Today’s content

NEWSHUB-REID RESEARCH POLL
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll results: Remarkably close race may mean National regrets ruling out Te Pāti Māori
Jenna Lynch (Newshub: Newshub-Reid Research poll results: Christopher Luxon dives as Kiwis warm to Chris Hipkins
Jenna Lynch (Newshub: Newshub-Reid Research poll results: Nearly half of New Zealanders believe Christopher Luxon is out of touch
Jenna Lynch (Newshub: Analysis: Newshub-Reid Research results show Election 2023 is on a knife-edge
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll shows Kiwis back Government payout for those needing to move away from coast, flood-prone areas
Adam Pearse (Herald): Newshub Reid Research poll: Labour ahead of National, Chris Hipkins gains ground as preferred PM
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): TV3 Poll – BOOM – Māori Party is Kingmaker!

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT, STATE SECTOR
Grant Duncan: How do the Left lose?
Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour’s hopes of Budget reset, National’s tax attack ads, Chris Luxon’s ‘coalition of chaos’ call (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): What’s got Grant Robertson so bogged down?
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): The bar is embarrassingly low for National (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Rift on the right (paywalled)
Mike Williams (Herald): There is intense competition for the right-wing vote (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Chris Hipkins tells Māori Party to be ‘careful’ with policy demands
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Revealed: Stuart Nash’s full emails with donors and why the Government did not release them (paywalled)
1Newss: Q+A: ACT candidate didn’t disclose party membership during Govt emissions talks
Herald Editorial: Floating in a sphere of political negativity (paywalled)
Shane Te Pou (Herald): If Meka Whaitiri wants someone to blame, she should look at herself (paywalled)
Graham Adams (The Platform): Labour’s disarray is music to National’s ears
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Spirit of Parekura Horomia hangs over Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate selection
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Meka Whaitiri move makes political waves, causes ripples to Māori and general electoral rolls
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Meka Whaitiri rebellion hones parties’ loyalties
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Te Pāti Māori in spotlight as Luxon paints a picture of ‘chaos’
Claire Tevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Chris Luxon’s photo op with Richie McCaw, the banned words of Budget 2023 (paywalled)
Herald: On the Tiles: TOP leader Raf Manji on how winning Ilam electorate would benefit Christchurch
The Standard: Countering Conspiracy – the Green Party is not in a Civil War
RNZ: Brian Tamaki to run for Parliament as Freedom NZ leader
Newshub Nation: Panel: Commentators agree Freedoms NZ doesn’t have a serious shot at parliament in 2023 election
Newshub Nation: Outdoors Party reveals it’s joining forces with Brian Tamaki’s Freedoms NZ
Herald: Brian Tamaki vs Newshub: TV show pulls Destiny Church leader interview off-air
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Brian Tamaki declares run for parliament, Newshub pulls plug on interview
Adam Pearse (Herald): Mr Whippy co-owner to contest safe National seat in Auckland for Labour
Ian Allen (Stuff): Labour to contest National stronghold with ‘farming stock’ candidate
Phil Smith (RNZ): MPs make great talkers, but terrible tellers
Bryce Wilkinson (NZ Initiative): Improving accountability for state sector performance 
Tony Burton (NZ Initiative): The Map, and the Territory, of the State Sector
David Schnauer (NBR): Time for NZ public sector to be made more productive (paywalled)

BUDGET, ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Liam Dann (Herald): To spend or not to spend? Grant Robertson’s big trade-off (paywalled)
Vernon Small (Stuff): Robertson needs to make good on cost of living and cyclone help
Gareth Kiernan (Post): Little room for Budget largesse (paywalled)
Damien Grant (Stuff): We aren’t in a cost of living crisis, we’re just poor
Tracy Watkins, Katie Ham and Sinead Gill (Stuff): Great expectations: Grant Robertson’s cost-of-living tightrope
Peter Davis (Herald): A tale of two budgets, NZ and the US (paywalled)
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Experts worried Government falling behind on ‘Wellbeing Budget’ goals
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Grant Robertson says wellbeing is about ‘bread and butter’ too (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Are budget deficits back for longer? (paywalled)
Kirk Hope (Post): Here is Govt’s chance to put economy on stronger footing (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): More classrooms expected in Government announcement as Labour prepares for this week’s big reveal
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Budget 2023 preview – Should NZ take on more debt to build necessary infrastructure?
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Survey shows biggest fall in inflation expectations since 2020
Nicola Willis (Herald): My Budget prediction – tax cuts, for all the wrong reasons (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): National criticises ‘small beer’ Budget savings (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Act’s Alternative Budget, ‘Time for Truth’, has tax cuts, prison boost
David Seymour (Herald): ACT’s alternative budget
Mike Munro (Herald): No splashing the cash, just focus on restraint, responsibility, recovery and resilience (paywalled)
Brian Easton (Pundit): A Fiscal Fantasyland?
Aimee Shaw (Stuff): The categories facing the biggest pullback in spending
Katie Doyle (Stuff): Whānau Ora reports highlight success of kaupapa Māori pilot to reduce child poverty
Pokere Paewai RNZ): ‘We can achieve wonderful things’ – Reducing child poverty for Māori whānau

