NZ Politics Daily: 5 August 2021

Parliament, political parties
Michael Neilson (Herald): Government communications spending increases 50 per cent in four years(paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): What’s eating Kris Faafoi?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Mystery delay to National Party donations trial
Ben Thomas (Stuff): Collins lurches off-road in search for culture wars vote
1 News: Labour’s ‘massive’ drop in poll a ‘wake up call’ for Govt – Collins
Greg Presland (The Standard): Judith’s last stand?
Waatea News: National eyes treaty clause
Karl du Fresne: A transformational government unlike any other
Tess McClure (Guardian): Ardern’s popularity stumbles on New Zealand’s slow road to vaccination
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Anti-vax protesters rattle Parliament’s doors, as Labour laughs off the naysayers
Waatea News: Billy TK mounts mini-riot
David Farrar: My submission on the Maori electoral option timing
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Teens take fight for right to vote to Court of Appeal
RNZ: Group wanting lower voting age takes fight to Court of Appeal
Ethan Sills (Herald): Jacinda Ardern turned down cameo role in RuPaul’s Drag Race
RNZ: Prime minister turns down cameo on RuPaul’s Drag Race series
Bess Manson (Stuff): National Portrait: Margaret Wilson – the change-maker

Aotearoa or New Zealand?
Herald Editorial: Referendum on Aotearoa fails at every turn (paywalled)
RNZ: National Party leader Judith Collins ‘very happy’ to call the country Aotearoa
RNZ: Judith Collins ‘happy with either’ New Zealand or Aotearoa, but wants it put to public
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins defends day spent demanding ‘Aotearoa’ referendum
Zane Small (Newshub): ACT leader David Seymour not a fan of proposed ‘Aotearoa’ vs ‘New Zealand’ vote
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Feelings are hurt’: Judith Collins insists she’s fine with ‘Aotearoa’, but others are feeling ‘left out’
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Should we change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa? No – and here’s why
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Who needs a referendum on using Aotearoa? Not teenagers

Covid-19
Claire Breen (The Conversation): How far should compulsory proof of vaccination go — and what rights do New Zealanders have?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): District health board plans show Covid-19 vaccinations could extend to February
George Block (Stuff): Google billionaire Larry Page travelled to NZ amid Covid border restrictions
Arvind Kumar (Stuff): UN’s Fiji medical evacuation flight unfair, says human rights advocate
1News: National releases plan to fix ‘broken immigration system’
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Chris Bishop suspects clinicians were ‘pressured’ to U-turn on Fijian United Nations COVID-19 patient
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Demand for MIQ rooms triples since April, ‘forcing’ Kiwis to break laws by overstaying
RNZ: Covid-19 vaccine update: Two million doses administered in New Zealand
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Charting New Zealand’s vaccine rollout
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Rate of vaccination slower than expected in the South
Hamish MacLean (ODT): University hopes for mass jabs for students in October
1 News: Hipkin’s message to Kiwis as Covid misinformation spreads
RNZ: Port worker vaccinations: ‘A disproportionate uptake of misinformation’
RNZ: Call for MIQ booking system reform – ‘The government just doesn’t get it’
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Some Kiwis stuck in Australia may lose superannuation payments
Sam Olley (RNZ): Travel bubble: MSD to partially refund beneficiary stuck in Sydney
Jo Spratt (Spinoff): Why we should share our vaccines
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand downgrade: What it means for planned capital raise (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Air New Zealand sees bigger losses next year – will dip further into Govt loan money
Herald:  Air NZ forecasts losses up to $530m with transtasman bubble impact
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Companies survive Covid – but not recovery

