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.
Zero Carbon Bill, climate change
Henry Cooke (Stuff): NZ First kept methane target from exiting Zero Carbon Bill
Zane Small (Newshub): Simon Bridges blasts New Zealand First as ‘no friend’ of regions and farmers
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Thank Winston
Amanda Larsson (Newsroom): Don’t kick climate to touch
ODT Editorial: Acting at the eleventh hour
David Cormack (Herald): NZ goes from fast follower to world leader (paywalled)
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Public-led approach to fight the climate crisis in 2020 discussed at conference
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Climate scientist rubbishes his student – Wellington councillor Sean Rush
Jenny Coatham (Spinoff): The young climate activists who broke through to the halls of power
Police
Tim Watkin (Pundit): No Longer An Operational Matter: Armed Police Now Must Become A Political Decision
Emma Cropper (Newshub): Video of man being pulled over sparks fears about new Armed Response Teams
No Right Turn: This is not what armed police are for
Firearms
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government widens gun law: Firearm Prohibition Orders to ban gangs and offenders from being around firearms
Derek Cheng (Herald): Firearms Prohibition Orders: Wide police powers to take guns from dangerous people
Anna Whyte (1News): Government pitches further gun restrictions aimed at high-risk individuals
RNZ: Govt wants to limit firearms access for those deemed high-risk
Zane Small (Newshub): Government considers National’s bid to give police ‘greater powers’ over gun control
Derek Cheng (Herald): Judicial review: Police Minister accused of asking the wrong questions when banning ammo
OK boomer
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): OK Boomer Ruling Class!
Claire Trevett (Herald): Millennials take pot shots at Boomers, but Generation X rules the roost in Parliament (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Policies ‘hard-code’ differences between Baby Boomers and younger generations, researcher says
Sustainable NZ
Sue Bradford (Pundit): Is Sustainable NZ An Endangered Species From Its Birth? Or Are Friends In The Wings?
Zane Small (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern throws doubt on Vernon Tava’s Sustainable NZ
Alex Braae (Spinoff): The new green party is still defined by the old Green party
No Right Turn: The astroturf party
1News: Sustainable New Zealand leader says new party could work with Labour or National
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Capitalism not the environment’s enemy – Sustainable NZ leader Vernon Tava
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington regional councillor finds home in Sustainable NZ Party
Winston Peters’ privacy breach lawsuit
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Peters and civil service chief don’t talk
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Winston Peters case: State Services Commissioner denies ‘acting politically’ when briefing Paula Bennett
Kim Baker Wilson (1News): Former top civil servant backs others who told ministers of Winston Peters’ superannuation over-payments
Yvette McCullough (NRZ): ‘I had no political motivation in deciding to brief my minister’
RNZ: Ministers’ briefing about Winston Peters’ pension completely appropriate – Sir Maarten
Derek Cheng (Herald): Winston Peters fact-check: $18,000 repayment amount ‘demonstrably false’ in 2017
Health
Jason Walls (Herald): Financial state of DHBs ‘concerning’ say Treasury as Govt earmarks $370m for bailouts (paywalled)
Emma Russell (Herald): Funding shortfall: Cancer agency will stall without more money (paywalled)
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Fair Care: Action promised on ‘burgeoning problem’ of diabetic amputations (paywalled)
RNZ: Samoan family mourns deaths of 2 children from suspected measles
RNZ: Measles outbreak: 6 quarantined in Fiij
Herald: Allergy NZ and Pub Charity behind bid to give EpiPens to 2500 at-risk children
RNZ: Free EpiPens to go towards thousands of at-risk New Zealanders
Ella Prendergast (Newshub): ‘Life-saving’ EpiPens should be publicly funded – Allergy NZ
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Lung cancer ALK+NSCLC genetic mutation screening could save lives – doctors
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Maternity plan ‘waste of two years’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Delays to patient test results, diagnoses likely as lab workers prepare two-day strike – union
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Dozens of Auckland beaches declared no-swim zones due to faecal contamination
1News: Warnings issued after nearly 40 Auckland beaches contaminated by faeces
Christchurch Principles
Boris Jancic (Herald): Former PM Helen Clark’s bid to make the internet safer and more democratic
David Hall (Spinoff): How the Christchurch Principles will fight the spread of hate
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): A principled way to prevent online hate
Online searches in Govt departments
Mitchell Alexander and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Live sex chats, bondage and smelly sock fetishes: The websites public officials attempt to access
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Porn storm: The Government departments clicking on illicit material
Mitchell Alexander and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): White supremacy, how to cheat exams: What ministry staff are searching online
Environment
Southland Times Editorial: Unfocused, under-resourced data collection has us flailing in the darkness of environmental perils
RNZ: The Detail: Three years in, how realistic is our Predator-Free 2050 goal?
