NZ Politics Daily - 4 December 2023
SMOKING LAWS
William Hewett (Newshub): Smokefree laws: Luxon admits he doesn't know how many lives could be lost by scrapping regulations
1News: Q+A: 'We got it wrong': PM Luxon admits tobacco store claim wrong
1News: Q+A: Smokefree laws: Bishop fact-checked on PM's Northland store claim
Adam Hollingworth (Newshub): Smokefree laws: Christopher Luxon slammed with questions about National's accuracy after false tobacco store claim
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Smokefree laws: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admits blunder on tobacco store numbers
Michael Neilson (Herald): Smokefree laws: PM Christopher Luxon admits he got claim about Northland tobacco stores wrong
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Luxon admits 'we've got it wrong' on number of cigarette outlets in Northland
1News: 'Natural reality' - Luxon on cigarette black market claims
RNZ: Christopher Luxon tells team to fact-check claims after tobacco outlet mistake
Michael Neilson (Herald): Smokefree laws: PM Christopher Luxon speaks to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking after he got claim about Northland tobacco stores wrong
RNZ: Northland doctors say scrapping smokefree legislation 'ridiculous'
Fiona Ellis (ODT): Smoking law move slammed
Newshub: Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick calls for consistency in Govt's approach to tobacco, alcohol and cannabis
Shane Te Pou (Herald): Find us a doctor who will say it’s right to give Kiwis cancer to pay for tax cuts (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Smoking ban reversal by new Government a backwards step for NZ (paywalled)
Anna Murray (1News): NZ's smokefree legislation: A history of stubbing out smoking
Miriam Bell (Post): Is the smokefree law change just a stay of execution for dairies? (paywalled)
GOVERNMENT
Julie Jacobson (Post): Political insiders lift the lid on what lobbyists do in the shadows (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): 'And so it begins': Inside Parliament during the uneasy transition of government
Kevin Norquay (Post): Could the ‘war on woke’ end up as a pyrrhic victory for most Kiwis? (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): Restless Luxon takes the reins (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post): Government hits ground repealing (paywalled)
Claire Trevett: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon embarks on his promise of change in 100 days amid inflation warnings (paywalled)
Vernon Small (Post):A mandate no guarantee of a smooth ride (paywalled)
Max Rashbrooke (Post): Watch out for the rise of conservative conspiracy theories (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Luxon lets Winston be Winston – but he’s setting a dangerous precedent (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Post): Is Luxon’s new role to dampen the highly-flammable words spilling from his coalition partner? (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Winston Peters undermines Christopher Luxon, defends silly policies (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (Herald): The Week in Politics: Winston goes to war
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Focus on Politics: Distractions assail coalition as it lays out ambitious agenda
Grant Duncan: Luxon & Co. A trusted brand?
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Five clashes to watch out for as the National-led government takes flight
Newshub: Labour MP Ginny Andersen 'really' concerned about media comments by Winston Peters
Janet Wison (Post): Time for Luxon to imprint his authority on his deputy (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s Government on the defensive after a ragged start (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): A new chief of staff for Chris Hipkins, confusion over Deputy Prime Ministers Winston Peters and David Seymour (paywalled)
Newshub Nation: Brooke van Velden unconcerned by lack of diversity in Government leadership
Newshub Nation: Josie Pagani praises Christopher Luxon's 'energiser bunny' first week as Prime Minister, says he looks 'assured'
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Local representation lack in Parliament concerning (paywalled)
Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT): Absolute right to love challenged by coalition priorities (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Post) ‘Getting to work’: Luxon’s verdict on first week as PM (paywalled)
Muriel Newman (Newstalk ZB): We are witnessing a remarkable turnaround in New Zealand politics (paywalled)
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. Lord Winston
WINSTON PETERS' ATTACKS ON MEDIA
Andrea Vance (Post): Is the power of the Press Gallery on the slide? (paywalled)
Graham Adams (Platform): When is a bribe not a bribe?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Media faces reporting on its own gradual demise (paywalled)
Charlie Mitchell (Post): What is Winston doing?Professional wrestling can give us a guide (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsrom): Peters’ week of talking bulldust
Tracy Watkins (Post): Misdirection and misinformation - what is Winston Peters’ game? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Deputy PM Winston Peters among MPs who have supported te reo on RNZ since 1995 (paywalled)
Calida Stuart-Menteath and Hamish McNicol (NBR): Underfunded newsrooms a concern for democracy (paywalled)
CLIMATE CHANGE
Rod Oram (Newsroom): NZ wins COP28 ‘fossil’ award for revoking offshore oil exploration ban
RNZ: COP28: NZ not among more than 100 countries signing up to new major energy pledge
Oivia Wannan (Stuff): Why is the previous climate minister going to the COP28 global talks?
