NZ Politics Daily: 1 May 2023

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The power players in new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ orbit
Andrea Vance (Post): The Greens: these are not serious people (paywalled)
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: National vs Labour – Will Luxon’s campaign millions be enough to beat Hipkins?
Kevin Norquay (Press): Masks off, sunglasses on, the October election will steer New Zealand into the sunshine, right?
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): We’re wise to the same old lines and empty election promises – we’ve heard it all before
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Chris Hipkins uses Budget season to start to craft his economic story
Luke Malpass (The Post): New trains and student loan forgiveness: must be election year! (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Poliitk): The nervous Nats (paywalled)
Grant Duncan: Pre-electoral coalitions
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Chris Hipkins and Chris Luxon will battle to be the most boring, while minor parties set the agenda in Election 2023
Claire Trevett (Herald): Why PM Chris Hipkins is on a charm offensive with business – and his pivot from the age of Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): My key takeaways from finding out everything I could about Christopher Luxon
Andrea Vance (Post): ‘I’ve always been someone who’s come from outside’ – the life and times of Christopher Luxon
Andrea Vance (Post): National Party leader Christopher Luxon is keeping the faith (paywalled)
Stuff: A selection of revealing childhood pics of Christopher Luxon
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National’s Christopher Luxon sharpens pitch to middle-income voters as party warns of Labour’s ‘envy-driven tax-grab’
Herald Editorial: Election 2023 is with either party to win – or lose (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): The chances of Act pulling off an Epsom-style win and toppling Simon O’Connor in Tāmaki (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Christopher Luxon ‘not at all’ concerned about ACT’s play for Tāmaki seat
Claire Trevett (Herald): Act Party’s Brooke van Velden targets National Party’s Simon O’Connor in bid for Tāmaki electorate
1News: ACT Deputy Brooke Van Velden to compete for Auckland’s Tāmaki seat
Lucy Thomson (Newshub): ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden to challenge National MP Simon O’Connor for Tamaki seat
Stuff: Newsable: Unveiling the tricks of political ‘spin’: Your must-read guide for the 2023 Election
Audrey Young (Herald): The top candidates for next Public Service Commissioner (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Australia’s citizenship deal, Green Party tensions and a tax debate
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Chris Hipkins trades Coronation wardrobe notes with Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese, Chris of the Week, and the ministers who share an artwork (paywalled)

TAX
Vernon Small (Post): Tax the rich? There’s a downside (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Taxing capital gains — Aussies can, why not us? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): How the rich get rich: Seven things you missed from the IRD’s wealth report (paywalled)
1News: Q+A: National’s Willis defends party’s position on tax system fairness
Rebecca Wright and Gray Gibson: Newshub Nation debate: ACT leader David Seymour and Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick clash over future of NZ’s tax policy
Spinoff: Bernard Hickey and David Parker get down to brass tax
John Roughan (Herald): To tax or not to tax – or the third rail (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Taxing the wealthy? Why you should be careful what you wish for (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Press): French economist Thomas Piketty labels tax rate paid by wealthy Kiwis ‘depressing’
Terry Baucher (Interest): Dissecting Inland Revenue’s report on high wealth individuals with Shamubeel Eaqub
Herald: John Tamihere: ‘Tax the rich’ will be a Te Pāti Māori election kingmaker – or breaker
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): There is a class war happening in NZ, but thanks to Identity Politics we lack the vocabulary to articulate it
Damien Grant (Stuff): We should be celebrating the rich, not hitting them with more taxes
Liam Dann (Herald): Life’s not fair – does our tax system have to be? (paywalled)
Sasha Borrisenko (Herald): How IRD was empowered to research the rich (paywalled)
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Hipkins leaves capital gains tax door ajar
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Parties navigate fresh tax debate ahead of ‘no frills’ Budget
Herald: On the Tiles: Ruth Richardson on fiscal policy, the Budget and IRD tax report
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An Ode for .. the Minister of Taxes

TRANSPORT
Jonathan Killick (Stuff): Government to slap toll charge on new $830m road north of Auckland
Luke Malpass and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Take Five: What will new hybrid trains mean for Wellington region?
RNZ: Passenger rail ripe for revival: ‘We’ve got to get in the queue’
1News: 18 new passenger trains for Lower North Island commuters
RNZ: New fleet of trains for Kāpiti Coast and Wairarapa
Erin Gourley (The Post): Warning of capital commuter chaos with only half of train services running
Isaac Davison (Herald): Kiwirail bosses called into Beehive to explain major disruptions to Wellington rail services
Justine Wong (Stuff): Wellington train disruption could now last days instead of weeks
Anna Whyte (Stuff): $61m bus driver funding from Government yet to be spent
RNZ: Majority of surveyed greater Christchurch residents back mass rapid transport system
RNZ: Road transport industry says roading investment strategy desperately needed
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): The surprising benefits of lowering the speed limit (paywalled)
1News: Kaitaia would be ‘marching in the streets’ if airport closed

