Today’s content

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT
Ben McKay (Australian Associated Press): National on track to govern in latest New Zealand poll
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Boom: Roy Morgan Poll: MMP Spectrum Splintering: Labour Party Collapse
Audrey Young (Herald): What a National-Act cabinet might look like (paywalled)
Graham Adams (The Platform): Should you trust Winston Peters?
Jo Moir (Newsroom): PM stuck in limbo-land governing over campaigning
Simon Wilson (Herald): David Parker quit Revenue role over wealth tax – the value of principles, purpose in politics (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Desperate Days
Chris Trotter (Interest): Party slogans: Forward to a new day, or taking the country backwards?
Tim Hurdle (Post): How the election might be decided before Election Day (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (NBR): Labour’s experiment stutters to embarrassing, underwhelming end (paywalled)
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): How to stop making arithmetic of an unequal society add up
ODT Editorial: Taxing time for everyone (paywalled)
David Farrar: Māori Party policy is for effective tax rates of 150%
Herald Editorial: National kicks off another match in the election campaign series (paywalled)
André Chumko (Post): Election 2023: What are the parties’ arts policies so far? (paywalled)

POLITICAL DONATIONS
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Interactive: big money behind our political parties (paywalled)
Andy Fyers and Murray Jones (BusinessDesk): Cash for Candidates: How the biggest donors spent $52m (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Cash for Candidates: The National party’s war chest (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
Jonathan Killick (Stuff): National announces four lanes to Whangārei? Not quite
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National leader Christopher Luxon struggles with transport numbers (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National’s road-building spree missing crucial climate calculations
Eye of the Fish: All scramble, no lolly
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): As National hits a fiscal pothole, Labour risks running off the rails
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Labour claims National is ‘billions of dollars short’ in its massive transport package
Felix Desmarais (1News): Road rage: Labour claims $2.8b ‘pothole’ in Nats’ transport plan
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘Nonsensical’ or makes sense? Opinion divided on Nats’ road plan
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): National’s transport policy is the best of the election campaign
Russell Palmer (RNZ): National reveals further details of $24.8b transport policy, Labour says it’s still billions short
Seni Iasona (Newshub): National promises 13 new roads, better public transport in $24 billion transport package
RNZ: National proposes new highways, Labour dubious on cost estimates
1News: ACT, Greens critical of Nats’ Whangārei-Tauranga highway plan
1News: National unveils $24 billion transport policy
Bernard Orsman (Herald): National to scrap Government’s $14.6 billion light rail project in Auckland and spend on seven roading and public transport projects
Stuff: Heavy investment in roads will boost standard of living, National leader Christopher Luxon says
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Andrea Vance (Post): Are the brakes on Let’s Get Wellington Moving? (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): Let’s Get Wellington Moving: Councillor Tony Randle calls for multi-billion-dollar project to be scrapped
Vita Molyneux (Herald): National’s transport policy: Mayor Tory Whanau blasts ‘flaccid vision’ to scrap Let’s Get Wellington Moving
Jemima Huston (RNZ): Scrapping Let’s Get Wellington Moving won’t stop transport changes – council chairperson
Andrea Vance (Post): Light rail or new roads? Wellingtonians to decide (paywalled)

LABOUR PARTY LIST, KIRI ALLAN
Richard Harman: Hipkins spins the list (paywalled)
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Labour list about avoiding unnecessary political drama
Adam Pearse (Herald) Labour Party list – Michael Wood, Phil Twyford the big losers, several MPs face losing roles on current polling
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Election 2023: Labour’s Māori caucus all smiles as six Māori in top 20 and 11 in top 40
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Labour list shows which MPs likely to lose their jobs at coming election
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Labour list rankings revealed – big promotions for new ministers, huge demotions for old
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Chris Hipkins on why former ministers Phil Twyford, Michael Wood are low on Labour’s list
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Chris Hipkins is struggling to straddle being Prime Minister, Labour leader
Felix Desmarais (1News): Who’s up, who’s down? Labour Party reveals 2023 list
RNZ: Labour releases party list for 2023 election
David Farrar: Who’s in and out on Labour’s list
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Staff from three further agencies had concerns about Kiri Allan’s office
1News: Tāmati Coffey ‘shoulder tapped’ as Labour’s new East Coast candidate

MIGRANT WORKERS
Lucy Xia (RNZ): Charity supporting migrant workers accused of trying to stop them talking to media: ‘We would not help you’
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Immigration: Complaints about migrant exploitation increase sixfold under Labour
Steve Braunias (Herald): Life and death in the Auckland shadows – a tragic end to the NZ dream (paywalled)

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
1News: PM responds to strikes: ‘We don’t have a money tree’
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Secondary teachers should get 14.5 percent pay rise, arbitration panel recommends
Gabrielle McCulloch (Stuff): Arbitration panel recommends 14.5% pay increase for secondary teachers
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Panel recommends greater pay for secondary teachers than MoE offer
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Hawke’s Bay hospitals call on volunteers to ‘keep wards functioning’ during nurses’ strike
RNZ: Nurses and healthcare assistants accept pay equity settlement

