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

SFO NZ First decision
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): Nothing to do with the NZ First Party? Seriously laughable
RNZ: Checkpoint: NZ First Foundation arrangement ‘unprecedented’ – law expert
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Winston Peters’ smoke and mirrors fails to hide the truth
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Serious Fraud Office charges may be final blow for NZ First
Audrey Young (Herald): Winston Peters draws on his best defence against SFO, attack (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Campaign derailed
Lynn Prentice (The Standard): SFO exonerates NZ First
David Farrar: SFO lays two charges in NZ First Foundation case
No Right Turn: This doesn’t sound like exoneration
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): SFO files ‘deception’ charges in NZ First Foundation funding case – all you need to know
Henry Cooke and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Winston Peters lashes Serious Fraud Office as bid to keep charges secret fails
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Winston Peters tried to suppress NZ First Foundation charges until after election
Derek Cheng (Herald): Transparency over inconvenience: NZ First’s failed attempt to gag the SFO
Herald: NZ First wanted SFO charges in New Zealand First Foundation case kept secret until after election
Newstalk ZB: NZ First tried to gag SFO until after the election
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): NZ First sought gag on SFO till post-election (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): NZ First’s desperate flurry for court secrecy
Newstalk ZB: Winston Peters calls SFO probe an ‘intervention in election’, draws links to Hillary Clinton
RNZ: Winston Peters holds ‘important’ media conference as SFO releases NZ First Foundation investigation statement
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Winston Peters attacks Serious Fraud Office over timing of New Zealand First Foundation investigation outcome
1News: Full video: Winston Peters addresses media as SFO releases statement around NZ First Foundation investigation
Derek Cheng (Herald): Findings of Serious Fraud Office probe into NZ First Foundation released
Thomas Manch and Henry Cooke (Herald): Serious Fraud Office charges two people over NZ First Foundation
Tova O’Brien and Zane Small (Newshub): Serious Fraud Office lays charges against two over New Zealand First Foundation donations
RNZ: Two people charged with ‘obtaining by deception’ in NZ First foundation investigation
Anna Whyte (1News): Two people charged following SFO investigation into NZ First Foundation electoral funding
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Two people charged in relation to NZ First Foundation donations
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Two charged over NZ First Foundation donations

Election
Laura Walters (Newsroom): The missing million Kiwi voters
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): BusinessDesk Poll Tracker: Take a broader view of the polls (paywalled)
Max Harris (Guardian): New Zealand must match its ‘in this together’ Covid rhetoric with action on basic services
Claire Trevett (Herald): NZ Herald-Kantar Vote 2020 poll: Is National or Labour most trusted on economy and Covid 19? (paywalled)
Richard Prebble (Herald): Under MMP the losers can win (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: ‘Disgraceful and disgusting’ – Winston Peters blasts polling companies after poor result
Aaryn Niuapu (Stuff): NZ politics need to become more engaged with Māori and Pasifika communities
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Reality of families’ plight eludes Judith Collins (paywalled)
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Advance NZ files urgent interlocutory injunction application against MediaWorks
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Advance NZ files injunction against Mediaworks after being left out of debate
RNZ: Advance NZ party takes exclusion from debate to court
Sam Hurley (Herald): Advance NZ files injunction against MediaWorks over exclusion from minor parties’ debate
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The Hui: Te Tai Tokerau contenders Kelvin Davis, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, Billy Te Kahika Jr go head-to-head in The Hui debate
The Hui: Where Te Tai Tokerau candidates Kelvin Davis, Billy Te Kahika Jr, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi stand on legalisation
The Hui: Billy Te Kahika Jr, Kelvin Davis, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi to face off in The Hui debate for Te Tai Tokerau
1News: Young voter felt ‘left out of the conversation’ during debate
Zoe Madden-Smith: I watched the Young Voters’ Debate and was actually entertained
Anneke Smith (RNZ): And then there were three: The race is on for Auckland Central
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Judith Collins charms in unusual home turf electorate debate
RNZ: David Seymour stamps his authority in Epsom electorate debate
Abbey Palmer (ODT): From Tiwai to taxes, Invercargill candidates cover gamut of issues
Rebecca Ryan (ODT): Hospital, referendums questions loom large in Waitaki candidate debate
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): Climate change under the spotlight in candidate debate
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Labour’s Mana candidate Barbara Edmonds facing ‘outright’ racism
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): The week in memes: Bad quotes from both leaders
AAP: Overseas Kiwis get to place their vote for October election from tomorrow

