Daily News Roundup – 1 April 2021

Housing crisis
John Bishop (Stuff): Are speculators really the problem? Isn’t it the lack of houses?
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Here’s why rental controls aren’t the answer
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Government could implement rental hike caps if necessary but it’s unlikely to be anytime soon – expert
Brian Fallow (Herald): Who’ll feel the property pinch from Govt’s tax changes? (paywalled)
Ashley Church (One Roof): Five consequences of inept housing market fix
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Record-setting house price growth ‘justifies Government intervention’
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Housing changes likely to ‘dampen’ property market but ‘low probability’ of a crash – economists
RNZ: Rent caps debate garners mixed views on effectiveness
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Gore woman co-ordinates letter-writing campaign to PM about housing crisis
Arvind Kumar, Vandhna Bhan (Stuff): New Zealand should follow Sydney’s lead on housing crisis, says real estate expert
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): The last thing renters need is another reason for an increase (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): NZ housing consenting, planning ‘is broken’ (paywalled)
Mark Thomas (Herald): Time to build homes smarter and faster (paywalled)
Ewan McDonald (One Roof): No brightline test, no new taxes: Where investors are heading next
Greg Ninness (Interest): The size of their mortgage the key for residential investors deciding whether to cash up under new tax rules

Auckland lightrail working group announced
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland light rail: Big promises, secrecy and slow progress (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Light rail; make the property owners pay (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Auckland light rail: Michael Wood sets sights on ‘linked-up’ city network as National swipes at ‘ridiculous’ delays
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Auckland light rail: Mayor Phil Goff welcomes working group plans
1News: After delays, Auckland’s light rail project to get ‘fresh start’ with promise of better consultation
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): No decision on Auckland light rail, as Government opts for ‘fresh start’ on project
Zane Small (Newshub): Long wait for Auckland light rail: Decisions to be made ‘at end of the year’ as new consultation begins

State media RNZ-TVNZ working group announced
Jason Walls (Herald): ‘A bit more speed:’ Social media giants under pressure by the Government to work with media
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): RNZ, TVNZ merger will now get down to the ‘nitty gritty’, says minister
Jason Walls (Herald): Former NZ First Minister Tracey Martin given reins on work to merge TVNZ and RNZ
RNZ: Work begins on business case of potential new public media entity
Zane Small (Newshub): Former NZ First MP Tracey Martin to lead work on potential new public media entity for New Zealand
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Experts appointed to oversee new public media plan

Health
Cecile Meier and Felippe de Souza Oliveira Rodrigues (Stuff): Jump in number of patients waiting more than 6 hours at EDs since Govt scrapped health targets in 2017
Michael Morrah (Newshub): ‘Crude’ 20-year-old funding model putting immense pressure on NZ’s GPs
Bridie Witton and Cecile Meier (Stuff): Wellington hospital has longest ED wait times in the country
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Operations postponed due to nursing shortage at Waitemat? DHB
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Huge growth in use of ‘last resort’ seclusion indicates mental health system in crisis, and in worse shape than when Labour elected in 2017
Lauren Hendricksen and Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): ‘Swamped’ health system a direct result of Government failures – GP Owners Association
Adam Jacobson (RNZ): Waikato DHB systematically failing M?ori and Pasifika – report
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato DHB equity report ‘puts pressure on’ health board to improve health of M?ori and Pacific people
J. Haxby Abbott and Ross Wilson (The Conversation): How New Zealand’s healthcare system is failing people with osteoarthritis
Nikki Preston (Herald): Health Minister Andrew Little says maternal suicide video was a misrepresentation of Government’s investment into mental health resources
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Women struggle for treatment as ACC changes policy on perineal tears
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Lawyers question ACC’s new policy on perineal tears

Parliament
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Highly wrong’: Judith Collins hits back at report she lost caucus vote on fluoride
Claire Trevett (Herald): National, Labour, and the politics of a Covid-19 jab (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Newshub): No invite for National leader Judith Collins as first MPs get their Covid-19 vaccines
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins, in contrast with National health spokesman, says it makes sense for politicians to get vaccine early to show safety

Covid
Matthew Hooton (Herald): NZ trapped in the vaccine queue (paywalled)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): KFC worker Case L wasn’t contacted directly by health officials until after shift – OIA documents
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Other countries have specific vaccination targets. Should NZ have them too?
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Government considered charging more for MIQ, is still footing more than half the bill
Jamie Morton (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Where are NZ’s most vulnerable places?
Liam Dann (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Rob Fyfe – Caution needed on reopening borders as ‘fourth wave looms’ (paywalled)
Anna Leask (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: ‘Tsunami’ of child eating disorders emerging after lockdowns in New Zealand (paywalled)

Economy and work
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Income inequality in New Zealand might not be as bad as feared
RNZ: Group action in Employment Court asks if courier drivers are self-employed contractors or employees
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): What state is the NZ economy in, and where to from here?
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Shortage of refrigerated shipping containers causes havoc for NZ food exporters (paywalled)

Local Government
Joel MacManus and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Missing pipe data forces delay of major Wellington City Council meeting
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Wellington Mayor Andy Foster says ‘overall, the city is safe’ despite reports of increasingly dangerous CBD
Lois Williams (Stuff): Poutini Ng?i Tahu warn council over mapping of wetlands on M?ori land

Justice and crime
Rawiri Waititi (Herald): We all have (civil) rights
Michael Neilson (Herald): Waikeria Prison protesters file civil rights claims against Corrections, Attorney-General
RNZ: Hundreds rally against sexual violence in Wellington

Live animal exports
Herald: Editorial: Cows to Mongolia? Yes, you read that right (paywalled)
1News: ‘We have blood on our hands’ — SPCA calls for total ban on exports of live farmed animals
Herald: Outrage as Cornwall Park cows due to be shipped to Mongolia

Other
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Father of teenager killed at Pike River says Andrew Little is trying to scare families into silence
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Schools funded by goodwill and heart, review hears
Myra Williamson (The Conversation): NZ student accommodation is expensive and under-regulated — here are 10 ways to fix it
Liam R?tana (Herald): Kelvin Davis visits P?taua South land occupation in Whang?rei
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Concern at High Court use of tikanga to overule Waitangi Tribunal
Francine Chen (South China Morning Post): For New Zealand-Chinese, global rise in anti-Asian hate a painful reminder of past wounds
RNZ: Auckland’s population may hit 2 million in early 2030s
Kevin Veale (Stuff): ‘Cancel culture’ tag conceals more than it reveals
RNZ: Otago electrity line charges to increase over 60 percent in five years