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

Live animal export ban
Stuff: Editorial – The tide goes out on animal exports
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Government announces an end to livestock sea export industry
Calla Wahlquist (The Guardian): New Zealand to stop exporting livestock by sea
Mirjam Guesgen (Spinoff): Live animal exports have always been a problem
No Right Turn: Why wait?
RNZ: Government announces ban for live cattle exports by sea
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Opponents label live export ban ‘immoral, ill-informed’
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): NZ to ban live animal exports from 2023 (paywalled)
Jason Walls (Herald): Live animal exports: NZ Government confirms ban from 2023
Al Williams (Stuff): Livestock export ban met with disappointment in South Canterbury
1News: Citing animal welfare concerns, Goverment confirms it will end live exports
Brent Edwards (NBR): Live animal exporters upset by ban on exports (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Jacinda Ardern defends ban on live animal exports by sea

Covid: Vaccinations programme and border
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): A day that laid bare the need for scrutiny of our Covid-19 response
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Officials still investigating why security guard wasn’t tested as Jacinda Ardern jumps the gun
Nicholas Agar (Newsroom): Has the ANZAC high-trust model come back to bite us?
Derek Cheng (Herald): Up to 60 MIQ workers still not being tested regularly
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern alleges infected MIQ security guard ‘lied’ about getting Covid-19 tests
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Number of MIQ workers who failed to get tested revealed
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Infected MIQ worker hadn’t been tested since November
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Former white supremacist plans leaflet drop of Covid-19 vaccine disinformation
Herald: Ministry of Health releases vaccine target data
Zane Small (Newshub): Labour MP Liz Craig pushes back on ‘patsy’ question criticism as Judith Collins fires up at ‘farcical nonsense’
Eric Crampton: The cost of a rolling omnishambles

Housing crisis
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government has sold or demolished nearly 2000 state houses since July 2018
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Housing: Government looking to fast-track moves to force councils to allow more housing
Esther Taunton (Stuff): NZ’s houses make $200b in capital gains over 12 months
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): ‘Affordable’ housing: Research project to discover the magic number
David Farrar: Finally a policy that will increase housing supply
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): ‘Removed from reality’: Mixed reception throughout Wellington to National’s proposed $50k housing policy
Dita De Boni (NBR): National’s council cash incentives for new housing meets mixed reaction (paywalled)
Aaron Hendry (Stuff): Young people don’t choose to be homeless, so stop blaming them
Newstalk ZB: Ashley Church criticises National Party’s ‘virtue signalling’ housing policy

National Party leadership
Ben Thomas (Stuff): Nats must seize opportunities as cracks show in Labour’s competence
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins says she doesn’t want National to ‘peak’ too early, has not set herself a party vote target
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins is right to tell Simon Bridges to pull his head in
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins asks media to stop bugging Simon Bridges and Christopher Luxon about leadership ambitions
1News: Judith Collins reiterates National ‘united’ behind her leadership

Local Government
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): No place for democratic-socialists in the undemocratic neoliberal government of the Auckland supercity
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Local government review in the Cabinet pipeline
Damian George and Mandy Te (Stuff): Independent review into Wellington City Council recommends scrapping councillor portfolios
Florence Kerr (Stuff): Hamilton City Council puts Maori wards back on table for 2022
Lois Williams (Stuff): Kaikōura council to workshop Māori ward option with runanga
Stuart Smith; Arena Williams (Stuff): Māori representation matters and local councils want to hear Māori voices – that’s democracy

Parliament
Audrey Young (Herald): Power struggle between Parliament and courts bubbling away (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): The Speaker’s dangerous but necessary empire-building (paywalled)
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Tired of renting office space, Parliament considers investing in a new build
Newstalk ZB: Former Green MP: Why the world doesn’t need more white male leaders

Maori Party referred to Police over donations
RNZ: Māori Party co-leaders direct donation questions to party executive
Jason Walls (Herald): Māori Party co-leaders are confident that its donations are above board amid police probe
Waatea News: Tamihere says donation inquiry overreaction

Climate change
Simon Wilson (Herald): Five myths about traffic and the climate
Jamie Morton (Herald): Does population size matter?
Richard Harman: We have missed every emissions target so far (paywalled)

Mental health crisis
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Mental Health: Public service watchdog asks Ministry of Health for more information on edited report
Jess McAllen (Newsroom): The scavenger hunt for life-saving data
Emma Richardson (Stuff): The Government won’t fix the mental health crisis, communities will have to step up instead

Health
Ian Powell (Democracy Project): A very bureaucratic coup: Part One
Lauren Hendricksen and Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Smokefree 2025: Government plans to slash nicotine in cigarettes by 95 percent
Belinda Feek (Herald): Hospital overload: Patients forced to wait in the back of ambulance at EDs

Anti-terrorism laws and campaigns
Mark Quinlivan and Isabella Durant (Newshub): Online extremism expert slams Christchurch Call as a failure as Jacinda Ardern, Emmanuel Macron hail ‘significant global progress’
David Bromell (VUW): Regulating harmful communication: Current legal frameworks
David Bromell (VUW): Arguments for and against restricting freedom of expression

Education
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Auckland schools at odds over who benefits from donation scheme
Jack Crossland and Sophie Trigger (Herald): Mould discovery at Hutt Valley HS ‘not surprising’, says Principals’ Federation, as school plans return to remote learning
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Mould-ridden classrooms not a priority for ministry until too late – Hutt High board chairman

Transport
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Roading rage: Frustration as many key projects ‘will not get over the line’
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): More proof that Te Huia is a joke
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Waka Kotahi-NZTA chair ‘extremely disappointed’ in board member’s Te Huia train comments

Other
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): US President’s tough stance on tax could really boost our Government coffers
Hamish Cardwell and Jordan Bond (RNZ): Northland police unlawfully used checkpoints to gather information for years
Peter Williams (Magic Talk): Plans for a co-governed New Zealand you should be concerned about
Uma Ahmed (Stuff): Polynesian Panthers say work still needs to be done to combat racism
Alexia Russell (Newsroom): Facebook’s problematic algorithm
Tony Wall (Stuff): Defence Force ‘deeply regrets’ spate of deaths and injuries – WorkSafe suggests ‘systemic issues’
Maree Brannigan (Herald): Anzac Day remembrance is evolving for future generations (paywalled)