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

TORY WHANAU
David Cormack (Stuff): The pearl-clutching over the mayor’s tipsy night out
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Tory Whanau- whose story do you believe?
Georgina Campbell (Herald): A Capital Letter: Tory Whanau’s tipsy night on the town is not a private affair (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The character assassination of Tory Whanau reeks as badly as the criticism of OT using KFC and Kiri yelling at unelected unaccountable bureaucrats
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Tory Whanau saga: ‘We shouldn’t expect anyone … to be a complete saint’
Tom Hunt (Post): ‘Nobody was hurt’: Supporters leap to under-fire mayor’s defence (paywalled)
Vita Molyneux and Azaria Howell (Herald): Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau apologises for skipping bill, denies drunken behaviour at popular restaurant
RNZ: Wellington mayor Tory Whanau left restaurant without paying: ‘It was an honest mistake’
1News: Wellington Mayor denies drunken behaviour at restaurant

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Emma Clark-Dow (Stuff): By the numbers: How Auckland’s rate rise stacks up against the rest of NZ
Emma Clark-Dow (Stuff): Why Aucklanders are seeing their highest rates rise in 13 years
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Minister for Auckland advocates dedicated Māori seats on council
Erin Gourley. (Post): Public Service Watch: Rates increases in a cost of living crisis (paywalled)
Dave Armstrong (Post): Pedestrianisation needs to happen at more than walking pace (paywalled)
Julie Jacobson (Post): Bus lane sting filling Wellington council coffers as parking revenue plummets (paywalled)
RNZ: Wellington City Council approves digital map of underground infrastructure
Nicholas Boyack (Post): ‘Open heart surgery’ will transform Hutt City (paywalled)
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): Tauranga City Council thrown into free speech debate over ‘What is a Woman’ event
Craig Ashworth (RNZ): Poutama says shift Taranaki border for councils

GOVERNMENT
Tom Chodor (UnHerd): Jacinda Ardern still haunts New Zealand
Duncan Garner (NBR): Hipkins let down by ill-disciplined amateurs while in China (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says it’s ‘premature’ to judge Kiri Allan’s future before a ‘good chat’ – at the end of next week
Felix Desmarais (1News): PM ‘suggested’ under-fire minister Kiri Allan take time off
Newshub: Chris Hipkins delays chatting with Kiri Allan as he jets off to Europe for trade talks, NATO meeting
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Kiri Allan back on leave, will meet with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in couple of weeks
Stuff: Kiri Allan is ‘taking a bit of time out’ – PM Chris Hipkins
Russell Palmer (RNZ): PM Chris Hipkins to put staffing claims to Allan after EU trip
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Barry Soper on the long history of tensions between MPs and their staff
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour MP Ingrid Leary gatecrashes Dunedin Mongrel Mob meeting; says she thought it was a different meeting
Anna Whyte (Stuff): MP’s Mongrel Mob meeting attendance ‘a case of miscommunication’ – PM
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Mongrel Mob meetings, alleged staff mistreatment: Chris Hipkins faces ministerial migraine over MPs’ mishaps

ELECTION
Herald Editorial: Labouring to a fateful election day (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Christopher Luxon on tour: Cost of living, crime, and campaign advice in Tawa
Michael Neilson (Herald): National leader Christopher Luxon challenged by voters of Ōhāriu to ‘get out more’
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Te Ururoa Flavell wants Māori to enrol – then make their election votes count
Gerrard Eckhoff (ODT): Electoral review begging to deceive
Julie Asher (ODT): Democracy NZ to be home for ‘politically homeless’

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
John Minto (Herald): NZ, China, Israel, Palestine – on human rights, uncomfortable truths and speaking out (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Why the NZ mission to China is not enough to boost trade (paywalled)
Stuff: PM Chris Hipkins set for Europe trip for Nato Summit, signing of NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): EU keeps steady ship in choppy waters

INEQUALITY, COST OF LIVING
Simon Wilson (Herald): Sir Ian Taylor vs the Greens on taxing wealth, family trusts (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): As home loan rates continue to rise, more households are missing repayments (paywalled)
RNZ: Numbers behind in debt repayments rise to highest level in four years
Cameron Smith (Herald): Cost of living: Missed mortgage, credit repayments marches back up (paywalled)

HOUSING
Gordon Campbell: On the Greens plan to help renters
RNZ: Greens’ rental price control policy: Davidson rubbishes criticisms
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s why economists think rent controls are a bad idea
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Chlöe Swarbrick fires back at David Seymour in heated debate over rental market
Newshub: AM host Ryan Bridge grills Chlöe Swarbrick on Greens’ renters’ policy
Trent Doyle (Newshub): Wellington property investor says Greens’ housing policy is ‘dangerous idea’
No Right Turn: “Lets lynch the landlord” as policy
Rob Stock (Stuff): ASB and Kiwibank lift key fixed-term mortgage rates
David Hargreaves (Interest): Latest Reserve Bank figures show non-performing housing loans rose nearly 12% in May, climbing to levels last seen around eight years ago
Anne Gibson (Herald): Consents for new residential buildings continue to plunge, down 11%
RNZ: Number of new housing consents return to 2021 levels
David Hargreaves (Interest): The first home buyers rise as the housing market falls
RNZ: Freedom camping law clarified for homeless

