Daily News Roundup – 15 March 2021

Economy, wage subsidy, inequality
Branko Marcetic (Democracy Project): When the US Government becomes more economically progressive than NZ
Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Where did the wage subsidy money really go?
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Why we should reframe the discussion on government spending
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Treasury shows New Zealand’s 1 per cent is richer than we think (paywalled)
Ian Hyslop (Reimagining social work): So, what now – more charades or real sociopolitical change?
Scott Mason (Otago Daily Times): Top tax rate increase needs attention
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): IR warns high earners not to try to be clever dodging 39% tax rate
Liam Dann (Herald): This week’s last-quarter GDP number for 2020 has economists divided (paywalled)
Jane Phare (Herald): ‘This town is dying’: Tenants beg for help as Richlister landlord takes hard line (paywalled)

National
Andrea Vance (Stuff): National, and why it can’t win with the ‘next John Key’
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): The National Party has the same problem as the English monarchy
1News: National Party ‘naïve’ to believe withheld election campaign review won’t be released to public, political commentator says
Audrey Young (Herald): Why Chris Bishop is becoming Judith Collins’ most valuable player (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Woodhouse’s attack role keeps him on the move

Labour government
Rob Mitchell (Stuff): Raising the ghost of Helengrad: Big Govt is back
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern needs to put her foot back on the gas and do something about Australia and housing
Benedict Collins & Abbey Wakefield (1News): Labour MP Ginny Andersen terminates ‘dodgy’ subletting arrangement
Jason Walls (Herald): Mothballed gender self-ID law back as a ‘priority’ for Govt – will pass this year, Minister says

Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Conversations about capital gains tax ‘miss the benefits’
Richard Harman: A capital gains tax by any other name (paywalled)
Connor Stirling (1News): Successive Governments’ inaction to blame for housing crisis, says Reserve Bank Governor
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Capital gains tax on the table to fix NZ’s broken housing market, says IMF
Brendon Harre: Housing as a human right: Restoring New Zealand’s egalitarian dream?
Anne Gibson (Herald): $83m Ted Manson Foundation project is NZ’s biggest new philanthropic social house scheme (paywalled)
David Chaston (Interest): Those in ‘the game’ borrowed more and paid down less
Nicholas Pointon (RNZ): IMF warns of ‘pronounced correction’ in NZ’s housing market
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): KiwiBuild house cost could rise as Government reconsiders price cap
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Are investors starting to step back from the housing market?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Apartment law change ‘would make multi-unit living easier’
Miriam Bell (Stuff): On fire: Auctions are burning up sales
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Government-supported ‘affordable’ properties for sale in Queenstown and W?naka
Liz McDonald (Stuff): More new homes are being built in Christchurch – but they’re getting smaller
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Student forced to choose between good grades and working enough to pay rent
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Pasifika family say they cannot find a rental despite turning their lives around
Katrina Shanks (Stuff): Where does the bank of Mum and Dad end?

Christchurch mosque attacks
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Christchurch mosque attacks: How New Zealand has changed since March 15, 2019 – and what could still change
RNZ: Royal Commission report on Christchurch attack prompts initiative to improve diversity in public sector
Gregory Fortuin (E-Tangata): White supremacy is still the standard
Kamala Hayman (Stuff): The job of combating hatred falls to all of us as we remember
Stuff: Kiwis slightly more accepting of diversity two years on from March 15 attack
Herald: Editorial – March 15, Christchurch mosque terror attack anniversary – Why it’s good to remember bad events (paywalled)
Lana Hart (Stuff): On attack anniversary, worth reflecting on steps towards a better world

Media
John Armstrong (1News): PM’s excuses to drop Mike Hosking’s show ‘nonsense’
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): A week of media meltdowns
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Claims of cancel culture and media bias get political
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘I make no apology for asking hard questions …’
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E-Tangata: The Maori voice comes in English as well as te reo
Te Rina Triponel (Herald): Complaints spike as readers oppose use of te reo Maori in media
Anna Leask (Herald): Investigation into sexual harassment allegations at The Rock MediaWorks radio station
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Mike Hosking under fire after calling Meghan Markle a ‘bandwagon-riding hussy’

Clarke Gayford tweet
Jason Walls (Herald): Was Clarke Gayford too quick with tweet on alert level decision that ‘hadn’t been made yet’? (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Political commentator urges MPs’ partners to let them ‘get on with it’ after Clarke Gayford Twitter post on alert levels
Newstalk ZB: Barry Soper on Clarke Gayford’s controversial alert level tweet
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern denies Clarke Gayford knew Cabinet alert level decision before public

Parliament
Stuff political reporters: Points of Order: Missing Mike Hosking, and the case for giving Brian Roche another knighthood
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: a sequel to PM Jacinda Ardern v Mike Hosking, Simon Bridges’ in denialist mode (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Govt on point with vaccine for all
Waatea News: Maori Party silenced over police questions

Covid
Hannah Martin (Stuff): One year on from NZ closing its border, what will happen next?
ODT: Editorial – Do it once, do it right
Herald Editorial: Covid 19 coronavirus advisory group is a welcome move (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Covid-19 jab fears are being allayed: Pfizer vaccine is proving its worth (paywalled)
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Not prioritising vaccine rollout plan by ethnicity is unfair, experts say
Rawiri Taonui (Waatea News): Up to 85.7 percent chance of further OutBreaks
Rachel Thomas (RNZ): About 12,700 frontline workers have received vaccine – 21 refused

