The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

Govt cuts $2b from school build plan and waters down child poverty reduction targets; Levy sees more health system job cuts; Fresh Foreshore & Seabed firestorm set to erupt

TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:

• The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts;

• The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;

• Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s new boss, Lester Levy, sees more job cuts to come, which will also help pay for those tax cuts; and,

• The Government risks blowing up another Foreshore and Seabed debate by rolling back an Appeal Court ruling to make it harder for tangata whenua to claim rights over beaches.

(This curation of articles elsewhere is only available in full below to full paying subscribers.)

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 8:30 am on Friday, July 26 are: