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
National Party leadership
Luke Malpass and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Simon Bridges vs Todd Muller: It’s all about the big W for National
Ben Thomas (Spinoff): The National Party coup has gone public. Can Simon Bridges cling on?
Luke Malpass (Stuff): National had better be sure if Simon Bridges is to be axed
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Does National Still Need A Street-Fighting Man?
Claire Trevett (Herald): Game on for Simon Bridges and Todd Muller (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): How Bridges flushed out Muller
Audrey Young (Herald): Simon Bridges’ leadership hangs by a thread as he prepares for showdown with Muller
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Simon Bridges made ‘political power play for the ages’, puts coup on his own terms – Tova O’Brien
Cat MacLennan (RNZ): Why Bridges’ leadership tactics are tanking his ratings
Gordon Campbell: On the (lack of) alternatives to Simon Bridges\
Claire Trevett (Herald): National Party’s Simon Bridges lays down gauntlet to challengers
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Simon Bridges challenges leadership rivals to ‘put up or shut up’
Newstalk ZB: Peter Dunne: Simon Bridges has won ’round one’ of leadership fight
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Fight your corner Simon Bridges – the madness of National rolling a leader 4 months from the election
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): National can still win this election (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): National are blowing their election chances
1News: Simon Bridges acknowledges coup attempt within his own party after disastrous poll
Jason Walls and Claire Trevett (Herald): National leadership coup: Todd Muller confirms he’ll challenge Simon Bridges on Friday
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Todd Muller confirms leadership challenge, tells National MPs Simon Bridges cannot win election
1News: ‘Not possible to win with Simon Bridges’ – Todd Muller officially fighting for National Party leadership
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National leadership: Todd Muller emails coup challenge to caucus, saying National can’t win under Simon Bridges
Audrey Young (Herald): Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye, historic rivals to Simon Bridges (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Todd Muller, the man who could be prime minister
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Todd Muller facing name recognition challenge with New Zealanders
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye: Who are the National MPs taking a pop at leading the party?
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National confirms leadership vote to be held on Friday
Jason Walls and Claire Trevett (Herald): Simon Bridges coup: National considers emergency caucus meeting on Friday
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Simon Bridges considering early caucus meeting to head off leadership challenge
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National leadership vote could be held on Friday
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Woodhouse pledges allegiance as Bridges faces challenge
Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Simon Bridges faces coup: Judith Collins says no-confidence vote would fail
Collette Devlin and Henry Cooke (Stuff): National leadership woes: MP says Muller is ‘pale stale male’
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Power Play – It’s all on as Simon Bridges appears to call challengers’ bluff
1News: National planning emergency caucus meeting as potential leadership candidate pledges allegiance to Simon Bridges
1News: Simon Bridges acknowledges coup attempt within his own party after disastrous poll
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Bridges backs himself, saying the challenge to his leadership will be dealt with ‘quickly’
AAP (Guardian): New Zealand opposition leader Simon Bridges to face National party leadership challenge
Herald: ‘Paula Benefit’ slip least of Bridges’ worries – Winston Peters
Newstalk ZB: ‘Paula Benefit’: Simon Bridges mispronounces Paula Bennett’s name
Economy, PM promotes four-day working week
RNZ: Collateral Damage: The cost of fighting Covid-19
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern flags four-day working week as way to rebuild New Zealand after Covid-19
Giovanni Torre (Daily Telegraph): Four-day working week mooted as part of recovery
Newstalk ZB: PM, Perpetual Guardian champion four day working week
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Kiwi businessman says four day work week could help to rebuild NZ’s economy
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): ‘All we’ve seen is the disruption, the real recession starts now’ – economist
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Treasury modelling helicopter money, not tax hikes
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Treasury: post-Covid unemployment forecast of 4% to 6% ‘about level of precision you can expect’
Cameron Bagrie (Stuff): Higher taxes or bold decisions; the stark choice facing post-Covid governments
D’Angelo Martin (Māori TV): $14.7m to go towards recovering regional economy
Fletchers
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): Fletcher Building’s heavy cuts highlight the economic pain ahead (paywalled)
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Construction workers hitting the streets as job cuts arrive
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Fletcher Building job cuts paint grim picture of economy, analyst says
Anne GIbson (Herald): Four reasons Fletcher Building so hard hit: Ross Taylor reveals why 1500 jobs could go (paywalled)
Tim Hunter (NBR): NZ residential market outlook ‘savage’, says Fletcher CEO (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Fletcher to lay off 1000 Kiwis, 500 Australians as part of business reset
1News: Fletcher Building to lay off 10% of workforce, about 1000 jobs in NZ
Katie Bradford (1News): About 1000 NZ jobs to vanish as Fletcher Building announces massive redundancy plan
RNZ: Fletcher Building to lay off 1000 staff in New Zealand
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Fletcher Building to axe 1000 jobs in New Zealand
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Fletcher stresses importance of independence, won’t continue wage subsidy
Herald Editorial: Where to now for Fletcher Building after 1500-job bombshell? (paywalled)
Air New Zealand
RNZ: Checkpoint: Air NZ cabin crew on furlough: Hibernation or hostage-taking?
