Political Roundup: 22 February 2023

Items of interest and importance today

PARLIAMENT
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Chris Hipkins lays down gauntlet to Christopher Luxon as Parliament gets cracking
Tim Watkin (Pundit): Mum Knows Better Than Maureen Where The Winds Of Climate Change Are Blowing
Victor Billot (Newsroom): When the water keeps coming
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How Cyclone Gabrielle changes the NZ election
Thomas Coughlan: National’s massive Pugh-turn dominates return of Parliament (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): How Gabrielle – and Maureen – gatecrashed the first round of Chris vs Chris
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Analysis: Party leaders kick off ‘very untraditional start’ to political year
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Parliament’s first full day: From climate scepticism in National to potential flood taxes
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Cyclone Gabrielle dominates Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ major speech in Parliament, warns 2023 could be ‘very difficult year’
Richard Harman (Politik): Hipkins gets Luxon’s support to borrow big for cyclone recovery (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Parliament debates restart with focus on cyclone and climate
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Hipkins back to basics but light on new policy
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern’s resignation will come in to effect from 15 April
Stewart Forsyth (Herald): Chris Hipkins versus Christopher Luxon – a personality analysis (paywalled)
Spinoff: Watch: Elements of Truth – behind the scenes of Jami-Lee Ross’ 2020 election campaign

CYCLONE GABRIELLE, FLOODING, CLIMATE CHANGE, INFRASTRUCTURE
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The big, multi-decade lie that underpins ‘the government’s books are in good shape’
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Managed retreat: The mega issue that comes with a potentially eyewatering pricetag
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Cyclone Gabrielle: Government opens door to reassessing new taxes for cyclone at Budget in May
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Breaking the ‘rinse, rebuild, repeat’ cycle (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Cyclone leaves less room to deal with more shocks
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Chris Hipkins commits to ‘build back better’, anticipating billions needed for cyclone recovery
RNZ: Green Party floats windfall profit tax to support Cyclone Gabrielle cleanup
Richard Prebble (Herald): Government must stand back and let locals guide recovery (paywalled)
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Why some people didn’t get emergency text alerts during Cyclone Gabrielle
Anna Whyte (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins announces ministers to lead regional cyclone recovery efforts
RNZ: Cyclone Gabrielle: Multiple support packages for businesses likely – PM Chris Hipkins
Adam Pearse (Herald):  ‘Minuscule’: Govt cyclone support package prompts calls for more help
Herald Editorial: Cyclone Gabrielle editorial: Where was the warning for Hawke’s Bay? (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Cyclone Gabrielle: Locals guarding diggers and trucks fixing Napier highway amid looting fears
Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): Hipkins ‘out of touch’ on security risks in flood zone
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Andrew Coster knows a lot – the caring bit, though, isn’t so obvious
William Hewett (Newshub): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins not ruling out compulsory purchases of homes
Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): ‘I want my life back’: Flooded homeowners launch campaign for buy-out
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Homeless flood victims plead for urgent Govt help to retreat from devastated houses
Caroline Williams (Stuff): No rates reprieve for Auckland residents whose houses are red stickered
Lucy Thomson (Newshub): Auckland homeowners with red-stickered properties demand relief from rates
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): Do businesses have to pay staff when they close in a natural disaster like Cyclone Gabrielle?
Vaimoana Mase (Herald): Cyclone Gabrielle: Pacific seasonal workers in for new jobs to help rebuild after orchards wiped out
Rob Stock (Stuff): Generous or ‘stingy’? Banks ramp up cyclone relief and donations, but still cop criticism
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Affected by Cyclone Gabrielle? Know your rights, Consumer NZ says
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Hundreds of mattresses donated into cyclone-hit community
Tony Wall (Stuff): Tokomaru Bay Civil Defence defends its performance in wake of ‘kai wars’ claim after cyclone
Kiri Gillespie (Bay of Plenty Times): Cyclone Gabrielle donations: Demand for supplies continues despite Civil Defence plea
Kiri Gillespie (Bay of Plenty Times): Cyclone Gabrielle donations: Former Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell questions Civil Defence plea
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Cyclone Gabrielle: West Coast faces flood protection uncertainty
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Rethinking the energy trilemma after Gabrielle (paywalled)
Rachel Smalley (Today FM): We can’t afford to ignore the tough times Kiwi children have been through
Chlöe Swarbrick (Herald): Climate change taking greatest toll on poorer Kiwis
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Cyclone Gabrielle may hint at a future of ‘double climate disasters’
Andrew Shapherd (Stuff): Cyclone Gabrielle will have been apocalyptic if it inspires change
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Climate commission seeks $130k from activists

