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

Environment, climate change, conservation
Jamie Morton (Herald): Major climate change report’s stark outlook: Window to prevent worst impacts closing fast
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): ‘Human civilisation has never existed in a climate this hot’
Eloise Gibson and Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Planetary healthcheck delivers ‘unprecedented’, ‘terrifying’ picture
Science Media Centre: IPCC: Recent changes in Earth’s climate “unprecedented” – Expert Reaction
Veronika Meduna (Spinoff): This landmark climate crisis report tells the story of our futures
Mark Howden & Morgan Wairiu (Herald): Global temperature rises set to exceed 1.5°C in about a decade – a looming line in the sand for the Pacific (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): For Jacinda Ardern’s Labour, the future of climate change must be now
Nick Golledge (The Conversation): Rising seas and melting glaciers: these changes are now irreversible, but we have to act to slow them down
David Karoly (Herald): Climate change: Tonight’s IPCC report is a really big deal. So what is it? And why should we trust it?
James Renwick (Newsroom): Water and climate: More certainty, more urgency
Kate Nicol-Wiliams (1 News): Global temps expected to rise 1.5°C by 2041, ‘reality check’ report finds
1 News: Russel Norman: NZ needs to ‘pull back’ on dairy farming
Alice Angeloni (RNZ): Livestock responsible for nearly half of Gisborne Council’s emissions
Herald: Greta Thunberg turns attention to New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Greta Thunberg enrages Kiwis with tweet targeting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Just 40% of listed firms making climate disclosure: PwC
Andrea Fox (Herald): How 90pc of world’s carbon emissions could be eliminated by 2035: report (paywalled)
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Southland farmer accused of draining wetland
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Growing SUV popularity coincides with surge in vehicle emissions
RNZ: The Detail: Greenwashing as a marketing tactic

Covid-19 – Rio De La Plata, Tauranga port workers
Liu Chen (RNZ): Calls for stricter handling of foreign vessels after ‘shambolic approach’ to Rio De La Plata
Duncan Garner (Newshub): Tauranga port COVID issue a total farce, no way to manage the border
Derek Cheng (Herald): Delta on cargo ship in Tauranga – low-risk or nightmare scenario?
RNZ: Covid-19 on ship at Tauranga: Chain of transmission not clear – Chris Hipkins
Leah Tebbutt (Herald): Ministry of Health cleared Rio de la Plata to enter Port of Tauranga, says Maritime NZ (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): More than 85 unvaccinated port workers boarded ship with 11 positive Covid-19 cases, Government urgently investigating
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Tauranga wharfies angry and scared as crew on container ship test positive for Covid-19
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Just 10 pct of Tauranga port workers possibly exposed to virus fully vaccinated, Ardern blames ‘misinformation’
Anna Whyte (1 News): Nine of 98 Tauranga port workers tested for Covid are fully vaccinated
Derek Cheng (Herald): Still thousands of border workers unvaccinated and overdue for Covid test
Claire Trevett (Herald): Vaccine rollout update, Covid-infected ship – most Tauranga port workers unvaccinated

Covid-19 – Vaccination rollout
RNZ: Māori and Pacific health groups worried by low vaccination rates
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Low Maori & Pacifica vaccination rates demands urgent attention
Moana Ellis (RNZ): Whanganui strategy in play to tackle poor Covid-19 vaccination rates among Māori
Māori TV: Keep borders closed until Māori vaccinations increase – Dr Rawiri Jansen
RNZ: Recommended time between vaccine doses could be extended
Anna Whyte (1 News): Fifty-plus age bracket eligible for Covid vaccine from Friday
Bridie Witton (Stuff): All over 50s to be offered vaccine from Friday

Covid-19 – Border restrictions, immigration, MIQ
Brook Sabin (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern: New South Wales travel bubble could be off-limit all year
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): ‘Heart-breaking and legally wrong’ say seafarers trapped overseas
Maia Hart (Stuff): Vineyard workers with big calls to make as RSE travel corridor equals options
Laura Walters (Spinoff): Team of 6 million: How NZ can harness the power of Kiwis living overseas

