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
Air NZ work for Saudi Arabia military
Benedict Collins (1News): Air NZ has been secretly helping Saudi Arabian military despite its role in Yemen humanitarian crisis
RNZ: Air NZ apologises after revelations it helped Saudi Arabian military
Herald: The Green Party slams Air NZ after Saudi Arabian military revelations
Waitangi Day and perspectives on the Treaty and race relations
Steven Cowan: Anti-racist politics that bolsters the status quo
Maiki Serman (1News): Analysis: Those jumping to defence of Judith Collins over speaking rights on the marae – ‘Blind leading the blind’
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Why Waitangi 2021 became so politically important for Maori
Ngarimu Blair (Stuff): Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei challenges other iwi to stop coveting their land in central Auckland
RNZ: Councillor calls for Tino Rangatiratanga flag to feature permanently on Harbour Bridge
Annette Sykes (E-tangata): The myth of tikanga in the Pākehā law
Charlie Mitchell and Edward Gay (Stuff): The killing of Maketū Wharetōtara, and how it changed the course of history
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Crown took Te Āti Awa land for housing, now mana whenua can’t afford to live there
Michelle Duff (Stuff): The founding mothers: how Māori women are reclaiming their birthright this Waitangi
Michael Neilson (Herald): Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei hīkoi over central Auckland land claims ahead of High Court trial
Cathy Odgers: Maori need to modernise to meet the Crown’s standards
Government and Parliament
Claire Robinson (The Guardian): The phallic necktie is an outdated symbol of white male rule in New Zealand’s parliament
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): National: Trevor Mallard’s behaviour should not go unpunished
Amelia Wade (Herald): ‘Back to school’: PM Jacinda Ardern and National Party leader Judith Collins set to go head-to-head in the House (paywalled)
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Seymour: Four year terms needed to stop ‘vanity laws’
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): The Prebble adventure: Reading I’ve Been Thinking, a quarter century on
Richard Prebble (Spinoff): I’ve been thinking about I’ve Been Thinking, 25 years on
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): It’s going to take 7 years to get back to ‘normal’ after Covid
RNZ: New Zealand placed fourth in global democracy index
Covid
Kate Gregan (RNZ): MIQ nurses speak out: ‘We’re going to get sloppy … we’re tired and stressed’
Nick Wilson (The Conversation): No more acting like ‘stunned mullets’ — bigger, better, faster responses needed to meet future bio-threats
Gary Payinda (Herald): Conundrum for doctors at the pointy end of virus (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Vaccines mean opening our borders to Covid
Parmjeet Parmar (Newsroom): Guarantee faster supply by manufacturing vaccine in NZ
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Covid-19: Proposal for school-run MIQ for international students ‘under consideration’
Asha Abdi (Newshub): Need for deep cleaning in managed isolation and quarantine facilities may be over-exaggerated – Michael Baker
Elle Hunt (The Guardian): ‘It is only now I realise the toll the pandemic has taken’: a letter from the other side of Covid
Linda Geddes (The Guardian): Covid: could Britain have been more like New Zealand?
Heath Moore (Herald): Optimistic bunch: Survey reveals what Kiwis are really optimistic about despite Covid-19
Jamie Morton (Herald): Minister considers law change over tracing data privacy
Newstalk ZB: Seafarers say overloaded MIQ system treats them unfairly
Joel MacManus and Rob Stock (Stuff): Employers to get $350 payments for staff awaiting Covid test results, but unable to work from home
RNZ: New subsidy kicks in for workers waiting for Covid test results
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Bureaucracy’s hostile posture to enterprise
China-NZ
Emile Donovan (Newsroom): NZ treading a trade tightrope with China
Richard Harman: Dealing with the tiger. What to do about the Uighurs
Geraden Cann (Stuff): PM defends NZ stance after allegations of rape of Uighurs in Chinese camps
Juliet Moses (The Spectator Australia): Kiwi Life
Housing
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): Russian billionaire investing in Kiwibuild to help housing crisis
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): New rules for renters and landlords kick in this week. Here’s what you need to know
Anne Gibson (Herald): Lawyer to landlords: Beware from next Thursday when new law comes in (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Average Auckland home passes $1.2 million, QV says
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Sizzling property market continues in 2021 as house prices maintain their upward march
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): ASB joins move to require higher deposits from investors
Greg Ninness (Interest): Rental yields likely to remain attractive to residential property investors
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Landlords made 4000 fewer applications to recover missed rent: here is why
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): Students will leave Wellington’: Fears of a student exodus as rental shortage bites hard
Media and debate
Chris Trotter (Interest): The political economy of shock-jockery
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): The piper was paid
Michelle Langstone (RNZ): On air and on fire: Māni Dunlop on reo, racists and taking on the old guard
Economy and work
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Grant Robertson to reveal size and priorities of Budget 2021 on Tuesday
Rob Stock (Staff): Investor confidence turns positive, but only just thanks to high house prices, low deposit rates, and Aucklanders
ODT: Editorial – Employment numbers
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Global economy poised to boom just as it did after Spanish Flu
Anne Gibson (NZ Herald): $9.8b iwi economy hit by Covid, tourism downturn (paywalled)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): ACT denounces Labour’s sick leave increase after new short-term absence payment
Francesca Rudkin (Newstalk ZB): No end in sight for tourism industry woes
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Foodstuffs pushes back on 10 days sick leave, leaving union ‘disappointed’
Climate change
Mirjam Guesgen (The Spinoff): The house that climate built
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Will the Government pursue climate ideology?
