NZ Politics Daily: 5 April 2023

STUART NASH, OIA, LOBBYING
Rebecca Stevenson (Interest): The Prime Minister is gaslighting us on the Stuart Nash scandal
Graeme Edgeler (Spinoff): The Nash saga proves our OIA needs teeth
No Right Turn: Adding criminal penalties to the OIA
RNZ: Chris Hipkins: Lobbyists’ swipe card access to Parliament a ‘perception issue’
Doug Laing (Hawke’s Bay Today): How Labour will find a new candidate for Napier
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National promises to re-cut documentary taken down for copyright

JACINDA ARDERN
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern readies to go quietly into the political night
Audrey Young (Herald): What sort of former Prime Minister will Jacinda Ardern become? (paywalled)
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): Jacinda Ardern says goodbye to parliament: how her politics of kindness fell on unkind times
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: How will Jacinda Ardern be remembered?
Claire Trevett (Herald): Former PM Jacinda Ardern has been under the radar since she resigned – this is what she’s been doing
Adam Pearse (Herald): Jacinda Ardern to become NZ’s special envoy for Christchurch Call
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern leaves Parliament this week for jobs with Prince William and Christchurch Call
RNZ: Former PM Jacinda Ardern appointed as Christchurch Call envoy
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern to tackle online extremism in new role as special envoy for Christchurch Call
1News: ‘Honour’ to welcome Jacinda Ardern to Earthshot board – Prince William
Adam Pearse (Herald): Jacinda Ardern returns to Parliament ahead of valedictory speech
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The speeches that tell the story of Jacinda Ardern’s political life
Alex Casey and Tara Ward (Spinoff): 1News vs Newshub: The battle of the Jacinda Ardern exit interviews

JACINDA ARDERN INTERVIEWS
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘I won’t miss the weight’: Jacinda Ardern opens up on her life in politics
1News: ‘Humbled and excited’: Jacinda Ardern’s next moves revealed
Samantha Hayes (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern exit interview: What her final message to New Zealand will be
Samantha Hayes (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern exit interview: Former Prime Minister says fear of losing election didn’t lead to resignation, admits thinking standing down might take ‘heat out’ of debate
Samantha Hayes (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern exit interview: Former Prime Minister on being ‘so angry’ at March 15 shooter, manifesto
Samantha Hayes (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern exit interview: Former Prime Minister describes looking for exit from major event due to pregnancy illness
Samantha Hayes (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s new jobs revealed: Special envoy to Christchurch Call, work with Prince William’s Earthshot Prize

OTHER PARTIES ON ARDERN
Felix Desmarais (1News): National rivals say Ardern was ‘extraordinary’ on world stage
Newshub: Judith Collins reflects on Jacinda Ardern’s ‘extraordinary’ work, ‘her disappointment’ and if she could have beaten her without COVID
William Hewett (Newshub): Green Party co-leader James Shaw pays tribute to Jacinda Ardern, says it’s a ‘privilege’ to have worked with her
Herald: Act’s David Seymour calls Jacinda Ardern ‘too dumb’ to be part of a global conspiracy
Justin Hu (1News): ‘The kind of man you are’: Robertson slams ACT leader for Ardern dig
Brooke van Velden (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s political ‘failure’ self-inflicted

NATIONAL PARTY
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National Party aware candidate compared civil unions to polygamy and incest
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): National candidate Greg Fleming compared civil unions to polygamy and incest
1News: National candidate previously compared civil unions to incest

ECONOMY
Duncan Garner (NBR): This engineered recession cost us our jobs (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Economist’s message to Reserve Bank: ‘Don’t keep hiking until something breaks’
Rob Stock (Stuff): Five hundred more households fall behind on home loan payments
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Mortgage payments missed, consumer lending up 19% (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): NZIER’s quarterly survey of business opinion shows RBNZ winning inflation battle and causing recession
Imogen Wells (Stuff): Newsable’s OCR cheat sheet: The who, the what, the why and how (much?)
1News: Reserve Bank’s juggling act to keep lid on inflation
Dan Brunskill (Interest): NZIER’s quarterly survey shows economic capacity pressures are easing and businesses are more worried about sales than hiring
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Green shoots appear in latest business survey: NZIER (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): RBNZ’s rate hikes gaining traction, but there’s a long road to travel
Ella Somers (BusinessDesk): Consumers are keeping their wallets closed, but retailer results show there’s hope

MEDIA
Katie Harris (Rotorua Daily Post): Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan apologises for remarks at Māni Dunlop’s farewell from RNZ
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan apologises over comments at RNZ farewell for fiancée Māni Dunlop
Gavin Ellis: News avoidance and lack of trust MUST send a message to media
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Trust in NZ news media continues to decline: AUT
Karl du Fresne: RNZ made the right decision
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Stuff explores paywall options as digital news landscape shifts (paywalled)
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Power quits TVNZ amid rumour and speculation (paywalled)
Herald: TVNZ CEO Simon Power to step down at the end of June
RNZ: TVNZ chief executive Simon Power resigns
NBR: Simon Power quits as TVNZ boss (paywalled)
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): TVNZ remains ‘committed’ to south after reporter resigns

