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
Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Gordon Campbell: On our polarised attitudes to the Covid response
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Failings that were foreseeable and unforgivable let Delta loose
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): The Delta variant can be beaten, but it’s also defeated some countries previously successful at fighting off coronavirus
Tess McClure (Guardian): ‘No second chances’: Can New Zealand beat Delta?
Luke Malpass (Stuff): What will the Government do if it can’t eliminate Delta?
Star News: Why NZ stands a good chance of avoiding Sydney’s fate
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): ‘We need a country that stands up to Delta’ – US Covid expert
Herald Editorial: Queensland a positive lockdown example (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Delta outbreak – don’t rule out at least 4-week lockdown in Monday’s Cabinet decision (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Were Government departments prepared for Delta?
Stuff Editorial: In praise of staying put – purposefully
Herald Editorial: Delta variant a challenge we must rise to (paywalled)
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): We’ve been here before – so why weren’t we better prepared?
Claire Trevett (Herald): Delta outbreak leaves PM relying on fear instead of vaccines for lockdown success (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Exclusive poll: Resounding popular support for decision to take NZ into strict lockdown
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Shock Covid news: Who knew there were tradesmen living in Devonport?
Efeso Collins (Spinoff): Where was this compassion for South Auckland?
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Covid-19 on the North Shore versus south Auckland: How location changed the narrative
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Lockdown: Delta outbreak raises the stakes
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Getting jabbed won’t stop another lockdown (paywalled)
Stuff: ‘An isolated dystopia’: British columnist condemns Jacinda Ardern’s zero Covid-19 policy approach
Damien Grant (Stuff): The virus has evolved. Our response should as well
Rodney Hide (Bassett, Brash and Hide): The Costs and Benefits of Lock Down
Imran Ali (Northern Advocate): Lockdown extension the right call
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Have we really ‘got this’, or will disillusion soon set in?
Kerre McIvor (Herald): Lockdown could be the last straw (paywalled)
Steven Joyce: (Herald): This time, let’s try a little humility as we learn lockdown’s lesson (paywalled)
RNZ: National criticises government’s handling of latest outbreak
Stuff: Legal basis for lockdown now ‘spelt out in neon lights’ – academic
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1 News: Chris Hipkins says Aucklanders should prepare for lockdown extension
Richard Harman (Politik): Lockdowns can’t go on forever (paywalled)
Herald: Delta raises ‘big questions’ about NZ’s future approach – Chris Hipkins; seven schools now caught in outbreak
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Cabinet to decide on next steps for lockdown
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Lockdown expected to remain
Derek Cheng (Herald): Ongoing lockdown for Auckland, but for how long? And what’s the Plan B? (paywalled)
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): South Island might drop to alert level 3 later this week, experts say
RNZ: Too soon to be optimistic over size, spread of outbreak – epidemiologist
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Three day lockdown was only to buy time, will likely last longer than 7 days, says Michael Baker
1 News: Covid cases could rise to between 50 and 100 in next few days, says modeller
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Grant Robertson confident ‘very long extended lockdown’ won’t be needed
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Anatomy of a delta outbreak (paywalled)
Lee Kenny and Hanna McCallum (Stuff): Extended lockdown disappointing but not unexpected for South Islanders
1 News: ACT says Govt ‘unprepared’ for Delta outbreak in NZ
Tim Hunter (ODT): Stopping the virus an art, not just a science
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): New Zealand’s new normal is here to stay
Sarah Catherall (Stuff): ‘Avoid at all costs’: Kiwis who caught Covid-19 overseas urge country to take it seriously
Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): Shock, frustration, heartbreak – new lockdown, but past emotions return
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporting): Holidaymakers sent home from Mahia as iwi consider checkpoints
Health system
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Why there’s concern over ICU capacity (paywalled)
Alex Kazemi (Spinoff): If you listen closely enough you can hear the whole system shudder
Michael Morrah (Newshub): More than 3000 Auckland hospital workers yet to have a single COVID-19 vaccine dose
Jamie Morton (Herald): Hundreds could die if NZ re-opened without health measures – study
Herald: Nurses who live with close contacts asked to work
1 News: Nurses’ union: PPE supply low amid Covid outbreak
David Williams (Newsroom): Health Ministry reassures on PPE stocks
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Nurses ‘providing childcare services for each other’ as lockdown limits options
RNZ: Long waiting times for Healthline despite 300 more staff taking calls
