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
TAX
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour not out of the woods yet on tax (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Giving a fig about Labour’s tax policy options (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): Chris Hipkins stamps his authority on Labour – and Grant Robertson (paywalled)
Felix Desmarais (1News): Is Hipkins’ tax rule-out cynical or clever? It’s both
William Hewett (Newshub): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins not expecting revolt from voter base over tax stance
RNZ: Hipkins’ tax pledge could threaten coalition talks – Greens, Te Pāti Māori
Mark Quinlivan and Jamie Ensor (Newshub): James Shaw says ‘very real possibility’ Green members may want party on cross-benches rather than coalition with Labour
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Chris Hipkins’ cowardly Robin Hood tax backdown – what does Labour stand for?
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Risk of revolt from farmers wrecked Labour’s tax switch idea
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s how much the Govt’s abandoned tax-free threshold would have given you
No Right Turn: Hipkins surrenders
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): How close the government came to bringing in a wealth tax (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Labour’s secret tax plans (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald); Labour’s Chris Hipkins eyes new tax policy as poll struggles bite, rules out wealth, capital gains tax
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Grant Robertson still keen on tax-free threshold as Chris Hipkins puts wealth, capital gains tax on bonfire
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Grant Robertson says Government’s torched tax-switch idea had ‘merit’, but he’s ‘team player’, still believes in Labour
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Chris Hipkins ‘read the room’ on wealth tax – Ginny Andersen
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Chris Hipkins confirms he killed $10b wealth tax, capital gains tax in Budget
RNZ: Hipkins rules out capital gains tax, wealth tax if Labour re-elected
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘End of story’ – Hipkins rules out wealth and capital gains taxes
Anna Whyte (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins rules out wealth and capital gains tax: ‘End of story’
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Chris Hipkins scrapped capital gains and wealth taxes which were being considered in Budget 2023
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Govt considered, rejected wealth tax, says Hipkins (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Treasury dubbed big four bank profits ‘supernormal’ in advice on windfall tax
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Grant Robertson considered taxing banks’ ‘windfall’ profits (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (businessDesk): Robertson considered ‘supernormal’ tax on bank profits, but there were issues (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Can Labour be trusted with tax promises?
1News: ‘Pretty desperate move’ – Luxon hits out at Hipkins over taxes
Felix Desmarais (1News): Labour ‘loves tax like a shark loves blood’ – National
ELECTION, TALBOT MILLS AND CURIA-TAXPAYERS’ UNION POLLS
William Hewett (Newshub): Political pundit Bryce Edwards says back-to-back bad poll results will have Labour ‘very worried’
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Pressure ramping up for hostile election
Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Chris Hipkins needs to tell voters what he will do, not what he won’t
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Labour hit with second bad poll result in as many days
Claire Trevett (Herald): New Taxpayers’ Union – Curia poll delivers more bad news to Labour’s Chris Hipkins and National’s Chris Luxon, but a boost for Te Pāti Māori
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Boom: New Poll – Hung Parliament
Herald Editorial: A tale of tax reform and two new polls (paywalled)
RNZ: PM says poll with Labour slump was taken during ‘messy few months’
Anna Whyte (Stuff): ‘Labour hit job’ video poster went to Luxon’s public meeting ‘in good faith
RNZ: Chris Luxon commits to dual-language government departments
1News: National’s Luxon defends response to te reo use question
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why the Chippy vs Luxon TV Debates will be so important this election
Joseph Los’e (Herald): It’s D Day for Māori who want to switch electoral rolls
