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
Election
John Armstrong (1News): To win, Judith Collins needs to pull off NZ’s biggest upset since politics began
Claire Trevett (Herald): The light at the end of National’s tunnel moves further away (paywalled)
Ben Thomas (Spinoff): Miraculous and misleading unemployment stats offer National no path to redemption
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Race Relation Commissioner backs Māori Party over TVNZ exclusion
1News: Māori Party pushing to get into TVNZ leaders debate
Māori TV: Disallowed late voters in 2017 could have upset many electorate results
Richard Prebble (NBR): Our collective near-death experience has changed us (paywalled)
Anna Rawhiti Connell (Newsroom): Be a thorn in the side of your own party
Brent Edwards (NBR): New Zealand First bids for business community votes (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Greens say coalition without NZ First would be more efficient (paywalled)
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Doctor, businesswoman among candidates for new Takanini seat
Justin Latif (Spinoff): Welcome to Takanini, the sparkling new seat in the 2020 election
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): Making a difference important to MP seeking new mandate
National Party
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National’s (very expensive) roadshow finally makes it to Wellington
Joel MacManus (Stuff): New spending, old ideas: National throws everything at Wellington transport announcement
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Judith Collins rides the blue highway
Zane Small (Newshub): Two new tunnels, highway under the city: National Party reveals Wellington transport vision
Georgina Campbell (Herald): National promises to double Wellington’s tunnels in $4 billion spending spree
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington’s Mt Vic the first of three tunnels in Election 2020 battle
RNZ: National pledges new tunnel and highway in Wellington transport plan
Anna Whyte (1News): National promises two new tunnels as part of $4 billion Wellington transport package
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): National wants a ‘Wellington Transport’
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David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): National’s BusinessStart out in the cold (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan and Luke Malpass (Stuff): Paul Goldsmith’s plea to bring back small Government
RNZ: Judith Collins on more election policy announcements
1News: National won’t put taxes up, but it also won’t offer tax relief – Judith Collins
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): NZ election 2020: Judith Collins won’t implement ‘no mistakes rule’ for National MPs
Labour Party
Liam Hehir (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern, conservative
Newstalk ZB: Jacinda Ardern denies she plans to ‘sleepwalk’ to election victory
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Sir Bob Harvey says Jacinda Ardern doesn’t need to ‘do anything’ to secure another term
Māori seats
Māori TV: Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey’s focus is on jobs
Māori TV: Māori Party’s Tākuta Ferris gearing up for tough election campaign
Parliament, valedictories
Audrey Young (Herald): The best and worst of the parliamentary debating chamber (paywalled)
Herald: Jacinda Ardern’s sacking of Iain Lees-Galloway for affair gets strong backing in NZ Herald Kantar poll
Newstalk ZB: Steven Joyce: ‘A line has been crossed’ in Parliament over marriage cheats
Zane Small (Newshub): MPs reveal who they want to join their team from the other side
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): NZ election 2020: MPs retiring from Parliament at election
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Climate change policy left scar on NZ landscape, says David Carter
Cannabis referendum
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Andrew Little, Auckland University researchers trade barbs over NZ Government’s ‘unrealistic’ voting material
Benedikt Fischer, Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno (NZ Medical Journal): New Zealand’s ‘Cannabis Legalisation and Regulation Bill’: an evidence-based assessment and critique of essential regulatory components towards policy outcomes
Unemployment
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Politicians say unemployment crunch will come in September, as official rate marginally drops
Jason Walls (Herald): Covid-19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern says NZ has ‘weathered this storm better than we anticipated’
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern says low joblessness shows New Zealand survived COVID-19 ‘better than anticipated’ – but travel industry calling for help
Newstalk ZB: Willie Jackson and Heather du Plessis-Allan debate unemployment figures
Zane Small (Newshub): Paul Goldsmith rubbishes new unemployment figures, says rate drop ‘masked’ by wage subsidies
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1News: Ninety per cent of Kiwis who lost jobs during Covid-19 pandemic are women, data shows
Mary Jo Vergara (Interest): Covid crisis hits women harder in the workforce
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): ‘It’s hell’: Reality of unemployment despite drop in numbers
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Māori unemployment rate drops by 2 percentage points
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RNZ: Unemployment falls to 4%, underemployment up
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Official unemployment falls to 4% in June quarter but banks warn it won’t last
Liam Dann (Herald): Unemployment’s OMG moment – what really happened to jobs in June quarter (paywalled)
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Massive rise in underemployment offsets unemployment rate fall
David Hargreaves (Interest): Lockdown plays havoc with employment figures in June quarter
Brent Edwards (NBR): Covid-19 unemployment figures tell only part of the story (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Don’t be fooled by the headline jobs number (paywalled)
RNZ: The Detail: What’s lurking behind the four percent job figure?