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Who needs an economy if we burn to the ground? (paywalled)
Gary Taylor (Newsroom): New Government crashes environment
Lydia Lewis (RNZ): 'It's tragic': Palau's Whipps Jr slams NZ govt's oil and gas exploration plans
ODT Editorial: Copping it at COP28 (paywalled)
Oivia Wannan (Stuff): Watch 15 million tonnes of emissions vanish this week
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Carbon auction set to fail, depriving the govt of $900m (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy and NZ in 'crosshairs' at global COP28 talks (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Chloe Swarbrick: Peddling non-solutions to climate change?
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Climate change pilot 'paused' in Northland, despite community’s pleas
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Risk of ‘permanent groundwater’ by 2030 (paywalled)
ENERGY
Joanne Naish (Post): Scrapping Lake Onslow project ‘disgraceful’
RNZ: Govt confirms it is dumping 'hugely wasteful' Lake Onslow battery project
Newshub: Government scraps Lake Onslow hydro scheme
TREATY, GOVERNMENT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MĀORI
Audrey Young (Herald): Backlash against the Government’s Māori agenda is bubbling away (paywalled)
Kelvin McDonald (Whakaata Māori): ‘Beginning of what’s to come’: Te Pāti Māori to issue nationwide call to action - spokesperson
Deb Te Kawa (E-Tangata): A culture war? Te ao Māori is ready
Richard Harman (Politik): First big test coming (paywalled)
Margaret Mutu (Newsroom): Enhancing the mana of Te Tiriti
Michelle Duff (Guardian): ‘A massive unravelling’: fears for Māori rights as New Zealand government reviews treaty
Catherine Delahunty (E-Tangata): The great leap backwards
TORY WHANAU, ALCOHOL HARM
Colin Peacock and Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Mayor under pressure after rumour-based reports
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Wellington mayor Tory Whanau – should she stay or should she go?
Georgina Campbell (Herald): From party mayor to drinking problem: Wellington leader Tory Whanau’s six-month spiral
RNZ: Councillor says Wellington mayor Tory Whanau should resign - 'It's not working'
William Terite (Newshub): Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau's admission of alcohol problem puts spotlight on national issue
Michael Daly (Stuff): Wellington councillors speak on what the future could be for Mayor Tory Whanau
Neil Holdom (Post): Whanau’s colleagues need to look at themselves in the mirror (paywalled)
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Auckland councillor criticised for 'vile' comment about Wellington mayor
Greg Presland (The Standard): Why is the right so afraid of Tory Whanau?
Liz Gordon (Post): We are all flawed: alcohol and the human condition (paywalled)
Mariné Lourens (Post): ‘Falling apart inside’: Struggling with alcohol abuse in a high-profile job (paywalled)
Paula Bennett (Herald): The dangers of alcohol while in office (paywalled)
André Chumko (Post): The unseen horrors of Crate Day (paywalled)
Emma Stanford (RNZ): Canterbury Crate Day punters anger activists over breaking endangered birds' eggs
Melania Watson (Newshub): Crate Day ruckus crushes endangered bird eggs, disrupts chicks along Canterbury's Ashley River
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Public can be 'brutal' - councillors defend use of closed-door workshops
Adam Dudding (Post): Wayne Brown: Mistakes? I don’t think so (paywalled)
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): At meeting with David Seymour, Wayne Brown calls for governmental legislative changes in Auckland
1New: 'Time to grow up': Wayne Brown's message to Aucklanders
Tim Hunter (NBR): Council bond buyback creates conundrum for investors (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Wellington central library $189m rebuild on track
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Greens pick Renters United president Geordie Rogers for Wellington council byelection
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Parry agreed to consulting role before announcing Gore District Council resignation
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Crumbling teeth or having a home? The choice one retired Rotorua couple face
Katie Townshend (Nelson Mail): Nelson council working to get struggling ratepayers on to payment plans
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Bulls wastewater improvements coming nearly 20 years too late
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Waka Kotahi’s plans for $1.3b National Ticketing Solution ‘not sufficient’ (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): City Rail Link set to cost Auckland ratepayers $220m a year to operate once it opens in 2026
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Pain at the pump: Transport Minister Simeon Brown can’t say when Auckland’s regional fuel tax will be scrapped
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Mayor v minister: Wellington’s Golden Mile will be a test for both (paywalled)
Ashleigh McCaull (RNZ): Wellington 'bustastrophe' nearing end as more services planned
Conor Knell (Post): Bus reliability has come a long way since ‘bustastrophe’ (paywalled)
Glenn McLean (Taranaki Daily News): Transport advocates urge change to bus network in New Plymouth
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): KiwiRail wants to expand NZ’s one-track mind
Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporting): Second bridge makes Whakatāne wish list – for now
Duncan Garner (Listener): Show me the money - and get this country moving (paywalled)
COST OF LIVING, ECONOMY
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): What really counts as poor in New Zealand now?