David Williams (Newsroom): Inside the break-up of DoC’s IT unit
David Loughrey (ODT): Hoiho’s big win ‘bittersweet’ for bird’s champions
RNZ: Bird of the year 2019: Hoiho takes the winning title
1News: Hoiho wins Bird of the Year competition
Nik Dirga (RNZ): Bird of the Year competition: Keeping the good vibe flying high
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Protesters vow to occupy Auckland’s Ōwairaka/Mt Albert 24/7 to block removal of trees
D’Angelo Martin (Māori TV): 345 exotic trees get the chop
Education
Mike Hosking: (Newstalk ZB): Government gets schooled on education reforms
Ella Prendergast and Dan Satherley (Newshub): School support staff begin week of protest over low pay
Luke Kirkness (Herald): ‘I am spitting tacks over this’: Auckland bus strike disrupts students sitting exams, father outraged
Giselle Byrnes (Spinoff): Nailing jelly to the wall? Universities, academic freedom and free speech
Building standards, safety
Phil Pennington (RNZ): CertMark founder should not have held job ‘relating to quality control’ – ex-employer
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Claims NZ’s defective buildings are a threat to public safety
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Another building closes following Statistics House partial collapse
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Levin Courthouse to close for earthquake strengthening
NZ firefighters sent to Australia
1News: Kiwi firefighters sent across the ditch to help battle ‘catastrophic’ Australian wildfires
Audrey Young (Herald): NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offers support as Australian fires worsen
Local government
Joseph Romanos (Dominion Post): Lester tackled to a host of difficult issues during his mayoralty
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): Time to revive the flag? No not that one – the Wellington one
ODT: Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher elected unopposed to two roles with LGNZ
Primary industries
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Financial pressure on rural sector ‘likely to get worse’
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Dairy NZ: economy could be ‘significantly harmed’ under freshwater reforms
Andrea Fox (Herald): Fonterra shareholder watchdog to self-review after performance backlash (paywalled)
Justice, corrections
Herald: Video explains how the New Zealand judicial system works
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): New App helps corrections staff learn Te Reo
Vision NZ
1News: Hannah Tamaki wants no more mosques or ‘other foreign buildings of worship’ built in New Zealand
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Hannah Tamaki’s Vision NZ says it will ban the construction of mosques, temples and other ‘foreign buildings’
Herald: Destiny Church’s Hannah Tamaki calls for ban on new mosques
Other
David Cohen (RNZ): Abuse in care hearings: Survivors’ stories tell of an era of pop therapies
Kelly Doust (Guardian): Helen Clark: ‘I’d like to think I was ahead of my time’
1News: Auckland port looks destined for Northland move after report finds it ‘economically and environmentally unviable’
1News: Oranga Tamariki uplifts labelled ‘national disaster’ by Whānau Ora and family law expert
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): ACC investment chief quitting to found own firm – with ACC as anchor customer
Jim Rolfe (Incline): A National Security Strategy for New Zealand?
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Dunedin faces summer without largest water supply
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Foam firefighting rules exposed
Sally Rae (ODT): Glenaray tenure review open for reaction
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Orari Gorge Station owners aren’t ruling out further protection
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Rachel Boyack returns as Labour Party candidate in Nelson for 2020
John Gibb (ODT): MPs reveal motivations, inspirations at public lecture
Carmen Hall (Herald): Transitional housing in Tauranga costs taxpayers more than $9 million dollars (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): The OCR review this week: We’ve got a live one!
Brian Easton (Pundit): Secular Stagnation?
Paul Goldsmith (Stuff): Government needs to stop blaming offshore problems for local jobs slump
Max Towle (RNZ): Poet’s Corner
Mandy Te (Stuff): Te Papa Museum visitors told to look and sometimes touch
Michael Cropp (RNZ): Electric ferry under construction for Wellington will be first in Southern Hemisphere
RNZ: White Silence: Former Deputy PM’s biggest regret after Air NZ Erebus crash
1News: Sex therapist warns ‘aggressive, violent’ porn warping Kiwi kids’ views on sex
1News: Prince Charles, Camilla to visit site of Christ Church Cathedral during New Zealand tour
1News: TVNZ appoints new board chair
