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 Central
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Senior National Party figure accused of using secret alter ego ‘Merv’ to derail Auckland Central candidate
RIchard Harman (Politik): “Merv” upsets Nats’ Auckland Central selection
Luke Kirkness (Herald): National Party’s Roger Bridge accused of using ‘Merv’ alter ego to derail candidate Nuwanthie Samarakone
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Out of disarray, a candidate
Simon Wilson (Herald): After ‘outrageous lies and rumours’ National finally selects Emma Mellow as Auckland Central candidate
1News: Emma Mellow is ‘Nikki Kaye 2.0’ but it may be too late for National to win Auckland Central seat – political commentator
John Weekes and Jackson Thomas (Stuff): National picks Emma Mellow for Auckland Central race
1News: National’s Emma Mellow to run in Auckland Central seat
RNZ: Emma Mellow selected as National Party candidate for Central Auckland
Newshub: National Party selects Emma Mellow as Auckland Central candidate
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern doesn’t think Chlöe Swarbrick will win Auckland Central from National
Josie Adams (Spinoff): Central heating: fringe parties pipe up from crowd in first Auckland debate
Election
Liam Hehir (Newsroom): Why an absolute majority is absolutely possible for Labour
David Fisher (Herald): The Road Ahead: Inside ‘The Beltway’ – where the real world meets politics
Scott Palmer (Newshub): NZ Election 2020: What would happen if there was a COVID-19 outbreak
Duncan Garner (Newshub): It’s a coronavirus election – and COVID has become an excuse not to talk about the ugly stuff
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Labour and National failing to ‘step up’ and offer solutions – expert
Dominic Godfery (RNZ): Pacific at centre of first NZ election debate
Anna Whyte (1News): MMP explained: How your vote actually counts
Eugene Bingham and Adam Dudding (Stuff): Tick. Tick podcast: The rare, novel thing about the New Zealand election – women
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Memebers of parliament: it’s the Covid election, baby
Māori TV: New political party combines Te Tiriti and the Bible into One
David Farrar: Stuff wrong on Maori seats
Epsom, ACT
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Judith Collins endorses David Seymour for Epsom – but what about the party’s other prospects?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Judith Collins calls for Epsom voters to back ACT’s David Seymour
Audrey Young (Herald): National’s Judith Collins talks up Act’s David Seymour
1News: Judith Collins asks National supporters to cross party lines for ACT’s David Seymour
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Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ACT’s Brooke van Velden calls for beneficiaries, public service workers to take pay cut
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): ACT Party hopes to deliver bus-load of MPs after nationwide tour
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Seymour looks forward to friends in Parliament
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): David Seymour reveals his new ACT Party mascot Freedom
NZ First, Northland
1News: Jessica Mutch McKay: NZ First on ‘extremely shaky ground’ following Northland seat poll result
1News: Jacinda Ardern shuts down idea of deal with NZ First for Northland seat
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Winston Peters back in Parliament? ‘No, no, no’ – Bryce Edwards
Zane Small (Newshub): Shane Jones confident of ‘underdog’ NZ First comeback, describes poll as ‘call to action’
Newstalk ZB: Dunne: Northland poll makes NZ First’s future uncertain
Racing industry, Provincial Growth Fund
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Border exemptions for horse-racing track workers
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The sorry stench of NZ First’s horse-race politics
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): The northern tilt of Jones’s murky fund (paywalled)
Labour
Morgan Godfery (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern must use her power to push New Zealand to more progressive politics
Herald Editorial: Labour hopes voters want to keep the ‘team’ intact (paywalled)
Phil Taylor (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern pushes stability over change in New Zealand’s ‘Covid election’
Monika Barton (Newshub): Shapeshifter praises ‘incredible’ Jacinda Ardern after she drops ‘Stars’ at Labour campaign launch
Iain Lees-Galloway
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Probe into Iain Lees-Galloway’s spending finds nothing inappropriate
Herald: Iain Lees-Galloway affair: No evidence of any inappropriate transactions or spending
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Iain Lees-Galloway cleared of ‘inappropriate transactions’
1News: Iain Lees-Galloway cleared of any wrongful spending during course of ‘inappropriate relationship’
National
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Judith Collins vows National will do ‘whatever we have to’ to get power back; thinks NZ First, Greens won’t get into Parliament
Emily Brookes (Stuff): ‘I’ve had a crush on you for years’: Paula Bennett a hit with listeners on her first day at Magic Talk
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Judith Collins runs the risk of looking like a bully (paywalled)
Greens
Newstalk ZB: Greens confident parts of housing policy will be picked up
Newstalk ZB: ‘Naivety to the extreme’: Housing commentator slams Greens policy
Media
Gavin Ellis: Parting shots at the messenger
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wong-Tung threatens to sue Newsroom
Coronavirus, border restrictions, quarantine
Shaun Hendy (Spinoff): A critical error in a report on lockdown timing risks undermining future decisions
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Let the market decide who gets coronavirus
1News: Keep quarantine restrictions but let more people in for border reopening – Rob Fyfe
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Crew raise fears over Auckland-to-Wellington managed isolation flights
Herald: Cabin crew fear they could spread covid-19 after working on managed isolation flights
1News: NZ could lose Covid-19 gains ‘very quickly’ if complacency sets in, experts warn
Newshub: Second COVID-19 outbreak ‘always a threat’, says infectious disease expert
Michael Plank, Alex James, Audrey Lustig, Nicholas Steyn, Rachelle Binny and Shaun Hendy (The Conversation): A new community case of COVID-19 in New Zealand is a matter of when, not if. Is the country prepared for it?