MAUREEN PUGH’S CLIMATE CHANGE COMMENTS
Felix Desmarais (1News): Analysis: Pugh’s climate change denial is bad science and bad politics
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Climate deniers should not be MPs
Felix Desmarais (1News): National’s Pugh ‘yet to see’ evidence of man-made climate change
Anna Whyte (Stuff): MP Maureen Pugh U-turn: Human-induced climate change is real
Anna Whyte (Stuff): National’s Maureen Pugh ‘waiting for evidence’ on human impact on climate change
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): National MP Maureen Pugh regrets her ‘unclear’ comments on man-made climate change
Jamie Ensor and Amelia Wade (Newshub): National MP Maureen Pugh repeatedly refuses to say she believes in man-made climate change
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National MP Maureen Pugh walks back climate change comments
Jane Patterson (RNZ): National’s Maureen Pugh chastised over climate comments: ‘She’s gonna be doing a lot of reading’
Michael Neilson (Herald): National MP Maureen Pugh ‘waiting on the evidence’ to show influence by human actions
No Right Turn: National is still full of climate change deniers

THREE WATERS
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins drops Three Waters label, promises ‘refocus’ on water reforms
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Three Waters fight not over yet, despite court ruling
Natalie Akoorie (Open Justice Reporting): Legal challenge to Three Waters reforms dismissed as bid to influence legislation
RNZ: Three waters: High Court rules against councils seeking ownership declaration
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Legal setback for three councils fighting three waters (paywalled)

ECONOMY
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Reserve Bank’s tough interest rate decision
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Reserve Bank ‘won’t win friends’ with OCR hike but there’s some good news for borrowers
Bridie Witton (Stuff): PM warns of tough times ahead as Reserve Bank expected to increase official cash rate
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): The RBNZ is going to hike but what about the weather? (paywalled)

HOUSING
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Rents start the year at a record high, Trade Me says
Melania Watson (Newshub): Rent hits record high according to latest Trade Me data
Anne Gibson (Herald): Rents rise 4pc annually to hit record high of $595/week (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Percentage of income needed for mortgage as “bad as it has ever been”
Geraden Cann (Stuff): ‘Money’s hard to find’: Houses failing to sell under the hammer

BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Engineered stone bench top makers shun a safety scheme to stop workers inhaling silica deadly dust
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sky TV may cut 170 NZ jobs in outsourcing move
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): Is the Government’s flagship R&D Tax Incentive fit for purpose?(paywalled)

EDUCATION
Leighton Heikell (Newshub): New Government plan to tackle truancy leaves Opposition questioning if it’s enough
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Truancy announcement is just vote buying
David Farrar: Finally Govt tries to do something about truancy
Alwyn Poole (Kiwiblog): Term Three Attendance Comparisons
Alwyn Poole (Kiwiblog): Further to School Attendance

CENSUS
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Census begins, for three-quarters of New Zealand
Isaac Gunson (1News): Census to go ahead amid Cyclone Gabrielle recovery

HEALTH
Ian Powell: When health ministers change
Thomas Cranmer: Covid and our Kiwi Kids: The Ministry of Health responds

TRANSPORT
Conor Knell (Stuff): Bluebridge cancels all ferries; Aratere only Cook Strait passenger ferry
Conor Knell (Stuff): Yet another Interislander ferry breakdown leaves hundreds stranded on the wrong island
Vita Molyneux (Herald): More cancellations plague Cook Strait ferries, customers feel ‘abandoned’
Conor Knell and Andy Brew (Stuff): ‘Hundreds of dollars out of pocket’: Travellers fume over ferry cancellations
Finlay Dunseath (Stuff): Wellington bus fares set to rise – but by how much?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Nanaia Mahuta wants to deal with ‘facts’, not ‘hypotheticals’ as United States warns China could give Russia weapons
Will Trafford (Whkaata Māori): U.S. politician tears up at Beehive pōwhiri

GENDER
David Farrar: Trans, Sex and Gender Issues
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Māori terms excluded from new gender identity process

OTHER
Thomas Cranmer: Balancing Free Speech and Protecting Religious Beliefs: The Complexities of Hate Speech Laws
ODT Editorial: Windbags muddying the waters (paywalled)
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Idea of Maori privilege maintains power imbalances, historian says
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): Gangs meet with Royal Commission
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Waitangi Tribunal has been taken over by activism
Jonah Franke (Stuff): Conspiracy theorists’ strange new target – Hamilton
James Wenley (The Conversation): We need to break the cycle of crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts and culture. It starts with proper funding