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
Auckland light rail, coalition tensions
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Phil Twyford, minister of embarrassing failures
Audrey Young (Herald): Pressure on Transport Minister Phil Twyford over light rail being ditched (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Political utu in the coalition
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government’s handbrake: What else has New Zealand First kiboshed, blocked or modified?
Charlie Dreaver and Jo Moir (RNZ): Casualties of the coalition government continue to grow
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Fault and blame for the light rail failure: so many targets (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Too many hands make light rail not work
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Hate Speech & light rail kicked for touch – NZ First steps up as Labour’s Green handbreak & Jacinda is grateful
Newstalk ZB: Twyford, Shaw on future of light rail, what it means for Coalition
Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responds to claims Government ‘tearing itself apart’
Zane Small and Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, Phil Twyford ‘disappointed’ consensus not reached with New Zealand First on light rail
Henry Cooke (Stuff): James Shaw says NZ First are breaching their coalition agreement by axing light rail plan
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Auckland councillor gutted by light rail delay announcement
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government’s flagship transport policy axed
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): ‘Disappointing and frustrating’: Auckland’s light rail process ‘ended’
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Light rail process dead; NZ First claims another policy scalp (paywalled)
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Auckland light rail process ends after govt fails to reach agreement
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Government spent $5 million on failed Auckland light rail project, but Labour intends to resuscitate it after election
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Auckland light rail dead; Ministry of Transport preferred the Super Fund’s bid
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Auckland Light Rail put on ice
1News: Auckland light rail process halted, future to be decided after election
Zane Small (Newshub): Auckland light rail canned for now as Government parties ‘unable to reach agreement’
Julie Iles (NBR): Cabinet unable to agree on Light Rail proposals (paywalled)
Prisoner voting
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Prisoner voting bill passes in chaotic night at Parliament
Anna Whyte (1News): Prisoner voting rights bill passes in Parliament
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Bizarre scenes as Parliament legalises prisoner voting
No Right Turn: Erasing a stain on our democracy
Border, quarantine
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): David Clark is not responsible
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Health Minister David Clark brutally throws Dr Ashley Bloomfield under the bus while standing right next to him
Herald: Health Minister David Clark throws Dr Ashley Bloomfield under the bus – as he stands right behind him
RNZ: Checkpoint: Untested compassionate exemptions an ‘operational’ responsibility – Health Minister
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Managed isolation testing failures lead to buck passing but no answers
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Government unsure of how many essential workers have arrived
Gordon Campbell: On negating Covid-19 success, and K-pop’s links with black activism
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Health Minister David Clark admits he’s yet to visit a coronavirus isolation facility
Derek Cheng (Herald): Revealed – more than 1000 people may have left isolation without a test
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Coronavirus tests refused as health officials find more than 400 weren’t tested
Jamie Morton (Herald): Just how vulnerable are NZ’s borders?
