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
Auckland border
Guy Williams (Mountain Scene): Aucklanders in Queenstown before Christmas?
1 News: Govt has not yet asked for advice on how to manage Auckland’s border for Christmas – Bloomfield
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): ‘No good options’: How travel across Auckland’s hard border could work
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government walks back ‘impractical’ idea of time slots for Aucklanders to leave city over Christmas
RNZ: Grant Robertson unenthused on set times for travel out of Auckland
Michael Neilson (Herald): Government backs down on Auckland time slots proposal
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Police Association says managing Auckland’s boundary over Christmas will be ‘a shambles’ for police, ‘a disaster’ waiting to happen
Lloyd Burr (Magic): When senior government ministers disagree in public, you know something’s up
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Auckland border a shemozzle
Zane Small (Newshub): National would let COVID-19 cases travel New Zealand once 85 pct of population is vaccinated
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins ridicules ‘raving mad’ idea of allocating times to leave Auckland over summer
Anna Whyte (1 News): Auckland summer travel allocation ‘the stupidest idea’ – Bishop
Govt management of Delta outbreak
RNZ: Three-quarters of 2022 could be spent at ‘red’, cases could hit 500 a day – Shaun Hendy
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Why are there barely any new Auckland locations of interest?
1 News: Bloomfield: Our advice was to keep Auckland at L3 Step 1
Brent Edwards (NBR): Crunch time looms for government’s Covid-19 response (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): David Seymour dubs Ashley Bloomfield most powerful unelected person since Governor Hobson of Queen Victoria era
Renee Liang (Herald): What freedom in Covid times looks like from where I stand
Stuff Editorial: Covid doesn’t take a holiday
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): I wouldn’t be shocked if the PM quits next year
Grant Bradley (Herald): Auckland Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood says inquiry needed to learn from mistakes (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll and Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Warning of ‘black market’ as hairdressers tempted to break rules
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Aucklanders struggling with mental health, loneliness in lockdown
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Clarke Gayford messages Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern regularly to check she’s okay amid COVID pandemic, anti-vaccine protests
Monika Barton (Newshub): Joe Rogan attacks Jacinda Ardern for shutting down COVID-19 press conference interrupted by heckler
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap: Updates and developments on 4 November
Anti-vaxxers, protests
Jessica Mutch McKay (1 News): PM sees shift after protest and hecklers
Morgan Godfery (Guardian): The 1918 influenza tore through Māori communities. Anti-vaxxers risk this again
Newstalk ZB: Sociologist: We can expect more protests
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): If Mihi Forbes can see it, why can’t Jacinda’s political minders?
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): The Prime Minister and the people
Mike Mather (Stuff): Anti-vax councillor slated by colleagues after attending anti-lockdown protest during Level 4
Home isolation
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Doctors worried about patients isolating at home after man dies
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Community leaders criticise home isolation checks after man dies alone in apartment block
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Auckland family in home isolation with Covid case say they’ve waited a week to speak with a clinician
1 News: Most self-isolating cases checked ‘daily’ via email – Bloomfield
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Covid-19 positive families waiting up to 36 hours to hear back on isolation
1 News: Apartment residents not told of isolating Covid case’s death
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Concerns in the community over management of home isolation, police say they have ‘limited powers’ to enforce compliance
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand: Covid-positive person dies alone at home during isolation
Lucy Xia and Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Auckland man’s death in home isolation not linked to vaccination, ministry confirms
1 News: Man’s death while in Covid isolation unrelated to vaccine
1 News: Man, 40, revealed as person with Covid who died isolating at home
Belinda Feek (Herald): Home-isolation death – apartment residents concerned about exposure
Vaccine mandates, certificate, incentives
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Demand at vaccine ‘exemption’ event horrifying, says host
1 News: GPs being pressured to provide vaccine exemptions – RNZCGP
Moana Ellis (Whanganui Chronicle): Prime Minister responds to Whanganui iwi concerns about vaccine mandate
Georgia O’Connor-Harding (Herald): Gloriavale Christian community faces education conundrum over anti-vaccine stance
Andrea Fox (Herald): Primary sector exporters wait to hear Government thinking on workforce vaccination mandate to preserve market access (paywalled)
Ben Strang (Stuff): Government undecided if children will need a vaccine certificate
Dubby Henry (Herald): Church staff, volunteers – exactly who is covered by the education vaccine mandate?
