News Briefing: 6 March 2025
LOBBYING, POLITICAL FINANCE, PARLIAMENT
Bryce Edwards (Integrity Institute): The Silent Death of Lobbying Reform in NZ
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Govt criticised for go-slow on lobbying reform (paywalled)
Eloise Gibson (NZ): Simeon Brown appointed prominent oil and gas lobbyist to energy savings board against official advice
Brent Edwards (NBR): Assessing short-term politics and a four-year parliamentary term (paywalled)
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Dear John, we can’t always blame racism
Sanjana Hattotuwa: Sacrificing veracity for virality: Topham Guerin’s influence operations, and democratic implications
Alice Neville (Spinoff): What does a government minister put on the work credit card?
Craig Renney: Your early guide to the 2025 Budget
Anna Whyte and Ffion Heale (Post): A breakdown: Who is pinching pennies in the public service? (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Higher taxes part of Green Party plan to redistribute wealth (paywalled)
Juha Saarinen (Interest): Auckland developer event with Callaghan Innovation will ask participants to design 'DOGE NZ' to track government expenditure
Susana Suisuiki (RNZ): 'We box above our weight': Dr Shane Reti responds to Pacific peoples funding criticism
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Row erupts in New Zealand parliament over use of Māori name Aotearoa
ADRIAN ORR’S RESIGNATION
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Analysis: The funding fight behind Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr’s resignation (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Why Adrian Orr left now: a plausible theory (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): '1000 cleaner ways to do this': Call for answers on Orr resignation
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Will Adrian Orr’s replacement unleash a new mortgage war?
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Shock and Orr: The sudden resignation of the central bank governor
Liam Dann (Herald): Who could replace Adrian Orr as Reserve Bank Governor?
Luke Malpass (Post): Adrian Orr’s exit omnishambles from the Reserve Bank (paywalled)
Sam Stubbs (Post): Appraising Adrian Orr (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Clear communicator required at top of RBNZ, says Kiwibank’s Kerr (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth: Adrian Orr departs RBNZ, still congratulating himself
Post: Business says ‘bye’ to Adrian Orr (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has resigned - but no one’s saying why
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Orr’s shock resignation and abrupt departure unexplained
Dan Brunskill (Interest): RBNZ Chairman says Orr’s resignation wasn’t unexpected
RNZ: Adrian Orr's resignation as Reserve Bank head a 'personal decision' - Reserve Bank chair
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Reserve Bank board chair says governor Adrian Orr made a ‘personal decision’ to resign (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Adrian Orr stands up Ben Bernanke as he goes on leave (paywalled)
RNZ: Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr resigns
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr resigns
SCHOOL LUNCHES, EDUCATION
Jo Moir (RNZ): Analysis: Christopher Luxon faces another week of questions in school lunch fiasco
Virginia Fallon (Post): Finally, our Prime Minister’s values revealed (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Herald): School lunches: David Seymour, Erica Stanford fail again to meet amid diary issues
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Ministers’ school lunch stoush: No new meeting planned
RNZ: Education Minister's school lunches meeting with David Seymour delayed again
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): Litany of concerns raised before school lunch suppliers won contract (paywalled)
Verity Johnson (Stuff): How breathtakingly bad was that, Luxon?
Tini Molyneux (Te Ao Māori News): ‘I think he hasn’t read the room' - Peeni Henare on Luxon’s Marmite sandwich comment
Andrew Gunn: Marmite Sandwich Fantasy Is Front-Runner For Fiction Award (9paywalled)
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Echo Chamber: David Seymour says ‘namaste’ to school lunch woes
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RNZ: One school fails to prove it's teaching reading, writing and maths an hour a day
Mark John (ODT): 'Deep concern' over lack of teachers in South
Harriet Laughton (Post): University unhappy about $1.5m spend on ‘eyesore’ Gordon Wilson Flats (paywalled)
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): University of Waikato secures 99-year land lease for Tauranga marine facility
RICHARD PREBBLE’S WAITANGI TRIBUNAL RESIGNATION
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘Pretty disruptive’: Inside the delays and power plays behind the controversial Waitangi Tribunal appointments
Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Prebble's resignation from Waitangi Tribunal leaves lawyer with 'a sour taste in my mouth'
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): To lecture us on Te Tiriti, you must first be able to read it
Robert MacCulloch: Prebble is right to resign from Waitangi Tribunal
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Richard Prebble: Why I joined the Waitangi Tribunal and why I quit
Tini Molyneux (Te Ao Māori News): Richard Prebble still supports the Waitangi Tribunal but says it has no power
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Waitangi Tribunal members expected to do 'due diligence': PM on Richard Prebble's resignation
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): ‘Maybe we should listen to him’ - David Seymour praises Prebble over Waitangi Tribunal call
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Waitangi Tribunal member Richard Prebble resigns
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Will NZ follow the UK in cutting foreign aid to boost defence spending?
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Military tech moves: Lots of talk, and lots of drones
Alexander Gillespie and Robert G. Patman (The Conversation): America or Europe? Why Trump’s Ukraine U-turn is a fork in the road for New Zealand
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Luxon says NZ should stay ‘cool and calm’ in face of US agricultural tariff threat (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): What’s next for Aukus and Five Eyes after Trump turns geopolitics on its head?
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Tariff wars: Trade minister plans to 'make the case' on relationship with US counterparts
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Trump has reignited the tariff war – why? And what does it mean for New Zealand?
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Tariffs 101: What will they mean for your mortgage and our economy?
