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 by Dr Bryce Edwards.
Housing
Luke Malpass and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government hikes claims thresholds for bad landlords, increases renters right
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government to ban rental bidding and end no-cause evictions
Jihee Junn (Spinoff): Cheat sheet: Big changes for rental laws announced
Audrey Young (Herald): Govt plans to ban landlords from ending tenancies without reason
Audrey Young (Herald): Landlords say Govt plans will make it harder to get rid of bad tenants
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Rental law changes will hamper eviction of bad tenants – landlords
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Government to ban landlords putting up the rent every six months
1News: New proposals to fix ‘power imbalance’ between landlords and renters outlined
RNZ: Bundle of rental law changes proposed to protect tenants
Julie Iles (NBR): Rental law changes add hurdles to ending tenancies (paywalled)
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Salvation Army says need for transitional housing will go up 35 per cent for Christmas
Matt Tso and Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Massive housing shortfall forecast
Matt Tso and Joel Maxwell (Stuff): New home shortfall for Wellington region as a city’s-worth of newcomers looms
NZ in Afghanistan
Stuff documentary: Life + Limb
Eugene Bingham and Paula Penfold (Stuff): Blast from New Zealand firing range ammunition kills Afghan children
Paula Penfold and Eugene Bingham (Stuff): Helen Clark: Deadly unexploded ordnance left on firing ranges used by NZ ‘reprehensible’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealand urged to clear ordnance from Afghanistan and compensate families of seven children killed
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): We owe it to the people of Afghanistan to finish what we started
Press Editorial: Transparency and a clean-up needed
RNZ: The Detail: The tragic results of NZDF’s failure to clean up after Bamyan
RNZ: Blast from NZ firing range ammunition kills Afghan children
Herald: NZDF to clear firing range linked to Afghan children’s deaths
1News: NZ Defence Force say firing range was cleared before Afghan children died
OK boomer and generational politics
Steve Elers (Stuff): Punching up with ‘OK, Boomer’ and ‘pale, male, stale’ may get a laugh but they’re just air swings
Shamubeel Eaqub (Stuff): Baby Boomers had a chance to help younger generations… they didn’t
Rob Stock (Stuff): Give Baby Boomers their dues
Damien Grant (Stuff): Quit whinging Millennials, Boomers built your houses and endured actual nuclear war
Listener Editorial: The OK, boomer uproar blotted out an important intergenerational moment
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Okay Boomer, how much easier did you really have it?
ODT Editorial: Generating debate for ages, so what will come after Z?
Gareth Hughes to stand down at next election
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Outgoing Green MP Gareth Hughes says the Government has not been transformational
Audrey Young (Herald): Retiring MP Gareth Hughes tells Green Party colleagues to keep ‘thinking big’
Herald: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes retiring, won’t seek re-election
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Green MP Gareth Hughes announces retirement
RNZ: Gareth Hughes to stand down at next election
1News: Green MP Gareth Hughes to retire from parliament at next election
Newstalk ZB: Gareth Hughes denies he is being pushed out of Green Party
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Loss of Gareth Hughes huge blow to Greens
Sustainable NZ
John Armstrong (1News): Public indifference to Sustainable NZ Party launch ‘a virtual death sentence’
Zane Small (Newshub): Sustainable NZ leader blasts Greens and ‘xenophobic’ NZ First in message to Jacinda Ardern
Week in Politics, parliament
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Labour and the referendums of dread
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Two years in, Parliament groans under the weight of difficult social lawmaking
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Guns, education, immigration and euthanasia
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: PM Jacinda Ardern’s list-itis, Simon Bridges trolled by 8-year-old, Greens want birds at Parliament
Audrey Young (Herald): The curious relationship between Chris Hipkins and Nikki Kaye (paywalled)
RNZ: MPs, staffers to move out of Bowen House for earthquake strengthening
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Greens want to replace Parliament’s bells with birdsong
Labour Party
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Labour party charge $1500-a head to schmooze Jacinda Ardern over lunch
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Who will be the new Labour Party president?