National
Herald: Judith Collins sends warning to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ahead of leaders’ debate
Newstalk ZB: Judith Collins ‘disgusted’ after Jacinda Ardern’s dig over her past with the SFO
George Driver (AAP Fact Check): National overstates benefit of NZ tax cut plan
Jane Matthews (Stuff): National MP admits his claim about offshore oil and gas ban increasing power prices was ‘wrong’
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins ‘not ruling out’ David Seymour as Deputy PM, laughs off James Shaw suggesting he could be Jacinda Ardern’s
1News: Judith Collins says Kiwis don’t want Government ‘dictated by people who think that tax is love’
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Judith Collins says Kiwis don’t want a Government dictator ‘who think tax is love’
Derek Cheng (Herald): Judith Collins clarifies the ‘strategic’ vote to avoid Greens in Govt
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National wants to double funding for Serious Fraud Office, give it a new name
RNZ: National would rename Serious Fraud Office, double funding

Labour
Zane Small (Newshub): How Labour’s billion-dollar health policy compares to National’s
RNZ: Labour health policy: Mental health for school children, mobile dental clinics
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Millions more for Pharmac and dental care in Labour’s $1 billion health plan
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Labour wants mental health rollout across schools
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Women shouldn’t have to exist in a life of pain’ – More research needed for endometriosis, Ardern say
Arvind Kumar (Stuff): I wanted to make a difference in the world, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Herald: Labour Party pulls ‘misleading’ advertising in Northcote following ASA complaint
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Phil Twyford speaks small business in Whakatāne
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): Labour didn’t deliver on all its employment promises, will it miss the chance?
David Farrar: Labour’s Failures Part 5 – climate change
David Farrar: Labour’s Failures Part 4 – homelessness

Greens
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Deputy Prime Minister James Shaw ‘not out of the realm of possibility’, says James Shaw
RNZ: James Shaw on Green Party polling results
Marc Daalder (Newsroom) Greens pledge future ban on new petrol cars
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Green Party transport policy: Free transport for everyone under 18 and over 65
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Greens pitch walking and cycling tunnel in Wellington
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Greens promise free public transport, ban on petrol vehicle imports, ‘cycle super highway’ fund
RNZ: Greens plan to connect provinces, major cities via rapid passenger rail
Jamie Ensor (Newshub):Inter-city rail, reducing reliance on cars at centre of Greens’ ‘climate-focused transport package’
Anna Whyte (1News): Greens promise $13.6 billion for rail, cycleways, free public transport for some

ACT
Henry Cooke (Stuff): ACT sheds two controversial policies as David Seymour’s star rises
Ben Thomas (Spinoff): Act up: The simple strategy behind the party’s surprise resurgence
RNZ: ACT announces infrastructure policy

Māori Party
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Māori Party announces Treaty settlement programme including new parliament
RNZ: Māori Party promises to establish Māori Parliament
Māori TV: Māori Party launches radical 25-year plan
Waatea News: Treaty claim reset in Maori Party plan

Cannabis referendum
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Chlöe Swarbrick blasts Jacinda Ardern, National, Labour for ‘risk-averse’, ‘partisan’ attitude to cannabis referendum
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins thinks Jacinda Ardern ‘owes a duty to New Zealanders’ to reveal her cannabis stance
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Kiwis could have had legal weed 15 years ago, but politicians disagree on whose fault it is we don’t
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): A civilised argument on cannabis
Chris Fowlie (Daily Blog): Cannabis referendum: fear and lies outgun the truth
Ben Strang (RNZ): Debate over proposed cannabis limit – is it too much?
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Helen Clark has become a face of the ‘vote yes’ to legalising cannabis campaign – and it’s odd
RNZ: ‘Time we legalise something commonly used’ – Dame Diane Robertson
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We’re waking up to the dangers of cannabis
Jenny Nicholls (Stuff): We all have a dope story, even my National-voting dairy farmer dad

Housing
Eva Corlett (RNZ): Labour promised big on housing – has it delivered?
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): ‘Vanilla’ housing policies unlikely to ease Auckland rental crowding – economist
Morten Gjerde (The Conversation): Wellington’s older houses don’t deserve blanket protection — but 6-storey buildings aren’t always the answer
Cushla Norman (1News): Wellington housing plan aims to remove protection for many older homes as it eyes housing for 80,000 more people
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Economist explains why the pandemic hasn’t hit house prices
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): RBNZ’s new scheme more fuel for house prices

Tiwai
Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Why Ardern thinks keeping Tiwai open pays off
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Tiwai ramp-down plan long overdue (paywalled)
Chris Marshall (Stuff): Taupo geothermal project back on following Labour’s backflip on Tiwai