RNZ: KiwiSaver: Early withdrawals double as purses put under strain
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals double as New Zealanders struggle
David Hargreaves (Interest): Part 1: The year of finding out
David Hargreaves (Interest): Part 2: A toxic trio and a triple threat to the New Zealand economy?
David Hargreaves (Interet): 2023 is nearly gone...how has it been for you?
Liam Dann (Herald): Brace yourself - big warning buried in the Reserve Bank statement (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Reserve Bank’s tough talk on interest rates isn’t a game, says deputy governor Christian Hawkesby (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): February rate hike an option, cuts in the distance: Hawkesby (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Luxon wants inflation put at the top of the agenda
Donal Curtin: Competition and the coalition of chaos
Damien Grant (Stuff): The new Government has a once in a generation opportunity to lower taxes
Terry Baucher (Interest): Te wiki o te tāke: A surprise acceleration of interest deductibility. And could taxing marijuana help fill the fiscal gap?
Michael Reddell (Post): As National sets to work, can it deliver all that the country needs? (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: The fiscal situation: some comparisons using OECD numbers
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): NZ cities drop down The Economist ‘cozzie livs’ rankings
HEALTH
Michael Neilson (Herald): Helen Clark: NZ’s World Health Organisation (WHO) opposition risks it being an ‘international outlier’
Newshub: Helen Clark calls Government's World Health Organization policy 'cringeworthy'
Press Editorial: The question isn’t WHO, it’s why? (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (Post): Nine minutes with new health minister Dr Shane Reti (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: ED myth busting (paywalled)
1News: Q+A: Psychiatrist: More mentally ill in prison amid 'decay' in services
Alex Spence (Herald): Mental health watchdog Te Hiringa Mahara faces claims about ‘toxic’ workplace from staff (paywalled)
Kristie Boland (Post): Matt Doocey’s journey to NZ's first mental health minister (paywalled)
RNZ: Te Whatu Ora pays back staff $246m of owed $2b
RNZ: Senior doctors settle pay dispute with Te Whatu Ora
RNZ: Public sector boss Steve Maharey resigns as chair of Pharmac and ACC
Anna Whyte (Post): Steve Maharey resigns as chairperson of Pharmac, ACC boards (paywalled)
Tureiti Moxon (Newsroom): The Māori Health Authority must stay
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Hospice Southland chief calls for more Government funding
Alex Casey (Spinoff): What happens when your WINZ-funded therapy stops?
Amanda Gillies (Newshub): ACC declines Greymouth cancer survivor Brittany Kremers' claim for facial reconstruction surgery
COVID-19
Hannah Martin (Stuff): What we know about the Government's Covid-19 inquiry
RNZ: Royal Commission of Inquiry delays public submissions until goverment review
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): What we know about Te Whatu Ora's vaccine data scandal
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Health worker arrested after allegedly misusing data to spread vaccine misinformation
RNZ: Man arrested over Te Whatu Ora vaccine data breach
Lincoln Tan (Herad): Te Whatu Ora granted urgent injunction, police complaint filed over mass privacy breach of Covid vaccination data by former staff member
1News: Q+A: Health worker 'misused' Covid vax data, police complaint laid
Stuff: Te Whatu Ora launches investigation saying employee spreads vaccine misinformation
RNZ: Te Whatu Ora lays police complaint over vaccine data breach
EDUCATION
Perry Wilton (Newshub): Christopher Luxon's first school visit as Prime Minister overshadowed by bold education pledge
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Cellphones take the fall for education failures
RNZ: Watch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Education Minister Erica Stanford address media
Tom Dillane (Herald): Kiwi students opting for more ‘rigorous’ Cambridge curriculum because of NCEA uncertainty, data shows (paywalled)
John Braddock (WSWS): Incoming New Zealand government prepares sweeping attack on public education
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Students face rent rise as council rates bill more than doubles
Fox Meyer (Critic): Duck-Biting Story Threatens Otago’s Reputation, Says Newspaper that Wrote the Story
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Duck tales - did students really bite the feet off of ducks?
