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Today’s content

Parliamentary Grounds occupation
Curia Market Research (The Platform): Parliamentary Protest Poll Results February 2022
Liam Hehir (Patreon): What I saw in Wellington
David Fisher (Herald): Why ignoring Parliament protesters is dangerous – and will only make it worse (paywalled)
John A.Z. Moore (Democracy Project): Liberal New Zealand versus the protesting “mob”
David Farrar: So who is at the protest and why?
Jack Tame (Herald): End Covid anti vaccine mandate protests at Parliament slowly, without violence
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The protest fiefdom that no-one wants to take responsibility for
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Public patience is wearing thin at Govt’s refusal to talk to protesters (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Prime Minister must negotiate with occupiers (paywalled)
Damien Grant (Stuff): The podium of truth has shifted and may never return
Claire Trevett (Herald): Parliament’s anti-mandate protests – just who’s in control at Parliament now? (paywalled)]
Alastair James (Against the current): Disagree if you want, but disagree with what’s actually happening
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Police seemingly cede control to protesters who are now controlling access to Parliament grounds, adding vehicles
Jo Moir (Newsroom): The political manoeuvring behind Parliament’s locked doors
Jon Johansson (Stuff): When will the Parliament protest, and mandates, end?
Jehan Casinader (Stuff): Do the protesters in Wellington even know what ‘freedom’ means?
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): No easy way out of Parliament stand off
Andrea Vance (Stuff): The Trumpism spilling out onto Parliament’s lawn is the new virus
Steven Cowan: Fear and loathing
Don Franks (Redline): Ordinary decent working people are the anti-mandate protesters
Steven Cowan: The Left continues its smear campaign against the Wellington occupation
Morgan Godfery (Stuff): The real dangers lurking in the ‘freedom convoy’ protests
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): We know how to end the protest. But what would we give up in return?
Steve Maharey (Stuff): Democracy must find a better way to function than this
Laura Walters (Stuff): Fostering inclusion means listening to protesters – human rights commissioner
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Policing ‘around the edges’ won’t end misery for those hampered by protest
Laura Walters and Anna Fifield (Stuff): Anti-mandate protests: Lessons for Wellington from Ottawa
Steven Cowan: Capital Government Relations: Defending the Labour Government
Hayden Munro (Stuff): Anti-vaccine mandate protesters’ cause being hijacked by right-wing fringe
Mandy Hager (Stuff): Protest hampered by a lack of clear leadership and purpose
Steven Joyce (Herald): Protest much bigger than the protesters (paywalled)
Tom Hunt and Laura Walters (Stuff): Distrust and freedom: Why the Parliament protesters came and stayed
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): The many laws Covid anti-mandate Parliament protesters are breaking (paywalled)
Richard Harman: No end in sight (paywalled)
Rachel Thomas, Tom Hunt, Matthew Tso and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Protest concert at Parliament causing ‘serious concerns’ for police
Michael Bassett: Circus in Wellington
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): What the police fail to understand about ‘Camp Freedom’
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Using force the last resort, NZ Police Commissioner says
Andrea Vance (Stuff): NZ’s top cop: Who is Andrew Coster, the man struggling to deal with the Parliament protests?
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): The Covid anti-mandate Parliament protest and disinformation (paywalled)
Kate Green and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Scuffles erupt as police lock off Lambton Quay from protesters
RNZ: Police and protesters face off near Parliament
Herald: Parliament protest – security surge as police vow to crack down on ‘abuse, intimidation, or violence’
1News: Arrests made as concrete barriers erected near Parliament
1News: Alternative to protest de-escalation strategy tear gas, batons – Coster
Miriam Burrell (Herald): State of emergency could bolster police power – Commissioner
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Force ‘only option’ to end Parliament Protests – Coster
Herald: Police chief Andrew Coster admits it ‘shouldn’t have got to this’
1News: Commissioner: Force to clear protest wouldn’t be acceptable to most
Ben Strang (Stuff): Who is the man leading Wellington police’s response to the protests?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Groan: In defence of the NZ Police
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Q&A Review: What sending in the cops for woke revenge will actually do
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): If we want to blame someone for the rough beast of Bethlehem on Parliament’s lawn – blame the Left!
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why the protestors are wrong and why I support Jacinda 100% over Covid
Kristin Hall (1News): ‘We want to feel safe’, say Wellingtonians who’ve been attacked by protesters
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Protest at Parliament is our latest long-running soap opera
Polly Gillespie (Stuff): Let them eat cake: How I would solve the Parliament protest
Steve Braunias (Herald): Reading between the lines – Steve Braunias translates police’s protest press release (paywalled)
Trevor Bradley, Angus Lindsay, and Elizabeth Stanley (Newsroom): We need a legitimate police service
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Protest: What is the Wellington City Council doing?
Thomas Coughlan and Georgina Campbell (Herald): Despite protest, Wellington still moving
1News: Police: Wellington protesters abusing public ‘can expect’ charges
Adam Pearse (Herald): Eye in the sky: Wellington’s anti-mandate protest from above
Denise Piper (Stuff): ‘Tell the protesters to go home’: Movements against Wellington protests fire up
Te Aorewa Rolleston (Stuff): What do you think about the Wellington protest?
Herald: Wellington protest hinders access for disability community and elderly
John Weekes and Michael Neilson (Herald): Police warn of ‘significant’ rise in protesters, as heat goes on mayor, commissioner
James Nokise (Stuff): Locals are the ones to suffer when Molesworth St is closed’
John Roughan (Herald): Protestors show there’s a limit to compliance (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Dame Tariana Turia has ‘no confidence’ in ‘socialist’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over ‘bullying’ of protesters
Kevin Norquay (Stuff): Cabinet plans to erect Parliamentary fence, as protest lingers
Mike O’Donnell (Stuff): What good is a leaderless protest?
RNZ: Waikato law professor says hate speech from protesters should not be tolerated
Cherie Howie (Herald): Law blunt but Speaker’s trespass notice to Parliament protesters likely ‘reasonable’ – law professor
Khylee Quince (Stuff): Sanitising public spaces turns ordinary social activities into petty crimes
Herald: National’s Christopher Luxon claims PM ‘missing in action’
1News: Parliament occupation Beehive’s issue to resolve – Bridges
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Simon Bridges knocks Government’s response to protest, calls for clarity around mandate end criteria
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Chris Hipkins blasts ACT leader David Seymour over call to move on from vaccine mandates
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of the Hermit Kingdom (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Protesters create ‘media liaison’, tell security to stop blocking reporters
RNZ: Mad, bad or mostly moderate? Media’s mixed message on protest
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: The protesters and the politicians
RNZ: Who’s who of Wellington leaders tell protesters to end illegal activities ‘immediately’
Brent Edwards (NBR): Wellington protests, vaccine mandates, and MIQ late bills (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): From haircuts to cryptocurrency – life on Day 13 of the protest
Herald: Musician Jason Kerrison slammed by Hilary Barry after tweet
Herald: Aucklanders heading to Wellington, Rhythm & Rights concert planned
Stuff: Protesters bathroom setup at Wellington war memorial cenotaph a ‘slap in the face’ to veterans
Joel MacManus and Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Number of protesters’ vehicles in vicinity of Parliament nearly doubles in two days
Herald: Gilda Kirkpatrick, Jason Kerrison and Russell Coutts among famous Kiwis joining the anti-mandate occupation in Wellington
Herald: Victoria University campus to be closed for month and a half due to ‘protest activity’
RNZ: University students call for protesters’ relocation
Robin Martin (RNZ): Anti-mandate councillors attend protest to ‘be part of history’
RNZ: Ngāti Toa wants end to threatening behaviour at anti-mandates protest
Michael Neilson (Herald): Protest camp swells as organisers start to set own rules
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington apartment residents feel like hostages in own homes
André Chumko (Stuff): Holocaust distortion and anti-Semitism rife within anti-mandate protests
Herald: Hundreds of anti-mandate protesters gather at University of Canterbury
Stuff: Protesters take fight against government and media to streets of Christchurch
RNZ: Parliament protesters relying on donated food
Muriel Newman (NZCPR): Parliament’s arrogance
Suzie Dawson (Daily Blog): Remembering the left
The Standard: They Are Us
Greg Presland (The Standard): Why haven’t the police acted?
Greg Presland (The Standard): Why the Wellington protestors are wrong
Darien Fenton (The Standard): We are better than this
David Farrar: Sense from Fisher
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Protest against anti-mandate occupiers called off because of disturbing threats to organiser as tension escalates at march

Covid
Ian Powell (Stuff): Health minister’s political sleight of hand obscures Omicron readiness
David Farrar: Poll results on why people got vaccinated
Herald New Zealanders divided when it comes to feelings towards Omicron response
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): One in four say NZ Covid restrictions too harsh, one in four say too weak – poll
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Why New Zealand could see a second Omicron wave
RNZ: Dr Bryan Betty suggests change of mindset with Omicron
Newstalk ZB: Medical advisor: Vaccine mandates now don’t apply as much
Chris Hyde (Stuff): How Delta is quietly spreading amid the Omicron outbreak, and why this makes the booster ‘essential’
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): The end is nigh, but not now, for mandates (paywalled)
Troels Sommerville, Karanama Ruru and Sophie Harris (Stuff): Aucklanders divided on whether to fear or embrace Omicron as cases surge
Herald: Editorial – MIQ’s future as New Zealand, Australia reopen (paywalled)
Kate Green and Tom Hunt (Stuff): People visiting emergency departments with unrelated health complaints testing positive for Covid-19
Justin Hu (1News): Researchers: Symptomatic Covid testing could be more accessible
Ben Leahy (Herald): Aucklanders told they may wait 5 days for their test results
David Farrar: The bureaucratic nightmare to get a RAT test
Dubby Henry (Herald): Schools moving to rostered learning as Covid sends teachers home
James Halpin (Stuff): School attendance sharply divided by decile as term begins
Francesca Rudkin (Newstalk ZB): Teachers have done what was asked, it’s time for government to return the favour
Alison Mau (Stuff): Long Covid: Are we ready for the next virus curveball?
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Student party flat slapped with fine after Covid rule snub
Carly Gooch (Stuff): Adverse reaction prompts wait for alternative Covid vaccine
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): More than half of people on Jetstar flight to Wellington not wearing masks – passenger

Media, information, and misinformation
Graham Adams (The Platform): Mainstream media chiefs and the five stages of grief
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Public service screened by ‘communications complex’
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): InternetNZ survey shows Kiwis growing more worried about online ‘misinformation’

Economy and employment
Rob Stock (Stuff): Labour review to consider removing $521 Govt KiwiSaver subsidy from employees
Janine Starks (Stuff): Is it reasonable to ask for a 10 per cent pay rise? Yes, here’s why
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Public debate on economic questions ‘a mess’
Robert MacCulloch (Herald): Don’t buy the baloney about unemployment insurance (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Kiwibank review: how do you decide what to pay for a bank that you cannot sell? (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): 20 years on: What’s the future of Kiwibank? (paywalled)
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Commerce Commission joins international crackdown on Covid-related cartel conduct
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Inflation well and truly a political football
Felix Walton (Spinoff): The rising price of groceries and the human cost of food insecurity
Rahul Sen and Sadhana Srivastava (The Conversation): The pandemic exposes NZ’s supply chain vulnerability – be ready for more inflation in the year ahead
Liam Dann (Herald): MPS Preview: Will the RBNZ deliver a single or double shot? (paywalled)

Housing
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Land grab economy continues as councils continue to tax apartment-owners more than landbankers
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand’s homeless have been moved off the streets, but the crisis endures
Benedict Collins (1News): Record $365 million spent on emergency housing
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Bigger house price falls expected, but not a crash, commentators say
Liam Dann (Herald): RIP housing market boom – you won’t be missed (paywalled)
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Families carving up land to house grown-up children and grandparents
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Don’t blame the banks for the house price bubble (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): The great funding crunch: Developers create third-tier deposit-taking funds (paywalled)
Hawkes Bay Today: Desperate house search: Hawke’s Bay family of eight considers life in a tent (paywalled)

Transport
Andrea Fox (Herald): Report on $100m new Te Huia rail passenger service casts doubts on viability (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Harbour Bridge walking and cycling events could cost taxpayers $705,000
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Waka Kotahi plans Harbour Bridge bike day, but no trial
Jason Walls (Herald): National urges Government to stop spending money on harbour bridge cycleway
Ben Strang (Stuff): What is a public-private partnership, and when will we see Transmission Gully open?
Georgina Campbell (Herald): ‘Significant progress’ made on fixing Transmission Gully pavement defects
Tina Law (Stuff): Millions spent on Christchurch cycleway before shovels go in
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland City Rail Link: Only $500k of $12 million hardship fund paid to businesses

Foreign affairs and trade
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta heading to Europe as leaders aim to avert Russia-Ukraine war
RNZ: Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta set for 11-day Europe mission
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): China rejects accusations it is setting ‘debt traps’ all around the Pacific

Other
Peter Griffin (Stuff): Pressure to be happy creates some misery
Aaron Smale (Stuff): Questions left hanging as Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni hangs up
Tony Wall (Stuff): How huts and bridges in Te Urewera fell into a state of disrepair
Robyn Hunt (Spinoff): Why is a non-disabled person leading the establishment of a disability ministry?
Donna Miles (Stuff): We’re a high-trust society, but we need to be careful who we trust