HEALTH
Te Karere: Māori health advocates call on Govt for ‘urgent’ alcohol law reform
William Terite (Newshub): Māori public health experts call for urgent action to reduce alcohol-related damage
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Māori public health provider calls on Government to address alcohol harm
1News: Govt’s nurse recruitment plan ‘not addressing elephant in room’
Nicole Bremner (1News): Govt’s plan to increase nursing students cautiously welcomed
RNZ: Nurses’ pay: Government announces pay equity offer for Te Whatu Ora nurses
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Free medicines as $5 prescription charge scrapped – ‘This will save people pain’
Felix Desmarais (1News): 3500 more to access cataract surgery with new national threshold
RNZ: Government expands cataract surgery eligibility, targets waitlists
Jemima Huston (RNZ): Cataract surgery: Eye surgeons worry about meeting demand as more qualify
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Health NZ a ‘ballooning bureaucracy’ one year one, ex-West Coast DHB deputy chair says
Terry Taylor (ODT): Desperate prognosis for health system one year in
1News: Covid-19: 6578 cases as numbers continue to fall, 23 deaths
Alex Spence (Herald): Mental health: Patients told not to call 24/7 crisis hub at night
Chris Tobin (Southland Times): Mental health review should be released, says Invercargill MP
RNZ: Wellington Hospital at least three years away from fixing faulty water pipes

ECONOMY
Brent Edwards (NBR): The long challenge of productivity (paywalled)
Ganesh Nana (Stuff): A shared north star: Intergenerational wellbeing requires system change
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ still lagging on productivity, but full diagnosis debated
RNZ: New Zealand productivity among worst in OECD – Productivity Commission report
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Solving NZ’s productivity woes requires patient investment (paywalled)
Christoph Schumacher (NBR): What’s with this ‘technical recession’? (paywalled)

BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
John Weekes (Herald): Fair Pay Agreements cooking up big changes for hospitality but concerns some firms in the dark (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): An election year policy wishlist (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Judge finds tikanga relevant in vaccine refusal sacking
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Commerce Commission should probe ‘stubbornly’ high remittance costs

MIGRANT WORKERS
Lucy Xia (RNZ): ‘I can’t describe in words the trauma’ – More migrant workers left jobless after paying for accredited work visas
William Hewett (Newshub): More than 6000 overseas healthcare employees join NZ’s workforce since borders reopened, Andrew Little says

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Carbon market chaos and confusion (paywalled)
Gord Stewart (Herald): Time for agriculture sector’s climate, emissions procrastination to end (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Farmers should be helped, not forced, to reduce emissions: Bank (paywalled)
Felix Desmarais (Stuff): 1News: $2.4 million for mental health support for farmers

YOUTH JUSTICE
Zane Small (Newshub): Chris Hipkins ‘not comfortable’ after second group of teens escapes onto youth justice facility roof
William Hewett (Newshub): Whānau Ora chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait accuses Oranga Tamariki of being a ‘recidivist abuser’ of NZ’s young people
Delphine Herbert (RNZ): Young people on roof of justice facility highlights major flaws with system – advocate

CRIME, SENTENCING
David Harvey: Luxon on Sentencing
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Yes it’s an election year, but crime is no imaginary issue (paywalled)

EDUCATION
Fiona Ellis (ODT): Otago, Victoria universities consider collaborating (paywalled)
Gianina Schwanecke (Post): Voluntary redundancies start at Victoria University, Government’s extra $12m not enough to address deficit (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Schools for people with disabilities see rising demand despite UN call to close them
Adrian Schoone (The Conversation): School of last resort: how to fix NZ’s vital but ignored alternative education system
Nadine Roberts (Post): Class Struggles: Are boards of trustees fit for purpose? (paywalled)
Sarah Aiono (Spinoff): Standardised testing in NZ? Give me a break
Te Karere: Palmerston North school worried over status of school marae

JAMES WALLACE, NAME SUPPRESSION
Gavin Ellis: Name suppression: Wallace’s wallet hid the truth
Karl du Fresne: “Sir” James Wallace and the Streisand Effect
Sam Hurley (Herald): Sir James Wallace victim speaks out about assault at Auckland mansion Rannoch during 2008 concert funding meeting
Julie Hill (Spinoff): The entitlement of Sir James Wallace

TRANSPORT
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Planned congestion charging scheme still not given green light as election nears
Perry Wilton (Newshub): Government misses deadline to unveil alternative Auckland Harbour crossing
Leonard Powell (RNZ): Fullers raises peak-hour return ticket prices for Waiheke Island amid fury
Steven Joyce (Herald): Increase in road toll is the grim price of political decisions (paywalled)

OTHER
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Census closes with ‘raw’ response rate just short of 90% target
Michelle Duff (Post): What makes a good Pākehā? (paywalled)
Kiri Gillespie (Herald): Stop Co-Governance meetings at Mount Maunganui Community Hall spark planned protests
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): A sunny initiative meets a wintry brouhaha (paywalled)
RNZ: Rakiura / Stewart Island facing steep power price hike
Chris Keall (Herald): Secret cybersecurity shakeup: Little confirms, defends plan smoked out by protest letter (paywalled)
Jill Herron (Newsroom): Rearguard action by hunters and fishers ‘rescues’ bill
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): MBIE watching for insurance cowboys blowing in on the storms
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): The wee SFO tweaks that could create big-time change (paywalled)
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Opinion split on whether ‘Matariki’ should be protected by legislation
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Alarm at Twitter inaction over videos of Christchurch mosque terrorist attacks
Herald: The number of wāhine Māori public sector board members is on the rise
Ian Powell: Let’s call transphobia by its real name – sickening bigotry