Table of Contents
Republished with Permission
Author: Bryce Edwards
OPEN GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Jem Traylen (The Integrity Institute): Still a “game of hide and seek” – 30+ years of OIA shenanigans
Richard Harman (Politik): When moral authority is not enough (paywalled)
David Farrar: Chief Ombudsman assesses agencies on OIA compliance
John McLean: Official Information Regress
Henry Cooke (Metro): Cope and Change – How the Manurewa Marae saga imperils our excellent electoral system
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Ombudsman asks KiwiRail to release ‘excessive’ consultant spend after earlier ruling it should stay secret (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Question over mayoral meeting with Jones and Patterson (paywalled)
Jo Moir (RNZ): New poll results: A week of few distractions pays off for the coalition
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): RNZ-Reid Research poll: Coalition in front as Labour gains ground
Kate Newton (RNZ): RNZ-Reid Research poll: View all results and charts
Herald Editorial: Rising intolerance casts shadow over our political landscape (paywalled)
Aaron Smale (Listener): Winston Peters’ talents mask hollow brittleness, which has hindered his ability to achieve anything notable
GREENS
Chris Trotter (Interest): Compartmentalised politics
Dave Armstrong (Herald): Police workload a failure of funding elsewhere
Thomas Coughlan (herald): Labour leader Chris Hipkins calls Greens’ Marama Davidson and discusses police row
RNZ: Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul plays songs critical of police at CubaDupa festival
Herald: Green MP Tamatha Paul plays anti-police songs after beat cop comments
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Audrey Young (Herald): Green MP Benjamin Doyle’s case offers lessons for all (paywalled)
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): Peters’ attack on Doyle is vile – and the Greens should have seen it coming
Liam Hehir: Insta-Judgment (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch and Bridie Witton (Stuff): Green MP Benajmin Doyle facing ‘death threats and abuse’ over social media account
Herald: Green MP Benjamin Doyle faces ‘immense’ death threats over social media content, Christopher Luxon calls remarks ‘inappropriate’, Winston Peters says Doyle should be investigated
RNZ: Call for prime minister to step in over Winston Peters' comments about Green MP
Daniel Perese (Te Ao Māori News): Green Party co-leaders call out Deputy PM for ‘fanning flames of hatred’ towards queer community
COOK STRAIT FERRIES
Thomas Manch (Post): Wily Winston wins out over Willis, ordering rail ferries again (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Peters saves rail (from Willis) (paywalled)
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Mainfreight praises 'logical, sensible decision' to go with rail ferries (paywalled)
No Right Turn: National’s ghost ships
1News: Two new Cook Strait rail ferries to enter service in 2029 - Peters
Russell Palmer (RNZ): New details of Cook Strait ferry replacement plan unveiled
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): New ferries will have rail but no frills, says Peters
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Two new rail ferries to replace aging Interislander fleet from 2029
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Meet your new ferries, New Zealand: Winston Peters confirms Cook Strait ferries will be rail-enabled (paywalled)
Tom Hunt and Thomas Manch (Post): Two new rail-enabled ferries but price under wraps (paywalled)
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): The Cook Strait ferries saga, explained
Andrew Gunn: Peters On Ferry Details: Will Be Made Of Steel, Travel On Water (paywalled)
HEALTH
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Relief and frustration from staff over abandoned Health NZ restructuring
Rachel Thomas (Post): ‘A good night’s sleep’ for some Health NZ staff as restructure stops in three areas (paywalled)
Nikki Macdonald (Post): Palliative care jobs saved after Health NZ rethink (paywalled)
RNZ: Health New Zealand stops restructuring in three areas
1News: Specialists sent to Nelson Hospital amid concerns over staffing
RNZ: Reducing wait times to see specialists a priority - Health NZ
Ian Powell: Trumpian health leadership
Ashley Bloomfield (Post): Taking the first step towards a long-term health plan (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): Doctors seek more information from Health NZ on plans for a national patient record database
Jessica Tyson (Te Ao with Moana): ‘I always cover my smile’: The real cost of dental care in NZ
1News: What happened to Covid — does anyone bother being vaccinated?
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Has tobacco tax hit its limit?
EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS
Anne Bardsley, Kristiann Allen and Jenny Salmond (Newsroom): How many beautiful kitchens have come at the expense of workers’ lives?
