Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.  Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily.

Today’s content

Housing
Jason Walls (Herald): Remedies for the hot housing market: What does Grant Robertson have up his sleeve? (paywalled)
Elle Hunt (The Guardian): ‘Can you help me?’: The quiet desperation of New Zealand’s housing crisi
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Treasury defends pace of Govt response to soaring house prices
Michael Reddell (BusinessDesk): Revealed: The real cause of high house prices
Richard Klipin (Herald): We need to change the property conversation (paywalled)
Brian Gaynor (BusinessDesk): Looking back: When Auckland residential property prices plunged 50%
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Million dollar dumps: Auckland’s derelict properties worth millions of dollars
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Housing crisis: ‘Small glimmer of hope’ in emergency housing spending figures – Salvation Army
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): Is $745k reasonable for a one-bedroom house? Wellington property draws ire of housing advocates
Jeremy Sutton (Stuff): Why the property boom is bad for divorcing couples
Geraden Cann (Stuff): From sleeping rough and carrying a knife for protection to aiming for home ownership
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Welcome to the NZ town offering new homes at zero profit
RNZ: Renter says contacting Tenancy Services ‘feels impossible’ as calls up by third
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): The Squeeze: Council flats for seniors prompt rent review amid housing shortage

Housing and safety in Wellington: Marama Davidson vs Nicola Willis
Steven Cowan: The Trouble with Marama
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Marama’s intersectionist attack on Nicola Willis’ white girl fears vs the importance of public agency
Kerre McIvor (Herald): Government must tackle homelessness, violence, stop hiding behind Covid (paywalled)
Emily Writes (Spinoff): Women feeling unsafe in Wellington is nothing new
Nicola Willis and Zane Small (Newshub): The tweet that sparked racism row in Parliament between Marama Davidson and Nicola Willis
RNZ: National’s Nicola Willis and Green co-leader Marama Davidson clash over ‘racist’ accusation
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Police in Wellington appropriated public cars parks during Covid-19 alert level drop, because staff felt unsafe at night

Local government
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Local government, too needy, too grassroots, not enough expertise
Simon Wilson (Herald): Skypath grounded: Auckland Harbour Bridge may never get a cycleway (paywalled)
Mike Mather (Stuff): ‘Elitism’, ‘double dipping’ accusations as councillors vote for access to childcare allowance
Chris Barclay and Matt Slaughter (Christchurch Star): Former Mayor Garry Moore slams Christchurch City Council restructure
Herald: Editorial: Bottomless brunch ban? Bah, humbug (paywalled)
John Minto (Daily Blog): Jim Boult – privatising the Queenstown commons for the ultra rich
Matt Lowrie (Spinoff): How Auckland’s flagship transport project lost its lustre
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): City Rail Link: New Zealand’s largest infrastructure build ‘taking shape’
Oliver Lewis  (The Spinoff): Changing the future ‘before it’s too late’: the case for rail in Christchurch
RNZ: Proposal to charge commuters to park at Wellington bus and train stations could drive people away – Kāpiti Coast Mayor K Gurunathan
Herald: Hamilton City opposes Watercare application to take more water from Waikato River
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Tasman Mayor asks for central Government help with rising dam costs
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): ‘Hefty’ rates rise proposed for Otago Regional Council
Karen Pasco (Otago Daily Times): Cr friction may undermine plan

Government
Chris Trotter (Interest): Something big
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): What the latest political rumours really say about the Wellington Bureaucratic elites
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Urgent call to improve access to official information – Māori researchers
No Right Turn: Open Government: Ending the farce?

