News Briefing: 17 April 2025
PARLIAMENT, PARTIES
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Growing calls for independent watchdog to keep politicians honest
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Act’s ‘happy Māori’ AI image sparks internal change
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Seymour seeks to spark a new ‘culture war’
Thomas Manch (Post): David Seymour says ACT 'fixing the system, not finding someone to blame’ (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Labour tight-lipped as Te Pāti Māori wants Māori to receive NZ Super seven to 10 years before everyone else (paywalled)
Anna Leask (Herald): Two by Twos: MP Hamish Campbell ‘deeply embedded’ in religious group under investigation by FBI, police
Anna Whyte (Post): Greens tighten candidate selection process (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): The risks to democracy and free speech (paywalled)
Jack McDonald (Post): Hard data and firm action needed to tackle harassment of women leaders (paywalled)
Paddy Gower (Stuff): Amanda Luxon is a decent Kiwi with the answers to our divided society and our politicians can learn from her
David Farrar: Imagine if he did this to a left wing MP?
Serena Solomon (RNZ): How MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke ended up in Stan Walker’s latest music video
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE, DEFENCE
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Cool heads needed as Trump disaster unfolds (paywalled)
Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai (RNZ): Why NZ needs the United States to stay committed to the Pacific
Richard Harman (Politik): Going it alone without the US (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZ plugs in to boost US Navy's space race with China
Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai (RNZ): NZ, Fiji reaffirm 'indispensable partnership', aim for $2b trade goal
Don Wiseman (RNZ): Academic questions New Zealand's coming approach on climate aid
Tom Peters (World Socialists): New Zealand to nearly double military spending
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
RNZ: Global trade war forecast to cut NZ's economic growth by more than half
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Grim forecast says economic growth will almost grind to a halt (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Inside Economics: Measuring tariff turmoil uncertainty... plus inflation risks (paywalled)
RNZ: ANZ forecasts Reserve Bank will need to cut OCR to support economic recovery
David Hargreaves (Interest): ANZ economists cut OCR and house price forecasts
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): ANZ thinks OCR will drop to 2.5% after trimming growth forecast (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Slight inflation lift won't stop rate cuts thanks to trade war (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Are all our polls doing more harm than good?
HEALTH
ODT Editorial: Welcome news lacks detail (paywalled)
RNZ: $20 billion of funding needed, first 'Health Infrastructure Plan' reveals
Julia Gabel (Herald): ED upgrades, more carparks, $20b price tag: The Government’s new health infrastructure plan (paywalled)
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Health Minister Simeon Brown reveals $20b hospital plan, new Dunedin Hospital tender (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood and Mary Williams (ODT): Hospital’s mental health facilities to undergo major upgrade (paywalled)
Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): Bulletin: Hospitals to be rebuilt in four stages under new $20b plan
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): The doctors strike doesn't add up
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Dire level of vacancies among full-time permanent senior doctor positions at Taupō Hospital
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Work to start: ‘Overdue’ and ‘inevitable’
Gill Higgins (1News): Paralysed man loses care team in so far failed ACC bid to save dollars
Tayler Mutton (Press): Anorexia nearly took my life: Why urgent action is needed (paywalled)
Kate Green (RNZ): Asbestos blown on to Wellington homes by waterblasters
POLICE, CRIME
Tom Pearce (Stuff): Here’s what People Against Prisons Aotearoa stands for, and why Tamatha Paul has been unfairly smeared
Peyton Bond and Erin Silver (Spinoff): Defunding the police is good policy, actually
Alice Neville (Spinoff): The Beehive is lauding a big drop in violent crime. But what do the stats really say?
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Let's not go all misery guts over these crime stats
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Sikh community take lead role in Takanini crime patrols
WELLINGTON REGION
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington council to decide on $400m revamp of 800 council flats
Tom Hunt and Harriet Laughton (Post): A 17-year-old decision will cost every residential Wellington ratepayer $3233 (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Where Wellington’s mayoral candidates stand on the big issues
Ethan Manera (Herald): Wellington councillor Ray Chung criticised for missing meeting for ‘fancy lunch’ with donors
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Tory Whanau says Wellington seeing progress on her watch
Tim Brown (Post): Local water done well or regional water done badly? (paywalled)
Michael Daly (Stuff): Explained: Why former Labour leader Andrew Little wants to be Wellington mayor
Karl du Fresne: Little stands to capture the 'Anyone but Whanau' vote
Kate Green (RNZ): Wellington regional council buys large block of bush in Eastbourne
RNZ: Wellington Water investigates bad smell wafting over Wellington CBD
Justin Wong (Post): Porirua citizens’ assembly recommends climate change action (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Alcohol retailers fight Rotorua’s proposed freeze on new liquor off-licences
Local Aotearoa: Amalgamation is back on the menu (again)
Maxine Jacobs (Press): Councillor promises to donate funds, but already two years behind (paywalled)
Tim Brown (RNZ): Christchurch ratepayers to vote on future of Canterbury Museum redevelopment
Maxine Jacobs (Press): Canterbury Museum faces mothballing without another $50m (paywalled)
Liz McDonald (Press): Christchurch council shrinks Lyttelton heritage zone (paywalled)
RNZ: Council proposes tougher liquor laws for Christchurch city
