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.

Today’s content

POLITICAL DEBATE, FREE SPEECH, CULTURE WARS
Chris Trotter (Interest): Debating debating
Laura Frykberg (1News): Can we still debate? Disagreement in the digital age
1News: Q+A: NZ should further loosen speech laws – civil liberties expert
James Nokise (Stuff): Arming up for the Culture Wars
Mike Munro (Herald): Politicians wade into the culture wars (paywalled)
Shaneel Lal (Herald): An open letter to the Immigration Minister
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Ummmmmm – Can Shaneel Lal really lecture David Seymour on free speech? Like, really?

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Political poll: Labour and National in dead heat in Talbot-Mills poll
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Election 2023: A Labour or National-led government? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Tax question remains unanswered, as Budget month draws closer (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Christopher Luxon calls New Zealand crime ‘utterly unacceptable’ as he doubles down on boot camp policy
Rebecca Wright (Newshub): Political commentator says Christopher Luxon comes across as ‘decent bloke’ but struggling to be a politician
Zane Small (Newshub): Paula Bennett defends Christopher Luxon amid criticism of National leader ‘struggling’ as politician
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern keeps Harry and Meghan messages secret – for now
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Poorest party in Parliament pays to create content to boost Government’s Māori electoral campaign
Vernon Small (Stuff): Strange decisions made in cabinet reshuffle
Shane Te Pou (Herald): Marama Davidson and other Māori leaders rise above the backlash (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Plenty of criticism over major announcements
Herald: Beehive Diaries: Chippy forgets his lines (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Behind the scenes of Cabinet
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode for .. Elizabeth ‘crybaby’ Kerekere
Newshub Nation Backstory: National MP Andrew Bayly recounts childhood as an identical twin
Newshub: National MP Tim van de Molen posts emotional tribute after younger sister dies in quad bike accident

ELECTION CANDIDATES
Andrea Vance (Stuff): How an offensive joke reveals a problem with how National chooses its MPs
Greg Presland (The Standard): National’s problem with its candidates
Tom Hunt, Gianina Schwanecke and Justin Wong (Dominion Post): Three-horse race for Wellington Central seat heats up
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): National Party announces Wellington Central candidate
Adam Pearse (Herald): Lawyer working in Abu Dhabi chosen as National candidate for Wellington Central
Jo Moir (Newsroom): National finalises candidate selections, including two Māori seats
Adam Pearse (Herald): Embattled National MP Barbara Kuriger facing challenge in safe blue seat
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson steps back from electorate race, running list only
RNZ: Greens co-leader Marama Davidson pulls out of electorate race
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Veteran NZ First MP Shane Jones running in Northland
David Farrar: A four way race for Northland?
Ella Somers (BusinessDesk): Shane Jones wants to be king of the north (paywalled)

WATER REFORM
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Never mind the name, we’ll all pay for water changes
Liam Hehir (Blue Review): A 3 Waters test for publicly funded media
Eric Crampton (Stuff): There’s a better way to reset the Three Waters reforms
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Three Waters rebrand: Bitterness remains despite refresh
Herald: The Front Page: Will the Affordable Water Reform rebranding change voters’ minds about Three Waters?
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of a Three Waters policy adviser (paywalled)
1New: Q+A: Three Waters reset: McAnulty explains why co-governance stays
Jenna Lynch and Gray Gibson: Newshub Nation extended interview: Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Kieran McAnulty defends not ditching Three Waters earlier, says ‘that’d be dumping our duty’
Adam Pearse (Herald): Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty’s comments on democracy concern Opposition amid water reform debates
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins says ‘co-governance’ isn’t a part of Three Waters. Is he right?
Katie Doyle and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Misinformed’ debate is holding up important water reform, iwi leaders say
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): ‘A price worth paying’: Counting the cost of wider local voice
Herald Editorial: Rest easy, Three Waters (paywalled)
Adam Burns (RNZ): Three Waters: Canterbury councils confident of support for legal challenge
RNZ: Three Waters revamp: Labour and National continue to debate the numbers

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Liam Dann (Herald): When will the post-Covid party stop? (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): NZ’s trade deficit forecast to be the worst among advanced economies (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Market anxiously awaits fresh inflation figures
David Hargreaves (Interest): Seven’s not heaven: Our enduring inflation woes
Brian Easton (Pundit): Making The New Zealand Economy More Resilient To Shocks
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Could, or should, the RBNZ cut the interest rate it pays on banks’ settlement cash accounts in order to reduce the Government’s interest bill?
Virginia Fallon and Dylan Jones (Stuff): Politicians reveal their supermarket habits ahead of ‘cost of living’ election
1News: Supermarket supply costs 10.3% higher than one year ago

