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
Chris Trotter: A Distracting Tragedy
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Are tax cuts Labour’s secret re-election weapon? (paywalled)
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Can David Parker push Labour back onto a more progressive path?
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Dissenters Robertson and Parker ought to resign as ministers
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Labour’s headache continues amid questions of caucus friction over tax
Herald Editorial: A wealth of talk about tax (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Māori Party wealth tax plan: Over 98 per cent of NZers get tax cut, GST off kai and higher top rates
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Election 2023: Te Pāti Māori’s bold new tax policy includes $30k tax-free threshold, four new taxes
Felix Desmarais (1News): Te Pāti Māori: Time for wealthy to ‘pull their weight’ on tax
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori proposes suite of changes in new tax policies
Tova O’Brien and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Te Pāti Māori lobs a grenade into election tax debate
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Māori party tax plan undercuts Nats by nearly $100 per week for average worker (paywalled)
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Te Pāti Māori tax policy promises more kai on the table and less tax
No Right Turn: More wealth tax trouble for Labour
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Māori Party Tax Policy a reason for the Left to vote in 2023
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): How much difference would removing GST from fruit and veg really make?
RNZ: Removing GST from food: ‘Radical’ or ‘wrecking ball’?
Conor Knell, Bridie Witton and Glenn McConnell (Post): GST off fruit and veges popular but hard to make work: Economist (paywalled)
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Expert says removing GST on fresh food is poor tax policy, wouldn’t actually save Kiwis money
Thomas Couglan (Herald): National claims to reveal leaked Labour tax policy – GST off fresh fruit and vegetables, dubbed ‘boondoggle’ by Grant Robertson
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): National claims to have uncovered Labour’s tax plans, ministers refusing to confirm nor deny
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): National deputy leader Nicola Willis claims Labour’s unconfirmed tax policy will cost ‘around half a billion dollars a year’
Felix Desmarais (1News): National claims Labour will propose removing GST from fresh fruit and veges
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): National claims Labour’s tax policy will remove GST on fruit and vegetables
Glenn McConnell and Bridie Witton (Stuff): National’s Nicola Willis claims she’s been leaked Labour’s tax policy
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Labour haven’t denied plans to drop GST on fruit and vegetables
ELECTION, PARLIAMENT
Josie Pagani (Stuff): Labour’s only path to victory now is to go big
Max Harris (Post): It’s time to kick these political footballs off the field (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Christopher Luxon calls in ex-TV star for media training; the PR chiefs behind Luxon, Chris Hipkins; RNZ host’s apology to Winston Peters (paywalled)
RNZ: Has misinformation infected mainstream politics in New Zealand?
Robert MacCulloch: PM Hipkins goes pro-business on economics
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks to business sector and confronts law and order criticisms
David Williams (Newsroom): Act chases National in the heartland
Danyl McLauchlan (Listener/Herald): Political week in review: Kiri Allan saga raises questions about ‘toxic’ political culture (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Who’s who, Labour stability, election prospects, VIPs
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): All your questions about election advertising, answered
Federico Magrin (Nelson Mail): Sharp decrease in Act Party signs after they were found in breach of bylaws
Sue Foley (Herald): Reflections on the inner workings of election campaigns (paywalled)
Johnny Blades (RNZ): Te Kāhui Mōuri lights up Parliament’s face
Te Karere: New carved pou unveiled on Parliament grounds
COST OF LIVING
David Hargreaves (Interest): Statistics New Zealand says the cost of living for households rose 7.2% in the year to June 2023, while food prices increased by some 12.7% for the average household
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Cost of living climbs 7.2% as higher interest rates add to inflation
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Household living costs jump 7.2 percent
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): Why are New Zealand’s poorest punished for not being able to afford power?
