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
Covid: Auckland community outbreak
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern refuses to apologise to KFC worker, says family was told to self-isolate
1News: Auckland KFC worker with Covid-19 says she was never told to isolate, wants apology from PM
Mandy Te (Stuff): Questions raised over whether people are being told they must self-isolate following Covid-19 tests
Stuff: Jacinda Ardern denies KFC worker who tested positive wasn’t told to self-isolate
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 7 Day lockdown political winners & losers
Newstalk ZB: Professor slams Govt as ‘inconsistent’ over ‘deja vu’ lockdown
Justin Giovannetti (The Spinoff): Is the Ardern government’s kindness mantra beginning to fray?
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Prime Minister changes tune on narking
Andrew Geddis (The Spinoff): The trouble with demands for a police crackdown on Covid isolation rule-dodgers
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern is a great communicator, but clearly not everyone’s listening
John Weekes (Herald): Will New Zealand choke just when the finish line’s in sight?
Stuff Editorial: Trust alone is no longer enough
Dr Celia Lie (Newsroom): Thoughts on why some young people flout the rules
Barry Soper (Herald): Time for Govt to consider being cruel to be kind
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): ‘It’s easy to blame a 21-year-old’: Judith Collins, David Seymour say Government also at fault for COVID-19 outbreak
RNZ: We should be TikToking information’ – Collins calls for better messaging
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Young people to Government – ‘your message is too old, too stale and way too long’
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern encourages calling out COVID-19 rule-breakers, but with ‘kindness’
Alan Kenyon (TVNZ): Ardern asks Kiwis to call out Covid-19 rule breakers — ‘It’s not OK to let the rest of us down’
RNZ: PM Jacinda Ardern urges New Zealanders to call out rule-breakers
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern says actions of latest COVID-19 cases had ‘devastating’ consequence
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Angry Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tongue lashes Covid-19 cases for ‘letting down’ team of five million
Herald: Rulebreakers facing judgment of entire nation – Ardern
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): New Auckland COVID-19 case ‘absolutely’ did all the wrong things – Professor Michael Baker
Simon Collins (NZ Herald): Manukau student leader asks Kiwis to lay off South Auckland
Adam Jacobson (RNZ): Manukau Institute of Technology asks for kindness towards student
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Auckland Regional Public Health says no issues with language barriers prior to latest outbreak
Newstalk ZB: Collins accuses Government of being apathetic towards Covid-19, criticises kindness focus
TVNZ: ‘Post-kindness’ rhetoric targeting South Auckland Covid cases will backfire, warns Efeso Collins
John Weekes (Herald): Instinct for retribution must not take over, leaders say
Justin Latif (Herald): Punishing rule-breakers would backfire, warns South Auckland councillor
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Auckland is lucky to have Efeso Collins leadership & vision during Covid
Sela Jane Hopgood (RNZ): Covid: One year on for Pasifika leaders at the frontline
Justin Latif (Spinoff): South Auckland DHB chief: NZ owes our people a ‘debt of gratitude’
Te Rina Triponel (Herald): South Auckland marae leaders urge communities to be more vigilant as community transmission spreads
TVNZ: South Auckland man infected with Covid-19 after family member’s secret lockdown contact with another infected family
Lynley Ward (Herald): Four families, one school and rule breaker – the Valentine’s Day cluster unravelled (paywalled)
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Two mothers from Auckland cluster went for a walk during lockdown
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern on latest Covid-19 cases: ‘Everyone is angry… I get that’
Elle Hunt (Guardian): ‘Everyone is angry’: Ardern under pressure over latest Auckland Covid lockdown
Lana Andelane (Newshub): New Zealanders who refuse testing, deny science ‘put everyone at risk’ – Phil Goff
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Biggest weakness in our Covid response is our population
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald):Government must take the blame for this lockdown
Heather du Plessis-Allan: Covid 19 lockdowns a sign of failure
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Complacent Government asleep at the wheel over Covid-19
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Ministry of Health dropping the ball has led us to new lockdown
