News Briefing: 21 February 2025
INTEGRITY ISSUES, MANUREWA MARAE INQUIRY, FAST-TRACK, RMA
Bryce Edwards (The Integrity Institute): Kiwis are waking up with alarm to NZ’s tarnished democracy
Martin Van Beynen (Press): Do we have harsher rules for Māori organisations? (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Police investigation looms over Te Pāti Māori
Len Cook (Post): Trust must be recovered after a second Census failure (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Health NZ leaves sensitive data unsecure, inquiry finds
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The public service - A gargantuan ship of hopelessness
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): How would you rate your trust in the public service?
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): We need a definitive answer to if data was misused
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Farah Hancock (RNZ): Government warned fast-track bill broke rules in benefiting business
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Revealed, fast-track ministers’ personal picks that govt had denied existed (paywalled)
Kate Green (RNZ): Winstone Aggregates seeks Belmont Regional Park land through Fast-track Approvals Act
Tom Hunt (The Post): Fast-track for Belmont quarry expansion into regional park (paywalled)
Maria Slade (NBR): Precinct to make a call on fast-tracking Downtown redevelopment (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): RMA reform causing ‘more churn in the system’ (paywalled)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE, DEFENCE
Audrey Young (Herald): Winston Peters A to Z - tumultuous times in foreign affairs (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Post): Spy boss warned Cook Islands PM about national security risks before China pact (paywalled)
RNZ: Defence Minister says presence of Chinese ships is 'wake-up call' for Kiwis
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Defence Minister Judith Collins warns Chinese ships in Tasman have ‘enormous strike power’
RNZ: NZ Defence Force says 'no notice given' from China about navy ships in the Tasman Sea
Rod McGuirk (AP): Australian and New Zealand militaries monitoring Chinese warships off Australian coast
Thomas Manch (Post): New Zealand sends surveillance aircraft to monitor Chinese navy ships (paywalled)
1News: NZDF helping monitor Chinese navy ships sailing off Australian coast
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: Splashing out on defence to keep our head above troubled waters
Newstalk ZB: Imperative NZ 'upholds dialogue' amid rising tensions in the Pacific
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global insight: Implications for NZ in Trump's Russia response
Brent Edwards (NBR): The reality of dealing with Donald Trump (paywalled)
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): China, a country 'full of DeepSeeks,' now sees NZ as 'a country of diplomatic infidelity’ - Of Interest podcast
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Christopher Luxon to travel to Vietnam for trip focused on economic growth
Madison Reidy (Herald): NZ must pick a side in US-China AI arms race, Kiwi entrepreneur warns (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): US sponsorship of Pacific disinformation workshop ends after dispute
PARLIAMENT, ELECTORAL COMMISSION, PUBLIC SECTOR
Peter Dunne: Lowest common denominator politics instead of informed debate
Audrey Young (Herald): Ill tidings for Health Commissioner Lester Levy; chill thaws between Labour and NZ First (paywalled)
RNZ: Luxon allowing MPs 'to run rings around him with anti-migrant sentiment', Menéndez March says
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Urgent memo to everyone: Please don’t tell Winston Peters about this MP
Ava Whitworth (Stuff): ‘Aotearoa’ explained: The history and debate behind the name
Julia Gabel (Herald): Judith Collins grilled over Police Minister’s ‘perimenopausal woman’ comment, says she will ‘deal with that later’
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Judith Collins side-eyes Mark Mitchell on Labour's challenge over 'misogynistic comments'
Anna Whyte (Post): The year of the strike? Perfect pay storm looms over public sector (paywalled)
Deborah Coddington: We need to talk about David
Greg Dixon (Listener): Why “Everyone Must Go!” should be our national anthem (paywalled)
David Farrar: Still many MPs without bills in the ballot
POVERTY, INEQUALITY
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Child poverty rates stall, government misses targets
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Clear fail’: Government slammed for missing all child poverty targets
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Child poverty reduction targets set by Jacinda Ardern not met
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Claim of ‘no movement’ in child poverty stats misleading, advocates say
Cameron Brown (The Blue Review): The Gap Between the Haves and Have-Nots Will Always Grow
TREATY PRINCIPLES BILL, TE AO MĀORI
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Jenny Shipley likens David Seymour to a ‘second-hand car salesman’ at Treaty bill hearing
Julia Gabel (Herald): Treaty Principles Bill: Ex-PM Dame Jenny Shipley; haka in committee room and call for referendum
