Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Today’s content
Govt’s coronavirus response, border policy, political fallout
Peter Dunne: Labour will be watching and checking everything and keeping its fingers crossed like never before
Tim Watkin (RNZ): Test fail: Is Labour bordering on trouble?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): How the Govt botched border testing
Simon Wilson (Herald): Keeping Covid beyond the Wall (paywalled)
Keith Rankin (Evening Report): Epidemic Costs and Responses: Coronavirus and Tuberculosis
Brent Edwards (NBR): The opposition’s delicate Covid-19 balancing act (paywalled)
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): New frontiers: border control becomes election battleground
Siouxsie Wiles (Spinoff): They say, ‘learn to live with Covid-19’. Here’s what I say back
Jesse Mulligan (Newshub): It’s bollocks to say New Zealand should adopt Sweden’s COVID-19 response
Bob Jones: The deification of Jacinda
Southland Times Editorial: Heather Simpson: You and whose army?
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Jacinda Ardern looks beyond lockdown (paywalled)
Richard Prebble (NBR): ‘Go early, go hard’ means repeated lockdowns (paywalled)
Emma Russell (Herald): Calls for independent body to take over Government’s pandemic response
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Just one exposure notification has been sent from Covid Tracer app
Rob Stock (Stuff): Government not using all the tools in the fight against Covid-19, says former chief scientist
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Health Minister Chris Hipkins admits he hasn’t read Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 testing strategy
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government plans to roll out CovidCard, thermal CCTV as part of big push to secure the border
1News: Thermal CCTV, Covid cards and more: Govt announces $6m in security upgrades at isolation hotels
Marc Daalder (Newshub): CovidCard to be trialled in isolation facilities
RNZ: Managed isolation facilites: More security measures rolled out
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins claims credit for Government adopting ‘CovidCard’ technology in isolation and quarantine facilities
George Block (Stuff ): Troops have no more powers than MIQ security guards they replace
Herald: Hotel worker’s infection could lead to tighter controls on infected returnees
RNZ: We need a Pasifika voice’
Chris Trotter: Fighting The Fear Virus
Gordon Campbell: On kneejerk negativism, Cardi B, and Linda Manz
1News: Debate over face masks continues amid calls for mandatory requirement at workplaces above Alert Level 2
1News: Masked PM praises ESR team for ‘critical’ work in mapping Covid-19 cases
1News: Testing of Tauranga port workers for Covid-19 on track for deadline, Health Board says
Branko Marcetic (Spinoff): Frustrated, forgotten and trapped: The families forced apart by NZ border policy
National’s border security policy
Thomas Manch (Stuff): National’s Covid-19 pre-border testing idea wouldn’t help much
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): National might force Labour to lift its border game
Jo Moir (RNZ): Judith Collins unveils National’s border security policy
Thomas Manch (Stuff): National wants travellers to test negative for Covid-19 before boarding plane to New Zealand
Anna Whyte (1News): National pledges to ‘inject steel’ into border, require negative Covid-19 tests to enter NZ
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s border policy: Negative COVID-19 test required before returning to New Zealand
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): National pitches border agency to tackle Covid-19
Richard Harman (Politik): Nats want to manage Covid like the Christchurch earthquake
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Nats, NZ First promise new border agencies as govt ups quarantine security
Zane Small (Newshub): National’s border policy slammed as ‘fraught’ by Labour, ‘deeply disappointing’ by Greens
Newstalk ZB: Labour says National’s border plan could ‘do more harm than good’
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): National’s ridiculous new border controls evidence of a desperate Party grasping at straw polls
NZ First border strategy
Stuff Editorial: Hotels or military bases, what works best?
