Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Today’s content
Election date
Bryce Edwards (Guardian): By delaying the New Zealand election Jacinda Ardern appears magnanimous and conciliatory
Audrey Young (Herald): Full marks to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the way she delayed the election (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Herald): October 17 choice masterful by Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: Election postponed: delaying tactics a sensible, savvy move.
ODT Editorial: Tough call, right call
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Election delay the right call but will hurt Jacinda Ardern’s chances
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Election date change was better than uglier alternative
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Election delayed in the hope we’ll forget lockdown debacle
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Pragmatism wins out with election delay
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Election delay was the call Jacinda Ardern had to make
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern delays New Zealand ‘Covid election’ by four weeks
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): PM hands election date baton to Electoral Commission (paywalled)
1News: Ardern moving election to October a ‘middle ground compromise’ – Jessica Mutch McKay
Gordon Campbell: On the election delay
Henry Cooke (Stuff): How the Government is delaying the election, and why. What you need to know
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1News: Judith Collins says there is ‘concern’ of Covid-19 being spread on voting forms
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Judith Collins’ lukewarm reply to election delay, as other parties give support
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Watch: National leader Judith Collins hedges her bets on whether she will accept election result
Anna Whyte (1News): National ‘perfectly happy’ with new election date
Newstalk ZB: Gerry Brownlee: National’s deputy leader fine with new election date
RNZ: National, New Zealand First agree with new election date
Matt Shand (Stuff): Election change gets backing of Bridges and Muller
Māori TV: Māori Party accepts election postponement
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Jason Walls (Herald): ‘Challenging times’ but new election date can be catered for, says Electoral Commission
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Election delay logistical headache
Scott Palmer (Newshub): The key new dates in the revised election timetable
Amelia Wade (Herald): Parties scrambling to adjust campaign plans with election delay
Newstalk ZB: Political scientist: Election campaigns already moving online
Jennifer Curtin and Lara Greaves (The Conversation): Jacinda Ardern delays New Zealand’s election to allow conventional campaigning – but where are voters really getting information?
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Election delay fourth in NZ history – here’s what happened the first three times
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RNZ: Voters give poll date move the tick of approval
Alex Perrottet (RNZ): Referendum campaigners relieved at election delay
Liz McDonald (Press): New election date gives needed certainty, Canterbury business leaders say
Dominic Harris (Stuff): About 5000 young people now eligible to vote after delay to 2020 election
Mandy Te (Stuff): One month delay means group of young people now able to vote in upcoming election
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1News: Ardern denies Peters twisted her arm to move election date – ‘This was my decision’
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern changes election date to 17 October
1News: Election date moved to October 17, PM announces – ‘Gives all parties a fair shot’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delays the election a month until October 17
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Ardern extends election date to Oct 17 (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Election moved; Treasury’s pre-election economic update deferred; Most political parties support decision but National only ‘acknowledges’ it
RNZ: Election date: ‘There isn’t a risk-free option’ – Chris Hipkins
Emanuel Stoakes (Washington Post): New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern delays election due to coronavirus outbreak
Parliament
Amelia Wade (Herald): Parliament-lite: What to expect when the House reconvenes tomorrow
Luke Malpass (Stuff): A partial Parliament returns to Wellington after election delay
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): MPs return for unexpected three weeks at Parliamentf
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): The Week in Memes: Our election is delayed and Dr Bloomfield is back
Border testing
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Chris Hipkins admits tracking system for border workers wasn’t in place before ‘testing strategy’ announcement
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Health Minister must up Health Ministry’s operational performance
Richard Harman (Politik): Tightening up the borders
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Bloomfield on back foot over border tests
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Ashley Bloomfield blames ‘miscommunication’ for quarantine testing confusion
RNZ: Ashley Bloomfield on testing of border staff: ‘I don’t think there’s been a failure’
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ‘Dissonance’ between Government and Ministry of Health over border staff testing – Dr Ashley Bloomfield
NZ’s coronavirus response
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins not keen on ACT leader David Seymour’s call to learn to live with Covid-19
Brooke van Velden (Interest): The stress of looming lockdowns on business is unsustainable
Jason Walls (Herald): New Zealand’s ‘new normal’ – alert level 1.5? Bloomfield thinks so
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Alert level 1.5? Masks, social distancing among considerations, Bloomfield suggest
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Lack of masks and distancing on public transport under alert level 2
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Covid-19: Should NZ go Sweden’s way?