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): A tale of two electorates
ECONOMY, OCR DECISION
Brent Edwards (NBR): Voters will judge Government’s fiscal and economic record (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Being a central banker is a tough gig (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Rampant price inflation ‘a memory’ by mid next year, Infometrics says
Liam Dann (Herald): Reserve Bank to watch and wait until homeowners feel full pain of refixing (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Reserve Bank says house prices now ‘sustainable’, but more mortgage pain to come (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Budget documents show Government scrambled to avoid 2-year delay to surplus
Liam Dann (Herald): OCR decision: Reserve Bank keeps cash rate on hold at 5.5pc
Imogen Wells (Stuff): Newsable: Don’t expect OCR cuts any time soon, BNZ’s head of research says
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Reserve Bank leaves official cash rate unchanged at 5.5%
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Reserve Bank leaves official cash rate at 5.5%
Dan Brunskill (Interest): BNZ hits pause after two years of OCR hikes as economy shows signs of slowing. Says house prices at ‘more sustainable levels’
1News: Reserve Banks ends hikes, holds OCR steady
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): ‘Working poor’ struggling as costs rise, budgeting service says
GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Newshub: Lloyd Burr: National should be careful what they wish for after requesting release of text message about Kiri Allan
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Govt’s $108m spend-up on office renovations and refurbishments
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Procurement without purpose: the problems with broader outcomes
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Departing Green MP Eugenie Sage reflects on time in Beehive
Spinoff: The ‘very on brand’ book at the top of David Parker’s reading pile
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): After being a ‘welcome guest’ at NATO, NZ now needs to consider what our partnership with the alliance really means
Gordon Campbell: On dancing with NATO on Defence
Thomas Manch (Post): Chris Hipkins speaks to Nato leaders, saying threats to security global problem (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins misses chance for bilateral meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Bumped for Biden: PM’s meeting with Zelensky abandoned after Ukrainian-US talks go over time
1News: Hipkins’ meeting with Zelensky bumped after talks with Biden overrun
Herald: Hipkins’ Nato meeting with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy scrapped but pair meet in corridor
Newshub: Government commits another $4 million to Ukraine
Jane Patterson (RNZ): PM and world leaders support Ukraine but give no timeline for joining NATO
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Full interview: Top diplomat Chris Seed on potential conflict in Indo-Pacific, ‘grim’ global outlook
Stuart Smith and Arena Williams (Stuff): Dependence on China as a trading partner is of concern to some
EDUCATION
Jack Vowles (Post): Disagreeing historians, and what it means for NZ history in schools (paywalled)
Andrew Rogers (Herald): Science curriculum was and still is part of the problem
Alwyn Poole (Kiwiblog): The ridiculous, “leaked”, proposed NZ Science Curriculum and the bizarre support for it
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Government warned against 20-hours-free early chilldhood for 2-year-olds budget policy
Gabrielle McCulloch (Stuff): A third of principals have less than five years experience, ERO report finds
RNZ: New principals entering job without enough support – ERO
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Treasury unsure school lunch scheme represents value for money – Budget document
Gianina Schwanecke (Post): Up to 10,000 healthy school lunches leftover each day, critical treasury report finds (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Education: Govt spends $1m to ‘raise awareness’ but not increase school attendance rates with campaign
Sela Jane Hopgood (Spinoff): A nationwide Sāmoan language course for schools aims to keep the language thriving
Alecia Rousseau (Manawatū Standard): Union angered after Massey University calls for more than 120 redundancies
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Massey University staff ‘furious’ about further cuts, union says
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Why the fear about sloping the playing field towards diversity?