John Weekes (Herald): Police not asked to prosecute Case M, say education, support pivotal
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National wants Covid-19 rule breakers to be fined
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Police assistance seldom needed to enforce Covid-19 rules, Bloomfield says
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Police yet to issue any fines to people not wearing face masks
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): District Health Board slams Covid-19 conspiracy theory on rheumatic fever swabs
Northern Advocate: Harawira calls on Northland iwi leaders to speak out over danger of new Covid strains
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ suspends trans-Tasman flights as Australia responds to Auckland Covid-19 ‘hotspot’
Brook Sabin (Stuff): Travel bubble gamechanger: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivers huge boost for chances of Australia travel bubble
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Food banks brace for ‘flood’ of demand in Auckland’s fourth lockdown
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Lockdowns keeping psychologists busy
Morgan Godfery (The Guardian): Repeated lockdowns are a version of hell – Aucklanders deserve our thanks
Covid: Workers and business
Michael Neilson (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defends sick pay scheme
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Support scheme for those self-isolating $100m cheaper than expected, call for it to be made more generous
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): More generous Covid-19 leave scheme ‘could save NZ money overall’
Victoria Young (Business Desk): Change self-isolation payments – Eaqub (paywalled)
TVNZ: Government ‘doing everything’ they can to ensure workers who need time off due to Covid-19 get paid – Ardern
RNZ: Covid-19: Union aware of ‘pressure on employees’ to work when sick
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Businesses asked to ‘do the right thing’ and pay staff correctly during lockdown
Katie Bradford (TVNZ): Some retailers still not paying staff in full as latest Covid-19 lockdown hits Auckland
——
RNZ: Business leaders demand government’s Covid-19 plan be made public
Herald: Business leaders call for clear path out of virus
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Business leaders ask: What’s the long-term Covid strategy?
RNZ: Level 3 lockdown ‘absolutely devastating’ for many Auckland businesses – Barnett
Richard Harman: Business leaders ask the HealthMinistry to open up
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Lockdown rules ‘absurd’, Retail NZ says
Newstalk ZB: Government looking at options to help support struggling tourism regions
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Inland Revenue system back online after maintenance went faster than expected
RNZ: Latest Covid-19 alert levels change to cost economy $240 million – ASB economists
TVNZ: Businesses ‘right up against the wall’ because of Auckland lockdowns, economist says
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Lockdowns costing $240m a week, ASB estimates
Liam Dann (Herald): Economic cost of lockdown falls on Auckland, again (paywalled)
Covid: Vaccine
Josie Adams (The Spinoff): Should South Auckland get the vaccine first?
Julie Iles (NBR): Auditor-General to review Covid-19 vaccine rollout (paywalled)
Nikki Preston (Herald): Frontline health workers next in line for vaccine
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Aucklanders should be vaccinated first, Mayor Phil Goff says
Belinda Feek (Herald): Auckland Airport MPI staff ‘fuming’ after being left behind in vaccine rollout
1News: DHBs apologise after some Auckland GPs denied leftover Covid-19 vaccines
Housing
Kate Nicol-Williams (TVNZ): ‘Pointless’ — First Home grant increasingly out of touch with property market
Eva Corlett (RNZ): LVR rules reinstated but industry skeptical it will cool housing market
Sophie Cornish and Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): Wellington’s emergency housing grows by 300 per cent in a year, under strain from Covid-19 and escalating housing crisis
Herald: Wellington housing market: $171k for a deposit in 2021
Chris Ross and Tom Peters (WSWS): New Zealand government policies worsen housing crisis
One Two Three Home: What are the benefits and risks of developing mixed-tenure communities in New Zealand?
Tony Alexander (One Roof): Don’t expect a slam-dunk end to rising house prices
Catherine Masters (One Roof): Fighting FOMO: The real pressures in NZ’s ‘cheapest’ housing markets
1News: Should a brand new city be built in New Zealand to take pressure off housing market?
Waatea News: Colonial thinking hold back Maori housing action
Climate change and environment
Mark Thomas (Newsroom): Climate action speaks louder than words
David Farrar: Did the Climate Commission mislead Parliament’s Environment Committee?