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): DHB launches independent probe into offensive Covid cartoons
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Ian Powell (Second Opinion): The luck and comings of Lester Levy: Part One
Laura Smith (ODT): Cancer campaigner questions exclusion
Jo Mckenzie-Mclean (Stuff): Did Blair Vining die in vain? Widow’s ongoing fight to improve cancer care
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Harsh truth of Maori health outcomes hits home
Greg Bruce (Herald): What’s going on in Mike King’s head? (paywalled)
Rajshjri Roy (Newsroom): A health challenge, delivered to your door
Contact tracing, locations of interest, testing, masks
Adam Pearse (Herald): Government caution to blame for mass Covid testing chaos (paywalled)
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Contact tracing system under pressure as outbreak grows
Herald: Locations of interest top more than 250 different locations
George Block (Stuff): Absolute shambles’: Auckland contact tracing staff missed four close contacts, tried to suppress info
Dubby Henry (Herald): Record-keeping to become mandatory in all levels
RNZ: Mandatory sign-ins now required for most events, businesses
Shannon Redstall (Newshub): Concerns as businesses required to enforce compulsory sign-ins at venues
Herald: Fears hospitality industry will have to enforce mandatory sign-in rules
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): The saliva testing stoush between Rako Science and the Ministry of Health
Adam Pearse (Herald): Government caution to blame for mass Covid testing chaos (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): ‘Palpable frustration’ as Wellington waits for locations of interest
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Covid scare hits Weta Digital in Wellington as staff told to self-isolate
1 News: Robertson defends delay in naming Wellington locations of interest
Kate Newton (Stuff): How a few ordinary Kiwis helped determine the arc of the Delta outbreak
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Covid-19 testing delays could keep New Zealand in lockdown, expert says
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Surge in other illnesses likely created smokescreen for Delta, expert says
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Mandatory masks ‘historic moment for New Zealand’
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): No reusable mask? You shouldn’t be allowed to fly (paywalled)
Vaccine rollout
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Failings that were foreseeable and unforgivable let Delta loose
Mark Longley (Newshub): Stop putting a spin on New Zealand’s vaccination numbers, we are woefully behind
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Vaccine rollout well and truly busted
Sam Sherwood and Bridie Witton (Stuff): New Zealand making ‘huge progress’ in vaccinations, experts say
Henry Cooke (Stuff): NZ jabs more than 1 per cent of population in single day, despite lockdown
Florence Kerr (Stuff): Health experts say the Government has failed to protect Māori and Pasifika from the latest outbreak, calling it “our worst nightmare”
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Country’s largest drive-through vaccination centre opens in Auckland
RNZ: Hundreds vaccinated on first day of NZ’s biggest drive-through centre
RNZ: Vaccinating young people helps protect communities – Immunisation authority
Jamie Morton (Herald): Should we vaccinate all children against Delta?
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Elderly turned away from vaccinations for PPE training
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): Switch to six-week gap between vaccine doses says expert
1 News: Dr Ashley Bloomfield receives first Covid-19 vaccine
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Ashley Bloomfield gets vaccine jab
MIQ/Border
Jamie Morton (Herald): How did Delta get into NZ? (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): You’re not critical, NZ tells lab staffing specialist
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Is it time to build a billionaire-proof fence for the South Island?
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Public walkway could be missing link
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Waiariki rivals Rawiri Waititi and Tāmati Coffey join growing call against additional MIQ facilities in Rotorua
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Govt to foot bill for temporary accommodation for returnees leaving MIQ
RNZ: NZ travellers in Cooks may have to self-isolate
Lockdown compliance, protest, misinformation
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): The contagion of crazy
RNZ: Police oppose bail for protesters fearing they will again breach lockdown rules
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): We’re lockdown compliant – mostly
Steve Braunias: (Herald): The secret diary of Billy Te Kahika (paywalled)
Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris (Spinoff): The red flags of Covid misinformation
Ben Strang (RNZ): First person: ‘Anger and misinformation’ about Covid-19 growing
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): Our own little Trumpian army
Victor Billot (Newsroom): An ode for .. Billy Te Kahika
RNZ: Police ‘happy’ with level 4 compliance; 23 arrests, 65 warnings
Molly Houseman (ODT): Four-hour trip among breaches
Parliament
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National and ACT keen for Parliament to return during lockdown
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Will Ardern unilaterally suspend Parliament?
