NZ Politics Daily: 26 August 2024

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE
1News: Q+A: What's 'nice to have'? Brown quizzed on council spending clampdown
Thomas Manch (Post): Lay of the land for 2025 local government elections becomes clear (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): 'No unfunded mandates': Labour commits to funding councils for central government work
Julia Gabel (Herald): Labour leader Chris Hipkins takes aim at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over local government speech
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Mining royalties to finance housing in first regional deals
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Who really wins with political gamesmanship in infrastructure? (paywalled)
Steven Joyce (Herald): Long-term central and local government partnerships key to getting infrastructure built (paywalled)
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga and Western Bay mayors keen to make a regional deal with Govt
Joel MacManus (Spinoff): There are two winners in the battle between Tory Whanau and Simeon Brown
Tory Whanau (Post): Time for the PM to stop taking cheap shots at councils (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s right, mayors and councils are out of touch with ratepayers (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Christopher Luxon’s stark message for councils to rein in spending comes at the right time (paywalled)
Piers Fuller (Wairarapa Times Age): PM ‘threw us to the wolves’: Councillors (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Christopher Luxon urged local governments to focus on the basics, even as he announced funding for a dance competition
Martin Williams (Hawke’s Bay Today): Māori wards and the tyranny of the majority
Doug Laing (Hawkes Bay Today): Majority support Māori Ward in Napier: Council submissions show 60/40 in favour
Grant Miller (ODT): Unitary authority mooted (paywalled)
RNZ: Dunedin councillor puts forward motion for unitary authority
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): How to grow the next generation of Pasifika politicians
Mary Afemata (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘I wasn’t keeping myself safe’: How Tory Whanau regained her purpose
Duncan Garner (Listener): Is Wellington now officially dead? (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Post): Burst Wellington pipe pre-dating women’s suffrage likely sets new age record (paywalled)
Claire Sharpe, Simon Hardy (Post): ‘Our time as citizens of this city is now, let’s make it thrive’ (paywalled)
ODT: Civis: Worship at stadium, not at the cathedral (paywalled)
RNZ: Port of Tauranga net profit down more than $25m on previous year
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga Council to consider fluoridation directive
David Williams (Newsroom): Christchurch turns back on cathedral to become a river city

FAST TRACK, RMA, ENVIRONMENT
Claire Trevett (Herald): Fast-track Approvals Bill backdown on ministers’ powers delivers a nod to the critics but not a buckling (paywalled)
Bryan Bruce: Fast Track Bill On Slighly Slower Track
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Govt tries to take heat out of fast track debate with changes (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Fast-track bill: Critic 'very pleased' with government over changes
Justin Hu (1News): Fast-track bill: Govt makes big changes, nearly 400 applicants
Kate Green (RNZ): Fast-track bill: Ministers won't get final say on green-lighting projects
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government guts ministerial powers from fast-track bill
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Coalition waters down fast-track legislation
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Govt announces changes to fast-track consent law
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Environmentalists celebrate court victory but question insurance cover for fines
RNZ: Farming lobby says pine will help environment, but kill jobs, schools
1News: Q+A: What will ETS changes mean for the price of petrol?
AAP: UN chief disagrees with NZ's plan to reverse fossil fuel ban
Adam Pearse (Herald): NZ’s oil and gas exploration doesn’t feature amid UN Secretary-General’s demands to polluting countries
Grant Miller (ODT): DCC emissions plan: Government changes force rejig of execution (paywalled)

GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT
Andrea Vance (Post): Census, election officials overlooked political neutrality paperwork (paywalled)
ODT: Turning a tone-deaf ear to reality (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Christopher Luxon’s message to councils and banks was merciless, but great politics (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Newsroom): The Secret Diary of .. David Seymour
Janet Wilson (Post): Labour can’t make the changes it needs to win in 2026 with Hipkins at the helm (paywalled)
Tova O’Brien (Stuff): With Winston back in the saddle, coalition more likely to go the distance
Whena Owen (1News): Q+A: D-day for Darleen Tana approaches — what does the MP want now?
Emily Makere Broadmore (Post): What I learned as an OIA hunter (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: The PM's Koroneihana minefield
Brent Edwards (NBR): Must-haves, electricity prices, Darleen Tana, the Treaty
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Ministers and backbenchers alike hunt game in the House (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: How not to answer a question, and other lessons from Parliament
Louis Collins (RNZ): The House: From Beehive to Bluegrass: Kiwi MPs head stateside
Jim Tucker (Taranaki Daily News): MPs need to wake up to social media trap
Harriette Boucher (SST): Whatever happened to the people who ran for NZ’s least serious political parties? (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (Post): Inside the Beehive: 10 minutes with Catherine Wedd (paywalled)

“NZ Politics Daily” continues below. Paid subscribers can access the following categories of news and analysis: ENERGY; HEALTH; MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, HOBSON’S PLEDGE AD; WELFARE; ECONOMY; FOREIGN AFFAIRS; POLICE, JUSTICE; TRANSPORT; BANKS, FINANCIAL SECTOR; HOUSING, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION; EDUCATION; BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT; PRIMARY INDUSTRIES; CARTOONS

To subscribe to the full version of Democracy Project email newsletters - which helps keep this service going - click on the link below: