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.

NZ Politics Daily: 22 September 2023

ELECTION
Jack Tame (1News): For Christopher Luxon, the Winston strategy has changed
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Is this the long goodbye for Labour?
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Greater Of Two Evils
Gordon Campbell: On chaotic coalitions, drinking water and useless debates
Max Harris (Post): Policies to push back against (paywalled)
Kevin Norquay (Post): ‘There are a lot of people saying, it feels odd… I don’t think I know who I’m going to vote for’ (paywalled)
Political Compass: New Zealand General Election 2023
Tim Watkin (RNZ): The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener): A week of prospects, protests and possibilities (paywalled)
Newsroom: Raw Politics: Hipkins’ strange failure to fire
Dita De Boni (NBR): Great divide between political parties on employment issues (paywalled)
Rebecca Rendle (BusinessDesk): Workplace relations policies – how do they stack up? (paywalled)
RNZ: Law and order debate sees fiery clash of policy
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): James Shaw’s unexpected solution to the cost of living crisis. Does it stack up?
Annie Te One (The Conversation): From ‘pebble in the shoe’ to future power broker – the rise and rise of te Pāti Māori
The Facts: Government confidence at record lows

NEWSHUB NATION POWERBROKERS DEBATE
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Zingers and grins light up multi-party debate
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): In zinger-filled debate, the minor parties prove they’re the most interesting
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Minor parties get fired up over crime and punishment
Farah Hancock (RNZ): How David Seymour and Winston Peters hogged the mic in the minor party leaders debate
Maree Mahony (RNZ): Cracks appear soon after show of unity from ACT, NZ First leaders
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Election 2023 debate moments: Marama Davidson, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer team up in facing bickering David Seymour, Winston Peters
Newshub: Political commentators on who was victorious in minor party debate
Adam Pearse , Michael Neilson and Claire Trevett (Herald): Fiery small leaders’ debate reveals Act and NZ First could work together
Luke Malpass (Post): The great minor party sorting session ‒ and Winston’s big night (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury Daily Blog): Newshub Nation Powerbrokers Debate: Marama and Debbie beat the snot out of David and Winston

ECONOMY, FINANCE DEBATE, COST OF LIVING
Rob Campbell (Post): It’s not just the economy, stupid (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Why National’s tax fantasy is dead (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Doubts about Robertson’s good news day (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Peters predicts being in government and a pre-Xmas mini-Budget
Katie Bradford (1News): Will GDP growth be too little, too late for Labour?
Herald Editorial: Economic good news may be too late for Labour (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Five things you need to know about GDP update
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Economy in 2024: ‘Next six months will be painful for households’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): GDP figures shows Reserve Bank may have failed to engineer its recession (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): The RBNZ won’t be spooked by the strong 2Q GDP (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Crisis? What crisis?
RNZ: June quarter 2023 GDP result: Economy grew strongly in the three months ended June
RNZ: New Zealand skirts recession with adjusted quarterly GDP figures
Dan Brunskill (Interest): New Zealand dodged technical recession, after all
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): New Zealand posts second-quarter GDP growth of 0.9 percent, no recession
Thomas Manch (Post): Labour lauds GDP figures, campaign rolls on (paywalled)
Lloyd Burr (Newshub): New GDP figures spark row over economy
Newshub: National accuses Finance Minister Grant Robertson of insulting New Zealanders over GDP figures
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR):It’s all a numbers game (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government launches review of one of NZ’s most important laws, after watchdogs complain about poor accountability (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth: More regulation likely to drive some non-banks to the wall

ELECTORATES
Deborah LaHatte (Whakaata Māori): Poll: Wiill voters punish Meka Whaitiri for waka jumping?
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidates up for the fight as seat remains open for the taking
Jean Edwards (RNZ): Sarah Pallett, Hamish Campbell and Raf Manji vye for Ilam’s vote
Sinead Gill (Press): Is Christchurch Central safe for Labour or will it swing? (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (Newsroom): Brooke van Velden against the odds in Tāmaki
Tommy de Silva (Spinoff): Can National reclaim Nelson after Labour ended its 24-year run?

ACT
Tim Watkin (Pundit): National, ACT & NZ First: Delivering The Sun Or Just Beach Cricket?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Public service and KiwiSaver cuts propel Government to a larger surplus under ‘hypothetical’ Act budget
RNZ: Watch: ACT leader David Seymour reveals alternative budget
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Act’s alternative budget takes aim at public debt as well as public servants (paywalled)
Eric Frykberg (Interest): ACT reveals alternative budget
Brent Edwards (NBR: Act calls for responsible management in tough circumstances (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): ACT throw Gen X under the retirement bus

NATIONAL
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Chris Luxon stands firm on spilling any more beans on policy trade-offs ahead of election
Tom Taylor (RNZ): Checkpoint: Relative of victim of gang violence hits out at politicians in meeting
Michael Fallow (Southland Times): National would ‘hustle’ to revive international student numbers
RNZ: National promises to expand international student work rights
Michael Fallow (Southland Times): Luxon gets cheesy in deep south

