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 management of Delta outbreak
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Ministry of Health apologises to Newshub for 17-month delay over OIA request, failure to comply with law
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘It might spike in multiple places’ – Andrew Little on the challenges of nationwide Covid
Jane Patterson and Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Warning bells from health experts, National Party over health system’s ability to cope with more Covid-19 cases
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1 News): Māori leaders want urgent inquiry into Govt’s pandemic response
RNZ: ‘There is now a clear pathway for Auckland’ – Grant Robertson
Paul Hunt (Stuff): Balancing our rights and responsibilities
Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): MoH and Testing
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap for 18 November: Changes to wage subsidy, fears over Auckland border reopening
Auckland border decision, move to traffic light system
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Hone Harawira calls for ‘hard border’ to protect Northland as region battles to boost vaccination rates, slams spot-checks as ‘pointless’
Nikki Preston (Herald): Doctor issues sobering vaccination warning to Northlanders
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Māori running out of time, health workers’ fear the worst as open borders loom
RNZ: Checkpoint: ‘Send body bags’ – Northland iwi collective warns over reopening
No Right Turn: How does Labour expect to get away with this?
1 News: ‘Simply not viable’ to keep Auckland boundary up – Wood
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Shane Jones says Northland is never getting to 90 per cent, border needs to open
RNZ: Motorists leaving Auckland should expect spot checks ‘anytime, anywhere’ – police commissioner
Zane Small (Newshub): Greens co-leader Marama Davidson fears COVID-19 vaccine pass spot checks will target Māori
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Race to vaccinate Te Tairāwhiti as Covid-19 spreads
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): I don’t think you need to worry terribly about the traffic light system this summer
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): The Government is pandering to the minority
Katie Bradford (1 News): Auckland hairdressers, beauty therapists may open next week
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Waiheke local board keen to reopen island to visitors under traffic light system
Jared McCulloch (1 News): Queenstown ready and waiting for influx of Auckland visitors
Vaccine rollout
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Little concerned over delays in release of Māori vaccination data
Michael Neilson (Herald): Race on to boost Māori vaccination rates ahead of Auckland reopening
Claire Trevett (Herald): AstraZeneca second vax option arrives in NZ as Chris Hipkins says spread of Delta will only speed up when Auckland reopens
1 News: AstraZeneca Covid vaccine shipment arrives in NZ
1 News: Wairarapa reaches 90% first dose milestone
Joanne Naish and Steven Walton (Stuff): Gloriavale’s area shows biggest jump in vaccination rates in the country
Nadine Porter and Steven Walton (Stuff): Pockets of rural North Canterbury still lagging in vaccination rates
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Taranaki Māori targetting 95 per cent vaccination rate in wake of Auckland border decision
Delilah Whaitiri (Herald): Māori vaccination rate in Lakes DHB jumps after Covid case announced
Adam Pearse (Herald): Gang to vaccinate whānau as Covid hits
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): How to ask those tricky Covid questions this summer
Vaccine passport, mandatory vaccination
1 News: Andrew Coster supports vaccine mandate for police
Lloyd Burr (Magic): The double standards of unvaccinated police checking vaccine passports
George Block (Stuff): Vaccinated prisoners to have no choice if bunked with unvaxxed inmates
James Halpin (Stuff): Fake vaccine card a ‘cynical scam’, Ministry of Health says
Chris Keall (Herald): Govt blames cyber defences gone haywire for Vaccine Pass problems
Ben Strang (Stuff): Overseas vaccination now accepted for NZ Covid record, take two weeks to process
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Immigrants face vaccine pass roadblocks
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): How much freedom does the vaccine pass really give us?
John Weekes (Herald): 31 unvaccinated Oranga Tamariki staff on paid special leave
Logan Savory and Laura Hooper (Stuff): Vaccination certificate policing has potential to be ‘absolute disaster’
Nathan Morton (Stuff): Wedding venues ‘in tough position’ as couples cancel over vaccine rules
Vaccine Mandate – education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Allowing unvaccinated parents into school events, classes ‘ridiculous’
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Waikato University staff and students must be vaccinated from 2022
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Support for vaccine mandates on Victoria University campus, survey shows
Gianina Schwanecke (Herald): Teacher aide for boy with learning difficulties among seven barred from school (paywalled)
Vaccine Mandate – health workforce
Kim Moodie (RNZ): Vaccine mandate: ‘Incredible pressure’ on remaining hospital staff
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): 17 Hawke’s Bay nurses stood down over vaccine, patient care ‘won’t be compromised’ (paywalled)
Imran Ali (Northern Advocate/Herald): Vaccine mandate means more than 100 Northland District Health Board staff stood down (paywalled)
Carly Gooch (Stuff): ‘No immediate effect’ on service as 110 stood down at DHB
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Seven SCDHB staff stood down over vaccine mandate
Home isolation, MIQ, Border
Anne Gibson (Herald): Labour, Green MPs question apartments as managed isolation (paywalled)
Kate MacNamara (Herald): The tragicomedy of MIQ has earned a barrage of rotten fruit (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Shameful MIQ lottery must end today (paywalled)
Ian Taylor (Herald): MIQ logbook – overwhelmed ministry needs help
Katie Todd (RNZ): MIQ shuts down woman’s bid to see dying sister given ‘days, at most weeks’ to live
Olivia Caldwell (Stuff): Aucklander or Australian, it is the same virus – time to open up the border, says Queenstown mayor
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Managed isolation rooms snapped up for summer
Mat Kermeen (Stuff): New Zealand Cricket withdraw team due to MIQ concerns
Vaccine misinformation, protests, rule breaches
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): COVID disinformation and extremism are on the rise in New Zealand. What are the risks of it turning violent?
