Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here.
Today’s content
Govt ends elimination strategy
Lew Stoddart (Guardian): How New Zealand snookered itself by calling time on its Covid elimination strategy
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Will Jacinda Stand? Or, Has She Already Fallen?
Derek Cheng (Herald): It looks like Jacinda Ardern has waved the white flag to Delta – but she hasn’t (paywalled)
Kristin Hall (1 News): NZ could see Covid resurgence similar to Singapore, experts warn
Lara Greaves (Spinoff): Māori experts have been all but invisible in the government Covid-19 response. Why?
Nadine Porter, Cate Broughton and Joanne Naish (Stuff): Vaccinations critical as virus spreading south becomes ‘inevitable’, say experts
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Experts respond to Auckland’s new rules with concern, confusion
Judith Collins (Herald): Can the Government just do its job? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Restrictions must lift by Christmas for weary Auckland: Judith Collins
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Experts divided on likelihood of Christmas travel to and from Auckland
Kate Newton (Stuff): Five things to expect between now and Christmas, as our coronavirus strategy changes
Mike Hosking (Herald): While we did our job, the Govt has failed (paywalled)
Outbreaks in gangs
Belinda Feek, Jared Savage and Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Hamilton index case has gang connections and long history, say sources
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): COVID-19 sweeps through New Zealand’s underground with gangs at heart of Waikato Delta outbreak
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Gang members in Waikato Covid-19 outbreak
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): PM Jacinda Ardern defends head of Waikato Mongrel Mob Sonny Fatupaito being given essential worker exemption to travel to Auckland
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Gangs aren’t hard to reach, just try buying drugs from them – Judith Collins
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Chris Hipkins says he has no sympathy for gang members, defends border exemption for Mongrel Mob boss
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Gangs are not the real problem with border exemptions
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand Mongrel Mob leader given essential worker exemption to help boost Covid tests
Laura Walters (Stuff): Gang vaccine plan working to overcome long-standing mistrust
Jason Walls (Herald): Government granted Mongrel Mob life member Harry Tam essential workers exemption
1 News: Gang boss given exemption to cross Auckland border
Waikato, King Country cases
Belinda Feek (Herald): Mayor calls for North Island lockdown – says it’s too hard to contain in Waikato
1 News: Calls for Level 3 for North Island after Covid cases emerge outside Waikato boundary
Herald: Mayor sent ‘vitriol and horrific’ emails after comments around North Island lockdown
Michael Neilson (Herald): Calls for more restrictions as cases march through Waikato
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Hipkins explains why Waikato boundary hasn’t been extended despite Kāwhia, Karāpiro cases
Chris Marshall (Stuff): Waikato Covid outbreak: forget border extensions focus on vaccination
RNZ: ‘It becomes very real when it arrives in your community’ – Ōtorohanga mayor
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Cases in Kāwhia, Karāpiro ‘concerning but not surprising’, lockdown border extension likely needed – expert
Vaccine certificate, mandatory vaccination
Mike Lee (Newsroom): My body, my choice? Not this time
RNZ: Covid-19 vaccine certificates: How they might work and what questions remain
1 News: Hipkins: Govt ‘working through’ complex vaccine certificate system
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Real Me outages due to high traffic on vax certificate website
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Hard to make vaccine certificates completely ‘fraud-proof’, but extra ID checks will help
1 News: NZ should have had vaccine certificate ‘a long time ago’
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Government needs to take the lead and make vaccine passports mandatory, say business groups (paywalled)
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Tourism operators call for mandatory vaccine certificates
RNZ: National Party leader Judith Collins criticises vaccine certificates and mandates
Mike Yardley (Newstalk ZB): Vaccine certificates present a fork in the road
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Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Airlines are right to keep anti-vaxxers grounded
Liu Chen (RNZ): Debate over mandatory teacher vaccination continues ahead of government decision
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Teachers likely to face vaccination mandate as New Zealand’s jab drive heats up
1 News: Teachers urged to get jab as Govt mulls mandatory vaccination
Sue Cherrington (Newsroom): ECE teachers essential workers in all but name
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Selwyn College to mandate vaccinations
Māori TV: ‘No vax no vines’– Rhythm and Vines founder
Vaccine rollout, procurement
RNZ: Checkpoint: Covid vaccinations: ‘We must leave no-one behind’ – leading immunologist
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Effective vaccination campaigns must include Māori and Pacific leaders – immunologist
Paul Catmur (Herald): Vaccine race – how did Ireland get to 90% so fast?
