Daily News Roundup – 5 August 2020

Election
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): What can we do to get more good policy?
Stuff Editorial: No big policy announcements – arrogance or devotion to duty?
Newstalk ZB: Robertson: Now is not the time to be making grand promises on policy
Audrey Young (Herald): Judith Collins tells Jacinda Ardern to stop hiding
Alan Kenyon (1News): In fiery exchange with PM, Judith Collins accuses Government of ‘failing to deliver’
Henry Cook (Stuff): Judith Collins slams Jacinda Ardern for lack of election policy
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins accuses Jacinda Ardern of ‘arrogance’, hiding behind COVID-19 recovery
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Ardern says fiscal prudence key to campaign  (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): NZ election 2020 electorate changes: Adjusted boundaries, new names
1New: TVNZ announces its Your Vote 2020 coverage: Debates, polls and election specials
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Doubts about Billy Te Kahika Jr’s military and police background claims
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern mocks National’s ‘mythical’ state houses claim as Judith Collins ridicules KiwiBuild record in Parliament clash
Henry Cook (Stuff): National Party admits breaking own rules while trying to replace Nikki Kaye
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News: Election 2020: Glen Bennett to keep it real during ‘world’s longest job interview’
Patrick O’Sullivan (Herald): Local Focus: Who is Celia Wade-Brown, Green candidate for Wairarapa?
Patrick O’Sullivan (Herald): Local Focus: Who is Mike Butterick, National candidate for Wairarapa?
Patrick O’Sullivan (Herald): Local Focus: Who is Kieran McAnulty, Labour candidate for Wairarapa?

NZ First
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters on why NZ First gets the money
Jane Clifton (BusinessDesk): Winston Peters, King of the Grumps, Vows Happiness (paywalled)

Act
Chris Trotter (Interest): Richard Prebble made Act competitive electorally by turning it into a right-wing populist party. Is David Seymour is doing the same?
Amelia Wade (Herald): Party of 6? Meet the Act team who could soon become MPs (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Act wants MPs’ air travel slashed to combat climate change
Anna Whyte (1News): ACT Party makes campaign promise to slash MPs’ annual travel, reducing costs and emissions
Zane Small (Newshub): ACT leader David Seymour proposes changing parliamentary calendar to help climate, reduce spending
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): ACT wants to slash the number of weeks Parliament meets, saving money and emissions

Parliament
Richard Harman (Politik): Subtle (but radical) changes to Parliament proposed
Phil Smith (RNZ): 3, 2, 1… Parliament’s last week
1News: Inside Parliament: Polls, Trust, and Hit and Run

Valedictory speeches
Jason Walls (Herald): Trauma, humiliation, pain and relief: Former ministers and MPs bow out of politics
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): How five MPs said their goodbyes to Parliament
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Sacked Labour ministers Iain Lees-Galloway, Clare Curran bid farewell to Parliament
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Clare Curran’s final speech takes aim at news media and ‘sick’ political system
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Fiery, emotional farewell speech
Jason Walls (Herald): Iain Lees-Galloway apologises to family for affair ‘trauma, humiliation’
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘I am sorry for the hurt and humiliation’ – Sacked minister Iain Lees-Galloway addresses family in valedictory speech
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Iain Lees-Galloway uses last Parliament speech to apologise to family for harm affair caused
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Iain Lees-Galloway uses valedictory speech to lay bare his affair, apologise to his family
Charlie Gates (Press): After 26 years in Parliament, retiring Christchurch MP Ruth Dyson vows not to ‘disappear into the shadows’

TikTok
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): MPs, parliamentary staffers told to delete TikTok over security concerns
Herald: New Zealand MPs told to delete TikTok over security concerns
1News: TikTok’s New Zealand operations might be bought by Microsoft in US deal

Provincial Growth Fund, funding decisions and scrutiny
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Auditor-General says public deserves a proper assessment of PGF ‘as quickly as possible’
Luke Malpass and Thomas Coughlan Stuff): Auditor-General takes Provincial Growth Fund’s ‘fund within a fund’ to task
RNZ: Provincial Growth Fund should be more transparent – Auditor General
Richard Harman (Politik): Questions about Jones’ “fund within a fund”
Julie Iles (NBR): Provincial Growth Fund must be more transparent: Auditor-General (paywalled)
Southland Times Editorial: You’ve got to hand it to….just some of them

