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
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Mixed messages in wake of National’s defeat
Richard Harman: Goodfellow beats off challenge and calls for unity
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Sir John Key’s speech a chilling glimpse into the future for National
Claire Trevett (Herald): ‘Reflective’ National Party meets for first time since election drubbing
Claire Trevett (Herald): Sir John Key slams in the bitter pill to National Party faithful (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): John Key to leaking National MPs: ‘If you can’t quit leaking, quit the party’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Sir John Key on Peter Goodfellow’s ‘media bias’ against National: ‘Only ourselves to blame’
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National’s own failings cost it the election, says John Key
Caitlin Ellis (Newshub): Judith Collins on why National lost, how it can win 2023 election
Anna Whyte (1News): National was ‘far too focused on ourselves’, but will come back stronger – Judith Collins
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National president’s lockdown ‘tyranny’ jab shows party isn’t on the same page ahead of attempt to rebuild
TVNZ: Covid-19 reduced election to ‘a race of celebrity leadership’ – National Party president
Jo Moir (RNZ): National ‘needed to be a unified team with a credible message’ – David Carter
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Peter Goodfellow to remain National Party president
Jason Walls (Herald): Peter Goodfellow retains National presidency – former MP joins board
RNZ: National Party gathers for AGM: ‘We must give NZers a reason to vote for us’
Jo Moir (RNZ): Nats’ election post-mortem: Will Peter Goodfellow get to keep his job?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): National’s extraordinary outburst from President highlights how delusional they’ve become
Housing
Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Twenty years of inaction has led to a ‘toxic’ NZ housing market
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): MPs should be put in public housing – Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March
Peter Dunne (Interest): Pass-the-parcel game on housing continues
Greg Ninness (Interest): House prices have risen 5 times as much as wages for typical first home buyers over 3 years
TVNZ: ‘We’re building houses for rich folk’ – Economist says NZ is building the wrong types of property
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Reserve Bank ‘asking for trouble’ with cheap lending, ‘completely out of touch’ – economist Shamubeel Eaqub
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Ardern should cash in some political capital to intervene in housing market
Tony Alexander (Stuff): Why are house prices still rising during the pandemic?
Monique Poirier (Kiwiblog): The one thing that can doom Jacinda Ardern: disappointment
Brian Easton (Pundit): As Safe As Houses?
Rob Rattenbury (Stuff): PM should follow first Labour government and offer ‘rent to buy’ scheme
Andrew Bayly (Herald): Government should call in Reserve Bank for housing chat (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Stuff): First-home buyers going regional to get on the property ladder
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Earth to Government: Printing money has consequences
Terry Baucher (Interest): The Week in Tax: ‘To save capitalism, we must help the young’
1News: Christchurch struggling with Government’s high-density urban housing directives
Brent Edwards (NBR): Fact or Fiction: housing, tourists and infrastructure (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Review or tweak? Government confronts body corporate reform
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Fears grow over Reserve Bank’s lending programme
Labour Government
Bryce Edwards (Guardian): New Zealand’s politicians are too middle-class to tackle our biggest problems
Christine Rose (Daily Blog): Prerequisite: The Government must want change
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Willie Jackson: Primed for politics
Chris Trotter: The Political economy of Pride And Prejudice
1News: Labour’s largest ever Pacific caucus prepares for term ahead
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Health Minister Andrew Little’s ‘undercover boss’ sting (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Bryce Edwards finally highlights what a political joke our diversity is
The Standard: Time’s up Labour
Wellington
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Wellington, I’m sorry to say it, but your good days are over
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Wellington sewage spills 20 times higher than acceptable target
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Media ‘gatecrashed’, councillors not welcome to forum so good ‘they may not return’
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington needs to consider ‘economic cost’ of racism, says former refugee Guled Mire
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Shelly Bay lobby group ‘doesn’t want to know’ where $440k donations came from
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Mayor Andy Foster literally putting up tents as Shelly Bay occupation begins
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Wellington iwi group Mau Whenua to occupy Shelly Bay development land
Local government
Damien Grant (Stuff): Auckland Council has become a bloated, debt-laden monster
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Tauranga City Council needs an intervention
Katie Todd (RNZ): Tauranga council divisions remain after mayor’s shock resignation
Herald: Tauranga mayor’s shock resignation: Tenby Powell calls for Government to step in
Kiri Gillespie (Herald): Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell on his resignation: ‘I’m more sad than anything else’ (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): Tauranga council divisions remain after mayor’s shock resignation
RNZ: Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell resigns
Stuff: Invercargill’s civic turbulence put into perspective by Tauranga’s civic torments
Newstalk ZB: Former Northland councillor wants referendum on Māori wards
Jean Bell (RNZ): Auckland Council relationships with urban Māori versus mana whenua under scrutiny
Deena Coster (Stuff): The Pākehā who became the face of a movement to give Māori a voice at the council table
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Failed ousting exposes party political influence in local government – chairperson
Emma Dangerfield (Stuff): Councillor criticises having all-male panel shortlist chief executive hopefuls
Alice Angeloni (RNZ): Gisborne elects youngest-ever councillor
Election and Parliament
RNZ: Survey: New Zealanders want parliamentary term increased
RNZ: Dodgy digital election ads: Does the watchdog need teeth?