CYCLONE AND FLOOD RECOVERY ANNOUNCEMENT, EXTREME WEATHER
Claire Trevett (Herald): Cyclone recovery package signals Grant Robertson won’t be splashing the cash on Budget Day – but he needs people to think he is (paywalled)
Chris Hyde (Hawke’s Bay Today): The one word missing from the Government’s $1b Budget announcement, and what it means for Hawke’s Bay (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Government’s cyclone recovery package: ‘It will be a journey’ – Councils, opposition react
1News: Budget 2023: $1 billion package for cyclone and flood recovery
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins unveils $1b funding support for cyclone recovery
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): The key points from Government’s $1 billion Cyclone Gabrielle, Auckland flooding package
RNZ: Flood, cyclone recovery: Govt to spend $1b on education, transport projects, mental health
1News: $725m to go into fixing cyclone, flood-damaged roads and rail
Mitchell Hageman (Hawke’s Bay Today): Stopbanks, roads and local response key factors in $941 million pre-Budget cyclone relief
Felix Desmarais (1News): Almost $117m to fix or rebuild 500 weather-stricken schools
Felix Desmarais (1News): $35m into mental health and wellbeing for cyclone-affected areas
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Flood-affected growers, farmers react with scepticism to Government’s $1b cash injection
Henry McMullan (1News): Esk Valley residents struggle for certainty despite Govt funding
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ACT Party accuses Government of ‘drip-feeding’ cyclone funding announcements
Doug Laing (Herald): National’s Christopher Luxon claims lack of action in orchard cyclone recovery (paywalled)
Guardian: Billion dollars for cyclone and flood recovery in New Zealand budget
RNZ: Law firm calls for permanent natural disaster recovery unit

FORESTRY SLASH
John Campbell (1News): On ‘heartfelt, damning and sometimes angry’ slash report
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Slash inquiry’s urgent call: ‘An environmental disaster is unfolding in plain sight’
Gary Hamilton-Irvine (Herald): Forestry slash report: Production in Wairoa and Gisborne erosion zones should stop, inquiry finds
RNZ; Forestry report urges immediate halt on wide-scale felling
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Ministerial inquiry warns of environmental disaster (paywalled)
1News: $10m announced to clean up post-Gabrielle debris on East Coast

TAX
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Act would create a two-rate tax system (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Wishful liberal thinking
Vera Alves (Herald): Zeitgeist: Rich people want to pay more tax. Why don’t we let them?
Georgina Stylianou (Post): Dizzying tax merry-go-round looks set to keep spinning (paywalled)
Spencer Smith (BusinessDesk): We’re paying three more days’ worth of taxes than last year (paywalled)

FOOD PRICE INFLATION, SUPERMARKETS
1News: Govt must tackle food insecurity or risk ‘unrest’ – City Mission leader
Calida Stuart-Menteath and Hamish McNicol (NBR): Bread and butter issues? Break up that supermarket duopoly (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Food prices are falling on global markets – why not here? (paywalled)
RNZ: Removing GST, splitting up supermarkets: What’s the best way to bring food prices down?
Felix Walton (RNZ): Banks less trusted than supermarkets – Consumer NZ survey
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Late night liquor decision intensifies spotlight on supermarkets (paywalled)

RETIREMENT VILLAGE SECTOR
Bronwen Summers (Daily Blog): Farming the Elderly for their life savings and government subsidies
Anne Gibson (Herald): Retirement village sector ‘not immune’ to scrutiny: Dekker on probe (paywalled)
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Retirement village clampdown might sap competition (paywalled)
Janine Starks (Post): Summerset made to repay $37,000 for breaching Retirement Villages Act (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT – GORE COUNCIL
Kristin Hall (1News): Embattled Gore mayor Ben Bell speaks of mental health toll
RNZ: Act’s David Seymour shows support for embattled Gore mayor Ben Bell
David Farrar: Sack the Gore Council and appoint the Mayor as Commissioner
Caley Callahan (Newshub): Gore Council, Ben Bell saga: Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty reveals whether he intends to step in
Tim Brown (RNZ): Gore council: Petition organiser seeks to remove chief executive
Tess Brunton (RNZ): ‘Get rid of him’ or ‘They haven’t given him a fair go’? – Gore divided on mayor
RNZ: Gore council meets with government officials – without embattled mayor

