Today’s content

WELLINGTON HOSTEL FIRE TRAGEDY
Stuff: Live: Dozens of people feared dead in Wellington hostel fire
Herald: Wellington fire at Newtown’s Loafers Lodge: Multiple people dead after large fire breaks out
1News: Mayor emotional at ‘shock’ of Wellington hostel fire tragedy
1News: Wellington hostel fire: What do we know about the building?
1News: At least 6 dead after overnight fire at Wellington hostel
Newshub: Fire breaks out in Wellington hostel, some unaccounted for

BUDGET, ECONOMY, INFRASTRUCTURE
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Five things to look for in the budget (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Budget 2023 games begin: PM Chris Hipkins, National’s Luxon trade barbs over economic priorities
Luke Malpass (Post): Robertson’s sixth Budget and the goldilocks problem (paywalled)
Rob Campbell (Herald):  Budget 2023 is not going to shift the dial one bit for Māori – but it will make out it does
Herald Editorial: Can Grant Robertson break the political stalemate? (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Budget 2023: What the Government has promised so far
Bridie Witton (Post): Labour and National neck-and-neck in polls to start crucial Budget week (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (NBR): Billions extra to spend and ahead in polls: so where’s Luxon?
Adam Pearse (Herald): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announces 300 new classrooms, four new schools to be built ahead of Budget 2023 reveal
Anna Whyte and Gianina Schwanecke (RNZ): 300 more classrooms funded in pre-Budget announcement
RNZ: PM Chris Hipkins, Education Minister Jan Tinetti confirm 300 new classrooms, ‘up to’ four new schools in Budget funding
Kate Macnamara (Herald): No such thing as a free lunch? Cost of free school lunches a hungry hole in Budget 2023 (paywalled)
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Inflation remains ‘uncomfortably high’ as New Zealand’s economic growth predicted to slow in year ahead – Westpac
RNZ: Recession perhaps avoided so far, but interest rates likely to keep rising – reports
Liam Dann (Herald): OCR headed for 6 per cent as migration boosts economy – Westpac (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Post): Population boom could help avoid recession – economists (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): NZ Government borrowing set to dwarf pre-Covid levels (paywalled)
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Not enough money, labour to complete long list of infrastructure projects
Brent Edwards: Managing the Government’s rising investment in infrastructure (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Do you believe Grant Robertson?
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Time to abandon the costly experiments (paywalled)

OPPOSITION ALTERNATIVE BUDGETS
Richard Harman (Politik): Seymour and Luxon’s war on Wellington (paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Luxon’s pre-Budget promise plays to his comfort zone
Dita De Boni (NBR): Luxon the ‘non -politician’ once more bashes bureaucrats (paywalled)
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Jenna Lynch (Newshub): How ChatGPT reacted to Nicola Willis’ idea that AI could write Kiwis’ tax receipts
Thomas Manch (Stuff): National Party leader Christopher Luxon promises to give a ‘receipt’ to every taxpayer if elected
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘Waste of money’: Hipkins slams National’s taxpayer receipt policy
Thomas Manch (Stuff): National Party leader Christopher Luxon promises to give a ‘receipt’ to every taxpayer if elected
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Christopher Luxon promises ‘taxpayers’ receipt’
Felix Desmarais (1News): Where do tax dollars go? National would introduce ‘taxpayer receipts’
RNZ: National’s Christopher Luxon unveils trio of fiscal transparency policies
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Councils should be allowed longer-dated lending: Luxon (paywalled)
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Felix Desmarais (1News): ACT: NZ sliding from first-world to ‘a kind of big Fiji’
Anna Whyte (Stuff): ACT pledges gradual raising of superannuation to 67, only two income tax brackets
Anneke Smith (RNZ): ACT alternative budget highlights tax, prison bed policies