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Marilynn McLachlan (Woman’s Weekly): Simon Bridges on what’s next: ‘I’ve found my true happiness’ (paywalled)
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Behind the scenes: The rise of ACT, and its leader David Seymour
Kiri Gillespie (Herald): The rise, and demise, of National MP Todd Muller’s political career, and what’s next (paywalled)
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Criminal lawyer turned Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman’s book Know Your Place (paywalled)
Employment, employer lockdown breaches
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Retailers forcing staff to work ‘a much more serious’ risk to NZ than ‘nutbar’ Billy Te Kahika – union
Christine Rovoi (RNZ): ‘Do the right thing’ union says, after workers report reduced pay or annual leave requests
ODT Editorial: Shopping around for leadership
Jessica Higgins (ODT): Duty to consult, behave in good faith with employees
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Veteran hospitality workers ready to walk out on industry
Derek Cheng (Herald): Free childcare for essential workers from tomorrow – Hipkins
Wage subsidy, business
1 News: Wage subsidy essential for successful lockdown, says economist
Herald: More than 47,000 businesses apply for Wage Subsidy
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Businesses beg to be allowed to reopen as lockdown brings financial pain
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Potential economic cost causes alarm in Auckland
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Businesses disappointed but not surprised
RNZ: Small businesses grapple with lockdown disparity, ambiguity
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Industrial lockdown plan fell on deaf ears, business leader says
RNZ: Countdown staff bear brunt of customer annoyance at meat shortages
Rob Stock (Stuff): Challenge for self-isolating households as supermarket delivery and ‘click and collect’ slots book out
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Online shopping full up, supermarkets encourage you to shop in-store
Maja Burry and Sally Murphy (RNZ): Retail Meat NZ fears some butchers won’t survive extended lockdown
Sam Hurley (Herald): West Auckland microbrewery blames bureaucracy for closed doors in lockdown (paywalled)
Guy Williams (ODT): Stance on accommodation refund ‘mind-blowing’
Sam Olley (RNZ): Plant nurseries rush to save seedlings on eve of lockdown
Liam Dann (Herald): Precedented times – life in 2021 just feels like one giant caveat (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Nation of Debt: New Zealand’s great borrowing blowout (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): The Monitor economy Q&A: Economics professor Tim Hazledine
Brad Olsen (Stuff): Resilient economy means we’ll bounce back from this setback
Rob Stock (Stuff): Insurers undecided on whether to give car insurance rebates this lockdown
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Adrian Orr: Decision to hold OCR ‘literally down to the uncertainty of the day’
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Don’t expect lockdown to stop mortgage rate rises
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Closed for business and rent to pay
Andre Chumko (Stuff): LOTR has departed. Covid-19 is back. What does that mean for our screen sector?
