EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
RNZ: Quake rule changes: ‘Cost should not be the only factor’ - husband of CTV collapse victim
Rob Stock (Post): Earthquake-prone building overhaul won’t make getting insurance easier, or cheaper (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): ACT leader David Seymour hails government shake-up of earthquake strengthening laws
Luke Malpass (Post): Earthquake reset may be one of the Government’s most lasting achievements (paywalled)
Brett Kerr-Laurie and Joanne Naish (Press): Applause and criticism for new earthquake-prone building rules (paywalled)
Science Media Centre: Quake-prone buildings redefined – Expert Reaction
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Earthquake-prone today, safe enough tomorrow: Rule change gives thousands of buildings reprieve
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Government announces shake-up of earthquake strengthening laws
Pretoria Gordon and Giles Dexter (RNZ): What building owners think about the earthquake law change
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Earthquake-prone building system changes revealed, Auckland among the biggest impacted
Mandy Te (Interest): Government to remove NBS ratings as part of changes to NZ’s earthquake-prone building system
Hanna McCallum and Harriet Laughton (The Post): Earthquake-prone building overhaul could save doomed buildings from demo fate (paywalled)
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Post): New quake standards offer ‘confidence’ to apartment buyers (paywalled)
HarrIet Laughton (Post): Earthquake rating system scrapped in massive overhaul (paywalled)
BusinessDesk: Earthquake-prone building standards shake-up to net $8.2b savings (paywalled)
No Right Turn: A policy of murder
PALESTINE
Robert Patman (The Conversation): By not recognising a Palestinian state, NZ puts its own hard-won reputation on the line
Thomas Manch (Post): Winston Peters did not ask foreign ministry for opinion on Palestine decision (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Labour commits to ‘very quickly’ recognising Palestine state if party wins election
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): How did the coalition land on its Palestinian statehood position?
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): NZ is in a small club of countries that don’t recognise Palestine. What links them?
Gordon Campbell: On The Shameful, Incompetent Decision On Palestine
Richard Harman: Peters goes Trump on Israel (paywalled)
Ash Stanley-Ryan (Spinoff): What recognising Palestine would have meant – and what remains
Leon Goldsmith (Newsroom): NZ has a chance to show leadership in the Middle East
Mick Hall: New Zealand’s refusal to recognise Palestine shows coalition’s extremism
Chris Trotter (Interest): A day will come when recognising Palestine makes diplomatic sense. But it is not today
Chris Trotter: Not the Right Time. (paywalled)
Dan O’Brien: Independent Foreign Policy?
Pretoria Gordon (RNZ): Clergy prepare to stay at MP’s Auckland office overnight
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): Priests chain themselves to MP’s Auckland office over Gaza stance
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Dismay in New Zealand after government fails to recognise Palestinian statehood
RNZ: Kiwis ‘can be proud’ NZ isn’t recognising Palestine yet - PM Christopher Luxon
Stuff: PM: ‘We will recognise Palestine. We just don’t think that time is right now’
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Does Palestine meet the criteria for statehood? We look at the facts
HEALTH, DISABILITY, FOOD SAFETY
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Concerns raised over minister’s meeting with Serco (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Cabinet overruled food safety minister’s recommendation on infant formula (paywalled)
Ruth Hill (RNZ): ‘A wall designed to look like a door’ - hundreds of brain injury victims lose compensation
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Overcapacity emergency departments flooded by record number of patients this winter
Laura James (1News): Social, financial challenges of having young disabled people in rest homes
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Southern health report card doesn’t tell full story: union chief
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Government meets three milestones to improve healthcare in New Zealand
Stuff: Government claims ‘shorter waits and faster treatment’ in latest health target results
Anna Whyte (Post): Government celebrates latest health target results (paywalled)
RNZ: Patients get blood retested after unexpected lab results
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): The tussle over medical device procurement finally resolved (paywalled)
FAST-TRACK, MINING
Ethan Manera (Herald): Shane Jones vs Environmental Protection Agency: CEO Allan Freeth on minister’s ‘threatening’ comments in fast-track feud
Kim Baker Wilson (RNZ): Auckland Prison expansion plans under fast-track legislation surprises Paremoremo residents
Jessica Tyson (Te Ao Māori News): Te Ao with Moana: Seabed mining in Taranaki: Is the economic boom worth the environmental blow?
Julie Asher (ODT): Council ‘satisfied’ no public access prevented (paywalled)
ENVIRONMENT
Tim Chambers, Marnie Prickett and Simon Hales (Public Health Communications Centre): ECan’s ‘Nitrate Emergency’: Good step but here is a more robust path for region’s drinking water
Maxine Jacobs (Press): Greenpeace scores ECan candidates on freshwater record, rankling incumbents (paywalled)
Vita Jex-Blake and Finn Ross (Herald): Leaving the Paris Agreement won’t fix NZ’s farming frustrations
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WATER
Gwynn Compton (Local Aotearoa): Councillors and risk committee kept in dark over Ombudsman’s warning
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): Manurewa election complaints prompt warning on vote integrity
Emma Andrews (RNZ): Local elections: Errors in voting packs could lead to change
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): An obituary for Vision for Wellington
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Race briefing: Porirua faces an existential question – is it time for a super city?
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Advocate for saving Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge optimistic after earthquake law change
Dave Armstrong (Post): A peek inside the council’s drawers (paywalled)
Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor (RNZ): Wellington City Council approves waterfront land lease for Pasifika cultural centre
David Long (Stuff): Kerrin Leoni knows the odds are stacked, but believes Auckland wants an alternative
Mike Mather (Waikato Times): No ‘special privilege’ provided by Māori wards - professor (paywalled)
Matthew Martin, Paora Manuel and Isabella Root (Waikato Times): Apathy reigns over region’s elections (paywalled)
Sinead Gill (Press): Is voter turnout slow, or low? (paywalled)
Tina Law (Press): Ōtākaro Orchard must open or repay ratepayer funds, councillor says (paywalled)
ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TAX
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Ikea eligible for tax break under Govt’s Investment Boost scheme (paywalled)
1News: Bank predicts OCR may hit 2.25% by Christmas
Liam Dann (Herald): Covid response: Reserve Bank admits ‘more aggressive tightening might have reduced inflation sooner’
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): The demographic clock is ticking faster (paywalled)
Bill Bennett (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Skills, tax and policy changes top concerns (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Is Auckland a financial hellhole and is the grass actually greener elsewhere to get ahead? (paywalled)
Diana Crossan & Malcolm Rands (Post): Labour needs to stand up for a proper capital gains tax (paywalled)
Peter Drennan (Interest): Walking through New Zealand’s IRD debt burden - with an eye on insolvency
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Capital gains tax debate ’sucks air out of room’ (paywalled)
EMPLOYMENT, UNIONS
Henry Cooke and Anna Whyte (Post): Tidal wave of strike action to hit NZ on October 23 (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Can your employer stop you drinking water?
Tyson Beckett (Herald): Foodstuffs responds after claims New World staff banned from water at checkouts
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Much-derided librarians win pay deal beyond coalition’s law
Fiona Rotherham (NBR): The nitty gritty on planned Holidays Act overhaul (paywalled)
Chris Trotter: No Debate. (paywalled)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE, SPACE
Phil Pennington (RNZ): What is NZ’s role in Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence system?
Sandy Eggleston (ODT): Loan to aid South’s space sector
Brad Olsen (Interest): Yes, Trump’s tariffs caused some of the June-quarter growth hit - but not all of it
Stuff: Trump says he’s imposing 100% tariff on movies made outside of US
ENERGY
RNZ: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon asks Labour leader Chris Hipkins to support offshore gas exploration
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urges Labour leader Chris Hipkins to commit to offshore gas exploration
Kasey McDonnell (Spinoff): As alternative energy options grow, renters will be left holding the power bill
Brianna McIlraith (BusinessDesk): Power companies spend millions on television advertising in the past three years (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Major energy users call for stronger backup as Huntly remains key to supply
Madeleine Powers (Waikato Times/Post): Mill owner: ‘Everyone’ is thinking of closing amid high energy costs’ (paywalled)
HOUSING, BUILDING INDUSTRY
Phoebe Utteridge (Stuff): Wellington apartment building sells for triple the price just weeks after Kāinga Ora sale
Michael Gibson (ODT): A little being done on housing but little being done
Shanti Mathias (Spinoff): Is there any way to satisfy the ever-growing demand for Queenstown housing?
Nick James (RNZ): Gordon Wilson’s family want derelict flats renewed, not demolished
Anne Gibson (Herald): Eke Panuku’s legacy and what will replace it; Allan Young reflects; Patrick Dougherty’s move; Mark Fraser on nearly five years at Kāinga Ora (paywalled)
Julien Leys (Post): Time to fix New Zealand’s broken building liability system (paywalled)
POLICE, CRIME, JUSTICE
Derek Cheng (Herald): Police axed ‘non-core’ crime-prevention funding to stay in their financial lane (paywalled)
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Māori lawyers reject Goldsmith’s comments over tikanga Māori court rulings
Alexa Russell (RNZ): Changing the future for organised crime
Sam Sherwood (RNZ): Comprehensive review launched into Firearms Safety Authority after workplace concerns
EDUCATION
Bali Haque (Aotearoa Educators Collective): An Open Letter to the Minister of Education
Amelia Wade (Post): Three sets of numbers, one scrapped subject: Hopes for a U-turn on art history (paywalled)
Herald: David Seymour hails Auckland University’s U-turn on compulsory te ao Māori course as ‘massive victory
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Universities give up using software to detect AI in students’ work
KIWISAVER, RETIREMENT
Chris Smith (Sunday Star Times): Beyond the edges: Bold steps required to fix KiwiSaver (paywalled)
Duncan Garner (Listener): Our politicians need to get brave or we’ll leave our kids debt, dysfunction and division (paywalled)
RNZ: Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson to step down after six years of reform
Herald: Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson to step down in 2026
Mandy Te (Interest): Huge rise in KiwiSaver investments going to companies active in illegal Israeli settlements, Mindful Money says
BANKS, FINANCE, INSURANCE
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Banking industry in for Gen Z inspired shake up, report says
Andy Macdonald (BusinessDesk): Reserve Bank official raises prospect of intervention over basic bank accounts (paywalled)
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Private eyes on the prize: Inside NZ’s $1b insurance fraud fight (paywalled)
Samantha Barrass (Post): The serious business of taking complaints seriously (paywalled)
If Prime Minister Luxon really wanted more oil and gas exploration he would actually be asking Labour to reinstate its ban when it next comes to office, but to respect all existing licenses, and allow any resources found under those licenses to be exploited.
If a prospector knows that he has a window of opportunity, after which a ban goes on any potential competition, then he obviously has a greater financial incentive to prospect.
If Labour agrees to Luxon's request to not reinstate the ban, oil and gas exploration will become less attractive for prospectors currently in the market.
So what is Mr Luxon playing at? I suggest that he is simply trying to rope his political opposition into a failing project, so that he won't have to face criticisms at the next election that his policy was (a) damaging to the environment, or (b) doomed to failure, and (c) provided false hope to New Zealand capitalism.