Euthanasia
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Formidable Brooke van Velden: The End of Life Choice bill lobbyist you’ve probably never heard of
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Living an ‘unwanted second life’: One man’s fight to die with dignity
Matt Rilkoff (Stuff): Euthanasia referendum best approached with a cool head and open mind
Mike Houlahan (ODT): MPs thought carefully on euthanasia
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Alfred Ngaro blasts NZ First for ‘abdicating responsibility’ on euthanasia
David Farrar: Those you have to thank for the End of Life Choice Act
Liam Hehir (Pundit): Well, That’s Just, Like, Your Religion, Man…
Liam Hehir (Pundit): Assisted Suicide: That Nagging Feeling
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: A long passage: end of life choice
Media
Mel Bunce (RNZ): Potential and pitfalls in replacing RNZ, TVNZ with new public media organisation
Press Editorial: Back to the future with broadcasting
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): New Zealand Broadcasting Agency: The case for RNZ-TVNZ merger
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Immigration row sparked by Shane Jones captivates the media
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Ian Cross: editor, broadcast boss, critic and conscience
Karl du Fresne (Listener: Ian Cross, celebrated Listener editor, 1925-2019
Northern Advocate: Democracy gets a boost with scheme to boost local journalism
RNZ: Media watchdog joins calls for review of Vanuatu Daily Post work permit
Obesity
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Expert rips into anti-obesity efforts: ‘It’s just negligence’
Rob Stock (Stuff): Government plan won’t cut obesity, diabetes or dental caries
Rob Stock (Stuff): Obesity costs taxpayers, but it can cost individuals far more
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Junk food ads to be banned from around schools in anti-obesity actions agreed with industry
RNZ: Govt’s obesity plan fails to include sugar tax
Lydia Lewis and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Food industry told to do more to fight obesity
Pharmac epilepsy drug switch
Guyon Espiner and Veronica Schmidt (RNZ): Fourth death linked to Pharmac’s epilepsy medication switch
1News: Authorities now investigating fourth death of person taking Pharmac-funded epilepsy drug
Guyon Espiner and Veronica Schmidt (RNZ): Pharmac backs down on epilepsy drug brand switch
James Fyfe (Newshub): Pharmac reverses epilepsy medication switch after fourth death
Nicole Bremner (1News): Funding for epilepsy drugs widened after health concerns about switch to generic brand
Health
RNZ: Cannabis reform debate overshadows alcohol-related harm – addiction specialist
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Violence against hospital staff ‘out of control’ – Doctors’ union
Scott Yeoman and Jean Bell (Bay of Plenty Times): ‘Toxic’ workplace: Manager hits out at Bay of Plenty DHB in scathing report
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Canterbury health board has the country’s highest rate of staff taking sick leave
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Nurses say bullying was rife at Middlemore neonatal unit
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Confusion over child hubs shown in emails
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Under-funding of rest homes shows Government ‘ageist’
Cate Broughton (Stuff): More than 600 share surgical mesh trauma at restorative justice forums
RNZ: Surgical mesh sufferers’ campaign group demands action
Laura James (1News): Advocates say hearing impaired Kiwis languishing for years on cochlear implant waiting list
James Fyfe (Newshub): Nancy Brunning’s death: Calls for Pharmac reform
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Hawke’s Bay DHB defends decision to close Wairoa Health Care Centre
Laura Wiltshire (Hawkes Bay Today): Nurses hit out after DHB announces closure of GP clinic within Wairoa health centre
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): Cure our sick DHBs with the right leadership (paywalled)
Laine Moger (Stuff): Same-sex attraction reported by one in six women, one in 20 men – Ministry of Health survey
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Sexually transmitted disease syphilis on the rise in New Zealand
Neil Reid (Herald): Posthumous parenting: Health bosses investigate new fertility regulations
Disability
Catherine Hutton (RNZ): Demand for disability services surges due to new pilot programmes
Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Disability funding crisis: ‘Exhausted is actually an understatement’ (paywalled)
Pacific measles outbreak
1News: Samoa declares state of emergency over measles epidemic as child deaths mount
RNZ: Samoa declares measles outbreak state of emergency
RNZ: Strict measures issued under Samoa’s State of Emergency
RNZ: Samoa’s measles outbreak: ‘Worst to come’
Sean Hogan (1News): Growers prep for influx of workers from measles epidemic zone as outbreak tightens grip on Pacific
Behrouz Boochani
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): No special treatment for Behrouz Boochani, says New Zealand
Ben Doherty (Guardian): Behrouz Boochani, brutalised but not beaten by Manus, says simply: ‘I did my best
Golriz Ghahraman (Guardian): Today, Aotearoa New Zealand stands with Behrouz Boochani as a counterpoint to the politics of hate
Golriz Ghahraman (Spinoff): We welcome Behrouz Boochani – and we can learn from him, too
Donna Miles-Mojab (Stuff): We should beg him to stay, and learn from him
Alison Mau (Stuff): Manus Island freedom fighter: I want safety, and a simple life
RNZ: Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani not seeking NZ asylum – for now
Maddison Northcott (Stuff): Celebrated author Behrouz Boochani not seeking NZ asylum – for now
1News: Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani wants to extend visa for NZ visit, but it might not be easy
1News: ‘I just want to be free’ – Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani undecided on seeking asylum in NZ
1News: Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani speaks out about Australia’s ‘hate speech’ towards refugees
Ben Doherty (Guardian): Behrouz Boochani calls Christchurch welcome a ‘reminder of kindness’
1News: Watch: Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani gifted pounamu necklace during touching Christchurch welcome
1News: Journalist held as asylum seeker on Manus Island arrives in New Zealand – ‘I am happy because I survived’
Holly Carran (Newshub): Journalist Behrouz Boochani tastes freedom in New Zealand
Zane Small (Newshub):Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani’s arrival in New Zealand makes global news
No Right Turn: Escape from Manus Island
Terror Bill
Derek Cheng (Herald): Chief Justice to Parliament: Proposed terrorism bill inadequate, unworkable
Serah Allison (International Socialists): Questioning The Terrorism Suppression Bill
Ports of Auckland move
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland port move: Review claims ‘omissions and flawed logic’ in plan to relocate to Northland
Andrea Fox (Herald): Wayne Brown interview: Why the Ports of Auckland has to move (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Stuff): Did KiwiBuild not teach this lot anything?
