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
Tim Watkin (Pundit): National’s Problem With Privacy And Privilege
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Dirty Politics: Can National stop the rot?
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Only two things can rescue Muller and the National Party now
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Muller’s bid for election shaken by unfortunate first impression that will be difficult to shake
Audrey Young (Herald): The case for and against National’s Michael Woodhouse (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): How National has disarmed itself 10 weeks out from the election
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Todd Muller’s long, painful race (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Infection spreads to National’s front bench (paywalled)
Jack Tame (Newstalk ZB): Todd Muller’s chances diminishing by the day
Brent Edwards & Grant Walker (NBR):Fact or Fiction: National beset by problems as Labour wants to keep moving
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Muller’s new job: Convince the public National’s not a moral vacuum
1News: National’s ‘bruising week’ over Covid-19 patient leak ‘self-inflicted’, says 1 NEWS reporter
Stuff Editorial: National’s leaks fiasco reveals an ethical weakness
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret western of … the Muller Gang (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Positive transmissions in the moral vacuum
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Inglorious end to a lifetime of influence for Michelle Boag
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Is National telling us the full truth?
Ian Powell: Sinister politics reveal gaping ethical abyss
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Nats’ blunders will cost them at the polls
Brian Gould: Muller and the “leak”
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): National blues – a recurring theme
David Cormack (Stuff): Either Todd Muller’s National Party is a shambolic mess or he himself is part of their dirty little problem
Ben Thomas (Stuff): ‘Walkergate’ left Todd Muller looking like an exasperated dad trying to corral naughty school children
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1News: Public can continue to trust National amid Covid-19 patient details leak saga – deputy leader Nikki Kaye
Amelia Wade (Herald): Why did Todd Muller not say he knew Michael Woodhouse had the data?
1News: Muller admits he ‘could have been clearer’ about who received confidential patient info
Amelia Wade (Herald): Todd Muller: We’ve been ‘well-managed and transparent’ about Covid-19 patient detail leak
RNZ: No other National MPs received leaked details – Todd Muller
Amelia Wade (Herald): National leader Todd Muller knew Michael Woodhouse was also sent Covid patient data
RNZ: Todd Muller told about emails on Tuesday
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): National health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse admits sitting on private COVID-19 details ‘looks odd’
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Michael Woodhouse says way Michelle Boag leaked patient information wasn’t ‘normal’
1News: National MP Michael Woodhouse admits receiving similar Covid-19 leak from Michelle Boag
Brent Edwards (NBR): Woodhouse sorry for distraction caused by Covid-19 privacy breach (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Michelle Boag sent ‘four unsolicited emails’ with COVID-19 patient details to MP Michael Woodhouse
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Doctor outraged that rescue helicopter trusts given Covid-19 patient details
Vita Molyneux and Zane Small (Newshub): Michelle Boag says her ‘unhealthy obsession’ with politics is one of the reasons she has resigned
1News: Michelle Boag’s often controversial time in politics ends over National Party’s leak scandal
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Michelle Boag leaves National Party after leaking patient info to Michael Woodhouse
Derek Cheng (Herald): Michelle Boag quits the National Party, sent Covid patient details to Nat MP Michael Woodhouse
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Daisy Hudson (ODT):Is there something in the water?
