Yanto Awerkion, a young activist who was promoting a petition calling for the UN Decolonisation Committee to become involved in West Papua, was jailed for more that 9 months for “treason”. He will be released shortly due to international pressure. Image: Free West Papua
Open letter to PM Ardern: Raise Papua human rights crimes with Jokowi
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
An advocacy group, West Papua Action Auckland, has urged Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to raise human rights and the “suffering of the people” of Indonesian-ruled West Papua when she meets with President Widodo on Monday.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the leader of the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with two-way trade worth NZ$1.76 billion last year, will arrive in New Zealand tomorrow for a two-day visit.
The West Papua action group says in a statement released by spokeswoman Maire Leadbeater:
Our Melanesian neighbours in West Papua are suffering grievously and must not be overlooked for the sake of “good relations” or markets for our goods.
For 55 years West Papuan people have been seeking freedom from repressive military rule, imposed on them in a scandalously unfair process. The loss of life is estimated to be at least 100,000.
Even though the struggle is now mainly about peaceful protest, petitions and diplomacy – there is no let up in security force crack-downs.
In the last three years the police have adopted a strategy of arresting demonstrators en masse, and thanks to a police chief edict, organisations deemed “separatist” are denied the opportunity to hold any kind of gathering.
Blatant breach
This is a blatant breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Indonesia is a signatory.
Yanto Awerkion, a young activist who was promoting an petition calling for the UN decolonisation committee to become involved, has now spent over 9 months in jail on a treason charge. He will be released shortly – thanks to international pressure.
Last year the International Coalition for Papua documented 10 cases of extrajudicial killings, when the victims were either shot dead during security force operations or tortured to death in custody.
West Papuans say that they are experiencing “slow genocide” and this refers to the impact on their lives of marginalisation and environmental exploitation as well as to shockingly low standards of health and education.
In the remote Asmat area in the last few months there has been a devastating outbreak of measles which, coupled with malnutrition, took the lives of dozens of children.
There are a growing number of Pacific nations who are taking a stand in support for West Papuan self-determination.
So far New Zealand has not supported their initiatives in regional forums and at the United Nations.
So this meeting with President Widodo will be a timely opportunity for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her ministers to demonstrate that New Zealand does support fundamental rights and freedoms, and that principle and compassion have not been forgotten.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>WPFD, Indonesia and media ‘open door’ to West Papua
Event date and time:
Thu, 03/05/2018 – 4:03pm – 6:00pm
PACIFIC MEDIA CENTRE SEMINAR 3/2018:
WPFD, INDONESIA AND MEDIA ‘OPEN DOOR’ TO WEST PAPUA
As the world marks World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Pacific Media Centre’s director, Professor David Robie, talks about the challenges of “press freedoms” in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia. David was one of only two New Zealanders among the 1500 global journalists, media policy makers and communication researchers present at the last WPFD conference in Jakarta last May. He was also a keynote speaker at the “Press Freedom in West Papua” seminar in Jakarta organised by the Papuan chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in spite of attempts by local authorities to gag the issue at the conference. David also visited a progressive new research library founded by celebrated Australian author, researcher, activist and Indonesian affairs expert Max Lane in the cultural and educational city of Yogyakarta on this trip. he also spoke to Papuan university students at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) while he was in Yogya.
He will share his experiences and reflect on media freedom issues in Indonesia amid a disturbing and growing intolerance towards the secular traditions of the republic and the implications for West Papua.
David’s trip to WPFD was funded by the School of Communication Studies and he has had research papers published in Media Asia and other publications about the issues. David is editor of Pacific Journalism Review and Asia Pacific Report and convenor of Pacific Media Watch freedom project at AUT.
World Press Freedom Day 2018 in Ghana – ‘Keeping Power in Check’ An Indonesian oasis of progressive creativity emerges in culture city
Who: Professor David Robie, director of the Pacific Media Centre
When: May 3, 2018
4.30pm-6pm
Where: Sir Paul Reeves Building
Auckland University of Technology
City Campus
Room WG907
Contact: Professor Robie
Event on Facebook
PACIFIC MEDIA CENTRE SEMINAR 3/2018:
WPFD, INDONESIA AND ‘OPEN DOOR’ TO WEST PAPUA
As the world marks World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Pacific Media Centre’s director, Professor David Robie, talks about the challenges of “press freedoms” in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia. David was one of only two New Zealanders among the 1500 global journalists, media policy makers and communication researchers present at the last WPFD conference in Jakarta last May
Report by Pacific Media Centre ]]>
Micronesian militarism – considering climate change
Event date and time:
Wed, 30/05/2018 – 4:30pm – 6:00pm
PACIFIC MEDIA CENTRE SEMINAR 4/2018:
MICRONESIAN MILITARISM – CONSIDERING CLIMATE CHANGE
Pacific Media Centre’s postdoctoral research fellow, Dr Sylvia C Frain, explores the connections between climate change and United States (US) militarism in Micronesia and how both impact the daily life of Micronesians living in Hawai‘i. She is most interested in the everyday experience of Micronesians in relation to climate change and US militarisation from local perspectives. So often media narratives are dominated by outside interests and the US military, which overshadows discussion on climate change. Dr Frain seeks to highlight Micronesian narratives and the role that new media plays in sharing these experiences.