Amy Williams (RNZ): Churches ponder on Covid-19 vaccine certificates and balancing safety with values
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): Ethical challenges for religious leaders as they prepare to open doors
1 News: Visitors to prisons need to be vaccinated by December 9
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Bluff medical centre drops extra charge for unvaccinated patients
John Anthony (Stuff): GO Rentals offering discount for customers vaccinated against Covid-19
Vaccine rollout
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The 90 per cent vaccinated target is probably impossible. So what next?
Kate Newton and Hannah Martin (Stuff): How 90,000 overdue for their second vaccine dose could delay reaching 90 per cent target
Michael Neilson (Herald): When do Kiwis think we will hit 90% vaccination target and regain freedoms? (paywalled)
Steven Walton and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Smaller DHBs could hold South Island back from move to traffic light system
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Ministry of Health seeks extra time to release data to Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency
Keith Lynch (Stuff): How raw vaccine and case data can be (very) misleading
Liam Rātana (Spinoff): How the vaccination rollout failed to deliver for Māori
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Funding brings military-grade Whanganui Covid response
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern confident Whanganui can get to 90% vaccination rate (paywalled)
Leo Molloy (Stuff): Why vaccination is right and the anti-vaxxers are wrong: a layperson’s guide
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): ‘I’m not anti-vax, I just don’t like getting told what to do’
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Novavax applies to Medsafe for vaccine use in New Zealand
Herald: Novavax not approved for use ‘anywhere in the world at the moment’
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Government praised for third jab roll-out to immunocompromised
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Not jabs or vax, but ‘dots’ in campaign aimed at rangatahi Māori
MIQ, home quarantine, NZ border
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Some kindness, please, in the cruel MIQ system
Henry Cooke (Stuff): National pushes to end MIQ immediately, scrapping own vaccine targets
Michael Neilson (Herald): National says end MIQ now, argues risk from fully-vaccinated travellers low
RNZ: National petitions to end MIQ for vaccinated travellers
Grant Bradley (Herald): Qantas takes off to London, adds more flights (paywalled)
Melanie Earley (Stuff):MIQ escapee with virus claims he was able to ‘walk out’ of hotel
Ed Jackson (Stuff): Supercars star David Reynolds in race to make Bathurst 1000 as vaccination exemption rejected
Lane Nichols (Herald): Richlister Murray Bolton wins landmark test case against MIQ system
Cases, Demographics
1 News: Māori now largest group in NZ affected by Delta outbreak
Sam Olley (RNZ): Minister Peeni Henare checks on clinics and providers in Northland
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Pressure mounts on Kaitāia township as locals battle Delta
Cate Broughton, Jonathan Guildford and Steven Walton (Stuff): South Island likely to be virus-free, epidemiologists say
Parliament, Government, Parties
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Now is Christopher Luxon’s time to step up (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour Party leadership rules on agenda at first post-election conference
Steven Cowan (Against the Current): Labour liberals are failing all of us
Herald: ‘Sorry sunshine’: Winston Peters hits back at David Seymour on Twitter over Jacinda Ardern
Zane Small (Newshub): Women’s Liberation Aotearoa denies involvement in graffiti attack on Labour MP Ingrid Leary’s office
Michael Fallow (Stuff): Govt has Invercargill and Auckland in sync for once – Seymour
Housing
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Auckland councillor Christine Fletcher under fire for comparing Labour and National’s new housing policy to ‘gang rape’
Herald: Auckland councillor in hot water after comparing housing policy to ‘gang rape’
Liu Chen (RNZ): Auckland councillors divided over proposed housing density law
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Labour and National’s housing plans for Auckland likened to ‘Soviet-style blocks’
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Intensification of leafy suburbs opposed
Miriam Bell (Stuff): New Covid tenancy law lacks detail for landlords
David Hargreaves (Interest): House buying is not an investment choice for Kiwis – it’s a fundamental driver of life
Liam Dann (Herald): Housing market ‘boom run is over’, says John Key
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Reserve Bank’s Orr holds ‘biggest wand’ ever amid housing boom, says John Key
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Sir John Key says house prices have ‘run their race’, predicts market will slow
David Chaston (Interest): House prices are about to be beaten with four sticks
ODT Editorial: Will house prices fall?
