This is our morning round-up of the key political and government links this morning from other sites, including RNZ, NZ Herald, Stuff, TVNZ, Newshub and various blog sites.
It is broken down by portfolio and topic for ease of scanning and is designed specifically for those in Government relations, media relations, corporate relations, business development and executive teams. Newsroom Pro subscribers can have it directly email to them every morning. Just email bernard.hickey@newsroom to be put on the Newsroom Pro Monitor list.
PM in New York
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Back to Earth with a bump for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Claire Trevett (Herald): Baby Neve to PM’s rescue in New York as bad news arrives from home
ODT Editorial: PM’s appeal must become action
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Ardern’s stardust and substance on display in New York
Newshub: Jacinda Ardern sits down with Christiane Amanpour on CNN
Tracy Watkisn (Stuff): US President Donald Trump’s greeting to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): PM has brief talk on tariffs with Trump at UN
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern calls for UN to improve conflict prevention
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern announces $300m for climate aid work
AP: ’He led the struggle’ – Jacinda Ardern pays tribute to Nelson Mandela at UN speech
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): PM honours Mandela on centenary of his birth
Scott Palmer (Newshub): What Simon Bridges, Marama Davidson, David Seymour would say to Donald Trump
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Paddy Gower, Mark Richardson clash over Jacinda Ardern’s ‘kool-aid’
Jo McKenzie-McLean (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern searches for Kiwi women in crowd after Today show appearance
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern makes history with baby Neve at UN general assembly
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): PM’s daughter makes global headlines with UN appearance
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): ’The world needs this’: The world reacts to Jacinda Ardern baby pic
Herald: Baby Neve watches mum Jacinda Ardern speak at the UN
Emma Hurley (Newshub): Baby Neve watches Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first speech at United Nations
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern’s baby watches historic UN session from mum’s lap
Aziz Al-Sa’afin (Newshub): New Zealand First’s baby or New Zealand First baby?
Stuff: A UN ID for baby Neve, by public demand
Tim Lambourne (Spinoff): Special briefing for Jacinda Ardern re Stephen Colbert on The Late Show
War on Drugs
Peter Dunne (Spinoff): I am stunned by National’s somersault in backing Trump’s ‘war on drugs’
Russell Brown (RNZ): PM’s position on ‘drug war’ balanced and realistic
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Simon Bridges backs Donald Trump’s new War on Drugs
Chlöe Swarbrick (Stuff): It’s time we walked the talk on treating drugs as a health issue
Russell Brown (RNZ): Drugs and the road forward
Linday Laird (Northern Advocate): Northland retains its reputation as cannabis capital of New Zealand
Ben Bootsma (Southland Times): Meth use cause for concern for Invercargill Oranga Tamariki staff
Derek Handley CTO appointment controversy
Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern is making a habit of creating the wrong impression
Herald Editorial: Despite apology, Handley, Ardern, Curran saga leaves bad taste
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Robertson forced to correct answer in Parliament over Handley emails
Jane Patterson (RNZ): PM accused of misleading parliament over Handley texts
1News: Peters says Bridges ‘probably only gets one call a month’ as he defends PM over Derek Handley saga
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Minister Megan Woods apologises to Derek Handley on behalf of Government
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Minister Megan Woods apologises to Derek Handley over recruitment process for CTO role
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Megan Woods clarifies – no confidentiality agreement with Handley
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Megan Woods says confidentiality agreement in place on Handley settlement
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Derek Handley and the CTO saga that refuses to die
David Farrar: Derek Handley releases comms with Ministers
Audrey Young (Herald): National leader Simon Bridges says Derek Handley has been treated shabbily by the Government
John Anthony and Henry Cooke (Stuff): PM denies misleading Parliament about correspondence with Derek Handley
Herald: PM Jacinda Ardern insists she did not mislead Parliament over Derek Handley contact
John Anthony (Stuff): PM says government owes Derek Handley apology over chief technology officer saga
Zane Small (Newshub): Revealed: Derek Handley details ‘disappointing’ CTO recruitment process
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Jilted CTO candidate Derek Handley disappointed by lack of explanation from Government
RNZ: Derek Handley releases correspondence with Jacinda Ardern and Clare Curran
