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
PUBLIC SERVICE NEUTRALITY AND CONSULTANT CRACKDOWNS
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): This public service neutrality scandal is (weirdly) New Zealand at its most beautiful
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Cheat sheet: Why public servants have been warned about their political comments
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The public sector problems behind talk of ‘consultant crackdown’
Brent Edwards (NBR): Unfair to blame Big Four for Govt consultant spend, Seymour says (paywalled)
Josie Pagani (Stuff): Rob Campbell, the ‘circular bureaucracy’ and cultural conformity
Dita De Boni (NBR): Opining in public: check yourself before you wreck yourself (paywalled)
Jaydene Buckley (Stuff): Why Ruth Dyson and all other leaders should be reading their codes of conduct
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Those who broke public service neutrality rules are fools – but what did we expect?
CURIA POLL
Taxpayers’ Union: Curia Poll: March 2023
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour takes the lead in new poll – but Greens hover above threshold
RNZ: Labour rises in new Curia poll, Greens dangerously close to threshold
Stuff: Labour and National neck-and-neck, with just one seat in it, in latest poll
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Chris Hipkins helps Labour take the lead in Taxpayer Union political poll for the first time in 12 months
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why the 5.7% Greens are in trouble
PARLIAMENT
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Polls all point in the wrong direction for National (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The week that National seized back the initiative
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): National is starting to give voters something to think about
Audrey Young (Herald): Election 2023: Inside the Labour battle over Jacinda Ardern’s Mt Albert seat (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Chris Hipkins versus Michael Wood | Liam Hehir
Brent Edwards (NBR): Political neutrality, the consultants’ gravy train, resilience
Felix Desmarais (1News): For whom do the bells toll? Not the MPs – not today anyway
HEALTH
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Government forks out $514k on overseas health recruitment campaign – only to interview just 3 candidates
Isaac Davison (Herald): Health reforms: Problems get worse as $11b shake-up yet to help struggling sector
Russell Palmer and Ruth Hill (RNZ): Corrected emergency department data to be published tomorrow – Minister Verrall
RNZ: Te Whatu Ora pulls inaccurate emergency department data
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Te Whatu Ora reviewing all health data after ED mistake
RNZ: Te Whatu Ora admits figures used by Health Minister are ‘not accurate’
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Health officials decided a Covid-19 antiviral should no longer be used. Why didn’t prescribers know?
Kate Green (RNZ): Verrall promises extra funding if community nursing pay disparity found
RNZ: School Covid protections ‘unacceptable’, science-led, whānau-centred response needed – researchers
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Māori with cancer experience racism, ‘confusing’ information
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Whānau speak of barriers to prevention and treatment of cancer in new report
Grant King (Herald): Positive solutions to NZ’s elective healthcare burden (paywalled)
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Te Whatu Ora edits Facebook post thanking men for International Women’s Day
Kristie Boland (Stuff): Second Christchurch student hospitalised with meningococcal disease
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Meningococcal disease: What is it, who gets it and what does it do?
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): NZ could be at start of whooping cough outbreak, public health expert warns
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Two ‘tragic’ whooping cough deaths lead to fears of community spread
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): ACC ordered to reassess hernia claim it denied without examining patient
Kristie Boland (Stuff): More than 36,000 vaccines potentially compromised after refrigeration botch-up
FORESTRY SLASH
Adam Pearse (Herald): Slash: Forestry Minister Stuart Nash stands by decision to keep Hawke’s Bay out of land-use inquiry (paywalled)
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Pressure mounts for Government inquiry into forestry slash in Hawke’s Bay now Tairāwhiti’s is underway
CLIMATE CHANGE, EXTREME WEATHER, CIVIL DEFENCE
Graham Adams (Common Room): How Cyclone Gabrielle mugged the Greens and Labour
Brent Edwards (NBR): Climate change waits for no-one: Rod Carr (paywalled)
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: After the storms, what is the future of insurance?
Shanti Mathias and Lucy McLean (Spinoff): Good climate policy is good mental health policy too
Nadine Anne Hura (Spinoff): On the ground in Whangārei: ‘It doesn’t matter about tribal boundaries. It’s all about the aroha and manaaki’
Barry Soutar (NBR): In the aftermath of an emergency (paywalled)
RNZ: Fatal Muriwai slip: Inquiry into firefighters’ death during Cyclone Gabrielle launched
TRANSPORT
Dan Hutchinson (Herald): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says giving up on some Coromandel roads might be the best solution
David Wiliams (Newsroom): Shock at High Court’s transport emissions ruling
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Transport Minister Michael Wood hits out at National’s Simeon Brown amid transport priorities questions
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Dire Strait: What’s gone wrong with our ferries? (paywalled)
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Who pays the most for petrol?
