macdonald on unexplained leave
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): Exclusive interview: whose name was drawn from the box?
Māori TV: Whakatāne election tie to be decided by hat draw
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Random chance may determine fate of Whakatane councillors
Richard Swainson (Waikato Times): Some in and some out, the Tron election shakes it all about
Shilo Kino (Herald): Local Focus: Race Relations Commissioner supports local Māori push for councillor Andrew Hollis to resign over comments
Gavin Ogden (Herald): Local Focus: From McDonald’s to Rotorua Council with advice from the PM, Fisher’s big day
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Review into monitoring staff Facebook use to be released to Council on Monday
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Napier Council was wrong to have declined owners’ application to investigate structural integrity of building
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): New councillor wins seat on New Plymouth Disrict Council by a three-vote margin
Skara Bohny (Nelson Mail): Nelson mayor wins international fellowship for women leaders
RNZ: New council CEO welcomes chance ‘to reshape a city’
Bruce Munro (ODT): The top job
Terrorism bill, Mark Taylor
Anna Whyte (1News): Terrorism bill could undermine human rights, warns Amnesty International
Dan Satherley and Miriam Harris (Newshub): Arrest warrant for ‘bumbling Jihadi’ proves new terror law not needed – Greens
Stuff: Warrant that would stop the man called the Kiwi jihadi at the border
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Green Party picks odd ditch to die in
Education
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): Turn the tables – Use technology to take care of our uni students (paywalled)
Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times): Waikato University student calls for more oversight of halls of residence
David Farrar: Massey confirms it is an enemy of free speech
1News: Lincoln University commits to largest array of solar panels at any NZ university
Simon Collins (Herald): Physical contact rules that led to bans on teachers hugging children may be relaxed
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Donation dilemma for mid-decile schools
Industrial relations, workplace safety
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Labour’s ‘absolutely fundamental’ promise to unions seems to have been parked (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Government wants legislation on fair pay agreements to be enduring (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Government to consult again on fair pay agreements (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): ‘We will fight you for ever and ever’: SkyCity AGM met by unionists with a message
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): 100 warnings issued to Kiwi benchtop makers working with potentially deadly silica dust
Justice, corrections
1News: Pressure to reinstate prisoner voting rights grows as 1 NEWS poll reveals over 50 per cent public backing
George Block (Stuff): Drones ‘significant threat’ to NZ prisons, but no Corrections policy despite warnings
1News: New Chief District Court Judge takes oath at Whale Rider location
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Whāngārā Marae welcomes home the Chief District Court Judge
Health
RNZ: Thousands of cancer patients missing out on life-saving radiation therapy
Nicole Bremner (1News): Medical professionals concerned their ethical rights may be eroded by health reforms
Emma Russell (Herald): Waikato mum suffering chronic pain told she can either pay $7500 for a scan or go on the waiting list (paywalled)
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): NZ’s high child obesity rate caused by poverty, media and poor education – experts
Pauline Norris and Va’a O Tautai (ODT): Racism leads to poor health
Cate Broughton (RNZ): Genter says surgical mesh injuries down
ODT: New Dunedin hospital build definitely going ahead, bar calamity
Georgia May Gilbertson (Stuff): What New Zealand’s first cancer wellness centre could be like
Naomi Arnold (Stuff): National portrait: Annette Milligan, public health campaigner
Gawen Carr (Spinoff): A view from the sharp end of New Zealand’s suicide problem
Dave Macpherson (Daily Blog): Government’s $100M rebuild of acute mental health facility the last part of the answer, not the first
1News: Better mental health services needed over new facilities, parents of suicide victim Nicky Stevens say
Astrid Austin (Hawkes Bay Today): ‘Really angry’: Six Hawke’s Bay DHB psychologists quit in two-year period (paywalled)
Sophie Trigger (Stuff): Coroners reports can plunge families back into grief long after loss
Measles
Zane Small (Newshub): Julie Anne Genter confirms ‘independent review’ of measles outbreak response
RNZ: Free measles vaccination for babies over six months
RNZ: Other parts of the Pacific increase measles precautions
Jenny Meyer (RNZ): Samoa’s health ministry urges NZ to control measles outbreak
RNZ: Research institute’s name used to spread false information on measles
Bevan Hurley (Stuff): The disgraced anti-vaxx doctor, the supermodel and the measles epidemic
Primary industries
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Stricter winter grazing rules hinted at in Government taskforce’s first report
Brent Edwards (NBR): O’Connor ‘outraged’ by farm lobby and Nats’ ‘scaremongering’ on water (paywalled)
Maja Burry (RNZ): M bovis risk sees lambs and goats dominate school pet days again
Maja Burry (RNZ): Chicken virus can be eradicated, MPI says
Herald Editorial: The (perhaps unwittingly) chilling effects of vegan protests (paywalled)
Housing
Laine Moger (Stuff): What it’s really like to be homeless aged 13 in Auckland
James Hollings (Stuff): Book review: Rottenomics lifts the lid on leaky buildings
Ben Leahy (Herald): Grey Lynn homes make three times more money in one year than average city workers (paywalled)
Brenda Harwood (ODT): Accessible rentals prove hard to find
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): More innovation needed to build houses ‘smarter and cheaper’
Rob Stock (Stuff): Fletcher’s giant home factory not first, not biggest
Transport
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): No guarantees for light rail after 2020 election
Rahul Bhattarai (Stuff): NZTA turns myth buster in battle to cut speed limits
Claire Dale (Herald): E-scooters are not compatible with age-friendly cities (paywalled)
Banks
Kirsty Johnston (Herald): David who? Disgraced ANZ bank boss David Hisco back in the lap of luxury (paywalled)
Kevin List (Evening Report): State of Play: What’s Happening to Kiwibank and How Many Branches Are Closing?