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Southerners keep close watch on Northport proposals (paywalled)
Local government
Tom Rowland (Herald): Call to fix ‘broken’ local government electoral system (paywalled)
David Slack (Stuff): For the greater good I’m happy to say goodbye to Mount Albert’s trees
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Auckland councillor slams ‘culturally ignorant’ protest over Mt Albert/Ōwairaka trees
Mary Tallon (Herald): There’s rich heritage in our exotic trees too (paywalled)
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Kawerau seeks Whakatāne land in bid to create jobs
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Councilor alleges political bullying for comments on bullying
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Code of conduct investigation into Wellington councillor Simon Woolf
Damian George (Stuff): Climate committee part of regional council’s proposed new set-up
Charlie Gates (Press): Former acting Christchurch council boss unaware of secrecy until critical report
Michael Hayward (Press): Christchurch stadium plan facing funding shortfall of up $60m
Tim Cadogan (Southland Times): Councils face big costs for farms’ tiny water supply ‘schemes’
Immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Delays for ‘oversubscribed’ skilled migrant category
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Easing the way for arranged marriages
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): New arranged marriage visa gives expat hope of living with wife
Lana Hart (Stuff): Sometimes it takes a village to arrange a marriage
Paul Buchanan: A coward’s ploy.
Abuse in care inquiry
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Abuse inquiry’s new chair Judge Coral Shaw: survivors voice reservations
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): ‘You ruined me’: New Zealand’s abuse survivors speak at landmark inquiry
Cate Broughton (Stuff): One woman’s fight to stop the ‘generational curse’ of child abuse
Transport
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Auckland facing years of ‘significant disruption’ with CRL project
RNZ: Four-year closure of Mt Eden train station during City Rail Link build
RNZ: Checkpoint: E-bikes – a new favourite for Auckland commuters?
Steve Forbes (Stuff): Auckland city businesses up in arms over City Rail Link disruption coming for 2020
Zac Fleming (Newshub): Auckland one of the worst cities in the world for public transport, road taxes according to new data
Firearms
1News: Gun City owner David Tipple warns MPs of ‘vigilantism’ caused by gun law changes
Derek Cheng (Herald): Govt gun laws will lead to more Dirty Harrys: Gun City owner
Environment and conservation
Rod Oram (Newsroom): We did this, don’t undo it
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: The pros and cons of the Zero Carbon Act (paywalled)
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): The religious fervour of climate warming flagellation
Jamie Mackay (Herald): Shane Jones apologises for calling farmers rednecks – kind of (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Farmers ‘out of line’ at Parliament protest – Willie Jackson
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): West Coast tired of being the country’s ‘environmental conscience’
RNZ: West Coasters rally against ‘one size fits all’ environmental policies
Annabelle Tukia (Newshub): Thousands of West Coasters rally against ‘one size fits all’ Government policies
Mike Cranstone (Whanganui Chronicle): Conservation Comment: Please don’t vilify farmers; we’re on your side (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Fears too much whitebaiting could cause it to become extinct
RNZ: Health warning after livestock droppings found in Southland rivers
Laura Macdonald (Newshub): Algae threatening Tasman’s ‘wonderland’ of cold water springs
Denise Piper (Stuff): Access to Northland kauri icon Tāne Mahuta could be restricted to paid tours
Māori TV: “Visionary” Rongokako Marine Reserve celebrates 20th anniversary
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Young Kiwis’ anxiety about plastic like nuclear war fears
Police
Michael Neilson (Herald): Revealed: Scepticism of police Turning of the Tide after previous major Māori strategy fails to meet targets (paywalled)
Kristin Edge (Northern Advocate): Drone used by Northland police for the first time
Feminism 2020
Newshub Nation: ACT wants to cut funding to universities that block free speech
Newshub Nation: Simon Shepherd interviews Meghan Murphy
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Trans activists slam ‘repellent’ Canadian feminist Meghan Murphy
Newshub: David Seymour set to host controversial Feminism 2020 event
SkyCity fire
Lydia Lewis and Dan Satherley (Newshub): SkyCity blaze: Firefighters back employees still suffering after inhaling toxic fumes
Sae Strang (Newshub): SkyCity convention centre fire: Workers claim they are still sick from toxic smoke fumes
Herald: Convention centre fire: SkyCity union members to strike after members call in sick with smoke inhalation symptoms
Education
Jessica Long and Rob Mitchell (Stuff): History on repeat – how compulsory teaching in NZ might work