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield can’t ‘categorically’ rule out undetected community transmission
Alan Kenyon (1News): Ardern denies claim there is Covid-19 community transmission when pressed by Muller
1News: National’s Todd Muller suspects undetected community spread of Covid-19 in NZ
RNZ: Covid-19 managed isolation and testing: by the numbers
RNZ: 51 out of 55 people not tested before taking compassionate leave under level 1
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Why 55 New Zealanders were granted compassionate exemptions
Derek Cheng (Herald): How many border failures were there? David Clark won’t say
Cira Olivier (Herald): Unofficial case in Rotorua quarantine after packed bus trip (paywalled)
Herald: Packed bus trip to Rotorua quarantine hotel ‘appalling’, says traveller
RNZ: ‘It’s not so kind ‘ – rise in hostility towards NZers looking to come home
Spinoff: Guest Post: Locked down in a Rotorua hotel. Exhausted. And now berated by the public
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Rotorua’s quarantined travellers, tourism operators upset with local isolation facilities
1News: Family of slain police officer Matthew Hunt granted permission to isolate together in Auckland
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Her Majesty’s quarantine: My life in coronavirus isolation
Community testing
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Ministry of Health reintroduces high risk criteria for Covid-19 testing
Amelia Wade (Herald): Testing regime under ‘significant and unexpected’ pressure as tests hit record high
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): ‘Stressed’ people lining up for hours to get swab tested
Jean Bell (RNZ): Auckland community testing centres still busy
Jane Nixon (1News): Traffic delays around Auckland Covid-19 testing station could put pregnant women at risk, midwife warns
Kristin Hall (1News): Doctors swamped with patients amid more Covid-19 testing and onset of flu season
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Whangarei ‘ran out of swabs’, experiencing a possible test shortage
Homeless man quarantine claims
Matt Burrows (Newshub): ‘It’s really difficult to prove’: Michael Woodhouse defends claim homeless man got free two-week stay at hotel
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Todd Muller backs Michael Woodhouse despite doubt over homeless man claim
1News: ‘I back him’ – Todd Muller stands by MP’s claim a homeless man bluffed his way into fancy quarantine hotel
Quarantine payment
ODT Editorial: ‘Fairness’ in co-payment plan
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Taxpayers’ Union urges Human Rights Commission to speak up on Kiwis paying for quarantine
Covid 19 – loneliness, prejudice
RNZ: People on low incomes lonelier during lockdown – report
1News: NZ a ‘whole lot less’ racially prejudiced compared to other countries amid Covid-19 – study
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Prejudice against Asians in NZ lower than elsewhere, study finds
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): New Zealanders have less COVID-19 based prejudice than US, Spain and Italy – research
Business, Wage subsidy
1News: Businessman took wage subsidy despite believing company would survive without – won’t pay it back
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Andrew Little confirms rent relief bill ‘under discussion’ three weeks after Cabinet decision
Catherine Harris (Stuff): NZ First says commercial rent bill going back to ‘what we agreed’
Anna Whyte (1News): Proposed change to help struggling businesses with rent put on hold by NZ First
Sally Rae (ODT): Tuapeka Gold to cut jobs
Economy, monetary policy
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): NZ Inc should prepare for a long lockdown
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Official Cash Rate kept at 0.25 percent
Jamie Gray (Herald): Economists set sights on August after OCR stays on hold (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): RBNZ says it may still need to do more (paywalled)
Election
Spinoff: Politics in pubs podcast: Chlöe Swarbrick and Danyl Mclauchlan
Julie Iles (NBR): TOP punts business grants and tax tweaks
Environment and conservation
Science Media Centre: Dolphin protection plan announced – Expert Reaction
Jamie Fyfe and Michael Morrah (Newshub): New fishing measures introduced to protect Hector’s and Māui dolphins
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Dolphin threat plan finally released, to mixed reaction
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government crack down on fishing methods to protect New Zealand Hector’s and Māui dolphins
RNZ: Fishing restrictions boosted to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Oil, gas permits exempted from Maui dolphin protections (paywalled)
1News: Government cracks down on fishing activities to protect New Zealand’s rare dolphins
Matt Rilkoff (Taranaki Daily News): We may never know if plan to save Māui dolphins works
Brianna Mcilraith (Taranaki Daily News): Fears for Taranaki’s commercial fishing future following new restrictions to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins
Steve Urlich & Simon Thrush (Herald): Care for our marine environment has sunk without a trace
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Hawke’s Bay could become desert if climate change ignored – regional council
Andrew Lorrey, Ben Noll and Lauren Vargo (RNZ): Why long-term environmental observations are crucial for NZ’s water challenges
John Lewis (ODT): 30% loss of ice in 4 decades
