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
Elimination strategy
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Time to eliminate elimination?
David Williams (Newsroom): Opening up: Should NZ break with Australia?
Eva Corlett (Guardian): ‘Big questions’: New Zealand Covid minister raises doubts about elimination strategy
Zoe Holland (Herald): Jacinda Ardern stands by elimination strategy
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Ardern will rue the day she dug her toes on Covid elimination
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Delta highlights why loosening borders can’t work now
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): A response to ‘an isolated dystopia’: New Zealand’s successful pursuit of Covid elimination
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We must change the way we talk about Covid-19
Herald: ‘Fortress NZ strategy crumbling’ – World reacts to latest lockdown move
William Hewett (Newshub): World reacts to New Zealand’s lockdown move nearly one week on
Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – The Government’s Covid preparedness under scrutiny
Zane Small (Newshub): Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet seeks senior analyst to help curb spread of COVID-19 ‘disinformation’
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Exclusive poll: Only one in four wants trans-Tasman bubble reopened this year
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern needs more visibility on blind spot before any move out of level 4 (paywalled)
RNZ: PM Jacinda Ardern: Covid-19 case numbers haven’t yet peaked
Herald Editorial: An unofficial review of where we’re at (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: Longer in lockdown, with plenty of work to do
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Keith Lynch (Stuff): Explaining the variable that has a Covid-19 modeller most worried
Michael Neilson (Herald): Cases could reach 200 to 1000, expert Shaun Hendy expects Auckland in lockdown for weeks
Hannah Kronast and Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Disease modelling expert Shaun Hendy warns NZ outbreak could grow to 1000 cases
RNZ: Lockdown should impact on Covid-19 numbers by end of week – Modeller
Geraden Cann (Stuff): High vaccine rates not enough to end lockdowns, expert says
Marine Lourens (Stuff): Cautious approach the right one, say experts
MIQ, border, immigration
RNZ: Covid-19 numbers reassuring, but city hotels for MIQ not appropriate – Professor Nick Wilson
1 News: Dr Siouxsie Wiles expresses concern over Crowne Plaza public thoroughfare
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Public walks right into Crowne Plaza mess
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Narrowing in on the Delta outbreak
Tom McRae (Newshub): Mystery of Crowne Plaza continues as investigators try find source of Delta outbreak
1 News: Pair linked to Auckland MIQ facility who need Covid tests remain unaccounted for
Herald: MIQ temporarily paused
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Managed isolation bookings paused amid virus outbreak, no rooms available
Parliament suspended
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Time for government-dominated select committees to step up
Richard Harman (Politik): Governing without Parliament (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Parliament arrangements a test for Labour backbenchers
Newstalk ZB: David Seymour: Suspending Parliament; select committees ‘notorious’ for obstructing questions
Newstalk ZB: Constitutional lawyer: Parliament should be moved online, not suspended
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern opts to suspend Parliament sittings for a week
RNZ: Parliament suspended for a week – PM Ardern
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Opposition parties want Parliament to resume
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Ardern suspends the House
Contact tracing, locations of interest, testing
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Slow saliva testing roll-out hurting New Zealand’s ability to get on top of outbreak: Scientist
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): The tricky legal grey areas around mandatory masking up and scanning in
Newstalk ZB: ACT proposes $5 million fund for cash prizes to encourage using Covid app
Newstalk ZB: Legal expert: Making scanning mandatory instead of using police might be enough
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Over 50pc of outbreak cases Pasifika, church event ‘could become biggest cluster’
Mariner Fagaiava-Muller (RNZ): Over 50 percent of outbreak cases are Pasifika
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): Auckland’s Pasifika urged to get tested as church cluster set to grow
RNZ: Delta outbreak investigations done by physicians throughout NZ – Verrall
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Labs under pressure to build up workforce without migrant labour
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Contact tracing staff urgently recruited to meet demand
Bridie Witton (Stuff): New locations added every two hours as contact tracing runs at capacity
Laura James (1 News): Nursing students stepping up to become Covid testers
Newstalk ZB: Research scientist: Adoption of saliva testing is frustratingly slow
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): University students being recruited as Covid-19 testers amid staff shortage
Herald: Glitch in Govt’s Covid-19 database sees delays at testing sites for up to two hours
Megan Wilson (Bay of Plenty Times): Why there are no confirmed cases in the Coromandel (paywalled)
Vaccine rollout
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Property rights trumped pleas from the poor for cheap vaccines (paywalled)
RNZ: Auckland still needs Covid-19 vaccination priority – Phil Goff
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins sets vaccination target to avoid lockdowns
Matt Cowley (Bay of Plenty Times): Covid-19 vaccines should be part of your business plan (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Does immunity from Pfizer vaccine wane, and should MIQ workers get booster shots now?
