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

PM’S TRIP TO CHINA
Richard Harman (Politik): Hipkins big test (paywalled)
Qin Sheng (Global Times): NZ’s proactive China diplomacy sets an example for other Western countries
Global Times: Not in New Zealand’s interest to contain China for US
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): New Zealand testing the limits of its ‘values’ (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): PM Chris Hipkins’ China visit: President Xi meeting today in Beijing
Luke Malpass  (Post): Hipkins readies to meet Xi and top Chinese communist leadership (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): PM not expecting repeat of Mahuta ‘haranguing’ in China
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Nanaia Mahuta meeting with Australian counterpart was delayed ahead of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ trip to China
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins looks to stabilise China trade after the pandemic
Newshub: Chinese media hype up Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ visit, says he knows ‘how to respect other countries’
Stuff: Take Five: PM Chris Hipkins to meet with China President Xi Jinping
Esther Taunton (Stuff): The business heavyweights representing NZ on the PM’s trip to China
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Can Chris Hipkins sell New Zealand in 17 minutes?
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Luke Malpass  (Stuff): Why New Zealand needs to buy the Defence force a new VIP plane
AAP (Guardian): New Zealand PM sparks row after flying to China with backup planeNew Zealand PM sparks row after flying to China with backup plane
Luke Malpass and Bridie Witton (Stuff): Back-up Air Force plane sent to Manila for PM’s visit to China
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Air Force backup plane criticisms hover over PM Hipkins’ China arrival
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘Decrepit’: ACT lampoons use of back-up plane for PM’s China trip
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Does the Prime Minister really need two planes?

ELECTION
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): National and the 45% hazard
Simon Wilson (Herald): It’s time for a National Party ‘man ban’ (paywalled)
The Hui (Newshub): Christopher Luxon, David Seymour labelled ‘racist’ by Te Pāti Māori’s Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
Perce Harpham: Why I have left the Labour Party
Andrea Vance (Post): Wellington election candidate’s $26,000 bill for living outside the Capital (paywalled)
Tim Hurdle (Post): This election, expect to see political leaders spend a lot of time in Auckland (paywalled)
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Remind Māori what has been achieved under National – Hipango
Herald: Clock ticking to decide general or Māori roll before election
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Not unbalanced ‘in and of itself’ to stop minor parties joining TV debates – BSA

EDUCATION
Bridie Witton and Gianina Schwanecke (Post): University crisis: Government set to unveil significant funding boost (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Government poised to announce major bailout package for universities on brink
Michael Neilson (Herald): Government poised to bail out struggling universities facing hundreds of job losses, claims of underfunding
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): ‘Anguish and anger’: Victoria University council urged to push for reform over cuts
Gareth Jones (ODT): Leadership styles under scrutiny as redundancy rises
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Te Pūkenga draft deficit up $23 million from previous estimate to $86 million
Nicola Hyland (Spinoff): Killing the human in humanities: What Victoria University’s cuts will do to theatre
Jerry Coyne: The meager results of the fight to decolonize “Western science” in New Zealand
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Education Review Office slams under-performance of alternative education for at-risk teens
Gabrielle McCulloch (Stuff): A foot in the door’: primary pacific bilingual teachers to receive pay bump

ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS
Brian Easton (Pundit): The GDP Fetish
Liam Dann (Herald): Tight election race adds extra uncertainty to economic outlook – BusinessNZ (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (Interest): ‘It doesn’t mean we hate you’: Commerce Commission Chairman John Small on banking, market studies and why he joined the competition watchdog
David Hargreaves (Interest): Migration surge ‘unlikely to be as inflationary as past migration booms’
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Immigration isn’t driving inflation, new report concludes
Dave Armstrong (Post): We need to do better looking after our workers (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Buy now, pay later provider Afterpay pushes for watered-down rules (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Jetstar offers to meet with Commerce Commission to discuss booking fees
Stuff: Southland employers struggle to find staff, looking overseas
Tamara Poi-Ngawhika (BusinessDesk): Plan to double the Māori economy in five years
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Region ranks worst in ‘real GDP per capita’ (paywalled)
Michael Fallow (Stuff): H & J Smith closures confirmed with loss of 220 jobs

RUAPEHU
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Iwi joins bidding war for Ruapehu
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Govt to put up $5m to ensure Ruapehu skiing this season
1News: Ruapehu ski season to go ahead this winter with Govt support
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Government promises up to $5m to ensure Mt Ruapehu ski season goes ahead
RNZ: Government commits $5m for Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: Life under the shadow of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts

COST OF LIVING
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Boost for foodbanks as fuel tax cut, half-priced public transport, ends
RNZ: Food bank owner Dave Letele says any extra funding welcome: ‘It’s just so hard to get by’
RNZ: Government adds $6m to food bank funding
Brent Edwards (NBR): Petrol and public transport cost to go up for many (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): AA urges Kiwis to fill up gas tanks early as Government’s fuel subsidy set to expire
Imran Ali (Herald): Northlanders owe nearly $80m to Ministry of Social Development (paywalled)

LAW AND ORDER
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): National’s prison policy: real or virtue-signalling? (paywalled)
Gordon Campbell: On National’s law and ordure policy
Duncan Garner (NBR): Luxon locks in base with populist crime policy (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Tough on crime is a vote winner (paywalled)
1News: National clarifies exceptions to sentence discount cap policy
1News: ‘Ineffective, expensive, inequitable’ – expert on Nats’ crime policy
RNZ: Victims advocate backs National’s sentencing discount cap