AAP (Guardian): New Zealand unemployment at 4% in surprise fall during coronavirus pandemic
Newstalk ZB: 10 per cent unemployment rate predicted by year’s end
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Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Generation-Covid: How young people will break into the job market in a post-pandemic world
Todd Niall (Stuff): Call for radical green job plan to lift south and west Auckland
Coronavirus
RNZ: Covid-19 community transmission is inevitable, Ashley Bloomfield says
Lana Andelane (Newshub): The plan for ‘when’ COVID-19 re-emerges in the community – Dr Bloomfield
1News: ‘Doesn’t add up’ – National questions why Dr Bloomfield warned community transmission ‘matter of when, not if’
Jamie Ensor and Perry Wilton (Newshub): Kiwis warned about COVID-19 complacency, New Zealand could go Victoria’s way
Grant Miller (ODT): Not ready for second wave, says professor
John Anthony (Stuff): Contact tracing system ‘would fail’ in Covid-19 super spreader event, Fyfe warns
1News: NZ ‘highly vulnerable’ to new Covid-19 outbreak as protective measures dwindle
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Ministry of Health unsure how many of New Zealand’s COVID-19 bus drivers are being tested
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland’s public health service tried to avoid increasing Covid-19 contact tracing capacity
Newstalk ZB: ‘Say yes to the test’ campaign receives support from National
1News: So far so good, health officials say as Queenstown’s 1000 Covid-19 tests are processed
Amelia Wade (Herald): Covid-19 coronavirus patients’ details leaked: Privacy Commissioner launches fresh probe
Zane Small (Newshub): Government’s half-a-billion-dollar COVID-19 quarantine budget not enough despite charging scheme
1News: ‘Unacceptable’ that seven security guards caught asleep at isolation facilities
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Security guards caught sleeping on seven occasions at managed isolation, quarantine facilities while working
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Ashley Bloomfield behind New Zealand’s COVID-19 success, Judith Collins says
1News: Dr Bloomfield urges anyone with cold or flu symptoms to get Covid-19 test
Áine Kelly-Costello (RNZ): Opinion: Quarantine belongs under public health, stop categorising travelling Kiwis
1News: ‘You took the bull by the horns’ – US epidemiologist wishes every country took on Covid-19 like NZ
Border restrictions
Jamie Morton (Herald): Most Kiwis want borders to stay shut – NZ Herald-Kantar Vote 2020 poll
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Getting into Fortress New Zealand – it ain’t as easy as you think
Julie Iles (NBR): Govt gave airports mid-month target for Pacific bubble plans (paywalled)
Auckland economic recovery summit – calls for opening borders
Matt Nippert (Herald): ANZ chairman Sir John Key warns ‘financial crisis coming’
John Anthony (Stuff): Relax border restrictions to soften Covid-19’s economic blow, Sir John Key says
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): John Key calls for loosening of border
RNZ: Checkpoint: Universities can take, isolate international students – Sir John Key
Newshub: Sir John Key says Government should ‘trial’ return of international students to help post-COVID recovery
Dita De Boni (NBR): NZ risks terrifying itself into a Covid standstill: Key
Herald: John Key says NZ should let in ‘rich’ Americans who want to build a house
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Let wealthy foreigners build homes – John Key (paywalled)
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Wealthy foreigners want to invest ‘billions’ in New Zealand’s post-COVID-19 economy – Rob Fyfe
Amy Williams (RNZ): Business leaders push for privately-run managed isolation
John Anthony (Stuff): Private sector partnerships needed to ease capacity ‘choke point’, Helen Clark says
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Clark wants full inquiry into NZ Covid response
Dita De Boni (NBR): Sex scenes and stunts: Film industry begs to let foreign execs in (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Roll out the red carpet for economically critical workers
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Key: Give Auckland a big Govt loan
RNZ: Auckland economy: Crisis summit to work out Covid-19 recovery plan
Bob Jones: A reality check
Housing
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government bans rental bidding, limits rent rises, and ends no-cause evictions with new rental laws
RNZ: Bill to strengthen renters’ rights passes final reading in Parliament
Rob Stock (Stuff):Don’t rely on home loan ‘holidays’ to extend into next year
1News: Property market slowdown expected to continue as wage subsidy, mortgage relief packages end
Greg Ninness (Interest): Quotable Value says average dwelling values still well up on a year ago but the growth rate is starting to tail off
1News: Photos: ‘Gap in processes’ led to Auckland property group advertising tiny ‘studio’ for rent at $355 a week
Health
Oliver Lewis (Press): Exodus at troubled Canterbury DHB as fourth senior executive resigns
David Williams (Newsroom): Cracks widen at ‘imploding’ DHB
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): When the wrong thing to do is the right thing to do
Louisa Steyl (Southland Times): Bloomfield raises concerns about Southern DHB’s vaccination coverage for Māori men over 65 years
Louise Steyl (Southland Times): Māori health leader calls for more Southern DHB funding
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Government rules out interim payouts for health staff owed due to payroll errors
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Judith Collins hits out at ‘weak’ Jacinda Ardern for ‘blaming backbench National MP’ for delays in vaping legislation
Logan Church (RNZ): Checkpoint: Primary pupils happy to be fizzy drink-free
Environment
Olivia Wanna (Stuff): We’ll need to retreat from rising seas. A new law could set the path
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): New waste processing plant will ‘revolutionise’ green technologies, help create energy
TikTok
1News: Is TikTok safe to use in NZ? Expert weighs in after MPs urged to delete app
Newstalk ZB: Heather du Plessis-Allan: Do we have anything to fear with TikTok?
