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
Housing
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Could Boomer Tax be a glimpse of the future and help solve generational inequality?
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Adrian Orr puts tax back on the table in affordable housing debate
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Housing Blame rests with Labour
Miriam Bell (Stuff): House sellers cashing in with near-record capital gains
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Finance Minister Grant Robertson not ruling out extending bright-line test – the tax on investment properties
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Reserve Bank defends high house prices but warns of risk of ‘sharp correction’
Mark Quinlivan and Ashleigh McCaull (Newshub): Tough road ahead for the Reserve Bank to try and contain property prices – top economist
RNZ: Skyrocketing house prices: Economist says Reserve Bank, govt, trying to address pandemic
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins suggests Reserve Bank Governor respond to Grant Robertson with one word: ‘KiwiBuild’
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): ‘House prices sell newspapers’ – Reserve Bank shoots the messenger of ministerial suggestion (paywalled)
RNZ: Reserve Bank warns of ‘risks if house prices fall sharply or unemployment rises’
Jo Moir (RNZ): Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr defends approach tackling inflation amid runaway house prices
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Government is in full panic mode over housing
Newstalk ZB: Deputy Reserve Bank Governor on what can be done on house prices
Newstalk ZB / NZ Herald: Govt mobilises Reserve Bank in fight to tame NZ’s wild housing market
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s Judith Collins, ACT’s David Seymour hit out at Greens as capital gains tax debate rages on
Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy (Interest): Residential property investors should require equity or a deposit of at least 40%
Matthew Goodson (NBR): Is a housing bubble a ‘first-class problem’? (paywalled)
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Bringing loan-to-value ratio restrictions back will take ‘some but not all’ heat out of housing market – expert
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Loan-to-value restrictions back in from March – Reserve Bank
Jason Walls (Herald): Is the Government looking to bring in a capital gains tax by stealth? The Act Party thinks so
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Fletcher Building board asked if it’s benefiting from the housing crisis
RNZ: Affordable housing wait lists still growing in Queenstown and Wanaka
Scott Yorke: Letter to the Reserve Bank
Election and new Government
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): A Caucus Of Velvet Gloves
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 1 Month on from winning 2020 Election – what is the NZ political landscape?
Alex Braae (Spinoff): New Conservative deputy quits one week in, deepening leadership tumult
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Why couldn’t it happen here?
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): The Maori Party are right – our elections are racist!
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern charms farmers, but is it hampering housing market action? (paywalled)
Jamie Mackay (Herald): Can Jacinda Ardern take the farmers of the nation with her
Opening of new Parliament
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Maiden voyage: High-profile rookies Arena Williams and Ibrahim Omer face their most important speech yet
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Māori Party pushes to change Parliamentary oath of allegiance to Queen
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Time for MPs’ oath to sit the Treaty next to the Queen?
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Government open to changing oath of allegiance new MPs swear as they enter Parliament
1News: Māori Party’s Rawiri Waititi delivers haka for Te Tiriti before being sworn in to Parliament
Stuff: Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi refuses to swear to only the Queen
1News: New MP wears korowai for father who died on election day – ‘Dad is with me throughout this journey’
Amelia Wade (Herald): From a top hat to an oath race: The 53rd Parliament is sworn in
No Right Turn: A Parliament that sounds like Aotearoa
TVNZ: Trevor Mallard officially re-elected as Speaker – ‘It is an honour and a privilege’
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins congratulate Labour’s Trevor Mallard on his unopposed re-election as Speaker of the House
Oranga Tamariki
Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’
Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): Oranga Tamariki: The new wave of trauma
RNZ: Minister’s public rebuke sign of tensions over Oranga Tamariki
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Oranga Tamariki must be run by Maori – Now!
John Tamihere (Stuff): Why such resistance to finding whānau-led solutions for at-risk children?
