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
Waikeria prison riot
Te Aorewa Rolleston and Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Police fired rubber bullets at men during Waikeria Prison standoff
Alexander Gillespie (RNZ): Waikeria inmates’ protest: a symptom of a much larger problem
ODT: Editorial – Thorough Waikeria review needed
Mackenzie Smith (RNZ): Waikeria prison protest prompts calls for Hōkai Rangi rethink
John Weekes (Herald): Waikeria riot: Jail staff union’s disgust as dust settles and clean-up bill looms
John Bonallack (Newsroom): In New Zealand, justice denied
Housing
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Affordability crunch: Will house prices hit a limit?
Dan Satherley and Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Property expert rubbishes claims house prices are becoming unaffordable, says they’ll keep going up through 2021
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Rising housing tide stymies climate change worries
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland property market breaks December record, more to come in 2021
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Housing: Asking prices soar year-on-year in December as housing stock falls to record lows
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): If only Labour’s NeoKindness could help beneficiaries, renters & cannabis users the way it helps property speculators
Duncan Webb (Stuff): Every community needs to strike a balance over social housing
Covid, vaccine, and border
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Covid-19 vaccines: Why NZ is waiting for more trials as US, UK rush to immunise
George Block (Stuff): Covid-19: New details revealed in government’s vaccine distribution plan
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Covid-19 pre-departure tests and more lockdowns: Additional measures rolled out to battle new variant
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Covid-19: NZ resident overseas worries about delays due to pre-departure test
Australian Associated Press/Guardian: New Zealand’s first quarantine-free flight to Queensland to leave on Thursday
1News: Experts ask Government to protect Covid Tracer app data
Gavin Lawrence: Managed isolation and quarantine – A Kiwi detainee’s view
Herald: Covid-19 coronavirus: A runny nose and the confusion around Hamilton District Court lockdown
Economy and work
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Entrepreneur criticised for claiming NZ employment law is holding back innovation
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Government ignores MBIE’s advice to delay and reduce minimum wage hike (paywalled)
Ananish Chaudhuri (Herald): Does minimum wage rise lead to job losses? (paywalled)
Stephen Toplis (NBR): Don’t forget about testing (or the environment) (paywalled)
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Covid-19: Lockdown-affected workers weren’t entitled to minimum wage, court finds
Other
Steven Cowan: Jacinda Ardern: The Same Old Conservatism
Dan Lander (Stuff): Democracy and the petition to challenge New Plymouth’s Māori ward decision
Katy Jones (Stuff): Farmers must act now to cut methane, environmentalist warns
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Families of Christchurch mosque shootings to get information package on how loved ones died
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Restrictions could be in place at popular national parks during peak times
Robin Martin (RNZ): Opponents of Mt Messenger bypass accuse LINZ of acting unlawfully
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Road toll: ‘Words are not fixing the problem we need actions’ – Greg Murphy
Brent Edwards (NBR): Greens aim to push government to get ‘hustle on’ (paywalled)
Sam Hurley (Herald): Millions of dollars and scandal: Five business and political court cases to follow in 2021 (paywalled)
Geoffrey Miller (RNZ): End of feud between Arab countries and Qatar may restore NZ’s hopes for trade deal
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Council fined nearly $500,000, but contractor fighting charges over big stink
Māori TV: Racism and inequity target of new project to ‘accelerate’ Māori student achievement
RNZ: Julian Assange’s father calls on New Zealand to offer his son asylum