Labour market, industrial relations, migrant workers
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Three-quarters of workers get pay rises that don’t keep up with inflation
Hamish Rutherford: Hot labour market good for workers, but problems ahead (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Employers embarrass Government and the Nats
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): How NZ became reliant on migrant workers (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National Party wants to clear residency backlog and offer ‘Covid contribution’ visa for workers already here
Herald: National wants ‘Covid Contribution Visa’ to clear immigration residency backlog
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Couples split by immigration raise money to go to court
Dominic Godfery (RNZ): Open borders for seasonal workers welcomed, but Solomon Islands wants in too
Marena Mane (Māori TV): Prime Minister keen to welcome back Pasifika for seasonal work
ODT Editorial: Nurses negotiations need cool heads
No Right Turn: One way of fixing it
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Midwives to walk off the job after agreement can’t be reached with District Health Boards
Duncan Garner (Newshub): If Jacinda Ardern can give the Mongrel Mob $2.75m for meth rehab, where is the money for NZ’s undervalued midwives?
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Wellington bus drivers win legal battle over rest breaks legislation
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Employment Relations Authority rules in favour of bus drivers on split shifts

Employment figures, economy
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Unemployment plunges to 4 per cent – biggest quarterly fall in 35 years
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): This employment situation is getting ridiculous
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 4% unemployment – the case for keeping the borders shut
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Are we at peak employment?
No Right Turn: 5,000 employed under Labour
1 News: Construction sector trying to fight labour shortages as unemployment rate dips
Tom Pullar-Strecker and Tina Morrison (Stuff): ANZ and BNZ tip official cash rate to hit 1% by year-end after record drop in unemployment
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): ANZ predicts most aggressive interest rate increases since 2004 as economy overheats (paywalled)

Commerce Commission supermarkets report
Jess Berentson-Shaw (Newsroom): There’s something rotten in the state of supermarkets
Lydia Cheung (Stuff): Competition in NZ supermarkets needs intervention and innovation
Jon Duffy (Stuff): Our supermarket duopoly doesn’t deserve a gold medal
Ben Kepes (Herald): Fixing supermarkets with inspiration from Isaac Newton (paywalled)
Andy Matthews (BusinessDesk): Will supermarkets get broken up? (paywalled)
Philip Stevens (Stuff): The Commerce Commission has an important opportunity, but it’s not a simple one 

Transport
Claire Trevett (Herald):  Known when to walk away – Labour takes Kenny Rogers’ advice in cycle bridge u-turn (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Harbour cycle bridge never had a champion (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Bike Bridge hatred another political warning of Twitter Red Peak syndrome
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Cycle bridge in Auckland ain’t happening
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Wellington businesses, industry groups form coalition over concerns about focus and progress of Let’s Get Wellington Moving
Todd Niall (Stuff): Border closures, staff shortages lead to near-record Auckland ferry cancellation
Timothy Welch (Newsroom): No place for cars in cities of the future

Health
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Covid-19 NZ: Vaccination mass roll-out is the final test of the DHB system before it disappears 
Kathy Spencer (Herald): Pharmac needs adequate funding and a reasonable time frame (paywalled)
Stuff: Waikato DHB wins injunction to stop Radio NZ using hacked data
Penny Simmonds (Stuff): Southern DHB’s long-term plans are little comfort for the many in need right now
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Emergency patients waiting all night
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Security issues, short-staffing concerns addressed in Wellington’s overcrowded ED
Emma Vitz (Spinoff): Why even ‘wealthy’ New Zealanders are avoiding the dentist

Housing
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): RBNZ move will hit first home buyers hardest
Tony Alexander (One Roof): The buyers who’ll be hit hardest by the new home loan rules
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Housing crisis: Reserve Bank admits consistently getting house price projections wrong
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): RBNZ admits to underestimating house price inflation over the past decade
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Housing crisis? Mayor at odds with councillors
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Staying put in a rental can save you up to $110 per week, research finds
Nick James (Herald): $400 Wellington house listing asks flatmate to leave six hours of the day

Justice, corrections
Derek Cheng (Herald): And Justice for All? – The ‘transformational change’ trying to keep Kiwis out of jail(paywalled)
Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): Inmates stage protests over moves between South Island prisons
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Prisoners stage protests over move to OCF

Local government
Logan Savory (Stuff): Invercargill city councillors raise concerns over Governments water reforms
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Bid to cut the size of Palmerston North’s council fails for now
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Ngāi Tahu representation bill slammed as ‘undemocratic’
Craig Ashworth (Stuff): Māori to get more say on New Plymouth street names after subdivision compromise
Craig Ashworth (Stuff): Iwi say more council seats best chance for New Plymouth Māori
Kiri Gillespie (Bay of Plenty Times): Māori flag to fly at Bay of Plenty regional council buildings (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Options revealed to slice and dice Wellington City wards before local elections
Alex Braae (Spinoff): The controversial Facebook page that made Bruce Smith king of the Coast

