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.
Defence, Foreign affairs
Audrey Young (Herald): The real message behind Ron Mark’s latest Defence paper (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): The real threat to the Pacific
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Defence’s dance around China in the Pacific
Derek Cheng (Herald): Defence Minister: People, more than money, will win favour with the Pacific
Zane Small (Newshub): Defence Minister Ron Mark hopes China ‘adheres to openness and transparency like we do’
RNZ: NZ looks to enhance links with Pacific’s militaries – report
Mandy Te (Stuff): Chinese naval training vessel, Qi Jiguang, spotted in Wellington Harbour
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Winston Peters’ North Asia visit comes at a sensitive time (paywalled)
RNZ: Ardern to discuss strategic and security issues at East Asia Summit
RNZ: Christchurch to host high level trade talk ahead of APEC 2021
Transport
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Phil Twyford repeatedly ‘forgot’ key NZTA job offer, until he couldn’t
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Why Phil Twyford should absolutely be sacked (and why he absolutely shouldn’t)
John Anthony (Stuff): Two million reasons why Christopher Luxon will want new Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran to do well
Nikki Preston (Herald): New multi-regional bus ticketing system runs over time and budget (paywalled)
Jono Edwards (ODT): Ticketing project over time, budget
Primary industries
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Freshwater package not etched in stone: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): ‘Action plan’ announced to address primary sector worker shortages
Sam Kilmister (Manawatū Standard): Government announces plan to get more skilled workers into primary industries
David Williams (Newsroom): Controversial Mackenzie farm gets pivotal consent
1News: One in three New Zealanders have cut down on meat consumption, new study shows
RNZ: Third of New Zealanders eliminate or cut down on eating meat – research
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Free-range chickens kept in flocks of 36,000
Leighton Keith (Stuff): Concerns for the future of New Zealand’s billion dollar chicken farming industry after virus outbreak
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Fonterra accused of PR stunt with Open Gates campaign
Gerard Hutching (Stuff): Fonterra to shift 160 staff from Auckland head office to Takanini
Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in Care
Wilhelmina Shrimpton (Newshub): State care abuse survivors call on Government to ‘show some remorse’
Laine Moger (Stuff): Abuse Inquiry: Claims of historical child rape at state-owned care institutions heard
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Abuse in Care Royal Commission: Survivors recall abuse and violence
RNZ: New Royal Commission chair to be announced ‘very shortly’
1News: Witnesses give evidence at Royal Commission inquiry into abuse in state care
Christopher Longhurst (Stuff): An abuse survivor’s plea: Be open and honest with us
Tiwai Point
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): MPs turn up the heat as Rio Tinto Tiwai Point closure consensus grows
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Rio Tinto ‘not bluffing’ about threat to shut Tiwai Point smelter
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Can Southland’s economy cope if the smelter doors are shut?
Mark Revington (NBR): Head winds or shakedown? Tiwai Point’s future doubtful (paywalled)
Health and disability
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Radical change needed to address health inequity
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Emergency department doctors call for ethnicity-specific audits of health outcomes
Catherine Hutton (RNZ): Disability advocate takes govt ministers to court over employment situation
Katie Todd (RNZ): Checkpoint: Counsellors unpaid as Mike King’s Gumboot Fund runs out of cash
1News: Battle for life-saving drugs now harder as Pharmac absorbs $5m rare disorders fund – critics
1News: Rotorua principal says action needs to be taken to stop high school kids vaping
Sophie Trigger (Stuff): Championing for funded mammograms past age 70
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Misdiagnosed cancer patient’s final wish comes through, with help from DHB
Laura Smith (OD)T: 100 attend first Southland charity hospital meeting
1News: Mum on mission for funding of life-changing Type 1 diabetes technology
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Fresh calls for young people to get vaccinated against meningococcal disease
Education
Simon Collins (Herald): Generation Debt: Student loan always paid on time, yet doubled by interest (paywalled)
Simon Collins (Herald): Generation Debt: Student loan for life was ‘well worth it’ (paywalled)
Simon Collins (Herald): Generation Debt: Science trumps music when you have to pay for it (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National attacks proposed student voice centre as ‘taxpayer-funded training for Labour activists’
Katie Todd (RNZ): Complaints over University of Canterbury counselling service prompt changes
Tom Hunt (Stuff): $19,000 a year to live at Victoria University hall as fees soar
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): New Lincoln agritech research centre wins ministerial support
Simon Collins (Herald): Teaching Council says trebling of misconduct cases not due to teacher shortage
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Parent reports forged signature at ECE centre, wants answers
1News: Principal’s urgent plea for more trained counsellors to help high school students
Local government
Stephen Forbes (Interest): Councillor calls for wider review of Super City’s governance structure
Todd Niall (Stuff): Eden Park stadium: Auckland venue makes new bid to stage six concerts
1News: South African immigrant who fell in love with Gisborne 18 years ago takes over as mayor
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Former journalist feels stabbed in the back by election recount
Damian George (Dominion Post): Newly-elected deputy mayor Sarah Free says she won’t fight any decision to replace her
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington City Council inauguration in the shadow of a vote recount