LABOUR
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Labour’s Shanan Halbert labelled bully by multiple former employees
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour MP Shanan Halbert rocked by bullying allegations
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Chris Hipkins stakes job on promise to cut GST from fruit, veges next year
Adam Pearse (Herald): Disaster recovery unearths Chris Hipkins’ vintage Chippy in Hawke’s Bay

HEALTH
Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT): National policy contradicted by dog-whistling trail rhetoric (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Using Ethnicity in Health: Why being accused of racism in NZ is more important than doing anything about racism in NZ
Kevin Hague (Newsroom): The solution to institutional racism is 163 years old
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Shattered’: Māori health board head says National plans a huge step back
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Steve Randerson (Herald): The alcohol industry appears to still have some politicians under its spell
Virginia Nicholls (Herald): How education can positively influence teens’ views on responsible drinking
Kristie Boland (Press): ‘Huge’ amount of unmet need missed when measuring healthcare performance (paywalled)
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): ‘Utterly demoralising’ – doctors strike over pay and conditions

TVNZ LEADERS’ DEBATE
Richard Prebble (Bassett, Brash & Hide): Who won the Leaders’ debate?
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Thoughts on the leaders’ debate
Tom Peters (World Socialists): New Zealand election debate points to bipartisan agenda of austerity and war
Robert MacCulloch: Madness at TVNZ – is a formal apology owing to Chris Luxon from the academic “experts”?

PUBLIC SERVICE
Andrea Vance (Post): Environment Ministry pays $1m to consultants for cost-cutting restructure (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes resigns
Laura Frykberg (1New): Up to 120 jobs could go at WorkSafe, chief executive quits
Brent Edwards (NBR): Unions disappointed in proposed cuts at WorkSafe (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): NZ First reckons it would bring public spending under control (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): ‘Rich’ Conservation Department is actually stretched and struggling
Maria Slade (NBR): Trade agency to slash budget as Covid funding ends (paywalled)

WATER QUALITY, THREE WATERS
Julia Talbot-Jones and Yigit Saglam (The Conversation): Freshwater quality is one of New Zealanders’ biggest concerns – water-trading ‘clubs’ could be part of the solution
Tumamao Harawira (Whakaata Māori): Muaupoko protests against Lake Horowhenua’s exemption from national water standards
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Lack of water treatment highlights urgency of Three Waters reforms – mayor
RNZ: Queenstown mayor gives update on cryptosporidium outbreak
RNZ: Queenstown cryptosporidium outbreak: Residents face ‘months’ of boil water notice
Joanne Naish and Sinead Gill (Press): Only three Christchurch water supplies have protozoa barriers, but council says risk is low (paywalled)

EDUCATION
Soumya Bhamidipati, (RNZ): ‘Devastated’: Victoria University axes 229 jobs and six courses
Gianina Schwanecke (Post): 140 redundancies, six courses gone at Victoria University as it tackles deficit
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): Massey University working to reduce big deficit
Tamara Poi-Ngawhika (BusinessDesk): Māori tertiary institution pulls out of startup programme
Tatiana Gibbs (Post): Mum’s plea for equal access to education for neurodivergent children (paywalled)

CLIMATE CHANGE
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Petone and other communities can’t be protected against climate change, says insurer (paywalled)
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): The climate change and environment policies in two minutes

BUSINESS
Grant Bradley (Herald): The big winners from the $1 billion taxpayer air freight scheme (paywalled)
Tamara Poi-Ngawhika (BusinessDesk): $2.7m investment in Māori businesses pays off
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Power firms show no immediate opposition to tougher rules on ‘bundled’ plans (paywalled)
Trent Doyle (Newshub): Why thousands of Aucklanders will get a $360 payout this week
Rob Stock (Post): Not guilty verdict in $750m insurance company collapse (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s communications boss Kate Lynch quits after barely six months in the job (paywalled)
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s chief press secretary Kate Lynch resigns
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Let’s Get Wellington Moving plan hits another roadblock
Justin Wong (Post): Porirua City Council rejects financial backing for adventure park (paywalled)
Tina Law (Press): Residents call for immediate halt to ‘unnecessary’ housing intensification plans (paywalled)

ORANGA TAMARIKI
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Oranga Tamariki review: Agency refers 28 complaints over staff conduct to police
Katie Harris (Herald): Oranga Tamariki review: Nearly two dozen residence staff removed and three charged since issues raised in June

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
RNZ: Pacific nations sign up to UN high seas treaty – ‘Ratifying and implementing’ next
RNZ: Statecraft in the Pacific

OTHER
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): Why Winston Peters should take over the Green Parrot Cafe
Piers Fuller (Post): Wellington’s venerable Green Parrot for sale (paywalled)
Newshub: Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern reveals what she misses most about politics, how life is ‘very different’ now
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Kim Hill on the leaders’ debate, leaving RNZ and her extraordinary career; Rupert Murdoch steps down; Radio stars settle with MediaWorks; Facebook news traffic plunges (paywalled)
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Courts clogged by self-represented litigants, lawyers say; solutions proposed
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Police Association president Chris Cahill: Time to put pressure back on the gangs