RNZ: 'Unconscionable': Iwi leaders, former PM, legal experts blast Treaty bill
Maioha Panapa (Te Ao Māori News): ‘Unconscionable’: Former PM Jenny Shipley denounces Treaty Principles Bill
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Treaty principles bill hearings, day seven: Another ex-PM submits, and tears are shed
Mike McRoberts (NBR): Treaty Principles Bill a matter of trust…or lack of it (paywalled)
Shannon Pitman (Herald): Controversial Ngāpuhi leader Sonny Tau jailed after seven-year indecency case
HOUSING
David Hargreaves (Interest): A third of low-income households spend more than 40% of money on housing
Stuff: Housing costs squeezed Kiwi households as rents and mortgages surged in 2024
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Here's how much your income hasn't been keeping up with your housing costs
RNZ: Signs aligning for house prices to rise in 2025 - economist
ECONOMY, OCR
Simon Shepherd (NBR): Minister cherry picks ‘golden visa’ research to justify changes (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Interest rate forecasts great news for National re-election (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr warns longer-term mortgage interest rates might not fall too much more (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Deloitte puts numbers on what a corporate tax rate cut could mean for the economy (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Government must listen to Reserve Bank call for higher-quality economic statistics (paywalled)
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Why didn’t the OCR come down faster? Adrian Orr revisits ‘least regrets’ thinking
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Adrian Orr sees ‘benign period’ for monetary policy ahead
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Facts trump economic uncertainty: RBNZ’s Karen Silk (paywalled)
David Chaston (Interest): The ground is about to sink faster for savers
ENVIRONMENT
Kate Green (RNZ): Archey's frog DOC report uses mining company research, says environmental group
Michael Morrah (Herald): NZ wants to catch Australia’s quota of orange roughy in the South Pacific and increase limits for how much deep-sea coral bottom trawlers take (paywalled)
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Siren Gold mining company drilling at Sams Creek, Golden Bay
Edward Miller: Why hasn't government repealed the offshore ban yet?
Sam Smith (Stuff): Fruit fly discovered on Auckland’s North Shore
Benjamin Plummer (Herald): Biosecurity operation launched after Oriental fruit fly discovered in Auckland’s Birkdale
RNZ: Biosecurity NZ boosting trapping after new Auckland fruit fly found
1News: Second Oriental fruit fly discovered in Auckland
FRESHWATER
Andrea Vance (Post): Council failed to protect wetlands, high court rules (paywalled)
David Williams (Newsroom): Tribe backs contamination charges to improve lake, court told
Will Harvey (Press/Post): Dairy farming could become more gentle if Ngāi Tahu wins freshwater case (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Auditor-General calls for government to do long-term planning
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Local govt clashes set stage for new national code of conduct
David Farrar: WCC hands out $300,000 in social engineering
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): A vision of the 90s: James Cameron’s Vision for Wellington event, reviewed
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): James Cameron ‘goes out on a limb’ about this contentious cycleway on a major Wellington road
Justin Wong (Post): Potential Porirua poll over interest in single Wellington-wide council (paywalled)
Kate Judson (Stuff): Government reduces waste funding, falls on council
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Marlborough District Council to end rates remission for 2022 storm damaged properties
RNZ: Avondale community group to engage Winston Peters over racecourse housing plans
David Long (Stuff): Avondale communities concerned over being shut out of racecourse plans
Anne Gibson (Herald): $100m Pak’nSave Highland Park to open as planned after deal reached between Foodstuffs and Watercare
Linda Hall (Local Democracy Reporting): Napier City Council throws Hawke's Bay Tourism agency $1m lifeline
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Boy racers costing Carterton ratepayers thousands each month
Lianne Dalziel (Newsroom): Regeneration framework critical for special area of Chch
Peter Newport (Crux): Ground breaking regional deal drafted by QLDC
BANKS
Martien Lubberink (The Conversation): Collateral damage: how the war on ‘woke banking’ could backfire on New Zealand
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Telling banks to ‘drop ’em’ is easy politics
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): NZ First MP Andy Foster’s ‘woke’ bank bill drawn from ballot, but not backed by National and Act – yet, at least (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): New Zealand First’s woke banking bill to be debated (paywalled)
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): NZ First's anti 'woke banking' bill drawn from the ballot
Raphael Franks (Herald): Bank profits: Reserve Bank says margins should be cut, competition needed
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): When are the banks going to lift their game?
