NZ Politics Daily: 10 May 2023

MEKA WHAITIRI DEFECTION TO TE PĀTI MĀORI
Glenn McConnell (Post): An absolute shemozzle as Meka Whaitiri crosses the floor (paywalled)
Kris Faafoi (Stuff): Why I’d put money on Meka Whaitiri being back in Parliament after the election
Felix Desmarais (1News): Not a ‘speech’: Whaitiri’s personal explanation cut short
Michael Neilson (Herald): Meka Whaitiri in Parliament with Māori Party, co-leaders booted out of the House after pōwhiri without permission
Glenn McConnell and Thomas Manch (Stuff):  Māori Party co-leaders kicked out of the House over welcome for Meka Whaitiri
1News: Te Pāti Māori leaders booted from House amid Whaitiri welcome
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Labour rejects Whaitiri’s claims of not being heard
Tema Hemi (Whakaata Māori): Labour MPs react to Whaitiri’s return to the House
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘Absolutely I feel heard’: Labour Māori MPs on Whaitiri comments
Felix Desmarais (1News): Whaitiri says now in a party that ‘doesn’t censor wāhine Māori’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Whaitiri decries ‘censure’ after Te Pāti Māori leaders ejected from Parliament
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): PM says ‘difficult’ to say if Labour could’ve supported Meka Whaitiri better as defected MP says she doesn’t trust Chris Hipkins – then backtracks
RNZ: Prime Minister on Meka Whaitiri’s surprise departure: ‘It’s over to her’

ELECTION
Shane Jones (Herald): Our preoccupation with Māori theatrics while sacrificing economic realism(paywalled)
Richard Prebble (Herald): Is Act the key to unlocking the women’s vote? (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Act securing Andrew Hoggard an ‘absolute coup’ (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Fed Farmers president Andrew Hoggard running for Act Party in Rangitīkei
George Heagney and Bridie Witton (Stuff): From Fed Farmers to ACT Party: Andrew Hoggard goes into politics
RNZ: Federated Farmers’ president steps down to contest election as ACT’s Rangitīkei candidate
Kadambari Raghukumar (RNZ): ‘Into it to win it’ – Ibrahim Omer MP on the Wellington Central seat

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: How much worse will the economic situation become for Kiwi families?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Pressure to adjust tax bands in the Budget high, but so are the barriers, experts say (paywalled)
Bridie Witton and Anna Whyte (Post): Frequent extreme weather darkens forecast for government books(paywalled)
Tom Pullar Strecker (Stuff): Tax shortfall and cheaper carbon credits dent Crown accounts ahead of Budget
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Carbon price plummet puts Crown accounts $800m under water
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Minister of Finance Grant Robertson says tough decisions were made for Budget 2023 as Government revenue falls below expectations
BusinessDesk: Govt coffers still swelling, just not as fast (paywalled)
AAP: New Zealand’s finances worsen, budget deficit looms
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Cost of living blamed for 165% increase in foodbank demand
David Hargreaves (Interest): Kiwis still out spending despite RBNZ’s dampening efforts
Christoph Schumacher (NBR): The economic cake: why we can’t both have it and eat it
Rob Stock (Stuff): Buy now, pay later loan safety scheme launches
Herald: Car finance warning over loan woes

ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Government faces lawsuit for keeping a lid on price of gas, petrol
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt taken to court for ignoring Climate Commission on ETS
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Green investment bank’s pool of capital now $700m after government cash injection
Brent Edwards (NBR): Govt $300m fund boost for NZGIF should attract attention: Chair
Brent Edwards (NBR): More money for green investment fund (paywalled)
Amanda Thomas, Gradon Diprose and Sophie Bond (The Conversation): The end of offshore oil and gas exploration in NZ was hard won – but it remains politically fragile
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Anti-seabed mining bill chance to stop destruction before it starts
James Perry (Whakaata Māori): ‘Really let down Aotearoa’ – Māori Party slams Labour on seabed mining
Catherine Hubbard (Stuff): Catchments degraded from human waste needing urgent attention

KIRI ALLEN’S RNZ SPEECH, OIA
David Farrar: Radio NZ invents a new exemption under the OIA
Katie Harris (Herald): Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan on RNZ not releasing speech transcript: ‘Would have done it myself’
Felix Desmarais (1News): ‘Ultimately my fault’: Minister Jackson on delayed OIAs
David Farrar: Ombudsman has to threat Willie with the Solicitor-General