Covid-19
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Covid-19 recovery driving contracting surge in public sector
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): The meaning of elimination of Covid-19
1 News: Eradicating Covid-19 globally is ‘feasible’, NZ analysis says
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins dubs Dr Ashley Bloomfield a ‘one-trick pony’ who’s ‘good at standing up and talking about COVID’
Herald: Judith Collins aims ‘one trick pony’ jab at health boss Ashley Bloomfield
Adam Pearse (Herald): Ian Reid rebuffs Des Gorman over virus strategy
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Hotel mothballed due to Covid-19 soon to be back in business
Nikki MacDonald: (Stuff): The latest science behind the Covid-19 “cures”
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff):Philippines like a ‘war zone’, heartbroken relatives in NZ say

Energy
Henry Cooke (Stuff): ‘So third world’: Government faces pressure after rolling power blackouts on frigid night
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Fresh warning from Transpower – electricity crisis not over
1 News: NZ-wide power ’emergency’ leads to outages in Waikato
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Rolling power outages across North Island as electricity demand reaches ‘all-time high’
Cushla Norman (1 News): Electricity prices getting less competitive
Tom Pullar-Strecker and Denise Piper (Stuff): National would look to keep refinery in a state where it could be turned back on
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Marsden Point closure devastating for thousands of Northland families

Parliament, Māori roll, voting age
Mitchel Alexander (Newshub): Four-year term: Government dampening expectations election cycle referendum will happen
Chris Trotter (Interest): At either end of the Pacific Ocean, the Centre-Left is displaying a singular incomprehension of cause and effect
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Is the Government starting to panic?
Steven Cowan (Against the current): Marama Davidson: What’s class got to do with it?
Margaret Wilson (Stuff): Trying the Prime Minister’s patience

National Party
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Frail and confused: National succumbs to political alzheimer’s
Simon Wilson: (Herald): Judith Collins wants to be a tech warrior but for what? (paywalled)
Newstalk ZB: Judith Collins: No substance to media reports of National leadership in doubt
Newstalk ZB: Commentator: National membership not happy with Peter Goodfellow
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Peter Goodfellow kept his job – now it’s up to National MPs to do theirs
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): National Party needs to stay on track
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National Party members vote to rein in board and seat-hopping MPs
RNZ: Todd Muller ditches National’s caucus meetings
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Māori vote may be crucial to National’s redemption

Health, midwives strike
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern pushes back on $1.9 billion mental health spend claims
Kate MacNamara (Herald):  ‘Implementation Unit’ to tackle faltering mental health rollout and ‘Jobs for Nature’ (paywalled)
Jane Nixon (1 News): More mental health funding gives Gumboot Friday hope
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Mother denied counselling for postnatal depression wants better support for mental health
Māori TV: Report into Underfunding of Māori Healthcare Released to Government
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Underfunding Māori healthcare costs Māori and the economy $5 billion a year
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Burnt out hospital doctors say no to zero pay offer, strikes on the table
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Overwhelmed ACC staff ‘dropping like flies’ after changes
RNZ: Physiotherapy patients waiting ‘weeks, if not months’ for ACC cover
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Wellington hospital failures led to cancer patient’s liver transplant – Commissioner
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Middlemore Hospital staff sleeping in cars due to lack of parking ‘so common’
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Kate Gregan and Sam Olley (RNZ): ‘We’re all burning out’: Auckland, Northland midwives start rolling strikes
Imogen Wells (1 News): ‘Unsustainable’ Lower Hutt midwife service closes doors
Hawkes Bay Today: Midwives strike: Hawke’s Bay Hospital postpones elective caesarean surgeries ahead of strike (paywalled)
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Midwifery union urges Southland midwives to return to the profession
Jean Bell (RNZ): Midwives strike: Eight-hour rolling strikes begin today
John Lewis (ODT): Midwives march over conditions

Conversion therapy
Zane Small (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern doesn’t rule out parents facing charges under conversion therapy ban
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins declares Government ‘anti-parents’ over law banning conversion therapy
1 News: PM thought National would’ve supported conversion therapy ban’s first hurdle
Joshua James (Newsroom): Conversion therapy: what’s in a vote?