David Farrar: Statistical anomalies in the 2020 New Zealand Election
Amelia Wade (Herald): Act’s MP bootcamp: How the nine newly minted politicians are getting match-fit (paywalled)
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): Meet Marama Davidson’s secondhand stylists
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Second Maori Party-sought recount comes in with tiny gain for co-leader John Tamihere
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): NZ tribalism – how close are we to the polarised US?
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): A thrill of subtle subversion’: New Zealand MPs share their love of thrifting
David Farrar: A conservative coup
International relations and trade
Derek Cheng (Herald): New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta pushes back on China’s Five Eyes warning
Newstalk ZB: Minister for Waiting? New Foreign Affairs Minister called out for not fronting for interviews
RNZ: Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta asks China to ‘reflect’
Anna Whyte (1News): NZ will keep advocating for democracy, despite China’s ‘eye poke’ threat – Nanaia Mahuta
1News: China warns NZ, other Five Eyes nations to stay out of Hong Kong situation
Herald: China says Five Eyes, including NZ, should face reality on Hong Kong
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Simon Bridges backs NZ Government in Five Eyes’ spat with China
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): China rebukes Five Eyes (paywalled)
RNZ: China’s taste for more trade a plus for NZ – specialist
Newstalk ZB: China says Five Eyes, including NZ, should face reality on Hong Kong
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Is this the start of a new position from NZ on China?
Zane Small (Newshub): International law expert Al Gillespie expects New Zealand will be urged by Five Eyes to ‘speak up’ more as China beefs up threats
Wu Xi (Business Desk): New opportunities for China-New Zealand cooperation (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The Great Red Dragon pushes back – how does NZ handle an angry China?
Simon Draper (Stuff): Māori values continue to resonate with Asian counterparts
Jason Walls (Herald): Government spent $26 million on Apec hosting prep before Covid forced the summit online
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘We must not repeat the mistakes of history,’ Ardern says in APEC opening remarks
1News: Jacinda Ardern warns against protectionism as APEC leaders agree on free trade
Lana Hart (Stuff): Biden should look to Ardern’s playbook
Economy and work
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Matt McCarten’s public revenge on exploitative employers
1News: Quarter of Kiwis keep working past retirement age, double that of Australia
Andy Fyers (Business Desk): Young people bearing brunt of unemployment burden (paywalled)
Michael Andrew (Spinoff): The website making it easier to find a woman or gender diverse tradie
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Steven Joyce backs call to rein in Reserve Bank, says axing wage hike is the answer
Liam Dann (Herald): The heavy metal light at the end of the Covid tunnel (paywalled)
Herald: Infrastructure report: NZ playing infrastructure catch-up after decades of under-investment
Tom Hunt and Bevan Peachey (Herald): Private sector investors can make major contribution to NZ infrastructure
Robert MacCulloch (NBR): The next three years: An economic policy forecast (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Electricity companies accused of using ‘confusion as a marketing tool’
Migrant workers and benefits
1News: Government wants ‘Kiwi first’ approach as industries call for migrant workers
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Migrant workers to receive emergency benefits
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Benefits for migrant workers to match standard dole rate
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Migrant group calls for emergency benefits
Tourism
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Tourism Minister Stuart Nash must adjust his approach (paywalled)
Francesca Rudkin (Newstalk ZB): No reason for Tourism Minister to start bashing tourists
Victor Billot (Newsroom): A poem for … Stuart Nash
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Time to grasp the freedom camper by the horns
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Track and trace task force has nothing to go on
Stuff: Fears wealthy tourists will leave many operators ‘high and dry’
RNZ: NZ may become ‘Florida of South Pacific’ without young tourists – YH
1News: Campervan ban not the answer to attracting ‘high-value’ visitors – Tasman mayor
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): We don’t just want rich tourists (paywalled)
Defence forces
Stuff: No room for complacency over war crimes
RNZ: NZ Defence Force must expose troops’ ‘guilty secrets’ – Hager
George Block (Stuff): HMNZS Aotearoa: Covid-19 again scuppers best-laid plans for Navy’s big new ship
Environment
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Agriculture and fairness: why climate chief is optimistic
Lois Williams (1News): How dirty is NZ coal? – Mining lobby faces conservationists
Jason Walls (Herald): Apec: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mentions her ‘climate sceptic’ grandmother in speech
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): O’Connor: Tweaks to new freshwater rules coming
No Right Turn: Good riddance
1News: ‘Shameless profit’ – Māori Party co-leader wants seabed mining banned in NZ
Justice and policing
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Prisoner numbers fall 1089 over last 12 months, largest drop in over 20 years
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Waitangi Tribunal claim alleges laws breach Te Tiriti
Cate Broughton (Stuff): New Police Minister wants more diversity but treads softly around race
Irra Lee (1News): ‘We’ve got to see the whole ecosystem’ – New Police Minister wants holistic view in tackling family violence
Covid
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): MIQ spaces available but separated families told rooms all booked for now
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Chris Hipkins on being minister of Covid-19 response and adapting to challenges
1News: Misinformation about Covid-19 vaccine a ‘concern’ as NZ awaits rollout
Cecilia Robinson (Herald): What Covid can teach us about female leadership (paywalled)
Health
1News: Independent review claims St John in ‘serious financial risk’
1News: Ministry of Health apologises after people with bowel cancer wrongly advised to get screened
RNZ: Diabetes treatment in New Zealand racist – medical experts
Ian Powell: Collective bargaining and health systems: place and tide
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Nelson-Marlborough Health boss spent $22k on travel expenses
Drugs
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The Government should look at legalising pill testing before it goes on holiday
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Wellingtinny: Could the capital become the Colorado of New Zealand?
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): New Zealand’s growing meth crisis ‘ruining people’s lives’ – frontline staff
Education
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Government aims to get ahead of school roll growth curve: Hipkins
Cherie Sivignon and Amber Allott (Stuff): Government announces funding boost for South Island schools with skyrocketing rolls
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Schools footing bill to teach teachers how to teach reading
Other
Mike Houlahan (Otago Daily Times): Privacy law refreshed to reflect the times
Tom Peters (World Socialist Web Site): No justice for families 10 years after New Zealand’s Pike River mine disaster
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): Can NZME keep up the momentum? (paywalled)
Stuff: Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu chair ‘grateful’ for re-election
Bridie Witton, Charlie Gates and Mina Kerr-Lazenby (Stuff): On reverse culture shock: What it’s like to call New Zealand home again
Alice Te Punga Somerville (E-Tangata): (Not quite) 250 ways to start an essay about Captain Cook
Michael Nielson (Herald): Dame Anne Salmond awarded prestigious Blake medal: ‘A legacy we all benefit from’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘It’s my job not to switch off’: Women of Influence winner Siouxsie Wiles on her important role
Herald: Business Insider: Graeme Hart’s superyacht Odyssey sold to Kiwi businessman, Bauer’s magazine price, Phil Goff’s tape measure (paywalled)
