NZ Politics Daily: 7 August 2023

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, NATIONAL SECURITY, 
Geoffrey Miller (Responsible Statecraft): With China in sights, New Zealand signals major defense policy shift
Thomas Manch (Post): Little warns of China’s effort to ‘exclude’ New Zealand from Pacific as Govt plots greater combat readiness (paywalled)
Michael Daly (Stuff): Helen Clark fears new defence moves suggest NZ ‘abandoning its capacity to think for itself’
Richard Harman (Politik): Who is driving our defence policy (paywalled)
Laura Walters and Gray Gibson (Newshub): Is NZ gearing up for war? Newshub Nation’s Laura Walters quizzes Andrew Little on major new defence strategy
Craig McCulloch and Russell Palmer (RNZ): Changing global tensions prompt New Zealand to ramp up security and defence resources
Reuters (Guardian): New Zealand must boost military spending as Pacific power struggle intensifies, review finds
RNZ: Overarching national intelligence and security agency not far off, government says
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Veterans, descendants of nuclear testing era urged to apply for British medal
Kelvin Anthon (RNZ): Anti-nuclear group condemns Sitiveni Rabuka’s Fukushima wastewater stance
Christina Persico (RNZ): Fiji PM satisfied Japan’s nuclear wastewater release is safe

ECONOMY, POLICY COSTINGS, TAX, FISCAL HOLES
Vernon Small (Stuff): The truth about the Government’s ‘fiscal hole’
Bernard Hickey: The ‘fiscal black hole’ talk actually is a joke
Liam Dann (Herald): Fiscal holy guacamole! Just how bad are the Crown accounts? (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Robertson and Willis as crucial as Hipkins and Luxon (paywalled)
Christoph Schumacher (NBR): From Aristotle to austerity (paywalled)
1News: Q+A: ‘Not possible to make big promises’ this election – Robertson
1News Q+A: Robertson on GST-free food: ‘Boondoggles can be worked through’
Damien Grant (Stuff): GST is the Government’s MacGuffin moment
Gareth Kiernan (Stuff): Jury still out on whether the Reserve Bank has done enough
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Unemployment, wage figures show no need for further action from Reserve Bank – economist Nick Tuffley
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Kim Kardashian was wrong, everybody wants to work these days
Dita De Boni (NBR): Is ERA justice delayed, justice denied for employers? (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
Luke Malpass (Post): Finally, a balanced transport plan – but mostly something to campaign on(paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Instead of fighting global warming, we’ve opened a new front: a climate-change culture war (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Bonkers’: Greens slam second Waitematā harbour crossing as National shows support
Newshub: Greens skewer Government’s ‘irresponsible’ Auckland harbour crossing road tunnels
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): Mixed reaction to government’s multi-billion Auckland harbour tunnels plan
Adam Pearse (Herald): Auckland harbour crossing: Mayor Wayne Brown fires shot at major parties over start date and price tag
Claire Trevett (Herald): Second Auckland harbour crossing: Tunnels backed by Government as ambitious plan revealed
RNZ: Tunnels, light rail, cycling and bus lanes – govt unveils ambitious $45b new harbour crossing plan
1News: $45bn Auckland tunnels plan: ‘Money apparently grows on roads’
Shilpy Arora (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins reveals ‘bold plan’ to have second Auckland Harbour crossing with road tunnels, light rail
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Mediawatch: Political road rage – budget holes and emissions omissions
Herald Editorial: Familiar roads to an uncertain destination (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): Potholes: New OIA data reveals number of potholes being repaired in New Zealand is increasing

ACT
Simon Shepherd (Newshub): Newshub Nation: ACT Party leader David Seymour says New Zealand’s wealth gap is acceptable
Newshub Nation: Political commentators accuse ACT’s David Seymour of dog-whistling to anti-co-governance supporters
Warren Gamble (Stuff): ACT plans $1 billion cost-cutting on ‘wasteful’ Government projects
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Seymour, Act will ‘stop work’ on wasteful projects, cut public service job
RNZ: ACT promises big cuts to MBIE staffing and projects
Scoop: Politician Watch: Seymour Tries To Take Out Winston Peters

GREENS’ FREE DENTAL CARE POLICY
1News: Greens’ free dental care policy doesn’t go far enough – expert
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Dentists label Green Party’s national dental service policy as ‘aspirational’
Adam Pearse (Herald): Greens propose using wealth tax to fund free dental care
1News: Greens promise to make dental care free for all Kiwis
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Green Party promises free dental care for all, funded by multi-millionaires
RNZ: Greens promise free dental for all, paid for by ‘fair and simple’ tax changes
Mark Longley (Newshub): Green Party will make dental care free for everyone if elected
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Greens Free Dental vs ACTs amputation of the State

ELECTION, PARLIAMENT
Luke Malpass (Post): National in poll position as Winston waits in the wings and Labour faces a reckoning(paywalled)
Peter Dunne: The most important opinion poll question 
Grant Duncan: Election 2023: All bets are off
Tracy Watkins (Post): The last three years have not been kind to the Government
Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Diary of Christopher ‘Truckin’ Luxon (paywalled)
John Campbell (1News): ‘Politicians aren’t there to hear our people cry’
Matt Nippert (Herald): D-Day for John Tamihere campaign loan; Te Pāti Māori election launch probed (paywalled)
David Farrar: ACT vs NZ First
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Erica Stanford explains why National refuses to work with Te Pāti Māori despite not ruling out NZ First
Joseph Los’e (Herald): Winston Peters on why he’s attracting more Māori to his campaign, and why’s David Seymour so dog on me?
Georgina Stylianou (Post): Why this election should be the one when we go small
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Poll pushes Labour closer to the danger zone
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Polls and fiscal holes put major parties on notice
Michele Hewitson (Listener/Herald): Exposing tax policy leaker would fracture already fragile Labour (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Post): Hang On… What? Winston Peters and the hunt for holes (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Stuart Nash’s gift card confessions and a look at the After Hours Chris Luxon (paywalled)
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An ode for .. Baron Luxon
RNZ: Hunting for votes: From teeth to tunnels, parties pitch plans
Bridie Witton (Post): Public Service Watch: Govt focuses on the environment, ACT and the Greens to release new policies (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Chaos in House as National tries to adjourn Parliament after Labour caught not knowing what it was debating