National
Jon Johansson (Stuff): Without strong leadership the path back to political power is a rocky one
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Judith Collins reveals ‘confronting’ election review wasn’t compulsory reading for caucus
Stuff: ‘It’s up to them’: National MPs not required to read election review, leader Judith Collins says
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Simon Bridges says Judith Collins is ‘800 percent’ more popular than he is
Jehan Casinader (Stuff): Todd Muller on his leadership coup, his ‘breakdown’ and the road back to health
Damien Grant (Stuff): What a polar expedition tells us about National’s finance spokesman

Parliament
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Ginny Andersen admits knowledge of electorate office deal in 2017
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: PM’s quiet visit to Team NZ, Simon Bridges on leadership hopes (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan (ODT): National waiting to see which way wind blows
Phil Smith (RNZ): A miscellany of Parliament
1News: Meet Parliament’s rising star, a dog named Frankie

Foreign affairs and trade
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘We’re all in this together, cobbers!’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): China ‘speeding up’ drive to switch key imports away from unfriendly democracies
Claire Breen (Herald): The rights of child deportees (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan  & Rachel Sadler (Newshub): ACT leader David Seymour hits out at Australia over deporting of New Zealand teenager
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The geopolitics of why NZ isn’t attacking Australia over 501s
Louisa Cleave and Paula Penfold (Stuff): Chinese consulate voices ‘displeasure’ at Stuff Circuit Uyghur investigation Deleted
Sharon Brettkelly  (Newsroom): The Detail: Unpicking the price of milk
Khylee Quince (Stuff): The stories we tell ourselves about who we are are bound up in citizenship and where we live

Covid: Vaccine
1News: 1News Colmar Brunton poll reveals Kiwis’ attitude towards Covid-19 vaccine
Herald: Support for Covid vaccination grows – poll
1News: Covid-19 vaccine explainer: The what, when and how of the 2021 rollout
1News: Māori as young as 45 should receive priority access to Covid-19 vaccine, Māori medical leaders say
Irra Lee (1News): China signals it’s ‘exploring the possibility’ of introducing its Covid-19 vaccines to NZ

Covid: Border restrictions, MIQ, trans-Tasman bubble
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Kiwis won’t stand for another year in a NZ-only bubble (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): MIQ receiving about 100 complaints each week over booking system
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): Keeping the Pride Lands going without outsiders
1News: ‘Talofa, bula and mālō e lelei’ — Judith Collins wants quarantine-free travel from Pacific
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Judith Collins pushes for Pacific Islands travel bubble
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): National calls for quarantine-free entry from Pacific to fill labour shortfall
Zane Small (Newshub): Trans-Tasman ‘contingency plan’: The reason Australia travel bubble won’t mean more space in managed isolation
RNZ: Rush on Aussie travel expected if trans-Tasman bubble opens
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Sudden movement on travel bubble shows pressure works
Herald Editorial: Transtasman travel bubble could give a much needed boost
Newstalk ZB: Simon Bridges defends his decision to stick up for The Wiggles
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Let’s move the workers from lattes to orchard ladders

Economy, government spending, business
1News: Covid-19 wage subsidy: More than $140m paid out over latest lockdown
Liam Dann (Herald): Grant Robertson’s $10 billion dilemma (paywalled)
RNZ: Grant Robertson won’t be drawn on if NZ heading for double-dip recession after GDP figures plunge
RNZ: Finance Minister Grant Robertson on economy: ‘I think we will see further volatility’
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): GDP figures show how much trouble we’re in
Steven Joyce (Herald): GDP figures show the true cost of Fortress NZ (paywalled)
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Major strawberry grower Perrys Berrys calls it quits amid labour shortage
RNZ: Seymour blames government for fruit grower’s closure
1News: What’s New Zealand’s ideal population?
1News: Skilled migrants shortfall likely to worsen even after borders reopen – Faafoi

Tourism
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Damien O’Connor says Covid-19 has taught tourism industry ‘not to be so cocky’
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘It is unsustainable, it lacks resilience’: Tourism Minister says old tourism model must go
Amanda Cropp and Rachael Kelly (Stuff): ‘New-look’ tourism sector needed post Covid-19, Tourism Minister says
Newstalk ZB:‘It is unsustainable, it lacks resilience’: Tourism Minister says old tourism model must go
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Here’s why we need to start charging for access to tourist hotspots

