NZ Politics Daily - 11 March 2020
11 March 2020
Today's content
Coronavirus
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Coronavirus travel ban bought NZ some time - Government has to use it wisely
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Covid-19 the crisis that could allow debt rule breach
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): The coronavirus economic shock is different - the solution will need to be different too
Luke Malpass and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government has plans in case of recession
Audrey Young (Herald): Hiatus in coronavirus cases but no respite in political debate over response
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Covid-19: New Zealand government accused of 'flat-footed' response
Michael Reddell : Coronavirus economics: 10 March
David Cormack (Herald): Sometimes it takes more than a tax cut (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): What we know about Government's response to outbreak (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Time to ask businesses what they can do for the country (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1News): 'Terrible idea' - Union slams National's call for delay of minimum wage increase amid coronavirus uncertainty
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): 'No-brainer' to delay minimum wage increase - or is it?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says NZ in good space to face 'horrible situation'
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Cash and confidence are key, says Adrian Orr as he looks to the Beehive for coronavirus response (paywalled)
RNZ: Orr rules out 'kneejerk' economic reaction to Covid-19 threat
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Orr: RBNZ won't have "knee-jerk" reaction to coronavirus
Brent Edwards (NBR: Reserve Bank signals how it could use unconventional monetary policy (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Reserve Bank exploring unconventional monetary policies
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): RBNZ doesn't need unconventional tools, wants to be prepared (paywalled)
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Governor Adrian Orr details how RBNZ will assess the impact of coronavirus
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern hypes coronavirus business-aid plan as Simon Bridges urges minimum wage bump delay
Jason Walls (Herald): Minimum wage hike: National urges Government to defer due to Covid-19 economic uncertainty
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Simon Bridges wants the Government to delay proposed minimum wage hike
Newstalk ZB: Bridges responds after PM calls for bi-partisan coronavirus policy
Zane Small (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern probed about Treasury not yet predicting recession
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson has received no advice that NZ will be hit by a recession
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government may step in to guarantee loans to Covid-19 hit businesses (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): What would a recession really mean for an 'average' New Zealander?
1News: Longer term economic outlook 'doesn't look great' for everyday Kiwis as markets slump
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Coronavirus: 'Hit to activity' to last one quarter, possibly two - economist
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Government says top of South Island economy 'in good shape' amid Covid-19 worries
Tim Newman (Stuff): Coronavirus could affect seasonal workers at the top of the South
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Coronavirus help needed urgently for some NZ businesses, advocates say
Peter Cullen (Stuff): Panic, not coronavirus, is the real problem
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Export confidence at lowest levels since records began, ANZ says
RNZ: Business confidence falls to lowest level since 2009
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Slump in expected business activity bodes ill for economy
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Jitters over long haul flights hit all major travel markets
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Minister dubs coronavirus tourism talks 'productive and beneficial'
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Jason Walls (Herald): Fuel price drop: Petrol companies under 'watchful eye'
1News: Energy Minister says she'll be checking motorists see saving at the pump as oil prices plunge
1News: NZ petrol retailer announces seven cents a litre price drop as coronavirus fears hit global oil market
Liam Dann (Herald): Coronavirus crash exposes ugly politics of oil (paywalled)
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Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Covid-19: Is New Zealand’s airport screening rigorous enough?
