Items of interest and importance today
THREE WATERS
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Make no mistake, Labour knew it was passing controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause
Thomas Cranmer: A government humiliated
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters entrenchment: Jacinda Ardern, Nanaia Mahuta at odds, David Parker says he was always opposed
David Farrar: The irony is that Labour and Greens are the ones actually privatising water
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): David Parker unaware party would support Greens’ entrenchment clause, Labour dodges questions
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Three Waters: Newshub understands Nanaia Mahuta didn’t tell Labour caucus of 60 pct entrenchment
Newshub: Jenna Lynch: Jacinda Ardern ‘all over the place’ on Three Waters entrenchment controversy
Brigitte Morten (NBR): RNZ-TVNZ merger political repeat of Three Waters reform misstep (paywalled)
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Three Waters blunder ‘made as a team, fixed as a team’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Labour votes out its controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters: Government scolded for ‘grovelling backdown’ as Parliament scrubs entrenchment
Waatea News: Council two faced on three waters says Davis
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Palmerston North’s neutrality on Three Waters challenged
Vaughan Davis (Stuff): Three Waters by another name might be easier to swallow
Wendy Geus (The Platform): Water bill trojan horse for ‘privatisation’ of water by Maori
Erin Gourley (Stuff): 48 of Wellington’s drinking water reservoirs are vulnerable to contamination – report
MEDIA
Claire Trevett (Herald): A bad interview, a telling-off by the PM – will Willie Jackson survive Jacinda Ardern’s reshuffle as Broadcasting Minister – should he? (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Turf fight behind broadcasting merger (paywalled)
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): What is the government’s plan for TVNZ, RNZ and the tech platforms?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Willie Jackson’s apology and Jacinda Ardern’s dark prediction over public media
Damien Venuto (Herald): TVNZ-RNZ merger – Why the ANZPM bill needs to change
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Nothing is driving the RNZ/TVNZ merger ideology
David Farrar: Liar, liar pants on fire
1News: ‘Wasn’t one of my greatest interviews’ – Jackson on Q+A appearance
Adam Perase (Herald): ‘I’m sorry’: Willie Jackson apologises for ‘trainwreck’ interview on public media merger
RNZ: Willie Jackson gives partial apology over public media merger interview
Herald: NZ Media Council upholds three complaints against NZME
Keith Lynch and Kate Newton (Stuff): The Whole Truth – Te Tikanga Katoa: Fighting misinformation with a dose of reality
ROYAL COMMISSION INTO NZ’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
Today FM: Michael Baker doesn’t understand rationale over narrow scope of Royal Commission into COVID-19
1News: Critical that lessons are learnt from Covid inquiry – experts
Herald Editorial: Royal Covid-19 inquiry must answer one question (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Covid NZ: What is a Royal Commission of Inquiry?
RNZ: Covid-19 inquiry must look at response to specific communities, Pasifika health leader says
Dewi Preece (1 News): ‘Gap’ in Covid inquiry ‘a missed opportunity’ – Simon Bridges
Matthew Hooton (Metro): Inquiry time
GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘That’s on us too’ – Ardern accepts blame for info vacuum on govt reform
RNZ: Government falling behind on timeframe for co-governance plans – Willie Jackson
David Farrar: A slow steady decline is worse than a sudden drop (paywalled)
David Farrar: Roy Morgan poll November 2022
Richard Harman (Politik): Another big poll for National (paywalled)
1News: Poll: MPs react to latest results as election year looms
1News: Luxon: Poll results are a reflection of Kiwis wanting change
RNZ: Hamilton West by-election: National, Labour candidates and Guarav Sharma vie for voters’ tick
ODT: Long road ahead for David Clark to save reputation (paywalled)
Roger Partridge (Newsroom): Troubling failings in the three institutions of state
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Leaders push back against sexist, racist abuse online
Tova O’Brien (Today FM): The toxicity of politics can make me sick to my stomach
Brianna MciLraith (Stuff): Gerry Brownlee baked a cake, it’s going for a record $655 on Trade Me
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): A summer reading list for Jacinda Ardern, from NZIER
ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TRADE, EMPLOYMENT
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): The horsemen of the 2008 centre-right apocalypse are back
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Reserve Bank’s engineered recession ‘could turn into economic accident’
Kevin Norquay (Stuff): Supply chain woes are shackling the economy – how do we solve the dilemma?
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): What happens when China catches a cold?
Rebeca Stevenson (Interest): Less emails, less meetings: the four-day work week is picking up steam for good reason
Rebeca Stevenson (Interest): Commerce Commission finds rebates paid to merchants to sell building supplies like GIB are hampering competition
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Big building suppliers paying cash rebates to suppliers to stop competition – report
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Will Fletcher’s Gib face more competition? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): The Treasury will delay Government’s return to surplus by another year, ANZ tips
Robert MacCulloch: The Reserve Bank of Australia just went and made the RBNZ look reckless
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): It’s the Economy – stupid!
Kate MacNamara (Herald): New public contract for embattled firm We Are Indigo (paywalled)
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): Cutting the cloth: What it takes to make clothes in New Zealand
RNZ: Minister proposes new energy and waste building regulations
Greg Ninness (Interest): Residential and commercial construction activity is still at record levels with no sign of a downturn yet
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): When is an employee an employee?
