News Briefing: 7 May 2025
PAY EQUITY, EMPLOYMENT
Luke Malpass (Post): Pay equity slashing a sub-plot in a much larger game (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Pay equity changes: Two sides of the coalition brought out
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Five things you need to know about the surprise pay equity change
Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): ‘Dark day for NZ women’ as pay equity regime gutted under urgency
Fleur Fitzsimons (Post): Pay equity rollback: constitutional vandalism on an unprecedented scale (paywalled)
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Tightening of pay equity law 'gut-wrenching', brings advocate to tears
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘It’s hurting, it’s really hurting’: Kristine Bartlett on Government move to restrict pay equity claims
RNZ: Overhaul of equal pay legislation is halting progress, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says
Kelly Dennett (Post): ‘I think there will be a big rebellion’: Pay equity advocates blindsided after years of work (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): Pay equity legislation could save 'billions' for government - PM
Luke Malpass (Post): Government to cancel pay equity claims, book Budget savings (paywalled)
RNZ: Government halts all current pay equity claims, makes it harder to lodge new ones
NBR: Pay equity law to be amended under urgency (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Will the pay equity claim shake-up save us money?
Marianne Bishop (Post): A kick in the guts to women like me (paywalled)
No Right Turn: National supports sexism
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Why do public sector workers get paid $10 an hour more, on average?
Anna Whyte (Post): Why all eyes are on Sir Brian Roche’s teacher pay bargaining (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): ACC warns about proposed health and safety law change (paywalled)
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Post): ‘Termination at will’ law now has sharp teeth (paywalled)
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): Put things down in writing: employee vs contractor case (paywalled)
GOVT USE OF PERSONAL EMAIL
Bryce Edwards (The Integrity Institute): Why Erica Stanford’s Gmail use matters
Tom Day (1News): Erica Stanford accepted meetings through her personal email
Jo Moir and John Gerritsen (RNZ): Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop join Erica Stanford in admitting they used personal emails
RNZ: Erica Standford inviting security risks by using personal email address, Labour leader says
1News: Erica Stanford concedes use of personal email 'untidy'
Julia Gabel (Herald): National minister Erica Stanford admits using personal email for work purposes not best practice
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): The ultimate scandal
PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): From Hotchin to Atlas: a cautionary tale for corporates mulling a political donation
Thomas Manch (Post): Cabinet finalises controversial Regulatory Standards Bill (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Too much of a good/bad thing (paywalled)
Rob Campbell (Newsroom): Why I’m backing a Ministry for Regulation
Roy Morgan: In April, for a third straight month, both the National-led Government and Parliamentary opposition were under 50% support
Thomas Coughlan & Julia Gabel (Herald): Te Pāti Māori MPs face Privileges punishment as Parliament marks 110 years of haka (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Treaty Principles Bill haka: Judith Collins ‘shocked’ at Te Pāti Māori social media post
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Privileges Committee delays deliberations over Te Pāti Māori MP's haka in the House
Tumamao Harawira (Te Ao Māori News): Privileges Committee fails to make decision on Te Pāti Māori
Mike Houlahan (ODT: Stark contrast between conferences
Greg Presland (The Standard): National wants to make voting harder
RNZ: John Roche named as PM's new chief science advisor
Anna Whyte (Post): Chief Science Advisor role finally filled (paywalled)
NBR: Govt names new advisory council on science and innovation (paywalled)
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): ACT prevented National from pushing forward with under-16 social media ban
Adam Pearse (Herald): Social media ban: Act blocks National’s bid for Govt consensus on member’s bill
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): How would the Government ban social media for Kiwi kids?
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): National MP puts forward member's bill to ban under-16s from social media
1News: National introduces members' bill to ban social media for under 16s
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand’s prime minister proposes social media ban for under-16s
Rafaella Melo (Herald): National introduces bill to ban social media for under-16s
Thomas Manch (Post): National Party wants social media ban on under-16s (paywalled)
Cassandra Mudgway (Spinoff): Banning teens from social media won’t keep them safe. Regulating platforms might
Paddy Gower (Stuff): Social media harm is ‘like tobacco’: Entrepreneur Cecilia Robinson reveals why she’s leading call for ban for under-16s
Herald Editorial: When tech billionaires restrict their kids’ social media use, why shouldn’t we? (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): In Loco Parentis – First Thoughts on the Social Media Ban for Kids (paywalled)
David Farrar: National proposes social media ban for under 16s
MEDIA
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Hipkins concerned about partisan media emerging if Steven Joyce chairs NZME
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Joyce called on to smother ‘Grenonade’ in bitter board battle at Herald owner
Shayne Currie (Herald): NZME board battle – former National Party minister Steven Joyce in line to be director and chair amid raft of confirmed and new board nominations (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Aussie fund believes it has swing vote to make Steven Joyce NZME’s chairperson (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Peace breaking out in NZME board coup (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie and Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): NZME backs Steven Joyce to rebuff Jim Grenon chair bid (paywalled)
David Farrar: Joyce to chair NZME?