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand mentioned as ‘global exemplar’ in fighting COVID-19 by World Health Organisation
Herald: World reacts to New Zealand being 100 days free of community transmission
1News: World congratulates New Zealand on 100 days without Covid-19 community spread
1News: Government announces it will start charging for managed isolation at midnight
Herald: Managed isolation charges to come into force tomorrow
Newstalk ZB: PM Jacinda Ardern: ‘No, I have not been tested for Covid’; here’s why
Merryn Gott and Jackie Robinson (Newsroom): Covid-19 no ‘great equaliser’
Cook Islands bubble
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Why are flights to Rarotonga already on sale?
Zane Small (Newshub): Cook Islands travel bubble expected ‘before the end of the year’ – Jacinda Ardern
RNZ: NZ travel bubble with Cook Islands could be in place by end of year – Ardern
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Christmas in the Cook Islands is a possibility
Māori TV: Christmas in the Cooks! Jacinda Ardern says travel bubble on the way
RNZ: Cook Islands bubble sending ‘mixed messages’ – Collins
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Cabinet plans Cook Island travel bubble, Judith Collins questions the timing
1News: Judith Collins says Govt’s ‘a mess’, Cook Islands travel bubble sends ‘mixed messages’
Zane Small (Newshub):Judith Collins hits out at ‘mixed messages’ on COVID-19, ‘interesting timing’ of Cook Islands bubble progress
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Paula Bennett wants guarantee Cook Island bubble will be done right ‘from day one’
RNZ: Checkpoint: Cook Islands businesses keen for NZ travel bubble by October
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): First move towards border-opening as govt consults with Cook Islands (paywalled)
Brook Sabin (Stuff): Cook Islands travel bubble: Why is it taking so long?
Benje Patterson (Stuff): How much is an NZ-Cook Islands travel bubble worth
Euthanasia and cannabis referendums
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Terminal cancer patient reveals why she’s against legalising assisted dying
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Helen Clark compares cannabis prohibition to prostitution ban
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Helen Clark hits out at ‘shock jock’ Mike Hosking over cannabis views
Economy, tax, welfare
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Boosting benefits good for the economy, NZIER report says – but Labour, National won’t commit to it
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Benefit levels need to rise – it’s good for the economy
1News: Any tax increases planned by Labour will be revealed ‘early on’ in election campaign, Ardern says
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern stays tight-lipped on how Labour would pay back COVID borrowing
Craig Elliffe (The Big Q): Should Aotearoa have a wealth tax?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): IRD planning consultation on green taxes
Keith Rankin (Evening Report): Counting the Cost of Government Action and Inaction
Steven Joyce (Herald): From fiscal hole to rising debt mountain (paywalled)
Business
Mark Lister (Herald): Which political party is best for investors? (paywalled)
Tim Hazeldine (BusinessDesk): No more job subsidies, thank you
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ANZ survey shows business confidence settling lower as ‘lockdown relief’ fades
RNZ: Business confidence falls, as post-lockdown rebound fades
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): More evidence the post-lockdown bounce is fading
Employment, unemployment stats
Christina Leung and Dion Gamperle (Stuff): Here’s why the unemployment stats seem like nonsense
Stuff: Work and Income security guards to be paid the living wage
RNZ: Govt announces living wage for MSD security guards
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern renews vow for Fair Pay Agreements
Housing
RNZ: The Detail: How drastic are the new changes to tenancy law?
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Law to protect renters may see landlords reluctant to take risk on tenants with bad credit
Mike Yardley (Press): Tenancy changes a recipe for trouble
America’s Cup
Herald: Team New Zealand wins court battle with NZ Herald publisher NZME over secret report
Todd Niall (Stuff): America’s Cup allegations: Confidential Team New Zealand audit report kept secret
Victoria Young (Business Desk): Judge denies publication of America’s Cup report (paywalled)
Education
1News: Government invests $38m to help arm schools with hand sanitiser, cleaning products amid pandemic
Māori TV: Coalition to fund schooling but kura kaupapa Māori not on the list
John Gerritsen (RNZ): NZ student increase ‘won’t make up shortfall’ in international income
Damian George (Stuff): Lack of affordable housing forcing Wellington tertiary students to drop studies or leave capital
RNZ: Students at state integrated schools more likely to gain University Entrance, research shows
Simon Collins (Herald): Private v public: How children learn at King’s, Michael Park and Ellerslie schools (paywalled)
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Researchers pick apart online learning during Covid-19 lockdown
Simon Collins (Herald): Scots College goes fully co-ed from next year
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Wellington’s Scots College to become fully co-educational school
Health
1News: 1 NEWS investigation: Emails reveal ministry’s flu vaccine shortage worries, despite opposite message to public
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Seeds of the Canterbury health crisis
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Canterbury DHB chair tells staff not to worry about executive team resignations
RNZ: Cancer patients going without potentially life-saving treatment
NZ’s biodiversity strategy
Jamie Morton (Herald): Vanishing nature: Can NZ turn its biodiversity tragedy around by 2050?
