News Briefing: 31 January 2025

HEALTH
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Bribe allegations about NZ vape kits in employee secret recordings
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Costello rejects 'premise' of questions around $575,000 contract to Chinese vape company RELX (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas (Post): Simeon Brown says health privatisation ‘not my focus’ (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Treasury sinks key National election promise (paywalled)
Mary Williams (ODT): Hospital decision expected
RNZ: New Dunedin hospital announcement imminent
Kathryn van Beek (Newsroom): Worrying about Dunedin Hospital
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Cancer patient calls for a fair decision by govt
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): 'Very significant concerns': Documents reveal tension over proposal to close Dargaville Hospital
RNZ: General practices about 'to cross a tipping point', new Health Minister warned
Alice Peacock (Newsroom): Cardiac and mental illnesses fuel surging benefits bill
Jack Riddell (Herald): Government invests $67m in Hawke’s Bay Hospital upgrades
Cherie Stayner and Jim Mann (ODT: Prevention our only viable option
Ian Powell: Reckless Disregard Or Cruelty (Or Even Trumpian!)
Barbara Fountain (NZ Doctor): Ministerial execution
Barbara Fountain (NZ Doctor): A–Z: On the cards for health in 2025 (paywalled)
Martin Johnston (NZ Doctor): One regulator to rule them all? Health workforce body mooted (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Herald): ‘Gay blood ban’ to be removed next year, New Zealand Blood Service says
RNZ: Rules preventing blood donations from men who have sex with men to change
Caron Copek (Stuff): Removal of a blanket gay blood donation ban celebrated
Maddy Croad (Press/Post): Lack of support sees half of breast cancer survivors shun treatment after their illness (paywalled)
Alex Penk (Ethos): Puberty blockers will keep generating conscience issues

PRIVATISATION, ASSET SALES, ECONOMY
Peter Dunne: Act looks backwards
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Singapore has Temasek – Why not KiwiSec for New Zealand? (paywalled)
Sally Wesley (RNZ): ACT pushes for sale of Pāmu to offset drain on taxpayer funding
Herald Editorial: NZ for sale - Should we sell state assets? If so, what? (paywalled)
Tim Hunter (NBR): Political posturing mars privatisation debate (paywalled)
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Public assets, private investors: a match made in investment heaven? (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Luxon won’t say ‘yes’ to housing development in his Botany electorate
Lloyd Burr (Stuff): The Nation of No? Welcome to New Zealand in 2025, says the PM (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): NZ could become 'net exporter' of population
RNZ: Public services, workers' wellbeing hit hard by government cuts - union
Nicola Gaston (The Conversation): If the government wants science to have an economic impact it has to put its money where its mouth is
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): Scientists to Govt: Put your money where your mouth is
Eric Crampton (Newsroom): When politicians campaign on competition, be very worried
David Hargreaves (Interest): 'NZ's long-run economic growth about expanding the population and rising house prices'
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): We need to unlock a 'Go’ economy (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth: Does our banking system contribute to NZ's low productivity? (paywalled)
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Business confidence, economic growth to improve from mid-year - Infometrics
Liam Dann (Herald): ‘Over $400 a month’: Economists see mortgage savings boost to economy in 2025 (paywalled)
David Hill (Local Democracy Reporting): Tourist towns doubtful of government support

PARLIAMENT
Martin Van Beynen (Press/Post): Sometimes you just need to swallow your hurt (paywalled)
Stewart Bowman-Lund (Spinoff): Is Winston Peters already gearing up for 2026?
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): Members of NZ's Latin American community shocked, offended by NZ First MPs' comments
RNZ: Winston Peters backs down over comments after Mexican ambassador raises concerns
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Mexican Embassy wades in after NZ First minister’s comments: PM Christopher Luxon repeats ‘rhetoric’ warning
Sam Smith (Stuff): NZ First accuses Greens of ‘pearl clutching’ and ‘faux outrage’ as culture war hostilities escalate
RNZ: Watch: Christopher Luxon tells MPs to 'watch their rhetoric' as NZ First accused of racism
RNZ: David Seymour calls Te Pāti Māori 'race fanatics' after Karen Chhour comments
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Grand coalition would head off ‘extreme politics’
Audrey Young (Herald): David Seymour, Winston Peters steal spotlight (again) as Christopher Luxon takes a hiding (paywalled)
Greg Dixon (Listener): Could Jacinda-mania be our economic savour? (paywalled)
RNZ: Green MP Benjamin Doyle snapped with no seatbelt

MĀORI-CROWN RELATIONS, TARANAKI MAUNGA COLLECTIVE REDRESS BILL
Sharon Brettkelly (RNZ): The Detail: In 2025, a pivotal year for Māori-Crown relations
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): Treaty principles bill: Is $6m a reasonable cost for a national debate?
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Spinoff): Treaty principles bill hearings, day two: Kiri Allan and Sandra Goudie make submissions
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Treaty Principles Bill will set New Zealand back decades, doctor tells justice committee
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): ‘That’s a lie’: Former justice minister Kiri Allan calls Treaty Principles Bill a ‘simple abomination’
RNZ: Watch: Select Committee hearings on Treaty Principles Bill resumes
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Conservation, health, justice highlighted in Treaty principles hearings
Neil Sands (Law News): Allan slams Treaty Principles Bill, Harvey says not all KCs oppose it
Layla Bailey-McDowell (RNZ): No captions or interpreters cut deaf people out of live Treaty Principles submission hearings
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Waitangi Day 2025: The conversations, commemorations and celebrations taking centre stage
Matthew Dallas (Manawatū Standard): An insult to Māori’: Waitangi Tribunal appointment scorned
Julia Gabel (Herald): Taranaki maunga becomes legal person, Govt acknowledges ‘immeasurable harm’ inflicted on iwi
Emma Andrews and Pokere Paewai (RNZ): Taranaki Maunga becomes a legal person as treaty settlement passes into law
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Haere rā Mt Egmont’, as Taranaki Maunga becomes a legal person
Te Karere: Te Kāhui Tupua: Taranaki Maunga granted legal personhood

MINING
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): More mines, but where? Shane Jones set to share mining plan
RNZ: Minister expected to launch govt minerals strategy, final critical minerals list
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Government's plan to progress Waihī mining under fast-track legislation attracts support and criticism
RNZ: Country's biggest oil and gas producer takes New Zealand assets off the market

CLIMATE CHANGE, NATURAL DISASTERS
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt targets new emissions cuts of as little as 1%
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Almost a third of native species will be 'highly vulnerable' to climate change in 2050
RNZ: New Zealand's second emissions reduction target revealed
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Government updates 'Paris' climate change commitment (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Climate adaptation will cost, but so will nothing (paywalled)
Eloise Gibson (RNZ): Sharp rise needed in emissions target to help avoid 'crises', advocates say
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Beyond irresponsible
Rob Stock (Post): Govt to work out principles for residential managed retreat ‘cost sharing’ (paywalled)
Reid Bahser (Post): Disasters cost us billions, so where’s the risk management? (paywalled)
Linda Hall (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘They have to do what they said’: Frustration as Whirinaki flood resilience costs rise

BANKS
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Debanking debate gets political, but are banks right to ditch ‘dirty’ customers? (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): BNZ tells coal mine it will shut bank accounts by 2030, Shane Jones wants intervention, Nicola Willis wants banks back before committee
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): First Union's recommendations to combat 'bankflation'

EDUCATION
Alwyn Poole (Post): As education fails Māori, so it fails the country (paywalled)
Jamie Lyth (Herald): Parents upset over ‘unidentifiable’ school lunches after scheme shakeup
Felix Walton (RNZ): David Seymour defends new school lunches that some compare to prison food
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post): Rotorua school lunch programme delays: Schools furious ‘bland’ meals arrive hours late
Kevin Norquay (Post): Painful teething problems with new school lunches (paywalled)
Kim Knight (Herald): David Seymour’s $3 school lunch programme: A restaurant critic’s verdict