Anna Whyte (1 News): Vaccine dose gap recommendation changed to three weeks
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Shortening vaccine dose gap to combat Delta ‘pragmatic’, expert says
Zane Small (Newshub): Government declares October 16 ‘National Day of Action’ to drive up COVID-19 vaccination rates
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Nationwide ‘vaccination day’ push announced for October 16
RNZ: Labour, National in agreement over need to increase Māori Covid-19 vaccination rate
Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Judith Collins’s KFC sales pitch to vaccine hesitant and Government’s ‘on the fly’ rules for Auckland
1 News: Marama Davidson drops ‘judgy aunty’ vibe to sway nieces to get Covid jabs
1 News: ‘Multiple levels of injustice’ contributing to low Māori vaccination rates
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): John Tamihere threatens court over Māori vaccination data
RNZ: Vaccine opposition in Te Tai Tokerau driven by misinformation – DHB head
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Boosting Māori vaccination rates
Herald Editorial: How to overcome Covid vaccine hesitancy (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): ‘Aunties power’: Māori Women’s Welfare League removing barriers to get Waitara vaccinated
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Close to 6000 Pasifika vaccinated at ‘Rally your Village’ event
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): South Auckland Pasifika vaccine event gives 7000 doses in six days
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Chinese Kiwis have lowest vaccination rates in over-65 age group
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Auckland vaccine centre pulls an all-nighter to reach shift workers, night owls
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Māori tell associate health minister Peeni Henare how the vaccine roll out is working in Taranaki
Anne Gibson (Herald): Vaccinated apartment buyers offered $10,000 discount on new units (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Dunedin topples Kaikōura as vaccination Top Town
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Charting New Zealand’s vaccine rollout
Herald: Seven Sharp host Hilary Barry hits back at anti-vaxxer trolls
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Peter Dunne: When you go into war you use all the troops and resources at your disposal, not just those you like
Zane Small (Newshub): Winston Peters lashes out as COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins denies putting off Pfizer meeting in 2020
Brooke Hunter (1 News): Government criticised after Pfizer left waiting weeks over vaccine meeting
RNZ: National questions delay over government Pfizer meeting
Man dies of Covid, cases, demographics
Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Never easy to say goodbye’ – Friend of latest Covid death describes ‘loving’ man
RNZ: Covid-19 death man in his 50s who died at Middlemore Hospital
RNZ: Wife of man who died of Covid-19 also battling virus in hospital
Rawiri Taonui (Māori TV): Case surge for Māori as government dumps restrictions
Denise Piper (Stuff): Possible Delta case being investigated in Whangārei
Māori TV: Weak positive Covid case in Whangārei but may be a false positive
Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teachers feeling anxious about return to school: ‘It is far too soon’
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Auckland parents left disappointed after early childhood spots filled up
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Lincoln Uni aiming for 40 per cent more students in five years, says new VC
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Dilworth School’s former chaplain admits to indecently assaulting boys in his care
Alert level rules, compliance, enforcement
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Churches supporting anti-lockdown rally took more than $1.2m from Government’s wage subsidy scheme
George Block (Stuff): Travel breach accused is Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal member
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Checkpoint: Waiheke, Aotea restricted to residents only in new level 3 rules
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Whāngai not considered ‘parenting agreement’, mother turned back from Auckland border
Claire Trevett (Herald): Welcome to the Hotel Auckland Delta outbreak: you can check out but you just can’t pee (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Newshb): Using the loo just one of the COVID-19 rules causing confusion as Auckland enjoys taste of freedom
Herald: Outdoor gatherings back on, but confusion remains as rules changed overnight
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Waiheke Island remains off limits to Aucklanders but islanders can travel to the city
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Confusion over toilet rule after Deputy PM Grant Robertson contradicts Government advice on outdoor gatherings
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Clover Park resident says lockdown breaches are ‘out of control’
RNZ: Second person charged following anti-lockdown protest
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Second arrest over Auckland anti-lockdown protest
1 News: Boatie caught trying to flee Auckland’s water boundary
Herald: Canterbury universities’ Tea and Garden parties cancelled
Testing
RNZ: New Covid-19 testing regime to be announced today
RNZ: Coalition of 25 companies want to import 370,000 rapid antigen tests – but need permission
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Corporates want 370k rapid tests in NZ by next week (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Businesses urge Government to let them bring in rapid test kits
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Call to allow rapid antigen tests
Border, MIQ
