New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project.
Items of interest and importance today
THREE WATERS
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Make no mistake, Labour knew it was passing controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause
Thomas Cranmer: A government humiliated
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters entrenchment: Jacinda Ardern, Nanaia Mahuta at odds, David Parker says he was always opposed
David Farrar: The irony is that Labour and Greens are the ones actually privatising water
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): David Parker unaware party would support Greens’ entrenchment clause, Labour dodges questions
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Three Waters: Newshub understands Nanaia Mahuta didn’t tell Labour caucus of 60 pct entrenchment
Newshub: Jenna Lynch: Jacinda Ardern ‘all over the place’ on Three Waters entrenchment controversy
Brigitte Morten (NBR): RNZ-TVNZ merger political repeat of Three Waters reform misstep (paywalled)
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Three Waters blunder ‘made as a team, fixed as a team’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Labour votes out its controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters: Government scolded for ‘grovelling backdown’ as Parliament scrubs entrenchment
Waatea News: Council two faced on three waters says Davis
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Palmerston North’s neutrality on Three Waters challenged
Vaughan Davis (Stuff): Three Waters by another name might be easier to swallow
Wendy Geus (The Platform): Water bill trojan horse for ‘privatisation’ of water by Maori
Erin Gourley (Stuff): 48 of Wellington’s drinking water reservoirs are vulnerable to contamination – report
MEDIA
Claire Trevett (Herald): A bad interview, a telling-off by the PM – will Willie Jackson survive Jacinda Ardern’s reshuffle as Broadcasting Minister – should he? (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Turf fight behind broadcasting merger (paywalled)
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): What is the government’s plan for TVNZ, RNZ and the tech platforms?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Willie Jackson’s apology and Jacinda Ardern’s dark prediction over public media
Damien Venuto (Herald): TVNZ-RNZ merger – Why the ANZPM bill needs to change
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Nothing is driving the RNZ/TVNZ merger ideology
David Farrar: Liar, liar pants on fire
1News: ‘Wasn’t one of my greatest interviews’ – Jackson on Q+A appearance
Adam Perase (Herald): ‘I’m sorry’: Willie Jackson apologises for ‘trainwreck’ interview on public media merger
RNZ: Willie Jackson gives partial apology over public media merger interview
Herald: NZ Media Council upholds three complaints against NZME
Keith Lynch and Kate Newton (Stuff): The Whole Truth – Te Tikanga Katoa: Fighting misinformation with a dose of reality
ROYAL COMMISSION INTO NZ’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
Today FM: Michael Baker doesn’t understand rationale over narrow scope of Royal Commission into COVID-19
1News: Critical that lessons are learnt from Covid inquiry – experts
Herald Editorial: Royal Covid-19 inquiry must answer one question (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Covid NZ: What is a Royal Commission of Inquiry?
RNZ: Covid-19 inquiry must look at response to specific communities, Pasifika health leader says
Dewi Preece (1 News): ‘Gap’ in Covid inquiry ‘a missed opportunity’ – Simon Bridges
Matthew Hooton (Metro): Inquiry time
GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘That’s on us too’ – Ardern accepts blame for info vacuum on govt reform
RNZ: Government falling behind on timeframe for co-governance plans – Willie Jackson
David Farrar: A slow steady decline is worse than a sudden drop (paywalled)
David Farrar: Roy Morgan poll November 2022
Richard Harman (Politik): Another big poll for National (paywalled)
1News: Poll: MPs react to latest results as election year looms
1News: Luxon: Poll results are a reflection of Kiwis wanting change
RNZ: Hamilton West by-election: National, Labour candidates and Guarav Sharma vie for voters’ tick
ODT: Long road ahead for David Clark to save reputation (paywalled)
Roger Partridge (Newsroom): Troubling failings in the three institutions of state
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Leaders push back against sexist, racist abuse online
Tova O’Brien (Today FM): The toxicity of politics can make me sick to my stomach
Brianna MciLraith (Stuff): Gerry Brownlee baked a cake, it’s going for a record $655 on Trade Me
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): A summer reading list for Jacinda Ardern, from NZIER
ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TRADE, EMPLOYMENT
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): The horsemen of the 2008 centre-right apocalypse are back
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Reserve Bank’s engineered recession ‘could turn into economic accident’
Kevin Norquay (Stuff): Supply chain woes are shackling the economy – how do we solve the dilemma?
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): What happens when China catches a cold?
Rebeca Stevenson (Interest): Less emails, less meetings: the four-day work week is picking up steam for good reason
Rebeca Stevenson (Interest): Commerce Commission finds rebates paid to merchants to sell building supplies like GIB are hampering competition
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Big building suppliers paying cash rebates to suppliers to stop competition – report
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Will Fletcher’s Gib face more competition? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): The Treasury will delay Government’s return to surplus by another year, ANZ tips
Robert MacCulloch: The Reserve Bank of Australia just went and made the RBNZ look reckless
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): It’s the Economy – stupid!
Kate MacNamara (Herald): New public contract for embattled firm We Are Indigo (paywalled)
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): Cutting the cloth: What it takes to make clothes in New Zealand
RNZ: Minister proposes new energy and waste building regulations
Greg Ninness (Interest): Residential and commercial construction activity is still at record levels with no sign of a downturn yet
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): When is an employee an employee?