Dr Frain is traveling to the North Pacific in April/May and will report back after attending the 7th International Environmental Futures Conference, held at the East-West Center, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, as well as speaking with students and faculty at the University of Hawai‘i, participants with the Jobs Corps programme on Māui, and those living in the Marianas Archipelago on the islands of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian.
Dr Frain will also facilitate a new media workshop open to all community members in the Marianas Archipelago who are interested in using new media platforms to disseminate research. She will assist the participants in converting their research into a format that is shareable across new media platforms (including, but not limited to: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Change.org). Who: Dr Sylvia C Frain, research fellow at the Pacific Media Centre
When: May 30, 2018
4.30pm-6pm
Where: Sir Paul Reeves Building
Auckland University of Technology
City Campus
Room WG903A
Contact: Dr Frain
Report by Pacific Media Centre ]]>
Data collection on children in Pacific ‘poor’, says UNICEF
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk
Poor data collection in several Pacific Island countries is obstructing UNICEF’s first assessment to measure progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for children according to a report.
UNICEF’s report Progress for Children in the SDG Era warns that most Pacific countries may fail to meet some of the child-related SDGs which means children are at risk of being left behind in terms of improving health, sanitation, education, protection from violence, abuse and exploitation.
The report says there was a lack of data on child-related SDG targets such as the proportion of children living below the national poverty line, or having access to early childhood development initiatives, children attending lower secondary school, and the nutritional status of children.
UNICEF Pacific Representative Sheldon Yett said that data did not change the world themselves but make change possible “by identifying needs and gauging progress”.
“Without investments in the collection and analysis of reliable data on behalf of the Pacific’s children, governments will not have the foundation to base decisions and actions to improve children’s lives.”
Widespread improvement needed
Pacific Island countries scored well below the average omposite score for data capacity of 74 out of a possible 100 in the region and Asia. The scores ranged from 32 for Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) to 70 for Fiji.
However, there are areas that several Pacific countries are on track to meet targets such as:
- basic sanitation services where 9 countries are on track except FSM, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Solomon Islands;
- basic water services where 11 countries are on track except RMI, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati; and
- neonatal mortality where 8 countries are on track except for Kiribati, Nauru, FSM, Tuvalu and RMI.
Some of the key issues raised in the report that calls for significant acceleration include ending violence, abuse and exploitation of children, increase of children learning in primary school, and increase in the rate of immunisation coverage.
Pacific Island countries need to ensure a strong measurement component is added to service delivery systems in health, education, social services, or border control; have minimum data coverage for children; and stronger shared norms on data concerning children.
UNICEF said how much government wouldl progress to meet SDGs would determine the future of children in the Pacific.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Defence cover-up starts to unravel
Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Defence cover-up starts to unravel
The New Zealand Defence Force’s attempted cover-up of the Hit and Run controversy appears to be unravelling. The military has finally been forced to make an about-turn – what they had claimed was a key flaw in the allegations in the 2017 book was, in fact, correct. [caption id="attachment_115" align="aligncenter" width="583"]
An official inquiry now seems inevitable.[/caption]
Previously the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had tried to discredit Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson’s Hit and Run book on the basis that the authors had made allegations about a raid on a village in Afghanistan that New Zealand’s SAS troops had nothing to do with. The military claimed that Hager and Stephenson’s story was about an entirely different village than the one the SAS raided in 2010, and hence the whole book was something of a nonsense. This week the military admitted that the book got it right about the village and its location. This is a significant moment in the saga.
Toby Manhire explains the significance of the NZDF’s new admission in The fog of time: why the Defence Force’s Hit and Run admission really matters. He explains that the dispute over the location of the village had previously been the “central premise” of the NZDF’s attempted rebuttal of the claims, and with this now turning to dust, the case for an official inquiry into the matter is “overwhelming”.
The new Defence Force document
Numerous official information requests to the NZDF about the Hit & Run allegations had previously hit a brick wall. But this week, co-authors Hager and Stephenson – amongst others – were alerted to the fact that the NZDF had released some of the information in the form of a document, quietly published on its website last week. This PDF document was put together in an attempt to meet the directives of the Ombudsman’s Office, which had told the NZDF that, under law, it must release further information.
You can read the new NZDF document here: Operation Burnham. Of course, this latest document tries to spin the best possible story from the saga, and even spends much of the document focusing on the Gallantry Medal citations given to two of the soldiers involved.
Nicky Hager has condemned the document as being an “alternative version” of the Hit and Run story, and one that is “largely unsupported by any documentation” – see Nicholas Jones’ Hit & Run raid: Defence Force acknowledges ‘confusion’ on civilian casualty statements. In this article, Hager complains about the tactics the military has used from the start of this saga: “It was simply a diversion. This seems extremely unprofessional behaviour from a senior military officer.”