Environment, climate change, conservation
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Farmers, Greenpeace look to different stats to measure emissions
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Agricultural leaders criticised for promoting ‘fear’ over freshwater regulations
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Controversial ‘climate’ projects still waiting for money, a year on 
Adam Burns (RNZ): National MP alleges climate change cover up: ‘The science of bullsh*t’
Shane Te Pou (Herald): We must adopt water reforms for the benefit of all (paywalled)
RNZ: Hapū seek to stop dredging in Hauraki Gulf

Marsden Point
Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZ ‘naive’ to shut down Marsden Point – Australian analyst
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Marsden Pt workers feel abandoned by govt as job cuts loom

Dawn Raids apology
Melani Anae (Guardian): Ardern’s apology to Pacific peoples lacks concrete actions. We will continue the fight
Adam Burns (Stuff): Dawn raids apology: Racially targeted policy ‘traumatised’ those on both sides
Adam Burns (RNZ): Govt apology: Samoan man’s sister was a Dawn Raid officer
Melenie Parkes (Stuff):New local series chronicles the rise of the Polynesian Panthers 

Media
Kristin Hall (1 News): Former Mediaworks employee says scathing review gives ‘no closure’
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): MediaWorks review exposes alleged sexual assault, ‘boys club culture’
Katie Harris (Herald): MediaWorks sexual assault allegations: Police aware people may want to report allegations
Katie Harris (Herald): MediaWorks CEO apologises ‘unreservedly’ to former and current staff on behalf of firm
Alison Mau (Stuff): Scathing MediaWorks review reveals ‘boys’ club culture’, bullying and racism
Alison Mau (Stuff): MediaWorks harassment, bullying report ‘like Christmas’, former staff say
Katie Harris (Herald): ‘Boys’ Club’ culture, sexual assault, harassment and bullying examined in MediaWorks report
Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): MediaWorks review offers sliver of hope amid sordid revelations (paywalled)
Monika Barton and Daniel Rutledge and Karen Rutherford (Newshub): MediaWorks investigation uncovers multiple sexual assault, racism, sexism, drug use allegations, CEO ‘unreservedly apologises’
Spinoff: ‘A culture of acceptance of misconduct’: The MediaWorks review, explained
RNZ: High Court stops RNZ from using further information stolen in Waikato DHB cyber attack

Sport
Arena Williams and Stuart Smith (Stuff): Forty years on from the Springbok tour, we have fully rejected the myth that politics and sport don’t mix
Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On whether we’re punching above our weight, and should we care?
Adrian Seconi (ODT): Academic sees Hubbard as a trailblazer

Conversion therapy
RNZ: The Detail: Banning conversion therapy
Newstalk ZB: Simon Bridges: National wants amendments made to conversion therapy bill

Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Tiwai Point: Latest document release reveals government concerns about Rio Tinto
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Former advisory group frustrated with EQC’s lack of clarity on new model
Robbie Nicol (Stuff): What’s our endgame in giving Hollywood millions of dollars to film here?
Laura Walters (Spinoff): I really want to move to Wellington, but Wellington is making it really hard
Chris Keall (Herald):  Telcos warned about marketing tactics as copper turned off (paywalled)
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Beef and sheep farmers call for limits to carbon farming
Chris Keall (Herald): Telcos warned about marketing tactics as copper turned off (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Police reviewing policy on formal warnings
Don Brash (Bassett, Brash and Hide): Natural and Built Environments Act (RMA replacement)
Newstalk ZB: Latest figures show average NZ personal debt at $23,000
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Businesses asked to be more proactive in combating money laundering
Will Trafford (Māori TV): ‘Bull**** in my letterbox’ – Outrage over racist booklet
Mark Amery (Stuff): Moving culturally beyond cancel culture
Muriel Newman (NZCPR): Attacking Free Speech