1News: NIWA says ice lost from glacier over past three years equals the amount we drink
Kaysha Brownlie (Newshub): Southern Alps glacier loses enough ice to supply NZ with three years’ worth of drinking water
Ihumātao
Herald Editorial:Time for a resolution at the disputed Ihumātao land (paywalled)
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Ihumātao deal could spark early election
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Finance Minister confirms Ihumātao negotiations continue
Media
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government pushing for second media support package before election
Claire Charters (Newsroom): Colonial feel to Māori media plan
Richard Prebble (NBR): Māori media plan might be a Māori Party plan (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): RNZ’s youth radio venture ‘put to one side’ because of Covid-19
Tourism
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): AJ Hackett payout ‘corporate welfare for rich-listers’, economist says
Matthew Mckew (ODT): Bungy business bounces back after bail-out
RNZ: AJ Hackett Bungy gets $10 million boost
1News: AJ Hackett Bungy given $10.2 million to retain staff amid Covid-19 crisis
Health
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Public Health Units’ ability to identify clusters ‘significant point of weakness’ – review
Johanna Reidy (The Conversation): Bandaid or cure: a major health review remains split on how to reduce persistent inequalities for Māori
RNZ: St John cuts 100 jobs, assures continued ambulance service
1News: $30 million hole forcing St John Ambulance to cull 100 jobs
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Ihumatāo and City Rail Link fall-out both cases where real leadership is overdue
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland budget: Council cuts 1200-plus workers with Budget hit to come
Hamish Donnell (Spinoff): Idea: Let’s not mess up Auckland to save ratepayers 47 cents a week
Stuff Editorial: Councils under pressure to save and invest, to kickstart economy
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Embattled Otago Regional Council chairwoman’s last stand
Damian George (Stuff): Bus users and pedestrians the big winners from Wellington’s Golden Mile revamp plans
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Brazilians seek New Zealand nous to beat Covid-19
Insurance
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Concerns raised over the RBNZ approving the sale of 200,000 AMP Life insurance policies to a Bermuda-based private equity firm
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): AMP Life customers doubt sale protections
Statues, product names
Anaru Eketone (Newsroom): Two wrongs don’t end a fight
Giacomo Lichtner (Spinoff): Divided memories: The myths made by monuments, and what statues tell us now
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate faces threats over removal of controversial statue of Captain John Hamilton
Karl du Fresne: There goes my collection of Viking records
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Tip Top to rename Eskimo Pies, Pascall to ditch Eskimo sweet name
Caitlin Ellis and Holly Carran (Newshub): Tip Top’s Eskimo Pies to be renamed
Katie Todd (RNZ): New Zealand treats renamed over racist overtones
1News: Pascall Eskimos lollies to be renamed over diversity concerns
Transport
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Airways reconsiders plan to pull air traffic control services from seven airports
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Migrant was stuck in limbo after Air NZ flights were cancelled
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Government looking behind schedule on road safety targets
RNZ: Last passenger train leaves town as Dunedin’s Taieri Gorge Railway line is mothballed
Emma Perry (ODT): ‘It’s quite a sombre time’: union, supporters bid farewell to train
Gangs
1News: NZ in a better position than most countries to manage gangs, expert says in wake of Mongols bust
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Gang arrests: ‘They’re not part of the team of five million’
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Mongols MC raids: New Zealand needs to fix its attitude toward gangs and stop turning ‘a blind eye’ – Garry Webber
Mitch McCann (Newshub): Number of imprisoned gang members exploding in New Zealand
Other
RNZ: Checkpoint: Housing NZ’s accessible homes goal should be much higher – Disability Rights Commissioner
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Hate speech law stalled until after election – no support yet from NZ First
RNZ: Whistleblowers’ protection bill introduced to replace 20-year-old Act
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Emerging Five Eyes Military Alliance
Kate MacNamara (Stuff): New Zealand school children have become a bargaining chip in trade negotiations
Brent Edwards (NBR): Will Provincial Growth Fund survive the election? (paywalled)
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Tuariki Delamere files for urgent hearing into Treaty negotiations
Harry Lock (RNZ): Victoria Uni faces call for students to be compensated over continued online learning
RNZ: The detail: Max Abbott and more – sexual harassment at a top university
RNZ: Going to get tougher for NZ banks, but they’re expected to withstand the worst of Covid-1
Tina Law (Press): ‘Drastic’ cuts planned for Christchurch’s Arts Centre
Harriette Boucher and Lorna Hallett (Stuff): The battle for gender equality: Wellington teens’ feminist movement goes nationwide