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): “It feels like Star Trek”
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Media outrage over Jacinda-Handley emails is petty
Meka Whaitiri
Lucy Bennett (Herald): National Party says Whaitiri left bruises on staff member
Andrea Vance (Stuff): ’Bruising’ allegations levelled at Labour’s Meka Whaitiri
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Amy Adams insinuates Meka Whaitiri left staffer ‘with bruising’
Gia Garrick (RNZ): Govt’s handling of Whaitiri incident questioned in urgent debate
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Māori caucus back Meka Whaitiri despite not seeing investigation report
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Meka Whaitiri keeps support of Māori caucus as she returns to Parliament after sacking
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Meka Whatiri determined to win back Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s confidence
Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Whaitiri “absolutely gutted” she was fired
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): ’Absolutely gutted’ – Meka Whaitiri speaks for the first time since she was fired
1News: Meka Whaitiri says she accepts PM’s call to sack her as she faces media barrage on return
Employment
1News: Hopes Oranga Tamariki pay boost will attract more men to social work profession
RNZ: Pay equity deal for Oranga Tamariki social workers
Newshub: Pay equity: Oranga Tamariki social workers offered 30 percent pay rise
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Pay equity deal for 1300 social workers
Hannah Ross (Stuff): DHB admin workers paid up to 45pc less for being women, union says
RNZ: Nine to Noon: Builders’ suicide highest number in NZ
Chris Hutching (Stuff): Construction industry’s ‘toxic’ masculine culture blamed for high suicide rate
RNZ: 8000 Ni-Vanuatuans working in Australia and New Zealand
David Farrar: Union vs union
Peter Cullen (Stuff):Is your employer spying on you?
1News: Waikato bus drivers to strike again tomorrow as talks try to break stalemate
Oil and gas exploration
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Symbolic backdown undermines Government’s untidy oil move
Jason Walls (Herald): ’Use it or lose it’ oil exploration rules put on ice
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Megan Woods: Financial impact of oil/gas ban ‘impossible to know’
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff) Government set to give oil industry breathing space over permits, potentially boosting exploration
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Government has ‘no plan’ for oil and gas changeover – Mayor Neil Holdom
Jason Walls (Herald): National Party Leader Simon Bridges labels oil and gas exploration ban an economic ‘wrecking ball’
No Right Turn: Climate change: Two-faced
Meth Report
Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): The dumbfounding nastiness of Simon Bridges’ ‘meth crooks’ remarks
Gordon Campbell: On National’s ‘meth crooks’ failure of leadership
1News: Simon Bridges and Judith Collins were ‘defamatory’ with ‘meth crooks’ claim, says Winston Peters
Parliament
Richard Harman (Politik): MMP rules; the final nail in the first past the post coffin
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Mallard moves to curtail urgency
No Right Turn: Abolishing urgency?
Phil Smith and Daniela Maoate-Cox (RNZ): The House: Parliament’s to do list: equal pay for women and no extra pay for MPs
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Parliament’s trinity: the omnibus bill trick
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Lighten up, Nats, and stop barking at every passing car
Bll English knighted
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Arise Sir Bill: Former Prime Minister Bill English is officially knighted at Government House
Herald: Arise Sir Bill English – former PM knighted at Government House
1News: Former Prime Minister Sir Bill English officially knighted by the Governor General
Education
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Scarfie flatties accept bong-taking proctor’s apology
Elena McPhee and Chris Morris (ODT): ’I was wrong’ – Proctor
Tim Brown (RNZ): Uni proctor regrets confiscating bongs: ‘I’ve made an error here’
Megan Sutherland (Newshub): Otago University proctor Dave Scott admits ‘error’, denies seizing bongs from other flats
1News: ’I have made a mistake’ says Otago University proctor who removed cannabis bongs from student flat
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): Hey, proctor, leave our bongs alone: How Otago’s ‘campus cop’ is breaking the law
Edward Willis: Otago University, the Proctor, and the constitution
RNZ: Otago bong confiscation: Proctor’s behaviour unlawful
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Private prosecution pending against University of Otago’s bong-taking proctor
Megan Sutherland (Newshub): Calls for University of Otago proctor Dave Scott to resign over confiscated bongs
Herald: Otago students say proctor taking bongs from flat is ‘abuse of power’
Joel MacManus (Critic): Proctor Let Himself into Flat, Took Bongs in 2016, Students Say
Joel MacManus (Critic): Second Flat Claims Proctor Entered Home Without Permission, Took Bongs
RNZ Checkpoint: Student told she couldn’t return to hostel after she tried to kill herself