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Oranga Tamariki boss Grainne Moss praises her Minister Kelvin Davis who won’t express confidence in her
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Grainne Moss clings on as Crown admits structural racism
Amelia Wade and Isaac Davison (Herald): Oranga Tamariki head Grainne Moss will not quit
Derek Cheng (Herald): Oranga Tamariki boss Grainne Moss and her stark admission of ‘structural racism’
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Oranga Tamariki boss makes stunning concession of ‘structural racism’ to Waitangi Tribunal
Vita Molyneux and Demelza Leslie (Newshub): Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss will not quit despite intense criticism
Local government
1News: ‘A dog’s breakfast’ – State of local government slammed amid calls for another royal commission
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Support for Local Government overhaul after call for Royal Commission
Evan Harding (Stuff): Invercargill deputy mayor to change style in wake of damning report
Herald: Progress with Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt or without
Steven Walton (Stuff): Shadbolt comedy show cancelled after report questioning his mayoral performance
Herald: Damning report on Tim Shadbolt ‘very difficult’ to write
Samantha Motion (Herald): Simon Bridges urges Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta not to intervene in Tauranga City Council (paywalled)
Harry Lock (RNZ): Wellington councils agree to consider water meters for houses
Todd Niall (Stuff): Fast-track apartments may leapfrog slow-moving council development
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Push for Maori wards on councils is racist and undemocratic
Economy and work
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Treasury, Reserve Bank told Government it could just print money to pay for Covid-19
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Reserve Bank outlines major risks to New Zealand economy
Brent Edwards (NBR): Financial system in good shape but risks remain (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Two banks, insurer under investigation by Reserve Bank over alleged compliance breaches (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Mammoth $2.3b of investment held up at border by Covid-19 visa rules
David Chaplin (Business Desk): There are no facts: long-term retirement saving truths (paywalled)
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Me and My Money: Brad Olsen, senior economist
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): NZ needs a ‘digital twin’ to help plan its infrastructure
Swati Nagar (Spinoff): NZ urgently needs to find workers to avoid a picking season disaster
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Grant Robertson rubbishes talk minimum wage hike will leave thousands out of work
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Helen Clark Foundation is back at it again
No Right Turn: Taking the piss
David Farrar: Workplace Deaths
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): There are no facts: long-term retirement saving truths (paywalled)
Zoe Hannah (Stuff): We know we’re privileged to be here, but we’re also all you’ve got right now
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Queenstown scored $73,594 in visitor spending per resident. What now?
Covid
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Best in the world: NZ tops Bloomberg’s covid resilience ranking
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): New Zealand’s coronavirus response ranked as best in the world – Bloomberg report
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Covid-19: NZ named the best place to be as coronavirus stalks the globe
Derek Cheng (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: New Zealand’s response rated best in the world
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Revealed: The strict new coronavirus rules for New Zealand’s COVID-19 Defence Force staff
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Covid-19: Kiwis will have to wait, even once vaccine is approved overseas
Kendall Hutt and Melanie Earley (Stuff): Covid-19: Families unable to see sick parents due to lack of space in isolation
Tracy Neal (RNZ): America’s Cup: Just three foreign journalists approved for entry
Soldier charged with espionage
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Far-right extremist no longer in Army Reserves
RNZ: Espionage charges laid against NZ Defence Force soldier
Rachel Sadler and Caley Callahan (Newshub): New Zealand Defence Force soldier facing espionage, dishonesty, objectionable publication charges
RNZ: New Zealand-based soldier charged with spying
Health
Ian Powell: Income relevant to health systems
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Cash for ‘third world’ hospital ward upgrade used to settle contractor dispute
Sharon Brettkelly (Newsroom): Dementia sufferers need a champion
Matthew McAuley (Spinoff): Is our mental health approach in need of a rewrite?
Susan Strongman and Murphy (RNZ): Trans healthcare a harmful ‘postcode lottery’
RNZ: Public health officials sought advice on contaminants two months after fire notification
Prisons and police
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Corrections Association defends tactics used to handle aggressive and unruly prisoners
John Goddard (Stuff): New model will limit access to justice
George Block (Stuff): NZ police select Skoda to supply new cop cars as Holden rolls into sunset
Lana Andelane (Newshub): New Zealand Police select Škoda for new frontline patrol cars
Other
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The bigger picture behind the RCEP
Point of Order: Ardern and Biden keen to work together as US restores its relationships with world agencies
Simon Bridges (Newsroom): Book of the Week: Simon Bridges on Jared Savage
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): New Zealand couple shuns developers to give 900 hectares of land to nation
Maria Slade (NBR): End in sight at Ihumātao, Fletcher says (paywalled)
Kereama Wright (Māori TV): Jackson wants funding increased for iwi radio and Māori TV
Karl du Fresne: In New Zealand today ….
Bronwyn Wood (Newsroom): You’re a Kiwi if you call NZ home’
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Nelson’s sea-level rise plan may be inadequate – expert
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Can we take the Dutch approach to flooding?
Zane Small (Newshub): National, ACT question ‘vague’, ‘unacceptable’ response on release date of Christchurch terror attack report
Alison Mau (Stuff): AUT head accused of lying about what he knew of harrassment allegations announces exit
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Maori educational achievement rates
RNZ: Broadcasting Standards Authority sees surge of complaints in past year
Irra Lee (1News): Charity calls for free period products in NZ, after Scotland passes landmark legislation
1News: Kiwi scientist Siouxsie Wiles named in BBC list of 2020’s most influential women
Alice Angeloni (RNZ): Gisborne Endeavour saga continues as ‘propositions’ for model roll in
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Ministry’s $14m leaky schools’ legal bill (paywalled)
Amber Allott (Stuff): Masks signed by Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Bloomfield to be auctioned for charity
