NZ Politics Daily: 21 August 2024
BANKING SECTOR
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): ComCom report: Willis adamant she wants 'action' on banking sector reforms
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Govt to act on all Commerce Commission bank competition recommendations to disrupt 'cosy pillow fight' between big 4 banks
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Banking competition report says stronger Kiwibank, open banking could shake up ‘oligopoly’ (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): I'm not convinced the Commerce Commission study will lead anywhere
RNZ: ANZ boss says New Zealand can't afford to own banks
Rob Stock (Post): ComCom chair ‘really thrilled’ by Government response over banking (paywalled)
Anna Murray (1News): No really, what is open banking?
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): This is what the Commerce Commission’s bank changes could do to your mortgage
Rob Stock (Post): Bank systems hinder mortgage advisers, regulator says (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Making Kiwibank fly – with (or without) Winston (paywalled)
1News: Capital raising options for Kiwibank to be investigated – Willis
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Government to beef up Kiwibank to shake up ‘cosy’ bank sector (paywalled)
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): ‘Call to action’: Big Four banks put on notice over competition (paywalled)
Ben Moore (BusinessDesk): Industry welcomes ComCom’s plans for open banking (paywalled)
RNZ: Commerce Commission calls for beefed up Kiwibank and open banking in final report
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Commerce Commission pins hopes on Kiwibank & open banking
Rob Stock and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Open banking, stronger Kiwibank key to more bank competition: ComCom (paywalled)
Ben Moore (BusinessDesk): ComCom banking shakeup hinges on open banking (paywalled)
Lucy Craymer (Reuters): New Zealand promises banking shake-up after watchdog finds the sector lacks competition
John Weekes (Herald): Businesswoman shocked at $15k charge to change banks and overhaul her loans, says bank break fees are too high (paywalled)
GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE
Amelia Wade (Post): Gun minister challenged on firearms company conflict of interest (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Post): Ministry of Regulation staffers earn an average of $150k a year (paywalled)
David Burton (Post): What employment law can teach politicians about good faith (paywalled)
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Yes, Luxon keeps mangling his words. But what he’s talking about matters far more
1News: Christopher Luxon on 1News poll: 'The plan is starting to work'
Post: ‘Don’t know, don’t care’: Luxon on latest poll results (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Government have read things right
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Business of Government: It’s target time, missing Peter Hughes and more (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): New Human Rights Commissioner to be 'very careful' in commentary - Justice Minister
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nicola Willis calls in Public Service Commission following Commerce Commission tweets on ‘Joe Biden’s Gaza Genocide’
Harriette Boucher (Post): Beehive Briefing: Everything you need to know from today (paywalled)
CROWN-MĀORI RELATIONS, TREATY
RNZ: 'The Crown is sovereign', Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Te Puni Kōkiri is about to be very, very busy
Daniel Perese (Te Ao Māori): Opposition parties react to National Party’s ‘anti-Māori’ comments
Lara Greaves (The Conversation): Outdated and imprecise: why it’s time we retired the term ‘race relations’
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): ‘Walk in our shoes Christopher Luxon’ ‒ echoes of kotahitanga at Koroneihana
No Right Turn: Not getting the message
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Nearly half of New Zealanders say government policies increasing racial tensions, poll finds
Herald Editorial: Māori theatre: Hats off to PM Christopher Luxon for taking the wero front-on at Tūrangawaewae Marae (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Waitangi Tribunal are overstepping
Paul Dalziel (Newsroom): The real coastline issue: Stop confiscating Māori property rights
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): The Treaty Principles Bill is dead in the water
Greg Presland (Standard): Is the Treaty Principles Bill dead or has it just suffered a flesh wound?
Te Aniwaniwa Paterson (Te Ao Māori News): Indigenous leaders join King Tuheitia to sign declarations
Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai (RNZ): Pacific leaders pay historic tribute to Kiingitanga movement
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Councils to vote on challenge to Māori ward polling rule
Mihingarangi Forbes (Mata): Pera Paniora on the Kaipara Council and Māori Wards
Matai O’Connor (Gisborne Herald): Māori wards in Tairāwhiti face critical vote in 2025 local elections
Mike McRoberts (NBR): Multi-billion-dollar legal dispute 200 years in the making (paywalled)
Michael Bassett: Are we to be governed by the real, or by nonsense versions of the Treaty?
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PARLIAMENT
Chris Trotter (Democracy Project): Making A Difference
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Independent MP Darleen Tana 'grasping at straws' over resignation - law professor
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Darleen Tana writes to Green members arguing to keep their seat
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): MP Darleen Tana vows to fight Green Party’s possible use of waka-jumping law
RNZ: Former Green MP Darleen Tana says they have no intention of resigning
Harriette Boucher (Post): Darleen Tana refuses to resign, in lengthy letter to party (paywalled)
Al Williams (Waikato Herald): New Zealand’s youngest MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke urges young people to get involved in politics
WELFARE
Amy Williams (RNZ): Benefit cut after one missed appointment, former public servant says
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Chris Hipkins distances himself from Labour MP’s endorsement of benefit sanctions
RNZ: Labour leader to speak to MP about comments on benefit sanctions
ENERGY
RNZ: Try to reduce electricity use to avoid supply crisis, businesses and households told
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Are electricity prices really to blame for mill closures?
