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
NZ First
Damien Grant (Stuff): Winston Peters’ political story is coming to an end
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): The boxer and the towel: a short history of Winston Peters, politician
Tim Watkin (Pundit): Winston Peters: The King Is Dying, Long Live The King
John Armstrong (1News): Winston Peters and NZ First are goners come election night
Zane Small (Newshub): Winston Peters thinks some MPs have become ‘clone members who are indistinguishable’
Jason Walls (Herald): NZ First leader Winston Peters tones down attacks on Labour in U-turn
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Any fool can see one’s a party, one’s a foundation
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Fletcher Tabuteau: On ‘doing your part’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): NZ First quietly releases policy manifesto, promises tight immigration and ‘degrees of murder’ regime
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): New Zealand First pledges to create rural visa scheme
Election
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): How Judith Collins and National win the 2020 election
Eugene Bingham and Adam Dudding (Stuff): Tick. Tick podcast: How National could snatch an unlikely election victory
Andrea Vance (Stuff): The seats in play: where the election will be won and lost
Grant Duncan (Stuff): A double crisis and an election like no other
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Labour cauterises CDHB, clears decks for final push for majority
Jack Vowles and Jennifer Curtin (The Conversation): With the election looming and New Zealand First struggling in the polls, where have those populist votes gone?
Laura Walters (Newsroom): A new-look Parliament
Steven Cowan: Why not voting matters
RNZ: Candidates address Māori inequality in housing, health and jobs
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Barely a whisper on Maori policies
1News: Majority of New Zealanders don’t want voting age lowered, poll finds
David Farrar: 85% reject a voting age of 16
Guy Trafford (Interest): On strategic options for rural voters and clarity around ‘wasted’ vote
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Meet the New Zealanders finally allowed to vote
Josephine Franks (Stuff): The winners and losers when it comes to billboards
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Sustainable NZ campaign advert uses actor to play business owner
1News: Voting stickers canned for NZ election 2020 due to Covid-19 risk
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Polls point to Labour, Greens alliance
Brent Edwards (NBR): Fact or Fiction: Trumpian debates, polls and the Serious Fraud Office (paywalled)
RNZ: Party People: Episode 4: Debates, Polls, Te Tūru o te Wiki – Te Tai Tonga
Elle Hunt (Guardian): NZ election weekly briefing: Collins channels Crusher, Ardern smoked out, Peters panned
Alice Neville (Spinoff): Pies, kombucha, burgers and Red Bull: The party leaders reveal their campaign diets
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Some policies for the perfect party
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Māori TV: Māori Party’s Waititi hard on the heels of Labour’s Coffey
Māori TV: Undecided vote leaves Waiariki seat up for grab
RNZ: Labour ahead in Waiariki electorate according to latest poll
Māori TV: Waiariki debate: ‘More facts, less fluff
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1News: Auckland Central electorate race narrowing, Q+A Colmar Brunton poll reveals
1News: Battle for Auckland Central: Labour candidate would ‘love’ for Greens’ Swabrick to stand down
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Electorate profile: Auckland Central a three-way race
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Sir John Key throws support behind National’s Emma Mellow for Auckland Central
Todd Niall (Stuff): Who has the winning deal for Auckland?