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Korean, Indian community groups call for Hamish Walker to apologise for ‘racist’ comments
Bryan Cadogan (Southland Times): Enough of the snide talk about homecoming Kiwis
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Zane Small (Newshub): Health Minister Chris Hipkins criticises National for ‘sitting’ on sensitive COVID-19 patient information
1News: National’s patient info leak fiasco distracting ‘time and energy’ from Covid-19 response – Health Minister
Herald: Megan Woods grills Gerry Brownlee over Boag leak of patient details
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Audrey Young (Herald): National seeks to forget traumatic week with fresh push on Auckland policy (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: National’s five-point plan
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Critics scoff at Todd Muller’s ‘Gerry rebuilt this city’ call in Christchurch
Jian Yang to retire
1News: Revisit Q+A’s two-year attempt to get an interview with ‘invisible man’ National MP Jian Yang
1News: National MP Jian Yang, who came under fire for links to Chinese spy agencies, to retire
Derek Cheng (Herald): National MP Jian Yang to retire from politics following election
RNZ: National MP Jian Yang, who admitted to training Chinese spies, retires from politics
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Jian Yang who admitted to training Chinese spies to retire from politics
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Jian Yang, the National MP who admitted to training Chinese spies, retiring
Julie Iles (NBR): One more National MP retiring from politics (paywalled)
1News: Winston Peters delights in political retirement of National’s Jian Yang
Zane Small (Newshub): Winston Peters ‘welcomes’ end to ‘shameful period’ of Chinese Communist Party-linked National MP Jian Yang
Michael Reddell: Little changes
Parliament
Jehan Casindader (BusinessDesk): Politicians are the worst advertisement for democracy (paywalled)
Jane Clifton (BusinessDesk): A conga line of eejits (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: A chaotic week of astonishing stories
Phil Smith (RNZ): The busy, busy Parliament
Inquiry into Chinese political interference in New Zealand political system
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Parliamentary inquiry hears evidence of Chinese political interference in New Zealand political system
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel rejects China ‘corruption’ claim
Election
David Fisher (Herald): Analysis: NZ First’s Shane Jones tells provincial New Zealand they are better with the devil they have come to know
David Fisher (Herald): NZ First’s Shane Jones tells Northland – give me your votes and I’ll bring you recovery
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Shane Jones makes pitch for Northland
1News: Shane Jones hangs campaign speech on Doobie Brothers song, makes case for Northland seat
RNZ: NZ First holds campaign rally in Whangarei – without Winston
Zane Small (Newshub): Shane Jones stops putting up billboards in Kerikeri after council admits error in allowing it
Vita Molyneux (Newshub Nation): Shane Jones hints at controversial New Zealand First immigration policies despite COVID-19 border closure
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Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Greens unveil plan to tackle use of fossil fuels
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Green Party wants coal boilers banned and solar panels for state homes
1News: Green Party proposes clean energy plan, focusing on ‘fossil fuel free Aotearoa’
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Solar push from Greens
David Farrar: Will the Greens make it?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Can the Green get over 5%? In the ‘new reality’, does it matter?
David Law (Stuff): Greens’ wealth tax would bring ‘a dose of poverty to all’
Northern Advocate: Green Party’s Northland electorate candidate is Darleen Tana Hoff-Nielsen
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1News: David Seymour sees ACT’s future as ‘keeping all parties honest’
1News: ACT unveils mental health, benefit reform proposals
Collette Devlin and Danielle Clent (Stuff): ACT pledges safer, smarter borders, less debt and employment insurance
Sarah Robson (RNZ): ACT leader uses campaign launch to slate government’s Covid-19 response
Herald: Act Party welfare policy: more money for higher earners
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ACT Party announces employment insurance, mental health policies
Anna Bracewell Worrall (Newshub): Guns and 1080: ACT flirts with fringe issues as new supporters come on board
Amelia Wade (Herald): Brooke van Velden accidentally crashed an Act party – now she’s their deputy leader (paywalled)
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Act’s Seymour no longer man alone
Collette Devlin (Stuff): ACT Party leader David Seymour unveils ‘change your future’ as election slogan
Damien Grant (Stuff): Act’s David Seymour has ‘more impressive record than Todd Muller
Jo Lines-MacKenzie (Stuff): Seymour attacks Waikato River Authority on campaign trail in Hamilton
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub Nation): Gangs targeted in ACT Party proposal, pledges to ‘hit them where it hurts’
Dave King (Spinoff): Last on the list: I felt scapegoated, so became political. And Act was the only choice
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Scott Palmer (Newshub): Brian Tamaki claims Government wants to kill babies, bring about Marxism at Auckland CBD protest ride
Thomas day (Herald): Tamakis block Queen Street, in campaign push for ‘rights and freedoms’
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Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): The case to make this the filthiest contest of all time
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 10 weeks till NZ election – what does the political landscape look like?
Stephen M Croucher (Stuff): Covid-19 and the election: can we keep prejudice out of politics?