Harry Lock (RNZ): Wellington council should ‘rein in’ airport expansion, environmental group says
Dominic Harris (Press): $80m Govt cash could fund Christchurch’s green spine, revamp roads
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Christchurch regeneration fund may be used for Avon River Corridor and transport projects
Jono Edwards (ODT): Questions to ask and much to sort out
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Aurora review will also look at allegations on social media
NZ Wars
1News: Public holiday ‘not the way we build our shared understanding’ of NZ Land Wars, Ardern says
Robin Martin (RNZ): Te Pūtake o te Riri: Emotions run high on second day of commemorations
Christina Persico (Stuff): Stories shared on day two of Land Wars commemorations
Housing
RNZ: NZ’s damp housing: 318,000 homes affected
Rob Stock (Stuff): Renter’s win over damp, uninsulated home sends message to landlords
Brent Edwards (NBR): Housing problems a failure of regulation, not market, says Collins (paywalled)
Ambe-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Man’s questionable tiny house in Hutt Valley could set legal precedent, court hears
Abortion
Zane Small (Newshub): Abortion providers say women should have final decision, not GPs
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘I died inside’: Woman holds back tears in abortion law submission
SkyCity fire
RNZ: SkyCity fire: Workers have ‘sore throats’ and are ‘fainting’, union says
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): SkyCity Convention Centre fire raises employment questions
Michael Neilson (Herald): ‘No witch hunt’: SkyCity boss concerned for welfare of person thought to have started convention centre blaze
Herald: SkyCity blaze: 10 agencies now investigating massive Auckland fire
Media
Mel Bunce (Herald): It’s no joke Winston Peters – why it’s time to act fast to support media (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Deal done to buy major MediaWorks shareholder may not be good news for NZ business
Oranga Tamariki
Māni Dunlop, (RNZ): Māori flock to Māori-led Oranga Tamariki inquiry
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): Whanau care: Ngati Kahungunu reveals plan to stop Oranga Tamariki baby uplifts (paywalled)
IRD
Aimee Shaw (Herald): IRD’s efforts to crackdown on hidden economy ‘five years late’: tax expert (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): IRD mulls crackdown on house flippers suspected to be rorting the tax system
KiwiSaver
Martin Hawes (Stuff): It’s time we did more to help people who are self-employed
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): A $2000-a-year sweetener might help more Kiwis save for retirement, Retirement Commissioner says
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Would you voluntary put more money in your KiwiSaver if a $2k govt contribution was up for grabs?
David Boyle (Stuff): Why KiwiSaver is stuck in go-slow mode
Rob Stock (Stuff): Eight in 10 KiwiSavers expect no human rights abusers or tax-dodgers in their funds
Justice, corrections
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Plotting the survival of the Sensible Sentencing Trust
Emma Perry (ODT): Jobs expo holds out hope for inmates
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Residents told that backpackers likely to become ex-prisoner accommodation
National on gangs
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Simon Bridges won’t block gang members accessing healthcare as he’s not a ‘heartless bastard’
James Fyfe (Newshub): National Party confirms crackdown on gang members’ illegal income
Police
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Islamic community in south Auckland want armed police
Sam Sherwood (Press): Fleeing driver allegedly ran at least three red lights before fatal crash
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Christchurch needs a police chopper to tackle fleeing drivers
Maxine Jacobs (Waikato Times): Waikato car chase abandoned, ‘risk to public too great’
Lana Andelane (Newshub): ‘We’re just normal people’: NZ Police say tattoos help to ‘humanise’ the force
Islamic State, Louisa Akavi
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Louisa Akavi kidnap: No new info after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death in Syria
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Islamic State still threat to New Zealanders – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Environment, conservation
Jamie Morton (Herald): 150 young scientists urge Greens to re-think GE
Alistair Lynn (Newshub): DoC concerned ‘mega mast’ could wipe out native bird populations in some areas
Destiny Church
Gia Garrick (1News): High Court reinstates charitable status of two Destiny Church entities, allowing tax exemptions
Herald: Destiny Church charities status reinstated after earlier being deregistered
RNZ: High Court orders three Destiny Church charities to be re-registered
Other
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Migrant exploitation affecting country’s ‘international reputation’, says Government
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Former Chorus subcontractor Sunwin Technologies ordered to pay $53,449 by Employment Relations Authority
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Opposition says terror law deal with Greens undermines intelligence agencies
Brian Easton (Pundit): Are We Doing Enough For Those On Low Incomes?
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Balancing development: Growth and the ‘augmented workforce’
Michael Reddell: Two years on
Jannah Dennison (Spinoff): In an ideal world, euthanasia would make sense. We don’t live in an ideal world
Karl du Fresne (Stuff): Book banning highlights threats facing free speech
Rawinia Higgins (Spinoff): Marcus Lush is on the right side of history. Mangling Māori names is no longer ‘the way it is’
Chris Morris (ODT): Expectations high of PGF monies for Dunedin projects
ABC: Landmark class action over PFAS contamination in Australia announced
Luke Kirkeby (Stuff): DIA questioned over concerning gaming venue conduct
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): ‘Arrogant and disrespectful’ freedom campers sadden Ngāi Tūhoe
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): The flurry and futility of 5G protests
ODT Editorial: The young find their voice
Skara Bohny (Nelson Mail): Jeweller behind Redneck Christmas has ‘Camp Christmas’ float turned down