Dita De Boni (NBR): Push for pay transparency took Govt too long: Greens (paywalled)
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Shocking to see: accounting’s 30% gender pay gap (paywalled)
Will Mace (NBR): OIO approves $50m land portfolio sale to American behemoth (paywalled)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Michael Neilson and Aaron Dahmen (Herald): Report of China-run police station spurs Govt to launch multi-agency probe
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Operation Burnham: Soldiers operating overseas given new orders for handling detainees
RNZ: New safeguards to ensure proper treatment of detainees during offshore deployments announced
RNZ: Volodymyr Zelensky to address New Zealand Parliament next Wednesday
ORANGA TAMARIKI, CHILD WELFARE
Katie Doyle (Stuff): Oranga Tamariki staff accused of abuse still work with children
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Oranga Tamariki taken to task over lack of controls, understanding of spending
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Educational groups at odds over mandatory reporting of child abuse
Ian Hyslop (Newsroom): Child protection must not return to punitive, racist approaches
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Rangatahi, who live in hardship, issue child poverty demands to prime minister
TRANSPORT
Herald: Editorial: In a crucial policy area, the Government is making some headway (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nats up in arms after Labour electorates get early heads up on bids for $350m fund
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington could get not one but two new Mt Victoria tunnels
Liam Dann (Herald): Big oil slump must mean cheaper prices at the pump (paywalled)
RNZ: AA calls for staged return of fuel excise duty to avoid panic at pump
Maria Slade (NBR): Less focus on climate and more on reliable transport, please (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Stuff): Wellington motorway protesters meet Transport Minister
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Made Group and Charles Ma score early win against KiwiRail (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
RNZ: ‘Everything’ Auckland Council owns on the line, including golf courses – councillor
Bernard Hickey: How to redevelop a golf course for housing properly
Todd Niall (Stuff): Mayor Wayne Brown compares Auckland Art Gallery visitors to dairy customers
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Mayor’s handling of anti-govt protest ‘against her better judgment’ – review
RNZ: Christchurch residents likely to be hit with higher than expected rates rise
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Christchurch City Council has to consider asset sales
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): A mayoral guide to celebrating and respecting all cultures and religions
HEALTH
Ian Powell: When an academic gets it badly wrong over health crisis
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Doctors without peers – how the health workforce is little like the patients it serves
Bob Jones: Our catastrophic health crisis
Steve Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Long specialist wait times add pressure to under-strain health system
Olivia Caldwell (Stuff): Kiwis ‘learning to live’ with Covid-19 as pandemic becomes ‘endemic’
Raphael Franks (Herald): What happens to your travel plans if you get Covid this summer? Tourism operators recommend insurance
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Parents refusing vaccinated donor blood case: What you need to know
Amy Williams (RNZ): Need for travel to Australia for lymphoedema surgery unfair – patient
RNZ: Death rate for mothers and babies during pregnancy remains the same, report shows
Maryana Garcia (Herald): ‘Relentless’ pressure: General practices association launches campaign for more funding
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): ‘GP nurses left behind’: Government’s pay parity plan criticised
CYBER SECURITY
Chris Keall (Herald): Ransomware attacks: Are stolen Justice, health, insurance files appearing on the dark web? (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): Spreading cyberattacks: Privacy Commissioner opening investigation into Wellington’s Mercury IT as Justice, Health hit (paywalled)
Stuff: Cyber attack widens, via third party, affecting government agencies
Ethan Griffiths (Open Justice Reporting): 14,000 coronial files blocked: Ministry of Justice confirms cyber attack
Herald: Te Whatu Ora loses access to 14,000 patient files amid cyber attacks
RNZ: Think like criminal, report recommends after Waikato DHB cyber attack
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Biggest quarterly losses to cyber scams in the September quarter since govt started tracking them
RNZ: NZers fall victim to scammers at a record rate, latest figures show
SCIENCE
Jamie Morton (Herald): Govt outlines biggest makeover of science sector in 30 years
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Underfunded and fragmented public science sector in for a shakeup
Jerry Coyne: A New Zealand geography teacher calls for giving Mātauranga Māori “equal status” in the classroom
ENVIRONMENT, PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Robin Martin (RNZ): Kupe gas field operations: EPA staying quiet on probe of Beach Energy
Thomas Gibbons (Herald): What the Natural and Built Environments Bill is missing (paywalled)
Jamie Morton (Herald): Moves to mandate energy ratings on big buildings could have gone further – sector group
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Benefits outweigh $864m cost of new RMA reform, which could include new taxes and revenue tools – officials (paywalled)
Tina Morrison (Stuff): More pressure will come on farmers to reduce emissions as processors feel the heat
Eva Davies (Manawatū Standard): Rangitīkei mayor opposes proposed emissions pricing scheme, says it ‘disregards the importance of primary sector’
Anna Sargent (RNZ): Four-wheel-drivers ignore warnings to spend Crate Day on riverbed near endangered birds
Tatiana Gibbs and Kristie Boland (Stuff): DOC rangers felt ‘unsafe’ monitoring rare bird nesting area during Crate Day
RNZ: ‘Not acceptable’: Marlborough winery fails to submit waste reports to council
OTHER
Eugene Bingham and Adam Dudding (Stuff): Crown Law admits knowing of unjust convictions, so why won’t they blow the whistle?
Mike White (Stuff): Police forced to apologise for withholding information and unnecessary delays
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): A commonsense conclusion to the sordid little Southern/Molyneux saga
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Supreme Court dismisses appeal after Lauren Southern, Stefan Molyneux barred from venue
Jake Kenny (Stuff): Founders of far-right media platform Counterspin back in court
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration NZ accidentally issues two residence visas to some applicants
Michelle Duff (Stuff): The Whole Truth: Childcare subsidies won’t help most parents with young children
Stephen Minto (Daily Blog): Political correctness and the rough and tumble of identity
Stuff: What Sport NZ’s announcement means for transgender athletes
All smoke and mirrors