Climate change
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): NZ rated “insufficient” on climate action, again
1News: Urgent action needed as New Zealand faces ‘significant’ risks from climate change – researcher
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): It’s official: Extreme NZ glacial melting pinned on humans
RNZ: Greenhouse gas emissions linked to New Zealand’s melting glaciers – research
Brent Edwards (NBR): Government report warns of financial risk from climate change (paywalled)

Euthanasia and cannabis referendums
Mary Schumacher (Stuff): Euthanasia referendum: Why Hospice NZ went to court over law
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Legal recreational cannabis could be another shot for vaping (paywalled)

Unemployment, economy
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Could Labour’s first major policy announcement be a permanent unemployment insurance scheme similar to that advocated for by ACT?
David Hargreaves (Interest): Unemployment’s going up – but by how much?
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Unemployment figures set to be revealed
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Unemployment rate will hit over 5 percent and continue rising – experts
David Hargreaves (Interest): ANZ economists see ‘material risk’ of double-dip recession
Maia Hart (Stuff): Young Kiwis across the country ‘bearing the brunt’ of economic downturn
John McDermott (NBR): Covid’s economic risks are still with us (paywalled)

Tax
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): New Zealand’s largest union backs call for 50% top tax rate
Newstalk ZB: Is an inherited wealth tax something Kiwis can get behind?

NZ’s coronavirus response
Bridie Witton (Stuff): NZ could end up like Melbourne, experts warn
RNZ: Government can mandate similar measures to Melbourne, expert says
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): PM is scaremongering us for political advantage
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): How Melbourne’s stringent new lockdown compares to NZ’s
Siouxsie Wiles (Stuff): ‘An endless game of Covid-19 whack-a-mole’: Why Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown should cover all of Victoria
Jewel Topsfield (The Age): What Victoria can learn from New Zealand’s drastic lockdown
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Avivah Wittenberg-Cox (Harvard Business Review): Will the pandemic reshape notions of female leadership?
RNZ: Checkpoint: Mental health needs assessed at isolation entry – Bloomfield
Tim Brown (RNZ): Woman given suspended sentence for escaping Covid-19 isolation

Testing, tracing
Hugh Collins (RNZ): Queenstown pop-up testing achieves more than double its daily target
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Checkpoint: Thousands get Covid-19 test at pop-up Queenstown facility
Nicole Bremner (1News): Rush on Covid-19 testing in Queenstown after potential community transmission scare
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Covid testing push suits Government’s political agenda

Immigration, border restrictions, travel bubbles
Arvind Kumar and Vandhna Bhan (Stuff): Priority on humanitarian and economic needs, says Immigration Minister
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Immigrants shut out while moving to NZ say border exemptions ‘a mystery’
Eric Crampton (Newsroom): Easing open the bars of the Covid cage
1News: No NZ-Cook Islands travel bubble frustrates top surgeon who says small nation is ‘suffering’ without tourism
ODT Editorial: When the bubble bursts

Christchurch mosque shootings
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Winston Peters keen to see Christchurch shooter sent back to Australia
Rachel Sadler and Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern not ruling out sending Brenton Tarrant back to Australia, says decision partly up to victims
AAP: PM not ruling out sending Christchurch mosques terrorist back to Australia
Craig McCullouch (RNZ): Cost of Christchurch mosque gunman’s incarceration prompts calls to send him to Australia

Police
Caroline Williams and Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Police officer should have been charged over standing on suspect’s head: review
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Officer should have been charged after attack, IPCA says
1News: Police watchdog says officer who stepped on man’s head should have been charged
Herald: IPCA says police officer who kicked, punched a man while arresting him should have been charged
Emily van Velthooven (1News): Three arrested after police roll out new drug-testing device in Auckland

Health
Zac Fleming (Newshub): Funding for free adult dental care used up by COVID-19 response, mental health budget – Chris Hipkins
Oliver Lewis and Tina Law (Press): ‘God save the CDHB’: Union says health boss was put in an ‘untenable position’
Steven Walton (Stuff): Prime minister warned Canterbury’s health services could implode
Newstalk ZB: Government pressure blamed as Canterbury DHB boss quits
RNZ: Canterbury, West Coast DHB chief executive Meates’ resignation a ‘disaster’ – ASMS
1News: Doctors’ union angry after head of Canterbury and West Coast DHBs resigns
RNZ: Heart Foundation calls for cross-party Parliament support in health plan
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Nicky Wagner argues National’s Vaping Bill amendment will improve ‘very poor’ legislation
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Counties Manukau DHB seeks to increase in-house security
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Union calls out health company restructure costing 100 jobs
Jackson Thomas (Stuff): Brian McClennan shines light on concussion in sport after father Mike’s passing

