NZ Politics Daily - 11 April 2019
11 April 2019
Today's content
Government MPs vote down Pharmac inquiry
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Cancer patients devastated by apparent u-turn from Government MPs to block Pharmac inquiry
Newstalk ZB: MPs back Pharmac inquiry despite voting against it
Duncan Garner (Newshub): ‘On behalf of New Zealand, I’m sorry’
Dan Satheley (Newshub): ’Go off in a corner and quietly die’ - cancer patient’s feelings of betrayal after vote against Pharmac
1News: Late-stage breast cancer advocate has gut-wrenching reaction to Health Select Committee decision against Pharmac inquiry (video)
Lucy Bennett (Herald): PM seeks answers on early access to new drugs after pleas from breast cancer sufferers
Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Pharmac inquiry struck down by Government MPs on Health Committee
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Tears and anger after select committee votes against inquiry into Pharmac - ‘this is a huge opportunity lost’
Karen Brown (RNZ): Inquiry into Pharmac over breast cancer drugs voted down
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Breast cancer drug advocate lashes out at Labour after Pharmac inquiry blocked
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Health select committee votes against inquiry into Pharmac funding model
Herald: Focus: Malcom Mulholland campaigns for funding of breast cancer drugs (video)
Jamie Ensor and Jared McCulloch (Newshub): Inquiry not needed into Pharmac despite criticism from breast cancer sufferers - Health Minister David Clark
Census
Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): In a world full of big data, is it time to rethink the Census altogether?
David Williams (Newsroom): Census ‘disastrous’, but not useless
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Statistics Minister James Shaw continues to support embattled chief statistician
Emma Jolliff (Newshub):’Back off’: James Shaw’s warning to National over Census criticism
Herald: Sixty people across NZ to be prosecuted for refusing to fill out Census
Thomas Manch (Stuff): One in seven failed to complete Census 2018, a back down from Govt Statistician reveals
Jason Walls (Herald): Head of Stats NZ has told MPs that one in seven Kiwis did not properly complete the census
Richard Wain (Newshub): Stats NZ finally fronts: 700,000 Kiwis didn’t complete Census
David Farrar: 700,000 NZers didn’t complete Census 2018
Euthanasia
Tom Furley (RNZ): Euthanasia debate raises awareness over palliative care challenges
Te Karere: Euthanasia bill could threaten vulnerable Māori if it becomes law - advocacy group
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Progress on euthanasia Bill is ‘big win’ for David Seymour - Tova O’Brien
1News: Critic slams euthanasia bill as ‘greenlight to granny abuse’, while David Seymour decries ‘campaign of fear'
1News: National’s Paula Bennett says some Kiwis have suffered ‘horrible deaths’, backing euthanasia Bill
Henry Cooke (stuff): Paula Bennett comes out in full support of euthanasia bill, becoming most high profile National MP supporter
David Farrar: Euthanasia bill reported back
Gun laws, firearms
Stuff: New Zealand’s new gun law: What you need to know
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Cleansing the country won’t be cheap
No Right Turn: Cheap at twice the price
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Gun law change: ‘one of the most important pieces of legislation’
Anna Whyte (1News): Parliament overwhelmingly votes for tougher new gun laws in wake of Christchurch terrorist attacks
RNZ: Firearms Amendment Bill passes final reading in Parliament
Rodney Hide (NBR): Opinion: The other side of the gun lobby’s story (paywalled)
Collette Devlin (Stuff): New gun bill around assault rifles and military-style assault rifles passes third reading, will become law
AP: New Zealand MPs overwhelmingly back post-Christchurch gun ban
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government’s firearm buyback scheme gets bigger, more expensive, as new details revealed
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern on the moment she decided gun laws needed to change
Anna Whyte (1News): Ardern recounts visiting terrorist attack survivors who all had multiple gun shot wounds, during final gun law reading
Zane Small (Newshub): Watch: PM Jacinda Ardern holds back tears in Parliament speech on gun reforms
David Seymour (Newshub): Why I oppose the gun reforms
1News: ’Larger black market’ of semi-automatic guns will follow if proposed gun laws come into force, David Seymour suggests
Rodney Hide (NBR): Opinion: The other side of the gun lobby’s story (paywalled)
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Gun buyback framework established as first step towards determining compensation
Derek Cheng (Herald): Gun buyback scheme to include high-capacity magazines and banned gun parts
Jane Patterson (RNZ): First details about gun buyback scheme released
1News: Independent advisors to develop price list for new gun buyback scheme
1News: NZ First MP Shane Jones lashes out at ‘Rambo characters’ opposing gun law changes
Christchurch mosque shootings, extremism
Chris Trotter: The Multiple Faces Of Radicalisation
Ben Strang (RNZ): White supremacists left out of designated terrorists list
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Spy watchdog welcomes Royal Commission into Christchurch attack, doesn’t rule out own inquiry
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Ongoing mental health support vital for affected families
RNZ: Christchurch terror attacks: Over 100 ACC claims made
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Owner of notorious 8chan internet site in bid to deflect blame for role in Christchurch mosque terror attacks
Herald: Alleged gunman sent death threats two years before attack
Charlie Gates (Press): Victim Support responds to concerns over $10m fund for Christchurch mosque shootings
RNZ: $1.7m paid in victim support
David Seymour (Magic Talk): Now more than ever we must defend free speech
Marnie Banger (AAP): Australia probe into media use of Christchurch shooting video continues
Crusaders name change
Peter Williams (Magic Talk): Take caution when playing politics with rugby
Anedra Singh (Hawkes Bay Today): Opinion: Why is humanity getting caught offside so frequently in the Crusaders debate on name?
Derek Burrows (Timaru Herald): It’s all in a name - the debate rages on
Anzac Day
Press Editorial: Anzac Day will never be the same
Herald Editorial: Anzac Day is no time to give in to terror
Heather Roy: Resist ANZAC Day Restrictions. Attend and March
1News: RSA president called ‘coward’ and 'disgrace' following Anzac cancellations in Auckland
Stuff: Christchurch City Council cancels Sydenham Anzac event after terror attack
RNZ: Anzac Day ceremonies: Christchurch RSA has ‘duty to those that went before’
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): ’Unofficial’ Auckland Anzac Day service planned after cancellation, with bugle played over bluetooth speaker
Herald: Communities throwing hands up to hold unofficial Anzac Day events
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): New Zealand cuts dozens of Anzac events over Christchurch terror risk
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Resort’s parade cancelled
Social media
John Gibb (ODT): Fighting prejudice on social media difficult: academic
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): How the world is tackling social media regulation
Ben Goodale (Herald): Three things PM Jacinda Ardern needs to do about Google, Facebook
Greens call for Greyhound racing ban
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Greens want greyhound racing banned after live baiting scandal
Stuff: Live-baiting charges another reason why greyhound racing should stop say Greens
Tax
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Is ring-fencing rental losses if we have a CGT an overkill?
Andrea Black: Taxing multinationals (1) – The problem
Claire Trevett (Herald): Poll puts Labour support up after mosque attacks but tax is back in debate
Brent Edwards (NBR): How much to value a business under a capital gains tax? (paywalled)
Health
Jean Bell (Bay of Plenty Times): Vice grips, super glue, DIY fillings - dental horrors revealed
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Health chiefs tight lipped about Waikato DHB’s future
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Waikato DHB picks ‘supportive employment’ over living wage
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Unreliable Down syndrome screening could be fixed with a controversial test
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Hamilton City Councillor Siggi Henry’s anti-flu vaccine flier ‘demonstrably false’
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Mike King’s Gumboot Friday mental health event raises just shy of $1 million
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Proposal for Wellington liquor store attracts record number of objections
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Report criticises South Wairarapa council water operations days before second E coli contamination
Al Williams (Stuff): Long-time South Canterbury District Health Board member bows out due to ill health
RNZ: Paracetamol, but no morphine: the state of Pacific palliative care
Abortion
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Kiwi women are getting abortions earlier in their pregnancies, study finds
Michelle Duff (Stuff): I had an abortion at 19, and it gave me my life; women need the power to choose
Environment and conservation
MItchell Alexander (Newshub): Exclusive: Major spending boost on finding 1080 alternatives
Michael Daly (Stuff): New Zealand is only the 5th greenest in Asia-Pacific, let down by our plastic waste
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): Buildings, parks and roads may retreat inland as part of ‘buffer-zone’ proposed for Kāpiti Coast
RNZ:’We need to make plans’: Auckland landfills at risk from sea level rise
Primary and extractive industries
Simon Hartley (ODT): Off-shore drilling extensions questioned
Zane Small (Newshub): Outrage over Austrian oil giant OMV’s New Zealand drilling plans
John Anthony (Stuff): Oil and gas exploration company OMV applies to discharge waste from offshore drilling operation in Great South Basin
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Business as usual
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Can NZ look to OMV to shore up a more stable supply of gas in the future?
