Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.  Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily.

Today’s content

Economy, wage subsidy, inequality
Branko Marcetic (Democracy Project): When the US Government becomes more economically progressive than NZ
Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Where did the wage subsidy money really go?
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Why we should reframe the discussion on government spending
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Treasury shows New Zealand’s 1 per cent is richer than we think (paywalled)
Brian Easton (Pundit): Do we really care about the marginalised?
Ian Hyslop (Reimagining social work): So, what now – more charades or real sociopolitical change?
Scott Mason (Otago Daily Times): Top tax rate increase needs attention
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): IR warns high earners not to try to be clever dodging 39% tax rate
Liam Dann (Herald): This week’s last-quarter GDP number for 2020 has economists divided (paywalled)
Michael Andrew (Spinoff): The Campbell enigma: Corporate juggernaut with a socialist heart
Tom Peters (World Socialists) Mounting job cuts in New Zealand
Jane Phare (Herald): ‘This town is dying’: Tenants beg for help as Richlister landlord takes hard line (paywalled)

National
Andrea Vance (Stuff): National, and why it can’t win with the ‘next John Key’
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): The National Party has the same problem as the English monarchy
1News: National Party ‘naïve’ to believe withheld election campaign review won’t be released to public, political commentator says
Audrey Young (Herald): Why Chris Bishop is becoming Judith Collins’ most valuable player (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Woodhouse’s attack role keeps him on the move

Labour government
Rob Mitchell (Stuff): Raising the ghost of Helengrad: Big Govt is back
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern needs to put her foot back on the gas and do something about Australia and housing
Benedict Collins & Abbey Wakefield (1News): Labour MP Ginny Andersen terminates ‘dodgy’ subletting arrangement
Amal Samaha (Spinoff): Transformation and progressive ghosts
Martyn Bradbury (The Daily Blog): Big Government back or has Labour lost the domestic agenda to the Wellington neolibral bureaucratic elites?
Jason Walls (Herald): Mothballed gender self-ID law back as a ‘priority’ for Govt – will pass this year, Minister says

Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Conversations about capital gains tax ‘miss the benefits’
Richard Harman: A capital gains tax by any other name (paywalled)
Connor Stirling (1News): Successive Governments’ inaction to blame for housing crisis, says Reserve Bank Governor
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Capital gains tax on the table to fix NZ’s broken housing market, says IMF
Brendon Harre: Housing as a human right: Restoring New Zealand’s egalitarian dream?
Anne Gibson (Herald): $83m Ted Manson Foundation project is NZ’s biggest new philanthropic social house scheme (paywalled)
David Chaston (Interest): Those in ‘the game’ borrowed more and paid down less
Nicholas Pointon (RNZ): IMF warns of ‘pronounced correction’ in NZ’s housing market
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): KiwiBuild house cost could rise as Government reconsiders price cap
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Are investors starting to step back from the housing market?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Apartment law change ‘would make multi-unit living easier’
Miriam Bell (Stuff): On fire: Auctions are burning up sales
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Government-supported ‘affordable’ properties for sale in Queenstown and Wānaka
Liz McDonald (Stuff): More new homes are being built in Christchurch – but they’re getting smaller
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Student forced to choose between good grades and working enough to pay rent
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Pasifika family say they cannot find a rental despite turning their lives around
Katrina Shanks (Stuff): Where does the bank of Mum and Dad end?

Christchurch mosque attacks
David Williams (Newsroom): A misstep on ACC for terror victims
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Christchurch mosque attacks: How New Zealand has changed since March 15, 2019 – and what could still change
Anjum Rahman (The Guardian): Livestreaming bill introduced after Christchurch attacks could criminalise innocent people
RNZ: Royal Commission report on Christchurch attack prompts initiative to improve diversity in public sector
Faisal Al-Asaad (The Guardian): Support communities to tackle white supremacy, not the agencies that failed us over Christchurch
Gregory Fortuin (E-Tangata): White supremacy is still the standard
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): March 15th Terror attack 2 years on – winners & losers
Kamala Hayman (Stuff): The job of combating hatred falls to all of us as we remember
Stuff: Kiwis slightly more accepting of diversity two years on from March 15 attack
Herald: Editorial – March 15, Christchurch mosque terror attack anniversary – Why it’s good to remember bad events (paywalled)
Lana Hart (Stuff): On attack anniversary, worth reflecting on steps towards a better world
Ramia Abdo Sultan (The Guardian): Two years after the Christchurch massacre, I still hold my heart every time I go to mosque

Media
John Armstrong (1News): PM’s excuses to drop Mike Hosking’s show ‘nonsense’
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): A week of media meltdowns
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Claims of cancel culture and media bias get political
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of The Ardern Gang (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘I make no apology for asking hard questions …’
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E-Tangata: The Māori voice comes in English as well as te reo
Te Rina Triponel (Herald): Complaints spike as readers oppose use of te reo Māori in media
Anna Leask (Herald): Investigation into sexual harassment allegations at The Rock MediaWorks radio station
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Mike Hosking under fire after calling Meghan Markle a ‘bandwagon-riding hussy’

Clarke Gayford tweet
Jason Walls (Herald): Was Clarke Gayford too quick with tweet on alert level decision that ‘hadn’t been made yet’? (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Political commentator urges MPs’ partners to let them ‘get on with it’ after Clarke Gayford Twitter post on alert levels
Newstalk ZB: Barry Soper on Clarke Gayford’s controversial alert level tweet
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern denies Clarke Gayford knew Cabinet alert level decision before public

Parliament
Stuff political reporters: Points of Order: Missing Mike Hosking, and the case for giving Brian Roche another knighthood
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: a sequel to PM Jacinda Ardern v Mike Hosking, Simon Bridges’ in denialist mode (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Govt on point with vaccine for all
Waatea News: Maori Party silenced over police questions

Covid
Hannah Martin (Stuff): One year on from NZ closing its border, what will happen next?
ODT: Editorial – Do it once, do it right
Herald Editorial: Covid 19 coronavirus advisory group is a welcome move (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): The Real News: Who is really behind the Covid-19 conspiracy magazine being dropped into 60,000 letterboxes (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Covid-19 jab fears are being allayed: Pfizer vaccine is proving its worth (paywalled)
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Not prioritising vaccine rollout plan by ethnicity is unfair, experts say
Rawiri Taonui (Waatea News): Up to 85.7 percent chance of further OutBreaks
Rachel Thomas (RNZ): About 12,700 frontline workers have received vaccine – 21 refused
Elle Hunt (The Guardian): New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern criticised over timing of Auckland Covid alert change

Australia’s deportees policy
Nicholas Jones (Herald): ‘Australia matters more to NZ than the reverse’, deportations ‘corrosive’: Mfat briefing reveals transtasman relationship (paywalled)
1News: Tensions between Australia, NZ over 501 deportees coming to head over differing foreign policy approach
Elizabeth Binning (Herald): ‘501’ Australian deportee: ‘I just thought they are not going to tear a mother away from her children’ (paywalled)

Foreign affairs and trade
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): New Zealand must hedge bets in US-China techno tussle (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): ‘Can you take yourself off mute’: Diplomacy in the time of Covid (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (Business Desk): Time to Grow Up About America? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealanders should consider Hong Kong part of authoritarian China now, experts warn
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Nanaia Mahuta, Australia’s Marise Payne ‘deeply concerned’ about China’s latest electoral changes in Hong Kong
RNZ: NZ and Australia condemn Hong Kong electoral reform by China
Conor Whitten (Newshub): Peruvian Ambassador under investigation for alleged exploitation in New Zealand
Simon Draper (Stuff): ‘Vaccine nationalism’ may lead to further issues down the road

International women’s day
Steven Cowan: International women’s day 2021: A corporate talkfest
David Chaston (Interest): Gender pay equality and women in leadership positions
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern made into Lego figurine for International Women’s Day
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Jacinda is now a Lego figure – get ready for Mike Hosking to lose his shiz

Local government
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington City Council sticking to its guns despite calls to borrow more
Wayne Brown (Stuff): Councils led by former MPs never get anything done
ODT: Editorial – Lessons from Waikouaiti water
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington regional council chairman Daran Ponter applies for chief executive role
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): On the topic of water and local body woes
David Langford (Stuff): Water meters could save New Plymouth millions over decades — council manager
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Horowhenua councillor becomes first to have baby mid-term
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Council chief executive critical of Government water reforms
Tim Shadbolt (Stuff): Beware the bitter aftertaste of a free lunch from a politician
Abbey Palmer (Otago Daily Times): District council votes to join local body funding agency

Auckland transport plan
Simon Wilson (Herald): So much shameful hot air in new Auckland transport plan (paywalled)
Herald: Auckland transport package doesn’t add up, urbanists claim
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): South Aucklanders look set to benefit from cut price public transport under new plan
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Auckland’s new $31b transport blueprint ignores commercial freight needs
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s $31 billion transport plan includes half-price public transport for the poor
RNZ: $31 billion transport initiative for Auckand – Tāmaki Makaurau announced

Environment and climate change
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Govt no closer to landing Kermadec Sanctuary
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government failing to act on promise to ban new mines on conservation land despite Labour majority
Jason Walls (Herald): New Zealand imported more coal last year than in any year since 2006, new data shows
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt urged to adopt EV car-sharing
Robert McLachlan (Stuff): Why the Climate Change Commission’s targets are so weak
Jon Duffy (Stuff): What do the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations mean for consumers?
Eric Crampton: Ages back, MoT came out with some ridiculous work on the merits of subsidising electric vehicles
Elliot Weir (Critic): Blood on our hands: Local climate activists taking on big corporations

Health
Nikki Macdonald and Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Lung cancer survival a ‘postcode lottery’ — Cancer Control Agency
Ian Powell: Health system at risk by Government abdicating leadership of Simpson review implementation to business consultants
Shaun Robinson (Stuff): Has the Government lost its vision on mental health?
Dr Sarah Pinto (Newsroom): In mental health, silence is not golden
Will Harvie (Stuff): Med students become more opposed to euthanasia while at uni
Amy Ridout (Stuff): Medical cannabis offers help for child conditions, but cost out of reach for many
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Immigration office closure could worsen nurse shortage, industry leader says
RNZ: Medical bodies back an independent Māori health authority
Graeme Jarvis (Stuff): Pharmac review misses political elephant in the room

Education
Critic Editorial: The Government wants as much money from international students as possible
Annabelle Vaughan (Critic): Priority should be given to Māori students when it comes to teaching te reo
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): A generation has been failed in maths – can New Zealand turn that around?

America’s Cup
Tom Hunt (Stuff): More than 1000 foreigners, including team sponsors, allowed into NZ for America’s Cup
Stuff: Man who attacked America’s Cup in 1997 auctions t-shirt on TradeMe
Herald: Watch: Rod Stewart speaks with Clarke Gayford about Sailing, flirts with PM

Abortion
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Ministry of Health seeks innovative ways to deliver abortion services
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Revenge porn and abortion clinic safe zones: The issues tackled on first Parliament members’ day
Karl du Fresne: Terry Bellamak, The Spinoff and the anti-abortion terrorists

Justice and policing
Tim McKinnel (E-Tangata): Injustice in justice
Gehan Gunasekara (Newsroom): Why police surveillance can’t be carte blanche
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Calls for prison discipline overhaul amid increase in assaults on Corrections staff
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Police Commissioner Andrew Coster under fire for article on data gathering

Cannabis
Kathy Errington  (The Spinoff): The time to decriminalise cannabis is now
Waatea News: Cannabis law reform unfinished business

Other
Damien Grant (Stuff): Be honest, New Zealand is a ridiculous name
Emile Donovan (Newsroom): The Detail: Cashing in on conspiracies with snake oil
Frances Benge (Herald): Fighting hard for sick kids in turbulent times vital (paywalled)
Ankur Sabharwal (Stuff): Why ‘fetch and fly’ is the hottest thing in immigration right now
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Open letter to Prime Minister expresses concerns for Rocket Lab’s planned ‘Gunsmoke-J’ launch
Herald: Business Insider: Sean Plunket’s next move, Westpac CEO’s charity ride (paywalled)
Keith Woodford (Interest): Forestry issues still need much debate
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Not Oranga Tamariki again?
Susan Botting (Herald): National tsunami alert process ‘too slow’, but Northlanders back local alerts
Skara Bohny (Stuff): The Nelson Tenths: counting the cost of a 180-year old broken deal
Liam Dann (Herald): Never mind the tomato wars, food prices are set to rise (paywalled)
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): MP wants borders open to Aussies to save southern tourism towns
Herald: Wellington calls for more gender diverse bathrooms