Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.  Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily.

Today’s content

Mall terror attack
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – Could government agencies have averted the development of a terrorist?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): How to stop the next terrorist
RNZ: The Detail: Turning around a terrorist
Kris Gledhill (The Conversation): Despite deportation and detention attempts, could New Zealand have done more to prevent Friday’s terror attack?
Dan Satherley (Newshub): New terrorism laws likely to target ‘innocent people doing innocent things’ – expert
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Auckland terrorist couldn’t be deported as he was likely a ‘protected person’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Greens, ACT urge caution over counter-terrorism laws
Richard Harman (Politik): Little lays down the law on terrorism (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Terrorist highlights our refugee conundrum (paywalled)
Julia de Bres and Emily Greenbank (Stuff): Why we should stop framing the Auckland terrorist as a refugee
Hina Tabassum Cheema (Stuff): As everyday NZ Muslims, we condemn terror. But we fear being demonised all over again
Anna Hood (Herald): Q&A on our refugee system in light of the LynnMall terrorist (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins urges Government to release deportation advice
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Medical report on LynnMall terrorist ‘unreliable’, officials said
Edward Gay (Stuff): Auckland terror attacker was ‘very difficult’ inmate to manage, non-compliant with orders
Karl du Fresne: Guled Mire urges Twitter followers not to give an apology that no one asked for or expected in the first place

Vaccine rollout, mandatory vaccination
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The stark inequity of the vaccine rollout
Michael Neilson and Chris McDowall (Herald): Māori inequity in the rollout could be even worse – 70,000 fewer in health dataset compared to Census (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The irony in the response to David Seymour releasing the Maori vaccination code
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins can’t decide if David Seymour is a hero or a cockwomble
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Vaccination clinics prioritising Māori ‘swamped by Pākehā’
Rawiri Jansen (Spinoff): Kia ora, David Seymour. Let’s talk about Māori, health and vaccination
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Pākehā privilege in way of jabs equity (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): David Seymour’s political stunt backfires into public health vandalism
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): David Seymour’s Māori vaccination code attack misguided
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Public health expert calls David Seymour ‘irrelevant’ after tweet encouraging people to use Māori code to get COVID-19 vaccine
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): Big mistake, David Seymour
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): ‘Kia kōtahi tātou’- iwi partnering to support vaccinations
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): NZ to have vaccine passport by Christmas
David Fisher (Herald): Prisoner vaccination rates low after ‘pause’ to rollout while staff vaxxing beyond national average
Steven Walton (Stuff): ‘It is safe, it is effective, it will help you’ – 3600 Kiwi doctors sign letter backing Covid-19 vaccine
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Luke Malpass (Stuff): The 1pm update review where some vaccines fell off the back of a truck
RNZ: Checkpoint: Govt close to securing deal for more Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government ‘finalising arrangements’ for extra vaccines to maintain fast pace through September
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern finalising deals for extra Pfizer doses as Covid cases steady
Derek Cheng (Herald): Will Jacinda Ardern need to dampen vaccine demand, or has she locked in a deal?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): The Government behind in race to procure less wasteful syringes (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Novavax expected to be first Covid-19 booster vaccine in New Zealand
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Nikki Preston (Herald): Government agency’s no vaccine, no job stance for frontline worker justified: ERA
RNZ: Sacking of border worker who refused vaccine not unjustified, ERA says
Stuff: Challenge to legality of vaccine mandate for frontline border workers
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): Could the ‘no jab, no job’ rule become legal?
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Covid-19 vaccine mistake: Man still waiting for answers on what to do
Dubby Henry (Herald): Dozens of people linked to Māngere church cluster finish isolation and get vaccinated
Richard Davison (ODT): Drive-through mass vaccination at freezing works

Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Michael Plank and Shaun Hendy (The Conversation): With lockdowns easing for the rest of New Zealand, Auckland becomes the elimination frontline
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Bad politics are a virus’s best friend
Roger Partridge (Herald): Should the Ministry of Health be responsible for pandemic policy? (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins probes Jacinda Ardern on when ‘use of lockdowns’, ‘gathering size limits’ won’t be required
ODT Editorial: Changing up, or down, a gear
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government to ask Parliament to approve big new spending ‘buffer’

