NZ Politics Daily: 4 May 2023

MEKA WHAITIRI TO STAND FOR TE PĀTI MĀORI
Claire Trevett (Herald): Was Meka Whaitiri’s switch from Labour to Te Pāti Māori pure defection? (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): ‘Incredibly farcical’: Pundit says Whaitiri hasn’t been ‘honourable’ with defection
Michael Neilson (Herald): Labour minister Meka Whaitiri’s shock defection to Māori Party touted as turning point for election
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Meka Whaitiri defection – why Labour is playing nice with Te Pāti Māori(paywalled)
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Labour’s assumption – a mistake it won’t make again
David Farrar: The Whaitiri decision is looking dodgy
Luke Malpass (Post): Meka Whaitiri resignation is a shock – but not all bad news for Labour (paywalled)
1News: Hipkins still unable to reach Meka Whaitiri after defection
Glenn McConnell and Luke Malpass (Post): Te Pāti Māori’s bold play to re-shape the election by poaching Meka Whaitiri (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Don’t assume Meka Whaitiri will bring Ikaroa Rāwhiti to Te Pāti Māori
Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Whether Whaitiri’s move is seen as selfless or selfish will determine her political future
RNZ: Tamihere credited with ‘a master move’ over Whaitiri’s exit from Labour
Herald: Editorial – Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri defection cuts deep (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Meka’s waka sails through loophole
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Chris Hipkins ‘disappointed’ to still not have heard from Meka Whaitiri
Damien Venuto (Herald): ‘Meka coming back to her whakapapa’ – Why Whaitiri’s shock move makes sense
Tamara Poi-Ngawhika (BusinessDesk): Ex-Labour minister Meka Whaitiri says she is ‘free at last’(paywalled)
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): Did Meka Whaitiri just vacate her seat in parliament?
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): Whaitiri’s defection not waka jumping so far – Speaker
Glenn McConnell and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Meka Whaitiri to remain an MP, after ditching Labour for Māori Party
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Speaker rules Meka Whaitiri not affected by ‘waka-jumping’ law
Felix Desmarais (1News): Is Whaitiri a loss to Labour? One former colleague says no
Bridie Witton and Anna Whyte (Post): Who is Meka Whaitiri? (paywalled)
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Meka Whaitiri’s shock move to Te Pāti Māori had been on the cards for years
Claire Trevett (Herald): Meka Whaitiri quits Labour for Māori Party: Who will replace her and what it means for Labour’s majority (paywalled)
RNZ: PM Chris Hipkins learned of Meka Whaitiri resignation plans on arrival in UK
RNZ: A vote for Te Pāti Māori is a vote for Labour and the Greens – Christopher Luxon
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): New Zealand Labour minister suddenly defects to Māori party
Adam Pearse (Herald): Chris Hipkins fronts media about shock defection of Meka Whaitiri
David Farrar: Meka may have have waka jumped out of Parliament for now
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Te Pāti Māori confirms Meka Whaitiri to leave Labour and join as Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘I have spoken my truth’: Whaitiri quits Labour for Te Pāti Māori
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The Meka Whaitiri defection from Labour and how the waka jumping law kicks in
Greg Presland (Standard): Meka Whaitiri is moving to the Maori Party
No Right Turn: What a shitshow

KING CHARLES CORONATION
Raphael Franks (Herald): King Charles coronation: Kiwis think New Zealand will be a republic in future
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins meets King Charles, gifted ‘exceptionally good’ sausage rolls
Sam Smith (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins meets King Charles ahead of coronation, gifted sausage rolls
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Stuff): NZ Post releases King Charles III stamps in time for coronation

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta puts Pacific in the spotlight, raises concerns over Taiwan Strait tensions
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government to provide another $5.3m for Ukraine conflict, extends Defence Force deployment
Thomas Manch (Post): Mahuta says New Zealand can ‘speak out alone’ on world stage (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
John Campbell (1News): Why won’t we invest in the rail services we need?
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): Pleas for deeper look into KiwiRail failure
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Price of life: Govt to value safer and faster journeys nearly three times more
Dan Brunskill (Interest): No mercy for Ford Ranger buyers as government pushes New Zealanders into electric and hybrid vehicles
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Delivery time for some imported cars increases from weeks to months: Industry
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Clean car scheme in a $224m ‘hole’ before rejig (paywalled)

MEDIA AND INFORMATION
David Harvey: The “What, How and Who” of the Disinformation Project
Herald: Former TVNZ host Kamahl Santamaria launches new news website and podcast
Herald: TVNZ gets acting chief executive as Simon Power prepares to leave
Graeme Tuckett (Stuff): Everybody remembers what they loved and hated about Police Ten 7. Except TVNZ
Karl du Fresne: Catfishing and how to avoid it

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS
Rob Stock (Stuff): ‘Misery index’ explains why households are still spending, says economist Sharon Zollner
Damien Venuto (Herald): Recession guide for employees: The white lies and cop-outs employers will use(paywalled)
Bernard Hickey: RBNZ stresses few borrowers stressed
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): No sign of jobs slowdown as official unemployment stays at 3.4%
David Hargreaves (Interest): Unemployment rate stays at 3.4%, while numbers employed are at record highs
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s why strong employment data could be bad for home loan borrowers
Rob Stock (Stuff): NZ Super Fund chief executive resigns

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Mayor Nobby Clark accused of a ‘cover up’ as councillor urged to resign
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wayne Brown: Auckland’s budget hole could go from bad to worse
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Fears for Te Tiriti partnership as council looks to demote only Māori executive role

PARLIAMENT
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): PM pulls out of toasting Chinese business
Don Brash: National should do a deal on Northland

HOUSING
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt green light for riskier KiwiBuild projects to steady market
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Reserve Bank: House prices remain overvalued and risk falling a lot more

ENVIRONMENT
David Williams (Newsroom): Crisis-hit Conservation Dept considers closures, offloads
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Freshwater management through radical collaboration

HEALTH
Emma Houpt (Herald): Dentist says Government ‘not doing enough’, calls for dental health to be prioritised
Bridie Witton (Post): Health system under pressure: Minister’s winter plan to cope with rising demand, longer hospital stays (paywalled)

OTHER
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): MSD offers abuse victims ‘full and final’ settlement, despite Royal Commission report
Sunny Kaushal (Stuff): New Zealand has a begging emergency and it demands tough action
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Pay scale introduced for Kōhanga Reo with significant pay rises
RNZ: ‘Raw data tally’ shows 70 percent of Māori census forms submitted