HEALTH
The Facts: 1 in 4 Kiwi children are not getting immunised
Eva de Jong (Herald): Te Whatu Ora’s winter health initiatives ‘unlikely’ to ease strain in rural areas
Ben Youdan (Stuff): Why an anti-smoking group doesn’t support a ban on vaping
Jess Tyson (Whakaata Māori): ‘Crown has no place in regulating rongoā’ says expert

CORONATION, REPUBLIC DEBATE
Thomas Cranmer: Realpolitik and New Zealand’s Relationship with the Crown
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Time to reign
RNZ: Governor-General says lessons learnt after Phil Goff’s blunder
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): King’s reign gets off to a choppy start
John MacDonald (Newstalk): It’s no to a republic for me – but why?

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Ambitious capital spending programme puts pressure on Wellington council budget
Thomas Hunt (Stuff): ‘Siloed and ineffective’: Savage report into Wellington street lamp fiasco
Herald: Wellington City Council’s falling streetlight issue was managed inadequately – review
Lois Williams (Newsroom): Dysfunction rules on Coast council
Lois Williams (Newsroom): Move over bad old boys
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Councillor stands up for Mongrel Mob gang’s fence insignia near playground
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Council pays grieving dad’s legal bill after Lachie Jones’ death
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Derelict buildings deemed too dangerous to save finally given consent for removal

BANKS
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Government hints at Commerce Commission inquiry into bank profits
Bernard Hickey: What a bank profits market study should focus on

DEFENCE
Gordon Campbell: On the endless spending on Defence
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk): There is absolutely no point in having a Defence Force if there is no investment in it

EDUCATION
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): ‘We have a target on our backs’: University of Otago staff protest over hundreds of possible job cuts
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Secondary and area school teachers strike over pay, staffing, negotiations
Jane Nixon (1News): Secondary teachers spend morning protesting MoE pay offer
RNZ: Teachers continue strike action, union says latest Ministry offer still below cost of living

BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Privacy, healthcare concerns at play in axed income insurance plan
Alexia Russell (RNZ): The Detail: Lives treated lightly
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Surge in KiwiSaver investments linked to deforestation (paywalled)
RNZ: New Zealand investment in research and development half of other leading economies
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Hawke’s Bay horticulture industry needs hundreds of millions in govt support to ‘grow back better’ from cyclone, report says
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Boston Consulting Group thinks the damage in Hawke’s Bay could be worse and longer-lasting than Treasury had forecast

AUCKLAND FLOODING
Damien Venuto (Herald): Auckland flooding: The Front Page – can we get better at forecasting severe downpours?
Herald Editorial: We all pay for extreme climate – Auckland flooding an unwelcome sequel (paywalled)
1News: Wayne Brown declares state of emergency, delegates his powers
Thomas Manch and Katie Ham (Stuff): Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick questions whether frontline firefighters got the ‘OK’ to prepare for rain soon enough
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Where was mayor Wayne Brown when Auckland flooded again?

HOUSING
Miriam Bell (Post): Explainer: Why the Government is offering support to stalled housing developments(paywalled)
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Westpac NZ CEO Catherine McGrath tells home buyers who bought for the long-term at house price peaks to hang in there
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Weaker market ‘pretty good’ for first-home buyers

TRANSPORT
Georgina Campbell (Herald): A Capital Letter: From ferries to trains, KiwiRail’s reputation is seriously damaged (paywalled)
Brigitte Morten (NBR): Restore Passenger Rail misses key message (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): MTA’s message for the next Government (paywalled)

RUGBY
Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Good result’: Government to change law so bars can open for Rugby World Cup
Amberleigh Jack (Stuff): Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea bites back at Bart Simpson: ‘Did he just say Wellington sucks? We’re the champs!’

OTHER
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): The Business of Government: Manaaki/Callaghan, public sector pay and more… (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): RBNZ’s American Idol pitch: Are you the next star? (paywalled)
David Burton (Post): Rimutaka Prison: Why are nine prison staff on ‘paid special leave’? (paywalled)
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Christchurch mass rapid transit possible by 2033 (paywalled)
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Meta ‘to remove news links in Canada’ (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk): It’s getting tiring pretending crime isn’t happening when it clearly is