Alert level changes, rules
Derek Cheng (Herald): Why Auckland could move to level 3 next week, and what to watch for (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Auckland could still come down alert levels, even with continued cases
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Casinos gain approval for gambling floor changes ahead of level 2
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): WorkSafe records more than 900 lockdown breaches
RNZ: School mask recommendation will create more anxiety than a rule – Principals’ Association
RNZ: Testing workers at regional borders ‘the price of more freedoms’ – Jacinda Ardern
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Auckland’s long stay at alert level 4 has earned the nation’s aroha – will it be forthcoming?
Eugene Bingham (Stuff): Auckland’s marathon Covid-19 lockdown: running in circles, worrying we’ll never catch up
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Aucklanders can fly out of level 4 citing ‘need to care for a pet’
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Transport sector fears disruption due to Auckland border testing (paywalled)
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland leaders want more than just business travel through Auckland
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): How transit through Auckland will work once rest of New Zealand enters alert level 2
Herald: Jacinda Ardern speaks to Ryan Bridge on wearing masks at swimming pools
Lee Kenny (Stuff): What should working parents do with schools closed on Wednesday?
Vera Alves (Herald): Lockdown memes pop up on billboards on Auckland streets
RNZ: New level 2 rules a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ for South Island, Collins says
Cecile Meier (Stuff): How will gyms and swimming pools operate at level 2?

Border, MIQ, immigration
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘Possible’ pre-flight testing would have stopped outbreak
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern disagrees pre-departure testing in Sydney could have prevented COVID-19 Delta lockdown
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government told checking every pre-departure test would take months
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Travel bubble stance at odds with advice
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): One-way quarantine-free travel still a possibility for RSE workers
Rachel Clun (Stuff): Australia issuing vaccine passports within weeks to prepare for flights resuming

Contact tracing, testing
David Williams (Newsroom): Ramp up wastewater testing, public health expert urges
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): If the Govt wants testing to ramp up, we need more options

Cases, demographics
Ben Leahy (Herald): 29 staff at Middlemore Hospital stood down after identified as close contacts
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Concerns over advice for at-risk patients leaving Middlemore Hospital after person admitted tested positive
Michael Morrah (Newshub): 29 staff at Middlemore Hospital stood down, deemed as close contacts after positive case visits hospital
Ireland Hendry Tennent (Newshub): Middlemore COVID-19 case: NZ Nurses Organisation concerned about shortages after 29 staff forced to isolate
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘Delays’ in processes involving Covid-positive patient at Middlemore being examined

Health system
Florence Kerr (Stuff): Auckland DHB staff told in memo not to speak to the media
Melanie Earley (Stuff):Extra nurses poised to come to Middlemore, where 29 staff in isolation
Charmian Smith (ODT): Sugar is evil: science trumped but advice spot on
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Hospital board locked into 15 year food contract
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Cancer patient accuses government of playing with people’s lives as surgery cancelled three times due to COVID-19
Dan Satherley and Isabella Durant (Newshub): Kiwi arthritis patients lose access to vital drug after it turns out to be effective treatment for COVID-19
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Addiction treatment wait ‘unacceptable’
Spinoff: My miscarriage was hard. A stretched health service made it so much worse
Lucy McLean (Spinoff): Why I’ve had enough of mental health awareness
Herald Editorial: We must confront mounting levels of dementia need
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Mental health ‘suffers more every lockdown’ as Auckland’s fifth stint rolls on

Education
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Early childhood centres prepare to open under alert level 2 as Delta increasingly afflicts the young
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Kindergarten relief teachers go without pay during lockdown
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Covid-19: Longer lockdown puts Auckland students in different class to level 2 peers
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Students outside Auckland miss out on lockdown support
Sam Olley (RNZ): Digital divide hurting new cohort of kids
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Schools face funding shortages as fairs under threat for second year
Newstalk ZB: Psychologist: Have faith in our teachers to handle mask wearing
John Lewis (ODT): University staff, students praised for Covid response

Wage subsidy, business, economy
Richard Wagstaff (Herald): Employment law remains as written during Covid lockdowns (paywalled)
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Some businesses still working out new level 2 rules on eve of restrictions change
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern reminds struggling South Island businesses they can apply for wage subsidy even at level 2
Skara Bohny (Stuff): More outdoor dining space nice idea, but no silver bullet, hospitality owners say
John Anthony (Stuff): Auckland hospitality businesses threaten to stay closed under Covid-19 alert level 2
1 News: Auckland hospitality industry calls for better Govt support during lockdown
Rob Stock (Stuff): Why hospo industry needs help: Cafe owner’s ‘high six-figure’ Covid losses
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Tough choices loom for desperate hospitality and accommodation providers
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Progress stalls on pandemic insurance scheme for live events
Debbie Jamieson and John Anthony (Stuff): Tourism operators anticipate slow growth without Auckland market
Aaron Leaman and Chris Marshall (Stuff): Auckland’s lockdown pain could be Hamilton’s economic gain
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Major theatres decide not to operate under stricter new pandemic rules
Janna Sherman (Hokitika Guardian): Glacier businesses starting to close
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Flower farmers forced to bin or mulch harvest due to restrictions
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Barbers, restaurants will lose money under alert level 2 restrictions, say owners
Herald: Mental health, finances weigh on business owners – survey
RNZ: Export woes may require government-chartered shipping, economist warns
Tony Alexander: (OneRoof): Kiwi spending plans point to post-lockdown bounce
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Higher prices for consumers: New shipping surcharge likely to drive Christmas inflation (paywalled)