1News: 'Shock and fear': Hundreds of jobs on the line at NZ mills
Jemima Huston (RNZ): Forest product company to shut entire operation as result of energy prices
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Winstone Pulp proposes closing mills with loss of 230 jobs (paywalled)
Stephen Poletti, Bruce Mountain and Geoff Bertram (The Conversation): NZ’s electricity market is a mess. Rolling out rooftop solar would change the game
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Govt has no plan for dry years: Woods (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): How New Zealand could import LNG (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): How hydro levels and the gas shortage will impact New Zealand’s power companies (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Transpower to decide this week on lowering hydro lake levels
RNZ: Mercury Energy more than doubles full-year profit
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Mercury boss says the market is solving problems, not making them (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Mercury's profit increases 159% (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Poor hydro levels weigh on Mercury’s 2025 earnings outlook (paywalled)
RNZ: Tiwai Point smelter agrees to further cut in energy use
Jamie Gray (Herald): Power squeeze prompts Tīwai Point aluminium smelter to cut production again
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Energy crunch: smelter agrees to further cut as Mercury doubles profit (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Tiwai cuts production further as energy squeeze rolls on (paywalled)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THREE WATERS
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Christopher Luxon to ask councils to make savings before asking Government for handouts
Tom Hunt (Post): Sir Peter Jackson tipped as new owner of Lyall Bay mega-block (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): ‘Reading Four’ boycott meeting designed to air grievances (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Reading deal cheerleader’s U-turn after cinema company result (paywalled)
Bill Hickman (RNZ): Burst water main floods major Wellington street
Stuff: Burst pipe sends water flowing over busy Wellington arterial road
Anna Sargent (RNZ): Should Christchurch follow Auckland's alcohol sale restrictions?
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Councils call for tourist levies or 'bed tax' as poll suggests public support
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Deputy mayor ‘flabbergasted’ by $4.8m price tag for Masterton crossing
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Two 'urgent' reviews into Wairoa's flooding coming out soon
Alexa Cook (RNZ): Steve Fabish appointed senior manager of Wairoa's flood protection project
Manawatū Standard: Regional and district councils combining efforts to mitigate flood risks
David Long (Stuff): Future of Auckland's Olympic pool in doubt as local board will weigh up options
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga CBD revamp pushes ahead – with potential savings
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Ousted chair says local board has ‘difficult task’ ahead
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting):
‘Very disappointed’: Board chair ousted at fiery meeting
HOUSING
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Minister not seeking answers over where kids went after emergency motels
A J Henry: Government decisions risk increasing homelessness
Laura Frykberg (Stuff): Kāinga Ora owned land near Wellington's Basin Reserve still empty, despite affordable housing promise
Greg Ninness (Interest): REINZ's national median price down another $17k in July, Auckland median down $80k
RNZ: House prices fell again in July, but number of sales unexpectedly went up - REINZ
Miriam Bell (Post): House price falls continue, but the decline won't last (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Property investors 'will be back in the hunt' as market conditions improve
1News: Another major bank cuts fixed mortgage rates
ORANGA TAMARIKI, CHILD WELFARE, ABUSE IN STATE CARE
Moana Maniapoto (Te Ao Māori News): Exclusive: Couple from ‘reverse uplift’ speak out for the first time
Daniel Perese (Te Ao Māori News): ‘I’ll never apologise for that’ - Karen Chhour on the repeal of s7AA Treaty clause
David Williams (Newsroom): Torture at Lake Alice admitted to UN for first time
HEALTH, DISABILITY
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Smokefree providers and minister keen to address downturn in referrals
Melanie Earley (RNZ): 'It's been a full-time job trying to get help' - long waits for mental health support
Pretoria Gordon (RNZ): Ambulance officers take strike action in hope to highlight wider funding ‘dilemma'
RNZ: People asked to reserve 111 ambulance calls for life-threatening emergencies
Peter de Graaf and Ruth Hill (RNZ): Toxic mould at ambulance site adds to health woes in Bay of Islands
Mariné Lourens (Press/Post): Hundreds more GPs needed to meet demand on primary care (paywalled)
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Nurses at Dargaville Hospital to strike over concerns about lack of doctors after-hours
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Patient faces 14 hour roundtrip to doctor as Kaitāia's GP shortage bites
RNZ: Delays for vital electrical services upgrade at Wellington Hospital
Juliana Carvalho (RNZ): Dreams, realities, and the broken promises of disability support in Aotearoa New Zealand
RNZ: Pharmac proposes widening access to medicine used in the treatment of chronic heart failure
Jessie Curran (RNZ): Extremely low uptake of ACC cover for birthing injuries
TRANSPORT