Keith Woodford (Interest): New Zealand has to act quickly with more travel restrictions if it is to hold back the COVID-19 pandemic
Stuart McCutcheon (Herald): Coronavirus travel bans are discrimination (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt locks down travel amid Covid-19 fears
Luke Kirkness (Herald): New Zealanders told to avoid all travel to or in Italy amid outbreak
Emma Perry (ODT): University, SDHB and DCC respond to Covid-19
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Kiwi scientists told to cancel overseas travel as part of coronavirus precautions
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): New Zealand visa applications delayed due to coronavirus
Amelia Wade (Herald): March 15 memorial and Pasifika Festival attendees have to be responsible, says Ministry of Health
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Health officials respond to PM's concerns about public events amid coronavirus
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern explains why Kiwis should not avoid public events amid coronavirus COVID-19
1News: Ministry of Health gives green light for mass gatherings this weekend, with coronavirus caveat
Anna Whyte (1News): PM seeks health advice around large events as coronavirus outbreak worsens globally
Amelia Wade (Herald): Jacinda Ardern seeks advice on March 15 memorial, Pasifika Festival
RNZ: Coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern asks for advice on 15 March memorial
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern seeks officials' advice ahead of Christchurch memorial and Pasifika Festival
1News: Lab workers' upcoming strike won't affect testing for coronavirus - Doctors' Association
Lana Andelane (Newshub): APEX union defends lab worker strike, calls for immediate settlement
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Gloves, carbs and cans: Spending data shows coronavirus panic-buy priorities
Emma Perry (ODT): Toilet paper factory rolls out operational changes
Luke Kirkness (Herald): Low stock at pharmacies due to high demand
ODT: Public stealing bottles of hand sanitiser from SDHB
Anna Whyte (1News): Annual defence meeting with Australia postponed due to coronavirus
Andrew McFarlane (1News): Workplaces with 'hot desks' are hotbeds for germs, experts warn
Phillipa Yalden (Stuff): Schools could run online lessons if forced to close over Coronavirus
John Gibb (ODT): Uni offers free flu shots to students
Emily Writes (Spinoff): If only we saw other diseases the way we see Covid-19
Southland Times Editorial: Coronavirus: a case for the slightly impersonal touch
Dubby Henry (Herald): Claim passenger was kicked off Auckland bus for coughing
Christchurch mosque shootings, racism
Paul Spoonley (The Conversation): Far-right extremists still threaten New Zealand, a year on from the Christchurch attacks
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Government considered extending Royal Commission into Christchurch shooting until November 2020
Kurt Bayer (Herald): The Ripple Effect: The day after - horror of March 15 dawns on a country forever changed
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Qatar's $2m donation to mosque victims still in bank account
RNZ: The Detail: Did the millions raised for mosque victims actually get to them?
Conan Young (RNZ): Christchurch terror attack victims: Family and faith play huge role in recovery, psychologist says
Daisy Hudson (OD)T: Racism deniers ‘living in fairy land’
Gun law reform
Samara McPhedran (The Conversation): In an election year, gun reform has become political in New Zealand and Jacinda Ardern is losing her support
Derek Cheng (Herald): 'Dirty tricks': Pro-gun group hijacks name and logo of anti-gun group
Abortion
RNZ: MPs vote to remove abortion clinic safe zones from Bill
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Abortion reform: David Seymour doesn't want 'safe zones' around abortion clinics
No Right Turn: A heckuva job on abortion reform
Health
Jo Moir (RNZ): Quit Group vows to spend remaining funds on anti-smoking initiatives
Jo Moir (RNZ): Ministry's options limited in recovering Quit Group money
RNZ: Quit Group payments a 'shocking waste', ASH says
Emma Russell (Herald): Waikato man chronically ill from toxic mould in company car (paywalled)
Herald: Speaker Trevor Mallard among those to receive free kidney health check
National on regulations
Gordon Campbell: On the oil price smackdown, and on National’s fatuous crusade against red tape
Herald Editorial: Bonfire of the inanities as National targets superfluous laws (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Nationals' 'bonfire of regulations' slammed by Trade Union Council
1News: National's 'advanced mathematics' criticism of healthy homes standards a 'cheap trick', advocate says
Local government
Rachael Kelly (Southland Times): Gore District Council charged after child drowns in wastewater ponds
Emma Perry (ODT): Council charged following death
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Port Otago may be privatised
Joel MacManus (Dominion Post): Corrosion by poisonous gases puts Wellington's largest sewerage pipe at risk
Stuff: Councils are being called out for not publicly disclosing energy efficiency of their buildings
Housing
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): 'At least we were together': Living in a motel no holiday for people experiencing homelessness
Piers Fuller and Matthew Tso (Stuff): As motels close doors to emergency guests people are being forced into tents
Luke Appleby (1News): Landlords may use proposed law changes as an excuse to increase rents, group warns
Ashley Church (Herald): Why Labour won't support the housing market
John Tamihere on Labour Māori MPs
RNZ: Willie Jackson defends Labour representation of Māori
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): John doesn’t know what he’s talking about! - Willie Jackson
Shane Jones
Brian Rudman (Herald): Shane Jones takes a page from Winston Peters’ pamphlet (paywalled)
1News: 'Gutter language' - Indian community invites Shane Jones to visit following 'racist' rant
Environment and conservation
James Fyfe (Newshub): Report shows world 'way off track' in dealing with climate change
Charlotte Jones: Bay of Plenty whitebaiters say Government targeting wrong areas to stop decline of species
Neil Miller (Spinoff):I wrote the right conservation policy for the wrong party
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Young climate strikers plan to walk out of school again
No Right Turn: Unsurprising
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Belfast residents rail against Renew Energy waste storage
Police
Newstalk ZB: Mike Bush reflects on six years as Police Commissioner
Donna-Marie Lever (North&South): Inside the Armed Offenders Squad's gruelling selection process
Colin Craig appeals Cameron Slater defamation decision
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Colin Craig appeals Cameron Slater defamation decision
Stuff: Guilty of sexual harassment but Colin Craig says he should have got money for being defamed
RNZ: Colin Craig back in court for an appeal
Porirua ki Manawatū District Inquiry before Waitangi Tribunal
RNZ: Waitangi Tribunal told of the 'most dishonest Crown purchase of Māori land on record’
Māori TV: Waitangi Tribunal hearing begins for 'Pene Raupatu'
Provincial Growth Fund
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Shane Jones' Provincial Growth Fund officials spent more than $1 million on travel in 2019
Dubby Henry (Herald): Provincial Growth Fund officials spent more than $1m on travel expenses in a year
Green New Deal for NZ
Mike Treen (Daily Blog): A crisis is coming – we need a Green New Deal to confront it
Steven Cowan: We face not only an economic crisis but a political crisis
Transport
Mei Heron (1News): Blind New Zealanders highlight danger of allowing e-scooters on footpaths - 'I've had too many accidents'
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Putting bikes on footpaths is a stupid idea
Education
ODT Editorial: The university’s blues
Christina Persico (Taranaki Daily News): New Plymouth councillors recommend selling land to Green School
Primary industries
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Drought hits 'critical point' in parts of Hawkes Bay, as region calls for assistance
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Call for primary industries to be more inclusive of workers with learning disorders
Other
RNZ: RNZ Concert and new RNZ music station documents revealed
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Operation Burnham: Inquiry further delayed as Defence Force fails to find crucial email
1News: Amnesty International raises concerns with UN over human rights of Kiwi children
Brent Edwards (NBR): Treasury warns on tax distortion (paywalled)
Fiona Hutton (Spinoff): The cannabis vote must not go up in a puff of misinformation
RNZ: Sir Bob Jones to pay legal costs to Renae Maihi
Robin Martin (RNZ): Taranaki farmer tells government to pay up for 'orphan' oil well plugging
Amelia Wade (Herald):A bright green light has gone out: Jeanette Fitzsimons remembered in Parliament
Aaron Hendry (Spinoff): This first responders protection bill is about vengeance, not justice
Muriel Newman: Labour’s Dependency Trap
Katie Todd (RNZ): Kaikōura earthquake: More than 50 of Hurunui district buildings still too unsafe
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Eden Park turns up the volume on concerts
Jo Cribb (Herald): International Women's Day is all talk no trousers (paywalled)