CHILD WELFARE
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Minister overrides Oranga Tamariki decision to pull funding from Barnardos helpline
Lillian Hanly (RNZ): Future 'grim' for intervention services after Oranga Tamariki cuts
Anna Whyte (Post): Minister overrides her ministry over children’s helpline cuts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Gwynn Compton: The sorry state of local government funding in comparative countries
Simon Wilson & Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson not ruling out Auckland mayoralty bid
Jessica Hopkins (RNZ): Speculation Desley Simpson will stand for Auckland mayoralty at next election
Nick James (RNZ): Wellington City Council crown observer report revealed
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): The initial observations of Wellington’s Crown observer
Julie Jacobson (Post): Begonia House protest heats up with planned sit-in (paywalled)
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Wellington suburbs eye a world first in climate action
Samantha Gee (RNZ): Potential Nelson-Tasman councils merger presented to members
Grant Miller (ODT): Rates rises exceeding 10% mooted after debt increased (paywalled)
Herald: Gisborne District Council launches resource plan consultation

HOUSING
Sam Smith (Stuff): ‘Turfed out into the streets’: Political reaction mixed to introduction of no-cause eviction laws
Ruby Shaw (ODT): Renters band together in new union
Miriam Bell (Post): NZ’s return to ‘no cause’ evictions contrary to international trend (paywalled)
RNZ: Kāinga Ora to allow wool carpet providers for its homes
Kate McVicar (NBR): Decision to reissue carpet proposals a ’step in right direction' (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Kāinga Ora reopens carpet bid to include wool suppliers (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (Post): Kāinga Ora backtracks on excluding wool carpets from state homes (paywalled)
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post): New Kāinga Ora apartments on Malfroy Rd impress Rotorua locals, but concerns remain about tenants
Greg Ninness (Interest): Home values show signs of flattening out after last year's slide
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Housing market set for rebound, CoreLogic says
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): Did I make the right bet on my mortgage six months ago?
David Chaston (Interest): BNZ tweaks mortgage rates lower

TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Greg Presland (The Standard): Most kiwis blame Willis for Ferry Fiasco
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Rakaia speed reversal puts 'saving seconds over safety'
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Queenstown congestion charge discussed by Mayor Glyn Lewers
RNZ: Mayors back rollback of speed reductions on roads
Lachlan Rennie (Herald): E-scooter injuries and ACC payouts surge – Govt to consider rule changes
Brent Edwards (NBR): Relax employment rules for infrastructure: Commission chair (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Infrastructure Commission boss tells MPs what’s keeping him awake at night (paywalled)

MEDIA
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Goldsmith’s media solution could be Trumped
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan leaving Sky TV; Jarden’s Arie Dekker on NZME cuts; BSA rules on Seven Sharp ‘arsehole’ comment (paywalled)
David Harvey: Media Mutterings - Part 2, The Call for Regulation

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: Increased defence spend by NZ on cards
Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): New Zealand-born Kiribati MP defends Taneti Maamau over snub of Winston Peters
ODT Editorial: Backpacking to buffoonery (paywalled)
Whatitiri Te Wake (Te Ao Māori News): “Mehemea he hoia nō Israel ki konei, kāore mātou e tautoko ana.”—Rāwiri Waititi
Kate Green (RNZ): Royal NZ Air Force to retire C-130H Hercules fleet

BUSINESS, FAST TRACK
David Hargreaves (Interest): ANZ Business Outlook shows 'lingering inflation challenges under the surface'
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Business confidence survey ‘less encouraging start to New Year’
RNZ: Business confidence dips as reality sets in over interest rates
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Business confidence falls, inflation expectations rise: ANZ (paywalled)
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Datagrid seeks fast-track approval for submarine cable to Australia
Greg Hurrell (BusinessDesk): Kawerau plant's fast-track status a boost for Foresta

OTHER
Nadine Roberts (Stuff): Farm consultants behind company that left cows in ‘appalling’ conditions
Tim Hunter (NBR): Risks of online betting monopoly highlighted for select committee (paywalled)
No Right Turn: The SIS and the "mosaic effect"
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): How secure is New Zealand against quantum computing?
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Y2Q: Inland Revenue looks to protect information from threats posed by quantum computing
Michael Reddell: Reviewing Covid experiences and policies
Peter de Graaf (RNZ): Questions after kiwi found dead in trap
Harry Wynn (Spinoff): What I learnt making a documentary about Aotearoa’s queer history
Riley Kennedy (BusinessDesk): Businesses need confidence to invest in renewable energy infrastructure, Ballance's CEO says (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Revealed: How the NZ Police estimates crowd sizes

Cartoons

Emmerson - NZ Herald 31 January 2025

Vernon - The Post 31 January 2025

Walker - NZ Doctor February 2025