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

MEKA WHAITIRI TO STAND FOR TE PĀTI MĀORI
Claire Trevett (Herald): Was Meka Whaitiri’s switch from Labour to Te Pāti Māori pure defection? (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): ‘Incredibly farcical’: Pundit says Whaitiri hasn’t been ‘honourable’ with defection
Michael Neilson (Herald): Labour minister Meka Whaitiri’s shock defection to Māori Party touted as turning point for election
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Meka Whaitiri defection – why Labour is playing nice with Te Pāti Māori (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Labour’s assumption – a mistake it won’t make again
David Farrar: The Whaitiri decision is looking dodgy
Luke Malpass (Post): Meka Whaitiri resignation is a shock – but not all bad news for Labour (paywalled)
1News: Hipkins still unable to reach Meka Whaitiri after defection
Glenn McConnell and Luke Malpass (Post): Te Pāti Māori’s bold play to re-shape the election by poaching Meka Whaitiri (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Don’t assume Meka Whaitiri will bring Ikaroa Rāwhiti to Te Pāti Māori
Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Whether Whaitiri’s move is seen as selfless or selfish will determine her political future
RNZ: Tamihere credited with ‘a master move’ over Whaitiri’s exit from Labour
Herald: Editorial – Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri defection cuts deep (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Meka’s waka sails through loophole
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Chris Hipkins ‘disappointed’ to still not have heard from Meka Whaitiri
Damien Venuto (Herald): ‘Meka coming back to her whakapapa’ – Why Whaitiri’s shock move makes sense
Tamara Poi-Ngawhika (BusinessDesk): Ex-Labour minister Meka Whaitiri says she is ‘free at last’ (paywalled)
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): Did Meka Whaitiri just vacate her seat in parliament?
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Whaitiri’s defection not waka jumping so far – Speaker
Glenn McConnell and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Meka Whaitiri to remain an MP, after ditching Labour for Māori Party
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Speaker rules Meka Whaitiri not affected by ‘waka-jumping’ law
Felix Desmarais (1News): Is Whaitiri a loss to Labour? One former colleague says no
Bridie Witton and Anna Whyte (Post): Who is Meka Whaitiri? (paywalled)
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Meka Whaitiri’s shock move to Te Pāti Māori had been on the cards for years
Claire Trevett (Herald): Meka Whaitiri quits Labour for Māori Party: Who will replace her and what it means for Labour’s majority (paywalled)
RNZ: PM Chris Hipkins learned of Meka Whaitiri resignation plans on arrival in UK
RNZ: A vote for Te Pāti Māori is a vote for Labour and the Greens – Christopher Luxon
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): New Zealand Labour minister suddenly defects to Māori party
Adam Pearse (Herald): Chris Hipkins fronts media about shock defection of Meka Whaitiri
David Farrar: Meka may have have waka jumped out of Parliament for now
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori confirms Meka Whaitiri to leave Labour and join as Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘I have spoken my truth’: Whaitiri quits Labour for Te Pāti Māori
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The Meka Whaitiri defection from Labour and how the waka jumping law kicks in
Greg Presland (Standard): Meka Whaitiri is moving to the Maori Party
No Right Turn: What a shitshow

KING CHARLES CORONATION
Raphael Franks (Herald): King Charles coronation: Kiwis think New Zealand will be a republic in future
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins meets King Charles, gifted ‘exceptionally good’ sausage rolls
Sam Smith (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins meets King Charles ahead of coronation, gifted sausage rolls
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Stuff): NZ Post releases King Charles III stamps in time for coronation

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta puts Pacific in the spotlight, raises concerns over Taiwan Strait tensions
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government to provide another $5.3m for Ukraine conflict, extends Defence Force deployment
Thomas Manch (Post): Mahuta says New Zealand can ‘speak out alone’ on world stage (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
John Campbell (1News): Why won’t we invest in the rail services we need?
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Pleas for deeper look into KiwiRail failure
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Price of life: Govt to value safer and faster journeys nearly three times more
Dan Brunskill (Interest): No mercy for Ford Ranger buyers as government pushes New Zealanders into electric and hybrid vehicles
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Delivery time for some imported cars increases from weeks to months: Industry
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Clean car scheme in a $224m ‘hole’ before rejig (paywalled)

MEDIA AND INFORMATION
David Harvey: The “What, How and Who” of the Disinformation Project
Herald: Former TVNZ host Kamahl Santamaria launches new news website and podcast
Herald: TVNZ gets acting chief executive as Simon Power prepares to leave
Graeme Tuckett (Stuff): Everybody remembers what they loved and hated about Police Ten 7. Except TVNZ
Karl du Fresne: Catfishing and how to avoid it

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Rob Stock (Stuff): ‘Misery index’ explains why households are still spending, says economist Sharon Zollner
Damien Venuto (Herald): Recession guide for employees: The white lies and cop-outs employers will use (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey: RBNZ stresses few borrowers stressed
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): No sign of jobs slowdown as official unemployment stays at 3.4%
David Hargreaves (Interest): Unemployment rate stays at 3.4%, while numbers employed are at record highs
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s why strong employment data could be bad for home loan borrowers
Rob Stock (Stuff): NZ Super Fund chief executive resigns

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Mayor Nobby Clark accused of a ‘cover up’ as councillor urged to resign
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wayne Brown: Auckland’s budget hole could go from bad to worse
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Fears for Te Tiriti partnership as council looks to demote only Māori executive role

PARLIAMENT
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): PM pulls out of toasting Chinese business
Don Brash: National should do a deal on Northland

HOUSING
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt green light for riskier KiwiBuild projects to steady market
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Reserve Bank: House prices remain overvalued and risk falling a lot more

ENVIRONMENT
David Williams (Newsroom): Crisis-hit Conservation Dept considers closures, offloads
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Freshwater management through radical collaboration

HEALTH
Emma Houpt (Herald): Dentist says Government ‘not doing enough’, calls for dental health to be prioritised
Bridie Witton (Post): Health system under pressure: Minister’s winter plan to cope with rising demand, longer hospital stays (paywalled)

OTHER
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): MSD offers abuse victims ‘full and final’ settlement, despite Royal Commission report
Sunny Kaushal (Stuff): New Zealand has a begging emergency and it demands tough action
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Pay scale introduced for Kōhanga Reo with significant pay rises
RNZ: ‘Raw data tally’ shows 70 percent of Māori census forms submitted