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Richard Pamatatau (RNZ): Sth Auckland candidates tread tricky cultural ground
RNZ: Covid-19 fallout among hot topics for Pacific candidates
Samantha Motion (Herald): Why the East Coast is secretly NZ’s most interesting election race (paywalled)
Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times): Why Hamilton West’s vote is so important
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): The battle for hearts and minds and the two-horse race of the New Plymouth electorate
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): Andrew Little steps in to stop abuse of gay Labour candidate
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Hutt South on a knife-edge
Matthew Tso (Dominion Post): Eyes on Hutt South as party rivals gear up for second contest
Cherie Sivignon (Nelson Mail): The battle for Brightwater
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Plugging In… to Banks Peninsula, where old suburbs meet new candidates
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Plugging in….to Selwyn: will National hang on to its heartland
Daisy Hudson (ODT): David v Goliath in true-blue territory
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): The fight for Taieri, one of NZ’s newest electorates
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Southern electorate seats hotly contested
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Tirikatene well positioned to retain seat for Labour
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Boundary changes could undo stronghold
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Pair will be hoping voters are forgiving
Advance voting begins
RNZ: Party leaders among advance voters on first weekend of polling
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Advance voting opens, Jacinda Ardern wishes Donald Trump a ‘speedy recovery’
Jason Walls (Herald): Labour leader Jacinda Ardern casts early vote – calls on supporters to do the same
Jason Walls (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern one of first to vote as early voting begins
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, James Shaw out voting early as ballot boxes open
Michael Neilson (Herald): Judith Collins places early vote in Tāmaki electorate
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Top pollies make use of advance voting on opening weekend
ODT Editorial: Voting gets under way
RNZ: Hundreds of sites open for advance voting
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Early birds hit the polling stations for the start of voting
1News: Voting underway in NZ election 2020 as politicians among first to cast ballots
Labour
Tim Watkin (RNZ): Ardern’s popularity defies her track record
Audrey Young (Herald): Who would Jacinda Ardern choose for next Cabinet? (paywalled)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Labour Party releases new TV ad focusing on COVID-19 recovery
Deena Coster (Stuff): Prime Minister’s support of $11.7m for Taranaki Green School at odds with Treasury advice
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern explains why voters should trust Labour on housing despite KiwiBuild failures
Zane Small (Newshub): Labour to continue KiwiBuild despite first-term failures, remove barriers to building
Nicholas Jones and Jason Walls (Herald): Labour’s Jacinda Ardern announces housing policy, vows RMA will be dumped
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Labour takes aim at planning rules with promise to axe and replace RMA
RNZ: Labour housing, environment policies propose housing energy certification, replacing RMA
Hannah Kronast and Emma Turton (Newshub): Food industry insists Kiwis grocery prices are fair as Labour promises review
Jason Walls (Herald): Labour’s plan to end rheumatic fever – New Zealand’s ‘national shame’
RNZ: Labour targets rheumatic fever with new Healthy Homes pledge
Māori TV: Māori health not set for substantial Tiriti-based change under current Labour policies, says nurses organisation
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
National
Simon Wilson (Herald): Cut to the chase – On the road with Judith Collins (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Revival of assertive Judith Collins means better contest (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): ‘Crusher’ Judith Collins returns to good effect (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Judith Collins accused of ‘politicising’ her faith to win over Christian voters (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Judith Collins keeps the faith with two weeks to go, as she votes and prays
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Judith Collins prays before casting advance vote
1News: Judith Collins prays before casting vote, doesn’t rule out working with New Conservatives
Cherie Howie (Herald): National promises $2.8 billion for more classrooms and schools
RNZ: National’s promises for $1.6b racing industry include tax review
Amelia Wade (Herald): No money for racing industry in National’s policy package for the sector
1News: No funding boost for racing industry under National’s new policy
Māori Party
Claire Robinson (Guardian): The Māori party’s vision of self-determination is not to be ignored
1News: Māori Party promises $19m cash injection for kapa haka competition Te Matatini
AAP: John Tamihere says his daughter can’t commit to voting for Māori Party
ACT
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Davidmania? The Spinoff meets Act’s high-flying leader
Lana Andelane (Newshub): David Seymour says ‘no’ to possibility of being Deputy Prime Minister
Greens
Michael Neilson (Herald): Greens pledge $50 million for kauri dieback out of Jobs for Nature package
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Greens promise $50m for kauri after plan went MIA
RNZ: Greens push for $50m from Jobs for Nature fund to protect kauri forests
Stuff: Green Party promises $50 million for kauri tree protection
RNZ: Greens’ James Shaw goes diving in Wellington
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Green Party co-leader took a plunge for a policy
Advance NZ
Richard Harman (Politik): Exuberant reception for Ross and Te Kahika in Tauranga
1News: Labour Party shoots down any chance of working with Advance NZ after election
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Advance NZ under fire for altering political cartoonist’s work without permission
Debates
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Winston Peters looked like a man transformed at the Newshub debate
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Newshub Nation Powerbrokers debate – the best one-liners, rants and retorts
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘I watched the paso doble’: The worst things MPs will admit doing this parliamentary term
Newshub: Newshub Nation Powerbrokers debate – full video
Henry Cooke (Stuff): A history of the Stuff/Press debate
Stuff Editorial: Power and personality tested in debates
Mark Boyd (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins… vs Gower and Campbell?