Another crucial part of the NZDF’s back down on its earlier rebuttal of the Hit and Run allegations relates to the casualties. Hager and Stephenson’s book claimed six civilians were killed in the SAS raid, including a young child. The military had responded to this clearly, saying it had already investigated this and found the allegations to be “unfounded”.
But this claim is now also unraveling. The latest NZDF document claims that the term “unfounded was intended to address the suggestion that the NZDF was responsible for civilian casualties”. So, the military is now more open to the existence of casualties but says it’s an “unfounded” allegation that any deaths were caused by New Zealand guns, and the finger is pointed at other coalition support brought in by the SAS.
The document also still quibbles over other parts of the Hit and Run account, saying that a village building said to be “blown up” was actually only subject to “explosive entry”, and that buildings that caught fire may have been a result of the raid, but weren’t deliberately lit by SAS soldiers. For more on these issues, see Cate Broughton’s Defence Force admits book’s location right, but denies civilian casualties.
Did the New Zealand Defence Force lie?
Increasingly it looks as if the Defence Force has blatantly lied in order to escape scrutiny over the Hit and Run allegations. With an announcement of a government inquiry looming, military bosses may be defensively admitting the truth before facing more serious scrutiny.
Blogger No Right Turn argues the military has made deliberate attempts to mislead, and should face some consequences: “This looks like a deliberate attempt by NZDF to mislead the public about the location and actions of our troops. The only question is whether Lt Gen Keating did it knowingly, or whether he was passing on lies crafted by his subordinates. Either way, someone has lied to us, and they need to be fired. And even if it wasn’t Keating himself, he bears command responsibility for that lie and fostering an environment where soldiers felt it was acceptable – so he needs to go as well” – see: NZDF admits they lied.
Unsurprisingly, Jon Stephenson is of a similar opinion. He told Newshub yesterday that “I think it’s a disgrace it’s taken a year to admit what everyone knew. I think [Keating] should either be sacked or resign” – see Anna Bracewell-Worrall’s Defence Force U-turn: Hit and Run location was accurate. Furthermore, Stephenson says: “I’ve learnt that it’s very difficult to trust anything the NZ Defence Force says on these sensitive matters.”
Toby Manhire also draws attention to the impact of the NZDF’s obfuscation over the village’s location and repeats the then prime minister Bill English’s statement about this: “We believe in the integrity of the Defence Force, more than a book that picks the wrong villages.” He also points out that Defence Force Chief Tim Keating has constantly made himself unavailable to further questioning on the matter: “every media request for a sit-down interview with the Defence Force chief was rejected”.
On Twitter, economist Sam Warburton (@Economissive) has criticised the NZDF for not being very helpful in alerting those who had asked for the information in the latest document released: “The NZ Defence Force quietly released the information last Tuesday but told none of the people who had requested the information under the OIA (the document responds to several peoples’ requests for different info).” Furthermore, “It wasn’t until the Ombudsman’s office emailed requesters letting them know that we became aware of the information published. The NZ Defence Force should not be trusted to investigate itself.”
Warburton is also extremely unimpressed with the new document released by the NZDF, suggesting it tells the public very little: “They had a year to come up with something and those things were: 1. emphasising that the names of the villages H&R used are wrong (still disputed by Stephenson and Hager) 2. releasing some info about medals soldiers received.”
An official inquiry now seems inevitable
The previous National-led administration refused all requests for an official inquiry into the Hit and Run revelations. However, last year the opposition parties of Labour, New Zealand First, and the Greens all championed the need for such an investigation, and now Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has asked Attorney-General David Parker to deal with this issue.
No doubt there are figures in the government and NZDF who are lobbying hard against an inquiry. According to supporters of an inquiry, “the Government is under great pressure from the Defence Force not to have an inquiry at all” – see Anna Bracewell-Worrall’s Pressure mounts on Government for Hit and Run inquiry.
There are a some very senior people at NZDF headquarters, as well as in the special forces, who have a lot to lose if a public inquiry is held. And Defence Minister Ron Mark has also made numerous public statements which suggests a lack of sympathy for an inquiry, and he’s understood to be lobbying against one. Of course, Labour too, might fear aspects of an inquiry, given that it was the Helen Clark Labour Government that were also responsible for deployments to Afghanistan.
It does seems inevitable that the Government will have to announce some sort of inquiry, but the terms of reference will be crucial. Labour may be tempted to keep the terms of reference very narrow, and crafted in a way to examine only the conduct of the SAS under the National-led government.
The families of the victims in Afghanistan are also pleading for an inquiry, and you can see their latest, in-depth letter from lawyers, which makes very specific recommendations about the terms of reference.