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): Fuel-hungry hybrids: MIA responds to Consumer NZ
BANKS
Herald Editorial: Market study needed to resolve questions over banking profits (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Banking investigation incoming, but don’t get your hopes up
LAW SOCIETY
Jeremy Wilkinson (Open Justice Journalism): ‘Lawyers looking after lawyers’: Panel says strip Law Society of powers to discipline
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Law Society review strongly recommends new independent regulator (paywalled)
RNZ: Expert legal panel calls for complaints process overhaul
CRIME
Adam Pearse (Herald): PM Chris Hipkins and National’s Mark Mitchell disagree on Hipkins’ ram raid record – who’s got the numbers right? (paywalled)
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Road rage, random stabbings, ram-raids – Why does NZ feel so unsafe at the moment?
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Chinese Embassy blasts accusation NZ analyst reported to China
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Chinese Embassy calls allegations against NZ Government staffer ‘ill-founded’, ‘smear’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government staffer denies passing sensitive information to Chinese Government, calls treatment ‘racist’
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): ‘We are living in a more threatening world’ – top diplomat’s warning to MPs
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Big boost for OEs in UK with visa scheme changes set to benefit young Kiwis
EDUCATION
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Take five: Why teachers are striking and what it means for parents and students
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Up to 50,000 teachers and principals to strike next week
Raphael Franks (Herald): Secondary and primary school teachers to strike next Thursday across New Zealand
RNZ: Primary school teachers to go on strike after rejecting second pay offer
Virginia Oakly (Stuff): Why don’t we have a world-class ECE system to match the prices we already pay?
Luka Forman (RNZ): Gaps in exam assistance, despite more students using it
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Todd Niall (Stuff): Leaked email reveals new cuts at Auckland Council – travel, entertainment and consultants axed
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters: Watercare is held back by Auckland Council borrowing limits
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga City Council say its ‘disappointed’ by local government review
Michael Fallow (Stuff0: Nobby Clark rebuffs calls to resign or apologise for explicitly citing offensive words
Raphael Franks (Herald): Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark says ‘n-word’ again, rationalises earlier use
Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporting): More transparency in council meetings the aim for Ōpōtiki
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Councillor walks out during karakia: ‘No-one was listening anyway’
ODT: Councillor walks out over karakia (paywalled)
HOUSING
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National unveils build-to-rent policy it says will help solve housing crisis
Anne Gibson (Herald): Rental properties: National unveils plan to fix housing include build-to-rent push, says ‘mum and dad’ landlords not the enemy (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): The mortgage market – from mayhem to moribund
Greg Ninness (Interest): The decline in property values is gathering pace according to the latest QV figures
Kristina Orr (Newsroom): Flatpack homes: a sustainable future for emergency housing
PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Environment Court allows fishing industry to keep sensitive Marlborough data out of public arena
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): The Detail: Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact on New Zealand’s ‘fruit bowl’
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Rebeca Howard & Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Reserve Bank’s Orr won’t be happy with this data (paywalled)
Arena Williams and Stuart Smith (Stuff): This country is being crushed by high inflation, cost of living and interest rates
Puawai Hudson (Whakaata Māori): More Taranaki Māori are expected to become homeowners thanks to a new programme
IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT WORKERS
Iain MacLeod (BusinessDesk): Michael Wood’s work visa communication clear as mud (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘I’ve got the boats, not the people’ – Fullers boss calls for easing immigration rules for crew
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Phil Pennington (RNZ): WorkSafe boss ‘deeply concerned’ some company directors don’t understand their job
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Masterton building probe triggers national study
Seni Iasona and Tia McDougall (Newshub): Green MP Jan Logie calls for ‘intervention’ on adult entertainment industry as sex workers speak at Parliament about abuse of power from bosses
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Forbes study ranks Auckland among the best cities in the world for work-life balance
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Forbes study ranks Auckland among the best cities in the world for work-life balance
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Xero plans to cut up to 800 jobs
ENVIRONMENT
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Concern more New Zealanders exposed to high levels of air pollution
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Spraying aids with weed control, return of birds, ECan says
MEDIA
Steven Cowan: Woke media v non-woke media. But is either of these progressive?
Keith Lynch (Stuff): NZ Media Council finds a Stuff article did not achieve fairness
OTHER
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Artificial intelligence: World at ‘tipping point’, says Sir Peter Gluckman
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Will AI steal our jobs, or just rob us of our self-esteem at work?
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): Latest family violence report proffers mātauranga Māori as solution
Herald: Histories of Hate: New book reflects on the radical right, Christchurch mosque attacks
Terry Bellamak (Stuff): The law has changed, so why are there no abortion clinic Safe Areas in NZ?
Leighton Keith (Open Justice Journalism): Mayor puts rural New Zealand on notice: You could be stripped of access to justice without warning