D’Angelo Martin (Newshub): Virologist encourages more Māori to get vaccine given higher likelihood of death compared to Pākehā
Waatea News: Advocates shifting mood on Maori vaccine plans
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Renewed calls for Māori, Pasifika to be front of vaccination queue
Tim Newman (Stuff): Nelson on track to hit 10,000 vaccination target at new centre
Health
1 News: Doctor on Covid frontline sleeping on boat to keep family safe
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Nurses feel unsafe after government exemption around close contacts
Māori TV: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Te Tai Hauāuru health providers are being kept in the dark
1 News: Frontline healthcare workers’ vehicles stolen from Auckland hospitals
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Cyber attack continues to cause delays in Waikato DHB
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporter): Gisborne Hospital all set despite respiratory specialist stranded in Queenstown
Emma Russell (Herald): Cancer experts on extended lockdown
Frances Chin (Stuff): Daffodil Day street appeal cancelled for the first time in almost 60 years
Lockdown compliance, enforcement
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Police issue 328 infringement notices for failing to stay home
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Police slam ‘ignorant behaviours’ during Covid-19 lockdown
RNZ: Police ‘pleased’ with lockdown compliance despite continued breaches
Denise Piper (Stuff): Iwi ‘sitting on our hands’ as Northland checkpoints not allowed to run
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Lockdown spitter arrested again, for coughing
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Alleged supermarket spitter claims he ‘spat at the ground’, not at security guard
Belinda Feek (Herald): Fisherman caught fishing on rocks at Muriwai
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Seven men charged over Wānaka lockdown jet boating
Devon Bolger (Herald): Charges laid against jet boaters near Wānaka
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Surfers flouting lockdown rules turned back at Remutakas
Andy Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Kāwhia shelves hospitality during Covid-19 outbreak
RNZ: Protesters’ campsite at Pūtiki Bay taken down by police
Tamati Tiananga (Māori TV): Pūtiki protesters decamp as police check Alert Level 4 ‘breach’
Northland Age: Far North holiday parks quiet despite reports of people heading north
Northland Age: Fatal crash in Far North triggers reminder from Northland police
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Bust enhancers among ‘essential’ items sold online during level 4 lockdown
Lockdown
RNZ: Covid-19 lockdown day 6: How it unfolded
RNZ: Aucklanders react to the lockdown extension
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Mixed reaction to alert level 4 decision in the South Island
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): The trials of an ordinary Kiwi bloke under lockdown
Eva Corlett (Guardian): ‘Spread your legs’: New Zealand makes hay with Covid minister’s gaffe
Herald: ‘Spread your legs’ Chris Hipkins’ merchandise on sale after slip-up
Kevin Page (Herald): Supermarkets a hotbed for silly stuff (paywalled)
Kim Knight (Herald): On week one – leg spreading, lobster and level 4
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Social media reacts: Kiwis lose it after Chris Hipkins says it can be difficult to ‘spread’ legs in lockdown
RNZ: Daily cheer: Social media content from lockdown day 5
Dubby Henry (Herald): No rent rise freezes, mortgage deferrals ‘at this stage’
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Lockdown sees Taranaki council suspend late rate penalties
Fiona Connor (Newshub): ‘We are human too’: Homeless man sleeping in a park during lockdown pleas not to be treated ‘like an animal’
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Pensioners stranded in Wānaka still unsure when they will get home
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington’s public transport operator no passengers will be turned away during Covid-19 alert level 4
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Coromandel community awaits day 12 tests
RNZ: Coromandel Mayor ‘cautiously optimistic’
Robin Martin (RNZ): Barriers set up in New Plymouth to discourage unnecessary travel
Employment
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Employee says his role is not essential but he still has to work
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): ‘Disappointing’ setback in couriers’ case against NZ Post
Jane Clifton (Listener): Government’s plans to ‘reset’ immigration policy missing the boat (paywalled)
Wage subsidy, business
Liam Dann (Herald): How economy will cope if we can’t eliminate Delta (paywalled)
BusinessDesk: What bank economists are saying about the lockdown (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Heated’ debate on health and economic tradeoffs on the way – economist
Luke Malpass (Stuff): While we try to get out of level 4, we have to ask: what does success really look like?