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): University of Otago gets new Māori name in first rebranding for more than a century
HEALTH
Jared McCulloch (1News): Te Whatu Ora silent in response to damning cancer care report
1News: New data from Te Whatu Ora reveals grim patient wait times
RNZ: ‘One size fits all’ approach to health not working, health minister says
RNZ: Inaccurate hospital figures: Review finds poor planning, data teams ‘overwhelmed’
Louisa Steyl (Southland Times): Staffing woes pause cancer services in the south
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Exclusive: Newshub reveals significant win for cancer patients battling ‘postcode healthcare’
Paddy Gower Has Issues: Outdated Te Whatu Ora scheme putting pressure on families travelling gruelling distances with sick children
Tess Brunton (RNZ): ‘Compromised patient care’ and ‘unsafe waiting times’ at Christchurch ED – union delegate
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Issues at Hawke’s Bay Hospital radiology department ’emblematic of challenges faced nationwide’
RNZ: Hawke’s Bay Hospital: Staff shortages among reasons medical imaging accreditation halted
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Cervical smear fees still a ‘postcode lottery’, despite funding increase
Dewi Preece (1News): ‘Can’t live on these wages’: Lab workers begin strike action
Waimanea Nuri (Whakaata Māori): Rongoā Māori the cornerstone of Māori health and well-being
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Uphill battle for new Grocery Commissioner
Dan Brunskill (Interest): ASB appeals class action lawsuit asking the bank to repay interest payments made by hundreds of thousands of customers between 2015 and 2019
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sky TV asked flood victims to dig up or pay for Sky boxes, says Consumer NZ
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Top CEOs Antonia Watson and Matt Prichard issue stern warning on diversity and inclusion
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Xero small business survey shows many owners not paying themselves to help keep the lights on
Cameron Smith (Herald): Average salary in NZ hits $70,000 for first time amid talent battle (paywalled)
RNZ: Westpac staff reject ‘insulting’ pay offer and consider industrial action
MIGRATION
Greg Ninness (Interest): More than 105,000 overseas workers have arrived in New Zealand since the beginning of the year
Liam Dann (Herald): Migration numbers show rate of net gain easing as more Kiwis leave (paywalled)
Julia Gabel and Rachel Maher (Herald): Largest net migration loss to Australia since 2013 as Kiwis pursue higher wages and cheaper living costs
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Annual migration still running hot but signs of cooling
Ankur Sabharwal (Stuff): Winners and losers in the revamped Skilled Migrant residence category
ORANGA TAMARIKI, YOUTH JUSTICE
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Oranga Tamariki turns to Student Job Search to staff Auckland youth justice facility
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): Moxon wants Māori solutions to Oranga Tamariki debacle
CRIME, JUSTICE
Frances Chin (Post): Public Service Watch: Restorative justice useful but long way to go (paywalled)
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): The top five regions with the worst commercial crime in the country
CENSUS
1News: Stats NZ to release first Census data in May 2024
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): ‘We have achieved our goal, or got very close’: Stats NZ predicts census goal reached
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Death knell for the census as we currently know it?
CLIMATE CHANGE
Kevin Trenberth (The Conversation): Global temperature rises in steps – here’s why we can expect a steep climb this year and next
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): El Niño has barely begun, and already the world has experienced its hottest day on record
Sarah Heeringa (Stuff): Finding the good life in a finite world – ‘Post-Growth’ author Tim Jackson
TRANSPORT
Mare Haimona-Riki (Whakaata Māori): Bus strike continues as Auckland drivers seek higher pay
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Why are so many Cantabrians up in arms about a temporary bike lane?
Caitlan Johnston (Herald): Te Huia train to be funded by taxpayer money despite ban, shrunk service
Jonah Franke (Stuff): No ticket to ride – Council could push Kiwirail for Te Huia compo
RNZ: Two different Te Huia drivers responsible for temporary ban on operating in Auckland
OTHER
Eric Crampton (Herald): Why is NZ so helpless when it comes to funding infrastructure? (paywalled)
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Two years on and Westport waits
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Americans pour in cash to keep TV3 afloat
Glenn McLean (Taranaki Daily News): Future of local government not sustainable without change
Robin Martin (RNZ): Water fluoridation fires up opponents in New Plymouth
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): National Party leader Christopher Luxon says feral cats should be added to predator kill list
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Beef and Lamb director being investigated for allegedly breaching intensive winter grazing rules
Shalomi Daniel (Herald): Does Aotearoa stand with the women who make our clothes? (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB: You can’t force people into diversity
