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

Royal Commission into terrorist attack
Chris Trotter: The Royal Commission’s recommendations on hate speech will unite the right
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Royal Commission Report: Staying safely inside “The Norms” of our neoliberal society
Paul Moon (Stuff): Silencing ‘disharmonious speech’ will not be golden
Peter Dunne: NZ’s membership of the Five Eyes club contributed to the intelligence failures of the Christchurch terrorist attack
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealand was reluctant to talk about domestic terrorism. A new national security agency may change this
Philip Matthews (Stuff): The difficult goal of social cohesion
Maia Hart (Stuff): Time’s up for GCSB spy base following terror attack report, says longtime protester
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Ethnic affairs ministry might have averted mosque shootings – group
Tom Peters (WSWS): Royal commission into New Zealand terror attack whitewashes government agencies
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): Where do we go from here after Royal Commission report?
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Māori TV): Call for Māori to stand in solidarity with racialised communities
1News: David Seymour slams Police Commissioner for ‘smarmy’ response to failings which let Christchurch terrorist access firearms

Parliament, Government, and election
Matthew Hooton (Herald): The rise and rise of Act – and why they can hit 10% (paywalled)
1News: Majority of Kiwis support extension to four-year Parliament terms — poll
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Jacinda Ardern on the year that was
Derek Cheng (Herald): Revealed: Jacinda Ardern on the Covid year that was, what’s ahead and why the borders are still shut (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: ‘Never been a year like it’: Robertson reflects on 2020
Richard Harman: Judith Collins; Challenging climate change policy and having fun
Brent Edwards (NBR): National worries about ministerial and Treasury oversight of Reserve Bank (paywalled)

Economy and work
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Nothing gained for blaming older generations for modern problems
RNZ: ANZ chief economist predicts double-digit GDP rebound, but challenges remain
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Job ads continue to claw their way back from lockdown lows
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Employee perks could be axed after Government tax change
Herald: Editorial: Infratil right to dig its heels in as AustralianSuper swoops (paywalled)
Rebecca Moore (TVNZ): Campaign to get Kiwis over to Australia to pick fruit ‘desperate’, Horticulture NZ boss says
Simon Wilson (Herald): The office v working from home – law firm Meredith Connell’s mission (paywalled)
Herald: Government looking at making debit and credit card bank fees fairer
Rebecca Stevenson (BusinessDesk): Supermarket prices: when is ‘co-ordination’ anti-competitive?
Rob Stock (Stuff): Are Kiwis getting a raw deal on sunscreen?
Tom Pullar-Strecker and Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Countdown posts $20m rise in net profit as watchdog advances its market review
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): Govt looks to regulate contactless payment fees for retailers
Zane Small (Newshub): Grant Robertson rules out revisiting commercial rent relief as business owner pleads for help
Steven Cowan: Tears are not enough

Housing
Frank Hogan (Spinoff): Is this really the best time to promote home ownership?
Mathew Gribben (Stuff): Six-storey apartments could be coming to a bus stop or train station near you
Brian Fallow (Herald): A home of your own is a dream worth supporting (paywalled)
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Shy of housing targets, but Kāinga Ora still paying top dollar (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Housing Minister investigates impediments to housing supply (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): RBNZ intervention called for to boost building of houses with alternative tenures
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Hidden homeless: Mother fears eviction in Tasman District

Covid
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): No vaccine against impatience
Robin Martin (RNZ): Covid-19: Bungle allows cargo ship crew to skip isolation protocols
Emily Brookes and Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Government grants border exemption for nearly 90 Netflix film crew members
Derek Cheng (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: No transtasman bubble before February at the earliest
TVNZ: Ardern urged to help achieve fair Covid-19 vaccine global distribution

Local government
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington councillor contacts Deputy PM Grant Robertson with concerns over council leadership
RNZ: Goff refuses to express confidence in Auckland port boss over safety issues, delays
Herald: Wellington water system not working, taskforce concludes after year of woe
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Water metering for Wellington recommended in sweeping council reform
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Wellington water infrastructure needs major investment – mayoral taskforce
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Sir Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films believed to have pulled funding from iwi’s Shelly Bay litigation fight
Mandy Te (Stuff): Shelly Bay legal fight in doubt after Sir Peter Jackson believed to have pulled $2m funding
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Shelly Bay opponents Mau whenua short $2.2m after losing backer
Harry Lock (RNZ): Wellington Municipal Office Building set to be demolished
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Wellington’s Municipal Office Building on the chopping block
Georgina Campbell (Herald): City councillors signal a return to Wellington’s Civic Square
Georgina Campbell (Herald): 800 residents sign petition to save Wellington’s Mt Victoria heritage

Climate change and environment
Charles Anderson (Guardian): New Zealand lagging in developed world on climate funding, Oxfam says
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Not doing our bit
RNZ: Freshwater reforms may stifle farm profitability by 83% per year – report
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Genesis sets ‘aggressive’ climate targets and a challenge for Govt
Amal Samaha (Spinoff): Oil companies keep leaving their shit in New Zealand waters

Health
Derek Cheng (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: The Government, the Ministry of Health and fixing the ‘dissonance’ between them (paywalled)
Ian Powell: Necessary health system trade-offs should be unnecessary
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Health system reports serious harm to 975 people in 2020
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Adverse health events: Hundreds harmed in medical care, report shows
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Herald): Wairoa: The small town 117km from the nearest dental appointment

Media
Hal Crawford (Spinoff): No Google search? No news on Facebook? A new Australian law means it really could happen here
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Think tank editor runs far-right blog
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Te Reo Māori and Māori media priorities for new Māori Development Minister
Māori Television: Moana Maniapoto supreme winner of Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Journalism Awards

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Auditor-General warns of potential $53m loss for polytechnics
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Results in maths and science ‘a worrying trend’
Alwyn Poole (Kiwiblog): How we are life handicapping kiwi kids from all backgrounds
John Anthony (Stuff): Ministry of Education closes more Discoveries Educare centres for failing to meet standards

Other
No Right Turn: This is simply police corruption
Chris Lynch (Herald): The dangers of police facial recognition software
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Conspiracy theorist at centre of cancelled talk censored by ‘Waikato’s thought police’
Sam Hurley (Herald): NZ First Foundation case: Suppression argument moves to High Court after appeal by accused
Catrin Owen (Stuff): New Zealand First Foundation case: Name suppression bid heads to High Court
David Greig (BusinessDesk): Seven Myths To Test the Minister of Transport (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Eat My Lunch wins contract to provide free school lunches to kids
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Former refugee finds success in NZ after long struggle for a better life
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Prime Minister confident at launch of new Whānau-centred young parents scheme, saying ‘they’ve shown they work’
RNZ: Children’s Commissioner pushes for closure of large care and protection residences
Dan Satherley (Newshub): The Queen loves hearing ‘the gossip’ from NZ, but doesn’t give any back – Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy
Sarah Templeton (Newshub): ‘Colonial violence in floral polyester’: New Zealand designer Trelise Cooper apologises after backlash for ‘Trail of Tiers’ dress