Nicholas Plinton (RNZ): Pt England and Onehunga build-to-rent developments on the way
Foreign Affairs
Stuff: Crown defends refusing humanitarian visas to Afghans with New Zealand links fearful of Taliban
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern and Nanaia Mahuta stepped in to open NZ doors to Afghans as Taliban took Kabul
David Fisher (Herald: Revealed: Our spies and their secret operations – disrupting terror threats and rooting out foreign agents
Richard Harman (Politik): What our spies really do (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Intelligence Agencies Minister Andrew Little foreshadows announcement that will ‘test’ spy agency critics
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand to deploy aircraft to help monitor North Korea’s ballistic missile capabilities
1 News: Air force plane to help enforce sanctions on North Korea
Liam Dann (Herald): Getting Covid hasn’t stopped NZ’s top official Vangelis Vitalis (paywalled)
RNZ: New Zealand to focus on resilience in updated Pacific relationship
Lana Andelane (Newshub): How do key trading partners perceive NZ? China ‘looks up to’ us, while others see us as ‘unprepared’ – research
1 News: NZ ‘isolated, unfamiliar’ in some trade markets – study
Simon Ewing-Jarvie (Unclas): New Zealand’s Struggle for Strategic Identity
Allan Gyngell (Diplosphere): AUKUS: What’s All the Fuss About?
Michael Powles (Diplosphere): AUKUS: What’s All the Fuss About?
Environment, climate change, conservation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Shaw pushed for more ambitious Paris target
Klaus Bosselmann (Herald): COP26 has all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy (paywalled)
Robert McLachlan (The Conversation): COP26: New Zealand’s new climate pledge is a step up, but not a ‘fair share’
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): Take care of the living world
Simon Wilson (Herald): Glasgow Diary – November 5 (paywalled)
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Suddenly, the gloom at COP26 lifts
Katie Harris (Herald): Māori climate activist India Logan-Riley on what it’s like inside COP26
Bernard Hickey (Spinoff): The $100b climate elephant in the room
Bonnie Flaw (Stuff): Green Party calls on Government to ban palm oil by-products
John Bishop (Stuff): On climate change, this is a Government of wimps
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Petition calls for end to coal power in Nelson
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Timaru building ranked New Zealand’s most dangerous contaminated site
Economy, business, employment
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): John Key on the next GFC: ‘Ingredients for a very dark time’
Herald Editorial: Revenue Minister David Parker takes on 1 per cent (paywalled)
Brian Fallow (Herald): Will increased wealth rub off on spending? (paywalled)
RNZ: The Detail: Inflation – what it means; should we worry?