HEALTH
Aaron Dahmen (Herald): Surgical mesh injuries: Almost $1m paid out for permanent damage, birth injury procedure remains legal in NZ – exclusive
David Farrar (Post): Labour’s spending 60% more on health for longer waiting times and fewer surgeries (paywalled)
Tom Taylor (RNZ): Immigration drive hasn’t recruited a single GP in nearly 8 months
Andy Brew (Marlborough Express): Pressure on health system due to ‘several thousand’ in Marlborough without a GP
Sophie Harris (Stuff): South Auckland birthing centre risks closure after Te Whatu Ora won’t fund it
Adam Pearse (Herald): Unused Covid tests worth almost $160m could be wasted, Health Minister wants solution found
1News: Covid-19: Two children under 10 among 36 deaths, 7702 cases
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): The healthy way to nurture what is already there in the community
Emma Stanford (RNZ): Quitting support limited for those wanting to kick vaping – agencies

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark called out for creating ‘massive racial divide’ with his anti-Māori comments
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Prospect of more Māori representation welcomed
Tumamao Harawira (Whakaata Māori): Submissions called for on Auckland Council Māori seats
Herald: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown making Matariki a real celebration for the city
Nicholas Boyack (Post): Public Service Watch: Is it time to amalgamate the Hutt councils? (paywalled)
Mike Yardley (The Press): Is a Christchurch super city worth considering? (paywalled)
Grant Miller (ODT): Gore Council warned plan may backfire (paywalled)
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): Auckland club urged members to oppose skatepark 200km away
Richard Davison (ODT): ‘Greatest’ challenge almost complete as Clutha District Council prepares to take Three Waters management in-house (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Why has the government brought Three Waters back?
Hamish MacLean (ODT): ORC air plan review more than half-year behind: report (paywalled)
RNZ: Library, council staff rally to highlight inadequate wages, high turnover

CO-GOVERNANCE
James Pocock (Herald): Ngāti Kahungunu chairman invites Stop Co-Governance speaker to an ‘open conversation’
Ben Tomsett (ODT): Protesters at Stop Co-Governance meeting (paywalled)

CLIMATE CHANGE
Max Harris (Herald): Rebuilding Better: Is managed retreat the answer to New Zealand’s climate change issues? (paywalled)
RNZ: Companies given guidelines for climate-related disclosures
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): East Coast doing it tough as multiple households cut-off

HOUSING, LOAFERS LODGE
RNZ: Wellington council identifies 25 buildings being checked in wake of Loafers Lodge fire
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Affordable rental homes to be built in Nelson South after council grant

TRANSPORT, ROADING, ROAD TOLL
Tom Hunt (Post): Eleventh-hour bid to allay Let’s Get Wellington Moving concerns falls flat (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): …. And then another $17m got added to a Let’s Get Wellington Moving project
Conor Knell (Post): Wellington carpool group set up in desperate response to chronic bus delays (paywalled)
Emma Stanford (RNZ): Auckland Transport systems ready for public transport discount
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): More Waka Kotahi plans go off track as year comes to an end
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): TRC to consider New Plymouth council bid to put road funding on country’s political agenda
Denise Piper (Stuff): ‘Appalling’ Northland road toll could be linked to low breath testing rates
Grant Miller (ODT): DCC to confirm if it supports more te reo in road signage

MEDIA
Taxpayers’ Union: Who Has Received Public Interest Journalism Fund Money?
Angela Moewaka Barnes, Belinda Borell, Tim McCreanor (The Conversation): Decolonising the news: 4 fundamental questions media can ask themselves when covering stories about Māori
David Farrar (The Common Room): Media Bias Exposed
Emanuel Stoakes, Anne-Marie Brady, Sascha-Dominik (Dov) Bachmann (Newsroom): Academics investigate bias in our Chinese-language media
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): MediaRoom: Stuff restructures, RNZ inquirers get to work

ROTHERHAM SCHOOL FUNDRAISER
Herald: North Canterbury Hunting Competition: Watch kids parade pest kills for protesters after organisers reinstate cat category
William Hewett (Newshub): Protesters slam North Canterbury Hunting Competition after kids parade dead cats, shout ‘meat, meat, meat’ at them

OTHER
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Suspended staff still being paid two years after Oranga Tamariki facility closed
Brent Edwards (NBR): The struggle to pay for infrastructure services (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Interest): Questions of equity
Jonathan Ayling (Herald): Who really benefits from free speech? (paywalled)
Karl du Fresne: Red rags and bulls: what happened when a leftist VUW academic came to Masterton
Newshub: Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin joked about getting supplies ‘via New Zealand’ prior to launching armed rebellion
Tom Hunt (Post): Sir Wayne Shelford labels RSA volunteers ‘petty’ over Poppy Day stoush (paywalled)
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Central North Island tribes back $30m Treaty settlement
No Right Turn: NZDF will not be happy with this
Chris Trotter: Who Will Undertake The Scouring Of New Zealand?
Lois Williams (Newsroom): Native trees skittled for firewood
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Entain offers $100m for online gambling monopoly (paywalled)
Eric Frykberg (Interest): So far in 2023 electricity supply has run uncomfortably close to the safety margin almost as often as it did for the whole of last year, which is putting the electricity industry on edge