Marilyn Waring & Ali Rasheed(Herald): Leaders debate 2 – Judith Collins’ 18% more time on camera
Gordon Campbell: On debates as game-shows, and why mixing politics and religion is a bad idea
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Do election debates actually change people’s votes?
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Policy on the hoof reflected in hooves
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Leaders’ debates are putting ‘a blowtorch’ on Jacinda Ardern – Judith Collins
Amy Wright (Stuff): ‘Parallel universe’: New Zealand’s ‘kinder, gentler’ leaders debate wins over world media
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): How the world compared Jacinda Ardern, Judith Collins debate with Donald Trump, Joe Biden event
Herald: US v NZ – World reacts to different political leaders’ debates, hours apart
Cannabis and euthanasia referendums
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Why the Greens didn’t just try to decriminalise weed, and what’ll happen if they fail to legalise it
Rebbecca Lilley, Bronwen McNoe and Gabrielle Davie (Newsroom): Cannabis already causing harm under status quo
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Cannabis referendum: Addiction workers divided
Derek Cheng (Herald): Cannabis referendum: Public Health Association backs ‘yes’ vote
Rachel Thomas (RNZ): Medical Association failed to its consult members – doctor
Ben Strang (RNZ): Doctors speak out against Medical Association’s stance on cannabis referendum
Eric Crampton (Stuff):Cannabis referendum: Proposals likely far more restrictive than you think
Chris Fowlie (Daily Blog): Voter enrolment and turnout will decide the cannabis referendum
Paige Faigaa (PMN): Legalising cannabis likely to remove Pasifika from ‘harmful cycle of criminal prosecution’
Michele A’Court (RNZ): Legalising the ‘devil’s Lettuce’
Addison Herron-Wheeler (High Times): New Zealand Concerned with Chances of Legalizing Cannabis In 2020
Damien Cave (New York Times): Jacinda Ardern Admits Past Cannabis Use. New Zealanders Shrug: ‘Us, Too.’
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Herald: Euthanasia referendum: All you need to know before the vote on October 17
Economy
1News: Q+A debate: Grant Robertson and Paul Goldsmith battle on post-Covid-19 economy
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Disaster-response plans come from left and right field
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Robertson: House price growth not key to Labour’s ‘long-term’ economic recovery plan
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern slams Paul Goldsmith’s ‘ridiculous and desperate’ claim of $10bn gap in Labour’s financial plan
RNZ: Labour’s Grant Robertson on party’s economic plan
Liam Dann (Herald): Don’t vote for me – the policies that make me unelectable (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Economists pick the tough policies that NZ really needs (paywalled)
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National claims $10b hole in Labour’s economic plan
Business, wage subsidy
Newstalk ZB: Can Government make businesses pay back wage subsidy?