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Rob Stock (Stuff): Younger people feeling most ‘financial stress’, Centrix says
Liam Dann (Herald): Business defaults rise but homeowners winning battle with rising interest rates (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Business confidence rises again, inflation expectations easing (paywalled)
RNZ: Business confidence lifts slightly in July – ANZ survey
Teresa White (Herald): Why do we keep whacking poor people with mindless monetary punishments they can’t afford?
RNZ: Number of complaints about money lenders spikes by 25 percent in past year

BANKING
Rob Stock (Post): Depositor guarantee would protect households’ savings, but come at a cost (paywalled)
Lane Nichols (Herald): BNZ refuses to reimburse scam victims who lost nearly half a million dollars in elaborate sting
Rob Stock (Post): Commerce Commission criticises banks for go-slow on cheaper retail payments (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): NZ’s payments system is falling behind internationally (paywalled)

BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): Taxpayer dollars, KiwiSaver funds caught as Auckland medtech firm Opum falls into receivership (paywalled)
Alka Prasad (Herald): How small business owners plan to vote (paywalled)
Aimee Shaw (Stuff): MYOB says 64% of SMEs want a change in Government
Brent Edwards (NBR): Act wants to make personal grievances less costly for employers (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Stuff): High Court imposes first penalty for anti-competitive land covenant use
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): The govt’s startup advisors council wants a big tax change (paywalled)
1News: The child labour in your cosmetics: New report urges action
Sarah Heeringa (Stuff): Five beauty products ingredients linked to child labour – and what you can do about it

EDUCATION
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Muslim students report bullying starts at preschool, then it just gets worse
Dave Armstrong (Post): Vic Uni cuts more than about saving money (paywalled)
Jessica Ye (Spinoff): What do students want from a higher education review?
Melissa Derby (The Common Room): What is the purpose of education?

HEALTH
Boyd Swinburn (Post): Smoking has taken a beating; now it’s booze and bad food’s turn (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): Ministry of Health cuts access to flawed data in Paritūtū serum dioxin study
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Number of children waiting longer than four months for hospital help jumps by 600 percent
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Covid-19: 3615 new cases reported over the past week, 116 in hospital
Sue Teodoro (Local Democracy Reporting): Wairarapa Hospital could fail in a major earthquake, High Court hears

THREE WATERS
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Three water CEOs claim salaries despite roles being disestablished
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Three Waters: The new bosses and why their pay of $602,500 to $815,500 is so extraordinary (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Josie Pagani (Local Government Magazine): Devolution is the next big thing
Todd Niall (Stuff): Port or playground? Reality check coming for future of Auckland’s waterfront
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): West Coast Regional Council councillor conduct: Closed door meeting
Erin Gourley (Post): Public Service Watch: $10m playground is the limit for council (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Food waste collected from your home in proposed Wellington waste overhaul (paywalled)

EXTREME WEATHER
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): Cyclone-hit homes buyout: Hawke’s Bay mayor expects ‘some concerns’ from community
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government reaches agreement with Hawke’s Bay mayors over cyclone recovery costs, announces $500m for road repairs
RNZ: Government reaches deal to share buy-out cost of Hawke’s Bay cyclone-damaged houses

HOUSING
Ethan Te Ora (Post): Kāinga Ora tenants relying on curtain banks (paywalled)
RNZ: Property developer wants $138m from Kāinga Ora for alleged anti-competitive behaviour
Piers Fuller (Stuff): New state housing in Wairarapa opens after two decade hiatus
Greg Ninness (Interest): Anyone seeing green shoots in the latest housing figures has probably been smoking them

CRIME, CORRECTIONS
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): UN calls out poor management of mental health care in NZ prisons
Tatiana Gibbs (Stuff): Coroner rebukes Corrections after prisoner killed himself two weeks after previous attempt
1News: Rolleston prisoners celebrate building 150 homes in programme
William Hewett (Newshub): Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick says Labour playing politics with ram-raid crackdown, claims it’s not based on evidence

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENT
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): The planet is on fire. Are the Chrises not listening?
No Right Turn: Will Labour allow more offshore drilling?
RNZ: First of government’s long-delayed cameras on fishing boats to go live
Michael Fallow (Southland Times): Opponents see no value in National’s ‘valued introduced species’ plan

OTHER
Glenn McConnell (Post): Cross-party rebuke of Government bill to allow mass detention of asylum seekers (paywalled)
Karl du Fresne: My response to Professor Mohan Dutta
Jerry Coyne: One of New Zealand’s “Satanic Seven” describes efforts to create a free speech policy at the University of Auckland
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika appeals jail term
Tim Selwyn (Daily Blog): RNZ Review: Children of the Undercurrent
Gavin Ellis: Bring me sunshine: Just enough to warm my soul a little