The Commerce Commission is undertaking a year-long study of supermarkets to see whether consumers are getting a fair deal, but it seems even the prime minister knows the answer will be an emphatic no, Justin Giovannetti reports. There might be something rotten with New Zealand’s supermarkets. Food prices are high and increasing, producers are being … Read more
Some election debates transcend simply putting candidates in front of potential voters, and become must-attend events in and of themselves. Alex Braae went along to the Opoho Presbyterian Church in Dunedin to see how one group does it. Most political junkies have probably heard of the Aro Valley Meet the Candidates debates in Wellington. Politicians … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas on ministerial resignations in the recent and middle-distant past, a new book from Judith Collins, and the reinvention of Simon Bridges. This episode was recorded on Tuesday morning, before news broke that Hamish Walker and Michelle Boag were behind the Covid-19 data leak. The Gone By Lunchtime triumvirate … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Clark out and Bridges back in, Chinese embassy warns NZ politicians to not speak out on Hong Kong, and terrible new revelations about Oranga Tamariki culture. It has been a day of reshuffling at parliament, with both major parties making significant moves. We’ll start with Labour, because theirs involves … Read more
With Covid-19 raging overseas but quiet at home, the view at the Beehive is that it was time for a health minister less prone to gaffes, reports Justin Giovannetti. New Zealand’s coronavirus response has been lauded around the world and yet, in the midst of a worsening global pandemic, the country’s health minister has resigned … Read more
Beleaguered Labour MP David Clark resigned as health minister during a press conference at parliament this morning. Alex Braae reports. With just 78 days to go before the 2020 election, health minister David Clark has resigned from the position of health minister. He will also be resigning from all of his cabinet roles. At a … Read more
A minister of health with a humility bypass creates a problem for Jacinda Ardern – especially when he’s contrasted with Ashley Bloomfield, writes Toby Manhire. With the cadence of a fingernail sliding down a blackboard, David Clark spent much of yesterday declining to accept responsibility. Speaking with Lisa Owen on Checkpoint, he spent several minutes … Read more
Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire on efforts to resolve the failures exposed in the self-isolation system. As the saying goes, a week is a long time in the response to an unprecedented global pandemic, and so it has proved, with the military called in to fix the issues in border control following the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Repeated blunders shake faith in quarantine system, report finds ministry was unprepared on PPE, and trade negotiations with Britain begin. New measures will be taken around the border quarantine system after a series of idiotic failings. Our live blog has the details, including the news that the health … Read more
The system of managed self-isolation has failed in the case of the two women who arrived from the UK, David Clark said, and the government wants to ‘strengthen the oversight’ of the process. The “failing in the system”, which saw a recent arrival from Britain who later tested positive for Covid-19 being approved to drive … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Failings around Covid-positive visitors who were allowed to travel, massive new report on health reform unveiled, and police executive redesign proposed. There are two new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, breaking a long streak of zero days. Our live updates page from yesterday has the details of … Read more
This morning, Heather Simpson’s long-awaited review of the health and disability system was released. It’s not the revolution many were hoping for, but it’s still regarded as a step in the right direction. The health and disability system review released this morning has detailed research, but only a few key recommendations: the creation of a … Read more
The Simpson report into the health and disability sector has finally been released, proposing major changes to the way the health system is organised and governed. Alex Braae reports on the most important bits. What’s all this then? About two years ago, Heather Simpson was tasked with leading a massive review into the health and … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Billions needed to fix poor state of hospital infrastructure, colonial era statues in the spotlight, and major problems emerge in modem rollout to students. Dozens of hospital buildings are in a poor condition, a new stocktake has found.Radio NZ’s Phil Pennington has a detailed report on … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spotlight on the Pacific and Covid-19, health minister in yet another spot of bother, and schools reopening to very limited numbers. For a lead today, I thought it would be useful to check in on our nation’s neighbours in the Pacific, and how they are … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dire warnings about water levels, tentative good news on Covid-19 case numbers, and local government struggles for funding. The seriousness of this issue has largely gone unnoticed amid everything else, but if we don’t address it now things could get pretty bad. The state of water … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health minister David Clark suffers major demotion, government launches mental health tools, and more outline given on decision to leave lockdown. In breaking news, health minister David Clark has been severely demoted by the Prime Minister. Last week, a story came out about him driving to … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Media reels after horror week, Wellington Council facing massive budget crunch, and highest single day of new Covid-19 cases. It had always been clear that this was going to be a difficult time for the media, with the Covid-19 downturn hitting already battered budgets. But could … Read more
Jacinda Ardern announced the first part of the government’s cancer plan which is set to impact many in the regions. Not quite following? Here’s what you need to know. So, what’s the big news? The big news is that the government has announced that cancer patients in Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki and Northland will, for the … Read more
The government has accepted the vast majority of the recommendations made by the mental health and addiction inquiry report. But which ones will actually see immediate action? Alex Braae reports. Out of 40 recommendations made to the government by the long-running mental health and addiction inquiry, 38 have been either accepted, or accepted in principle. … Read more
RNZ’s Guyon Espiner investigates New Zealand’s central drug buyer Pharmac – how it works and whether its model is costing lives. In part one, he reveals how lung cancer patients are buying cut-price drugs from India, as other New Zealanders fundraise, petition and apply for clinical trials to access medications Pharmac won’t fund. Baden Ngan Kee … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health minister cleans out underperforming DHB, major Zero Carbon announcement coming today, and scope of cannabis referendum revealed. The entire Waikato District Health Board has been shown the door, with health minister David Clark putting a commissioner in their place. It follows a long run of administrative … Read more
Thousands of views were taken in, meetings were held up and down the country, experts were questioned, and it all fed into a massive report on the state of our mental health system. So what does the report say we need to do? Read more about the mental health inquiry with our edited extract from … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Small scope of medicinal cannabis changes criticised, big chunk of cash for the West Coast, and Karel Sroubek speaks out. Patients undergoing palliative care will be able to use medicinal marijuana, without fear they’ll end up being convicted, reports the NZ Herald. The change has come out of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health minister plans crackdown on synthetic drugs, new research and development tax credits announced, and Taxpayers Union rumbled for using fake names. Health minister David Clark has announced that he will push for synthetic drugs to be reclassified as Class A, reports Newshub. That would put them on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: AirBnb rates hike ire sums up Auckland housing, health minister accused of cronyism, and calls to change Hamilton’s name. To start the week, we’re going to put the spotlight on an issue that is a microcosm for a lot of Auckland’s housing issues. Auckland homeowners who rent … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Battle rages over dumped health targets, Dairy NZ condemns milking shed cruelty, and a spotlight on an important NZ Herald series. A major story that has been bubbling away this week that hasn’t really been covered here is the government quietly ditching National’s health targets, that were … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Phil Twyford talks up prefab housing industry, massive alleged money laundering scheme uncovered, and all the latest in strike news. Housing minister Phil Twyford is looking to prefab housing to make the Kiwibuild plan possible. Under the Kiwibuild plan, Labour has promised 100,000 homes over ten years. … Read more
Midwives around New Zealand marched today, protesting pay rates and working conditions across the industry. Don Rowe joined the march up Auckland’s main street. New Zealand midwives and their supporters marched in cities around the country today, calling for urgent adjustments to what they say is an outrageously low pay scale, which can in some … Read more