Building and construction
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Government lets factories return to unplug building supplies bottleneck
Anne Gibson (Herald): Govt’s Auckland manufacturing u-turn
Amy Williams (RNZ): Building product manufacturers to be prioritised as factories restart
RNZ: Building supplies manufacturing allowed to restart in Auckland
Bay of Plenty Times: Govt allows manufacture of building supplies during lockdown
Carmen Hall (Herald): ‘The profitless boom’: Builders say Auckland materials drought has crippled them (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Warning not to lock in home build prices

Lockdown compliance, enforcement, misinformation
Toby Morris (Spinoff): The Side Eye: Freedom and Everyone
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Internet restrictions remain for lockdown protester Billy TK Jr
Stuff: Almost 200 arrests since lockdown began, outbreak not over – police
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika Jr can resume online sermons after arrest

Inequality, charities, domestic violence
Frances Chin (Stuff): ‘Working poor’ in increased need this lockdown as pressures pile up
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Benefit recipient numbers spike, food grants double, Govt figures show
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Pet charities issue desperate calls for help amid lockdown struggles, shortages

Housing
RNZ: Many homeowners couldn’t afford to buy their houses if purchasing now
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Three out of five homeowners ‘could not afford their home now’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Market unlikely to return to high level of price growth after lockdown
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Skyrocketing house prices should not be part of the post-lockdown recovery, but what does this mean?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Lockdown won’t lead to a fresh housing market boom – QV 
RNZ: House price growth slows to average 3.3%
Michael Reddell: Housing
Colleen Hawkes (Stuff): Heating for $1 a day: Kainga Ora’s first passive-designed social housing block is a blueprint

Transport
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): A transport budget that is yet to respond to the climate emergency
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): An end to fuel taxes? What we learned from the Government’s crazy, messy wonderful transport plan (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland light rail won’t start before 2024 according to Government transport plan
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government’s $24.3b transport plan: More money for Auckland’s roads, boost to public transport
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National land transport programme: Three-year plan to spend $24.3 billion on transport services and infrastructure 
Johnathan Milne (Newsroom): $2b financing to kick-start roads, rail – and climate-friendly transport
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Cloud hangs over Auckland’s Eastern Busway in new transport funding package
Zane Small (Newshub): Transport spending to 2024 nearly doubled to $24 billion, large chunk going to Auckland
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): The government’s $24.3b transport spend (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Stuff): Mysterious long tunnel won’t see the light of day in Wellington transport plan
Amber Allott (Stuff): Safety and cycles, not bridges or light rail, prioritised in Canterbury’s transport spend
Luke Kirkeby (Stuff): No new road to Tauranga from Waikato a ‘missed opportunity’
Chloe Ranford and Skara Bohny (Stuff): Safety barriers, local roads and public transport to benefit in funding package
Denise Piper (Stuff): Maintenance and safety key in Northland’s $751 million share of national transport plan
ODT: More than $1 billion for South’s transport system
Grant Miller (ODT): Southern roading budgets better than expected: mayors
Mike Mather (Stuff): ‘Totally unsatisfactory’: Public transport focus sees Waka Kotahi manager earn grilling from deputy mayor
Mark Sainsbury (Listener/Herald): To EV or not to EV? What you need to know about the electric evolution (paywalled)

Local government
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Big winners and losers of Three Waters compo package
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland councillors demand explanation of port chief executive’s $1.8m payout 
Andrea Fox (Herald): Repercussions continue over big payout to departed Auckland port CEO (paywalled)
Damian George (Stuff): Review finds lack of promotion and clear messaging at Wellington City Council
Logan Savory (Stuff): Second review takes aim at Invercargill mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt, but he’s not going anywhere
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Invercargill City Council performing well despite issues with mayor, reviewer says
Luisa Girao (ODT): Call for focus to shift from Sir Tim
Daisy Hudson (ODT): No DCC funding for New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame

Primary industries
Shawn McAvinue (ODT): Call for winter grazing submissions
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Costs rocket for farmers (paywalled)

Other
George Driver (Newsroom): Does New Zealand care less about climate change than other countries?
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Misinterpretation of conversion therapy ban bill causing confusion in some churches
Damien Venuto (Herald): MediaWorks CEO Cam Wallace’s big cleanout – has Magic Talk ‘gone woke’ (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Multiple failures allowed paedophile to be released into Wellington community – report
RNZ: Mainzeal legal action goes to Supreme Court
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Racist attack in Levin: Victim says he was beaten inside car
Herald: Deputy governor Geoff Bascand to depart Reserve Bank