Public sector pay freeze
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM steps in, the melting of the pay freeze begins (paywalled)
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Public sector pay freeze: Nurses warming to strike action plan – union
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Thawing freeze: Jacinda Ardern says Government is open to introducing step-based pay for more public servants
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government blinks first as unions claim a win in negotiations with Minister Chris Hipkins
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Govt eats humble pie with symbolic backdown on public sector pay (paywalled)
Laura Meriluoto (The Conversation): As the government is learning, a ‘wage freeze’ can come with unintended consequences
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): Why NZ’s public sector wage freeze ignores the lessons of history
RNZ: Public sector unions say pay freeze talks with ministers ‘frank and constructive’
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Public sector pay freeze probably won’t stick, Campbell says
Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her top ministers emerge from ‘constructive’ pay freeze union meetings
Don Franks (Redline): Labour’s divide and rule pay freeze
RNZ: Chris Hipkins on public sector pay: ‘It’s the opposite of austerity’
He Puapua document and Maori self-determination
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): Will He Puapua propel Winston Peters back into politics?
Richard Prebble (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s odd response to Treaty report debate (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern fires up at Judith Collins for ‘politicising’ Treaty of Waitangi partnership debate
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): ACC acknowledges commitment to Maori health outcomes with proposed new strategy
Penny Simmonds (Stuff): Time to throw light into the Govt’s unreleased, influential He Puapua report
Don Brash: Foreshore and seabed issue re-ignites
Wage subsidy scheme
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Auditor-General says ‘audits’ of wage subsidy applicants simply sought verbal response
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): MSD under pressure to announce prosecutions under wage subsidy scheme amid criticism of ‘audits’ (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Auditor-General gives seal of approval to Covid-19 wage subsidy, with some suggestions
RNZ: MSD told to further investigate wage subsidy scheme payments
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Auditor-general: Covid wage scheme admin was lax (paywalled)
Justice
Stuff: Editorial – Govt right to target gangs with firearms bans, but is it overshooting?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Judith Collins denies systemic racism within police, as she pushes Government to add ‘teeth’ to organised crime crackdown
Michael Neilson (Herald): Gangs, guns crackdown: Concern new police powers could perpetuate systemic racism towards Maori
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Gangs must prove they can legally afford flashy cars, assets and even shoes under new law
Anna Whyte (1News): Maori Party have ‘grave concerns’ over incoming laws targeting gangs
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government to crackdown on organised crime with new laws on firearms, criminal assets
Budget 2021; Grant Robertson
Madeleine Chapman (North & South): The Man in charge of the money
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Public sector pay debacle makes Budget politics harder for Labour
Michael Neilson (Herald): Budget 2021: Act Party leader David Seymour reveals alternative budget
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): ACT’s David Seymour weilds the axe in his alternative budget
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): What do businesses want to see in this year’s Budget?
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): The last of Budget 2019, non-government bills, and a special immigration debate at Parliament
Economy and work
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): New Zealand’s new 39pc capital gains tax: ‘It’s pretty harsh’
David Hargreaves (Interest): Number of households in hardship surges
John Anthony (Stuff): Amazon Web Services opens new NZ office, but no word on data centre
Chris Keall (Herald): Amazon doubles NZ staff, moves into larger digs (paywalled)
John McDermott (NBR): Raising taxes, what is the trade-off? (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Why won’t business leaders speak their minds?
Fair pay agreements
Oliver Hartwich (Herald): NZ’s labour markets have worked well, why overthrow them? (paywalled)
Housing crisis
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Government must break emergency housing dependency on motels (paywalled)
Chris Ford (RNZ): Heartbreak motel? Emergency housing welcoming, but unacceptable
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Plans for Wellington’s $400m social housing shortfall delayed until after Budget Day
Laura James (1News): Housing crisis leaving people with disabilities to shower on the floor
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Government housing policy appears to be slowing rent increases – Trade Me
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Housing: Rental prices flat-line after ‘red hot summer’
Wellington City Council
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington City Council dysfunction goes from bad to worse after review
Tom Hunt and Damian George (Stuff): Personal tolls taken among the rancour of ‘Wellington Silly Council’
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington mayor Andy Foster apologises for code of conduct breach after critical report
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Wellington transport plan rethink pivots to tackle climate change
Local government
Tina Law (Stuff): City councillor defends dismal attendance record at briefings – labelling them ‘a waste of time’
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Maori wards will enhance Hamilton City Council decision-making, says leader
Te Aorewa Rolleston (Stuff): Hundreds protest Maori ward delay in Manawat?
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Hundreds of people join historic march for Maori wards in Manawat?
Covid and border
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern blames ‘mismatch’ in data for delay in sharing info about border worker Covid-19 case
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): When do we start demanding better from our Covid response?
Parmjeet Parmar (Magic Talk): A narrow opportunity for Jacinda Ardern to lead by example
New solar farm
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): $300m plan for five solar energy farms, providing 1pc of country’s supply
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): New company plans NZ’s first major solar farms (paywalled)
Andrea Fox (Herald): New North Island solar energy network an electricity market ‘game changer’ (paywalled)
International relations
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Xinjiang: New Zealand co-sponsoring United Nations event on Uighur human rights labelled by China ‘shameful travesty’
1News: Nanaia Mahuta calls on Israel to ‘cease demolitions and evictions’ as violence escalates with Palestinians
Health
Derek Cheng (Herald): Is the Govt’s health approach to drug-related harm delivering? (paywalled)
Moana Ellis (Herald): Dame Tariana Turia wants Maori women to have leading health role
Other
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Ministry of Health apologises for misleading minister and public on edited mental health report
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Mixed messages on greening the roads
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Thousands of taxpayer-funded school lunches left uneaten by students
Charlotte te Riet Scholten-Phillips (Herald): Time to return kindness to migrant children (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Simon Bridges says new book isn’t a covert pitch for National leadership
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