Gavin Ogden (Herald): Local Focus: Coromandel electorate explained
Quarantine
Newstalk ZB: Epidemiologist: NZ must do more to protect Covid-free status
Scott Palmer (Newshub Nation): New Zealand to quarantine people ‘for months, maybe years’ as COVID-19 rages around world – epidemiologist Michael Baker
John Weekes and Collette Devlin (Stuff): Minister refuses to rule out using ankle bracelets for isolation hotel guests
Derek Cheng (Herald): Should everyone in managed isolation wear an electronic bracelet?
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Everything we know about the four alleged Covid-19 isolation escapees
Brittney Deguara, Kirsty Lawrence and Phillipa Yalden (Stuff): Man accused of fleeing isolation facility now in prison
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): What are the rules for alcohol and cigarettes in quarantine?
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Mayor wants assurances over security
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): ‘Lock them up’ – Grey Power furious over isolation escapees
1News: Arrest threats could make Covid-19 isolation security issues worse, expert warns
1News: Police were stationed at Hamilton isolation hotel where man escaped, Health Minister says
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Labour’s Willie Jackson accuses The National Party of ‘causing panic’ over isolation escapee
Zoe Holland (Herald): Man who spent time in managed isolation says ‘I could’ve jumped the fence’
Newstalk ZB: Cabinet ministers call for people to be charged for their quarantine stays
1News: NZ’s free quarantine accommodation status in spotlight as Australian states begin charging
Quarantine for NZers deported from Australia
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Deportations of NZers from Australia resume this week
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Isolation facility for Kiwis deported from Australia opens
RNZ: Isolation facility established for NZers deported from Australia
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Managed isolation facility set up for deported New Zealanders returning from Australia
Chelsea Boyle (Herald): ‘Dedicated’ managed isolation facility set up for deportees from Australia
Border restrictions, exemptions, compassionate leave
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Compassionate leave ban stops New Zealander from seeing dying father in final hours
RNZ: Legal grounds for ‘blanket ban’ on managed isolation exemptions questioned
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Judge calls for urgent review of compassionate exemptions for managed isolation
RNZ: Government extends border exception criteria for mosque attacker’s sentencing
1News: Border restrictions eased for support people wanting to attend mosque attacker’s sentencing
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Government extends border exception criteria so some overseas victims, families can attend the sentencing of Brenton Tarrant
AAP: Helen Clark says ‘election year politics’ are holding up a bubble with the Pacific
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Call to lift foreign cruise ship ban as foot traffic in central Auckland plummets
Government’s management of Covid-19
Isaac Davison (Herald): Government reverts to ‘Unite Against Covid-19’ campaign name
RNZ: How Covid-19 research funding is help police track people with CCTV
David Fisher (Herald): The lockdown roadblocks – just how legal were they? (paywalled)
1News: David Seymour promises ‘smart borders’, criticises Government’s lack of plan post-Covid-19
Euthanasia referendum
Rhona Winnington (The Conversation): Assisted dying referendum: why NZ’s law lacks necessary detail to make a fully informed decision
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Euthanasia referendum explained: Everything you need to know about the End of Life Choice Bill decision
Cass Marrett and Liam van Eeden: Explainer: the euthanasia referendum
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Euthanasia Referendum – why I can’t vote for it or against it
Cannabis referendum
Stuart Jeanne Bramhall (Stuff): The five reasons why Kiwis should vote yes in the cannabis referendum
Ryan Osbaldiston (Stuff): Think marijuana is harmless? Think again
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Auckland Catholic school’s sign encourages people to ‘say no’ ahead of cannabis referendum
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Auckland’s St Paul’s College appears to encourage voters to ‘say no’ to legalising cannabis
Herald: ‘To legalise is to normalise’: Ponsonby school’s cannabis message raises eyebrows
Tiwai Point
Martin van Beynen (Press): Tiwai Point – helter-skelter around the smelter
Brian Gaynor (BusinessDesk): Aluminium smelter reaches use by date (paywalled)
Che Baker (Stuff): The day the axe fell on the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Why is Labour letting Tiwai Pt shut now?