POLICE
Amanda Thomas (Newsroom): Repress protesters and you repress democracy
No Right Turn: IPCA hides behind secrecy
RNZ: Advisory Group appointed to tackle organised crime groups
IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Kiwi kid who'd never left New Zealand spared deportation after U-turn
1News: NZ-born 18-year-old facing deportation offered resident visa
Michael Morrah (Herald): 18-year-old Daman Kumar, who was facing deporation despite living in New Zealand all his life, granted residency
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Teenager Daman Kumar granted New Zealand residency, but parents ordered to leave
Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai (RNZ): Over 400 Samoans reclaim NZ citizenship since law change
MEDIA
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Top reporters leave TVNZ, outsourcing fears emerge; Marketing gone mad – the Vodafone rugby streaker; Peter Williams on his Treaty Principles Bill submission (paywalled)
David Harvey: The Slow Death of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): More free sport on TV possible if Sunday ad ban axed, says TVNZ (paywalled)
TRANSPORT, AIR NZ
Brent Edwards (NBR): Govt received 14 unsolicited infrastructure proposals so far (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): Government unveils plan to remove ‘loathed’ Auckland road barriers, speed up travel times when City Rail Link opens
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Air NZ CEO says engine problems will peak this year (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Air New Zealand warns of lower profits in second half of year
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Air NZ profit falls as passenger numbers slip, planes grounded
Roeland van den Bergh (Post): Air New Zealand CEO claps back after Auckland Airport’s criticism (paywalled)
Will Mace (NBR): Air NZ and Auckland Airport point fingers over monopoly concerns (paywalled)
Ella Somers (Interest): Auckland Airport half-year profit surges, bemoans lagging airline capacity
Rob Stock (Post): Air NZ dominance skewing domestic travel and tourism, says Auckland Airport CEO (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Air NZ announces $100m share buyback (paywalled)
TOURISM
RNZ: Government unveils new $3 million fund to attract more tourists in off-season
RNZ: 'Everyone must go' tourism slogan hits the international headlines
Jamie Gray (Herald): Auckland Airport CEO says more work to do in tourism (paywalled)
EDUCATION
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Schools could be short 1250 teachers this year, Ministry of Education warns
RNZ: Govt halal school lunches have contained ham - principal
Arena Williams, Stuart Smith (Stuff): A centralised, one-size-fits-none food factory
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Students eye up Australia as universities brace for cuts
DESTINY CHURCH DRAG STORY TIME PROTEST
Raphael Franks (Herald): Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church pride protests: Te Atatū witness describes terror inside library
Sanjana Hattotuwa: New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission: A case study in institutional decay
OTHER
Chris Lynch: Calls for the Government to ban rodeo following deaths of four animals this summer
Tom Day (1News): Health ministry official in legal case against rainbow crossing
Dougal Sutherland (The Conversation): NZ has long suffered from low productivity. A simple fix is keeping workers happy
RNZ: Right to Repair Amendment Bill a critical 'first step' for consumers - advocate
ODT Editorial: Sharing our super
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): KiwiSaver reality vs ideology
Aaron Hendry (Post): Well-being of ‘boot camp kids’, not reoffending rates, the real issue (paywalled)
Tracy Neal (Open Justice Reporting): Earthquake risk suddenly forces Nelson courthouse to close for four months
Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown and Kaea Hudson (Spinoff): Can Canada and the US guide the way on Indigenous child protection?
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Justice, it's complicated
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