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Lockdown hampers retail spending in Auckland and Northland
Chris Keall (Herald): NZ tech industry enjoys record growth as pandemic plays its strengths, TIN Report finds (paywalled)
Sam Hurley (Herald): Auckland finance firm, son and mum operators appeal fines for hiding Chinese-Canadian businessman’s millions
Anne Gibson (Herald): Precinct Properties gave tenants $10m financial support in two years (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Dob yourself in, misbehaving banks and insurers told
1 News: Consumer NZ’s top tips for navigating ‘bargains’
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): New commercial property market risk as businesses quit big city centres
Grant Bradley (Herald): Taking off: Airport chief’s ‘heartbreaking’ decisions in the face of Covid 19 (paywalled)
Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): Half a million a head
Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Less than half Auckland senior high school students returned after lockdown
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): Some schools rejecting competition – the rest should too
Katie Harris (Herald): Investigation into allegations at top broadcasting school to encompass concerns from last three years
RNZ: Primary school students missing out on online learning
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Polytechnic postpones graduation, university unsure
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): ECE teachers raise voice for fairness
Guy Williams (Mountain Scene): Action demanded over children standing in bus aisles
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): White and Asian researchers to get less funding
Three Waters, local government
RNZ: Furious Ashburton councillors urge Three Waters pushback
Luisa Girao (ODT): Fears for autonomy voiced
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): Councillor faces censure for allegedly calling fellow councillor and a member of the public racists
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Double duties create priority choices for elected members
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): Rate increases forcing some Coast seniors to consider selling up – Greypower
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): More CCTV cameras to be installed in Rotorua
RNZ: Masterton youth hub on the way
Stuff: South Taranaki Council long term fund performs strongly
Matthew Ronsenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Pole sculpture consent request after 14 years
Transport
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Regional leaders team up to pressure Government for public transport funding
Bernard Orsman (Herald): ‘Bloody arrogant’: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff’s response to radical parking plans
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Automobile Association concerned by Auckland Council’s radical plan to remove parking on road
Timothy F. Welch (Newsroom): Parking kills businesses, not bikes or buses
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Reimagining Wellington: US expert Gabe Klein on how to make our cities better, faster
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Low traffic circulation plan considered for Wellington in fossil-fuel-free move
Joel MacManus and Matthew Tso (Stuff): Wellington could pedestrianise Dixon, Ghuznee streets, council report suggests
RNZ: Wellington’s Island Bay cycleway still under contention
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Narrow Wellington street causing nightmares for residents as new laws make parking almost impossible
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Children standing in aisles of overcrowded rural school buses ‘needlessly at risk’, mayor says
John Lewis (ODT): Welcoming rainbow at airport
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Dunedin Airport installs rainbow crossing in support of LGBTQI+ community
Health
Thomas Mead (1 News): Hundreds write to agency over controversial weed-killer
1 News: Kiwi company trials tech to test people’s Covid immunity
Patrick McKendry (Herald): The shocking brain-injury detail World Rugby don’t seem to grasp (paywalled)
Gregor Paul (Herald): The hidden problem in rugby’s historic concussion narrative (paywalled)
Natalie Akoorie (Local Democracy Reporting): Waikato DHB cyber attack: Out of date software used by some staff
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Consent bid going ahead
Sophie Harris (Stuff): Ongoing Covid lockdowns cause spike in demand for online mental health tools
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Permanent chlorination could be on the cards for Geraldine water supply
Danielle van Dalen (Stuff): Why everyone should be able to end their life well
Media
Stuff Editorial: To uphold democracy we must emerge from social media
Damien Venuto (Herald): Write off Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse at your peril (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Facebook scam & Stuff’s hysteria highlights Public Interest Journalism Fund failure
David Skipwith (Stuff): Duncan Garner’s new talk radio gig
Herald: Duncan Garner, Rachel Smalley to return to radio airwaves at MediaWorks
BusinessDesk: Mediaworks adds Garner, Smalley to talk radio lineup
Primary industries
RNZ: Act now to meet climate’s growing unpredictability, farmers warned
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Some farmers out of step with more stringent winter grazing rules, report says
Williams Hewett (Newshub): Whistleblowers in new dairy farming exposé ‘Milked’ receive death threats
Justice, corrections
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Oxford criminologist ‘outraged’ by NZ women’s prisons
Christine McCarthy (Newsroom): The inadequacy of prisons for women
Police, law and order
Daisy Hudson (ODT): No charges over police use of MDMA
Karl du Fresne (Stuff): The rule of law takes another hit
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Four arrested after Mongrel Mob tangi in Porirua
Other
Benedict Collins (1 News): Govt doesn’t know how many kids caught up in benefit sanctions
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Aramex offers $600 a week subsidy to courier drivers revealed to be earning less than minimum wage
Greg Ninness (Interest): Are mortgage top ups the Reserve Bank’s dirty little secret?
Susanna Trnka and Luca Muir (The Conversation): A new ministry sets out to improve services and accessibility for New Zealanders living with disabilities
Lisa Davies (1 News): Investigation into abuse of children in Catholic church care widened
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Parihaka arrests day, not fireworks fun
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Māori-owned supermarket plans unveiled
