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

Russian invasion of Ukraine and foreign affairs
Josie Pagani (Stuff): Why Russia’s outrageous aggression in Ukraine matters to us all
Herald: Ukraine invasion: New Zealand has ‘skin in game’, should rally small, mid-powered nations in opposition – expert
Herald: Russia invades Ukraine: Plea for New Zealand to welcome any refugees from war zone with open arms
Neil Reid (Herald): Russia invades Ukraine: Putin’s ‘full-scale war’ strike condemned by NZ politicians
Richard Harman: “Give Putin an inch and he’ll take a mile” — Helen Clark (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): NZ suspends high-level engagement with Russian foreign ministry over Ukraine invasion
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government calls on Russia to ‘permanently withdraw’ military from Ukraine, as Putin declares war
RNZ: New Zealand announces bans on Russia in response to Ukraine invasion
Lynn Prentice (The Standard): No appeasement with Russia over invasion
Zoe Holland (Herald): New Zealand-based Ukrainian heartbroken as Russia invades Ukraine
Herald: Russian invasion of Ukraine will hit petrol prices, KiwiSaver in NZ
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sky TV ‘more on alert’ over Russia Today, amid Ukrainian disinformation worries
Bruce Munro (ODT): ‘We can’t remain silent’: NZ must speak out against Russia, expert says
Chris Trotter: Bear-Baiting
Robert G Patman (Newsroom): Robert Patman: Why Putin Opted for a Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): A quiet militarisation of the Pacific region is under way

Covid
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Phase 3 marks the day Government decided to really live with Covid
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Do border and MIQ settings make sense as Omicron spreads?
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Ashley Bloomfield tells Government border rules are at odds with new Omicron phase 3 isolation requirements
Stuff: Editorial – Welcome to the year of the RAT
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Govt’s muddled isolation message belies Phase 3 inequity
Derek Cheng (Herald): The new era of damage control from now and for the foreseeable future (paywalled)
Chris Hyde (Stuff): ‘Welcome to Omicron’: There are 25,000 daily infections in the community, not 6000, expert says
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): More than one percent of Aucklanders have Covid-19
James Halpin and George Block (Stuff): Fifty per cent increase in prisoners with Covid after RAT tests included in figure
Justin Wong and Matthew Tso (Stuff): Hopes ‘phase 3’ will ease pressure on testers as case numbers soar
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government reviewing self-isolation for travellers as cases mount
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Less isolation and more RATs as Government moves to ‘phase 3’ of Omicron outbreak
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): New Zealand’s supply of rapid antigen tests set to increase with arrival of 10 million over the weekend, ahead of Omicron peak
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Principals smell a RAT in ministry’s testing promise
Stefan Dimitrof (Māori TV): Sir Ian Taylor ‘depressed by government incompetence’ on Covid testing
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government wildly off with estimate of workforce (paywalled)
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Phase 3: Retailers must be given green light now to sell rapid antigen tests – Barnett
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Government could decide to end self-isolation for returnees within next month – Chris Hipkins
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ACT says ‘time to move on’ from Covid restrictions, leader David Seymour outlines party’s Omicron policy
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): ACT says Government should dump scanning, long isolation periods, traffic light system
Anna Whyte (1News): Self-isolation requirements being reviewed for returning Kiwis
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Bloomfield and Health Ministry fail us yet again
1News: Bloomfield: ‘Be mindful about who you visit’ as Covid cases surge
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): We had so long to plan for RATs, how are we still cocking this up?
David Farrar: The stupidity of maintaining a closed border now
Mary Breheny (Newsroom): Covid fears are different for everyone, so listen

Covid protests and mandates: Analysis
Reweti Kohere (Spinoff): What two former speakers of the house think about parliament’s protest response
Peter Dunne: Time to tone down the Covid19 rhetoric
Emile Donovan (RNZ): Politicians and the protest at Parliament
Katrina Bennett (Herald): An abject failure – protesters’ cars should never have been able to get back in
1News: Protest ‘concentrated form’, ‘manifestation’ of frustration in NZ
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): Self-improvement won’t get us out of this mess
Giacomo Lichtner (The Conversation): The NZ anti-vax movement’s exploitation of Holocaust imagery is part of a long and sorry history
Stefan Dimitrof (Māori TV): Winston Peters: Lack of leadership is crippling New Zealand
Brent Edwards (NBR): Balancing act on raising anti-mandate protestors’ concerns (paywalled)

Covid protests and mandates: News reporting
Maiki Sherman (1News): Protesters chase Ardern’s vehicle down driveway after school visit
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Censor bans Christchurch conspiracy video posted by parliament occupation group
Pete McKenzie (New York Times): New Zealand protest, an echo of Canada’s, digs in and turns ugly
Molly Swift (Newshub): Anti-mandate protester Brad Flutey admits ‘quite a few getting really sick’ at Parliament (paywalled)
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Protest having ‘unreasonably negative impact’ on Wellingtonians
Adam Pearse and John Weekes (Herald): Kids cry, caught in stand-off on occupation’s 17th day
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Hundreds of vehicles remain in occupation zone
Sophie Cornish and Matthew Tso (Stuff): Police confirm 20 protesters vehicles entered after checkpoint breach
Matthew Hampson (Stuff): The ‘pirate boat’ of Picton taking protesters to Wellington
Herald: Police ‘disappointed’ after protesters present ‘homemade shields’
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Police in riot gear gather at Parliament; Protest site ‘high-risk’ location of interest
Georgia O’Connor-Harding (Herald): Protesters shout abuse at Prime Minister’s Christchurch school visit

Political party donations prosecution court case
Sam Hurley (Herald): Labour Party art auctions: Charged trio of businessmen also accused in SFO’s National donations case
Katie Todd (RNZ): Labour Party donations case: Suppression lapses for three defendants
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Businessmen charged with making unlawful donations to Labour and National named
Zane Small (Newshub): Chinese businessman Yikun Zhang caught in Labour and National donation investigations vows to defend charges
Michael Andrew (BusinessDesk): Labour party donor vows to defend ‘misguided’ SFO prosecution
Brent Edwards (NBR): Yikun Zhang denies being a Chinese Communist Party member (paywalled)

Child poverty
Benedict Collins (1News): Govt’s child poverty progress ‘dismal’ – action group
Michael Neilson (Herald): Child poverty continues to trend down, but Government fails to fully meet key targets
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Child poverty tracks down but Government doesn’t meet key target
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Omicron looms over the small gains in child poverty

Economy and employment
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Economics forum to explore opening up the ‘hermit kingdom’
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Businesses complain support payment criteria is confusing, thresholds too tight (paywalled)
Rachel Smalley (NBR): Queenstown our canary in the coal mine (paywalled)
Kathy Spencer (Herald): Forget the unemployment insurance scheme, just fix what we have (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Reserve Bank has no regrets over its Covid monetary policy conduct (paywalled)
Brian Fallow (Herald): Reserve Bank’s hopes of soft landing for the economy will be hard to pull off (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): KiwiSaver is a creation of politicians. They can change it at will
Herald: Editorial: Air New Zealand’s heavy loss reflects pain for tourism sector (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Insurance law reforms to protect consumers finally arrive 25 years after first being proposed
Tim Hunter (NBR): The Kiwibank solution is staring us in the face (paywalled)

Housing
Ian Powell: Time to tax property speculation
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Property investors bank median $446,000 from selling properties: Corelogic
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Property owners pocket median profit of $420,000 from December quarter sales
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Chlöe Swarbrick, David Seymour grill Adrian Orr over whether the Bank knew it was igniting a housing boom
Miriam Bell (Stuff): The housing boom is over, Westpac says
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Hiking interest rates in a falling housing market: ‘That’s a pretty big deal’
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Home loan applications sharply down, credit law fix needed: Kiwibank boss (paywalled)
Ben Leahy (Herald): Karaka housing development: Land ready for new homes, can’t get water connected (paywalled)
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Is home ownership really worth the stress?

Local government
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Mayor repeats racism concerns about water group
Emily Ireland (Local democracy reporting): Masterton councillor pushes for Three Waters Reforms opposition
Kate Green (Stuff): Increase in Wellington’s bus, train fares on cards, out of step with rest of country
Amber Allott (Stuff): Free buses for under-25s mooted, as ECan proposes 24 per cent rates hike
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Residents of ‘community in crisis’ fear loss of representation through creation of Hastings Māori ward
Conor Knell (Stuff): Local Government Commission hears community outrage in Manawatū
Susan Botting (Local Democracy reporting): Mayor dismisses councillor from meeting for breaching council rules

Health
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland GPs, nursing staff under pressure
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Person in wheelchair dies after waiting 6 hours for ambulance
Emma Russell (Herald): Ambulance crews facing record number of callouts – people waiting up to 12 hours
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Concern staff rotation could increase risk of spread at Middlemore Hospital

Other
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Odds-on it’s Christopher Luxon for PM in 2023 (paywalled)’
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Blinkered: The danger when impartial public servants are seen as political apparatchiks
Rod Jackson (Herald): An epidemiologist’s expert views on sailing – thanks to social media (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): Operation Burnham: New NZ Defence Force inquiry after SAS raid info cover-up alleged
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Chief Ombudsman to investigate Defence Force for allegedly ‘misleading’ over Operation Burnham
Sam Olley (RNZ): Government terminates agreement relating to Whakaari/ White island
Tracy Neal (Herald): Advertising Standards Authority says its hands are tied after racist pamphlets return to Auckland letterboxes
Ric Stevens (Herald): New Zealand deported 400 criminals to Pacific countries over five years
Nikki Preston (Herald): Under attack: TVNZ staff threatened or abused 21 times in the past year
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Critics warn Lake Onslow power scheme’s $4b price tag may balloon
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): InternetNZ survey shows Kiwis growing more worried about online ‘misinformation’
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Millions in tertiary hardship cash was never paid to students
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Police budget more than $600,000 to resume cannabis eradication operation
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Te Huia is a disaster, time to pull the pin
Neal Wallace (Farmers Weekly): Stricter foreign investment rules met with cautious optimism