Dita De Boni (NBR): Push for pay transparency took Govt too long: Greens (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Shocking to see: accounting’s 30% gender pay gap (paywalled)
Will Mace (NBR): OIO approves $50m land portfolio sale to American behemoth (paywalled)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Michael Neilson and Aaron Dahmen (Herald): Report of China-run police station spurs Govt to launch multi-agency probe
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Operation Burnham: Soldiers operating overseas given new orders for handling detainees
RNZ: New safeguards to ensure proper treatment of detainees during offshore deployments announced
RNZ: Volodymyr Zelensky to address New Zealand Parliament next Wednesday
ORANGA TAMARIKI, CHILD WELFARE
Katie Doyle (Stuff): Oranga Tamariki staff accused of abuse still work with children
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Oranga Tamariki taken to task over lack of controls, understanding of spending
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Educational groups at odds over mandatory reporting of child abuse
Ian Hyslop (Newsroom): Child protection must not return to punitive, racist approaches
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Rangatahi, who live in hardship, issue child poverty demands to prime minister
TRANSPORT
Herald: Editorial: In a crucial policy area, the Government is making some headway (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nats up in arms after Labour electorates get early heads up on bids for $350m fund
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington could get not one but two new Mt Victoria tunnels
Liam Dann (Herald): Big oil slump must mean cheaper prices at the pump (paywalled)
RNZ: AA calls for staged return of fuel excise duty to avoid panic at pump
Maria Slade (NBR): Less focus on climate and more on reliable transport, please (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Stuff): Wellington motorway protesters meet Transport Minister
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Made Group and Charles Ma score early win against KiwiRail (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
RNZ: ‘Everything’ Auckland Council owns on the line, including golf courses – councillor
Bernard Hickey: How to redevelop a golf course for housing properly
Todd Niall (Stuff): Mayor Wayne Brown compares Auckland Art Gallery visitors to dairy customers
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Mayor’s handling of anti-govt protest ‘against her better judgment’ – review
RNZ: Christchurch residents likely to be hit with higher than expected rates rise
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Christchurch City Council has to consider asset sales
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): A mayoral guide to celebrating and respecting all cultures and religions
HEALTH
Ian Powell: When an academic gets it badly wrong over health crisis
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Doctors without peers – how the health workforce is little like the patients it serves
Bob Jones: Our catastrophic health crisis
Steve Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Long specialist wait times add pressure to under-strain health system
Olivia Caldwell (Stuff): Kiwis ‘learning to live’ with Covid-19 as pandemic becomes ‘endemic’
Raphael Franks (Herald): What happens to your travel plans if you get Covid this summer? Tourism operators recommend insurance
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Parents refusing vaccinated donor blood case: What you need to know
Amy Williams (RNZ): Need for travel to Australia for lymphoedema surgery unfair – patient
RNZ: Death rate for mothers and babies during pregnancy remains the same, report shows
Maryana Garcia (Herald): ‘Relentless’ pressure: General practices association launches campaign for more funding
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): ‘GP nurses left behind’: Government’s pay parity plan criticised
CYBER SECURITY
Chris Keall (Herald): Ransomware attacks: Are stolen Justice, health, insurance files appearing on the dark web? (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): Spreading cyberattacks: Privacy Commissioner opening investigation into Wellington’s Mercury IT as Justice, Health hit (paywalled)
Stuff: Cyber attack widens, via third party, affecting government agencies
Ethan Griffiths (Open Justice Reporting): 14,000 coronial files blocked: Ministry of Justice confirms cyber attack
Herald: Te Whatu Ora loses access to 14,000 patient files amid cyber attacks
RNZ: Think like criminal, report recommends after Waikato DHB cyber attack
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Biggest quarterly losses to cyber scams in the September quarter since govt started tracking them
RNZ: NZers fall victim to scammers at a record rate, latest figures show
SCIENCE
Jamie Morton (Herald): Govt outlines biggest makeover of science sector in 30 years
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Underfunded and fragmented public science sector in for a shakeup
Jerry Coyne: A New Zealand geography teacher calls for giving Mātauranga Māori “equal status” in the classroom
ENVIRONMENT, PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Robin Martin (RNZ): Kupe gas field operations: EPA staying quiet on probe of Beach Energy
Thomas Gibbons (Herald): What the Natural and Built Environments Bill is missing (paywalled)
Jamie Morton (Herald): Moves to mandate energy ratings on big buildings could have gone further – sector group
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Benefits outweigh $864m cost of new RMA reform, which could include new taxes and revenue tools – officials (paywalled)
Tina Morrison (Stuff): More pressure will come on farmers to reduce emissions as processors feel the heat
Eva Davies (Manawatū Standard): Rangitīkei mayor opposes proposed emissions pricing scheme, says it ‘disregards the importance of primary sector’
Anna Sargent (RNZ): Four-wheel-drivers ignore warnings to spend Crate Day on riverbed near endangered birds
Tatiana Gibbs and Kristie Boland (Stuff): DOC rangers felt ‘unsafe’ monitoring rare bird nesting area during Crate Day
RNZ: ‘Not acceptable’: Marlborough winery fails to submit waste reports to council
OTHER
Eugene Bingham and Adam Dudding (Stuff): Crown Law admits knowing of unjust convictions, so why won’t they blow the whistle?
Mike White (Stuff): Police forced to apologise for withholding information and unnecessary delays
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): A commonsense conclusion to the sordid little Southern/Molyneux saga
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Supreme Court dismisses appeal after Lauren Southern, Stefan Molyneux barred from venue
Jake Kenny (Stuff): Founders of far-right media platform Counterspin back in court
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration NZ accidentally issues two residence visas to some applicants
Michelle Duff (Stuff): The Whole Truth: Childcare subsidies won’t help most parents with young children
Stephen Minto (Daily Blog): Political correctness and the rough and tumble of identity
Stuff: What Sport NZ’s announcement means for transgender athletes