ODT Editorial: Education review offers opportunities
Herald Editorial: Zoning the pinch point in Tomorrow’s Schools education changes (paywalled)
John Roughan (Herald): Totalitarian takeover of schools averted (paywalled)
Kevin Clements and Peter Matheson (ODT): From devastating ‘shift phase’ to dispiriting ‘lift’
Marty Sharpe and Michael Daly (Stuff): Massey University ‘temporarily closes’ NZ’s only veterinary technology degree
RNZ: NZ university students in Hong Kong asked to return home
Banks
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): How banks peddled a product that killed farmers
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Who is NZ’s highest paid banker? (paywalled)
Monetary policy
Brent Edwards (NBR): Reserve Bank readying itself for unconventional monetary policy (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Govt should have a say on Reserve Bank’s new bank capital rules (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Four key pre-Christmas announcements will collectively have a big influence on the economy next year
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Adrian Orr says RBNZ will soon publish the principles behind its thinking on unconventional monetary policy tools
Gender parity in boardrooms
Judy McGregor (Herald): Gender parity in business leadership has stalled
Rob Stock (Stuff): ‘One and done’ attitude stalling women’s advance in the boardroom
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): ‘Painfully slow’ progress on women in the boardroom
Catriona MacLennan (Newsroom): No melting pot in make-up of company boards
Transgender awareness
Eleanor Black (Stuff): Over the rainbow: What happens when trans people get older
George Fowler (Stuff): I’m a transgender man. Here’s what you need to know.
Jaimie Veale, Jack Byrne and Ahi Wi-Hongi (Spinoff): Six things to celebrate this Transgender Awareness week
Chinese propaganda film
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): New research reveals close links between Sir Richard Taylor and China’s ruling elite
1News: Kiwi taxpayers unwittingly helped pay for Chinese propaganda film, expert says
Gangs
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Gang laundering still leaves a scum round the edge
Katie Harris (Herald): Mongrel Mob PR person says Simon Bridges is targeting gangs for votes
Fire service
1News: Twenty-six more Kiwi firefighters headed to Australia to help fight deadly wildfires
Emma Perry (ODT): New scheme to be tried in Otago
Royal Tour
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Royal visit takes Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla from Waitangi to Christchurch
Newshub: Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla tour: ‘Intense media attention’ expected
RNZ: Whenuapai welcome: Charles and Camilla arrive for NZ tour
Herald: Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrive in New Zealand
1News: Prince Charles and Camilla touch down in Auckland for week-long royal tour of NZ
Other
Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton (RNZ): NZ First-linked forestry company wanted $95m in govt funding
Liam Dann (Herald): Woke wonderland – How a new narrative has changed NZ (paywalled)
Newshub Nation: David Seymour warns Paul Goldsmith against trying to win Epsom
Norman Gemmell (Stuff): Here’s what Government needs to think about if it’s borrowing to invest
RNZ: From tomorrow women effectively work for no pay till 2020 – CTU
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ‘Politics’ may keep digital services tax in play as OECD readies for crunch year
Alison Rourke (Guardian): Ask the prime minister: send us your questions for Jacinda Ardern
Bess Manson (Stuff): Robert Ludbrook, campaigner for adoption reform
Richard Harman (Politik): Britain could shut NZ exports out
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Overwhelmed charities say child poverty in NZ as high as ever
Steve Braunias: The secret diary of … the Winston Peters trial (paywalled)
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern throws weight behind campaign to get Creepy Santa to Te Papa
Samantha Olley (Herald): Māori Wardens: What they do and why they are vital (paywalled)
Fiona Connor (Newshub): Mispronouncing Te Reo ‘like physical blow’ to Māori – language teacher
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Historians upset at limited access to Defence Force library
ODT Editorial: Oranga Tamariki questions remain
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Law change allows earthquake-prone building owners to do alterations
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Coroners balance culture and process after attack
John Weekes (Stuff): Hearing for Cambodian Khmer Rouge leader charged over New Zealander Kerry Hamill’s death
Peter Griffin (Stuff): New Zealand finally has a space programme
AP: Twitter finalises the details on its ban on political ads
Alice Webb-Liddall: Balancing justice’s racist scales
RNZ: NZ gay rights group supports call for tourism boycott in Cooks
Helen Harvey (Taranaki Daily News): Tuia 250 waka sails into Port Taranaki for repairs