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): MPI opposed nitrogen bottom line over economic concerns
No Right Turn: Why are we paying for MPI again?
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Government report challenges claims of carbon-neutral meat farms
Riley Kennedy (RNZ): Environment Ministry addresses shortcomings of Beef and Lamb report
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Even dodgier accounting
The BFD: The Dog Ate Rod Carr’s Homework
Local government
Felix Desmarais (Herald): Green leader James Shaw, Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick take aim at David Seymour over Māori wards-apartheid comparison
Waatea News: National promises Maori ward law repeal
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Successful council team-building retreat prompts a review into team-building weekends
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Green Wellington City councillor reconsiders controversial library vote
Shane Te Pou (Herald): Will mayor help Wellington get its mojo back? (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Wellington Mayor Andy Foster asks councillors to stay quiet on waterfront market opening during Covid-19 alert level 2
Stephen Franks: Are “local boards” and “community boards” real democracy?
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Good news that burden for Foundation funding to be lifted off ratepayer
Whanganui Chronicle: ‘Wrong to say’ raw sewage put out to sea, says Whanganui council boss
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Wainuiomata mayoral street name to be replaced after just 12 days
Health
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Review asks how Govt can get the new drugs it wants funded
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Nurse shortage a major pressure point at Southland Hospital
Sam Kilmister (Stuff): Meth addicts say recovery is failing due to inadequate care post-rehab
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Disabled Kiwis plan ‘Hikoi of Hope’ to Parliament
Policing, corrections
Ananish Chaudhuri (The Conversation): Despite claims NZ’s policing is too ‘woke’, crime rates are largely static — and even declining
Waatea News: Gang member wants investment alongside crackdown
Waatea News: Waititi says prison alternatives needed
Transport
Todd Niall (Stuff): Time for faster, not just bigger, transport projects
Alex Braae (Spinoff): How to get to zero deaths on New Zealand’s roads
Stephen Forbes (Herald): Auckland Transport sets the groundwork for New Zealand’s first hydrogen bus
Stuff: New Plymouth Airport a safe space for LGBTQI+ community
Other
Keith Lynch (Stuff): A beginner’s guide to paying less tax (if you’re very rich)
Terry Baucher (Interest): The Week in Tax: clues on what’s next in tax, and how much tax do the rich pay?
Mike Treen (Daily Blog): How to end race and class inequalities destroying working people’s lives
Erin Polaczuk (Stuff): Employer surveillance of workers is increasingly common, and it should worry you
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Report finds gaps in Animal Welfare Act (paywalled)
Amber Allott (Stuff): Muslim community wants royal commission’s March 15 recomendations fast-tracked
RNZ: Mayors nationwide call on PM for inquiry into bank closures
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Signs growing economy will drift down in 2021
Rob Stock (Stuff): First real estate agency warned for anti-money laundering failures
John Battersby (Herald): How NZ overlooked Isis bride Suhayra Aden and what we must learn from it (paywalled)
Brian Easton: A brief history of the Māori economy: How things change
Mackenzie Smith (RNZ): Analysis: NZ review of Tokelau’s justice system could complicate decoupling
Alwyn Poole (Kiwi Blog): Education in Prisons: I need some advice … please help.
Waatea News: Iwi upset at Erebus statue siting
Waatea News: Wage link means bigger benefit increase
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Head of female Mongrel Mob chapter addresses Waitangi Tribunal claim
Hugh Collins (Herald): Canterbury earthquakes NZ’s most costly insurance event, $38 billion in property claims
Brent Edwards (NBR): How to drive New Zealand’s productivity performance?
Daisy Ditchburn (ISO): The Resource Management Act Is No Good, but Beware its Replacement
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): These are moving times
Emile Donovan (Newsroom): The Detail: How the declining birthrate will impact New Zealand
Chris Trotter (Interest): Sunday services
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): ‘We need to have hope,’: Early Childhood teachers renew calls for pay parity