CRIME, JUSTICE, POLICE
Andrea Vance (Post): Government warned to shut down controversial youth justice facility – but failed to act
Derek Cheng (Herald): Youth crime – the politics, numbers and what would make a difference (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): 274,000 scammed in past 12 months: Victims call for Govt action (paywalled)
Emma Hatton (Newsroom): ‘No body, no parole’ murder sentences considered by both Labour and National
RNZ: Queen Street double shooting: Auckland councillor concerned about increase in violent crime
RNZ: Checkpoint: Maori warden on second Auckland shooting in two weeks
Caroline Williams (Stuff): More emails of firearms licence holders leaked, police yet to apologise

HEALTH
David Fisher (Herald): Minister of Health ‘disappointed’ no new waiting list data before election (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Why it will take Te Whatu Ora longer to treat bad hips, knees and backs
Rob Campbell (Herald): Te Aka Whai Ora report not all bad news for Māori health outcomes
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): NZ falls short on human rights for overweight people (paywalled)
Katherine Rich (Post): Is it time the Commerce Commission looked under Pharmac’s bonnet?
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): The new therapeutic products law: What is it?
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Rise in younger people with colorectal cancers prompts call for screening change
Louisa Steyl (Southland Times): Caregivers in tears before their shifts start
Jo Lines-MacKenzie (Stuff): People flocking for gender surgery after funding boost
Nikki Macdonald (Post): Infected at work: How did two lab workers get typhoid on the job? (paywalled)
Paula Penfold (Stuff): Please don’t hang up the abortion rights signs just yet
Fiona Ellis (ODT): Rural area nurses left out of deal (paywalled)

TOBACCO, VAPING
Farah Hancock (RNZ): The ‘corner dairy campaign’ quietly backed by big tobacco
Bridie Witton (Post): ‘Straight up exploitation of young people’: Health expert says thousands of underage vapers are becoming addicted (paywalled)
Sunny Kaushal (Post): Time to clear the smokescreen around dairies and vaping (paywalled)

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Labour’s vote against Nicola Willis’ paid parental leave bill goes down badly with even Labour luvvies (paywalled)
Claire Breen (Spinoff): Why did Labour vote against the parental leave bill?
Tova O’Brien (Stuff): Are we seeing a return of the Labour nanny state – quite literally?

HOUSING
Don Brash: Who’s to blame for our stlll ridiculous house prices?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Massive new Kāinga Ora apartments deliver Auckland a new take on state housing
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Kāinga Ora’s Te Mātāwai social housing complex – finally, something is finished (paywalled)
Ngarimu Blair (Herald): A wrap-around Whānau Ora approach to social housing has been sadly lacking in Kainga Ora
Carmen Hall (Herald): Housing crisis: Bay of Plenty’s Ngāi Te Rangi iwi hopes to import and later build affordable, transportable homes (paywalled)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Wairarapa communities light the way for new era of local council mergers
Simon Wilson (Herald): Hey Wayne Brown, an Auckland harbour bath is just the beginning (paywalled)
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Auckland mayor votes against spending already agreed upon
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Seismic bill scrutiny puts council budget on shaky ground
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Port volumes falling as Auckland Council considers waterfront site’s future
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Gisborne council’s main scientist posts anti-government views on social media
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): The good and the bad of pokies laid out for councillors
Catherine Hubbard (Nelson Mail): Cleaning up toxic sawdust on Nelson beach will cost more than $3 million
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Sawdust with high levels of heavy metals shuts off part of Tāhunanui Beach
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Council won’t fence stormwater ponds, reminds residents of ‘parental responsibility’
Toni McDonald (ODT): Voting system remains

CLIMATE CHANGE, EXTREME WEATHER
Glenn McConnell (Post): Emissions pricing for agriculture will be decision for future government: Hipkins (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): NZ has to come clean – we can’t plant our way out of climate change (paywalled)
Keiller MacDuff (Post): Antarctic researchers issue call to arms on climate change (paywalled)
Anna Rankin (Guardian): Record rain helps New Zealand emissions fall – but the path to net zero won’t be so simple
ODT Editorial: Keeping it in the family (paywalled)
RNZ: Recovery package offers ‘clarity and certainty’ for cyclone-hit Hawke’s Bay residents – mayor
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Six months after Auckland floods and still no path to returning to home
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Franz Josef: Building consents still being issued for town facing possible 20 year use-by date
RNZ: Auckland Council launches tool for residents to check flood risk
Catherine Hubbard (Stuff): Golden Bay’s housing dilemma as climate change and growth collide

EDUCATION
RNZ: Schools will not be able to hold over staffing funding from mid-2025
John Gerritsen (RNZ): International student enrolments at polytechnics growing
Andrea Graves (Listener/Herald): University funding woes threaten outspoken researchers and specialised courses they teach (paywalled)

OTHER
Brian Easton (Pundit): Thinking Slow Or Thinking Fast?
Ganesh Nana (Stuff): ‘Short-term thinking prevails, hindering our ability to tackle long-term challenges’