You can also see RNZ’s reporting of how these civilians and their lawyers are exasperated by how the NZDF is distributing information. Lawyer Deborah Manning says, “The public are becoming more and not less confused about what the New Zealand Defence Force is trying to say’ – see: Afghan raid inquiry needed to dispel confusion – lawyer.
A petition was delivered this week to Parliament, calling for the new government to deliver on the promise of an investigation. For more on how the petitioners delivered their plea to MPs, and on how they think the inquiry needs to be set up, see Jo Moir’s Petition delivered to Parliament in a coffin calling for full inquiry into Hit and Run allegations.
Finally, it’s worth asking how often the New Zealand military lies or obfuscates to the public about its activities. Unsurprisingly, such questions are put very well by Jon Stephenson in his recent article reporting on a one-day workshop held by NZDF boss Tim Keating, which was on “Transparency and Accountability in Modern Military Operations” – see: Open warfare. Apparently, journalists were not invited: “Lawyers, academics and NGOs were welcome, but media – those whose job it is to monitor powerful institutions like the NZDF – were banned.”]]>
Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 16 2018 – Today’s content
Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 16 2018 – Today’s content
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
[caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption]
Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download).
Defence
Press Editorial: Inquiry into Defence Force actions in Afghanistan essential to clear the fog of war
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Defence cover-up starts to unravel
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): NZDF’s $2b aircraft plans postponed
Curwen Ares Rolinson: National’s Anti-Aircraft Fire At Ron Mark Proves To Be Blanks
Audrey Young (Herald): Former Defence Minister says he would have refused Air Force offer to pick him up near home
Newstalk ZB: Ron Mark to compare Defence Force actions to past Ministers
Newshub: Ron Mark threatens retaliation over Mark Mitchell’s NZDF aircraft allegations
1News: ‘I wouldn’t in a million years’ – National criticises Ron Mark’s NZDF aircraft use
Anna Bracewell-Worrall and Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Ron Mark refutes claims he made personal use of military aircraft
Audrey Young (Herald): Defence Minister Ron Mark accused using the Air Force as taxi service
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Defence minister under fire over Air Force flights
Stuff: Defence Minister Ron Mark in the firing line over NZDF flights
Legal profession sexual misconduct allegations
Matt Nippert and Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Revealed: Law deans’ letter of fury to Russell McVeagh
Damian George (Stuff): Hundreds of students rally against alleged widespread sexual harassment in law firms
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Students demand end to Russell McVeagh’s govt contracts
Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Hundreds descend on Russell McVeagh
Talisa Kupenga (Maori TV): Hundreds of Law Students protest outside Russell McVeagh
Alice Peacock (Herald): Top legal practice in sex claim
Stuff: Chapman Tripp lawyers alleged to have had sex with students on law camp
Labour sexual misconduct allegations
Tim Murphy (Newsroom):How bad is bad enough?
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Gulping PM Jacinda Ardern learns political lesson the hard way
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Theory And Practice of Plausible Deniability
Chris Trotter: School For Scandal
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): In defence of Young Labour
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘I’d rip their throats out’ – Judith Collins tears into Labour’s handling of Waihi camp incident
Cameron Slater (Whaleoil): The definitive timeline of Labour’s sex scandal
Herald Editorial: Labour should not lose faith in its youth
Derek Cheng (Herald): Witness: People were vomiting in the toilets and bushes from too much boozing at Young Labour summer camp
Abbey Wakefield (Metro News): Sexual harassment claims at Christchurch Young Labour
International relations and trade
Jim Rolfe (Politik): China: Why we shouldn’t get so close
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Peters’ Putin problem
RNZ: Russia talks won’t hinder EU trade deal – Peters
Laura Walters (Stuff): British High Commissioner tells NZ to ‘prioritise’ trade deals, in wake of nerve agent attack
Herald: Police looking into alleged poisoning of Russian spy in NZ
Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On the PM’s Indonesian guest, West Papua and Perfume Genius
RNZ: NZ to put money where mouth is in Pacific, says Peters
Government and democracy
Paul Hobbs (1News): Exclusive: Fresh links revealed between MBIE and private investigation company accused of spying
Newstalk ZB: Govt-contracted private investigators Thompson and Clark slammed as ‘unethical’
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Academics slam ‘waka-jumping’ bill
Bryce Edwards (Newsroom): Opinion: The money follows Labour again
EQC
Liz McDonald (Press): New laws, culture possible for Earthquake Commission: Minister
RNZ: Don’t buy a house repaired by EQC, Christchurch homeowner warns
Health
Newstalk ZB: Health professor: Take tobacco out of dairies
RNZ: Review to weigh up tobacco tax
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Plain packaging won’t deter hard-core smokers
Newstalk ZB: Expert: Tobacco tax clearly hasn’t worked
Stuff: Ministry of Health dragged feet on Waitematā DHB’s bowel cancer warnings
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Questions mount over major DHB initiative ahead of launch date
Kimberley Davis (Spinoff): What is going on with New Zealand’s midwives?
Stuff: How many deaths are there in New Zealand a year?
RNZ: Flooding may be behind leptospirosis rise
Police
Sam Hurley (Herald): Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit release report on money laundering, terrorism
1News: Police accept that their euthanasia meeting checkpoint stop was illegal
Matt Stewart and Tom Hunt (Stuff): IPCA: Police not justified in using illegal checkpoint to target euthanasia group members
RNZ: Checkpoint to find euthanasia supporters ruled unlawful
No Right Turn: Unlawful and unaccountable
Timaru Herald: Police taken to task, conviction quashed over ‘investigatory trick’
RNZ: When should police chase fleeing vehicles?
Stuff: I’m a cop – this is why I chase cars
Justice
Eva Corlett and Sally Murphy (RNZ): Sex offenders moved: Corrections to review processes
Jarred Williamson (Stuff): ‘Just dumped’: Public call on Corrections to explain placement of ‘high risk’ offenders
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Vice): What I Learned About Writing From the Women Inside New Zealand’s Prisons
Regional development
Madison Reidy (Stuff): Shane Jones gives Ngāti Whare $6m to grow millions of native trees
John Boynton (RNZ):Seed funding: Govt spends up on rural plant nursery
Anna Bracewell-Worrall and Lloyd Burr (Newshub): Minginui gets $6m cash injection for growing native tree seedlings
Environment
David Williams (Newsroom): Minister urged to intervene in the Mackenzie
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Global warming threatening species’ survival, WWF warns
Dominic Harris (Stuff): ECan accused of ‘bending the law’ over consents for water bottling plants
Mike Watson (Stuff): National water quality targets for Taranaki rivers “overly optimistic”
RNZ: Accept new rate or dirty beaches – Auckland Mayor
Anan Zaki (Stuff): Calls for ‘birthplace of NZ’ to be heritage-listed
Child welfare
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Treasury poverty estimate out by 24,000 children
Laura Walters (Stuff): Treasury’s coding error shows fewer children lifted out of poverty than originally expected
Melanie Taylor (Herald): This is the real truth behind the caregiver shortage
Housing
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘No one cares’ about National’s housing record – Judith Collins
Interest: Housing Minister anticipating significant chuck of the Government’s KiwiBuild homes will be prefabricated and bringing overseas companies to NZ to get the work done
John Roil (Hawke’s Bay Today): Are we facing housing Armageddon?
Tax
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Environmental taxes could be balanced by drop in GST, Sir Michael Cullen suggests
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): IRD says ‘dividend stripping’ cases involve tens of millions
Proposal to rename Hamilton Council
Libby Wilson (Waikato Times): Hamilton Mayor scraps Kirikiriroa City Council name change idea
RNZ: Hamilton mayor drops plan for name change
Horiana Henderson (Spinoff): Hamilton should honour Kirikiriroa Pā and the sacrifices made by its people
Listener: Goodbye Hamilton, hello Kirikiriroa: The growing push for Māori place names
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Hamilton City Council bogged down in bollocks over Kirikiriroa name change
Primary industries
Mike Watson (Stuff): Taranaki fishing operators welcome code of conduct
Wanganui Chronicle: Owners fight Whanganui forest’s Emissions Trading Scheme ineligibility
RNZ: Campaign aims to lower farm death toll
Alexa Cook (RNZ): Mānuka battle: Federal funding for Australian campaign
Animal welfare
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Petition against pigs’ farrowing crates: ‘A life of despair’
1News: Farrowing crates for pigs give piglets ‘best opportunity of survival’, says Pork NZ, as petition calling for ban presented to parliament
Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Early childhood centres unsafe – teachers
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Teachers say put more reo in schools
Lance O’Sullivan
1News: Dr Lance O’Sullivan meeting with parties, keeping options open as he looks to political future
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Place your bids: How parties can tempt Dr Lance O’Sullivan to their team
Other
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Rising numbers of Kiwi ultra-rich
Chloe Winter (Stuff): How businesses, media, Government work on gaining public trust
Jo Moir (Stuff): Iwi says National MPs’ claims they weren’t consulted on America’s Cup base are wrong
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Retailers insist they’re not holding EVs back
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Truck-trailer owners still need to respond to NZTA alert
Māori TV: Petition against Sir Bob Jones to be presented to Parliament
RNZ: NZ to help investigate Kiribati ferry disaster
RNZ: Huggies removes offensive list of Māori baby names
RNZ: NZ arts funder accused of institutional racism by Pacific artists
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Mapua community pitches in to keep costs down for event with ex-PM Helen Clark
RNZ: Stuff confirms closure of five publications
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Stuff confirms closure of five print titles]]>
Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 15 2018 – Today’s content
Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – March 15 2018 – Today’s content
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
[caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption]
Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download).