Newshub: Victoria University asked student to leave hall after suicide attempt
George Heagney (Stuff): Massey top brass backs under-fire vice-chancellor in row over free speech; Brash ‘astonished’
Judy McGregor (Herald): Women still struggle to make top of academia
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Hamilton Junior High School ditches donations request
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): Ministry of Education moves in on West Auckland school after entire board resigns
Aaron Hendry (Noted): What the principal missed: How truancy is the symptom of a toxic environment
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Fraser High students who staged walkout are losers
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): To the entitled little snots who walked out of Fraser High School
Health and disability
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Children’s prescriptions for antidepressant up 50 percent – research
Herald: Surge in Kiwi teens taking antidepressants, study shows
Alice Guy (Rotorua Daily Post): DHB investigating after woman forced to give birth to stillborn child alone at Rotorua Hospital
Imran Ali (Northern Advocate): Northlander blames health system for late diagnosis of bowel cancer
Annette Lambly (Stuff): Northland patients wait too long for bowel cancer test
Carla Penman (Herald): ’I used to go home looking like Father Christmas’ – Asbestos-related cancer sufferer
Tim Miller (ODT): Service failures led to sight loss
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): Fonterra screens workers after staff member is diagnosed with tuberculosis
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Taranaki hospital buildings may be quake-prone
Stephanie Mitchell (Taranaki Daily News): Parts of Taranaki Base Hospital identified as earthquake prone
1News: Kiwi volunteer medics give 14 youngsters lifesaving heart surgery in Fiji
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Countdown Marton praised for its efforts to educate community about autism
Media, broadcasting
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Media mega-merger reaches the end of the road
Alex Braae (Spinoff): StuffMe is dead. Does StuffMediaworks make any sense?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Media consolidation still ‘essential’ says Stuff boss
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Stuff, NZME lose at Court of Appeal over merger
Herald: Court of Appeal rejects NZME and Stuff merger challenge
RNZ: Court of Appeal rejects NZME-Stuff merger
AAP: Court of Appeal blocks media merger proposal between NZME and Fairfax
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Māori TV head of news resigns after restructure plans
Leith Huffadine (Stuff): Māori TV restructure: Union warns of job losses
RNZ: Māori TV cuts jobs, halts plans for second studio
Sophie Bateman (Newshub): Redundancies coming at Māori Television
Māori TV: Strategic refresh for Māori Television
Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Sky TV taking pirate sites to court
Chris Keall (Herald): 300k Kiwis illegally watch sport streams
Sam Kilmister (Manawatū Standard): Footrot Flats cartoonist Murray Ball to be honoured at hometown’s Rural Day
Robbie Nicol (Spinoff): White Man Behind A Desk quits comedy, pivots to political commentary
Tax
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Capital gains tax would increase house prices, economic modelling suggests
Muriel Newman: Capital Gains Tax Edges Closer
Frank Newman: Capital gains tax heading your way
Mark Lister (Herald): Tax Working Group eyes a slice of the PIE
Housing
David Hargreaves (Interest): The housing market over the next few months will decide a lot of things, including who wins the next election
Herald: Rent in regions hits record high as summer rush pushes up prices
Colin Williscroft (Stuff): Asbestos remediation cost spells the end for Christchurch housing units
Russell McVeagh, legal profession
Sacha Judd (Spinoff): I became a partner at 32. By 40 I left the law behind forever
Ruby MacAndrew (Stuff): Much-maligned Law Society president leading taskforce into law culture change
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Whistleblower unsurprised by fresh scandal at law firm
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Disappointment over fresh scandal at Russell McVeagh
Needles found in supermarket strawberries
Jason Walls (Herald): Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor: Supermarkets should consider installing metal detectors
Scott Palmer (Newshub): MPI reveals 3 needles were discovered in strawberries
RNZ: Multiple strawberries found to have needles in NZ punnet
1News: MPI concerned strawberry risk could be blown out of proportion amid needle contamination
1News: Strawberry needle epidemic ‘an Australian problem’, says Kiwi grower
Primary industries
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Growers get 20,000 plants back after MPI testing clears any risk
Heather Chalmers (Stuff): Dairy farmers tackle nitrogen loss
1News: Forestry worker dies after tree falls on him in the Manawatu
Herald: Logging company fined $100K after worker seriously injured
Herald: One tenth of NZ beef exports end up on McDonald’s world menu
Jacqueline Rowarth (Herald): Will consumers pay up for glyphosate-free production?