Jack McDonald (Post): Tumultuous world demands we double down on our independence (paywalled)
Peter Griffin and Ben Moore (BusinessDesk): NZ risks ‘riding cavalry into battle against tanks’ without Aukus (paywalled)
No Right Turn: A recipe for waste
WELLINGTON WATER, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Wellington Water told in June some contractors were being investigated
Tom Hunt (Post): Wellington Water partner Fulton Hogan makes $497m profit (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Wellington’s draft consultation on water reform does not address issues with Wellington Water
Ruby Shaw (ODT): Changes reflect govt overreach: councillor (paywalled)
Steve Hepburn (ODT): Mayor baffled why DCC not involved in water group (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): $4200 water bills ‘fundamentally unaffordable’ (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Confusion over Invercargill’s te reo Māori street name rules
Justin Wong (Post): Property owners owe $1.9 million in Upper Hutt rates (paywalled)
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Gisborne Election: Mayor to run again, three councillors to step down
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Marlborough throws out nearly double the national average to landfill
Post: First look at new design for Wellington Town Hall frontage (paywalled)
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Crs agree to seek $44m pines shortfall (paywalled)
FERRIES, TRANSPORT
Herald Editorial: Documents prove Nicola Willis too hasty in cancelling ferry contract (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Post): Finnish shipbuilders could build Cook Strait ferries, ambassador says (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): KiwiRail cuts 227 jobs, signals further restructuring, welcomes back Winston Peters (paywalled)
RNZ: Cook Strait Bluebridge ferry helped to dock by tug boat
Matt Lowrie (Greater Auckland): Meeting the government's new PT fare revenue targets
Will Mace (NBR): Airways’ price hikes a bitter pill for struggling aviation sector (paywalled)
HEALTH, AGED CARE, COVID-19
ODT Editorial: Health package lacking detail (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): ACC's botched IT project needed overseas expertise to help
Paula Penfold (Stuff): Top govt manager in 'physical contact' complaint now subject of conflict of interest concerns
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Government doubles nurse practitioner training placements in GP clinics
Julia Gabel (Herald): Health Minister Simeon Brown announces $55m nurse training, tertiary education funding boost
Stuff: Government to expand nurse training and education
Nicholas Pointon (NBR): Aged Care Association clashes with Casey Costello over funding (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Regulation looms for at-home medical tests
Roeland van den Bergh (Post): Silica dust victim calls for total ban on engineered stone (paywalled)
Deborah Morris (Post): Protester doesn’t regret stand against Covid-19 restrictions
MEDIA
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Analysis: What do we know about NZME’s new shareholders? (paywalled)
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Who is James Grenon? The billionaire who spent $9m on a stake in NZME
Sarah Bickerton and Cassandra Mudgway (Newsroom): NZ has no clear direction on online safety regulation
RNZ: New database measure to help fight digital violent extremism
Barrie Saunders: “Media” some dangerous proposals
ECONOMY, BUSINESS
RNZ: New Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson hands off supermarket decisions over conflict
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Biz wants Govt to cut corporate tax rate, provide subsidies (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Big corporates lump too much blame on the economy
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Economists seek neutral cash rate to ‘get us out of the grind’ (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Why New Zealand’s ‘No 8 Wire’ thinking won’t cut it: new BCG report
Dan Brunskill (Interest): NZ First's 'Woke Bank Bill' just adds 'layer of bureaucracy'
Madison Malone (Herald): The making of Microsoft’s New Zealand data centre
Nazahryth Bernard (Herald): IRD says Pak’nSave follows law by demanding personal details for $1000-plus shopping bills
Madison Malone (Herald): $18b Rocket Lab reveals biggest financial year on record - and delivers Neutron launch update (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): Rocket Lab reveals role in Firefly’s moon landing, investment banker rates it against Elon Musk’s SpaceX
ENERGY
Jamie Gray (Herald): Business groups push for more power purchase agreements to stabilise electricity prices (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Transpower clarifies electricity price increases (paywalled)
POVERTY, INEQUALITY
Matt Burrows (Newstalk ZB): Real Life: Salvation Army’s Janine Donaldson calls on Kiwis to address ‘grim’ state of nation
Morgan Edwards: Child Poverty is a Political Choice
IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT WORKERS
Susana Suisuiki (RNZ): Green Party MP advocates for visa waiver access for Pacific nations
Monique Steele (RNZ): Concerns immigration policies eroding RSE workers' rights - unions
ENVIRONMENT, PRIMARY AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
Emma Andrews (RNZ): 'Filth ecological disaster' Bream Bay anti-sand mining petition accepted by Greens MP Hūhana Lyndon at Parliament
RNZ: Companies fined over death of Clevedon forestry worker
Jacqueline Rowarth (Herald): Why the Government needs the rural sector for economic recovery
Gary Hamilton-Irvine (Hawkes Bay Today): Landowner in Hastings-Havelock North green belt urges more development as Strawberry Patch announces closure (paywalled)
OTHER
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Control of methane satellite handed back to its US makers to fix "challenges", still no answers from NZ Govt on what is wrong
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Why more police are using number-plate spotting tech
RNZ: Laywer says gang patch law infringes freedom of expression
Philip Chandler (ODT): Fast-track consent for cable railway sought
Katie Fitzgerald (RNZ): Greyhound adoption sours over terms and conditions
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Tūhoe gets injunction to stop hapū occupation and logging of iwi-owned forest
Tony Wall (Stuff): ‘Unfair, underhanded’: Iwi sacks directors ‘without notice’
Ben Espiner (The Platform): Do Crown Owned Entities need the Rainbow Tick?
Ganesh Ahirao: What's the deal?
Michael Morrah (Herald): Civil Aviation Authority review into workplace culture reveals bullying, leadership issues (paywalled)
Bryan Bruce: Episode 38 : Paul Hunt - former New Zealand Chief Human Rights Commissioner