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Investigation reveals major missteps by Ministry of Health regarding COVID-riddled foreign ship docked in NZ
Benedict Collins (1 News): Interislander crew returned from Sydney with cold-like symptoms, didn’t isolate
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): MIQ’s ‘bureaucratic madness’ puts Southland mums at risk
Herald: Police called in after Jet Park quarantine rooms allegedly trashed by gang members
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Where are they from? The people lucky enough to win MIQ slots
Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom survey
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Top issues facing the nation — CEOs have the final word (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Honeymoon is over – Business leaders rate Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Go easy on spending, Grant (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: How effective is the Recovery Fund? (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Inflation ‘beast’ on the loose (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Labour’s stars take a tumble (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Judith Collins has ‘lost sight’ of issues (paywalled)
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: How the minor party leaders rateds (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Act leader David Seymour rises to the challenge (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Housing needs an urgent fix (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘Less spectacular’ forecast for housing market
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Wealth inequality – ‘Utterly inexcusable’ (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Why a tax on wealth is not seen as the answer (paywalled)
Thomas Pippos (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Thomas Pippos – Letting the sleeping tax dogs lie
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: A pathway full of potholes (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘We need to set a date for border re-opening’
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Border restrictions are ‘a mixed blessing’ (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Business confidence on the rebound (paywalled)
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Wage and salary packages set to rise (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: CEO plea – ‘Open border so we can source staff’ (paywalled)
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: An issue that’s not going to go away (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Growing pains with labour shortages
Bill Bennett (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Skills shortages, closed borders front of mind
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Offshore recruiters raise the bar (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Covid blows NZ into rocky waters
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Technology — a godsend under Covid (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: A Covid caveat for business (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Was printing money the right option? (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Fixing supply chain headaches (paywalled)
Andrea Fox (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Port navigates the Covid storm
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘The only certain thing is uncertainty’
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Why methane emissions are a touchy subject (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘We need to be one step ahead of the rest’
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Renewables offer a cheaper solution (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Genesis Energy calls for a national energy strategy
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Tribute: Michael Cullen KNZM (1945-2021) (paywalled)
Business, economy, employment, wage subsidy
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Why lifting interest rates now was a bad idea (paywalled)
1 News: Reserve Bank could have waited to raise OCR – commentator
David Hargreaves (Interest): Has the RBNZ adequately factored-in the community Covid factor?
Liam Dann (Herald): Why the OCR had to rise, despite the lockdown pain (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): OCR rise: Brace for more – CoreLogic forecasts 4.5% by 2023 (paywalled)
RNZ: Reserve Bank announces first cash rate rise in seven years
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ANZ and Kiwibank raise mortgage rates after Reserve Bank hikes OCR to 0.5%
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Reserve Bank lifts Official Cash Rate for first time in 7 years to 0.50% as widely expected
Diana Clement (OneRoof):OCR hike: It’s about to get harder to borrow
Reuters (Guardian): New Zealand raises interest rates for the first time in seven years
Michael Neilson (Herald): Flexi-wage jobs scheme off-track as benefit numbers rise – National
Charlie Gates and Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Confusion over new Covid rules for events led to needless cancellations
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Singer-songwriter Theia says music festival season relies on vaccinations
1 News: Govt provides $5.3m funding to Auckland sport orgs hit by lockdown
Anne Gibson (Herald): Covid hits charities hard: arts, culture and heritage suffers the most – JBWere report
Jake McKee (RNZ): Three months before Christmas, companies plan early for freight delays, higher costs
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Tenant support ramps up to $650m (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Dunedin city business still languishing
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Precinct boss warns commercial lease changes will mean less support for small retailers (paywalled)