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE, DEFENCE
Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
Michael Neilson (Herald): Israel-Hamas war: PM Christopher Luxon on resumption of fighting in Gaza, Palestine after humanitarian pause, says no peace through military action
RNZ: New Zealand welcomes extension to pause in Gaza conflict
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): New Zealand to put 'every single effort' into getting free trade deal with India
RNZ: Richard Jackson: Does NZ really need its defence force?
The Standard: Labour needs to open the military-political front
RNZ: Activists call on NZ govt to do more for West Papua
TOP
1News: Q+A: Raf Manji steps down as leader of The Opportunities Party
Sinead Gill (Post): TOP leader Raf Manji resigns (paywalled)
RNZ: Opportunities Party leader Raf Manji resigns
HOUSING
Jonathan Killick (Stuff): How a developer held the Government to ransom for a $37.8 million bailout
Justin Hu (1News): Public housing waitlist spikes, over 25,000 households waiting
Greg Ninness (Interest): Latest figures from Realestate.co.nz suggest housing market could be heading for a quiet summer
IMMIGRATION
Mildred Armah (Stuff): Migrants left with no work struggle with mountain of debt and no hope of paying it off
Juan Zarama (Post): They make New Zealand their home, and then they have to leave (paywalled)
BUSINESS
Rob Stock (Post): Battle royal over a $1 million retirement village claim (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Christchurch Metlifecare retirement village resident complains of $285,000 charge to transfer apartments (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Calls to increase film rebate: ‘We must if we want to stay competitive’ (paywalled)
RNZ: Consumer confidence remains pessimistic as inflation pressures persist
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Advocates call on Government to make pay gap reporting mandatory in private sector
Hamish McNicol (NBR): Do fund managers eat their own cooking? (paywalled)
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): On the Money: Scaring Winston, securing Peter Francis, PR values and more (paywalled)
CHRISTCHURCH MOSQUE ATTACKS
Danielle Clent (RNZ): Christchurch terror attack inquest: St John ill-equipped to deal with mosque shootings - expert
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Christchurch mosque attacks: Victim Hussein Al Umari to receive bravery reward after family's lengthy fight for recognition
Karl du Fresne: What's behind the media’s low-key treatment of the mosque shootings inquest?
LAW AND ORDER
Michael Neilson (Herald): Concern as prison population rises after National, Act pledge stricter sentencing amid major Corrections staff shortages
Chelsea Daniels (Newstalk ZB): New Zealand takes a page from Western Australia’s anti-bikie gang laws
MEDIA
Edward Gay (Stuff): Without fear or favour: Todd Niall retires after 46 years in journalism
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Hamish McKenzie and the rise of Substack; Stuff’s Circuit breaker; Why are there so many media awards? (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): Former Breakfast host Kamahl Santamaria’s deep-dive inquiry into TVNZ seeks ‘texts, emails’ from colleagues and bosses
Aimee Shaw (Post): TVNZ tie up with Amazon could prove game changing for media (paywalled)
Merja Myllylahti (The Conversation): The news is fading from sight on big social media platforms – where does that leave journalism?
OTHER
Andrea Vance (Post): The Wellington Power List (paywalled)
Anna Whyte and Harriette Boucher (Post): More public services tightening belts, slashing recruitment (paywalled)
Warren Couillault (BusinessDesk): NZ needs smarter and lighter regulation, not no regulation (paywalled)
Sam Smith (Stuff): More money in cannabis than tobacco, advocates say ahead of repeal
Angus Kebbell (Interest): Biodiversity payment system to support farmers and NZ Inc.
Melissa Stokes (1News): Newsmakers: The Labour MP who fought to decriminalise gay sex in NZ
Gerald Hensley (Listener): What was it like to have Robert Muldoon and David Lange as bosses? (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Herald): Princess of Chaos: Bevan Chuang, former lover of Len Brown, talks to Steve Braunias
RNZ: Fixing the desperate state of arts and culture coverage in the media
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Ryan Bodman: Telling the story of rugby league in Aotearoa