Newstalk ZB/Herald: Winston Peters breaks ranks with PM over border protection efforts
ACT’s coronavirus response strategy
Henry Cooke (Stuff): ACT wants arrivals to isolate at Airbnbs, for NZ to follow Taiwan model
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): ACT wants to ditch government-run isolation hotels
1News: ACT takes ‘wellbeing approach’ with Covid-19 response policy, wants isolation rule-breakers in jail
1News: Borrowing Ardern catchphrase, David Seymour calls for new ‘wellbeing approach’ to Covid-19 management
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Reports of more suicides in Queenstown ‘highly unhelpful’, health staffer says
Air New Zealand
1News: ‘Isn’t this a hole in the wall?’ – New Air NZ boss grilled over Covid safety concerns of unrestricted workers
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Covid testing rules for air crew still up in the air
Auckland Level 3
Derek Cheng (Herald): New mystery case makes moving D-Day forward unlikely (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government not expected to move alert levels at ‘check-in’ today
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Cabinet ministers to consider Covid-19 lockdown settings today
1News: What it would take for Government to drop Alert Levels in tomorrow’s review
Anna Whyte (1News): Cabinet set to review Alert Levels tomorrow – what they’ll be looking at
Zane Small (Newshub): The ‘critical pieces of information’ Ashley Bloomfield will give Cabinet ahead of COVID-19 alert level review
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RNZ: ‘Choice between health and economy is a bit of a false dichotomy’ – Phil Goff
1News: Aucklanders travelled 57% less for recreation during first Alert Level 3 weekend – Google data
RNZ: Two arrests after alleged breaches of Auckland’s alert level 3 restrictions
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Pacific community accounts for three-quarters of Auckland COVID-19 cluster
Northland
Denise Piper (Stuff): Police expect iwi-led checkpoints to be called off
Jean Bell (RNZ): Northland economy hit by Auckland’s level 3 restrictions
Lockdown legality
Dan Satherley (Newshub): When a tsunami appears, skip the paperwork and ‘get out of the way’ – Chris Hipkins
Edward Willis (Newsroom): Lockdown ‘only a little bit’ unlawful
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Laws Do Not Rule – People Do
Conspiracy theories, false rumours, fake news
1News: Large number of Kiwis have fallen victim to fake news, Netsafe survey finds
Ximena Smith (RNZ): Conspiracy theorists aren’t the problem – it’s the rest of us
Anna Whyte (1News): Parents who test positive for Covid-19 won’t lose children, health officials say of widespread false rumour
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Health Minister Chris Hipkins shuts down myth Oranga Tamariki is taking children from people with COVID-19
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): Facebook’s negligence and the covid conspiracy (paywalled)
Vaccine
Isaac Davison (Herald): Three-quarters of New Zealanders intend to get Covid vaccine
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Three quarters of New Zealand public intend to get Covid vaccine, study finds
Election, euthanasia referendum
Josiah Banbury (Democracy Project): Why is National struggling to convince voters?
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Warnings of election ‘disaster’ if postal votes not properly handled
David Fisher (Herald): The Road Ahead – how do we get by, with Covid-19 in our world?
RNZ: The Detail: How Singapore carried out its Covid-19 election
Farah Hancock (Newsroom) The social media popularity race
1News: Delayed election sees 5000 more young people eligible to vote
Guy Williams (ODT): Jon Mitchell: Out to paint the Southland electorate red
Guy Williams (ODT): From ‘struggle street’ to trial lawyer for Southland candidate
Patrick O’Sullivan (Herald): Local Focus: Workers versus employers – Tukituki candidates give their verdict
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News): Political hopeful wants better democracy for Kiwis
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Mike Houlahan (ODT): As end of life choice referendum looms, we seek your views
Sick leave, employment
Rob Stock (Stuff): Increasing sick leave to 10 days a year a matter of ‘when, not if’ employers say
No Right Turn: This should be a no-brainer
Zane Small (Newshub): Greens call for 10 days’ sick leave as Labour discusses extension
1News: Greens call for double paid sick leave – ‘Five days is not enough’
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Lush Auckland staff told company has no money to pay them
Housing
1News: Thousands of Kiwis miss August mortgage repayments as Covid-19 economic fallout continues
Mandy Te (Stuff): Government gives $10 million for social housing and park in central Wellington
Todd Niall (Stuff): Innovative $2m investment boosts social housing projects
Anne Gibson (Herald): Guangzhou prefabs at Hobsonville Point spark debate: Chris Darby backs scheme, critics weigh in (paywalled)
Susan Botting (RNZ): Whangārei district: 20,000 new homes forecast in 30 years
Health
Cate Broughton and Dominic Harris (Stuff): Call for government intervention into Canterbury health’s leadership implosion
Katie Todd (RNZ): Canterbury medical community voice their anger at DHB
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Two more top-level resignations at Canterbury District Health Board, taking total to 7 out of 11
RNZ: More high-level resignations expected at Canterbury DHB – union
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Māori Party’s John Tamihere says diabetes drugs would be funded if Pākehā were suffering
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): District health boards urged to upgrade hospital IT systems in wake of Covid-19
Deena Coster (Stuff): ‘Significant drop’ in ACC claims during nationwide lockdown
RNZ: Comfort in suicide decline but ‘a very long way to go’
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): New Zealand’s suicide rate drops to three-year low
Economy
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Even in a recession, what is the right price of assets, when interest rates fall close to zero? (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Economists forecast lower lockdown damage this time (paywalled)
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Returning New Zealanders will profoundly change this country. But how?
1News: Regions took massive economic hit during first Covid-19 lockdown, with 50k job losses across NZ – report
Business, welfare
Brittany Keogh and Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Can the average Kiwi afford to live on the Covid-19 wage subsidy?