Newstalk ZB: Winston Peters: We cannot afford to be left behind
John Anthony (Stuff): Businesses want to know what conditions must be met for alert level change
John Weekes (Herald): Erratic hits to Auckland city will take time to recover from, business group says
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Businesses buckling up for another week of level 4 lockdown
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Lockdown and MIQ criticised for putting future of export manufacturers at risk
Liz McDonald Charlie Gates and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Calls for clarity on what happens after lockdown extension
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Businesses confused by ‘grey areas’ of new Covid-19 rules
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Festival organiser unsure about mandatory Covid-19 scanning rules
Anna Leask (Herald): Supermarket boss supports butchers opening – if ‘strategy’ is safe
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Petition calls for Govt to rethink stance on butcheries
RNZ: Meat demand: Butchers want click-and-collect as supermarkets handle supply risks
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Aussie Butcher owner helps local New World put food on shelves after it’s named a location of interest
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Freightways volumes halve under level 4 lockdown; hopes to avoid wage subsidy
Jamie Gray (Herald): What level 4 lockdown will mean for Freightways (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Food producers in South Canterbury learn new skills in level 4 lockdown
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Dairies across the country targeted by criminals during lockdown
Sahiban Hyde and Leanne Warr (Hawkes Bay Today): Racial abuse and ‘you can’t tell me what to do’ grief for Hawke’s Bay dairy workers (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Lockdown’s toll on $1.6b/week house sales market (paywalled)
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Lockdown sees Taranaki mask maker’s business go from nothing to all smiles
Media, 1pm briefing
Ryan Bridge (Magic): Don’t be fooled by the spin at 1pm
David Skipwith (Stuff): Duncan Garner quits Three over ‘brutal hours’
Newshub: The AM Show host Duncan Garner announces departure from Three
Herald: Duncan Garner quits as The AM Show host, cites ‘brutal hours’
Herald: Duncan Garner quits The AM Show: Who’s in the running to replace him
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Charlotte Bellis faces perils outside ‘enemy territory’
Education, children and Delta
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): How the Delta strain will affect Kiwi kids
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Students, teachers and parents gear up for more lockdown learning
Paul Goldsmith (Herald): Time to fix our broken education system (paywalled)
Afghanistan
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Taliban searching for people who worked for NZ, interpreter says
Meg de Ronde (Spinoff): Afghans don’t need our pity. They need us to offer them refuge
Zane Small (Newshub): Taliban heaps praise on New Zealand over $3 million humanitarian donation
1 News: Taliban thanks NZ for financial aid for Afghanistan
Matthew Tso (Stuff): New Zealander and family inside Kabul airport after five terrifying days braving Taliban and desperate crowds
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Desperate family of 16 survives 72 hours outside Kabul airport to be evacuated to NZ
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Defence Force Hercules thought to be heading to Kabul as first group of evacuees arrive in NZ
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Afghanistan evacuation: First New Zealanders rescued from Kabul arriving home today
Thomas Manch (Stuff): First evacuees from Afghanistan to reach New Zealand on Monday
RNZ: First Afghanistan evacuees to land in New Zealand
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): New Zealand citizens to arrive from Afghanistan on Monday afternoon
Chris Ford (Newsroom): When a political party split over Afghanistan
Housing
Stephen Minto (Evening Report): Housing – We can’t build our way out of this housing affordability crisis
Jade Kake (Stuff): Reserve Bank house price predictions: Have they got it right this time?
Aaron Leaman and Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Pandemic lockdown adds to emergency housing woes
Ashley Church (Herald): Will house prices go crazy again after the Delta lockdown ends?
Water reforms
Steven Walton (Stuff): ‘Serious concerns’: Canterbury councils call for pause to three waters reform
Star News: Canterbury mayors call for Three Waters reforms to pause
Nobby Clark (Stuff): Enough tiptoeing around serious Three Waters issues
Waatea News: Councils baulk at Three Waters plan
Local government
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Masterton council boss quits after controversy surrounding $30m project
Damian George (Stuff): Councillor ward seats on the line as Wellington City Council looks to establish Māori ward
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Manawatū council recommends stretching to an extra seat
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Legal concerns raised with Nelson council over library development
Stuff: Māori concerns debated in water bottling consents appeal
Todd Niall (Stuff): Taking Waikato water doesn’t mean Auckland can return to its wasteful old ways
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Where are the hard numbers on extended bus lane trial?
Environment, climate change, conservation
John Milnes (Whanganui Midweek): Time for farmer protesters to get real about climate change
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Government gives Emissions Trading Scheme a longer rein in 2022
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Green plumber’s dye in Queenstown waterway most likely a prank
Trade
RNZ: UK releases NZ free trade negotiation details as agreement nears
Richard Harman (Politik): All night talks bring British trade deal closer (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Mānuka honey dispute: What’s in a macron?
Primary industries
Keith Woodford (Interest): The price of carbon is determined by Government. There lies the risk for carbon farming
Jamie Gray (Herald): High commodity prices take the edge off high NZ farm debt (paywalled)
All Whites
Clay Wilson (RNZ): Football legend all for All Whites name conversation
Michael O’Keeffe (Newshub): All Whites GOAT Wynton Rufer rejects possible name change for national team
Phillip Rollo (Stuff): All Whites name all right with New Zealand football legend Wynton Rufer
Newstalk ZB: Former All White: Changing the name ‘total silliness’
Clay Wilson (RNZ): No more All Whites?
Reuters (Guardian): New Zealand Football diversity review could bring end to All Whites nickname
Other
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): Is Jacinda Ardern the Messiah? Or just a very crafty politician?
Simon Wilson (Herald): No kumbaya please, I’m Simon Bridges (paywalled)
Nicholas Jones (Herald): After husband died of dementia, days later Work and Income demanded money
Todd Niall (Stuff): Early end to live consultation on Auckland light rail
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Labour Must Uphold The Rule Of Law
Bonnie Sumner and Melanie Reid (Newsroom): Judge’s questioning – ‘She was in the box, just crying
ODT Editorial: Film subsidy gamble
Herald: Rugby: ‘Objectified and commercially exploited’ – Haka on borrowed time says English writer
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Islamic State-affiliate Suhayra Aden’s family moved to New Zealand after Australia refused to accept her
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Māori politicians recall the life of ‘Te Kārena’ Sir Michael Cullen
RNZ: ‘A big man with a big heart’ – staunch advocate Des Ratima dies
