NZ Politics Daily: 31 May 2023

BILINGUAL ROAD SIGNS, TE REO MĀORI
Jo Moir (Newsroom): National getting sucked into regressive race debate
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Luxon’s familiar issue: Another awkward week struggling with Māori politics
Amelia Wade, Jamie Ensor and Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Watch: ‘His view’s different to mine’ – National MPs react to te reo on road sign
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): National’s Tama Potaka takes Simeon Brown for korero over Te Reo road signs as Māori MPs break party line
William Hewett (Newshub): Christopher Luxon says Government should be focused on fixing NZ’s roads rather than creating te reo Māori signs
Gordon Campbell: On sending mixed messages out on purpose
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Once again, National is the party of the flip-flop
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We don’t need Māori road signs
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): National MPs disagree over bilingual signs, Luxon ‘not opposed per se’
Adam Pearse (Herald): National’s Christopher Luxon takes different position to MP on bilingual signs
1News: ‘What is wrong with this?’ Brown challenged over bilingual road signs
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): What New Zealand’s proposed bilingual signs look like
Michael Cugley (Whakaata Māori): Normalisation of te reo Māori pushed across the board

HOUSING
Maria Slade (NBR): NZ needs more homes, not slums (paywalled)
Anneke Smith and Russell Palmer (RNZ): Labour and National in standoff over housing density
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour and National MPs agree to meet in a bid to save housing deal
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Luxon: It’d be ‘fantastic in a spirit of bipartisanship’ for govt to adopt Nats housing policy
Miriam Bell (Stuff): National’s housing policy change: what does it mean for developers?
Greg Ninness (Interest): ANZ says surging migration and falling residential construction has seen the return of the housing deficit
Miriam Bell (Stuff): House prices have found their floor: ANZ
Greg Ninness (Interest): New dwelling consents down 25.9% in April compared to a year earlier
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Fall in new home consents shows construction downturn
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Are we getting a better mortgage deal than Australians?
Rob Stock (Stuff): Average household can expect insurance to cost $561.50 more this year
Samir Harith (Stuff): Capital gains tax in Aotearoa: Here’s what it could look like
Jo Lines-MacKenzie (Waikato Times): The not-so-great walls of Hamilton – an eyesore that doesn’t make us safer? (paywalled)

ELECTION, NATIONAL’S AI ATTACK ADS, AI
Phil Pennington (RNZ): AI attack ads – to disclose, or not disclose?
Gareth Hughes (Stuff): To combat AI this election, we need to rediscover the art of conversation
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: This election year, we need to brace ourselves for AI
Will Trafford (Whkaata Māori): Whose history? – the pressing question for AI – Māori data scientist
Richard Prebble (Herald): Hipkins vs Luxon – the voters’ choice is clear (paywalled)
The Blue Review: Recording of meeting debunks media spin on Luxon’s nationwide tour
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Tamihere to Jackson: Go for the party vote bro and concede seats to Te Pāti Māori

PARLIAMENT
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Education Minister Jan Tinetti’s delay in correcting record to be investigated
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Jan Tinetti referred to Privileges Committee for possible contempt
Anna White (Post): Education minister under investigation for contempt of Parliament
Jenna Lynch and Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Labour MP Arena Williams defends tweet saying Government policy will mean father will ‘never choose between heating, health’
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: workforce data, the capital loses a taonga and more… (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Tom Hunt and Thomas Manch (Stuff): No confidence: Six city councillors come out against Let’s Get Wellington Moving
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Six councillors have lost confidence in Let’s Get Wellington Moving
Mike Lee (Herald): Has the crisis behind the Auckland Airport share sale been over-hyped? (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown condemns ‘Labour MPs in waiting’ for not supporting the sale of airport shares and forcing up rates (paywalled)
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Auckland mayor set to reveal updated budget
Dita De Boni (NBR): Business question cuts to Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (paywalled)
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Auckland Council backs down on Māori Outcomes role demotion
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Gore council staff laid a complaint with WorkSafe about how the council handled bullying complaints
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Councillors say Government ‘reneged’ on infrastructure funding
David Hill (Local Government Reporting): Mayor responds to conspiracy theories
Whanganui Chronicle: Ruapehu District Council and Ngāti Rangi enter new chapter with signing of relationship agreement
1News: Palmerston North quadruple security cameras after spike in vandalism
Justin Wong (Post): Protesters kept away from Stop Co-Governance meeting at Kāpiti Coast (paywalled)
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Groundswell support for Māori governance in water sector – engineer
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Trust seeks support for Māori inequity in Queenstown

EDUCATION
RNZ: Primary teachers consider new pay offer, deal includes lump sum and three pay rises
Nicola Gaston (Spinoff): When downsizing means destroying our universities
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Victoria University policy institute will ‘cease to exist’ under proposal, critics fear
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Government’s early childhood policy comes under even more fire from educators
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Trans/non-binary young people, those with learning needs less engaged at school
Richard Swainson (Waikato Times): A ‘gentle guiding force’ whose work achieved iconic status: Professor Jane Ritchie, OBE (1936-2023) (paywalled)