Sexual misconduct allegations
John Armstrong (1News): Jacinda Ardern looked like she was no longer in control during Labour’s week from hell
RNZ: Labour calls in lawyer for independent review
1News: Jacinda Ardern insists she was ‘absolutely not’ kept ignorant of youth camp assault allegations by Labour Party to protect her
Claire Trevett (Herald):Accidental worker bees protect Queen Jacinda
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Labour scandals raise big issues
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Mishandling of sex assault complaints a political mess
Finlay Macdonald (RNZ): Supervising a teen party 101: Stay awake
Newshub: MP at Labour’s ill-fated party says she was asleep at the time
Jo Moir (Stuff): Labour president nowhere to be seen during party sex assault allegations debacle
1News: Labour Summer Camp debacle: Why weren’t cops told of sexual assault perpetrator? Ex-party president Mike Williams defends Andrew Kirton’s choices
Newshub: Labour’s assault claim cover-up wouldn’t have happened under Helen Clark – Mike Williams
Catriona MacLennan (Spinoff): NZ’s failure on sexual misconduct is much, much bigger than any one case
Laura O’Connell Rapira: How you can help build a country and world where every single person is safe and free from sexual violence
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Not so sweet 16 – teens still need their parents
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Labour are hypocrites over handling of summer camp saga
RNZ: ‘We failed in our duty of care’ – Labour leadership
Laura Walters and Jo Moir (Stuff): No heads to roll at Labour over youth camp allegations while review carried out
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Labour MP was asleep when sex assaults happened
Derek Cheng (Herald): Labour Party summer camp inquiry to probe possible drug use and underage drinking
Herald: Summer camp fallout: Labour suspends all youth events, lawyer to lead external review of party procedures
Emma Hurley (Newshub): Labour Party suspends all Young Labour events
Herald: Police confirm investigation into Labour summer camp sexual assault claims
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Russell McVeagh vs Labour
Ana Lenard (Spinoff): Male lawyers need to speak up about sexual harassment
Sasha Borisssenko (Newsroom):Students to march on Russell McVeagh
Frances Cook (Herald): Law students march for end to sexual harassment
RNZ: ‘Women on Boards’ cancels McVeagh annual prize-giving
Defence
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The fog of time: why the Defence Force’s Hit and Run admission really matters
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Defence Force U-turn: Hit and Run location was accurate
RNZ: Afghan raid inquiry needed to dispel confusion – lawyer
Jo Moir (Stuff): Petition delivered to Parliament in a coffin calling for full inquiry into Hit and Run allegations
International relations and trade
Chris Trotter: A Fork In The Road
RNZ: Nerve agent clearly from Russia – Britain’s NZ High Commissioner
Stuff: Russia has nothing to do with’ UK ex-spy poisoning, says ambassador
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Winston Peters’ Russian trade deal hopes could cost New Zealand elsewhere
Jim Rolfe (Politik): Why we should stay close to China
Joanna Spratt (Incline): Turn it Up Mr Peters
Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): To maintain credibility Ardern must sack Winston Peters
Tom Peters (World socialist website): New Zealand’s “Pacific reset” aims to reassert imperialist dominance
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): New Zealand diplomat tells US Democrats to organise against Trump or ‘we all die’
Newshub: Top NZ diplomat in hot water after controversial Tweet to US Democratic Party
NZ Russian spy claims
Derek Cheng (Herald): Former Russian spy says he was poisoned on Queen St, Auckland, in 2006
Michael Daly (Stuff): ‘Poisoning’ of ex-KGB agent in Queen St: Russian spy with fake Kiwi identity
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Russian spy operated under fake New Zealand identity
1News: Watch: Explosive claims of former Russian spy who says he was harassed by Kiwi police and poisoned in Auckland
RNZ: Police probe claims Russian was poisoned in NZ
Health and disability
Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): UN to scrutinise NZ’s disability policy
Karen Brown (RNZ): Ministry had been warned over cancer screening system risks
Stuff: Plain cigarette packaging is here – and so are graphic new warnings
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Canterbury health units at risk of ‘acute service failure’ could lead to deaths – expert
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Sugar fix: where taxes on sugary drinks hurt the most
Eric Crampton (Stuff): There’s no good reason for a sugar tax in New Zealand
Rachel Kelly (Southland Times): MP’s slam proposed downgrade of maternity services
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Waikato DHB’s intern doctor training under review
Tax Working Group
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Cullen warns of big deficits without reform
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Tax Working Group poses threat to family ‘nest eggs’, says National
Justice
RNZ: Second teen held in police cells for days
Hannah Bartlett (Stuff): Ministry says Nelson youth’s six days in police cell not good enough
Tom Hunt and Matt Stewart (Stuff): Military-style automatics among hundreds entering criminal hands each year
Lance O’Sullivan
Raniera Harrison (Māori TV): Speculation over O’Sullivan’s Opportunities Party talks
Newshub: Lance O’Sullivan targeted by multiple political parties for 2020 election
Education
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Māori experience racism and negative stereotyping at school – Report
Newswire: Māori children can feel ‘isolated’ at school – report
Simon Collins (Herald): Restoring school entry age of 5 may cost taxpayers $42m