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Richard Prebble (Herald): Why are we sleep-walking into conflict with China? (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): SIS identifies several spies in NZ
Herald: China hits back at Herald and Newstalk ZB over Chinese Communist Party-linked security cameras in Govt buildings story
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National and Act want audit of communist security cameras on ‘sensitive’ buildings
Herald Editorial: New Zealand’s renewed standing with Nato (paywalled)
Reuben Steff (Newsroom): The Swiss holes in anti-Aukus rhetoric

EXTREME WEATHER
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Big shortfall in government funding for cyclone-hit businesses
Rob Stock (Stuff): By the numbers: Auckland flooding, Cyclone Gabrielle claims reach $2.47 billion
David Hargreaves (Interest): Bigger than Kaikoura: Weather event insurance claims now worth nearly $2.5 billion
1News: $9.5m worth of insurance claims paid daily after cyclone, floods

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Rachael Kelly and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Kieran McAnulty ‘keeping an eye’ on Gore council, hasn’t intervened yet
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Wellington council asks the Government for help with falling lamp saga
Yashas Srinivasa (Timaru Herald): ECan becomes first regional council in NZ to become an accredited living wage employer
David Farrar: An anonymous lobby group

HEALTH
NZ Fabian Society: Rob Campbell on Pae Ora Health Reforms
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins hits back as Rob Campbell criticises Government’s health reforms
1News: Hipkins defends health reforms amid criticism from Campbell
RNZ: Government has ‘choked’ on health reforms, ousted Te Whatu Ora chairman says
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Sacked Te Whatu Ora chair Rob Campbell launches into live TV broadside against health reforms
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): I’m so disappointed in Rob Campbell
Ian Powell: A slow moving train wreck: cancer specialist access in New Zealand
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘I will die prematurely’: Cancer patient concerned over proposed law change
Chris Lynch: Christchurch surgeon’s briefing paper exposes healthcare crisis
Megan Wilson (Bay of Plenty Times): Tauranga Hospital: Child waiting six months for ear surgery with no confirmed date
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Online research launched to help those with Long Covid

ENVIRONMENT
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Grant Robertson seeking ETS advice, as tumbling carbon price lowers cost of pollution
RNZ: NZ needs to ‘keep pushing harder and keep doing more’ to lower emissions – Shaw
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Factory emissions down, car pollution up in spring
RNZ: Greenhouse gas emissions fall in latest Stats NZ figures
No Right turn: Climate Change: What policy success looks like

TRANSPORT
Vita Molyneux (Herald): ‘Are we a third-world country?’ Ferry passengers stranded on both sides of Cook Strait fuming at weeks-long delays
1News: New Zealand’s transport system ‘in crisis’ – advocate
Andrea Vance and Iain McGregor (Stuff): Understanding the battle over the Interislander’s new ‘mega ferries’
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Bus drivers keep quitting even as conditions and pay slowly improve
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Domestic transport is even more cooked than usual at the moment

EDUCATION
John Minto (Daily Blog): To improve education standards we must reduce inequality
Amy Wiggins (Herald): ‘Knowledge poor’ school curriculum blamed for falling student achievement (paywalled)
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Child’s homework – sign up your parent to teachers’ union cause
Tema Hemi (Whakaata Māori): Te Pūkenga merger ‘shambolic’ – National
Katy Jones (Nelson Mail): Assurances sought over NMIT jobs and assets in wake of troubled merger
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Software to detect use of AI systems like ChatGPT activated in New Zealand

CHILD WELFARE
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘Too many’ Kiwi kids going without basics, as 1 in 5 experience hardship by age 12
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Kiwi kids have strong sense of ethnic, gender identity, study shows
Patrick Leman (The Conversation): Children have a basic understanding of poverty – a more equal society means talking to them about it

HOUSING
David Hargreaves (Interest): The Reserve Bank says the potential benefits of DTI restrictions would significantly outweigh banks’ costs
Miriam Bell (Stuff): House price falls spread: here’s where house prices have fallen by 20%

GENDER, CULTURE WARS
Thomas Cranmer: Identity Politics and the Challenge to Conservatism
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Why Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked ‘what is a woman?’
Herald: Trans rights: Chris Hipkins asked to define what a woman is, gives a 60-second response
Ani OBrien (Plain Sight): Who is Chris Hipkins so afraid of?
Steven Cowan: Albert Park: The aftermath 

OTHER
The Facts: Violent crime offenders = 50% Māori, 83% male
Chris Lynch: Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards under fire as recipient’s suitability questioned
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Defence Force spends $60m to stop its staff walking out the door
Rob Stock (Stuff): ‘A bank account should be a human right’ – Westpac
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Why tens of thousands of Kiwis can’t get a bank account
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): What happens if we pull the plug on Lake Onslow?
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Amazon cloud to buy half the output of wind farm – is this new renewable power?
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Forestry AI helps track cyclone damage, with almost ‘whole country mapped out’
RNZ: Government reveals high-security data centre being built in West Auckland
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): Today FM debacle highlights employer obligations when making staff redundant
Vincent O’Malley (Newsroom): Book of the Week: The truth about ‘Māori privilege’