Immigration reset
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): ‘Scene setting’ immigration speech labelled confusing by critics
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Immigration reset light on details, but direction of travel is clear
Richard Harman: Major immigration speech falls flat (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Government targets rich investors as part of its ‘reset’ of immigration settings
Bernard Hickey: Govt to leave migration tap turned off when the borders reopen
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government wants to turn down tap on temporary and skilled migrant workers
RNZ: Government announces ‘reset’ of immigration system
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Govt immigration reset ditches low skilled migrants
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): BusinessNZ disappointed over Government stance on migrant labour
Bernard Hickey: How populous should NZ be?
Siobhan Wilson (1News): Immigration restrictions to remain as Government confirms its ‘reset’
Liam Dann (Herald): Immigration: Record plunge on full year of border closure
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Migration dries up: Record drop in numbers moving to NZ
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Illegal, part one: How the Covid lockdown revived the role of a ‘Tongan Robin Hood’ last at work for overstayers in the 1980s
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Illegal, part two: Keeping a family together
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Illegal part three: Is it time for another overstayer amnesty?
Budget 2021
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Health sector needs nearly $22.2 billion just to ‘stand still’
ODT: Editorial – Seeking ‘balance’ in the budget
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Five things to keep an eye on in Budget 2021 (paywalled)
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Te Puea Marae wh?nau push for benefits boost in Budget 2021
Esther Ashby-Coventry (Stuff): Budget 2021: More money needed across all aspects of education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Budget 2021: More funding for special needs kids on principals’ wishlist
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Budget 2021: Solo mothers on the benefit say they need more help
1News: Budget 2021: ANZ’s chief economist says Govt has ‘options’ with spending
Brent Edwards (NBR): Will budget balance spending needs with fiscal restraint? (paywalled)
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): National is absent ahead of 2021 Budget
National Party, leadership, and the Newshub poll
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The TV3 poll: Journalism or propaganda?
Claire Trevett (Herald): Poll was verdict on Judith Collins’ longevity rather than race (paywalled)
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll shows who National voters want to take over from Judith Collins
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Collins has lost too much credibility to lead National
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins is gone – once National can find an alternative
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Jacinda Ardern confident poll reflects Govt’s Covid-19 success – but tight-lipped on who could be Judith Collins’ replacement
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Judith Collins dismisses fall in preferred prime minister rating
Newstalk ZB: Judith Collins assures ‘she’s safe’ as National leader
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Mark Richardson ‘disappointed’ in National, but won’t let his support waver
Newshub: Judith Collins’ recent supposed race-baiting ‘is racist’, should be called out – political commentator
Media
Chris Trotter: Radio waves
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Maori TV): Maori girl in the gallery: How our parliamentary reporter copes with daily racism in the Beehive
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Fears RNZ-TVNZ merger could hit student radio (paywalled)
Gavin Ellis: The man who kicked the hornet’s nest
Racism, He Puapua, and Maori self-determination
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Brave, cynical or racist: bruising Treaty politics (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins vows to keep probing Labour’s Maori ‘co-governance’ plans
Public sector pay freeze
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Blow for nurses as Jacinda Ardern says she ‘can’t reward everyone’ who worked hard during Covid-19
Democracy Project: Union worker: Pay freeze was an attempt at intimidation by a government scared of strikes
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): The public sector must tell its own story (paywalled)
Stuart Smith; Arena Williams (Stuff): Repaying public servants on the Covid front line by freezing their wages is simply unfair
Economy and work
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Explainer: What is a Universal Basic Income, and could it work?
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Infometrics reveals which regions got through summer in best shape
Victoria Harris (Stuff): Bridging the gender investment gap could bring billions into the economy
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Gaming billionaire and John Key outline very different post-pandemic futures
Transport
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland’s Port Future: New port location to be decided by 2023, minister says
Anne Gibson (Herald): $10b+ to move Ports of Auckland better spent elsewhere: Phil Goff (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): ‘Lining up to kill someone’: Truckies say they have no choice but to lie about work hours
Covid
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Coronavirus: Bureaucrats’ clumsy messaging does not help achieve public buy-in
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Kiwis get behind lockdowns: Research gives insight into Covid-19 attitudes and behaviours
Kirsty Lawrence (Stuff): Police too far down the queue for Covid-19 jabs, police association says
1News: Govt to clamp down on MIQ billing, use debt collectors, after figures show almost $7m overdue
Climate change
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Budget’s carbon savings equal about five days coal use at Huntly
Stuff: Editorial – Transformers? Climate action will be the biggest test
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): New fuel taxes, higher charges for parking suggested (paywalled)
Local government
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): There’s still hope for Wellington’s dysfunctional city council
Anna Loren (Stuff): Auckland Council staff face bullying from politicians, aggression from public – review
Marcus Anselm (Stuff): Pay and voting rights for marae reps’ on Carterton District Council committees
Moana Ellis (Herald): Maori support strong for Horizons Maori wards
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Wellington councillor Simon Woolf opens up on getting counselling and need for a council psychologist
Logan Savory (Stuff): Invercargill City Council plans to increase remuneration budget by $600k
Mike Mather (Stuff): A monumental decision: New panel to help decide fate of controversial Captain Hamilton statue
International relations
Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): NZ could play mediating role in Gaza conflict – but does it want to?
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern says approval of export of gun suppressors to Israel won’t lead to commercial arrangement
Benedict Collins (1News): PM seeks assurance that military tech from NZ is not being used by Israel against Palestinians
1News: NZ ‘absolutely urgently required’ to speak up about finding Gaza solution – expert
Mark Tanner (Stuff): Chinese food and beverage brands could soon muscle in on NZ’s premium exports
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Snow season thaw for Aussie-Kiwi PM relations? (paywalled)
Asylum seekers detained
Amelia Wade (Newshub): 118 asylum seekers have been locked up in New Zealand prisons with criminals
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Allegations of rape, assault of asylum seekers in prison, new report reveals
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Immediate and urgent reform’ needed after 86 asylum seekers detained in prison — Amnesty International
Justice
RNZ: Corrections to stop restraining inmates during labour
Mandy Te (Stuff): Chief Ombudsman to investigate Department of Corrections’ response to calls for reforms that could improve conditions for prisoners
Other
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Water reforms hit an expensive snag, as cost estimate rises to $185b
Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s knee-jerk reaction to SFO charges (paywalled)
Verity Johnson (Stuff): David Gaughan represents a sobering tale about cancel culture
Miriam Bell (Stuff): First home buyer fatigue: their share of purchases drop to lowest since 2018
John Carnegie (Herald): Act now to avoid the next energy crisis (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Ombudsman investigates University of Canterbury over Anne-Marie Brady review
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