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
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins looks to stabilise chaotic party in first reshuffle
Richard Harman (Politik): Collins browns National
Audrey Young (Herald): Impressive reshuffle by new National leader Judith Collins (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The end of the triangle and National’s road ahead
Jane Clifton (BusinessDesk): The Book of Judith – A Biblical Reckoning (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Judith Collins and the strong team
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Collins makes careful caucus moves as more MPs go
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): National leader Judith Collins’ reshuffle no minor matter
Jo Moir (RNZ): Judith Collins’ bid to underscore ‘strong team’ brand in reshuffle
Heta Gardiner and Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Ella Henry says National’s front bench is far less colour blind this time
Brent Edwards (NBR): Judith Collins’ challenge: lift National out of the doldrums (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Can National get it together under Collins?
1News: Labour, NZ First should be worried with National’s change in leadership – Katie Bradford
Rosemary McLeod (Stuff): The right person for the job can still get it wrong
Quentin Finlay (The New Masses): New Zealand – The way you want it? Can National channel its 1975 Incarnation
John Minto (Daily Blog): Judith Collins – still a typical low-rent conservative – more a Muldoon than a Key
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Old-school Judith Collins has clearly decided the younger vote isn’t worth fighting for
1News: ‘Divisive, conflicting leader’ – Labour MP David Parker not a fan of new National leader Judith Collins
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Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Judith Collins line-up revealed, Todd Muller to take a break
Anna Whyte (1News): Front bench places for Simon Bridges and Todd Muller in Judith Collins’ shadow cabinet
Anna Whyte (1News): Just two women in National’s top 10 after Kaye and Adams depart
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): The biggest winners and losers from Judith Collins’ National caucus reshuffle
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins’ reshuffle: Todd Muller, Simon Bridges given senior roles on National’s frontbench
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Collins brings Muller loyalists onto new front bench
Amelia Wade (Herald): Simon Bridges’ big return in National reshuffle – ‘It feels like coming home’
Newstalk ZB: Judith Collins new National leader: Simon Bridges’ dig at Todd Muller – ‘We wasted a bit of time’
Collette Devlin (Stuff): National leader Judith Collins’ reshuffle puts Simon Bridges back on front bench
1News: Former leader Simon Bridges confident Judith Collins can give ‘underdog’ National ‘a path to victory’
Zane Small (Newshub):Judith Collins confident Amy Adams and Nikki Kaye’s departures nothing to do with her National Party leadership
Ben Uffindell (The Civilian): Entire caucus continues to follow Judith Collins everywhere as she struggles to undo mind control spell
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Derek Cheng (Herald): Revealed: Nikki Kaye decided to quit hours after being urged to go for the leadership
RNZ: Nine to Noon: Nikki Kaye: ‘I’ve been through a hell of a lot with breast cancer’
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘My time is up’ – Teary Nikki Kaye reflects on retirement decision
Matt Burrows (Newshub): National Party’s Nikki Kaye in tears explaining how breast cancer battle played into decision to quit politics
Dan Satherley (Newshub): How Nikki Kaye went from deputy leader to losing ‘the passion’ in just two days
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Outgoing National MP Nikki Kaye says MP wasn’t gagged over leaks
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Who is Nikki Kaye? National Party deputy, Auckland Central MP, breast cancer survivor
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Nikki Kaye must be sheepish about Todd Muller coup
Simon Collins (Herald): Nikki Kaye will leave ‘deep hole’ in education; retiring National MP praised
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern sends best wishes to former Auckland Central foe Nikki Kaye
David Farrar: Nikki retires
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Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Amy Adams would’ve stayed if she could keep COVID-19 recovery role – but Judith Collins killed it
Newstalk ZB: Major shake-up for National as Amy Adams resigns
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): A look back at National MP Amy Adams’ time in Parliament
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1News: Cultural context is important for better health outcomes, but National’s new health spokesperson says the job comes first
RNZ: New health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti on his approach to Covid-19 in opposition
Newstalk ZB: Collins on why she stripped health portfolio from Woodhouse
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Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins keen to run candidates in the Māori seats, tear up the RMA, but not cut benefits
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Duncan Garner, Gerry Brownlee butt heads over National’s policy announcements
ODT: Disgraced MP’s profile low
Auckland Central seat
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Auckland Central: The Importance of Acting Strategically
No Right Turn: It (mostly) doesn’t matter who wins an electorate
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why it has to be Chloe Swarbrick in Auckland Central
The Standard: Auckland Central; Should Chloe Swarbrick Stand Aside?
