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
HEALTH, COVID
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Government proposes new measures to cut ‘too high’ youth vaping rates
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Government planning youth vaping crackdown
Stuff: Southern mayors seek urgent meeting with Health Minister Andrew Little
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Wellington Hospital plans 12-bed rooftop ward amid pipe fixes
Stuff: Minister: No plans to Covid test Chinese arrivals due to ‘minimal public health risk’
RNZ: New Zealand will not impose entry restrictions on travellers from China
Alexa Cook (1News): New Zealand experts worried as evasive COVID-19 ‘super variant’ makes waves in US
Laura James (1News): Governments urged to increase access to braille
Martin Thrupp (Stuff): Escaping the city? Think carefully about access to hospital treatment
PARLIAMENT
Ben Thomas (Stuff): In 2023, Kiwis are sceptical of being offered something for nothing
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Summer off politics: Elizabeth Kerekere plans to get back to her artist roots
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Richer or poorer? How the last year has affected Kiwi families
Rob Stock (Stuff): Six money lessons from 2022, and six we need for 2023
Herald Editorial: Unease at what China’s Covid wave means for global economy (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Too big to fail – calls for Govt to guarantee Three Waters debts (paywalled)
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Mothballed community projects symbols of broken council funding model
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Documents reveal how Auckland Transport reacted to taking an ‘enthusiastic kicking’ in the election campaign
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): The city with no recycling and no cycle lanes
Jonathan Killick (Stuff): Aucklanders rally against ‘selfish’ bid by rich listers to add helicopter flights
Stephen Ward (Stuff): Stand by for a busy and tumultuous 2023, Hamilton
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Bay of Plenty Regional Council posts $10m deficit
Michael Fallow (Stuff): Southland District Council to review consents regime
HOUSING
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Here’s how long we can expect house prices to keep falling
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Winton’s $4b Sunfield development: Why efforts to remove red tape are proving so difficult
Michael Daly (Stuff): $350m housing plan for former Wellington Prison site
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Generate KiwiSaver, Community Finance invest $14m to build social housing in Christchurch
EDUCATION
Rob Stock (Stuff): Uni students face $10,000 ‘shortfall’ in living costs
Katy Jones (Stuff): Transgender students should automatically get into nearest co-ed school, MP says
MEDIA
Daniel Dunkely (BusinessDesk): Media outlook 2023: Brace for a bleak year ahead (paywalled)
Daniel Dunkely (BusinessDesk): What happens to the news when the tap’s turned off? (paywalled)
ENVIRONMENT
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Water quality making Canterbury beaches not suitable for swimming
RNZ: Third cruise ship in three weeks fails NZ’s biofouling standards
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Cleaning ships: What’s involved in meeting New Zealand’s strict biofoul thresholds
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Algae-ridden cruise ship asked to leave New Zealand waters
ROAD TOLL
ODT Editorial: The road to a zero toll is no hero yet
RNZ: Provisional holiday road toll of 21 deaths ‘an absolute tragic period’
1News: ‘Completely unacceptable’ holiday road toll ends with 21 deaths
Caitlan Johnston (Herald): New Zealand roads claim highest number of deaths during a Christmas-New Year break in four years
OTHER
Alex Penk (Stuff): To understand hate speech, we have to understand free speech
Sasha Borissenko: (Herald) The legal winners and losers of 2022 (paywalled)
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): A brief history of the many times I changed my mind
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Plan to eliminate family and sexual violence passes one-year milestone
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): Questions raised over sale of Aotearoa artefacts at Sotheby’s auction
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): NZ, Australia keep watch on Iran warships in the Pacific
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Why an American billionaire should be New Zealander of the Year
Anna Leask (Herald): Thieves, fraudsters, violence, killers, sex offenders: New Zealand’s miscreant cops outed in new police figures
Daniel Smith (Stuff): EQC urges homeowners to protect properties after spike in damage claims
RNZ: Government to discuss establishment of book commission
Nicky Hager (Stuff): ‘Lots of information isn’t secret, it’s just hard to find’: Nicky Hager on the investigative techniques of one of NZ’s most famous whistleblowers
Tara Shaskey (Open Justice Reporting): Czech drug smuggler and former kickboxing champ Karel Sroubek loses deportation battle