HEALTH
Fiona Ellis (ODT): Public, private healthcare divide decides brothers’ fate after cancer diagnosis
RNZ: Impact of delay in care a common reason for complaints, health watchdog says
Rachel Thomas (The Post): Under-pressure doctors have more than a millennium of leave owing (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Nursing shortage: Ayesha Verrall accuses National’s Shane Reti of misleading on nurse exodus
Anna Whyte (Stuff): National promises to pay more than $22K off nurses’, midwives’ student loans
RNZ: National’s health policy: Bonding scheme for nurses and midwives
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): National announces bonding plan to incentivise nurses, midwives to stay in New Zealand
Lauren Hendricksen (Newshub): Health industry experts worried National’s plan to keep nurses, midwives in New Zealand won’t go far enough
1News: National pledges $22k student loan help for nurses, midwives
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Community pharmacists call for end to ‘devastating’ prescription fee
Nikki Macdonald (Press): ‘An absolute scandal’: why are women paying for critical pregnancy scans?
RNZ: Aged Care Association calls for health overhaul to safeguard older people
RNZ: Smaller Covid waves, but still ‘major uncertainties’ – Michael Baker
Indira Stewart (1News): Paramedic sacked over jab continued to be face of St John campaigns
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Rangiora after-hours clinic delayed until early 2025, meeting told
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Christchurch Hospital parking woes idle on

EDUCATION
1News: Q+A: Many universities could face job cuts this year, AUT leader warns
Quintin Jane (Spinoff): The government’s ‘she’ll be right’ attitude to universities is failing a generation
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Te Pūkenga hopeful work-based funding change will offset other income drops
Lee Kenny (Press): Student families move house after ballot closes to secure place at top Christchurch school (paywalled)
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Harrowing reality of financially strained students: ‘Emotionally burnt out’ and surviving on rice as cost of living skyrockets
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Disappointing statistics show fewer New Zealand students passing NCEA
1News: Students lose over 100 teaching hours in 12 months
Te Rina Kowhai (Newsub): Why Kura Kaupapa is telling Government it needs more funding, doesn’t want to be assimilated into mainstream
Siena Yates (E-Tangata): The Haka Party Incident

HOUSING
1News: Minister defends lack of spending to tackle homelessness
RNZ: Bishop says National’s landlord tax breaks and no-cause terminations ‘pro-tenant’
1News: National’s new rental proposal ‘us vs them’ – Renters United
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Rents for apartments, small houses soar as median rent remains at record high
Ryan Boswell (1News): Rental demand pushing up Christchurch house prices
Caroline Williams (Stuff): 350 apartments for renters only proposed for Auckland’s North Shore
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Huge new 255-home subdivision proposed for Napier
RNZ: Community feedback sought on proposal to rezone land near Queenstown for housing

ENVIRONMENT
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): A Fonterra staff member was asked to help shape a crucial climate policy. Why? It’s unclear
Ella Stewart (RNZ): ‘Our tīpuna knew when to move’ – The difficult conversations about managed retreat for Māori
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): Is the ETS an environmental ponzi scheme?
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): What’s wrong with the Emissions Trading Scheme?
Rob Oram (Newsroom): The crucial missing advice for next Emissions Reduction Plan
Karen Nairn (Newsroom): Political short-termism plagues climate action
Diane McCarthy (Local Democracy Reporting): Gloomy snapshot of climate change future in Bay of Plenty
RNZ: Australian mining company reapplies for consent to start West Coast open-cast mine
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Energy boffins scold Government for scrapping biofuels
Jack Santa Barbara (Newsroom): Green growth approach to climate change will do more harm than good
Steven Ratuva (E-Tangata): Young Pacific minds, big dreams to save the planet

EXTREME WEATHER
Newshub: New Zealand needs to ready itself for ‘new norm’ of natural disasters, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says
1News: Willie Apiata raises $220K in cyclone aid for East Coast communities

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING, PERSONAL FINANCE
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Nearly one in five kids are living in food insecurity, research shows
Rob Stock (Stuff): MP hopes to cap how much lenders can strip from debtors’ benefits
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Cost of living: More than half of NZ parents report ‘disheartening’ lifestyle changes to afford food, research finds
1News: Why food is a rip-off in New Zealand compared to Australia
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): Let them eat tinned fish and dried lentils