Business, Economy, immigration
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Think supermarkets are pricey? Check out the banks
Michael Reddell: Perspectives on New Zealand immigration policy
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Returning Kiwis set to create a ‘reverse brain drain’
Liam Dann (Herald): RBNZ should consider double interest rate hike – ASB economist (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government-backed angel investor appoints acting chief executive after interim boss moves on (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Market betting ‘double-hike’ in OCR to 0.75% next week more likely than no rise

Transport
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Transmission Gully opening ‘touch and go’, new report raises red flag
Herald: Proposal to toll new Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway declined by Transport Minister
Todd Niall (Stuff): The real question about Auckland’s next harbour crossing
RNZ: Rail Safety Week begins with plea to rural New Zealanders
RNZ: Auckland Airport terminal upgrades going ahead
John Anthony (Stuff): Auckland Airport lays out plan to merge domestic jet operations with international terminal
Grant Bradley (Herald): Auckland Airport’s Adrian Littlewood – what it will take to press go on new domestic terminal (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Airport wants services back
Janine Rankin (Stuff): KiwiRail’s freight centre is about more than just railway tracks

International relations
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Parliament’s odd couple on China: ‘We have our deeply-held positions’
RNZ: Maritime boundaries and Covid in the Pacific Forum spotlight
Christine Rovoi (RNZ): NZ backs plan for Pacific centre for disease research

Primary industries
Re News: Our dairy inustry kills 2 million calves a year, but they don’t have to
Hawkes Bay Today: Wool merger plan gets an airing in Hawke’s Bay

Labour market, industrial relations, migrant workers
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Construction industry warns Government its agenda at risk unless worker shortage solved
Sally Rae (ODT): Work force woes not going away for farmers, survey finds
Laura Hooper (Stuff): Australia offering $2000 incentive for regional workers
Dennis Wesselbaum (Herald): How NZ will be more productive in the future (paywalled)

Local government
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Third of Wellington’s most critical drinking water pipes in poor condition
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington mayor surprised city’s most critical water pipes deemed to be in ‘moderate’ or ‘good’ condition
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): My hopes for a flood solution drain away
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Last chance saloon for an ambitious arena
Anne Gibson (Herald): ‘Large parcel’ of Gulf Harbour Country Club land already zoned for development: Councillor (paywalled)

Education and training, Mātauranga Māori science curriculum debate
Katy Jones (Stuff): Trainee teachers get 90 minutes to learn how to teach children to read, graduate says
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Don’t ‘water down’ arts subjects during NCEA reform, say teachers and artists
Wyatt Ryder (ODT): Plan to create merged ‘commerce’ subject criticised
Nicholas Agar (Newsroom): A warning for traditional universities
Rachel Sadler and Mihingarangi Forbes (Newshub): The Hui: National MP Penny Simmonds defends academics’ right to debate after they published letter challenging mātauranga Māori

Other
Michael Fletcher (The Conversation): Why is New Zealand’s Labour government trying to push through a two-tier benefit system?
Cira Olivier (Herald): Child poverty ‘dire’, calls for practical community support as housing unobtainable (paywalled)
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Work and Income privacy breach due to email mistake
Ben Strang (RNZ): Gun amnesty: Buyback cost more to run than paid out to owners
Mariner Fagaiava-Muller (RNZ): Breathing and navigating through a new dawn
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Call to regulate or ban property auctions that ‘crucify’ first home buyers
Lane Nichols (Herald): Foreign billionaire forced to sell West Auckland vineyard by OIO (paywalled)
Belinda Feek (Herald): Serving time: The new ‘Corrections-made currency’ causing chaos in NZ’s prisons
Sara Salman (Spinoff): The They Are Us film should not just be paused. It should be binned forever
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): What percentage Māori are you? businessman Troy Bowker asks Sir Ian Taylor
Sarah Templeton (Newshub): ‘Yuck – hands off our culture’: Disgust over Māori designs used by US shopping site
Will Trafford (Herald): Fury over overseas online retailer putting Māori whakairo on bedspread
1 News: Book on Wellington’s famous feline Mittens to hit shelves