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Government launches long-term biodiversity strategy to bring Kiwis closer to nature
RNZ: Kiwi roaming in backyards? Minister launches biodiversity strategy
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Mātauranga Māori to be equal to Western science in biodiversity plan, Te Mana o te Taiao
Environment
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Legal proceedings to be launched against Lake Horowhenua exemption to freshwater standards
Laurel Stowell (Whanganui Chronicle): Mixed reaction in Horizons region to new ‘freshwater action package’
Jamie Morton (Herald): Drinking water study raises fresh concern over intensive farming
Foreigners stranded in NZ
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Red Cross giving $40k of food vouchers to stranded foreigners a day
RNZ: Saturday Morning: Concern for merchant sailors stranded in NZ waters
Transport
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Hi-lab: NZTA’s billion-dollar roadbuilding method labelled a ‘looming disaster’
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Transport officials accuse vehicle lobby of ‘undermining’ emissions standards with ropey data
1News: National plans to require drivers to display insurance details on car rego labels
Stuff: National Party wants car insurance details to be displayed on registration labels
Newstalk ZB: National’s car insurance policy will see insurer details on registration labels
Herald: National wants uninsured cars easily identifiable
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Shake-up of Auckland Council agencies expected as review panel reveals findings
Tom Hunt and Mandy Te (Stuff): Shelly Bay: Residents booted out of ‘unsafe’ council buildings
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington City Council backtracks on Convention Centre name
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Leading scientist takes over top job at Environment Canterbury
Susan Botting (RNZ): Whangārei freedom camping sees huge growth, bylaw review likely
Joanne Harrison
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Winston Peters admits he was wrong to help force resignation of former auditor-general
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Speaker Trevor Mallard slams fraudster Joanne Harrison, reprieve for Martin Matthews unlikely
Stuff Editorial: Fraudsters like Joanne Harrison cannot be left to shed their pasts like snakeskin
Paula Penfold and Louisa Cleave (Stuff): Ministry of Transport fraudster Joanne Harrison cons her way into companies in the UK
Paula Penfold and Louisa Cleave (Stuff): The Ultimate Con
Defence force
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): George Nepata to receive compensation for horrific injuries in a botched army exercise
RNZ: Apology and compensation approved for ex-soldier badly injured in army
Official Information Act
Newshub Nation: Podcast: Supplementary Question
No Right Turn: Supplementary Question on the OIA
Primary and extractive industries
Robin Martin (RNZ): Taranaki’s Tui oil field: survey request shows split pipe
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Calf corpses could go uncollected due to leather prices
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Talley’s skipper fined for marine reserve fishing, company denies responsibility
Animal welfare, SPCA
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Petition for inquiry into SPCA
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Lobster slaughter methods causing significant pain and distress, Animal Law Society says
Foreign affairs
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Greater transparency needed in Pacific aid programme
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): China ‘deplores, rejects’ statement from Five Eyes expressing concern at events in Hong Kong
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand joins Five Eyes partners in slamming ‘unjust’ barring of opposition candidates in Hong Kong
Greenpeace
Stuff: Greenpeace wins 12-year campaign for registration as a charity
1News: Greenpeace wins High Court appeal to be recognised as charity
RNZ: Greenpeace wins court battle to be registered as a charity
Other
Jamie Morton (Herald): Q&A: Do we need a minister for misinformation?
Luke Fitzmaurice (Spinoff): Oranga Tamariki, the Waitangi Tribunal and the importance of stories
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Research tackles lack of diversity in sciences (paywalled)
RNZ: More paying attention to finances during pandemic – research
1News: Spending up, savings down for 18 to 34-year-olds following lockdown, report finds
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): KiwiSaver fees charged ‘behind the scenes’, can cost ‘tens of thousands’ over decades – expert
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Auckland City Mission struggling to meet tripled demand for food packages after COVID-19 lockdown
Garth Bray (1News): Fair Go: Auckland mum’s $300 loan to get son a Christmas gift balloons to $1200 burden
Marcus Anselm (RNZ): Three Waters: Lack of community input a ‘risk’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Contact says talks with aluminium smelter ‘active’ but Meridian is downbeat
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Ambitious plan to capture rainwater in South Wairarapa towns
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland drought: Forecast confirms a long dry summer ahead
Herald: AA Insurance to refund $19.5m to motor policy customers
RNZ: Z Energy jobs on the line as concierge services cut back
Emanuel Stoakes (Spinoff): Murder as ‘spectacle’: the alarming links between the Christchurch attack and those that followed