RNZ: Checkpoint: National to confirm Auckland Central candidate by early Aug – Brownlee
Thomas Manch (Stuff): ‘It’s anyone’s game’: Auckland Central race wide-open after Nikki Kaye resigns – with Chlöe Swarbrick facing down Helen White
1News: Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick says Auckland Central contest now ‘incredibly exciting’ after Nikki Kaye’s retirement
Vita Molyneux and Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Chloe Swarbrick says race is on for Nikki Kaye’s vacant Auckland Central seat
Derek Cheng (Herald): Gloves off in Auckland Central: Helen White vs Chloe Swarbrick
1News: Labour won’t cut a deal with Greens for Auckland Central electorate seat – Jacinda Ardern
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): No deal for Greens in Auckland Central
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Chloe Swarbrick says race is on for Nikki Kaye’s vacant Auckland Central seat
Election
Simon Wilson (Herald): Auckland election diary: Lunch with Judith and Jacinda (paywalled)
Rachel Sadler (Newshub):Where Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins stand on same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, cannabis
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Labour, National need to put out new policies as election draws closer
Richard Prebble (NBR):Lessons in campaigning (paywalled)
NZ’s Covid-19 strategy
Michael Plank, Alex James, Audrey Lustig, Nicholas Steyn, Rachelle Binny and Shaun Hendy (The Conversation): How New Zealand could keep eliminating coronavirus at its border for months to come, even as the global pandemic worsens
Eugene Bingham (Stuff): Ministry used CCTV rather than under-fire app during isolation escape scare
1News: New Zealand needs better alternative to Covid-19 tracing app in case of second wave, virus expert warns
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Govt’s Covid Tracer app ‘almost certain to achieve nothing’ – report to PM
Sam Morgan (Newsroom): There’s no app for community transmission
RNZ: Economist warns risk of another Covid-19 outbreak rising
1News: Returnee thought to have recovered from Covid-19 tests positive again, put back in quarantine
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): A man tested positive for COVID-19 after being released from managed isolation – here’s why Dr Ashley Bloomfield isn’t worried
1News: Ministry of Health warns of scam emails spreading Covid-19 misinformation
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Race for a Covid-19 vaccine: Scientist says New Zealand could be first to make it
Trevor McKewen (Spinoff): From New Zealand to Australia and back again: My four weeks in hotel isolation
Tiwai Point
ODT Editorial: Direction from Taranaki roadmap
Southland Times Editorial: Tiwai: Hard times call for a hard hat approach
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Renewable energy opportunities trickier to enable
Jamie Gray (Herald): Continuous Disclosure: Tinto, Tiwai and the question for electricity generators (paywalled)
RNZ: Coalition split over Tiwai Point aluminium smelter’s fate
Jason Walls (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern distances Govt from NZ First Leader Winston Peters’ Rio Tinto buy-out comments
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern distances herself from Winston Peters’ call to save Tiwai Point smelter from closure
Georgia Weaver (Stuff): Deputy Prime Minister vows to fight for Tiwai aluminium smelter
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Tiwai workers ‘have more clarity’ after meeting with PM
1News: Prime Minister agrees to speed up job creation in Southland with closure of Tiwai Point smelter looming
Logan Savory and Evan Harding (Southland Times): Meridian and Rio Tinto still talking – but what does it mean?
Luisa Girao and Karen Pasco (ODT): Hopes smelter closure can be pushed out
Georgia Weaver (Stuff): Mayors positive following Government discussions about aquaculture in Southland
Housing
John Anthony (Stuff) : Government sells $30m worth of state houses after Labour promised to stop sales
Greg Ninness (Interest): “The worm seems to have turned for property values in the main centres” – CoreLogic
Greg Ninness (Interest): Average rents in Queenstown-Lakes declined by $89 a week in the second quarter of this year, Wellington City rents down by $16 a week
Business, wage subsidy, economy
Nick Truebridge (RNZ): Checkpoint: Team NZ questioned over $1.5m wage subsidies
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Tourism rescue package upped from $100m to $400m
Nicola Shepherd (NBR): Could Covid accelerate the gig economy?