Anne Gibson (Herald): What future for $26b of construction work after lockdown? (paywalled)
Gregor Paul (Herald): Inside the Rugby Championship chaos: What really happened when All Blacks pulled out of Perth (paywalled)
Mike Watson (Stuff): ‘Go local’ message key to Taranaki’s Covid-19 lockdown recovery
Amber Allott (Stuff): Regions ‘let down’ by airlines and government, say still-stranded North Islanders
Media, 1pm briefing
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): In defence of the Press Gallery – No, Kate, we don’t take our order from the PM
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): I wanted to stick needles in my eyes during the 1pm presser
Alison Mau (Stuff): Why we need to hear those Covid-19 messages over, and over, and over again
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Businesses need less podium performance and more facts (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins says waiting for 1pm daily briefings ‘adds to the anxiety’ of lockdown
Steven Cowan (Against the current): Pulpit of truth 2
1 News: Hipkins’ slip of the tongue gives Kiwis ‘something to laugh about’
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Danyl Mclauchlan (Spinoff): Things fall apart: why journalism might not survive what’s coming next
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Stuff returns to Facebook (paywalled)
Economic hardship, inequality
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Tāmaki Makaurau homeless assured accommodation available during lockdown
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Fears Covid-19 outbreak to reverse economic position of Pacific communities
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Pressure builds to provide needy with enough food
Sarah Robson (RNZ): South Seas Healthcare seeing more young families ask for help this lockdown
RNZ: Victims, survivors of family violence urged to seek help, despite lockdown
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Pfizer vaccine effectiveness against Delta falls after three months, study shows
(Herald): Whanganui freedom camping site turns into homeless hub for lockdown
Michael Cullen has died
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Michael Cullen 1945-2021 – He almost lived up to the dream
Chris Trotter (Interest): Michael Cullen: 1945-2021
ODT Editorial: An historian who made history
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Former deputy PM and Dunedin MP Michael Cullen dies
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Cullen remembered as forward-thinking, respected colleague
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remembers ‘incredible human’ Sir Michael Cullen
Pete Hodgson (Newsroom): The Michael I knew
1 News: Former deputy PM Sir Michael Cullen remembered as ‘kind and witty’
NBR: Politicians across the spectrum pay tribute to Sir Michael Cullen (paywalled)
Chris Marshall and Thomas Manch (Stuff): Former deputy prime minister and Kiwisaver architect Sir Michael Cullen dies
RNZ: Sir Michael Cullen remembered as one of NZ’s most influential figures
RNZ: Former Labour deputy prime minister Sir Michael Cullen dies
Herald: Labour’s Sir Michael Cullen dies at 76 after battle with lung cancer
Zane Small (Newshub): Former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Michael Cullen dies aged 76
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Sir Michael Cullen dies from lung cancer
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Tūhoe negotiator and ex-deputy PM Sir Michael Cullen dies
Jack Tame (1 News): Sir Michael Cullen wasn’t scared of dying
Jack Tame (1 News): Sir Michael Cullen’s poignant thoughts on assisted dying and mortality
Newstalk ZB: Helen Clark: Sir Michael Cullen always delivered in his various roles
Mike Kilpatrick (Newshub): Helen Clark pays tribute to ‘incredible, indispensable’ Sir Michael Cullen
Newstalk ZB: Peter Dunne: ‘Michael Cullen’s legacy will long outlive his time in Parliament’
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): ‘Friend to working people’: Business, unions pay tribute to Sir Michael Cullen
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate): Northland reacts: Former Deputy PM Sir Michael Cullen ‘made NZ a better place’
Jack Tame (Newstalk ZB): Thanking Cullen for Kiwisaver
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The last time I saw Sir Michael Cullen
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): RIP Sir Michael Cullen
The Standard: Farewell Dr Michael Cullen
Spinoff: Michael Cullen: What I believe (excerpt from Labour Saving, a memoir)
Afghanistan
John Minto (Daily Blog): Afghanistan – those who supported the invasion are desperately trying to rewrite history
Golriz Ghahraman (Guardian): Afghans need our help – there must be no empty seats on New Zealand’s rescue mission
Jon Johansson (Stuff): The full tragedy of our involvement in Afghanistan is only just beginning to unfold
1 News: Taliban thanks NZ for financial aid for Afghanistan
1 News: Kiwi Tampa survivor calls for emergency Afghanistan intake
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): NZ refusing to take in a single extra refugee
Paula Penfold (Stuff): Frontline of fear: Why we mustn’t shirk our moral responsibility to Afghanistan
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Afghanistan was never a war for feminism
RNZ: Lawyers call on government to help Afghanistan’s women judges
Robert G. Patman (Stuff): The Taliban takeover and its implications for New Zealand
Thomas Manch (Herald): Prospect of rescuing all New Zealanders in Afghanistan dwindling
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Taliban leader vows safe exit of New Zealand nationals and ex-Afghan interpreters from Kabul
Uma Ahmed (Stuff): Soldier: ‘Afghanistan is one of the most invaded countries in living memory’
RNZ: Kabul airport chaos among obstacles hampering Defence Force mission – PM
Kurt Bayer (Herald): New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis praised for frontline reporting for Al Jazeera from Afghanistan (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says NZ unlikely to rescue ‘everyone we want to’
Zane Small (Newshub): How New Zealand Defence Force plans to get inside ‘chaotic’ Kabul
RNZ: New Zealand gives $3m in humanitarian assistance for ‘dire’ Afghanistan situation
Peter Griffin (Stuff): For refugees, Covid-19 is particularly traumatic
Housing
Rob Stock (Stuff): ‘Generation Rent’ waiting for property prices to fall, but will they?