1News: Air New Zealand announces 3500 job losses due to Covid-19 pandemic
John Anthony (Stuff): Air New Zealand making more than 1300 staff redundant, union says
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air NZ – more than 1300 staff to lose jobs: union
RNZ: Air NZ: 1300 cabin crew lose their jobs, process ‘rushed’
1News: Air New Zealand to make more than 1300 cabin crew redundant – union
Tracing app
Chris Keall (Herald): Govt tracing app only good for ‘one unlikely scenario’ – academic
Katie Kenny (Stuff): What use is the Government’s app, really?
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Ministry of Health defends using Amazon to develop NZ COVID-19 Tracer app
Herald: ‘Digital diary’ tracing app trips up; users unable to log on, ‘can’t use it’
Mahmoud Elkhodr (The Conversation): New Zealand’s COVID-19 Tracer app won’t help open a ‘travel bubble’ with Australia anytime soon
1News: Flaws in Government’s contact tracing app beginning to surface, just hours after release
Newstalk ZB: Plenty of flaws in contact tracing app, claims businessman
RNZ: More than 92,000 people already registered on NZ tracing app – Bloomfield
RNZ: Covid-19 contact tracing app – case number still key factor in alert levels
1News: Dr Bloomfield reassures Kiwis privacy is priority in new Covid-19 contact tracing app
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ’s Covid-19 app: Everything you need to know
Alex Braae (Spinoff): What you need to know about the government’s new contract tracing app
Epidemic Response Committee
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government is doubling down on ‘dismiss’ don’t ‘defend’ attitude (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern defends letter telling ministers to avoid COVID-19 Epidemic Response Committee
Zane Small (Newshub): Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis accused of skipping COVID-19 committee for Facebook Live
Public health measures
Phil Pennington (RNZ): ‘Sore throat’ omitted from Covid-19 arrival cards
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Father who caught COVID-19 from Waitakere nurse daughter says he did ‘everything humanly possible’ to avoid it
Natalia Sutherland (1News): Uber Eats and supervised walks: A glimpse into Covid-19 quarantine for Kiwis returning home
Collette Devlin (Stuff): PM Jacinda Ardern says ‘no timeframe’ for move to Alert Level 1
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Level 2 restrictions to be reviewed every two weeks – Jacinda Ardern
Anna Whyte (1News): Increase to gatherings under Level 2 to be considered by Cabinet on Monday
RNZ: ‘We do intend to keep phasing in additional activity under level 2’ – PM
Herald: Cabinet to consider mass gathering rules
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Life in limbo for NZ religions
1News: Three Covid-19 cycles with no community transmission, but Ardern cautions NZ’s ‘journey is far from over’
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Oz preparing for second covid-19 wave, NZ isn’t: AFT Pharmaceuticals (paywalled)
Herald: National MP: Social distancing rules from ‘St Jacinda’ are rubbish
Matt Burrows (Newshub): ‘I’m no sheep’: National MP Matt King rubbishes Government’s COVID-19 distancing rules
RNZ: Pilots want mandatory face masks for air travellers
Extra public holiday
1News: Winston Peters pours cold water on one-off public holiday idea
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Peters: NZ First won’t support more public holidays
Michael Daly (Stuff): The evolution of public holidays, as Government considers an extra long weekend
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Make Matariki the one-off public holiday on July 13 this year
RNZ: Calls for Matariki to be new public holiday
Health
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Health system ‘reset’: Auckland DHB debates prioritising Māori and Pacific patients for elective surgeries
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Hospital picks clinicians’ least preferred option for new build
Mike Houlahan (ODT): $40m cost to fix Wakari Hospital: report
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Fears delays to bowel screening could be deadly
Aaron van Delden: Lockdown adds to Gisborne surgery backlog – and no end in sight
RNZ: Checkpoint: More lives at risk in mental health units – grieving parents
Local government
Conan Young (RNZ): Christchurch red bus fleet could be sold after council weighs options
RNZ: Auckland Council pay cuts: ‘It’s a big call on them’ – Phil Goff
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council targets savings of $120 million, says chief executive Stephen Town
Todd Niall (Stuff): Aucklanders give thumbs up to council’s Covid-19 response
Michael Neilson (Herald): Okura/Long Bay developer Todd Property to pay Auckland Council and others $300,000 after failed appeal
Georgina Campbell (Herald): What did Wellington mayor Andy Foster learn on his $30k leadership course?