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Students still waiting on refunds from failed college
Bike helmets
Dominion Post Editorial: Times have changed, let’s look at our cycle helmet laws
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Helmet-optional cycle planned through Wellington
Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Half of all first-home buyers have parents’ help
RNZ: House prices rise across New Zealand
Environment
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Ecologist rejects ECan’s 90 per cent swimmable rivers target
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Hawke’s Bay Regional Council aims to make 90 per cent of rivers swimmable by 2030
Zac Fleming (RNZ): Surf life savers refusing to work at Auckland’s dirty, unsafe beaches
Emily Joy Frost (Newsroom): Bigger waves needed to turn the tide on plastics
Euthanasia
David Seymour (Newshub): The vocal minority will always oppose euthanasia
Bill Ralston (Listener): Why I want the euthanasia bill established in law
Employment
Megan Gattey (Stuff): Here are some of the jobs that Kiwis can’t, or won’t do
RNZ: Refugees could be resettled to help worker shortage
Alexa Cook (RNZ): Dairy farmers struggle to find workers
RNZ: KiwiRail worker exposed to asbestos
Local government
Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Mission impossible for local government
Tom Rowland (Herald): Hamilton to Kirikiriroa name change debate rages
RNZ: Council urged to promote te reo around city
America’s Cup
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Latest America’s Cup plan could work, says Team New Zealand – and much cheaper
Todd Niall (RNZ): Agreement on Cup village close despite opposition
Other
Matt Nippert and Chris Knox (Herald): Ministry accused of hiding contractor spending
Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): Even ethical companies need to turn a profit
Newshub: Campaigners question ‘inhumane and illegal’ treatment of pigs
Megan Gattey and Brad Flahive (Stuff): Petition to strip Sir Bob Jones of his knighthood to be presented at Parliament
Robert Costa and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post): Donald Trump overlooks Chris Liddell as top White House economic adviser
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Chris Liddell unlikely to be shaken from career goals by disappointment
Giovanni Tiso (Bat Bean Beam): Walking Radical Wellington
Matthew Brockett (Bloomberg): The Rich Aren’t Happy About New Zealand Foreign Bolthole Ban
Keith Rankin (Evening Report): Analysis: Census Survey
RNZ: Old passenger trains unlikely to be sold – Greater Wellington Council]]>
PNG quake-hit communities plead for relief aid to ‘bypass’ government
As relief supplies continue to be delivered to earthquake affected communities, there is another looming disaster over water, reports EMTV News.
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk
People in earthquake-affected areas of Papua New Guinea’s Highlands have asked international agencies to bypass the national government when providing relief.
The PNG Government has admitted that its response to the earthquake has been slow, hampered by damage to roads and access to funding.
In Koroba in Hela Province, local leader Stanley Hogga Piawi told the ABC’s PNG correspondent Eric Tlozek that more than two weeks after the 7.5 magnitude quake, people were still waiting for help.
LISTEN: Angry Highlanders call on relief agencies to sidestep PNG government
Continuous rain is hampering relief efforts in the earthquake-devastated regions of the Highlands, reports the PNG Post-Courier.
The wet may continue for a few more days as helicopters, the mainstay of the relief efforts, are now limited in the operation.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office has warned of a “high risk” of landslides, flooding and a slight chance of a tropical cyclone. The wet season has finally extended into the Southern and Highlands regions, the NWS said yesterday.
As Papua New Guinea experiences the wet season and unusual natural disasters, the NWS forecasting and warning centre assistant director Jimmy Gomoga is now urging people to listen to the radio stations for weather warnings updates.
Aircraft use restricted
The Australian and New Zealand defence forces said yesterday they had limited the use of their lighter aircraft due to bad weather.
The NWS said the wet season normally set in about December until late May when the dry season begins.
“According to the latest analysis from the weather office, we are in a weak La Nina phase and will mean higher rainfalls across the mainland PNG and mostly over the Southern region with high risk of flooding in the Momase, Highlands and Southern regions, high risk of landslides in the Highlands and deforested areas and 30 to 40 per cent chance of a tropical cyclone forming or passing within PNG,” Gomoga said.
He said the wet season triggered tropical cyclones so people living along coastal waters, particularly along the Solomon Sea and Coral Sea, must listen to weather warnings on the radio and take precautions.
“This weather we are experiencing will continue for the next 24 hours and may continue as the country is still in the wet season,” Gomoga said.
“The peak period has already passed and the month of April and May are the transitional periods and eventually into dry season which kicks into in the month of June.”
In the meantime, the weather office is closely monitoring the ocean currents in possibility of a tropical cyclone.
Water shortage ‘looming disaster’
While relief supplies continue to be delivered to earthquake-affected communities, a lack of water is proving to be a looming disaster, reports EMTV News.
In a briefing, Oil Search Limited managing director Peter Botten said the lack of access to clean water sources for many communities had increased the risk of sickness.
The company is now working with its partners, including state agencies, in an effort to deliver clean water to communities, to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.