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): The Interislander’s longest delay - Government not guaranteeing timing of replacement decision
Michael Morrah (Herald): Minister considers intervention after ‘toxic’ workplace claims at Civil Aviation Authority (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Transport officials look overseas for road tolling models amid calls for more user-pays
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Congestion charging would punish Rotorua families, says mayor and councillor
1News: Look at licencing system urged in bid to keep young drivers safer
RNZ: Driver licence changes would save young people's lives - AA
RNZ: Auckland Harbour Bridge closures costing millions, economist estimates
ENVIRONMENT
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Calls for carbon subsidy reform as polluters bank gains
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Government moves to raise carbon price, says petrol will only rise 3c a litre
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Carbon credits rise in price after minister ‘does right thing’ tightening supply (paywalled)
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Pipeline protesters met with cameras, fencing at Rotorua lake
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Community makes last-ditch plea ahead of Lake Camp meeting
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): 'Pristine night skies': Kaikōura plans to dim the lights with DarkSky application
CRIME, POLICE
Lisa Marriott (The Conversation): NZ’s white-collar crime gap: just 1% of serious fraud complaints result in prosecution
Neil Sands (Law News): SFO sets its sights on lawyers who enable fraud
Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZ Police finally has facial recognition policy - but is it strict enough?
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Supreme Court poses questions about 'blank cheque' for state to detain intellectually disabled people
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): 'Of course he misbehaves': Defence argues case to Supreme Court of autistic man detained for 18 years
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Mother of autistic man detained 18 years heads to Supreme Court
1News: Over 260kg drugs seized — police in 'week of action' on gangs
RNZ: Police lay 200 charges after finding 300kg of drugs, $520k cash and firearms
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Police change approach after initially not fining motorists smoking and vaping in cars carrying children
ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): NZ supermarkets rake in far more than US counterparts
RNZ: Half of population saving for retirement despite cost-of-living crisis
Liam Dann (Herald): Fitch affirms NZ’s AA+ credit rating despite delayed surplus, says outlook stable (paywalled)
Arena Williams (Herald): No shortage of relief after OCR cut
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Don Brash: Independent foreign policy? Gone by lunch-time
Harriette Boucher (Post): Qatar prime minister to visit New Zealand
Brooke Black (Timaru Herald): Interim project director appointed to Scott Base redevelopment
EDUCATION
John Lewis (ODT): View Te Pūkenga overhaul poses risk to Otago Polytech (paywalled)
Mare Haimona-Riki (Whakaata Maāori): New software to track students’ mental health
RNZ: Autonomous mowers in school fields of the future
MEDIA
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: Philip Polkinghorne trial media coverage - open justice principles prevail over suicide experts’ concerns (paywalled)
Janine Fenwick (Stuff): Paddy Gower has finally got a job doing the f...ing news
Jim Sullivan (ODT): Rich history of NZ newspapers
TECHNOLOGY
Robert McGrath (Herald): Artificial intelligence in healthcare: How new technology can revolutionise medical treatment (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): AI could more than double New Zealand’s productivity: Accenture report (paywalled)
INSURANCE
Ella Somers (Interest): Reducing NZ’s future natural hazard risk will bolster reinsurer appetite, Suncorp NZ CEO says
Rob Stock (Post): Wellington in eye of climate change insurance storm (paywalled)
CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
1News: Restoration of Christ Church Cathedral on hold
RNZ: Christ Church Cathedral restoration over, for now
Tina Law (Press/Post): Christ Church Cathedral mothballing ‘shameful’ and ‘sad’ (paywalled)
OTHER
Richard Prebble (Herald): What New Zealand can tell America about their election (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern set to speak at Democratic National Convention event in US
Gordon Campbell: On Why Workers Get Treated As Disposable
RNZ: Job ads up, but competition still fierce - Seek
Herald: Kiwi billionaire Peter Thiel eyes possible shift to New Zealand
Gill Bennett (RNZ): Immigration New Zealand looking at expanding overseas staff
Catherine Hubbard (Stuff): Funding halt dampens Nelson museum’s archive centre plans
Bridget Tunnicliffe (RNZ): Costs mount for sports clubs as compliance deadline looms
David Chaplin (BusinessDesk): IRD guide for the single trader: how to not pay tax on purpose (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Man accusing former political figure of sexual abuse denies political motivation
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Former political figure sexual abuse trial: Media report triggered stress response for complainant
Courtney Addison (Newsroom): Govt wants a molecular silver bullet for climate and health
Davina Zimmer (RNZ): The Detail: Modifying our gene modification laws
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Number of sheep in New Zealand falls to 23 million
Cartoons
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