RNZ: Napier Port repays more than $2m in Covid-19 wage subsidy
John Anthony (Stuff): Business leaders weigh in on Government’s coronavirus response
RNZ: Māori business identifier to be built into Companies Office register
Immigration
RNZ: The Detail: Immigration – the political cold potato
Dita De Boni (NBR): Time is ripe for an immigration reset, say experts (paywalled)
Arama Rata (E-Tangata): 5 reasons the Māori Party’s anti-immigration stance is kaka
Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Spinoff): My beloved Māori Party has let me down with its immigration policy
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): TOP promises major immigration overhaul, removal of international student’s right to work
Dental care
Zac Fleming (Newshub): Kiwis could start dying if dental care isn’t Government-funded – doctors
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘It’s seriously needed’ – NZ First pledge expansion of free dental care
Health
Mike Houlahan (ODT): All eyes are on some things beginning with ‘C’
Oliver Lewis and Laura Walters (Newsroom): Mental health system far from transformed
Andrew Dickson (Stuff): The Accident Compensation Corporation: A neoliberal fairy tale
Dominic Harris and Jonny Edwards (Stuff): Canterbury DHB’s $180m bailout: Only CEO can approve new staff
Rachel Graham (RNZ): Cash injection will not fix Canterbury DHB issues – ex-board member
RNZ: Canterbury District Health Board gets $180 million cash injection from government
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Leading surgeon Phil Bagshaw calls for ministry intervention at Southern District Health Board
Molly Houseman (ODT): Surgeon calls out SDHB
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Nelson Hospital redevelopment process in train, says Ardern
Lois Williams (RNZ): New breed of doctor may solve West Coast’s GP shortage
Alexa Cook (Newshub): ADHD advocates shocked at lack of psychological support from government
Employment, welfare
RNZ: Debate: MPs discuss plans for NZ’s social welfare
Samantha Worthington (1News): Impacts of poverty and unemployment exacerbated by Covid-19, calls for ‘urgent’ change
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Campaign to increase sick leave both timely and overdue
Alison Brook (Interest): Underemployment and the rise in low-quality jobs
David Williams (Newsroom): ‘Cynical’ delay on Jobs for Nature figures
Environment
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Native habitat ‘under attack’ nationwide as offenders face little consequence, data shows
RNZ: Public agencies failing to protect natural environment – Forest and Bird
Herald: NZ conservation efforts succeed on land, fail in oceans – report
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Leaders need to lead on climate action
Tom O’Connor (Waikato Times): Putting our head in the sand on climate change leaves us very exposed
Jamie Morton (Herald): Climate change: Study reveals where in NZ summer is growing longer
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): If Tiwai exits, green and cheap power will reach Kiwi homes from 2022
Peter Griffin (Stuff): Climate change: Making green hydrogen more than hype
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Is Auckland’s grip on its destiny being loosened by the Government?
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland, The City of Fails: Broken bridge, rail tracks and water supply (paywalled)
Stephen Forbes (RNZ): Auckland’s insatiable urban sprawl
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Otago mayors pledged to donate some of their salaries. Have they?
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): New figures reveal changes to population growth projections underpinning proposed housing developments
RNZ: Tasman council rejects $20m loan offer from PGF
Felix Desmarais (RNZ): Nearly a million spent on asbestos-related issues on Rotorua’s major projects
Mike Mather (Stuff): Council diversity debate pits Hamilton’s deputy mayor against top Waikato University academic
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Spike in severance payments at the Invercargill City Council
Housing
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Labour and National MPs clash over who is to blame for housing crisis
Justin Latif (Spinoff): The housing policies in two minutes
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Covid-19 no reprieve for first home buyers
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): The reasons house prices won’t fall
Education
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Philosophical differences laid bare
Kelly Dennett and Sharnae Hope (Stuff): An examination of a boycott: when does retribution go too far?
John Gerritsen (RNZ): More schools sign up to donation-replacement scheme next year
Simon Collins (Herald): Auckland, Waikato and Victoria Universities plan voluntary redundancies due to border closure
ODT: No plans to cut Otago jobs despite hit
RNZ: Saturday Morning: Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i: Speaking up for South Auckland students
Primary and extractive industries
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Is pay the problem? How much in-demand orchard workers really earn
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Fish: the forgotten animal welfare disaster?