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Steven Joyce nominated as NZME board candidate
Rachel Moore (Stuff): NZME board approaches former National minister Steven Joyce to be chairman
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): Steven Joyce tapped to be NZME chair (paywalled)
Steve Maharey (Post): Trump’s America shows the media what it needs to do (paywalled)
ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Law change protects vulnerable roads and mines from skinks, geckos and frogs
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ sea lion officially ‘endangered’ as population falls below 5000
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Ocean near New Zealand warming faster than anywhere else, study finds
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Response urged to ensure future of coast (paywalled)
RNZ: Contaminated concrete to be removed from Taupō landfill
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Ten million fossil-fuelled machines in NZ, but plenty of room for electricity - report
Alka Prasad (Post): Farmers could electrify 80% of their machinery with better access to finance, says report (paywalled)
Mary Argue (RNZ): Passenger Rail protester hopes precedent set for future climate change activism after charges dropped
Kate Newton (RNZ): Wildlife hospital says public light displays are contributing to native seabird groundings
EDUCATION, TRAINING
Anna Sargent (RNZ): Principals welcome Auditor-General's school lunch scheme inquiry, keen to see results
Russell Palmer (RNZ): School lunches probe launched by Auditor-General
Stuff: Auditor-General announces inquiry into the alternative school lunches programme
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Auditor General launches investigation into school lunch programme (paywalled)
Cate Mcintosh (Press/Post): School leaders welcome official probe into school lunch programme (paywalled)
Mahvash Ikram (RNZ): Early childhood teacher warns accidents will go 'through the roof' after sector overhaul
RNZ: Oaklynn Specialist School in New Lynn has closed indefinitely for new enrolments
Caron Copek (Stuff): What are the rules now about when a teacher-only day can be?
Gareth Sinton: The Kids Are Alright — Was the Panic Necessary?
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Why our top achievers are leaving
Kate Green and Jazlyn Whales (RNZ): Return to pen and paper for some university exams tough for digitally savvy students
ORANGA TAMARIKI
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Oranga Tamariki pins hopes on $70m tech upgrade as more child abuse concerns reported
RNZ: Government figures on social work visits to at risk child doesn't show full picture - watchdog
HEALTH
Maddy Croad (Press/Post): Almost half of NZ schools within 10-minute walk of a vape store (paywalled)
Matthew Littleewood (ODT): Concerns after urgent doctors cuts hours (paywalled)
Te Aniwaniwa Paterson (Te Ao Māori News): Global scorecard demands accountability for Indigenous health
RNZ: ‘We need real security guards': Cleaners doubling as security guards at rural Waikato hospitals
John Anthony (BusinessDesk): AI boosts productivity for doctors, but Health NZ cautious on adoption (paywalled)
John Weekes (Herald): Up in Smoke: Why New Zealand’s medical cannabis industry is struggling to make ends meet (paywalled)
JUSTICE, POLICE, CRIME
Katie Ham (Post): Government forged ahead with citizen’s arrest revamp despite UN breach warnings (paywalled)
RNZ: Corrections minister Mark Mitchell denies pushing for longer prison sentences
Justin Wong (Post): Greens: NZ should stop setting up secret Chinese police interviews (paywalled)
Law Fuel: New Zealand Law – Shane Jones to Judges: Time to Bench the Activism and Reset the Rules
Anna Leask (Herald): Former NZ Police Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed as top cop in Victoria, Australia
Benita Kolovos (Guardian): Former NZ top cop tapped to lead Victoria police reveals plan for solving state’s ‘crime issues’
1News: Police, experts warn 'emerging risk' of 3D-printed firearms rising
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): We need to be part of the solution to retail crime
BUDGET, ECONOMY
Susan St John: Same old story—let’s frighten the horses with the bogey of net debt
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): ‘It's tough out there at the moment’: Number of adult children moving home on the rise
1News: Trade war: Sir John Key's 'optimism' on Trump's next tariff moves
Chris Keall (Herald): Key says Trump uses tariffs largely for leverage - but has fears for NZ film industry (paywalled)
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Sir John Key: Economic climate tougher than the Global Financial Crisis
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): The tariffs John Key is worried about and what former PM thinks about China now (paywalled)
Richard Prebble: Politicians are in fantasyland
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE
Audrey Young (Herald): Defence spending: Where is Judith Collins taking New Zealand? (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Luxon’s war wins allies (paywalled)
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): Australia-Pacific relations to remain 'more of the same' following Labor re-election - experts
Eric Crampton (Newsroom):Trump’s ‘foreign’ film tariff means disarming film subsidy arms race
André Chumko (Post): Trump’s screen tariff plan might be his wildest yet (paywalled)
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The Fold: Trump’s tariffs go to the movies (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Tom Hunt (Post): Emails reveal Wellington’s missing mayor amid water woes (paywalled)
Simon Wilson (Herald): Sir John Key, Helen Clark, Wayne Brown and Simeon Brown to debate the future of Auckland
Jonathan Killick (Post): Survey shows half of Aucklanders think supercity has failed (paywalled)
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Rubbish rort: Auckland residents claim council unfairly charging for waste services
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Anzac Day organisers face $7000 bill for 15-minute road closure
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Kerrin Leoni launches historic mayoral campaign, rallies diverse voices to boost voter turnout
Tom Belford (Bay Buzz): Public $$ to Ruataniwha Dam2?
Chris Lynch: Council staff recommend Christchurch keeps control of its own water services
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Stadium ticket levy gives people choice – Ashburton mayor
Grant Miller (ODT): Councillors’ conduct ‘appalling’ (paywalled)
BUSINESS
RNZ: Woolworths NZ faces criminal charges over pricing, misleading specials
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Criminal charges against Woolworths NZ filed by Commerce Commission
Gregor Thompson (BusinessDesk): ComCom files criminal charges against Woolworths (paywalled)
Carolyn Young (Post): There’s more than supermarkets behind the high cost of food (paywalled)
Jeremy Bennett (Post): The chilling effect of potential Government action on supermarkets (paywalled)
Blayne Slabbert (Post): NZ lacks the talent, ambition and mindset to lead in tech (paywalled)
TREATY, LAND
Myjane Jensen (Te Ao with Moana): Waitangi Tribunal turns 50: A legacy of truth-telling amid political tensions
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Ngāti Oneone calls for unused land return in Gisborne protest
Mana Epiha (Te Ao Māori News): Northland hapū to resist marina development
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): 'We haven't finished yet' - iwi misses out on bid to buy back ancestral mountain