Australia’s deportees policy
Nicholas Jones (Herald): ‘Australia matters more to NZ than the reverse’, deportations ‘corrosive’: Mfat briefing reveals transtasman relationship (paywalled)
1News: Tensions between Australia, NZ over 501 deportees coming to head over differing foreign policy approach
Elizabeth Binning (Herald): ‘501’ Australian deportee: ‘I just thought they are not going to tear a mother away from her children’ (paywalled)

Foreign affairs and trade
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): New Zealand must hedge bets in US-China techno tussle (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): ‘Can you take yourself off mute’: Diplomacy in the time of Covid (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (Business Desk): Time to Grow Up About America? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealanders should consider Hong Kong part of authoritarian China now, experts warn
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Nanaia Mahuta, Australia’s Marise Payne ‘deeply concerned’ about China’s latest electoral changes in Hong Kong
RNZ: NZ and Australia condemn Hong Kong electoral reform by China
Conor Whitten (Newshub): Peruvian Ambassador under investigation for alleged exploitation in New Zealand
Simon Draper (Stuff): ‘Vaccine nationalism’ may lead to further issues down the road

International women’s day
Steven Cowan: International women’s day 2021: A corporate talkfest
David Chaston (Interest): Gender pay equality and women in leadership positions
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern made into Lego figurine for International Women’s Day

Local government
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington City Council sticking to its guns despite calls to borrow more
Wayne Brown (Stuff): Councils led by former MPs never get anything done
ODT: Editorial – Lessons from Waikouaiti water
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington regional council chairman Daran Ponter applies for chief executive role
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): On the topic of water and local body woes
David Langford (Stuff): Water meters could save New Plymouth millions over decades — council manager
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Horowhenua councillor becomes first to have baby mid-term
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Council chief executive critical of Government water reforms
Tim Shadbolt (Stuff): Beware the bitter aftertaste of a free lunch from a politician
Abbey Palmer (Otago Daily Times): District council votes to join local body funding agency

Auckland transport plan
Herald: Auckland transport package doesn’t add up, urbanists claim
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): South Aucklanders look set to benefit from cut price public transport under new plan
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Auckland’s new $31b transport blueprint ignores commercial freight needs
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s $31 billion transport plan includes half-price public transport for the poor
RNZ: $31 billion transport initiative for Auckand – T?maki Makaurau announced

Environment and climate change
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government failing to act on promise to ban new mines on conservation land despite Labour majority
Jason Walls (Herald): New Zealand imported more coal last year than in any year since 2006, new data shows
Robert McLachlan (Stuff): Why the Climate Change Commission’s targets are so weak
Jon Duffy (Stuff): What do the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations mean for consumers?
Eric Crampton: Ages back, MoT came out with some ridiculous work on the merits of subsidising electric vehicles
Elliot Weir (Critic): Blood on our hands: Local climate activists taking on big corporations

Health
Nikki Macdonald and Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Lung cancer survival a ‘postcode lottery’ — Cancer Control Agency
Shaun Robinson (Stuff): Has the Government lost its vision on mental health?
Will Harvie (Stuff): Med students become more opposed to euthanasia while at uni
Amy Ridout (Stuff): Medical cannabis offers help for child conditions, but cost out of reach for many
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Immigration office closure could worsen nurse shortage, industry leader says
RNZ: Medical bodies back an independent Maori health authority
Graeme Jarvis (Stuff): Pharmac review misses political elephant in the room

Education
Critic Editorial: The Government wants as much money from international students as possible
Annabelle Vaughan (Critic): Priority should be given to Maori students when it comes to teaching te reo
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): A generation has been failed in maths – can New Zealand turn that around?

America’s Cup
Tom Hunt (Stuff): More than 1000 foreigners, including team sponsors, allowed into NZ for America’s Cup
Stuff: Man who attacked America’s Cup in 1997 auctions t-shirt on TradeMe
Herald: Watch: Rod Stewart speaks with Clarke Gayford about Sailing, flirts with PM

Abortion
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Ministry of Health seeks innovative ways to deliver abortion services
Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): Revenge porn and abortion clinic safe zones: The issues tackled on first Parliament members’ day
Karl du Fresne: Terry Bellamak, The Spinoff and the anti-abortion terrorists

Justice and policing
Tim McKinnel (E-Tangata): Injustice in justice
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Calls for prison discipline overhaul amid increase in assaults on Corrections staff
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Police Commissioner Andrew Coster under fire for article on data gathering

Cannabis
Waatea News: Cannabis law reform unfinished business

Other
Frances Benge (Herald): Fighting hard for sick kids in turbulent times vital (paywalled)
Ankur Sabharwal (Stuff): Why ‘fetch and fly’ is the hottest thing in immigration right now
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Open letter to Prime Minister expresses concerns for Rocket Lab’s planned ‘Gunsmoke-J’ launch
Herald: Business Insider: Sean Plunket’s next move, Westpac CEO’s charity ride (paywalled)
Keith Woodford (Interest): Forestry issues still need much debate
Susan Botting (Herald): National tsunami alert process ‘too slow’, but Northlanders back local alerts
Skara Bohny (Stuff): The Nelson Tenths: counting the cost of a 180-year old broken deal
Liam Dann (Herald): Never mind the tomato wars, food prices are set to rise (paywalled)
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): MP wants borders open to Aussies to save southern tourism towns
Herald: Wellington calls for more gender diverse bathrooms