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
Peter Dunne: No party has offered any innovative strategy for the future
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): You Know What? Collins Could Win This.
Tim Watkin (RNZ): Collins goes vote plucking, while Peters makes ‘last stand’
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Act or Green — there’s nothing to fear (paywalled)
RNZ: Voters in Chinese community switching from National to ACT, poll suggests
Mark Quinlivan and Emma Stanford (Newshub): New Zealand lucky to have two competent politicians vying to be Prime Minister – political commentator
1News: Electoral Commission urging people to ‘vote early and vote local’
Phil Smith (RNZ): Voting naked on Everest: how to vote from overseas
Dan Satherley (Newshub): New Conservatives won’t repeal same-sex marriage law
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Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): When politicians go hunting votes in the southside
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Lambs slaughtered at Lincoln in New Zealand’s safest seat
Richard Harman (Politik): Nat MP battling for survival
Cherie Sivignon (Nelson Mail): Labour can win Nelson seat, says Ardern
Katy Jones, Tim O’Connell and Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern draw crowds during Nelson visit 
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Just a cosy debate on the marae – a report from the Māori campaign trail
Heta Gardiner (Māori TV): ‘I want the Māori Party in government with us’ – Green candidate
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Plugging In… to Wigram, where Ardern fans abound and votes swing left
Dominic Godfrey (RNZ): The issues at stake for Dunedin’s Pacific community
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Canterbury Ngāi Tahu voters set to break ties with Labour to vote for Māori Party
Jenny Ling (Northern Advocate): Shane Jones sits down for a cuppa and reveals a passion for dahlias (paywalled)
Jenny Ling (Northern Advocate): Willow-Jean Prime sits down for a coffee and korero in Moerewa (paywalled)
Jenny Ling (Northern Advocate): On the farm with Northland MP Matt King (paywalled)
Denise Piper (Stuff): National promises dry dock in Whangārei but won’t commit to port move
1News: National pledge to build $300 million marine dry dock in Whangārei that will create 600 jobs
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): ‘Making do’ with Northland infrastructure

Leaders debates
Steve Braunias (Guardian): Score draw for New Zealand leaders in pub quiz-style debate
Bryce Edwards (RNZ): Jacinda Ardern vs Judith Collins: A dynamic leaders debate that lacked soul
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Collins on the rampage (paywalled)
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins have seemingly endless promises to keep after Newshub Leaders Debate
Nicholas Jones (Herald): The surprising leaders’ debate promises made by Labour leader Jacinda Ardern and National leader Judith Collins
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins’ best one-liners
Newstalk ZB: Peter Dunne reviews the second leaders debate
Ryan Bridge (Newsroom): A sniff of hope for Collins
AAP: Judith Collins edges Jacinda Ardern in debate tussle
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Tighter contest between Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins in Google search interest during second leaders’ debate
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins gunning for 2023, not 2020 – commentator
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Hayden Donnell (Stuff): Who won the leaders debates – TVNZ or Newshub?
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The Press Leaders Debate: Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern face a raucous live crowd
Stuff: Next debate for Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins will have ‘nowhere to hide’

Newshub Nation’s minor parties debate
Henry Cooke (Stuff): John Tamihere the winner of minor party debate as he makes clear the Māori Party aren’t about to disappear
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): John Tamihere dominates raucous minor parties debate
Leith Huffadine (Stuff): Leaders from Greens, ACT, Māori Party and NZ First face off in latest election debate
RNZ: As it happened: the powerbrokers debate with Peters, Davidson, Seymour, and Tamihere
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Advance NZ fails in legal action to stop Newshub Nation debate airing without its inclusion
RNZ: Court rules against Jami-Lee Ross, Billy Te Kahika over debate exclusion

Māori TV Curia Hauraki-Waikato poll, Hauraki-Waikato candidate debate
Māori TV: Labour looking strong in Waikato-Hauraki
Māori TV: Hauraki-Waikato debate – David vs Goliath?
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Māori Party candidate slams Labour for failed housing promise
Māori TV: Hauraki-Waikato centre of tonight’s debate

Four-year political term
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Four-year political terms are a terrible idea
Stuff Editorial: Time for a term extension?
1News: NZ First supports a four-year Parliament term, if it has public’s backing
Rachel Thomas (RNZ): Political leaders favour four-year parliamentary term but many voters not so keen

