NZ POLITICS DAILY: April 14 2014

The main issues in NZ Politics today are the Mana.Com alliance, Labour and the Greens, the National Party, the royal visit, and Maori politics.  

Today’s links

Mana Party

Michael Fox (Stuff): Family split on Harawira Dotcom talks

Adam Bennett (Herald): Harawira shrugs off defections danger over Dotcom deal

John Minto (Daily Blog): Mana and the Internet Party – strategic alliance or wtf?

Laura McQuillan (Newstalk ZB): Mana says digital democracy has arrived

Waatea news: Mana members look at Dotcom link

TVNZ: Dotcom hosts picnic, Mana votes to keep talks going

Michael Fox (Stuff): Dissent as Mana and Dotcom draw nearer

Adam Bennett (Herald): Bradford walks out of Mana AGM

Adam Bennett (Herald): Alliance on agenda

Adam Bennett (Herald): Party youth wing sees Dotcom's voter appeal

Adam Bennett (Herald): Talks over tie-up with Mana set to drag on

Adam Bennett (Herald): Dotcom deal with Mana likely

Tova O’Brien (TV3): Dotcom: Mana Party merger likely

Newswire: Dotcom makes Mana pitch

Susan Edmunds (Herald): Mana.com tries to hitch a ride into government

Newswire: Dotcom confident of Mana deal

Radio NZ: No walkout, says Bradford

TV3: Interview: Mana leader Hone Harawira

TVNZ: Mana-Internet Party alliance looking likely

Michael Fox (Stuff): Kim Dotcom 'to win over' Mana at AGM

Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Mana to progress talks with Internet Party

Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Mana AGM – When Hone met Kim update

Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Mana AGM update

Chris Keall (NBR): Dotcom faces hostile response from Harawira's lieutenants

Laura McQuillan (Newstalk ZB): Dotcom not a hit with every Mana supporter

Laura McQuillan (Newstalk ZB): Dotcom plays the good guy

Laura McQuillan (Newstalk ZB): Mana members to meet second multi-millionaire in as many days

Newswire: Mana's Harawira upbeat on Dotcom link

Radio NZ: Mana leader law comments 'unwise'

Peter Wilson (Newswire): Dotcom set to eclipse Mana's meeting

Tom Peters (World Socialist Website): New Zealand: Mana Party seeks alliance with pro-business Internet Party

Pete George (Your NZ): Dotcom’s road to Rotorua?

Pete George (Your NZ): Harawira and Dotcom sound keen, what about the Internet Party?

The Standard: From slum-house to mega-man: Mana-TIP connections

Steven Cowan (Against the current): Happy

Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Ellipsister): Dotcom & Jackson are incomparable situations

Radio NZ: 'Doubts' in Mana over Dotcom alliance

The Press: Mana's cynical step too far

Pete George (Your NZ): Harawira’s way or the highway

Mohamed Hassan (Herald): Internet Party members gather at Dotcom's mansion

Radio NZ: Dotcom reveals wiki-policy move

RadioLIVE: Mana considering electorate deals with parties

Ele Ludemann (Homepaddock): Dotbomb divides Mana

Dan Satherley (TV3): Harawira: Poor musicians like Dotcom

Ele Ludemann (Homepaddock): Hard and harder

Herald: US record labels follow Hollywood in suing Dotcom's Megaupload

Stuart Dredge (Guardian): Kim Dotcom and Megaupload sued for copyright infringement by music labels

Brook Sabin (TV3): Internet Party reveals two policies at pool party

Pete George (Your NZ): Harawira wants to spend ACC fund on policies

Labour and the Greens

Herald: Editorial: Labour leader right to keep options open

John Armstrong (Herald): Labour steps over Greens to pick Peters

Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Everything But: Why Labour is distancing itself from the Greens.

Grant Duncan (Policy Matters): Labour's rejection of the Greens' pre-electoral offer

Josie Pagani (Pundit):Labour does not need to promise a coalition with the Greens

Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Labour did the right thing to reject Greens

Brian Edwards (BEM): Polonius (behind the arras) offers some free advice to David Cunliffe

Rob Salmond (Polity): More on the Greens' gambit

Felix Marwick (Newstalk ZB): Labour hits back at National's criticism

Lucy Walker (Newstalk ZB): Questions circle over Greens snub

Danyl McLauchlan (Dim-Post): Winston is actually a really sweet guy. You just don’t know him like the Labour Party does

Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Green-Labour relationship – lime tantrums and red ambition

The Standard: Labour and the Greens

Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Do the Greens need a new political strategist?

Pete George (Your NZ): Could a minority Labour lead a coalition?

The Standard: Politics by numbers

Keith Locke (Daily Blog): Labour failing to learn the political positioning lessons from the 1996 and 2002 elections

Labour Party

Felix Marwick (Newstalk ZB): Labour pushes 'benchmark' China FTA

NBR Staff (NBR): 'Lunacy' that property speculators get tax-free capital gain – Cunliffe

Radio NZ: Labour promises $20m for kauri disease

Newswire: Smith: Labour's kauri cash 'hypocritical'

TVNZ: Labour's Kauri announcement 'late and lazy' - Dr Nick Smith

Matthew Beveridge: Labour Party, Kauri and Social Media

National Party

Matthew Hooton (NBR): Key’s third term on a knife-edge

Patrick Gower (TV3): 'We will get the surplus' – English

Geordie Hooft (NBR): BUDGET 2014: Tax changes to address bracket creep

Liam Hyslop (Stuff): Predicted Budget surplus offers choice

Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Key perfects image of everyman

