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
Housing crisis
John Bishop (Stuff): Are speculators really the problem? Isn’t it the lack of houses?
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Here’s why rental controls aren’t the answer
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Government could implement rental hike caps if necessary but it’s unlikely to be anytime soon – expert
Brian Fallow (Herald): Who’ll feel the property pinch from Govt’s tax changes? (paywalled)
Ashley Church (One Roof): Five consequences of inept housing market fix
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Record-setting house price growth ‘justifies Government intervention’
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Housing changes likely to ‘dampen’ property market but ‘low probability’ of a crash – economists
RNZ: Rent caps debate garners mixed views on effectiveness
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Gore woman co-ordinates letter-writing campaign to PM about housing crisis
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Public Housing emergency explodes – 3 solutions now
Arvind Kumar, Vandhna Bhan (Stuff): New Zealand should follow Sydney’s lead on housing crisis, says real estate expert
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): The last thing renters need is another reason for an increase (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): NZ housing consenting, planning ‘is broken’ (paywalled)
Mark Thomas (Herald): Time to build homes smarter and faster (paywalled)
Ewan McDonald (One Roof): No brightline test, no new taxes: Where investors are heading next
Greg Ninness (Interest): The size of their mortgage the key for residential investors deciding whether to cash up under new tax rules
Auckland lightrail working group announced
Simon Wilson (Herald): Finally, the light rail breakthrough Auckland needs (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland light rail: Big promises, secrecy and slow progress (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Light rail; make the property owners pay (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Auckland light rail: Michael Wood sets sights on ‘linked-up’ city network as National swipes at ‘ridiculous’ delays
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Auckland light rail: Mayor Phil Goff welcomes working group plans
1News: After delays, Auckland’s light rail project to get ‘fresh start’ with promise of better consultation
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): No decision on Auckland light rail, as Government opts for ‘fresh start’ on project
Zane Small (Newshub): Long wait for Auckland light rail: Decisions to be made ‘at end of the year’ as new consultation begins
State media RNZ-TVNZ working group announced
Newsroom: If the RNZ totara falls, is anyone listening?
Jason Walls (Herald): ‘A bit more speed:’ Social media giants under pressure by the Government to work with media
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): RNZ, TVNZ merger will now get down to the ‘nitty gritty’, says minister
Jason Walls (Herald): Former NZ First Minister Tracey Martin given reins on work to merge TVNZ and RNZ
RNZ: Work begins on business case of potential new public media entity
Zane Small (Newshub): Former NZ First MP Tracey Martin to lead work on potential new public media entity for New Zealand
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Experts appointed to oversee new public media plan
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): RNZ, TVNZ merger moves a step closer with Governance Group appointed
Health
Cecile Meier and Felippe de Souza Oliveira Rodrigues (Stuff): Jump in number of patients waiting more than 6 hours at EDs since Govt scrapped health targets in 2017
Michael Morrah (Newshub): ‘Crude’ 20-year-old funding model putting immense pressure on NZ’s GPs
Bridie Witton and Cecile Meier (Stuff): Wellington hospital has longest ED wait times in the country
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Operations postponed due to nursing shortage at Waitematā DHB
Dave Macpherson (Daily Blog): Is Labour on top of mental health issues?
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Huge growth in use of ‘last resort’ seclusion indicates mental health system in crisis, and in worse shape than when Labour elected in 2017
Lauren Hendricksen and Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): ‘Swamped’ health system a direct result of Government failures – GP Owners Association
Adam Jacobson (RNZ): Waikato DHB systematically failing Māori and Pasifika – report
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato DHB equity report ‘puts pressure on’ health board to improve health of Māori and Pacific people
J. Haxby Abbott and Ross Wilson (The Conversation): How New Zealand’s healthcare system is failing people with osteoarthritis
Nikki Preston (Herald): Health Minister Andrew Little says maternal suicide video was a misrepresentation of Government’s investment into mental health resources
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Women struggle for treatment as ACC changes policy on perineal tears
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Lawyers question ACC’s new policy on perineal tears
Parliament
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): New Zealand, the way They deserve it!
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Highly wrong’: Judith Collins hits back at report she lost caucus vote on fluoride
Claire Trevett (Herald): National, Labour, and the politics of a Covid-19 jab (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Newshub): No invite for National leader Judith Collins as first MPs get their Covid-19 vaccines
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins, in contrast with National health spokesman, says it makes sense for politicians to get vaccine early to show safety
Covid
Matthew Hooton (Herald): NZ trapped in the vaccine queue (paywalled)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): KFC worker Case L wasn’t contacted directly by health officials until after shift – OIA documents
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Other countries have specific vaccination targets. Should NZ have them too?
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Government considered charging more for MIQ, is still footing more than half the bill
Jamie Morton (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Where are NZ’s most vulnerable places?
Liam Dann (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Rob Fyfe – Caution needed on reopening borders as ‘fourth wave looms’ (paywalled)
Anna Leask (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: ‘Tsunami’ of child eating disorders emerging after lockdowns in New Zealand (paywalled)
Economy and work
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Income inequality in New Zealand might not be as bad as feared
RNZ: Group action in Employment Court asks if courier drivers are self-employed contractors or employees
Tess McClure (The Guardian): New Zealand raises minimum wage and increases taxes on the rich
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): What state is the NZ economy in, and where to from here?
Eric Crampton (Newsroom): Public poorly served by ‘wartime’ policy responses
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Shortage of refrigerated shipping containers causes havoc for NZ food exporters (paywalled)
Local Government
Joel MacManus and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Missing pipe data forces delay of major Wellington City Council meeting
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Wellington Mayor Andy Foster says ‘overall, the city is safe’ despite reports of increasingly dangerous CBD
Lois Williams (Stuff): Poutini Ngāi Tahu warn council over mapping of wetlands on Māori land
Justice and crime
Rawiri Waititi (Herald): We all have (civil) rights
Michael Neilson (Herald): Waikeria Prison protesters file civil rights claims against Corrections, Attorney-General
RNZ: Hundreds rally against sexual violence in Wellington
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Hundreds still ending up in court for cannabis possession
Live animal exports
Herald: Editorial: Cows to Mongolia? Yes, you read that right (paywalled)
1News: ‘We have blood on our hands’ — SPCA calls for total ban on exports of live farmed animals
Herald: Outrage as Cornwall Park cows due to be shipped to Mongolia
Other
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Father of teenager killed at Pike River says Andrew Little is trying to scare families into silence
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Schools funded by goodwill and heart, review hears
Ian Harrison (Spinoff): Why electric vehicle subsidies are a bad idea
Myra Williamson (The Conversation): NZ student accommodation is expensive and under-regulated — here are 10 ways to fix it
Liam Rātana (Herald): Kelvin Davis visits Pātaua South land occupation in Whangārei
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Concern at High Court use of tikanga to overule Waitangi Tribunal
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): SIS: Covid-19 could lead to greater terror threat
Francine Chen (South China Morning Post): For New Zealand-Chinese, global rise in anti-Asian hate a painful reminder of past wounds
RNZ: Auckland’s population may hit 2 million in early 2030s
Kevin Veale (Stuff): ‘Cancel culture’ tag conceals more than it reveals
RNZ: Otago electrity line charges to increase over 60 percent in five years
No Right Turn: A Potemkin review