National
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Judith Collins defends tax cuts policy despite poll showing the majority of voters don’t want them
Audrey Young (Herald): Exclusive poll – what voters think of National’s proposed tax cuts (paywalled)v
Jason Walls (Herald): National leader Judith Collins was clearly in vogue during her Far North tour
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Judith Collins shares photoshopped Vogue cover with her image on it
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Pure cowardice’ – TOP hits out at National’s water policy
Jason Walls (Herald): National Party leader Judith Collins unveils water storage policy, rules out working with Advance NZ ‘because I’m not insane’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins rules out coalition with Advance NZ ‘because I am not insane’
1News: Judith Collins ‘absolutely’ rules out coalition between National and Advance NZ – ‘I’m not insane’
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins rules out Advance NZ partnership because she’s ‘not insane’
Zane Small (Newshub): National wants to ‘guarantee common ownership’ of water, cut storage regulations
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Water belongs to everyone’ – National promises long-term plan for water storage
RNZ: National promises water storage policy under Infrastructure Bank
Stuff: National announces $600m water storage plan
1News: Seniors SuperGold card to be enhanced under a National Government
AAP Factcheck: National Party’s claim it increased renewable energy ‘misleading’

Labour
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour’s status quo campaign (paywalled)
Josie Pagani (Herald): Labour sounding too much like the Green Party (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): NZ supermarkets – the illusion of choice when there are just two big players
Derek Cheng (Herald): $13 cauliflowers no more? Supermarkets in Jacinda Ardern’s cross-hairs
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour takes aim at supermarkets over grocery prices; pledges investigation into cost of building supplies
Thomas Coughlan and Luke Malpass (Stuff): Labour takes aim at cost of home builds and groceries with two new market studies if elected
Anna Whyte (1News): Labour promises review into prices New Zealanders pay at supermarkets – ‘We want to make sure pricing is fair’
1News: Jacinda Ardern avoids ‘heated cauliflower debate’ after Labour promises to review supermarket prices
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Labour promises investigation into food and building supply prices if re-elected
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Builders and grocers next targets for Labour (paywalled)

Cannabis referendum
Amelia Wade (Herald): ‘Jacinda Ardern should reveal vote on cannabis referendum if she believes ‘yes’ would better NZ, says Greens’ Marama Davidson
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins again urges Jacinda Ardern to reveal cannabis stance as Grant Robertson confirms he’s in favour
Mark Quinlivan and Emma Stanford (Newshub): Political commentator thinks Jacinda Ardern ‘should be left alone’, has ‘no obligation’ to reveal her cannabis stance
Heather Du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern doesn’t have to confess cannabis vote
1News: Leaders’ debate: Jacinda Ardern admits smoking cannabis ‘a long time ago’, but won’t reveal referendum vote
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): Gone to pot: New Zealand cools on legalising cannabis
Derek Cheng (Herald): Drug law change sees sharp fall in drug users prosecuted; bias against Māori remains (paywalled)
Sela Jane Hopgood (RNZ): Pacific leaders weigh in on cannabis referendum
RNZ: Hawke’s Bay iwi support legalising cannabis to reduce Māori incarceration
Patrick van Esch, Michelle O’Shea and Sarah Duffy (The Conversation): Undecided on the cannabis referendum: 10 pros and cons of legalising the drug
Verity Johnson (Stuff): We’re not a conservative nation, but we do like to turn a blind eye
ODT: Cannabis ‘normal’ among students

Euthanasia referendum
Bruce Tsai and David Menkes (Newsroom): A highly contentious balancing act
Isaac Davison (Herald): The End of Life Choice Referendum debated on Newstalk ZB
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Supporter says End of Life Choice Act will ‘increase life, not shorten it’
Jessica Young (The Conversation): Assisted dying referendum: people at the end of their lives say it offers a ‘good death’

ACT
Grant McLachlan: Astroturfs: Act Three of ‘Dirty Politics’
Amelia Wade (Herald): Act’s small business policy – freeze minimum wage, 90-day trials returned
Newstalk ZB: Potential deputy PM? David Seymour says it’s unlikely

Greens
Shane Te Pou (Newsroom): Why I’ve changed my mind about the Greens
Stuff: Greens promise fix for internet inequality and loneliness
RNZ: Greens promise to support ‘weightless exports’
1News: Greens outline plan to support tech industries and make devices and connectivity more affordable

NZ First
RNZ: New Zealand First releases policy vision statement
Stuff Editorial: Is this the last of NZ First? 

Economy
Audrey Young (Herald): What’s the plan for the economy? (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Herald): Battle of the budgets – parties go head to head over economic plans
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Labour releases economic plan, with a $140b typo
1News: Grant Robertson explains $140 billion typo in Labour Party’s fiscal plan
RNZ: Labour releases largely unchanged fiscal plan
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Labour’s tax hikes give it room to spend (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins defends National’s idea to spend COVID-19 fund, laughs at typo in Labour’s financial plan
RNZ: National’s Paul Goldsmith on party’s economic plan

Wage subsidy, business
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Judith Collins: I’ll door-knock big business to get wage subsidy back
Aimee Shaw (Herald): The Warehouse Group responds to ‘immoral’ comments by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins (paywalled)
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Checkpoint: Collins’ call for wage subsidy refunds ‘misguided’- Business NZ
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Collins’ suggestion of law change to claw back wage subsidies hits flak
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins’ plan to change wage subsidy rules slammed by Grant Roberston, BusinessNZ
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Amelia Wade (Herald): Political party leaders, MPs pitch to Auckland business crowd
1News: ACT promises to prioritise foreign skilled workers should it get elected this October
RNZ: Business confidence ‘creeping upwards’ despite Covid restrictions – economist
Newstalk ZB: Business confidence at it’s highest level since Covid hit