RNZ: Govt to cut health and safety requirements for smaller businesses
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Small business exempt from some health and safety rules (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): First tranche of health and safety reforms exempts small businesses, more coming this week (paywalled)
Julia Gabel (Herald): Government to launch hotline for public to report excessive road cone use
1News: Living wage to increase from September 1
RNZ: Living wage to be increased to $28.95 per hour from September
SUPERMARKETS
Tim Hazeldine (Post): Splitting Foodstuffs the most obvious course of action (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Hang on, help is on its way. Maybe. (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Christopher Luxon won't say if coalition partners would back breaking up supermarkets
Cameron Smith (Herald): Can the Government force supermarket duopoly de-merger? Competition lawyer explains (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): ‘I see this as a turning point’: Minister’s supermarket announcement explained
Gregor Thompson (BusinessDesk): Foodstuffs' Chris Quin and Woolworths say divestment will boost prices
BANKING
Martien Lubberink (Interest): The inquiry was about competition. Or wasn’t it?
Rob Stock (Post): Banks not ‘anti-competitive’ with environmental targets, commissioner says (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Barbara Edmonds’ $58 billion banking question (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Reserve Bank to call in international experts to review its bank capital settings
Jenny Ruth: RBNZ u-turn unlikely until Adrian Orr’s departure (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): RBNZ ‘open-minded’ about relaxing capital requirements
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): RBNZ to review banks' regulatory capital settings
RNZ: Reserve Bank announces review of bank capital requirements
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): RBNZ signals U-turn on bank capital requirements (paywalled)
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Reserve Bank's deposit protection measure could cause deposit interest rate fall - research finds
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): RBNZ to offer settlement accounts to non-bank deposit takers & others
Michael Reddell: Not much parliamentary scrutiny
RMA, INFRASTRUCTURE
Alexia Russell (RNZ): The Detail: Reforming the reforms - the RMA is up for debate, again
RNZ: Landscape architects worried RMA replacement could jeopardise NZ's unique 'everyday' scenery
Melanie Nelson: A New Frontier: Regulatory Takings and the RMA
Brian Easton (Pundit): Public-Private-Partnerships?
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Selwyn’s growth nightmare: The cost of government underinvestment
HOUSING, PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Govt embarks on sale of 900 state houses, old and new
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Over 86,000 hectares of arable land on urban fringes to be opened up for housing
Greg Ninness (Interest): Mountain of housing stock for sale as summer selling season ends
Miriam Bell (Post): Number of homes for sale at highest level in 10 years
Miriam Bell (Post): Fletcher Building’s pre-fab housing factory shuts up shop (paywalled)
ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION
David Williams (Newsroom): ‘Interveners’ clash over freshwater court claim
Will Johnston (Stuff): Three weeks, $85,000 to find three skinks
Joe Shaw (RNZ): Farmers 'stuck having to use bale wrap'
Luka Forman (RNZ): Invasive seaweed caulerpa found in new location in Bay of Islands
POLICE, JUSTICE, CRIME
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): ‘You guys definitely want her ass booked’: Texts revealed in Golriz Ghahraman supermarket incident
Post: Attempt to overturn gang insignia conviction fails
Benedict Collins (1News): Gangs making large profits amid 'bizarre' increase in meth use
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
RNZ: Councillor who leaked information claims Queenstown council failing to follow due processes
ODT: Councillor under scrutiny for disclosure
Annemarie Quill (Stuff): The council spending $128m a year on salaries plus staff perks
ODT: Public invited to have their say on LTP
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Call for green space rather than housing (paywalled)
Tom Belford (Bay Buzz): Local water, done very poorly
Yolisa Tswanya (Northern Advocate): Illegal animal dumping in Far North raises water contamination fears
AUCKLAND
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): Western Springs Speedway 'had the opportunity to put up a proposal’
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Ponsonby Rugby Club and music promoters challenge Ali Williams’ stadium plan at Western Springs
Paul Lewis (Herald): Auckland stadium debate: The sports leader with a history of raising cash who could get the job done (paywalled)
WELLINGTON
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): Windbag: Is Labour trying to freeze out its strongest Yimby?
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Wellington local elections: Who's running for mayor?
Harriet Laughton (Post): Business owner Karl Tiefenbacher announces bid for Wellington mayoralty (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Would-be mayor still involved in Wellington Live, interviews rival (paywalled)
Amy Ridout (Stuff): Closure capital: The Wellington suburb losing one public venue every two years
EDUCATION, SCHOOL LUNCHES, SCIENCE
1News: Seymour reveals the next two charter schools to be opened
Louise Ternouth (RNZ): Sixty schools without tuck shop provider after Libelle Group went into liquidation
RNZ: New school lunches don't give kids enough energy, failing nutrition standards - report
Cara Swit (The Conversation): School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success
Isaac Davison (Herald): Law school stoush: Meeting called at Auckland University to decide contentious merger (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Uni defends need for affirmative action (paywalled)
Hanna McCallum (Post): Victoria University sees rise in student enrolment
CHARITIES, NON-PROFITS AND TAX
Juliet Chevalier-Watts (ODT): Without churches, NZ would plunge into poverty and chaos
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: An atheist on why churches should remain tax-free
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Minimal benefit, maximum harm
ECONOMY
David Hargreaves (Interest): 'Disconcerting lift' for inflation indicators in ANZ Business Outlook
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Steady economic growth expected, but tariff threat looms
RNZ: 'Better times lie ahead' for economy, but it won't be easy - ANZ survey
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Pricing and cost expectations may raise RBNZ eyebrows (paywalled)
MEDIA
Gavin Ellis: But wait…there’s more (being sucked away)
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: NZME board comes out firing at Jim Grenon over editorial control, governance concerns; delays annual shareholders’ meeting until June (paywalled)
Sam Smith (Stuff): Fight for control of NZME delayed as shareholders’ meeting pushed back
RNZ: NZME directors 'have concerns' about businessman Jim Grenon taking editorial control
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): NZME showdown delay a sign the company is out of ideas, Jim Grenon says (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): NZME board drama: shareholder showdown delayed (paywalled)
RNZ: Morning Report celebrates 50 years on air
TRANSPORT
Greater Auckland: The Government accidentally added us to their group chat
RNZ: Auckland airport overcharging: 'Prices will still rise to pay for development'
RNZ: Auckland Airport lowering planned price increases after overcharging by $190 million
Sam Smith (Stuff): Auckland Airport found to be over-charging by $190m, set to drop airline charges
1News: Auckland Transport parking fees to increase next month
RNZ: Auckland Transport putting up parking prices from mid-April
Zane Small (Stuff): The section of Auckland’s CBD that has racked up nearly $20m in fines since 2022
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Speed humps decision ‘worthy of Monty Python’
RNZ: Proposed pedestrian crossing 'bit of a joke' as different plans to be used for each side
ENERGY
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Govt seeks new gas supply for schools, hospitals and other agencies in a tight market
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Sunday Star Times): Why one offshore wind developer hasn't given up on NZ yet (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Commerce Commission puts off Contact-Manawa takeover decision to May 9
Jamie Gray (Herald): Genesis Energy boosts coal stockpile amid winter power shortfall concerns
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE, DEFENCE
Phil Pennington (RNZ): US allies like NZ a 'critical component of deterrence' in space warfare - generals
Samuel Hume (Arena): Developing for the next war: New Zealand’s Five Eyes satellite research
Thomas Manch (Post): Government won’t progress ‘Southern Link’ backed by Wayne Brown (paywalled)
Anne-Marie Brady (Newsroom): Inquiry needed after ‘shocking naivety’ by NZ police over China
Paula Penforld (Stuff): The Consulate email, the WeChat group and the ‘private’ police trips to China
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): How Christopher Luxon’s patience paid off and got India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on side (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Defence Force can't service Poseidon planes, sends them to Australia instead
ABUSE IN CARE
Stephen Winter (Post): Crunch point nears for government’s pledge to abuse survivors
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Review: The Stolen Children of Aotearoa is confronting but essential viewing
JACINDA ARDERN
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): Love and Hate: How Jacinda Ardern polarised a nation
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): The terror and tragedies that defined Jacinda Ardern’s first term as PM
Stuff: Watch: The rise and fall of Jacinda Ardern - Part 1
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Are leaders rewarded for profile, not performance?
Robert MacCulloch: Soviet-born Oligarch gave Oxford's NZ Vice Chancellor Hood $150 million for a new School. He hired a Kiwi Dean to run it, who has now hired NZ's Ardern
OTHER
Frances Cook (Spinoff): ‘I was too careful’: How the retirement commissioner would save differently now
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Crown apologises for bringing 'death and division' to Ngāti Hāua
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Influencers breaking law with casino ads to face crackdown
Sam Smith (Stuff): Legal action taken over decision to cancel Whanau Ora contracts
Sandra Conchie (Bay of Plenty Times/Herald): Tauranga’s Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust in liquidation months after closing (paywalled)
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Green Party says it's time for Judith Collins to reveal what's wrong with government-funded satellite
RNZ: Rocket Lab nets major Pentagon contract
Janine Starks (Post): The need for care if KiwiSaver moves into private assets (paywalled)
Brittany Keogh (Post): Wellington families pay more for childcare than rest of NZ – at $159/week (paywalled)
Paul Gorman (Listener): Our competing weather agencies may have put lives at risk, so can Niwa & MetService now play nicely? (paywalled)
Jack Riddell (Hawkes bay Today): Hikurangi fault poses tsunami risk: Hawke’s Bay urged to prepare to evacuate
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Benefit struggle: 'I've fallen into the trap of being 100 percent reliant on it'
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): InternetNZ accuses Free Speech Union of ‘destabilising’ the organisation (paywalled)
