Bernard's Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 11

Ombudsman finds Costello acted ‘contrary to law’ keeping smoke-free detail secret; Te Whatu Ora staff eyed exits over smoke-free reversal; Luxon wants China spy probe into Jian Yang’s offsider

TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:30 am on July 11 are:

1. Scoop: NZ First Minister acted 'contrary to law’. Casey Costello has been severely reprimanded by the Chief Ombudsman and forced to apologise for trying to keep information about tobacco and vaping policy secret. RNZ’s Guyon Espiner

2. Scoops: Top Te Whatu Ora staff considered quitting over smokefree backtrack. Te Whatu Ora boss Margie Apa said these candid emails “do not meet our expectations for conducting work with integrity and political neutrality” Stuff’s Glenn McConnell NZ Herald-$$$’s Isaac Davison

3. Scoop: Luxon wants probe into snooping by probation officer linked to former National MP and alleged spy for China. A probation officer was sacked for snooping on dozens of Chinese offenders, raising concerns about foreign interference. Stuff’s Paula Penfold and Glenn McConnell

4. Scoop: Some Christchurch GPs now charging $70 per visit. General practices say a proposed government funding increase of 4% falls far short of inflation forcing them to put up patient fees. The Press-$$$’s Sophie Lapsley

5. News: 'Eventually somebody will die': Nurses sound warning over cuts 1News’ Benedict Collins

6. Geopolitics: George Clooney Op-Ed in The New York Times: ‘I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.’

(Full paying subscribers can see more detail below the paywall fold.)

Photo by Timo Volz on Unsplash

The Best of the Rest

News, Scoops, Investigations, Analyses & Deep Dives

Housing