Sinead Gill (Press): New limits on alcohol sales in Christchurch may exclude bars, nightclubs (paywalled)
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown rejects claims he hasn't supported flood-impacted residents
Anne Gibson & Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council report opposes Westmere helipad application for Anna Mowbray, Ali Williams: submissions released (paywalled)
Brooke Black (Timaru Herald/Press): ‘We don’t do that’: CEO wants business cases to be the norm for Timaru council spending (paywalled)
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Phenomenal’ outcome: Five community boards to remain in Western Bay
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Maungatapu slips: Homeowners’ three-year repair battle with Tauranga council
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Toilet tax, rates fairness take centre stage at council hearing
TRANSPORT
Keiller MacDuff (RNZ): KiwiRail legally bound to compensate passengers affected by cancellations in 2023
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Commerce Commission pushes KiwiRail to compensate customers for cancelled ferry sailings
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Why it’ll now be easier to get a refund from Interislander
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Driver licence overhaul: Should 60 hours of supervised driving be mandatory? (paywalled)
Lane Nichols (Herald): Commuter disruption as Auckland Transport cancels train network for April school holidays (paywalled)
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): ‘High risk’ Northland expressway project attracting international interest (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Air New Zealand expects to bank $20 million of unused credits
RNZ: Air New Zealand expects 'substantial' drop in profits
David Hargreaves (Interest): Our national airline is forecasting pre-tax profits of between $150 million and $190 million for the current financial year
Dita De Boni (Post): Air NZ signals earnings hit to stormy financial year (paywalled)
Will Mace (NBR): Air NZ warns profit could dip 32% as engine compensation drops (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Air New Zealand FY guidance hit by expected lower compensation (paywalled)
RESERVE BANK
Michael Reddell: Spin (and obfuscation)
Jenny Ruth: When a RBNZ “funding cut” is actually an increase (paywalled)
1News: Reserve Bank's funding reduced
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Government cuts Reserve Bank funding by 25%, for coming year
Dan Brunskill (Interest): The central bank has negotiated an increase in its annual average spend, despite having to slash spending by up to 25% in the next financial year
RNZ: Reserve Bank's budget to be slashed by 25%
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Govt slashes RBNZ proposed budget, notes rampant staff growth (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Reserve Bank funding to be cut 25%, job cuts expected (paywalled)
CHATHAM ISLANDS
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Shane Jones tells Chatham Islands he could help them get a meatworks
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Broken but not bowed: NZ’s remotest community gives a message to ministers
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): NZ First donor launches airline war on Chatham Islands
ENERGY
Edward Miller and Craig Renney: Heat but no light – The short-lived story of the energy margin dashboard
Cameron Smith (Herald): Power prices to increase ahead of winter – what you need to know
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Herald): Gas no longer a ‘transition fuel’, coal cheaper, says Genesis (paywalled)
BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Ministry for Regulation turns its eye to telecommunications (paywalled)
Blayne Slabbert (Press): ATV business owner pleads case as David Seymour targets regulations (paywalled)
James Craig (Post): 2025: A year of reckoning for the Commerce Commission (paywalled)
Alka Prasad (Post): Right to repair would cut costs for farmers, Fed Farmers says (paywalled)
Ella Somers (Interest): Seek says job volumes were flat in March but rose on a quarterly basis
James Ball (1News): Easter: What's open and what are the surcharge rules
SOUTH ISLAND MOBILE AND INTERNET OUTAGE
Mark John and Tim Scott (ODT): Outage shows weakness: tech leader
RNZ: South Island back online after contractor and rodents cut through fibre cables
Sam Smith (Stuff): South Island hit with internet and mobile outages after rodents chew through cables
Cate Macintosh (Press/Post): Mobile and internet outage in Dunedin resolved (paywalled)
PUBLIC SECTOR
Mary Argue (RNZ): Callaghan Innovation confirms 67 more potential job cuts as it disestablishes
Aka Prasad (Post): PSA says ‘gutting’ 64 more Callaghan Innovation jobs on chopping block (paywalled)
POPULATION
RNZ: New Zealand experiencing some of its fastest population growth in last decade
1News: New figures reveal fastest growing areas in NZ
HOUSING, PROPERTY MARKET
David Hargreaves (Interest): The resilient bunch - nearly 40% of NZ mortgage holders ahead with repayments
Greg Ninness (Interest): The housing market is heading into uncharted waters this winter
RNZ: Kiwi firm designs low-cost, fast-build house
Brett Kerr-Laurie (Press): Fraudster collected $27k pretending to be a landlord (paywalled)
OTHER
Tureiti Moxon (Post): $12 billion for defence, but our tamariki go hungry (paywalled)
Jamie Cuningham (Herald): Almost all NZ state schools are operating at or above capacity
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): The schools that ain’t got jack built
Sarah Lang (Capsule NZ): Overwhelmed By Your News Feed at the Mo? Here’s Some Truly Positive News + How You Can Turn Despair into Positive Action
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Security worries stymie whānau sessions at Pride Week Taranaki
Rafaella Melo (Hawkes Bay Today): ‘We want our mountain back’: Hundreds brave wind and rain in Mt Kahurānaki ascent
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Time running out for lagging agri-products approval pathway, industry warns (paywalled)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Gold FM drops hosts to become music-only radio station; Top Sky TV executive to depart; TVNZ, Netflix and the battle for your phone and TV screen
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): It's time for a hard crackdown on bad dog owners