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Andrea Vance (Post): How a scolding email exposed tensions at the heart of local government (paywalled)
Tom Hunt and Erin Gourley (Post): The capital’s power brokers – who has sway to get stuff done?
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Inside Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s office: Who’s who and how much they’re paid (paywalled)
Tina Law (Press): Council staff ‘running amok’, Christchurch mayor says
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Will Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown spend all of his own budget?
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Water woes: Wairoa faces the ultimate test in its supply choices
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Westport $56 million flood proposal whittled by half in government announcement
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Martinborough growth to stunt as wastewater treatment plant hits design capacity
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Iwi dispute leaves New Plymouth District Council ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’
RNZ: Draft Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan to go out for public consultation
Delphine Herbert (RNZ): Supreme Court gives green light to Auckland Council’s hotel bed tax
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Native species holding up Timaru water fixes

TRANSPORT
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Harbour Bridge: PM Chris Hipkins received no written advice before announcing start date for new crossing (paywalled)
Spinoff: Minister hits out at ‘over-egged’ reporting of possible project ‘delays’
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Government-directed speed review could make most of city’s urban streets 30km/h
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Authorities knew dangers of truck handbrake but did nothing for a decade
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): City Rail Link construction nears completion – but don’t get too excited

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
Simon Wilson (Herald): Climate action: When time’s running out fast, how do you change the world? (paywalled)
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Restore Passenger Rail protest: 74yo protester granted electronically monitored bail
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Three things I’ve learnt on the road to help us break the climate logjam
Elizabeth Macpherson (E-Tangata): Can western water law become more relational?
Connie Buchanan (E-Tangata): ‘We are weeping for our river’
Jill Herron (Newsroom): High-country hoons ‘tear apart’ DoC land

HEALTH
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon calls for action over poor Māori health outcomes
Shane Reti (Herald): Only some will benefit from Labour’s Winter Health Plan (paywalled)
Rachel Smalley (The Common Room): NZ’s Shameful Health Secret
Paula Bennett (Herald): Ayesha Verrall is playing the person and not the issue over drug funding (paywalled)
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Women caught in breast cancer screening fails all harmed – patient
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): Tihei Mauri Ora nursing programme celebrates three decades
Emma Espiner (E-Tangata): Māori doctor
RNZ: ACT proposes direct $163m boost for GPs
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Lab tests group plans to cut Nelson services, courier samples to Christchurch
RNZ: Questions raised after Asian women lowered in priority for health screening
RNZ: Gisborne Hospital nurses to strike over growing workloads

EDUCATION, ABBEY CAVES TRAGEDY
Newshub Nation: Hamish Brewer: How to fix New Zealand’s education system
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Kindergarten teachers agree to pay rises
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Gisborne bar granted permission to open near kura
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Why didn’t 17 children come home safely from school?
RNZ: Abbey Caves tragedy: Current EOTC guidelines ‘too weak’ – lawyer
Tom Hunt (Post): ‘This is not Sri Lanka’: Labour MP’s comments spark anger (paywalled)
Kiwiblog: Donations come with strings
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Victoria University institute in wealthy donor research row faces closure (paywalled)

DEFENCE, NATIONAL SECURITY, FOREIGN AFFAIRS
David Fisher (Herald): Less safe than we were – why our national security is at such risk the NZSAS has gone dark (paywalled)
Newshub Nation: Political panel discuss Defence Force funding and AUKUS
Newshub Nation: Andrew Little denies Defence Force close to collapsing despite staff turnover
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Supreme Court dismisses woman’s bid to sue abuser, NZ Defence Force
Newshub Nation: Sudanese Kiwis call for equal visa treatment to Ukrainians
Caitlan Johnston (Herald): Thai authorities detain Kiwi and allegedly strip him of clothes, food and medicine following drug charges

MEDIA
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): David Seymour’s interview on Voice for Freedom radio station is fascinating
Jim Tucker (Taranaki Daily News): A test for the strength of New Zealand’s free speech laws
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Offshore outfit rating the reliability of our media
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Some broadcasters still shrugging off storm warnings
John Roughan (Herald): Final reflections on ‘doing my bit’ (paywalled)

HOUSING
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Rotorua emergency housing motels: 72 more people in motels in March compared with January
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Borrowers who bought their first home in 2020-21 face being let down by the system
Cameron Smith (Herald): Interest repayments eating into incomes of Covid property boom buyers (paywalled)
Justin Wong (Post): Housing project a first for NZ (paywalled)