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Protesters in Gisborne force Jacinda Ardern to cancel another vaccine clinic visit, research shows incentives could be key
Anna Whyte (1 News): Jacinda Ardern met by small group of protesters in Gisborne
Katie Harris (Herald): Auckland property manager accused of breaching Covid restrictions at property viewing
Cases, demographics, Delta spreads
1 News: Two more Covid-19 deaths in Auckland
1 News: Covid case at Palmerston North cricket training
Herald: Two Covid cases in Tauranga; one in Manawatū – ‘We know there will be concern’, says PM
George Heagney and Sinead Gill (Stuff): Cases in MidCentral region double to four
Herald: Second Covid-19 case announced in Christchurch
Steven Walton, Jonathan Guildford and Hanna McCallum (Stuff): Surge in testing after announcement of new positive case in Christchurch
Northern Advocate/Herald: 167 cases, two further deaths as virus spreads to Tauranga, Palmerston North
1 News: Covid-19 cases confirmed in Tauranga
Helen Clark (Herald): Women and girls bear the brunt of the Covid 19 coronavirus pandemic (paywalled)
Housing
Zane Small (Newshub): Housing the top issue facing Kiwis despite pandemic and Labour most trusted to solve it
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Auckland’s median rent hits $600 for the first time
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Profits on selling a house ‘as good as it gets’
RNZ: House sale gains hit record high – with some areas hitting median profits of $555,000
RNZ: More people giving up on owning property, says online investment platform Sharesies
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Thousands of Kiwis give up on home ownership (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): The house price expert still stuck renting
Susan Edmunds (Stuff):‘Horse has bolted’ on interest rate bargains
Phil Pennington (RNZ): What is the price of sunlight? Householders face losing billions under intensification rules
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Housing intensification bill could result in demolition waste from thousands of houses
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Local politicians give government’s new zoning rules mixed reviews
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Neighbours complain of ‘horrendous’ behaviour from Kāinga Ora tenants, govt says evictions ‘very rare’
Lane Nichols (Herald): Kāinga Ora boss Andrew McKenzie doubles down on no evictions policy
Anne Gibson (Herald): Stalled Remuera developer on 13-apartment scheme: ‘We are two months off finishing’ (paywalled)
Three Waters, local government
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Buying Back The Whenua
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Three Waters compulsion is a breach of trust, says South Taranaki council
Cushla Norman (1 News): Tensions escalate over Wellington’s Shelly Bay development
RNZ: Police arrive at Shelly Bay site as occupiers defy eviction notice
Newstalk ZB: Wellington councillor: We want to avoid scenes similar to Bastion Point at Shelly Bay
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Former Green Party chief of staff kicks off Wellington mayoral race
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Ex-Green chief of staff Tory Whanau to run for Wellington’s mayoralty
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau running for Wellington mayor
Stuff: Wellington City Council asks organisations to support rainbow communities
Deborah Morris (Stuff): Insurance company Vero considering claim against WCC over demolished waterfront building
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Laws report complete but under wraps
Herald: Christchurch News Years Eve Party Cancelled
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Debt levels rise as TDC hammers capital works programme
Grant Miller (ODT): DCC set to hoist borrowing past $1billion mark
ODT: Environment Southland deficit lower than expected
Parliament, parties
Brent Edwards (NBR): MMP: not as bad as critics feared, nor as good as advocates hoped (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Tensions high in Parliament: National MP Louise Upston accuses Labour of ‘interfering’ in outcome of vote
John Bishop (Stuff): Is Ardern abdicating the leadership?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): W R Peters extends NZ First loans into election year
Lloyd Burr (Magic): Bring Back Winston
Herald: Sex with strangers? Jacinda Ardern responds to X-rated traffic light system query
Justice, Police
ODT Editorial: Legal Aid’s shortcomings no secret
Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): No warning of rapist’s release for victim because she didn’t fill out a form
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Police unlawfully intercepted street racer chat on password-protected app, IPCA says
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Police too busy to attend half of mental health callouts
Economy, business, wage subsidy
Kethaki Masilamani (Newshub): Businesses calling on Government to set date country will move into traffic light system
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland hospitality ‘very close’ to reopening, deputy PM says
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Grant Robertson visits Auckland, meets with hospitality businesses
RNZ: Inflation expected to average at 3.7 percent over next year
Benje Patterson (Interest): Don’t downplay the inflation boogeyman
David Hargreaves (Interest): Influential survey shows expectations of future inflation soaring to 10-year high
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We need to keep an eye on the handling of the economy
Herald Editorial: Brace yourself, interest rate rises just getting started (paywalled)
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Consumer credit card spending up but still below pre-Delta level, Kiwibank reports
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): In-store retail spending up in Auckland, but shops ‘aren’t out of the woods yet’
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Positive signs in latest Timaru economic survey
Grant Bradley (Herald): Why Boeing thinks aviation’s recovery is different this time (paywalled)
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Woman urges Air NZ to refund flights when children too young to vaccinate
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Frustrated at lack of official guidance on lease changes, Property Council ‘fills the void’
Employment, migrant workers
Chris Keall (Herald): Unions accuse Uber NZ of avoiding $13m in tax
RNZ: The Detail: The life of a foreign seasonal worker
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): ‘Mentally exhausting’ for people on the spectrum to work in lockdown
Kaisa Wilson (Stuff): The gender pay gap means another year of women working for free
Pike River
Samantha Gee (RNZ): West Coast reacts to Pike River bodies find: ‘It’s very hard for our community at the moment to take it in’
1 News: Pike River families feel ‘vindicated’ after remains found
Joanne Naish (Stuff): Human remains, destruction seen on ‘crystal clear’ images from Pike River boreholes
Philip Matthews (Stuff): New shocks after 11 years
Environment, climate change, conservation
Brian Fallow (Herald): Words can’t hide climate failure (paywalled)
Geoffrey Palmer (Stuff): Climate change will charge on without a new approach
Richard Harman (Politik): Another climate change target in doubt (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Motor industry and Tesla fight it out over clean car standards, ute tax to combat climate change
David Williams (Newsroom): Fix for 120-year anomaly heads to court
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ scientists exploring gene-editing tech for possum eradication
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Kiwi researchers investigating if gene editing could eradicate possums from New Zealand
Primary industries
William Hewett (Newshub): ACT demands apology from Stuart Nash for suggesting Groundswell full of racists, anti-vaxxers
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Nash says Groundswell stands for ‘racist, anti-vax’ sentiment
Maddisyn Jeffares (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Hawke’s Bay’s largest cattle export shipment: 14,000 animals off to China
RNZ: New hemp processing plant in Levin to cut costs for NZ producers
Health
Stuff: Health advocates send minister outsized open letter to encourage action on smokefree plan
Magic: ‘Not doing his job’: Ashley Bloomfield blamed for NZ’s escalating mental health crisis
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Dip in cancer diagnoses during lockdown appears to have ‘resolved’
Gerhard Uys (Stuff): Rural hospitals brace for potential influx of Covid-19 patients
Liz Fitzmaurice (Stuff): Covid-19 fears cut cancer patient’s 30 year GP career short
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Workaround plans for delayed ICU
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Wellington nurse claims parking contractors are intimidating staff
Media
Hal Crawford (Spinoff): RIP centrism: Why Stuff is gradually moving left while the Herald inches right
Katie Harris, Rosie Gordon (Herald): In the Loop: Top journalists and TV star on changing attitudes towards the media in New Zealand
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): MediaRoom: NZME in money, BusinessDesk speed-dating
Steven Cowan (Against the current): RNZ: Tuning out of identity politics
Damien Venuto (Herald): The two things TVNZ and Discovery have in common (paywalled)
Education
Lee Kenny (Stuff): ‘It’s a disgrace’: PhD students struggling on less than minimum wage
Dubby Henry (Herald): Te Aroha College apologises to staff over rumours, Worksafe issues improvement notice
Transport
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Helen Clark Foundation joins calls to make public transport free for low-income groups, under-25s to increase equity and reduce emissions
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Cross Valley Link could be a decade away – buses, walking, cycling get priority
Foreign affairs and trade
Robert G Patman (Newsroom): Covid-19 and a new world order
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Whanganui awa exhibition takes centre stage at Dubai Expo
Other
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): A classless society? Don’t make me laugh
Alison Brook (Interest): COVID has made income inequality worse, and maybe wealth concentration is as high now as in 1905
Thomas Manch (Stuff): GCSB decides it no longer needs warrants to access Five Eyes intelligence
Matt Burgess (Herald): New Zealand’s public service is in decline (paywalled)
1 News: Afghan guards threatened by Taliban plead NZ Govt for visas
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): #taxmegachurches? It’s not that simple
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Weighing up fire response
RNZ: Electrical fault on power pole caused devastating Lake Ōhau fire, report finds
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): Our overreliance on Big Tech is a national security threat (paywalled)
Denise Piper (Stuff): Opening of Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangārei delayed by two months
RNZ: Tui Oil Field decommissioning contract awarded