Joanne Carroll (Stuff): Battle lines drawn over mining in West Coast-Tasman electorate
Justice, legal profession
Mike White (Stuff): Diversity badly lacking among New Zealand’s judges
Christine McCarthy (Stuff): The ageing timebomb in our prison population
Khylee Quince (Stuff): There are real risks in waiving the right to silence
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): The double standard in the legal profession (paywalled)
Coronavirus
Derek Cheng (Herald): All but eliminated – but Jacinda Ardern can’t move Auckland to level 1 tomorrow
1News: Auckland is in a position to ‘move down a level’, epidemiologist says
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Preferred policy will have to be what is achievable
Kristin Hall (1News): Govt makes ‘significant’ changes to rules for international air crew in NZ, but expert says they could go further
Jamie Morton (Herald): Three ways NZ could test harder and smarter
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Simon Bridges says David Parker’s hope in a COVID-19 vaccine makes him sound like ‘The Donald’
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Mental health and addiction services overwhelmed with demand amid COVID-19 lockdowns
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Lack of data about arrivals surprising amid crisis
1News: National slams ‘Labour’s failures at the border’ after 10 people with Covid-19 entered NZ on same flight
1News: Limit your exposure before you come home, Ministry of Health asks returning Kiwis
1News: Public health expert accurately predicted second wave of Covid-19, document shows
Denise Piper (Stuff): Fundraising to ensure Northland checkpoints can run again if needed
Tourism
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Parties agreed on need to aid sector’s recovery
George Driver (AAP FactCheck): Judith Collins’ claim about international tourism, students ‘false’, AAP FactCheck says
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Tourism’s ‘summer of uncertainty’
Brad Olsen (Stuff): One-way tourism won’t help New Zealand businesses
RNZ: National tourism policy proposes freedom camping framework
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): West Coast tourism operator worse off after getting Covid small business loan
Trans-Tasman travel bubble
RNZ: Trans-Tasman bubble: ‘best news’ or ‘a big blow’?
Matilda Boseley, AAP (Guardian): New Zealand refuses quarantine-free trips from Australia as ACT joins travel bubble
1News: New Zealand ‘not ready’ for quarantine-free travel to Australia, Ardern says
Anna Whyte (1News): Australia announces one-way travel bubble to some states for Kiwis heading across the Tasman
1News: ‘The fish are biting, the beers are cold’ – Aussie states ready to welcome Kiwis with open arms
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): One-way travel bubble confirmed between Australia and New Zealand
RNZ: Australia announces trans-Tasman bubble flights
John Anthony (Stuff): Qantas and Jetstar quickly start selling flights from New Zealand following trans-Tasman bubble news
Steven Joyce (Herald): Bigger bubble begins with Australia (paywalled)
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Cook Islands’ travel bubble talks resumed, making ‘good progress’ – Jacinda Ardern
Media
RNZ: Sunday Morning: Anna Fifield: Leading the DomPost
Mike O’Donnell (Stuff): Time for other politicians to catch up to Ardern’s world-leading social media presence
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): National ‘less sophisticated’ in Facebook marketing
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): The internet has robbed us of the magic of television (paywalled)
US President Covid diagnosis
Joel MacManus and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern wishes Donald Trump a ‘speedy recovery’ from Covid as world watches
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Donald Trump COVID-19: Jacinda Ardern hopes US President has ‘speedy recovery’
Jason Walls (Herald): Jacinda Ardern sends Trump New Zealand’s best wishes
1News: Jacinda Ardern passes on wishes for ‘speedy recovery’ to Trump after Covid-19 diagnosis
RNZ: New Zealand PM sends ‘get well soon’ message to Trump
Other
Michael Neilson (Herald): Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry: Payouts far less than other countries
Samantha Olley (Herald): Whakaari/White Island eruption: DoC rules would have saved lives
Rob Stock (Stuff): The competition divide: Why are Aussie insurers’ profits so high in NZ?
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Miners using ‘antiquated’ equipment for Pike River mission – Bernie Monk
1News: Weta Digital appoints Miriam Dean QC, to independently review company’s alleged misconduct
Rob Stock (Stuff): The Covid shock has taught us that happiness is an emergency fund
1News: Air NZ helping Samoan govt with repatriation flights in Australia
1News: Former Gloriavale residents describe exhausting work conditions
Chris Eichbaum (Newsroom): Will ‘new’ public service meet Covid challenges?
Simon Noble (ODT): Unity, forward-thinking government essential
Paul McBeth (Interest): How clean is our money? (paywalled)
Jane Matthews (Taranaki Daily News): Taranaki projects to get more than $1m from PGF
Sam Hurley (Herald): Corrupt cops claim: Did crooked Auckland officer Vili Taukolo act alone? (paywalled)
Paul Gorman (ODT): Has Dunedin learned quake lessons?
ODT: South Dunedin deserves heritage building help: Curran
Dan Lake (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern puppet plays Mary Poppins in BBC comedy Spitting Image