Electoral law review, Parliament
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – Will electoral and political finance law reform succeed this time around?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Push for more than piecemeal electoral reform may struggle
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National could gain from gang, economy focus, as politics only ‘normal’-looking return (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): How the Greens can get some actual power (paywalled)
1 News: MPs returning to Parliament from Auckland, Waikato must self-isolate
Claire Trevett (Herald): Auckland MPs allowed back to Parliament – but only after self-isolation in Wellington
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Auckland MPs can return to Parliament – after five days self-isolation in Wellington
Water reforms, Local government
RNZ: Northland Mayors jointly call for three waters pause
Emily Ireland (RNZ): Wairarapa councils ready for water standards to change
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Palmerston North will continue to elect mayor and 15 councillors
Environment, climate change, conservation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Just half of govt vehicles to decarbonise by 2025
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Not keeping their promises
Reuters (Newshub): Carbon offsets slammed as ‘pure greenwash’, Greenpeace calls for them to be scrapped
Cathy Quinn (Herald): Balance is key to fraught climate-change debate (paywalled)
Mike Yardley (Newstalk ZB): Blame Auckland Council for Christchurch’s self-declared climate emergency
David Williams (Newsroom): Soupy water flows into dolphin habitat
Morgane Solignac and Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Government funds more than 100 conservation jobs in top of the south
Jacqui Dean (Stuff): Opaque reporting raises questions about Jobs for Nature
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Pāua harvesting returns to Kaikōura
Health
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): ICU plan for ‘endemic’ Covid-19 won’t work due to staff shortages, expert says
Zoe Holland and Demelza Jackson (Herald): Auckland Hospital neonatal ICU transporting expectant mothers, staff ‘contingency plans’ after Covid case
Roderick Mulgan (Stuff): Labour’s health reforms are about philosophy, not better service
Rebecca Macfie (Newsroom): Home care deal as Covid care looms
Stuff: Children are hurting as part of ‘the team of 5 million’
Arena Williams and Stuart Smith (Stuff): Every year, like clockwork, officials tell us we need to tighten up our alcohol laws
Energy
Michael Fountaine (Listener/Herald): Is it time for New Zealand to go nuclear? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Meridian warns wholesale electricity prices may stay high for ‘some time’
Housing, property investment, tenancy rules
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): The multimillion-dollar answer to Wellington City Council’s housing conundrum
Tony Alexander (OneRoof): The first signs of a big shift in Kiwi attitudes to property investment?
BusinessDesk: Rising mortgage rates aren’t weighing on housing market: survey (paywalled)
Carmen Hall (Herald): How rising building costs are hitting Bay of Plenty first-home buyers (paywalled)
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): With few roads, a new development offers cheaper Auckland housing
Mandy Te (Stuff): Iwi plans to finish development of Porirua’s newest suburb
RNZ: 10 more families to be housed
Foreign affairs, trade
Dita De Boni (NBR): NZ best to steer clear of Australian shirtfronting of China (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand warship sailing disputed South China Sea as Taiwan warns ‘we will fight to end’ if China attacks
Lucy Craymer and Ed Scragg (Stuff): NZ frigate sails with UK Carrier Strike Group through South China Sea
Herald: China and . . . ‘We’ve been a long time on the road’ (paywalled)
Mahsheed Mahjor (Stuff): Humanitarian support should not lead to recognition of the Taliban
Guy Trafford (Interest): Can Damian O’Connor get the deals long promised?
Other
Joanne Naish (Stuff): Management ‘deliberately ignored’ gas build up in Pike River mine, investigation suggests
Claire Breen, Alexander Gillespie, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki (The Conversation): Putting Aotearoa on the map: New Zealand has changed its name before, why not again?
Laura Walters (Stuff): Kiwis more vulnerable to online extremism in lockdown
Adam Hunt (Herald):Pandora Papers and the silver tongue of tax avoidance
RNZ: The Detail: The Pandora Papers reveal how the other half a percent lives
Andrew Becroft (Stuff): Repeal cruel policy of taking child support from jobless sole parents
No Right Turn: OIA: A useful ruling
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Outrage at Lorde and the Mongrel Mob shows we’re losing our ability to see two sides of an issue
Georgina Campbell (Herald): No guarantee Transmission Gully will open by Christmas
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Design work continues on Auckland bike bridge after Government scraps the project
Marjorie Cook (ODT): Tarras airport petition launched
Waatea News: New role to push Māori in public service
George Heagney (Stuff): Waitangi Tribunal process ‘healing’ for Māori
Alan Granville (Stuff): New Zealand has the world’s second most powerful passport, but is also 16th. Confused?
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Microsoft unveils Aotearoa keyboard in new Windows 1
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): From despair to joy and optimism for Ngāi Tahu
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Vet labour shortage at crisis point, recruitment agency says
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Fonterra could pay farmers a record milk price this season, Westpac says