AUSTRALIAN CITIZENSHIP DEAL
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Citizenship celebration turns sour in record time
Mike Munro (Herald): Australian citizenship and why you’d have to be mad as a cut snake to swallow David Seymour’s line (paywalled)
Mike O’Donnell (Stuff): Australia’s higher cost of living means you’re not necessarily going to be streets ahead
Carla Jones (Stuff): I moved to Australia 12 years ago. I don’t see myself coming home to NZ

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Australia’s military ambition raises challenges for NZ
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): The prime minister’s ‘best little trading nation in the world’ (paywalled)
Farida Refaat (1News): ‘We need support’ – Sudanese community gathers in Aotea Square
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): Pacific yet to receive foreign aid promised by US President Joe Biden
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Dame Naida Glavish to represent Aotearoa at King Charles’ coronation

IMMIGRATION
Janet Wilson (Stuff): It’s time to unclutch the pearls and start planning for immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Recovery visa sold for more than $30,000 by unlicensed agents, immigration adviser says
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): ‘Open and shut’ immigration cases taking years to resolve

CRIME, JUSTICE
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Ginny Andersen to tackle National’s tough talk on crime
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): ‘I come to work every day ready to fight’ – K Rd shop owners’ despair
Michael Neilson (Herald): Cannabis drug possession discretion laws appear to benefit Pākehā most, surpassing Māori for first time as Greens again call for decriminalisation
Nick Truebridge (Newshub): Young mother pleads with Corrections to allow in-person prison visits

MEDIA
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): MediaRoom: Stuff’s three-legged paywall
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Stuff takes paywall plunge
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Inside Stuff’s bold, unconventional new paywall plan
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Boucher: readers paying for news ‘important’ (paywalled)
Stuff: Stuff launches The Post, The Press and Waikato Times digital sites
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Mediaworks wanted its nine news staff to apply for four roles, none did, source says

EREBUS MEMORIAL
RNZ: ‘God willing I’ll still be around when it is constructed’: Families desperate to see Erebus memorial built
Adam Hollingworth (Newshub): Location of controversial Erebus memorial to be moved after wild weather damages park
RNZ: Erebus memorial scrapped despite engineers’ recommendation to build wall below site
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Erebus memorial scrapped at Taurarua / Dove-Myer Robinson Park
1News: Erebus memorial to be moved from Parnell site

INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND GENETIC TESTING
RNZ: Geneticist Andrew Shelling calls for ban on insurers accessing genetic tests
Ireland Hendry-Tennent and Demelza Leslie (Newshub): Calls for ban on insurance companies using genetic testing information as doctors warn it puts Kiwis at risk
RNZ: Insurance companies accused of using genetic tests to deny coverage, hike premiums
Simon Shepherd and Gray Gibson: Newshub Nation: Genetic standards for insurance inherently unequal against indigenous communities – expert

BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Matt Nippert (Herald): Wage subsidy fraud case sees high-rise apartment frozen (paywalled)
Gareth Kiernan (Press): Labour market weakness could be months away yet
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Unemployment expected to remain near record lows, for now
Katrina Shanks (Stuff): Employers can – and should – do more to boost retirement savings
Jonty Dine (RNZ): Second port worker death reinforces need for inquiry – unions
1News: Ports charged over worker deaths in April last year
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Union does not trust FENZ’s data after high-risk asbestos found at central Auckland fire station
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Amazon proposes job cuts in NZ but is still committed to opening its $7.5b data centre next year

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Anna Whyte (The Post): Fishing plan just ‘kicking the can down the road’ on bottom trawling, critics say (paywalled)
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Matt Watson says bottom trawling is ’embarrassing for New Zealand’, calls for ban

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Sefan Speller (Stuff): Who should pay for local body politicians’ parliamentary aspirations?
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Mayor Wayne Brown called out on Auckland election voter fraud claim
Tina Law (Press): Christchurch businesses accuse council of acting as a ‘handbrake’ (paywalled)
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua draft annual plan: Citizens Advice Bureau fears for future as council proposes funding cut
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Material from diseased Nelson site dumped at private West Coast landfill

OTHER
Ian Powell: What does being left-wing really mean?
Claire Charteres (E-Tangata): Putting rights on hold
Dale Husband (E-Tangata): Hilda Halkyard-Harawira: Getting things done
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): The city where people are paying NZ’s highest power bills
1News: M. bovis eradicated from last farm in New Zealand – ministry
RNZ: Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence cyclone response ends after 77 days
RNZ: Gun owners should be part of National’s firearms conversation – rifle association
RNZ: National Party firearms policy released at Northern conference