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): NZ international student sector: More focus on quality education than work rights – Cabinet papers

Science sector
Dominic Godfrey (RNZ): Lip-service to diversity blocking Pasifika science pathways
1News: Lack of diversity in NZ universities and science research institutes create ‘unsafe space’ for Maori and Pasifika
Jamie Morton (Herald): ‘Structural racism’: Woeful Maori, Pasifika representation in NZ science

Local government
Sam Kelway (1News): ‘Could be Netflix’ – Tauranga Council’s ‘toxic relationships’ revealed in texts between councillors
Matt Shand (Stuff): Tauranga mayor’s profanity-laced flip-flop over quitting
Luisa Girao (ODT): Councillor expelled from group for non-disclosure refusal
Marcus Anselm (Stuff): Masterton’s Lyn Patterson only mayor in Wairarapa taking pay cut

Housing
Eva Corlett (RNZ): Tenancy law to strengthen renters’ rights expected to pass this week
1News: House rental law before Parliament ‘protects antisocial tenants’ – property investors’ group
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Labour should press pause on its changes to tenancy law

Te Reo Maori
1News: Labour ministers divided over possible Minister for Te Reo Maori
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Judith Collins can’t count to 10 in te reo, and won’t commit to learning the language

Primary industries, environmental impact
Glen Herud (Stuff): If cows are safe, does it matter if they are sad?
Robin Martin (RNZ): Taranaki farmer fined $45k for damming stream beside National Park
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Project to restore water quality in Marlborough Sounds ‘not about farmer bashing’, says councillor
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Fonterra favours wood over electricity for emission reduction
Sally Rae (ODT): Govt urged to use NZ wool

Environment
Katy Jones (Stuff): Vague environmental claims risk fines, businesses warned
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): The Warehouse is carbon neutral, so why is the retail giant still selling coal?
Emma Dangerfield (Stuff): Just look for the little triangle: TV messaging adds to recycling confusion
RNZ: First large-scale food waste-to-bioenergy facility construction begins

Trade
RNZ: The Detail: China’s changing appetites – and why NZ must change
Brent Edwards (NBR): Hong Kong spat need not hamper China trade, says Jacobi (paywalled)

Water infrastructure
Joel MacManus (Dominion Post): Wellington among winners in water infrastructure boost
Helen Harvey (Taranaki Daily News): Ratepayers could pay $850 a year extra for a decade to fix New Plymouth’s water

Tourism
David Fisher (Herald): The Road Ahead: What’s really happening in the engine room of tourism (paywalled)
Molly Houseman (ODT): Tourism business faces end after missing funding

Transport
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National promises to double the tunnel in billion-dollar Wellington transport announcement
Luke Appleby (1News): Cyclist’s close shave with bus prompts further calls for safe passing distance law

Energy
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Post-covid power sector spending plans ‘tone deaf’ (paywalled)
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): 100% Renewable – a $4b brand (paywalled)
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Greens eye greater govt coordination of power sector (paywalled)
Julie Iles (NBR): Onslow hydro scheme triggers energy debate (paywalled)

Other
RNZ: Pasifika on Census 2023: ‘Should we even bother?’
Imogen Wells (1News): Fire and Emergency NZ boss declines to front after 1 NEWS reveals sexual assault investigation failure
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Project to get fresh produce to hungry families to end, but demand grows
RNZ: Appeal against council ban on Southern, Molyneux event begins
Steve Hepburn (ODT): More funds for clubs in South
Julie Iles (NBR) :Infrastructure Commission investigates Tiwai Pt implications (paywalled)
Jacob McSweeny (ODT): Detailed plan for Hillside workshops due by 2021
David Hargreaves (Interest): Kiwis getting prepared for that rainy day
1News: Taxpayer-funded $550k sculpture in Kerikeri labelled a waste by critics
1News: Tonga citizens stuck in NZ since lockdown fly home on first repatriation flight
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Millennials, Gen Z less happy than older generations, report says
Mandy Te (Stuff): Sketch by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to raise money for charity up for auction
1News: Jacinda Ardern artwork up for grabs on Trade Me