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The tide is draining on support for the lockdown approach
Auckland, checkpoints, level 3 breaches
RNZ: Fines for Covid-19 level 3 rule breakers a possibility – police
RNZ: Ngāti Whātua confident Auckland checkpoints are working
Jackson Thomas (Stuff): More police checkpoints to close off back roads in and out of Auckland
1News: Police introduce three new Auckland checkpoints to prevent further spread of Covid-19
1News: Emergency service worker took four hours to get to work because of Auckland checkpoint, National MP says
RNZ: Far North community checkpoints considered to keep Covid-19 out
Asia Pacific Report: Harawira slams ‘frightening’ Auckland covid exodus statistics for Tai Tokerau
Māori TV: Hone Harawira frightened by Northland border patrol results
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northlanders frightened by number of Aucklanders crossing border
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): Iwi leaders are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst
Rebecca Moore (1News): Two Auckland men pass police checkpoint to go to Hamilton casino amid Level 3 restrictions
Lynley Ward (Herald): Warning to Waiheke Island day trippers – ‘I’ll see you at the wharf with my pitchfork’
Alice Webb-Liddall (Spinoff): If Auckland playgrounds are closed, where is the tape?
Pacific communities
1News: More information on Covid-19 outbreak cases will ’empower’ Pasifika community, top doctor says
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Pacific health leader warns of potential for ‘wildfire’ spread in Pacific community
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Pasifika stigmatised due to recent Covid outbreak – Pasifika GP
Testing
Robin Martin (RNZ): Covid-19 testing ramps up to fill data gap at Port Taranaki
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): More than 500 extra workers deployed to ease Covid testing queues
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Testing centres put on standby
Conspiracies, misinformation, media
Gavin Ellis: Trolling through the news media
Cherie Howie (Herald): Staying informed in a time of misinformation (paywalled)
Eugene Bingham and Adam Dudding (Stuff): Tick. Tick podcast: Are QAnon Covid conspiracies too widespread to tackle?
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): How to identify dangerous, fake Covid-19 news on social media
Jamie Morton (Herald): Why ‘that’ Facebook post spread like wildfire
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Covid conspiracies: Question the narrative, but listen to experts – Paul Brislen
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Kiwi study challenges popular idea on cause of conspiracy theories
Josie Adams (Spinoff): Think you know who’s most vulnerable to conspiracy theories? You may be wrong
Wage subsidy, govt assistance
Rob Stock (Stuff): Who’s the Government borrowing the money from to pay for Covid-19 response
Zane Small (Newshub): Finance Minister Grant Robertson reveals eligibility criteria for new $510 million wage subsidy
Anna Whyte (1News): New wage subsidy forecast to cover 470,000 jobs
Michael Andrew (Spinoff): Wage subsidy extension details revealed: here’s how it works
RNZ: Finance minister outlines new wage subsidy scheme in alert level 3
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): 40% revenue drop required for businesses to qualify for newest wage subsidy
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Govt won’t dip into covid fund for $1.6b wage subsidy extension
1News: National backs latest wage subsidy but slams Government over ‘border failure’
Zane Small (Newshub): New coronavirus wage subsidy: National’s Paul Goldsmith feels for Kiwis paying ‘heavy price’ of ‘border failure’
Sarah Robinson (RNZ): Covid-19 leave support scheme not enough, advocates say
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Firms can pay home-workers $20 a week for expenses without red tape until March
Economy
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): W, U, or a V ‘drawn by a five-year-old’: How economists think we’re tracking
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Two years to recover from virus’s impact, says Kiwi bank boss
Shane Wright (Sydney Morning Herald): Will New Zealand win the Bledisloe Cup for economic recovery?