Eileen Goodwin (ODT): Peters has harsh words for National

Newswire: Expanded KiwiSaver move not in Budget

Patrick Gower (TV3): Nats looked at banning overseas buyers

Newswire: IRD collects almost $100M from tax evaders

Radio NZ: Labour blasts claimed tax crackdown

Josh Fagan (Stuff): Government rolls out public housing reform

Greg Presland (The Standard): Tau Henare and the baubles of retirement

Josh Fagan (Stuff): Government rolls out public housing reform

Newswire: Christchurch housing proves challenging for Minister

Greens

Ian Apperly (NBR): The Green's ICT policy: Just a jump to left …

Brian Easton: Business of Office

Matthew Beveridge: MPs on Twitter: Holly Walker

Media and the election

Pete George (Your NZ): “Right-wing Corin” and media bias

Emma Hurley (Salient): Broader-Casting

Matthew Beveridge: The Nation: Twitter as a political tool

Torben Akel (TV3): Using Twitter as a political tool in NZ

John Drinnan (Herald): War and peace on the air

Matthew Beveridge: Twitter exchange of the day: @CTrevettNZH and @TeUruroaFlavell

Matthew Beveridge: Twitter Stats: 11 April

Royal visit

TVNZ: Royal visit to NZ causing a stir in UK

Dita De Boni (Herald): Rah rah royals in la la land

Toby Manhire (Herald): Don't stop at the flag - vote on monarchy too

Adam Dudding (Guardian): William and Kate beguile New Zealand's republicans into amnesia

Paul Thomas (Herald): Strange things occur when celebrities visit

John Roughan (Herald): This family has the right touch

John Sargeant (Stuff): Royal tour real boon for NZ

Scott Yorke (Imperator Fish): The royal tour: the very latest developments

Steve Braunias (Stuff): The secret diaries of...the royal tour

Morgan Godfery (Herald): The monarchy has lost meaning

Dave Armstrong (Stuff): All very cute, but our sycophancy is outdated

Maori politics

Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Kohanga Reo founder tells of 'shame'

Eraka’s Blog: Maori king fixes up Te Kohanga Reo?

Simon Day (Stuff): Healing our dark heart

Audrey Young (Herald): King hosts hui as kohanga reo trust faces deadline to put its house in order

Newswire: Maori language fears after legal fight

Radio NZ: Kohanga trust's board stays put

Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Kohanga reo trust will resist Govt 'intrusion'

Tova O’Brien (TV3): Allegations hang over Kohanga Reo hui

Rob Salmond (Polity): Kohanga Reo trust comes out swinging

Don Brash

Dominion Post: Editorial: What might have been

Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): Man of principle with political feet of clay

Nelson Mail: A hairy-chested tale of Brashness

Inequality and poverty

Don Brash (NBR): BOOK EXTRACT: Incredible Luck – Inequality, child poverty and the Key government

The Standard: Inequalities of the 10 percenters

Jason Krupp (NBR): Money buys social progress

Samantha Anderson (Daily Blog): Moral Compass

Steve Hart (Herald): Widening pay gap 'can be fixed'

Colin Espiner (Stuff): Beneficiary bashing just too easy

Newswire: Home affordability a long way off

NBR Staff (NBR): Affordable Housing 20 years away - Housing Minister Nick Smith

Local Government

Taranaki Daily News: Editorial: More taxes, or better management?

Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): Local Government Financing

Legal highs

ODT: Onus on local authorities

Duncan Garner (Stuff): Dunne's herbal fight making ground

Stuff: Doctors enlisted to ban legal highs

Life Behind the Iron Drape: Our MP’s Childishness around Suicide, Euthanasia, Cannabis – Self-censoring MP’s Threat to Free Speech & Basic Freedoms.

Helen Clark

Stuff: Helen Clark reflects on life as a leader

Education

Geoff Cumming (Herald): Degrees of usefulness

Rob Stock (Stuff): Schools could revolutionise payments

Nicola Gaston (Speaker): The purpose of science and its limits

Sophie Boot (Salient): A First Time for Everything

Other

Stuff: Today in politics: Monday, April 14

TV3: Local Genesis investors should get full quota - analyst

Claire Allison (Timaru Herald): Editorial: Public has the power

3 News Online Staff (TV3): NZ 'way off the scale' for emissions - climate researcher

Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): Priorities

Alex Fensome (Stuff): Paula Bennett struts her stuff

Matthew Backhouse (Herald): Silver fern ordered off Twitter

Dominion Post: Editorial: Putting funding where it's needed

Paul Little (Herald): We're a melting pot of cultures

Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Pokie trusts told 'cut salaries'

Laura Walters (Stuff): Calls for Easter shop laws overhaul

Matt Nippert (Stuff): Bankrupt's NZ connection

Rodney Hide (Herald): Union bonus rort continues

John Weekes (Herald): Bets on for Auckland mayoral race

John Weekes (Herald): Bonus for Parliament's unionists 'bizarre'

Steve Deane (Herald): Nines a threat to sevens, Joyce warned

Nikki MacDonald (Stuff): Growing concern over medical freebies

Alexia Russell (Newstalk ZB): Banks speaks on Dotcom gift allegations

Mai Chen (Herald): Supermarket owner learns hard lesson

David Cormack (The Ruminator): We talked about Kevin