Andrea Fox (Herald): Fonterra director election system diluting farmer influence: candidate
Gerard Hutching (Stuff): A2 boss riles shareholders while others cash in
Environment and conservation
Kate Gudsell (RNZ): NZTA contractors caught dumping rubble in Whangārei stream
Leah Te Whata (Māori TV): NZTA admits contractors dumped rubble in Whangārei stream
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Could mosquito technology help Predator Free 2050?
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Litter by Little: Eugenie Sage says cleaning up trash is ‘the way we do it around here’
Pam Jones (ODT): Hunter fined for shooting protected ducks
Rachel MacGregor and Colin Craig defamation trial
Tom Furley (RNZ): Colin Craig: ‘There was a very, very deep and close friendship between us’
Sam Hurley (Herald): High Court judge rules Colin Craig can use truth defence in defamation case with Rachel MacGregor
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Colin Craig given leeway after leaving out his ‘main’ defence against defamation
Tom Furley (RNZ): Colin Craig forgets to include main defence in his case
Transport, motoring, speed cameras
Herald: Automobile Association slams latest fuel hike as unfair and unjustified
Chelsea Boyle (Herald): Pain at the pump: 91 creeps over $2.40
Luke Appleby (1News): Police ‘disappointed’ as stats show staff are getting snapped by speed cameras at twice the rate of last year
Mānia Clarke (Māori TV): Northland motorists riling over speed camera
Collette Devlin (Dominion Post): Auditor-General raises concerns about Wellington bus service
RNZ: Wellington Council on notice over troubled bus network
Daphne Lawless (Fightback): Is Auckland’s public transport becoming more or less accessible?
ODT Editorial: Time nearly up for cycleway success
Jo Lines-Mackenzie (Stuff): Refugees gaining independence through drivers licence
Immigration
Dominion Post Editorial: Our ponzi scheme of false promises and real pain
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Calls for foreigners to be able to legally operate in New Zealand’s sex work industry
Inequality and poverty
David Cormack (Herald): GDP hides the real truth in our economy
Rebekah Graham (CPAG): Fill a hungry belly or meet nutritional guides? The impossible choices facing low-income families
Jess Berentson-Shaw (Briefing Papers): New narratives for discussing child poverty in New Zealand
America’s Cup
RNZ: Smooth sailing for America’s Cup resource consents
Herald: Environment Court grants America’s Cup consents
Nick Truebridge (Stuff): Environment Court approves changes to Auckland waterfront for America’s Cup 2021
Local government
Collette Devlin (Dominion Post): Councillor scrutinises Wellington City deal with Housing New Zealand
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Golden Bay considers ceding from Tasman District Council
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Plans to increase Stewart Island visitor levy slammed as ‘ridiculous’
Cleo Fraser (Newshub): Maori wardens to ride Rotorua buses after driver attacked
Oceania exhibition
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Oceania brings Piccadilly to a halt
Emine Saner (Guardian): Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific with James Fox review – an engaging exploration of Māori culture
Gender equality
James Borrowdale (Vice): We Ran the Numbers on New Zealand’s Gender Inequality to Ask Are We There Yet?
Ben Stanley (Vice): Still a Long Way To Go Before There’s Gender Equality in New Zealand Sport
Tourism
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Fears tripling visitor levy could damage island’s tourism
Dave Goosselink (Newshub): Stewart Island locals surprised by plan to triple tourist levy
Sharon Reece (ODT): Stewart Island residents concerned by proposed visitor levy increase
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Airbnb calls for tourist bed tax, rejects council regulation
Other
David Fisher (Herald):Inside the NZSAS: How our elite soldiers train for missions
David Williams (Newsroom): Time for a bridge between Crown and Māori
John Anthony (Stuff): Rising fuel prices are not the only thing making life in New Zealand more expensive
David Chaston (Interest): Bank terms and conditions are where it is most obvious that your deal with them is not an equal balanced arrangement
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Exclusive: Did a conveyor belt cause the deadly Pike River blast?
Zane Small (Newshub): ’It’s tough’: Richie Barnett on his role mentoring deported Kiwis
1News: Infighting puts Māori Women’s Welfare league at risk amid annual conference
Joshua Hitchcock (Spinoff): Recognising Māori intellectual property is essential for international trade
Victoria University of Wellington (Newsroom): A deep dive on what we mean by wellbeing
Liz McDonald (Press): Court warns expert witnesses after refugees’ failed lawsuit
No Right Turn: Open Government: Business as usual
Bryan Gould (Daily Blog): Positive Money Petition
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Special discount for rangatahi at World Indigenous Business Forum