RNZ: Checkpoint: Elderly Mangawhai couple may lose home in long-running rates dispute
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Whakatāne council chases government for costs of three crises
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Outrage as Dunedin Council spends $40k on street makeover in response to COVID-19
Mark Price (ODT): Repay Aurora Energy dividends, DCC told
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): $10 ticket: Voucher scheme could boost Palmerston North retail
Environment
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Budget too weak on climate – Commission
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Ambition in Spain
Catherine Leining (Interest): Even against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot afford to press ‘pause’ on climate action
Stuff Editorial: Climate change creeps in during focus on Covid-19
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): New Zealand’s world-leading carbon cuts in coronavirus lockdown
Nina Hindmarsh (Stuff): Council slammed for springs’ Environment Court submission as ‘scandalous’
Georgina Campbell (Herald): 120 tonnes in one day: Wellington recycling like ‘Christmas on steroids’
Transport
Paul Minett (Spinoff): Auckland’s traffic doesn’t have to go back to being ‘Auckland traffic’
RNZ: Four-year closure of station, rail crossing due to Auckland CRL construction start soon
ODT Editorial: Merit in exploring commuter rail
1News: Disability advocate calls for less congested footpaths as NZTA considers rule change
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Rumours rife over Transmission Gully construction as negotiations drag
Housing
1News: $6b annual cost of tolerating damp, mouldy homes in NZ outweighs price to insulate them – advocate
RNZ: Rents could stabilise as Airbnb properties get sold, converted
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Māori make up 60% of homeless, 40% of public housing tenants – Te Matapihi
Māori TV: Jacinda Ardern speaks on working alongside Māori
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Which regions of New Zealand will have biggest house price falls?
Greg Ninness (Interest): ANZ warns there’s a risk house prices could fall by more than 10% to 15% this year
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Borrowers rush to break loan terms for cheaper rates, but is it a good idea?
Education
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Victoria University forges ahead with ’employee gifting programme’
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Victoria University staff asked to donate salaries to save jobs
Simon Collins (Herald): School attendance up marginally but Northland parents still nervous
Simon Collins (Herald): School asks children to wait outside gate until staggered entry times
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Number of students heading back to class continues to climb post lockdown
John Lewis (ODT): Many schools in South still waiting for govt-funded devices
New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey
Herald: Advocate calls for justice reform after survey finds sexual violence vastly unreported in NZ
Kristin Edge (Northern Advocate):Reporting sexual assault: Specialist police teams and court in North could help victims
RNZ: Crime survey shows Kaupapa Māori services need more resources, staff – advocate
Insurance
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Take care before jumping on insurance relief, FMA warns
Tamsyn Parker (Herald: Regulator warns of fishhooks in insurance industry’s financial relief offers (paywalled)
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Media on the block vulnerable to vultures?
Kate McNamara (Stuff): Despite NZME’s clumsy wooing, there are still compelling reasons to link with Stuff
Police
Robin Martin (RNZ): Man shot dead by police was still in stolen car – police
Robin Martin (RNZ): Police remain at scene of fatal shooting in Taranaki
Leighton Keith (Stuff): Police challenged Taranaki man several times before shooting him dead
Ben Leahy (Herald): Taranaki man shot by police named as Allan Rowe
Tourism
1News: Tourists still barred from Cape Reinga despite drop to Alert Level 2
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Chatham Islands offers ‘overseas’ holiday during Covid crisis
Primary industries
1News: Agriculture Minister says drought relief funding won’t go directly towards feed
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Govt buying 2000 pigs a week as industry struggles with surplus
Other
Julie Iles (NBR): Privacy Act stuck in ‘Covid limbo,’ Commissioner says (paywalled)
RNZ: Winston Peters says leak details came from media: ‘We, and others, know who the leak is’
Mahina Hurkmans (Māori TV): Call for more support for whānau relying on benefit
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): ‘Forgotten’ migrants locked out
Mickey Treadwell (Spinoff): There and back again: The bill targeting workers’ right in the screen industry
Yvette Tinsley and Nessa Lynch (Newsroom): Remote justice? Criminal proceedings in a pandemic
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): Done too much, much too young – KiwiSaver’s teen angst (paywalled)
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Up to 20 lives may have been saved during lockdown as workers stayed home
Josephine Franks (Stuff): 29 countries stop sending post to NZ, Kiwis waiting months for letters
RNZ: Potato prices up 18 percent as food costs rise in April
Hannah Martin and Kate Green (Stuff): Beauty giant Mecca barring entry to customers with high temperatures
Stuff: Millions due to Corrections under bond for building prefab cells
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into Oranga Tamariki continues to progress
Rebecca Moore (1News): Tearfund postpones ethical fashion guide amid pandemic, instead encourages Kiwi brands to ‘build back better’
David Williams (Newsroom): Billionaire drops lakeside lodge plan
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): 185,000 households could be told to move off copper phone lines any time from March
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Kiwi Salvation Army worker allegedly murdered in Tonga
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Sir Apirana Ngata’s legacy to continue with funding – Te Puia Gen Manager
Paul Hobbs (1News): Man charged with threatening to kill Jacinda Ardern elects for jury trial
Michael Hayward (Stuff): New World Redcliffs sacks 19 staff as it rebrands to Four Square