Michael Cropp (RNZ): Fruit rotting, workers suffering amid Hawke’s Bay labour shortage
Transport
Jason Walls (Herald): NZ First MP and Minister Shane Jones insists he’s in the clear over the Semenoff saga
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): ’Product won’t be moved’: Truck boss warns against NZTA moves
Jamie Ensor and Hayley Jacobson (Newshub): Funding for young beneficiaries getting their driver licence will relieve stress - expert
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Prime Minister announces free driving lessons and tests for young people on benefits or in care
Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces free driving lessons, tests for young beneficiaries
Zane Small (Newshub): Government to fund driver licences for those on youth benefits
1News: Government to slash driver licence costs for young New Zealanders on benefits
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Govt to fund free licence scheme for youth on benefits
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington cyclists form ‘people-protected’ bike lane through central city
Abbey Palmer (ODT): Dunedin leads NZ for owning electric cars
Cathy Casey (Herald): Dogs can be trusted on Auckland’s public transport
Herald: The human toll of the darkest week on our roads
RNZ: Petone to Grenada roading project binned
Local government
Jono Galuszka (Manawatū Standard): Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon blocks requests to speak on Annual Plan submissions
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Invercargill City Council critic Nobby Clark seeks election
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Napier Mayor Bill Dalton in hospital after suffering a stroke
Auckland Shooting Club
Joanna MacKenzie and Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Gun club president resigns after closure order and residents’ fears
John Weekes (Stuff): Pistol club plans beside meditation centre shot down after earthworks botch-up
Joanna MacKenzie (RNZ): Shooting club told to close, meditation centre neighbours celebrate
Don Rowe (Spinoff): Swastikas and semi-automatics: Auckland gun club neighbours speak out
West Coast flooding
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Minister told to ‘step up and show some leadership’ over West Coast flooding
1News: West Coast economy losing up to $3 million a day as Waiho Bridge remains down
RNZ: Waiho River stopbank to be rebuilt within two weeks
Media
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Minister reassures media over ‘plurality’ in wake of hints TVNZ may want Stuff
Dan Satherley (Newshub): TVNZ should be allowed to buy Stuff - economist
Clothing industry
Aimee Shaw (Herald):Fashion grades: Rating the retail brands that make your clothes
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Few score A+ in fashion company ethics survey
Kylie Klein-Nixon (Stuff): I love my fashion, but it needs to slow right down - no T-shirt is worth a life
EQC inquiry, Christchurch rebuild
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Earthquake Commission inquiry calling for public submissions
RNZ: Call for public submissions on EQC inquiry
David Williams (Newsroom): Delays eat into $50m sports centre savings
Housing
Georgina Campbell (Herald): New report reveals the sharp end of homelessness in Wellington
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Wellington homelessness severity revealed in new report
Zane Small (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern points blame at National over rising rental prices
Rob Stock (Stuff): BNZ launches shared home-ownership scheme
Jono Edwards (ODT): 21 state houses in Dunedin unoccupied
Stuff: Commerce Commission says first-home buyers scheme misled
Justice, corrections
Katarina Wiilliams (Stuff): Corrections removes tie-down beds from the country’s at-risk prison units
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Māori demand reform to justice system
Brenda Midson (Stuff): Why it might be time for New Zealand to reconsider the legal definition of murder
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Transgender prisoner launches hunger strike over spat with Corrections
RNZ: Transgender prisoner on hunger strike in prison
Education
Regan Paranihi (Māori TV): Study finds rise in primary school achievement
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Tauranga schools bursting at the seams as student number grows
Meghan Lawrence and Michael Neilson (Herald): Whenuapai School closes playgrounds after audits, seeking community support
Other
Richard Harman (Politik): Who the National junior staffer really is
Katie Bradford (1News): Mass breaches of employment laws by construction industry bosses, 1 NEWS uncovers
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Privacy commissioner John Edwards right to draw line under Facebook tweets
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): ’Moon feelings’: Treasury ridiculed as ‘out of touch’ for ‘bizarre’ wellbeing card game
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Firefighters’ Union ‘not convinced’ about toxic foam tests
Herald: 300,000 trees by spring: Hawke’s Bay one of the first on to Shane Jones’ programme
RNZ: Sir Owen Glenn says PM should fly to Fiji over development stoush
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Commerce Commission appeals court decision on Viagogo injunction
Darren Brunk (Newsroom): Us and them: Can Kiwis care about tragedy elsewhere?
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Promises promises - Labour’s naive habit
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): New Zealand needs to learn from Israel's MMP disaster
Jenny Ruth (Herald): Making RBNZ the insurance supervisor was a mistake: Don Brash
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Tsunami could strike New Zealand before public officially alerted - scientists
Derek McCormack (Herald): Govt is pulling NZ out of a global science project with spin-offs for IT here
1News: Bennett puts Govt’s work ahead of cannabis referendum under the microscope during exchange with Ardern
Evan Harding (Southland Times): Invercargill/Bluff pokie machine spend $16m in 2018
Patrick O’Sullivan (Herald): Local Focus: Tomoana’s last stand for chair
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Kiwibank closes two branches due to competition with online banking
Susan Corbett (Newsroom): How to protect our national ‘.nz’ online identity
Herald: Sober driver too tired to drive slapped with $200 fine for pulling over to rest
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): 1000 people sign petition for 24-7 staffing at Balclutha Police Station
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Calling on the descendants of the NZ Māori (Pioneer) Battalion
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Indians in New Zealand keep a close watch on elections back home
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): New Zealand businesses band together to foster workplace diversity
Sam Sherwood (Stuff):Canterbury Rugby player suspended for 20 weeks for racial abuse incident
Judy Bailey (Stuff): Dame Annette King opens up about her new life in Australia and finding love second time around