Brian Easton (Pundit): Macroeconomic Questioning
National Party
David Farrar: Roger Bridge
Alex Braae (Spinoff): The youngest in the room: Meet National’s 28-year-old East Coast candidate
Cannabis and euthanasia referendums
Jacob McSweeny (ODT): Concerns over cannabis use at work
James Farmer: Cannabis Legal Reform – Arguments for and against
Sophie Trigger (Stuff): Euthanasia referendum: a ‘barbaric’ ask of medical professionals or an individual right?
Health and disability
RNZ: The Detail: What’s behind the management exodus at the CDHB?
Mike Houlahan (ODT): SDHB’s poor record-keeping criticised
RNZ: Auckland elective surgeries postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak
Trish Grant (Stuff): Smash the failing disability system
Riley Kennedy (RNZ): Hearing loss communities: ‘We are still asking to be listened to’
Kristin Hall (1News): Kiwis urged to reach out after community transmission sees more calls to mental health helplines
Grant Miller (ODT): Loneliness threat to health of elderly
Hannah Martin (Stuff): What breast cancer taught Nikki Kaye about life and retiring from politics
Education
Isaac Davison (Herald): Ministry of Education rejects claim it has relaxed rules for ECEs
Briar Marbeck (Newshub): Lower decile students still without learning devices as online classes resume
RNZ: Checkpoint: Auckland Grammar headmaster welcomes Year 12, 13 class exemptions
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Low-decile schools feel the brunt of lockdown as students drop out
Andrew Webber (Herald): Studies show early learning makes a big difference (paywalled)
Simon Collins (Herald): Zoning out of reading: most 15-year-olds now ‘only read if I have to’
Michael Neilson (Herald): Education report: End of the traditional Kiwi school camp? (paywalled)
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Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Victoria staff up in arms over controversial plan to restructure university
Mike Smith (The Standard): Brady under review by Canterbury University
Watercare boss resigns
Simon Wilson (Herald): Watercare boss had to go but there’s still much to fix (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland water crisis: Watercare chief executive Raveen Jaduram resigns
Todd Niall Stuff): Watercare chief executive Raveen Jaduram resigns amid Auckland’s worst drought in 25 years
1News: CEO of Auckland’s Watercare resigns from $775,000 job as city struggles through drought
Hannay Kronast (Newshub): Watercare CEO Raveen Jaduram resigns
Local government
Dave Cull (Stuff): The drive to centralised decision-making isn’t a cure-all
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Stink brewing over move to ban non-self-contained freedom camping
Damian George (Stuff): Wellingtonians support exponential car park rate hikes to free up central city hot spot
Housing
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Renters avoid complaining about bad housing – Child Poverty Action Group
Rob Stock (Stuff): Homeowners warned not to expect automatic extension of loan ‘holiday
1News: Mortgage deferral scheme extended to March 2021
David Hargreaves (Stuff): Banks outline new mortgage deferral scheme
Environment
Maureen Howard (ODT): Pressing reset
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Nelson sets more ambitious carbon emission targets, but wants more government action
Michael Ross (ODT): Environment, overtourism real concerns
Transport
1News: New Zealand pilots union defends Covid-19 flight crew protocol
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Truckies to ignore deadline for getting COVID-19 test
Primary industries
James Fyfe (1News): Federated Farmers says new legislation brings more uncertainty amid COVID-19 flare-up
Maja Burry (RNZ): Auckland checkpoints could impact flow of produce
RNZ: Sanford cuts 66 jobs with closure of Tauranga plant
Other
Abbey Wakefield (1News): Finance Minister Grant Robertson, National MP Paul Goldsmith to go head-to-head in Monopoly
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Ill passengers on board Ruby Princess should have been treated as suspect Covid cases – inquiry
Robin Martin (RNZ): Ngāti Maru moves closer to settlement with the Crown
1News: Legal experts predict unprecedented jail term for Christchurch mosque killer
Edward Gay (Stuff): Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek granted parole
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Couple upset KiwiSaver funds can’t be used to pay off debt
Sela Jane Hopgood (RNZ): New cultural centre planned by Kiribati community in NZ