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National leader Christopher Luxon part of poll problem, but no appetite to roll him (paywalled)
Newshub: Newshub-Reid Research poll: New results reveal if Kiwis think Chris Hipkins, Christopher Luxon are performing well or poorly
Mike Yardley (The Press): Risk aversion continues to characterise Luxon’s approach (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Interest): Secretive constitutional reform is political kryptonite
RNZ: Te Pāti Māori and National have ‘nothing in common’ – Ngawera-Packer
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Te Pāti Māori co leader Waititi to Luxon: Don’t wait by the phone Chris
Felix Desmarais (1News): Hipkins: Labour has some ‘shared views’ with Te Pāti Māori (paywalled)
Jonathan Hill (Post): Why James Shaw would be better off without the Greens (paywalled)
Heather Roy (Post): It’s time to drop the 5% MMP threshold and let more smaller parties into Parliament (paywalled)
RNZ: Police quiet on preparations for general election
Bridie Witton (Post): Public service watch: Budget day looms (paywalled)
Shaneel Lal (Herald): We need politicians who lead with reason and compassion
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): The politics of pastries

FORESTRY SLASH
Herald: Ngāti Porou want urgent action on optimistic report – and failure to act not an option
RNZ: Forestry put ‘bread and butter’ on table, but Tai Rāwhiti locals looking towards future, minister says
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): Forestry slash devastated Tairāwhiti and Wairoa after Cyclone Gabrielle. The recommended changes are drastic
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): Is there still a place for forestry in New Zealand?

EXTREME WEATHER
RNZ: Cyclone and flood recovery support must be fiscally sustainable – Robertson
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Hundreds with flood-damaged properties await answers on temporary accommodation
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): Cyclone Gabrielle: Karekare residents call for clarity on recovery works
Jessica Roden (1News): Nelson Council wants Govt help to pay for storm damage

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council: Mayor Wayne Brown’s cost-cutting budget leads to 400 job losses
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): The mystery of the imaginary 22.5 percent rates hike
Simon Wilson (Herald): A 10-point plan for a better Auckland Council budget (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): So what exactly is Gore mayor Ben Bell accused of?
RNZ: Council staff ‘extremely unprofessional’ towards Gore Mayor Ben Bell at times, board chair says
Tina Law (The Press): Councillors accuse colleagues of making ‘inaccurate statements’ about staff (paywalled)
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): We all know who’s really in charge of local councils
Tom Hunt and Erin Gourley (Post): Wellington mayor not backing councillor’s pro-Palestine move (paywalled)
Erin Gourley (Post): Hutt City Council won’t play ball with independent sports review (paywalled)
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): West Coast Regional Council chairman Peter Haddock labels incident ‘a storm in a teacup’
Justin Wong (Post): Kāpiti Coast council consulting mana whenua on Māori wards (paywalled)

ACT’S GUN POLICY
James Halpin (Stuff): ACT gun policy is an ‘attack’ on Kiwis’ safety, police union says
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Election 2023: ACT Party, Police Association go at it over policy David Seymour says is ‘bottom line’
Adam Pearse (Herald): National, Act disagree on firearms guns register

HOUSING
Herald: Chris Bishop admits to renting from in-laws, despite saying he was not renting from family
Spinoff: Chris Bishop says his in-laws aren’t ‘family’ after rental question
Stephen Minto (Daily Blog): Distopian urban vision – Part One. National, Labour and Greens (NLG) are trashing affordability
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Rental asking price remain stagnant for third month in a row: Trade Me
Rachael Comer (Timaru Herald): A place to call home: Transitional housing not the answer for Timaru’s homeless problem, lead researcher says
Rachael Comer (Timaru Herald): Social justice advocate encourages empathy for homeless

HEALTH
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Cash-strapped hospices look at cutting services
Nicholas Boyack (Post): Lack of funding forces Mary Potter Hospice to cut services (paywalled)
Shannon Redstall (The Press): Life in ‘limbo’: Six-month wait for surgery at Christchurch Hospital(paywalled)
RNZ: Increasing distress and declining mental health outcomes among rangatahi Māori – report
Ian Powell: Showdown time over hospital laboratory privatisations; private tail wagging public dog?
Frances Chin (Post): Young mum’s choice: $4000 of dental surgery – or dentures
RNZ: Covid-19 case numbers: 11,739 new cases, 58 further deaths

ENVIRONMENT
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Health checks on the carbon in New Zealand’s native forests were halved despite warnings over the risks
Eloise Gibson (Post): Why you should care about an obscure survey deep in the bowels of native bush (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Government agency to face court over “failure” to protect endangered species
Tim Hunter (NBR): A well-meaning but redundant $700m (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): EPA criticised for withholding information about discharge at Kupe
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Controversial Waimate energy plant proceeds to consenting process
RNZ: Final phase of Tui Oil Field decommissioning set to begin

BUSINESS
RNZ: Large amount of ammonium nitrate stored on rural property near major gas pipeline
RNZ: KiwiSaver investments in companies supporting deforestation on the rise
Aimee Shaw (Post): New Zealanders spent over $6 billion online last year (paywalled)

ELECTRICITY
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Guidelines to protect power users may become mandatory
Krystal Gibbsons (RNZ): Less than half of electricity retailers complying with consumer care guidelines – report
Tom Pullar Strecker (Post): Power firms should ‘take back responsibility’ for lines between home and street (paywalled)

MEDIA
Gavin Ellis: TVNZ board needs expertise, not ideology
Sam Stubbs (Post): The biggest waste of taxpayers’ money (paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Stuff): Ex-Today FM host Lloyd Burr will return to Newshub as a political reporter

EDUCATION
John Gerritsen (RNZ): International student numbers growing, but not everywhere
Lee Kenny (Post): Crucial Te Pūkenga report weeks overdue (paywalled)
Gianina Schwanecke (Post): Victoria University job cuts loom, with revenue $12.8m lower than forecast (paywalled)
Richard Downey (Stuff): Is the vocational education model working for NZ?

TRANSPORT
Paul Durdin (Stuff): The quickest way to save lives on the road is to reduce the speed limit
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Air pollution limits proposed for car imports

EMPLOYMENT
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Firefighters’ air tank filling equipment contaminated with asbestos
Eva Davies (Stuff): Inequities for women in the workforce still felt in 2023
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Mums still bearing financial brunt of parenthood

IMMIGRATION, ASYLUM SEEKERS
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): UN refugee agency criticises mass arrivals crackdown
Herald: New migrant numbers up greatly, all-time monthly high recorded
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Optimism with our immigration numbers
Glenn McConnell (Post): Inside Immigration NZ’s decision to let Posie Parker in (paywalled)

POLITICAL EXTREMISM
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): The barefoot, small-town ‘sheriff’ who allegedly attacked a council boss
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): The grey area of white supremacy – non-white followers (paywalled)
Nevil Gibson (NBR): Intrepid internet hunter for the truth (paywalled)

PIKE RIVER
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Pike River mine disaster dad Bernie Monk blasts official response as ‘huge cover-up’
RNZ: Pike River Mine latest discovery: More human remains possibly found

OTHER
Oliver Hartwich (NZ Initiative): From Godzone to the devil’s playground
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Internal Affairs expands pokie probe with dozens now asked for a ‘please explain’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Concerns raised over TAB’s proposed outsourcing deal
John Braddock (World Socialists): New Zealand Labour government boosts military spending
RNZ: Regional towns the big winners in government’s 5G deal
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Will ‘NZ Inc’ profit from co-hosting the Fifa Women’s World Cup?
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): New Zealand loses top spot as most ‘Islamic country in the world’
Kelvin McDonald (Whakaata Māori): Kaupapa Māori approaches to safety and wellbeing important in progress to eliminate violence – Davidson
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): How Jim Bolger and dull NZ TV inspired the man on the brink of becoming Thai PM
Catherine Delahunty (E-Tangata): Almost like immunity
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Wairoa post-settlement trust and Stats NZ aim to make data more accessible for whānau Māori
André Chumko (Post): Arts, culture sectors grow after $600m from Govt during Covid (paywalled)