Charlie Mitchell

Sep 27, 2024 | thepress.co.nz | Charlie Mitchell

ANALYSIS: For the last year or so, Resources Minister Shane Jones has waged a fierce — though admittedly one-sided — war against 9% of the country. Not 9% of the population; 9% of the land. Jones wants more development on “stewardship land”, the parts of the conservation estate with the fewest legal protections. A short primer. Conservation land is divided into categories: National park, scenic reserve, and so on. Each has different protections based on what’s there.

Dec 1, 2023 | thepress.co.nz | Charlie Mitchell

Dave Sloan in 2009. Sloan is rarely photographed or interviewed, but was here for a story about repeated vandalism to a building he owned near Christchurch’s Moorhouse Ave skatepark. John Kirk-Anderson / The PressWhen a plucky consumer group won a legal victory over the Government last month, there was no triumphant press release, no jubilant thank you to supporters. In fact, there was no public acknowledgement at all.

Nov 13, 2023 | stuff.co.nz | Charlie Mitchell

Orders to add fluoride to more than a dozen drinking water supplies have been ruled unlawful by the High Court, likely delaying plans for a significant expansion of fluoridation. In July 2022, then Director-General of Health Sir Ashley Bloomfield directed 14 councils to fluoridate some or all of their drinking water supplies. He did so under a new law that put fluoridation decisions in the hands of the Director-General of Health, rather than local authorities, where they had previously belonged.

Nov 10, 2023 | thepress.co.nz | Charlie Mitchell

The 2017 Port Hills fire saw multiple homes destroyed and led to the death of a helicopter pilot. John Kirk-Anderson / The PressIt was late, and an elderly dog in Lake Ōhau needed to pee. Louis Campbell, the dog’s owner, let her out but couldn’t get back to sleep. He looked out the bedroom window. There was a glow on the horizon; not the full moon, but a fire, raging on a gusty night. He reassured himself he wasn’t dreaming and woke his wife, Viv Smith-Campbell. Yes, it was a fire, she agreed.

Nov 5, 2023 | thepost.co.nz | Charlie Mitchell

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in February announcing policies that would be scrapped or delayed. ROBERT KITCHIN / StuffIn his second week as prime minister, Chris Hipkins blasted a hole in the country’s first climate budget. It wasn’t purposeful. He wanted to front-foot what would be a bruising election campaign, one fought on the cost of living rather than lofty policy ideals. The Government, Hipkins believed, had been spreading itself too thin. It needed to refocus.