Political Roundup: 23 April 2022

Political Roundup: 23 April 2022

Sorry – with school holiday commitments I didn’t get to send out a Political Roundup yesterday, so here’s an extra Saturday version to make up for it.
 
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Items of interest and importance today

INFLATION
Bernard Hickey: The dirty little secrets inside our nation of inflation
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Poorest hit harder by inflation with benefit hikes now linked to average wage
Luke Malpass (Stuff): High inflation a lose-lose for the Government, but it won't be panicking - yet
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Robertson must come up with a plan to tame inflation
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Big pay rises not likely to follow NZ's jump in inflation, economists warn
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Government needs to make bold moves to head off rising inflation (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Inflation: Warning free GP visits for under 14-year-olds, other services could be scrapped
Richard Harman: Grant Robertson’s dilemma (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Chris Luxon's off-piste moments and who is winning the inflation wars (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): How the rising cost of living will shape politics in a way not seen for decades
Jake McKee (RNZ): High cost of living confirmed by record consumer price index rise
Lloyd Burr (Today FM): 'The government needs to stop playing the blame game'
ODT: Editorial – Inflation’s nasty sting
Liam Hehir (Patreon): Government surrogates are between a rock and a hard place on inflation
Steven Cowan: Rising inflation – A political crisis
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Inflation is a global problem, but there’s still plenty the Beehive could do to help
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk): Why did the Govt believe now was a good time to carry on their housing reforms?
Seni Iasona (Newshub): National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis slates Government's spending as inflation hits 30-year high
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Consumer Price Index: Economist warns 'more inflation to come' as Jacinda Ardern blames global factors
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Supermarket duopoly with possibly 'too much market power' reason growers dumping veges - David Parker
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Rising tensions: Parties clash over inflation and spending
Grant Robertson (Stuff): On inflation: 'There is no silver bullet'
Nicola Willis (Stuff): On inflation: Don't blame overseas, the answers are at home
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Inflation a 'real worry' and govt is to blame - National's Christopher Luxon
Liz McDonald and Sinead Gill (Stuff): Households juggle budgets to stretch the dollars as inflation bites
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Inflation: What's driving the surge? (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Are we there yet? Inflation peaks, equities still struggle (paywalled)
Maria Slade (NBR): OCR will keep rising thanks to inflation, economists say (paywalled)

PARTNERSHIP POLITICS (CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS; MĀORI WARDS)
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): No good options
Zane Small (Newshub): Māori Health Authority model could be applied to education and justice, consultation suggests
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Government begins drafting indigenous rights plan
Imogen Wells (Newshub): Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson accuses ACT's David Seymour of lying about indigenous rights consultation
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Indigenous rights plan will likely undergo changes before public consultation - minister
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Co-governance not enough to satisfy indigenous rights declaration, Government told
Joseph Los'e (Herald): Indigenous peoples rights declaration moves to next stage
Today FM: Willie Jackson explains next steps in Declaration Plan
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): Minority has already taken water rights
Zane Small (Newshub): Attorney-General David Parker deems Rotorua Council's proposed Māori ward restructure discriminatory
Herald: Public submissions on Rotorua Māori wards bill extended after concerns about rushed process
Laura Smith (Herald): Rotorua council representation bill 'cannot be justified' - Attorney-General

EDUCATION
Elizabeth Rata (Democracy Project): The Decolonisation of Education in New Zealand
Chris Trotter: Controlling the past
Tony Simpson (Newsroom): The damned curriculum: a camel with only one leg: A critique of the new history lessons
Ellen O'Dwyer (Stuff): State-integrated schools: preserving elitism or providing diversity?
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Hundreds of new teachers underpaid for months due to administrative technicality
Alwyn Poole: Open letter to Iona Holsted, Secretary of Education, Part Three

PM’S FOREIGN TRIP AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Tova O’Brien (Today FM): NZ’s worst foreign policy blunder since end of world war two?
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern's intelligence agreement with Japan packs practical and symbolic punch (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern takes concrete step to move New Zealand closer to Japan - and the US
Jo Moir (Newsroom): The dragon in the room: How China aided PM’s Japan visit
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Japan PM Fumio Kishida announce 'information sharing agreement' amid China tensions
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Regional security weighs on Ardern's Asia trade trip
Tess McClure and Justin McCurry (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern greeted by giant sad dancing kiwifruit during visit to Japan
Pete McKenzie (New York Times): New Zealand deal may put Japan closer to ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sends warning to China alongside Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida
1News: Japan intelligence agreement not 'warning shots' to China - Ardern
Paul Little (Listener/Herald): 'Allies, not friends': Have NZ and Australia drifted apart? (paywalled)
William Hewett (Newshub): China-Solomon Islands deal: China could cut New Zealand, Australia off from US military support - Professor Anne-Marie Brady
Bruce Munro (ODT): NZ 'must send clear message' over Solomons pact

PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The Budget season is about to begin and with it a classic left-right fight
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): Labour's rearranging of the furniture does not amount to a vision
Kate MacNamara (Herald): The lockdown decision that taught Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to love caution (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Public holidays - who needs them? Much better to have private ones

EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMY
Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): When China catches a cold... hold on (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Thousands of high salaried public servants get pay rises despite Government's pay freeze
Brian Fallow (Herald): Tradies beware - change to tax rules could bite small business (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Business should take more responsibility for NZ’s low productivity (paywalled)
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga commissioners’ reappointment will “ensure certainty” - Mahuta
Matthew Tso (Stuff): 'Hurry up and make a call': Wellington mayoral candidates urged to step forward
Andrea Fox (Herald): How would leasing out Auckland's port work and who would pay? (paywalled)
Kate Green (Stuff): Protesters call on Wellington City Council to publicly oppose airport expansion

HOUSING
Tess McClure (Guardian): New Zealand’s cooling housing market means opportunity for some, angst for others
Catherine Masters (One Roof): Housing shake-up one year on - did it level the playing field?
Robert MacCulloch: There is no Kiwi Dream, only a Dream of Property Ownership
Tony Alexander (One Roof): Why Auckland house prices are falling
Anne Gibson (Herald): Leaky building case: $120m+ Queenstown apartment complex litigation could exceed $140m 40-level Auckland tower claim (paywalled)

MENTAL HEALTH
Alex Spence (Herald): NZ's mental health 'crisis' - more Kiwis struggling with wellbeing since Covid, research reveals
Herald: Editorial - finding hope in mental health crisis (paywalled)
Shaun Robinson (Herald): Dramatic increase in mental health struggles among Kiwis after Covid period

ANZAC DAY
Rachel Smalley (Today FM): ANZAC - Take a moment and enjoy the public holiday their sacrifices have gifted us
Roman Travers (Newstalk): I hope people take this ANZAC Day seriously
Editorial: Anzac Day dawns anew with limited services amid Covid Omicron outbreak (paywalled)

TRANSPORT
Rachel Smalley (NBR): Is Auckland Transport playing fair in its ticket revenue generation? (paywalled)
Emile Donovan (RNZ): Paying for public transport
Timothy F. Welch (Newsroom): No, Chris Luxon, public transport will never turn a profit - that’s not the idea