Housing
Eva Corlett (RNZ): House prices and home ownership – has Labour delivered on its promises?
AAP election fact check: Did National sell off thousands of public houses?
1News: Kiwis have ‘perverse incentives’ around property investment – Chlöe Swarbrick
Mandy Te (Stuff): Concerns over lack of inclusion on Wellington’s draft housing plan
Herald: Social housing provider under fire for mould-ridden rental with rotten walls

Environment
Robert McLachlan (The Conversation): NZ election 2020: survey shows voters are divided on climate policy and urgency of action
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Why won’t Labour listen to its voters?
Gary Mortimer (Stuff): Climate explained: are consumers willing to pay more for climate-friendly products?

Coronavirus
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Govt urged to stop using hotels as quarantine facilities, consider air bases as 12 imported cases reported
1News: Health officials confident in systems as 12 more people with coronavirus enter NZ
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Pre-departure testing being considered by Ministry of Health
Jamie Morton (Herald): Clever New Zealand-developed model can predict virus’ spread – by suburb
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins’ claims Samoa ‘closed its borders a month before New Zealand’ fact-checked as false
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Care facilities underprepared — report
Mike Houlahan (ODT): SDHB spends $9m in Covid-19 battle

Trans-Tasman bubble
John Anthony (Stuff): Trans-Tasman bubbles ‘increasingly likely’ but two things must happen first, aviation analysts say
Matilda Boseley, AAP (Guardian): Scott Morrison says New Zealand travellers will be able to visit ‘very soon’

Disability
1News: ‘Disheartening’ new report reveals children with disabilities more likely to live in poverty
1News: Party leaders fail to front at disability debate, disappointing organisers

Health
David Wiliams (Newsroom): The meeting that broke Canterbury’s DHB
Dominic Harris (Press): $180m Government bailout for embattled Canterbury District Health Board
Newsroom: Putting more than a bandaid on public health
Kim Moodie (Herald): Pharmac under fire for ‘inhumane’ funding decisions affecting sufferers of severe inflammatory bowel disease

Employment
Andrea Black (BusinessDesk): What we need is wages, safety and a safety net (paywalled)
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Fair Pay Agreements will challenge general practice in New Zealand

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Fees-free lures students as unis plead for more govt funding
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Wellington private school offers boarding house to bring back international students
Mahdis Azarmandi Cheryl Brown and Sara Tolbert (Stuff): The structural whiteness of academia

Local government
Matthew Tso (Dominion Post): Lawyers called in over Kāpiti Coast District Council’s handling of airport discussions
Skara Bohny (Nelson Mail):‘Most outspoken councillors sidelined’ in proposed council shake up

Tiwai Point
RNZ: Meridian Energy offered Rio Tinto more than $60m of savings for Tiwai Point smelter
Luisa Girao (ODT): Concern for Tiwai Point workers over 50

Pike River 
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Pike River search unlikely to find workers’ bodies, agency head says
Tim Crownshaw & Kurt Bayer (Herald): Pike River mine re-entry: Retrieving human remains possible, says recovery boss
1News: Pike River Mine re-entry recovery boss says finding human remains is still possible

Other
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Andrew Little orders major review into Gloriavale practices after seeing critical 2017 report
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Lawyer for abuse survivors says no ‘level playing field’ when taking claims to court
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Return of New Zealanders: theme of migration in 2020 – professor
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Christchurch mosque attacks: ‘Unlikely’ killer Brenton Tarrant will be sent back to Australia, PM says
1News: Families living in poverty dealt blow as Winter Energy Payment ends today, costing some $60 a week
Stephen Forbes (RNZ): MBIE confirms plans for regional hub in the heart of Manukau
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Covid crash: KiwiSaver members lost $820.9m
RNZ: KiwiSaver investment returns plummet due to Covid-19 – FMA
Laura James (1News): KiwiRail boss says lack of investment the reason behind Auckland’s train network issues
Ben Strang (RNZ): Police set out plan to address bullying
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Domestic tourism does much to counter border closure
David Hargreaves (Interest): Wrestling with the latest savings and borrowing statistics
Kristin Hall (1News): ‘Toxic’: Disturbing stories from behind the scenes at Weta Digital
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Richard Seddon memorial deemed quake-prone, public told not to linger
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Kate Sheppard statue or frieze for Parliament in the works as part of Unesco bid
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Investor fraud soars, and Covid may be a smokescreen for more: KPMG
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Reserve Bank review of insurance solvency begins – again
RNZ: Mark Brown takes over as new Cook Islands PM