Among its relief efforts, Oil Search has deployed a dedicated medical team to reach affected communities – these teams have already noted an increase in water-borne diseases, with several medical evacuations already carried out.
Australian doctors to help
Australian Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has announced Australian doctors would come to Papua New Guinea to help medical teams in earthquake-affected areas, as fear of water-borne diseases emerge, reports The National and as also reported earlier by Asia Pacific Report.
“We know that over the next few days or weeks, most of the water-borne diseases will start affecting some of the population in the area. We have to lift our presence in medical support that we will have to extend to them,” O’Neill said.
“Dr Temu [Health Minister Sir Puka] has already cleared for the Australian doctors to come and help us…They will come and help our own medical specialists which the Health Department is putting together to dispatch to the remotest communities throughout the country.”
Sir Puka said they were mobilising a team from the Port Moresby General Hospital.
“We have formally requested the Australian government [to send doctors] because Australian doctors in emergency situations are well organised,” Sir Puka said.
“So we have asked them for assistance which will complement what we have.”
O’Neill said relief efforts were ongoing, reports The National.
Remote communities
“We are starting to reach many of the remote communities, supplying medicine, food and relief supply to the provinces affected,” he said, adding that the district development authorities in areas being allocated funding were assisting the people “which we are not able to reach”.
“Most of the members of Parliament and the district chief executive officers have been trying to mobilise the supplies and in particular medicine, and getting the injured and the sick out of the areas that have been affected,” he said.
He added that commitments, towards the government’s relief efforts so far had exceeded K100 million.
It included donations from governments – “private sector donations coming through is well over K5 million.”
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
]]>PMC projects lure doco makers, politics writer and Fiji journalist
Jean Bell (left) interviews Otago University’s nuclear food safety doctoral researcher Karly Burch on her first Pacific Media Watch assignment. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk
Pacific Media Centre project students and interns announced for the year this week include two budding documentary makers and a seasoned journalist from Fiji with more than two decades of experience.
Jean Bell has been appointed the Pacific Media Watch contributing editor for 2018 and posted her first story this week about concerns over food safety and a politically “contained” debate seven years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in March 2011.
She is a current student at Auckland University of Technology, studying towards a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies, majoring in journalism.
Bell also graduated from the University of Auckland in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts double major in politics and international relations.
In 2017, Bell worked as a legal secretary in a commercial law firm and spent her free time working on freelance journalism projects and writing news for Auckland radio station 95bFM.
She will also be hosting the Pacific Media Centre’s weekly radio programme Southern Cross.
Bell admits she is no expert in Pacific journalism or politics, “but that’s one reason why I wanted to apply.
“I see this as a chance to learn more and widen my skill base while also bringing the valuable skills I already have to help drive this project.”
Highly experienced
Sri Krishnamurthi brings more than 20 years of experience as the PMC’s 2018 NZ Institute for Pacific Research journalist.
Sri Krishnamurthy (left) at the University of Auckland’s Pacific Fale with NZIPR manager Dr Gerard Cotterell. Image: David Robie/PMC
Originally from Fiji, Krishnamurthi has always had a strong connection with – and a deep interest in – what is happening in the Pacific region.
He is currently a part-time student in the Postgraduate Diploma in Communications (Digital Media) course at AUT. He also has an MBA (Massey University).
Krishnamurthi worked for many years as a journalist with the now-defunct New Zealand Press Association newsagency and has held a variety of senior communications posts, including Northland Inc., an iwi (Ngatiwai) organisation, the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and as a minister’s press secretary.
“The media landscape has changed with the advent of the digital age, but the fundamentals of working as a journalist, a public relations practitioner, or in communications, require the same inherent skills they always have – albeit with some enhancements,” he says.
The two students going to Fiji this semester on the Bearing Witness climate change project are Hele Ikimotu and Blessen Tom, both on the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies degree and keen to develop their screen production and writing skills.
Hele Ikimotu … passionate about Pacific stories. Image: PMC
‘Pacific passion’
Of Niuean and Banaban descent, Hele Ikimotu completed his Bachelor of Communication Studies degree majoring in journalism last year and worked as an intern on the NZ Institute for Pacific Research project.
Ikimotu is currently employed by the Office of Pacific Advancement at AUT, working for the the Oceanian Leadership Network, a new initiative at the university.
“I have a passion for Pacific stories, issues and people,” he says. “ I believe there needs to be more coverage on the Pacific community and positive representation of Pacific people.”
Blessen Tom … directed short films. Image: PMC
Blessen Tom, originally from India, completed his Bachelor and Masters in Literature and is now pursuing his studies in digital media.
He is passionate about visual storytelling and documentaries.
Tom directed two short films and a drama, and is currently working on a mini documentary series for YouTube.
Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie described the project-winners as a “talented team” and looked forward to working with them this year.
He also praised project partners the Pacific Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme, NZ Institute for Pacific Research (NZIPR), AUT’s Te Ara Motuhenga and Evening Report.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
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