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: Stakes high if NZ joins Aukus pact
Richard Harman (Politik): A month of ambiguities (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Post): Renewed defence pact talks may move Wellington closer to Washington (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Mahuta holds her own on stage with Blinken
Thomas Manch (Stuff): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says ‘door very much open’ for NZ to join non-nuclear aspects of Aukus
Lloyd Burr (Newshub): Nanaia Mahuta shuts door on NZ joining AUKUS after United States’ Antony Blinken says it’s ‘very much open’
RNZ: Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, State Secretary Antony Blinken highlight ‘strong, wide-ranging, and growing’ US-NZ relationship
RNZ: Trans-Tasman travel could be cheaper with simplified border – industry
KIRI ALLAN
David Farrar: Justice Minister did a runner
Paul Buchanan: Hara Kiri
Newshub: Kiri Allan arrest: Police confirm dog unit was called to scene
Deborah Morris (Stuff): Kiri Allan’s court date revealed – but she might not need to show
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Kiri Allan crash and arrest: Court date confirmed
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Battered trust the biggest hurdle to bold new local government funding model
Liz McDonald (Post): Mayor urges councils to pull together to tackle reforms (paywalled)
Grant Miller (ODT): Councils to create joint position (paywalled)
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Cash-strapped councils need their funding doubled to survive (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland mayor Wayne Brown’s near-embarrassing political fail
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland councillor Mike Lee dumped from Auckland Transport board on casting vote of Mayor Wayne Brown
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Reshuffle ‘in the court of King Wayne’ draws ire
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Council agencies move back in with their parent to save money
Tom Hunt (Post): Safety issues highlighted in area before Isaac Levings Wellington Harbour death (paywalled)
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Borehole proposal at sacred Greytown site canned
CLIMATE CHANGE
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Climate Change Minister James Shaw confirms petrol, electricity prices will rise after carbon pricing backtrack
David Williams (Newsroom): Climate records put heat on politicians
Henry Cooke: MPI think climate change will make NZ richer. MfE disagrees
RNZ: Forestry sector pleased by Emissions Trading Scheme changes, but not confident
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Back-to-back La Niñas will be a soggy symptom of climate change – research
GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Matt Nippert (Herald): ‘Staggering’ cost of public sector CEO departure (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Overhaul planned for Ministry of Social Development IT systems that ‘risk serious harm to beneficiaries’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): $2.6b upgrade at Social Development Ministry: Nats and local suppliers respond
Rob Campbell (Post): Is silence really golden? (paywalled)
CRIME, JUSTICE, POLICE
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Anxiety, fear and the psychological impact of rising crime
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): The Detail: The home detention solution
Ethan Te Ora (Post): Public Service Watch: Overdue alternative to ‘tough on crime’ (paywalled)
Rob Kidd (ODT): Union on edge over high-risk prisoner transfers
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): ACT furious after Auckland District police office accidentally releases nearly 150 email addresses of licensed firearm owners
HOUSING
Listener: Hardship & Hope: ‘People living in cow sheds’: The iwi providing solutions to Tairāwhiti’s housing crisis (paywalled)
Rebecca Macfie (Listener): Hardship & Hope: How reclaiming ancestral land helps whānau struggling with housing crisis (paywalled)
Sarah Heeringa (Stuff): Curtains are not mandatory in rentals: Should they be?
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Competitors question funding for Powerswitch comparison tool
Dita De Boni (NBR): New bill would effectively eliminate most restraints of trade (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): ‘Silly bill-iness’ to pass director duties bill against warnings (paywalled)
PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Monique Steele (RNZ): Federated Farmers consider a wool levy again – 14 years after farmers got rid of it
Te Aorewa Rolleston (Post): Sheep station’s plea – take our free wool (paywalled)
Andrea Fox (Herald): Fresh ammunition for claim Fonterra has a deaf ear to its farmer-shareholders’ needs? (paywalled)
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Fonterra plans to buy $50m of its shares to increase their value
EDUCATION
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Demand for building and psychology courses a bright spot amid tertiary enrolment turbulence
Mohan Dutta (Massey University): The far-right’s attack on communication and media studies
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Uni’s top ranking ‘heartening to see’
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Safety concerns raised over expanded school counselling programme
HEALTH
Digby Werthmuller (1News): Christchurch 24-hour surgery closes for second time this month
Dewi Preece (1News): Prostate cancer petition delivered to Parliament
ETHNICITY
The Herald: The Māori in Me: The concerning rise of ‘pretendians’ in indigenous communities
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): High Court rules 3-year-old Northland child is Māori, but dad disagrees
CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENT
Michael Neilson (Herald): Second Hector’s dolphin killed as fishing bycatch in two months as Greens propose new protection bill
Toby Morris (Spinoff): The Side Eye: Deeper roots
TRANSPORT
Timothy Welch (Newsroom): How misinformation has been used to fight road improvements
Tommy de Silva (Spinoff): How can Auckland bridge the harbour-sized gap in its cycling network?
RNZ: Red-light-running train gets green light to return to Auckland CBD
ODT: Public meetings over airport stopped as not ‘productive’
OTHER
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Demonstration Effect
Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporting): Mystery location for Whakatāne Stop Co-Governance meeting
Jane Nixon (1News): Judge orders police to pay $5750 to Parliament protester
Ric Stevens (Open Justice Reporting): Employment Court: RSE workers say Hawke’s Bay employer’s deductions were unlawful
Shannon Redstall (Stuff): Korean War pain still raw for Kiwi vets on armistice anniversary
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): National hits out at the government’s big tech ‘tax’ (paywalled)
Peter Williams: Censorship and Collusion