Brian Fallow (Herald): Looking for confidence in the economy in the wake of Covid-19 (paywalled)
Martin Berka (Stuff): New Zealand needs an economic plan, and fast
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): National quietly promises to freeze payments to the New Zealand Super Fund
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Paul Goldsmith wants to cut ‘nice-to-have spending’, including NZ Super Fund contributions, saying National ‘can’t and doesn’t want to outspend Labour’
Local government
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): ‘We had to slash our spending’: Auckland Council cuts jobs, defers projects
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council approves ’emergency budget’, passes a 3.5% rates rise and restores library cuts
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Auckland takes the high road
RNZ: Auckland councillors pass 3.5% rates rise emergency budget
1News: Auckland Council passes ’emergency budget’ with 3.5% rates rise
Newshub: Auckland Council votes to up rates by 3.5 percent
Jean Bell (RNZ): Auckland Council may sell surplus property to patch budget gap
Cushla Norman (1News): Report recommends councillors approve $200 million Wellington central library upgrade
Health
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): National Party’s Shane Reti gets it right over slashing district health boards
Sarah Dalton (Newsroom): Health reform: Is NZ up for the long haul?
Dan Satherley and Miriam Harris (Newshub): Pākehā pointlessly prescribed more antibiotics than Māori – study
Herald: New health survey reveals New Zealand’s hazardous drinking
Belinda Feek (Herald): Oral health epidemic: Plaque plaguing one in five Canterbury 5-year-olds
Tina Law (Press): Canterbury children record high levels of tooth decay
Margot Skinner (Newsroom): Reducing the risk of Covid-19-related deaths
1News: Midwives thankful for $180 million new funding bump
1News: Maternity services get $242 million funding bump
RNZ: Maternity services get extra $180 million, midwives in line for pay rises
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Counties Manukau DHB hits back at claims of a senior doctor shortage
Police
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Sponge bullets fired at Māori in more than half of incidents – police data
Leighton Keith (Taranaki Daily News): Labour government would support police body cameras, says Andrew Little
David Farrar: Stats on assaults of Police officers
Grant Miller (ODT): Use of Taser in Dunedin police cells not justified, authority finds
RNZ: Police not allowed to carry tasers in custodial areas
Justice
Te Rina Triponel (Māori TV): Tikanga Māori essential part of law, Peter Ellis lawyers argue
Stuff: Legal first in right to life claim for Steven Wallace shooting
Defence Force
Stuff Editorial: Fight against harmful behaviour in the NZ Defence Force has not been won
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Abuse survivors angry at lack of change in Defence Force’s ‘code of silence’ culture
RNZ: Defence Force ‘code of silence’ stops people from speaking up – review
1News: Report into Defence Force finds ‘code of silence’ in plan to eliminate sexual harassment
Migrant workers
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Boss allegedly assaulted seasonal worker
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Harvesters fear for industry as temporary workers’ visa expiration looms
Primary industries
Keith Woodford (Interest): The Government’s new food and fibre reset document is PR aspiration fluff. The hard work remains to be done
ODT Editorial: Enough of the woolly thinking
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Horticulture aims to ‘spearhead’ New Zealand’s post-Covid recovery
Education
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Called the N-word by teachers: Students describe racism at New Zealand schools
Alison Mau (Stuff): Second AUT academic, Nigel Hemmington, resigns over inappropriate behaviour claims
Environment and conservation
Sophie Handford (Spinoff): We acted on Covid to save lives. The same should apply to climate change, too
RNZ: Te Arawa Lakes Trust secures $2.5m funding for Rotorua wetland restoration and jobs
Privacy breach
Mandy Te, Susan Edmunds and Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Wellington property management company leaks more than 30,000 clients’ details
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Privacy Commission aware of vulnerable database for months (paywalled)
RNZ: LPM breach could have revealed thousands of people’s data
1News: Thousands of Kiwis could have had their personal data stolen in property website botch up
ODT: Survey company used by council hacked
Cannabis
Kevin Dew (Spinoff): A yes vote will likely put ‘green fairies’ out of a job, and that’s OK
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Marijuana companies could target South Auckland – Simeon Brown
Other
Cat MacLennan (Democracy Project): Millionaires and billionaires should act today
Keith Rankin (Scoop): Universal Basic Income: Left, Right, And Centre
Laura Smith (ODT): Money and jobs for the South
ODT: $4m for library, sports complex
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Whittaker’s criticised for changing way it certifies chocolate
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): MediaWorks TV sale result expected ‘in coming weeks’
Herald: Queenstown bunkers: Claims of more underground shelters for rich Americans escaping to NZ