Daniel Riordan ((NBR):): Housing market “a perfect storm”, Reserve Bank tells MPs (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Nation of debt: Housing debt jumps 19pc in just two years (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): The first home buyers – they were knocked before, will they be knocked again?
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Senior housing crisis on the horizon
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): When your neighbours-to-be roll out the ‘you’re not so welcome here’ mat
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): City of the future: Hamilton’s housing landscape mapped out
Water reforms
RNZ: Hawke’s Bay leaders write to Mahuta to rethink Three Waters model
Tim Hunter (NBR): The flaw at the heart of water reform (paywalled)
Bryan Cadogan (Stuff): Making sense of someone else’s agenda
Oranga Tamariki
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Judge in Oranga Tamariki case rebukes senior judges over intervention
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Oranga Tamariki implosion: Labour should thank their stars NZers are distracted by Lockdown
David Farrar (Kiwiblog: Serious judicial misconduct
Jimmy Ellingham (Stuff): Former youth justice worker says sit-in protest measure of last resort
Energy
Brian Easton (Pundit): Has Our Electricity System Burnt Itself Out?
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Blackouts prove need for power company split-up say minnows (paywalled)
Environment, climate change, conservation
Rod Oram (Newsroom): The climate failure of companies
Bruce Munro (ODT): Going hard and early
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Country needs freshwater protection that’s fit for purpose
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): RMA replacement draft law a ‘skeleton document with significant gaps’
Molly Houseman (ODT): Details on dumping in Clutha revealed
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Landfill contamination fears at lagoon’s edge
Marty Verry (Herald): Building green – Stuart Nash on right side of climate history (paywalled)
Primary industries
Craig Hickman (Stuff): Should people really be thanking farmers for their morning latte?
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Southern say: Another battle about land ahead
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Groundswell NZ hold ‘Can You Hear Us?’ protest during lockdown
ODT: Lone protest not anti-vaccination, lockdown or masks
Sally Rae (ODT): The hills are alive…
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Primary producers charter ships to beat global ports logjam
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Construction of Waimea dam to restart during lockdown
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): Level 4 lockdown in the middle of calving ‘not ideal’
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Vegan cheese: The Holy Grail of plant-based dairy products. Have local makers cracked it?
Other
Jane Clifton (Listener/Herald): Government move to tackle anti-competitive business just got massive boost (paywalled)
Ben Doherty (Guardian): The Tampa affair, 20 years on: the ship that capsized Australia’s refugee policy
Russell Brown (Herald): When Nobody Was Looking, Dr Oliver Sutherland – anti-racism campaigner (paywalled)
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): ACC rules have ‘failed’ grieving families of suicide victims since 2010
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): Māori King’s commemoration: Koroneihana 2021 moved online
John Anthony (Stuff):Government mulls regulation that could make buy now pay later transactions more expensive
Mark Fowler (Herald): Bank economists continue to ‘lean’ on the RBNZ (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Herald): Islamic State terror suspect Suhayra Aden arrives in New Zealand
Herald: ‘Isis bride’ Suhayra Aden arrives in New Zealand; PM Jacinda Ardern says public safety ‘an absolute priority’
Ben Strang (RNZ): $180k Clean Car Discount ads a waste of money – Taxpayers’ Union
RNZ: Fiji university threat draws ire in New Zealand
Tim Newman (Stuff): Springbok Tour ‘a watershed moment’ for Nelsonians on both sides of the divide
Khylee Quince (Stuff): School sanctions should be proportionate to harm done
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland business associations pen open letter to PM demanding urgent action on crime
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Mid Canty rugby boss warns about helping pay for Christchurch stadium
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): Think we have a lot of speed cameras? Think again
Helen Harvey (Stuff): That relaxing glass of wine as you get your hair done – could cost your hairdresser or barber a fine of up to $40,000
Tom Dillane (Herald): Auckland Film Studios rebuild being ‘reviewed’ (paywalled)
Herald (Herald): DOC’s Aoraki/Mount Cook rescue base hit by ransomware attack