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Environmental reforms putting more pressure on struggling farmers
Amber Allott (Stuff): Climate change in Canterbury: are the government’s plans a silver bullet or a pipe dream?
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Wellington woes: Why didn’t the capital learn from Auckland?
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): ‘Lies, lies, lies’, council told at public meeting over growing anguish at lead in water
Grant Miller (ODT): Otago lead contamination: ‘We’re pretty bloody angry’ – residents demand answers at public meeting
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Dunedin Mayor blames public health authorities for late warning about lead water contamination
Harry Lock (RNZ): Wellington Airport’s expansion plans at odds with city’s zero emissions plan, environmental group says
Stuff: Invercargill City Council pushing ahead with plan to fix woes
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Positive end to ‘insulting’ te reo Māori saga
Ashley Church (One Roof): Is it too late to save Auckland CBD?
Māori wards in local government
Waatea News: Law change needed for Auckland Maori seats
Christina Persico (Stuff): New Plymouth Māori ward champion apologises for calling petition promoters ‘racist’
Don Brash (NZCPR): Nanaia Mahuta reminds me of Rob Muldoon
Muriel Newman (NZCPR): The Abuse of Power
Education
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): When two plus two equals 40 – NZ’s problem with maths
Kerre McIvor (Herald): Critical maths – our kids are the collateral damage after years of teaching decline (paywalled)
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Unitec racism claims: Institute not upholding Treaty principles, Chris Hipkins says
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Te Pūkenga under fire for failing to meet Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Unitec restructure
Martin Hanson (Kiwiblog): Something is rotten in the state of education: high school biology in New Zealand
Steve Stannard (Stuff): New pre-school lunchbox rules hard to swallow
Health
1News: Christchurch Hospital’s new acute unit still without key services, nurses say
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Concern money used to sway doctors to euthanasia
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Health system’s ‘low priority’ attitude to endometriosis a disgrace, expert says
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Depression, anxiety and panic attacks: Students’ demand for mental health support rising
Ziena Jalil (Stuff): Cancer inequities are not acceptable
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Māori Health Authority a step closer
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato DHB keeps hold of deficit in year of Covid-19, Whakaari
Refugees
Bernadette Basagre and Geraden Cann (Stuff): Over 200 refugees set to come to New Zealand as quota programme resumes
1News: NZ’s refugee quota programme restarted after almost a year
RNZ: Small groups of refugee families to be allowed into New Zealand
Zane Small (Newshub): Greens ‘delighted’ as Immigration New Zealand confirms refugee settlement will resume
Reuters: New Zealand to resume taking refugees a year after Covid border closure
Other
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Fonterra discharging nitrate-heavy water onto ‘ghost farms’
David Williams (Newsroom): What sparked DoC’s ‘flawed’ media permits
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Law changes lift barriers to Māori building on their land
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Lack of progress on birth certificate law change frustrates transgender community
Herald: Snapped: Billboard cameras capture more details than ever (paywalled)
Jane Phare (Herald): America’s Cup: What superyachts cost (paywalled)
Alison Mau (Stuff): What’s missing in the AUT harassment review? Its consequences
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Netsafe study shows one in 10 Kiwi adults admit sending harmful digital communications
RNZ: Discrimination still rife for Māori living with HIV, report finds
Waatea News: Demand outstrips supply for reo teachers
Brenda Harwood (ODT): Children’s free counselling service struggling to cope as demand grows
Kirsty Lawrence (Stuff): Police seized hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets in 2020
RNZ: Foreign students prepare to leave country as study visas expire
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ministers pick up paintbrushes for fundraiser