HOUSING
Michael Neilson (Herald): Cost of living: Number of households spending over two years in emergency housing doubles in past year
Erin Gourley (Dominion Post): Wellington council staff go against councillors’ vote on character housing
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Brutal’ and ‘unattractive’ duplex gets green light amid housing shortage
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Landlord interest payments jump up by thousands due to new tax rules
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Winton Land CEO Chris Meehan on PM Chris Hipkins and why he’s launched his red-tape ad campaign (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Group linked to Hutt City councillor investigated over election returns
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): ‘I want it in writing’: Wellington mayor ups the ante for more Govt cash
1News: Q+A: Exclusive Wayne Brown interview: Flood response, budget cuts, rates
Gordon Campbell: On Auckland’s ghastly mayor, and the water reforms
RNZ: Mediawatch: A rainy day for the mayor’s media freeze out
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Three-year delay in publicising secret council workshops ‘totally inappropriate’
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Ben Bell opens up about ‘turbulent’ time as Gore mayor

TRANSPORT
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland light rail: Taxpayers forking out $1.2 million a week
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Review into lessons we can learn from City Rail Link project (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Guardian): Is driving on the left stopping New Zealand reaching its climate goals?
Tom Kitchin (NRZ): The Detail: Cycleways and their image problem

JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS
Sam Sherwood (Herald): Frontline police told to ‘consider necessity’ of bail arrests as NZ’s largest prison nears capacity
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ACT Party hits out at email urging police to ‘consider necessity of arrests’ due to prison capacity issues
Lisa Marriot (The Conversation): We need consistency in how we treat financial crimes. Sentencing guidelines are a good place to start
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Police Minister Ginny Andersen makes expectations clear after Hong Kong police visit NZ, speak with Kiwi cops about ‘combatting riots’
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): What’s behind the growing court delays? (paywalled)
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Figures reveal prisoners’ huge mental health need

ENVIRONMENT
Jessica Roden (1News): Forty-five per cent of NZ’s lakes in ‘poor’ or worse health – study
RNZ: Half of country’s lakes in poor health – Study
Rod Oram (Newsroom): NZ’s ocean strategies all at sea
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Climate Change Commission’s ETS advice could increase households’ costs by between $85 and $877 in 2026
Guy Trafford (Interest): Thirty years of not much
Juliette Sivertsen (Stuff): DOC to increase hut fees, some double in price

INFRASTRUCTURE, EXTREME WEATHER
Phil Pennington (RNZ): ‘High’ risk of Gisborne pipe failure found before cyclone – Report
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Apple grower faces over $200k in tornado damage after insurance company won’t pay out

HEALTH
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Government backs off on budget cuts to new Dunedin Hospital
RNZ: Concerns remain despite new funding for Dunedin Hospital
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Government reverses $10 million in hospital cuts
ODT Hospital battle not over, mayor says (paywalled)
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Health will suffer with increasingly severe storms – experts
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Teaching hospitals need to do more to educate about consent – study
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Patients bear brunt of budding cannabis industry struggle

COVID
RNZ: ‘It’s the first distinct rise’ – Fourth wave of Covid-19 is here, says epidemiologist Michael Baker
David Seymour (Stuff): Covid isolation rules reflect bad decisions based on bad advice
Thomas Cranmer: Court of Appeal to hear appeals on vaccine mandates in New Zealand this week

MEDIA
Shane Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Today FM closure gets uglier – top lawyer called in; The Platform’s rich-list owner Wayne Wright Jr; Voyager Media Awards finalists; Stuff’s Post plan (paywalled)
Karl du Fresne: Stuff’s slow-motion suicide continues
RNZ: Dominion Post newspaper to change name
Caitlin Cherry (Dominion Post): A letter from the Wellington editor about our paper’s new name
David Farrar: Media describes Maori Party President as a political commentator
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How to actually counter misinformation and disinformation in the NZ Media Landscape
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): For the first time in 20 years, Ingrid Hipkiss is the ‘new girl’

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Barbara Dreaver (1News): Concern from Pacific leaders over nuclear submarine agreement
Nicholas Khoo (Newsroom): Aukus engagement has more benefits than risks
RNZ: First mission to the Pacific since Covid-19 to be led by Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Kiwi police work with Hong Kong force accused of brutality
Alfian Kartono and Niniek Karmini (Stuff): Failed rescue mission for NZ pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens in West Papua kills at least six Indonesian troops

EDUCATION
Damien Grant (Stuff): Our schools are broken, and National’s tinkering won’t fix a thing
Katy Jones (Stuff): Schools up to $100k short for ‘the basics’ warn situation will get worse
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Smaller class sizes for years 4-8 to be announced

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): ‘No Farmers, no bread and butter’: Groundswell NZ launches new campaign
Wanglin Ma, Alan Renwick and Kathryn Blackman Bicknell (The Conversation): Why using more fertiliser and feed does not necessarily raise dairy farm profits but increases climate harm

EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): MPs brush off petition calling for electricity industry reforms
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Strippers return to Parliament in protest for work rights
Alison Mau (Stuff): The hurdles on pay transparency are falling – so what are we waiting for?
RNZ: Manufacturing sector slips back into contraction

OTHER
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Charities sitting on millions more in cash than a year ago
Stuff: Untold stories of Māori who faced widespread dispossession and loss
Sam Brooks (Spinoff): The marriage equality bill, 10 years on