LOAFERS LODGE FIRE TRAGEDY
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Loafers Lodge: Wellington City Council told in September building audits were not up to scratch
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Loafers Lodge: Fire safety issues were identified in 2018 audit
RNZ: Loafers Lodge safety systems last checked by council inspectors five years ago

HEALTH
Elizabeth Fenton and Robin Gauld (The Conversation): The real cost of New Zealand’s two-tier health system: why going private doesn’t relieve pressure on public hospitals
Alex Spence (Herald): Number of antidepressants dispensed to children and teens jumps 53 per cent in five years
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Ambulances waiting longer to drop off patients to hospital – ‘They just had no room’
Bridie Witton (Post): ‘The model has to change’: Police Association warns against relying on officers for mental health 111 calls
Ian Powell (BusinessDesk): Nurses’ strike over safe staffing is a symptom of a wider disease
Katie Kenny (Stuff): No, the WHO isn’t about to deprive NZ of its sovereignty
RNZ: Kiwis ‘can’t afford’ to lose sight of how Covid-19 affected emotional wellbeing, Sir Ashley Bloomfield says

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, REFUGEES, TRADE
Audrey Young (Herald): Nato, NZ and the IP4 – what’s behind the closer partnership (paywalled)
Ben Moore and Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): What’s NZ got to do with Chinese hackers? (paywalled)
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Government denies incoming Australian refugees were part of citizenship negotiations
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Greens urge Government to step in over refugee resettlement issues
Damien O’Connor (Herald): ‘Gold standard’ free trade deal with UK starts today (paywalled).
Roeland van den Bergh (Post): More kiwifruit headed for UK as free-trade agreement kicks in (paywalled)

IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT WORKERS
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Migrants cheated out of money in NZ worker visa scam – Nepalese consul
Brigitte Morten (NBR): Temporary workers only temporary reprieve to staff shortages (paywalled)

POLICE PURSUITS, CRIME
RNZ: ‘Police are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ – Children’s Commissioner on pursuits
Herald Editorial: Police pursuits under intense scrutiny (paywalled)
RNZ: ‘No reason’ NZ shouldn’t be safest country in world – National

BUSINESS
RNZ: Vague rules around Covid-19 support payments catch some small businesses out – tax expert
RNZ: Screen Production Grant to be reworked after review
André Chumko (Post): Public Service Watch: Sigh of relief as film industry’s value recognised by politicians (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): TAB outsourcing deal risks putting wolf in sheep’s clothing
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Slowing demand worries businesses as labour woes ease
Amy Williams (RNZ): Business networks miss the mark with key participants – ethnic business leader

OPEN BANKING
Rob Stock (Post): ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac get until late 2024 for open banking
RNZ: Open banking coming to NZ mid-2024
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Timeline set for big banks as the slow burn of open banking in New Zealand rolls on

WHAKAATI/WHITE ISLAND ERUPTION
Amy Williams (RNZ): GNS Science pleads guilty to Whakaari / White Island charges
RNZ: Whakaari eruption: Island’s owners fail to have charges against them dismissed

CLIMATE CHANGE
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Steel mill’s move to electricity cleans up its act. Could there be dirty repercussions?
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): NZ steel explains new arc furnace after removing its old one (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Reality shatters Ardern’s dream (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Energy model shows NZ can cut emissions but changes needed (paywalled)

JUSTICE
Jeremy Wilkinson (Open Justice Reporting): Only one decision issued by Human Rights Review Tribunal so far this year
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): ‘I’m over everything’ – Letele on courts following Nate Nauer’s jail sentence
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: Why do some people get name suppression for so long?

SUPERANNUATION
Eric Frykberg (Interest): Maori Party says the age of eligibility for superannuation should not be raised at all and in fact there should be a lower threshold for Maori due to lower life expectancy
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Superannuation: New Zealand faces Government debt spiralling out of control if system isn’t changed, Cameron Bagrie warns

TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Cross-party talks on congestion charging (paywalled)
RNZ: Christchurch Airport buys more land for controversial project at Tarras

OTHER
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Raft of issues found during Archives NZ overhaul, review shows
Barrie Saunders: Exiting the constitutional rabbit hole
Thomas Cranmer: Minister Awaits Review into DOC Funding Hole
David Harvey: The Harmful Digital Communications Act and Offshore Online Platforms
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): RB U-turn a step forward in fight against cyber crime (paywalled)
Tara Shaskey (Open Justice Reporting): Most complained about ads for 2022 revealed by Advertising Standards Authority
Diane McCarthy (Local Government Reporting): Te Whakatōhea settle with Crown
Martin van Beynen (Post): Alan Reay moves again to stop tribunal hearing into conduct (paywalled)
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Alan Reay seeks to block hearing over CTV building (paywalled)
Joseph Los’e (Herald): StatsNZ goes into overdrive to lift Māori participation for the final Census mile
1News: Exclusive: NZ’s ‘humiliating’ surrogacy laws set to be changed
Jessica Roden (1News): Waimea Dam starts filling after cost blowout, delays