Rob Stock (Stuff): I’ll spend money at local shops, but only if they’re great
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Auckland lockdown starting to ‘hit hard’ for some families
RNZ: Expansion of government-backed loans a ‘timely lifeline for businesses’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Rules relaxed for government business loan guarantees after initial flop
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government-backed loan size limit raised from $500,000 to $5m in bid to boost interest
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Govt tries again to get banks to lend businesses up to $6.25b (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Pay cut: NZ directors now earning at least median $219 an hour, survey shows
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Restaurants want Government to spend $27m subsidising meals
1News: Restaurant association calls for Government-funded dining out push amid Covid-19 struggles
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Calls for New Zealand to adopt ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, subsidise dining to support hospitality – Restaurant Association
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Uncertainty could cost country 30,000 jobs: economist
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): BNZ plans restructure that could axe 150 jobs
Auckland, Dunedin airports
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): NZ needs to be ready to live with covid-19 – Auckland Airport CEO
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Auckland Airport CEO ‘frustrated’ by border testing failures amid plunging profits
Jacob McSweeny (ODT): Staff reduced 24% during, post lockdown
Education
Kate Newton (RNZ): University NDAs prompt call for independent complaints authority
Alison Mau and Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): Call for uni harassment register to stop alleged predators switching jobs undetected
Erin Gourley (Critic): “Lack of Empathy”: Lecturer’s Quora Posts Made Students Uncomfortable
Lana Andelane (Newshub): University of Canterbury lecturer under investigation for public Quora posts bashing beneficiaries
Sharnae Hope (Waikato Times): Covid expert says Hamilton school set bad example hosting jam packed rugby game
Kate Thornton (Newsroom): Lockdown learning: efficiency not the focus
Child welfare
1News: Oranga Tamariki not solely to blame for child uplift, says Māori advocate
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Child abuse findings in Porirua increase, while national cases trend down
Māori TV: Children’s Commissioner looking for Māori assistant commissioner
Primary industries, animal welfare
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Two dairy farms want the equivalent of nearly half of Auckland’s water from the Waikato River (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): Councillor joins protest against live export of dairy cows
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Activists say they’ll continue live export protests until the practice stops
James Fyfe (Newshub): Millions of bees starve to death as beekeepers held up at COVID-19 checkpoints
Local government
Matt Shand (Waikato Times): Dysfunction at Tauranga City Council puts elected members at risk of ministerial intervention
Kiri Gillespie (Herald): Tauranga City Council unravels as some councillors call for mayor Tenby Powell to resign
Phil Pennington (RNZ): ‘A $27m hole’: Tauranga faces huge bill for defective carpark building
Marcus Anselm (RNZ): Wairarapa rates arrears may indicate financial hardship
Matthew Mckews (ODT): Legal action still an option against Aurora: Queenstown council
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Fate of Captain Hamilton statue draws closer after Hamilton council develops new strategy
Trump on NZ’s coronavirus response
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): A brief history of Donald Trump v Jacinda Ardern
RNZ: Donald Trump again says New Zealand has ‘big outbreak’ of Covid-19
Herald: Donald Trump doubles down on NZ’s ‘big outbreak’
1News: Donald Trump takes aim at New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, again
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Donald Trump doubles down on claims New Zealand experiencing ‘big outbreak’ of Covid-19
Mittens nominated for NZer of the year
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Celebrity cat called Mittens in the running to be New Zealander of the year
RNZ: Mittens nominated for NZer of the year (audio)
Other
1News: Chlöe Swarbrick explains ‘politics is f*****’ statement, speaks out against theatrics in Parliament
Kate Newton (RNZ): Still no answers for some after WINZ investigation into wrongly denied payments
Rob Stock (Stuff): These are the borrowers New Zealand is happy to forget
John Weekes (Stuff): Vices, vanity, fantasy: Joanne Harrison fraud saga highlights calls for public’s right to know about serial con artists
Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): Winston Peters tweet appreciated but more New Zealand support needed as Belarus crisis deepens, ‘super scared’ human rights activist says
Shane Te Pou (Newsroom): Labour should take leaf from Democratic handbook
Anneke Smith (RNZ): New coroners yet to ease backlog of thousands of cases
Stuff: ‘Time is running out’: Kapiti mayor, local hapū ask Crown to step in and protect ancestral airport land
RNZ: Auckland volcanic cones to close unless fireworks banned
Mandy Te (Stuff): Concerns over how Māori data will be looked at as New Zealand plans to join international cybercrime treaty
Kaysha Brownlie (Newshub): Man whose wife was killed in Christchurch terror attack wants to meet ‘brother’ gunman face to face
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): NZ Super Fund still in the picture as Auckland light rail heads to the election
David Williams (Newsroom): How a terrorist is sentenced
Rob Stock (Stuff): Fossil fuel share of KiwiSaver money drops as oil company shares tank
Peter Whitmore (Herald): Our electricity market needs changing (paywalled)
Siena Yates (Stuff): Owners won’t change Auckland restaurant’s controversial name, Kingi