Southland Times Editorial: In the face of smelter closure this is no time for shadowboxing
RNZ: Rio Tinto’s smelter closure unnerves Mataura locals on waste removal
Holly Carran (Newshub): Thousands predicted to leave Southland after Tiwai Point smelter closure
1News: Union says smelter closure will blast a $400m hole in Southland’s economy – ‘You’re playing with people’s lives’
1News: Surrounding businesses likely to feel the impact of Tiwai smelter closure
Jacob McSweeny (ODT): Engineering industry damaged by closure
Evan Harding (Stuff): Tiwai closure would have ‘substantial impact’ on sheet metal firm
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): What does the Tiwai Point closure mean for emissions?
Mark Price (ODT): River changes from closure
Evan Harding and Blair Jackson (Stuff): Former Tiwai aluminium smelter boss ‘angry’ no deal done
Evan Harding and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ‘Chance has passed’ for deal to keep aluminium smelter open: Meridian
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Rio Tinto may be open to longer phase-down of Tiwai: Meridian
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): NZ’s largest salmon farmer points to Norway as Southland considers Tiwai closure
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Can aquaculture save Southland’s economy following smelter closure?
Steven Joyce (Herald): Jobs going helter-smelter at Tiwai Point (paywalled)
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): Possible impacts for Taranaki in wake of Tiwai Point smelter closure
Housing, homelessness
Tony Wall (Stuff): When homelessness was solved – temporarily
Florence Kerr (Stuff): It would be cheaper to just house the homeless, so what are we waiting for?
Florence Kerr (Stuff): The homeless are most likely to be fed anti-depressants when reaching out for help, new research suggests
Joel Maxwell and Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): City’s motel industry survives on providing emergency accomodation
Lisa Morley-Gray (Stuff): Motel accommodation the silver lining for rough sleepers
Ben Leahy (Herald): Govt’s First Home Grant caps: The housing market change first-home buyers are begging for (paywalled)
Mike Fox (Spinoff): Why is it so hard to build affordable housing in New Zealand?
Eva Corlett (RNZ): Proposed Wellington rent policy changes could price out council tenants
Colleen Hawkes (Stuff): Just how safe from the rising sea level are our beach houses?
Wage subsidy
Mike Treen (Daily Blog): How to stop SkyCity ripping off the wage subsidy system
1News: Covid-19 wage subsidy personal grievance claims pile up as two months remain for scheme
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Egg companies repay wage subsidies after questions over eligibility
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Second wave of unemployment looms as wage subsidies roll off
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Struggling businesses call for targeted wage subsidy extension
America’s Cup
Tom Dillane (Herald): Team NZ’s $13m free rent of Viaduct Events Centre base has Mayor Goff wanting them out early (paywalled)
Amy Williams (RNZ): Team NZ renting Viaduct headquarters for $1 a year
Local government
Bruce Munro (ODT): Damned if you do
Todd Niall (Stuff): Lack of progress on city’s major projects puts Auckland back to the future
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Christchurch promotional agency uses out-of-town company for new video campaign
Robin Martin (RNZ): Councillor challenges Taranaki horse racing club’s ‘sweetheart’ lease deal
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Golden Bay residents to have say on more autonomy from Tasman District Council
Susan Botting (RNZ): Council considers limits on freedom camping as numbers soar
Health
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Pregnancy labels on alcohol to be mandatory, unless blocked by Australia
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Leaky South Auckland hospital building reclad work soars to $60m
Libby Wilson (Stuff): A 20-year battler’s modest reward
Jamie Morton (Herald): DNA analysis: Havelock North gastro outbreak could have hit more than 8000
Helen Clark to lead WHO review of Covid-19 handling
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Helen Clark: WHO coronavirus inquiry aims to ‘stop the world being blindsided again’
RNZ: Covid-19 review ‘challenging’ because pandemic ‘ongoing’, Helen Clark says
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Helen Clark relishing ‘terrifying’ chance to tackle COVID-19 at World Health Organization
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Judith Collins throws support behind Helen Clark’s World Health Organization role, says ‘Jacinda Ardern’s given her nothing to do’
Water
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Explainer: What the Government’s water reforms mean for you
Richard Harman (Politik): Where the water reforms will end up
ODT Editorial: Water spend no sea change
John Tamihere (E-Tangata): Who owns the water?
Marcus Anselm (RNZ): Greytown losing 39% of water through infrastructure leaks – Wellington Water
Environment and conservation
RNZ: Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, rescue hospitals get $15m boost
1News: Zoos and other wildlife institutions to benefit from $15 million Govt package
Aaron van Delden (RNZ): Contamination risk worries on East Coast as rubbish clean-up continues
Leah Tebbutt (Bay of Plenty Times): Mount Maunganui industrial companies respond to Whareroa Marae’s call for managed retreat (paywalled)
Education
Simon Collins (Herald): ‘Don’t plan on international students until 2022’ – schools face deficits of up to $1.5m (paywalled)
Laura James (1News): English language schools struggling with border restrictions plead for Government assistance
1News: Government to put $25m towards mental health services for tertiary students amid Covid-19 pandemic
Caitlin Ellis (Newshub): Government announces $25 million funding boost so tertiary students can receive free mental health care
Zoe Holland (Herald): Free mental health services for tertiary students in Govt funding boost
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): National plans ‘tough look’ at mega tech reforms
Sue Cherrington (Spinoff): Time for a new funding model in ECE
Sam Kilmister (Manawatū Standard): Manawatū school lunch charity faces record demand, needs sponsors to stay afloat
Primary industries
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Government plans to revitalise ailing wool sector
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Raw milk raids: Unregistered suppliers costs ministry $70k a year
Herald: New Zealand’s top dairy farmer Nick Bertram stripped of his award. Now, he’s fighting to get it back
Employment
Isaac Davison (Herald): Jobless benefit numbers approaching GFC levels in New Zealand
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Thousands of returning Kiwis join the job-hunters in post-Covid NZ
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Young people want more work-life balance post-Covid
Economy
Infometrics: Examining NZ’s slow path to recovery
Infometrics: Will Covid-19 continue the downward trend in regional inequality?
Grant Bradley (Herald): The regions that rode into Covid crisis strongest
Justice
Kim Workman (Stuff): Reimagining the criminal justice system
Derek Cheng (Herald): Revealed: The impact of last year’s watershed law change to ‘decriminalise’ drug use (paywalled)
Media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Where has all the clickbait gone?
Grant Duncan (Stuff): Politics and the pandemic: have your say on this year’s high-stakes election
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Why the Stuff-Massey Election Survey matters
Statues, place names, product names
David Farrar: Rankin calls for Turangawaewae Marae to come down
Kennedy Warne (Stuff): Fanaticism and the Eskimo Pie
Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times): Sir William Gallagher’s ‘wacky’ history claims ’embolden racists’
Other
Jeremy Rose (Spinoff): Pipe dream or quick fix? On the post-Covid allure of modern monetary theory
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government billions in the red thanks to coronavirus, but accounts show silver lining
Melissa Chan-Green (Newshub): Human Rights Commission records 30pct spike in racially motivated attacks
RNZ: NZ should take ‘middle ground’ on Hong Kong – law expert
Catherine Churchman (Newsroom): Get ready for some repression
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): ‘We’ve been in the trenches’: the women holding power to account over Christchurch
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Problem Gambling Foundation takes aim at council’s pokie policy
Ben Leahy (Herald): Protesters allege NZ police used dangerous tactics similar to George Floyd arrest
David Williams (E-Tangata): Settling Ihumātao
Craig Platt and Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Coronavirus shakes up passport power rankings but New Zealand holds firm
1News: Comedian Tom Sainsbury reveals new political comedy-drama ahead of election
Brian Easton (Pundit): The Rules Of Consultative Engagement
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Women’s Refuge: The workers on the front line as violence spiked in lockdown
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): NZ consumers urged to help millions of garment factory workers
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Matariki almost ‘colonised’: Why there’s no one day to celebrate it
Laura O’Connell Rapira (Spinoff): The people have spoken: we want a Matariki public holiday
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Almost 18,000 new retirement village units needed in less than 10 years for an ageing population
Stephen Forbes (RNZ): Auckland Transport tight-lipped over Drury redevelopment
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Who will save Wellington’s iconic St Gerard’s monastery?
Kylie Klein-Nixon (Stuff): If you find pronouns ‘bewildering’, imagine what it’s like to be trans