Transport
Bernard Orsman (Herald): What’s the plan to get transport moving? Policies compared (paywalled)
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): The campaigner fighting for comfortable, low-carbon transport
Joel MacManus (Dominion Post): Faster, slower, or not at all: Parties split on doubling Mount Victoria tunnel
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ’s road to ruin, and recovery: ‘Devastating impact’ of Covid-19 outlined to shareholders
RNZ: Air New Zealand taps into government loan
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand: What’s the future in the ‘new world order’ (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Air New Zealand’s ‘worst trading conditions in history’ (paywalled)

Economy, employment
David Hargreaves (Interest): The time may now be approaching when we need to consider a direct one-off handout of cash to the public
Rob Stock (Stuff): Rich getting richer: Higher earners cutting spending, paying down debt, data shows
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): New figures show young job seekers hit hardest by Covid-19
RNZ: Auckland job numbers ‘really encouraging’ – economist
Rowan Light (Stuff): Spare a thought for the ‘lockdown generation’

Wage subisdy
John Anthony (Stuff): Porirua City Council’s $2.6m wage subsidy probed by Ministry of Social Development
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Napier Port repays all the $2 million wage subsidy it received

Business
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Government provides $40m to subsidise mediation and arbitration in Covid commercial rent disputes
Victoria Young and Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Covid collapse: waiting for the liquidation wave (paywalled)
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Business leaders ponder Labour 2.0: ‘There is room for much better communication’

Environment
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): ACT, NZ First policies ignore, worsen climate change – health advocates
Michael Hayward (Stuff): What does climate change mean for our national parks?
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): ‘Waiting for the road to disappear’: Tourist haven Marlborough Sounds braces for climate change
Laura James (1News): Australasian company urges NZ against shipping plastic waste offshore

NZ’s Coronavirus response
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Princeton University study dissects New Zealand’s pandemic response
1News: Helen Clark outlines priorities she believes next government should focus on
sther Taunton and Emma Dangerfield (Stuff): Government tells businesses: Put QR codes back up
John Gibb (ODT): Test wastewater for Covid-19 to find carriers, prof advises
RNZ: Man escaping managed isolation not ‘failure of security’ – Megan Woods
Jamie Ensor and Perry Wilton (Newshub): ‘Extraordinary’ someone could escape from isolation facility using makeshift rope – Gerry Brownlee
Reuters (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern: All Blacks will not be granted quarantine leave pass
Ella Prendergast and Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Queenstown Mayor says one-way trans-Tasman bubble would be ‘disaster’
Nikki Preston (Herald): German crew who entered NZ unlawfully still waiting for flight home

Abuse in care inquiry
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Abuse in care: Sister speaks for man who spent 44 years at Kimberely Centre
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Abuse in care: Child wrongfully diagnosed as mentally disabled was sexually and physically abused

Justice
Stuff Editorial: Should the punishment fit the offence or the offender?
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Half of people charged with non-fatal strangulation, suffocation escape conviction

Rimutaka Prison
1News: ‘Insufficient progress’ on facial tattooing, gang activity and violence at Rimutaka Prison since 2017, spot inspection finds
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Rimutaka prison report reveals rise in gang activity and intimidation
RNZ: Report paints grim picture of violence at Rimutaka Prison

Health
ODT Editorial: Reducing alcohol harm
Lois Williams (RNZ): West Coast DHB chair ‘not opposed’ to reforms
Mike Mather (Stuff): Gone in a puff: Hamilton City Council prohibits vaping in public areas
Jo Stafford (Herald): Our wee problem of inequality

Education
Grant Miller (ODT): Back down on medical selections
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Education Minister announces new mega polytechnic permanent name Te Pūkenga
Ted Dawe (Spinoff): Old stories exhumed: Ted Dawe on schools and bullies, and truth

Other
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Do backbenchers have too little power, or too much?
Janet McAllister (CPAG): Why Child Poverty Statistics Can Be Tricky
Newstalk ZB: Robertson: Labour hopes to finalise Ihumātao deal ‘acceptable to everyone
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Creative NZ ‘shocked and disappointed’ after funding decision criticism
RNZ: Regional Pasifika churches receive $10m from PGF
Waatea News: Tribal raruraru sets back settlement hopes
Logan Church (Herald): Thousands apply to $300m fund to fix Christchurch homes with botched quake repairs
RNZ: The Detail: Fruit picker shortage reaches new levels
Riley Kennedy (RNZ): Work begins on ACC’s new home in Waikato
Zoë George (Stuff): Gymnastics abuse claims: Bullying, intimidation, biased judging and score tampering 
Herald: ‘It takes a village’: Jacinda Ardern reveals Clarke’s been packing Neve’s lunchboxes during her campaign
Herald: Jacinda Ardern tipped to win Nobel Peace Prize despite competition from Thunberg, Trump