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Tackling the too big to fail problem
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Of chocolate biscuits and conflicted bank directors
KiwiSaver
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Building confidence: KiwiSaver – NZ’s growing pool of wealth (paywalled)
Richard Meadows (Stuff): The broken promise of KiwiSaver
Economy
Liam Dann (Herald): Government should ignore calls for panic spending (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Time for a little economic magic
Damien Grant (Stuff): When the wheels fall off our boy-racer economy we will not have monetary policy to soften the landing
John Roughan (Herald): Reserve Bank must cop some responsibility for low business confidence (paywalled)
China
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Labour MP Raymond Huo says his party is falling behind on dealings with China
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): ANZ, the National Party and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirm no involvement with John Key’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Environment
Kevin Hague (Herald): Freshwater reforms clearly show a better world is possible (paywalled)
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Extreme weather linked to greater public trust in science, survey shows
1News: Plummeting numbers puts pause on swimming with Bay of Islands dolphins
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): ‘Thumbs Up’ signatures climb
Sports broadcasting
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Rugby World Cup: Spark Sport adamant technology is working on its end, despite customer complaints
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Mediawatch: Rugby TV deal creates claims of conflicts
Adrian Seconi (ODT): Making cricket less accessible no way to inspire next generation
Tuia 250
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Tuia 250: monuments, memories and men of action
Herald: Land of the Long White Cloud: Pākehā New Zealanders reflect on their colonial past and future. Episode 1- Cook’s Legacy
Ellen O/Dwyer-Cunliffe (Stuff): Tuia 250 in Mercury Bay: A step ashore and between two worlds
Christine Rovoi (RNZ): Tupaia’s descendants shed new light on Cook’s navigator
Defence
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Kiwi Vietnam veterans urged to re-apply for government support
Lana Andelane (Newshub): New gender-neutral guidelines will allow male Navy personnel to wear makeup, false eyelashes
Gay conversion therapy
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Why the Government is unlikely to ban LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ anytime soon
1News: ‘More work needs to be done’ before gay conversion therapy banned in NZ, report says
Katie Fitzgerald (Newshub): Select committee fails to recommend conversion therapy ban
HART
ODT: Hart showed ‘the power of protest’
Trevor Richards (Newsroom): Turning ugly into transformational
Other
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): A poverty ‘crisis’: New figures show demand for food, housing
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Structural engineering review finds system-wide problems and ‘basic mistakes’
Mihingarangi Forbes (Newshub): The Hui: Australia’s treatment of deportees ‘racist’, deportees say
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Who should Te Papa choose to lead the national museum?
RNZ: The Detail: Construction sector more confident than surveys reveal
1News: Ngapuhi’s new leader wants investigation into tribe’s finances after Sonny Tau’s resignation
Nicholas Pointon (RNZ): ‘High cost’ parent visa could deter skilled migrants
Max Towle (RNZ): Horse racing shake-up: Selling tracks and outsourcing the TAB
Nathan Smith (NBR): ‘Spiral of silence’ has created a ‘dangerous’ RBNZ governor, think tank says (paywalled)
MIchael Reddell: The Deputy Governor goes to Sydney
Morgan Godfery: Ihumātao: the government problem that won’t go away
Tom Dillane (Herald): Government looking to ‘refocus’ public service to unbuilt South Auckland hub in Manukau
RNZ: Niueans mark 45 years of self-rule
Dubby Henry (Herald): Te Atatū self-defence death: How much force can you use to protect your property?
Martyn van Beynen (Stuff): Keeping New Zealand’s problems in perspective
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Hannah Tamaki shares fake image of Shane Jones shooting a Muslim woman
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Hannah Tamaki’s Vision NZ sets sights on NZ First voters
RNZ: Fatal voyage: accused people smuggler extradited from NZ
Miriam Harris (Newshub): What the Governor-General is up to in Asia this week
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Trade war fears diminish, exporters upbeat about year ahead: report (paywalled)
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): Around the world in five cannabis markets
Rachel Moore and Damian George (Stuff): Surf life saving clubs face uncertain future on New Zealand’s eroding coastlines
Rob Stock (Stuff): NZ Rugby plans to climb ‘Champions for Change’ league for women decision-makers