Local government
Marcus Anselm (RNZ): Water proposals ‘biggest shake up’ since 1989 reforms
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington City councillor calls out property-owning ‘NIMBY’ colleagues
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): ECan to appoint two Ngāi Tahu representatives to council
Tina Law (Press): Christchurch councillors in hot water over vigilante action
Felix Desmarais (RNZ): Rotorua councillor’s behaviour ’embarrassing’, says mayor
Southern and Molyneux
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Judges retire to consider appeal against council ban on Southern, Molyneux event
John Weekes (Stuff): Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux could’ve gone elsewhere, council tells court
Immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Auckland hub for stranded immigrants to help them out of ‘no man’s land’
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Backpackers urge for visa extensions as Covid-19 rages overseas: ‘Why would I want to leave?’
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Yachties on visitor visa can apply for extension, immigration says
RNZ: Income criteria ‘far too high’ for residents’ parents, Lees-Galloway says
Operation Burnham
Paul Buchanan: An indictment by another name
John Bishop (Stuff): We trust people in power to act correctly. When they don’t, that trust’s hard costly to restore
Animal welfare, Primary industries
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Farmers ‘may need Govt push’ to keep up with changing consumer attitudes to welfare
1News: Sixty-five jobs could go as Sanford announces closure of Tauranga fish processing plant
Stuff: Sandford to close Tauranga site, 65 jobs to go
Transport
RNZ:Bill allowing random roadside saliva drug test passes first reading
RNZ: Bill requiring fuel sector to advertise wholesale price passes final reading
Joel Maxwell (Dominionv Post): Ōtaki expressway cost shoots up to $405 million as project scope and paving costs increase
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Eastbourne cycling, walking path gets $15m government funding
Consumer rights
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Is it really a discount? Supermarket specials offered too often, Consumer NZ says
RNZ: Supermarkets offering discounts too often, Consumer NZ questions authenticity
Provincial Growth Fund
Newstalk ZB: National criticises lack of data on Provincial Growth Fund
No Right Turn: A slush fund
Insurance
Rob Stock (Stuff): AA Insurance begins $19.5 million car insurance refunds
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Southern flooding costs blow out by $10m
Other
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Another Bottle-O baron – more allegations of migrant exploitation
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Does the Left know how to fix Capitalism?
Edward Gay (Stuff): Court of Appeal to review police script after drink-driving cases dismissed
Mandy Te (Dominion Post): Sinking lid policy proposed for pokie machines in Wellington
RNZ: Gymnastics New Zealand under review
Anna Whyte (1News): Major privacy breach sees hundreds of celebrants’ addresses published online
RNZ: More than 800 marriage celebrants’ privacy breached – DIA
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Sorry Shane Jones, ‘woke’ banking is the future
1News: More Kiwis shopping online, supporting local businesses following lockdown – NZ Post
Reuters: New Zealand abusers turn into activists to stop domestic violence
Calida Stuart-Menteath (NBR): Can Cavalier pull off its woolly strategy? (paywalled)
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Māori and Pākehā: The two worlds of Dr Peter Meihana
RNZ: Reo Māori expert urges seeking advice over names, brands
Chris Marriner (Herald): Wellington leather shop Huruhuru mocked for using te reo word for pubic hair
RNZ: Oranga Tamariki partners with Māori Women’s Welfare League
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Pike River survivor sees loader for first time since explosion 10 years ago
RNZ: Loader driven by Pike River miner removed from tunnel
Donna Miles-Mojab (Press): We don’t have to succumb to the politics of division and hate
ODT Editorial: Smelter should be an election issue
Gordon Campbell: On the problems the pandemic is causing for Big Oil
Reweti Kohere (NBR): Covid throws justice a digital opportunity (paywalled)
RNZ: Study to look at psychological, physical impact of caring for mosque attack victims
1News: Youth MP continues call for ban on conversion therapy, says it’s ‘state-sanctioned torture’
Vincent Ochilet and Niamh Lawless (Spinoff): 75 years after Hiroshima, the threat of a nuclear attack is back on the rise
Yvonne Martin (Press): Let one of our most-loved quiet spots stay that way