Health and disability
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Exclusive: The hospital services identified as ‘vulnerable’, and how they’ll change (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): The two-year wait for a terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis, and the disease that kills more women than our roads
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Cost barriers for smear tests and birth control ‘disgusting for women’s health’
Laura James (1News): Members of blind community facing wait times of up to three years for guide dogs
RNZ: Disability advocate Minnie Baragwanath: ‘NZ’s hang-ups on abilities and disabilities are holding everyone back’
Tom Hunt  (Stuff): The critical health worker flown into New Zealand, who hasn’t been able to treat patients for months
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Hundreds of surgeries postponed due to staffing issues at Wellington Regional Hospital

Fluoridation
Hannah Martin (Stuff): What is water fluoridation and how does it work?
Stuff: Editorial – New fluoridation measures have bite
RNZ: Fluoridation: Dental Association backs plan for decision-making by top health official
Susan Botting (Herald): Whangārei Mayor slams Government moves to ‘mass medicate’ council drinking water with fluoride

America’s Cup
Claire Trevett (Herald): Will the Government fight to keep America’s Cup in NZ at any price? (paywalled)
RNZ: The America’s Cup may not remain in New Zealand
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): America’s Cup: It’s budget time for government, Auckland City, but where is the cash for the Cup?
Aimee Shaw (Herald): America’s Cup 2021: Did Auckland make any money from the sailing regatta? (paywalled)

Media
Damien Venuto (Herald): Should Kris Faafoi take a harder line on taxing Google and Facebook? (paywalled)
RNZ: Battle against online harm beefs up censor’s power
Ellen O’Dwyer and Siobhan Downes (Stuff): Newshub breaks convention with two female anchors for 6pm bulletin
Stuff: MediaWorks begins independent workplace review after harassment allegations
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): How suicide reporting guidelines could be improved
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The Fold: Hal Crawford on reviewing the NZ Media Fund, and what he learnt doing it

Environment and climate change
Alwyn Poole (Stuff): We must act now to save our marine ecosystems from complete collapse
Peter Griffin (Stuff): More proof that cattle fed seaweed emit less methane
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Testing business commitment to climate action
Basil Sharp (Interest): It is time to consider options for addressing traffic congestion and air pollution
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): Hey, city slickers: Cars are becoming an endangered species (paywalled)

Terrorism; Christchurch mosque attacks
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): New Zealand’s terror list needs to be expanded – experts
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Christchurch mosque threats: New allegations over terrorist’s manifesto
Hina Cheema (Stuff): Simmering concerns among Muslims over possible moves towards social cohesion

Justice, police, law and order
Libby Wilson (Stuff): Justice delayed: wait for court trials stretches out in Hamilton
John Minto (Daily Blog): Police, Tasers, Public Protest and the Public Interest
Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): He had a QC, she couldn’t afford a lawyer. Is that justice?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Golriz is right about failed child sex register
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Simeon Brown’s ‘scaredy-cats’ tweet over no-show ‘backfired on him’ – Mongrel Mob

Other
Rob Stock (Stuff): $1.60 return after $82.40 in fees: KiwiSaver cash funds’ existential crisis
Rob Stock (Stuff): Migrants protest at $450m of deductions from their NZ super payments
John Lewis (ODT): Teacher union opposes academic streaming
Dominic Godfrey (RNZ): Call for NZ govt to issue Dawn Raid apology
Kirsty Lawrence (Stuff): Uplift of newborn babies falls to lowest point in five years
Emma Russell (Herald): ‘It’s demeaning to women’: Gareth Morgan’s tribute to brothel owner sparks upset
Yvonne Tahana (1News): Iwi still struggle for legal recognition, a decade after foreshore and seabed legislation replaced
RNZ: Treaty of Waitangi: Ngāti Paoa sign $23.5 million deed of settlement
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Art for art’s sake, money for God’s sake – how can Aotearoa fix its broken artist pay model?
Paul Buchanan: The unmentioned C word
Fiona Hutton (Newsroom): Drug reform’s glimmer of hope
Tao Lin (The Spinoff): Anti-Asian hate and violence is not confined to America. It is right here, in NZ, too