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
Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Government under pressure to explain when New Zealand will stop relying on Covid-19 lockdowns
Bernard Hickey: Calls to end elimination grow
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern offers hope as level 4 extended, but expert says lockdown may be failing
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Government ‘waited until election week’ to release favourable vaccine news (paywalled)
Barry Soper (Herald): Covid elimination strategy ditched by most of the world as being unworkable
Derek Cheng (Herald): Auckland’s light at the end of the tunnel, and what could still extinguish it (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Newshub): The Govt’s COVID-19 messaging is all over the shop – do lockdowns stop when enough Kiwis are vaccinated, or not?
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Move to extend Auckland’s level 4 lockdown ‘the right one’ – experts
Steve Braunias (Herald): Four o’clock looms (paywalled)
1 News: National says lockdown extension down to Govt’s ‘ongoing failures’
RNZ: Checkpoint: Further week of level 4 ‘not long enough’ – epidemiologist
Richard Harman (Politik): What comes after the lockdown (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Light at end of tunnel for Auckland amidst Delta darkness
Newstalk ZB: Des Gorman: Lockdown isn’t working
RNZ: Government sticks to elimination as Auckland enters fifth week of lockdown
RNZ: Auckland can’t afford to wait in level 4 for high vaccination rates – immunologist
RNZ: ACT leader David Seymour calls elimination strategy into question
1 News: Vaccination uptake the way to avoid future ‘harsh’ lockdowns – Ardern
RNZ: Aucklanders in seven suburbs told to get a test even without symptoms
Michael Neilson (Herald): Level 4 in Auckland extended for another week, rest of NZ to stay in level 2
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Auckland officially in longest ever lockdown, but there is hope
RNZ: Watch: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Auckland to stay in lockdown for another week
Hannah Martin (Stuff): The next seven days ‘critical’ for Auckland’s move out of level 4
Tess McClure and Evan Corlett (Guardian): Auckland to remain in strict lockdown as New Zealand battles mystery Covid cases
RNZ: Auckland needs to stay in level 4 for at least one more week – Baker
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington to remain at Delta level 2
Dubby Henry (Herald): Cabinet meeting today decide on alert levels, Grant Robertson promises clear plan for Auckland
RNZ: The Detail: Masking out the virus
RNZ: Covid-19 outbreak day 27: Cases up again, lockdown extended
Vaccine rollout
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern explains why she won’t set a vaccination target to end lockdowns
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): To boost or not to boost?
Lincoln Tan (Herald): PM’s call to action – don’t wait, get vaccinated now
Amelia Wade (Newshub): War on misinformation continues raging as experts blast minority spreading rumours
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Responding to David Seymour
Zane Small (Newshub): Minister Kelvin Davis rebuked by Green MP Elizabeth Kere for ‘pointing the finger’ at Māori over COVID-19 vaccination rates
Mihingarangi Forbes (Newshub): Whānau Ora providers need better access to Government data to target Māori for COVID-19 vaccinations – John Tamihere
Glenis Philip-Barbara and Andrew Becroft (Spinoff): How Māori and Pasifika groups are taking the vaccine message to whānau and aiga
1 News: Children could be next in line for Covid-19 vaccine
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland vaccine programme director hopes for record-breaking week
RNZ: How a vaccine argument drove a wedge through our family
Wage subsidy, business, economy
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Third round of wage subsidies, but sales drops need to be pinned on Auckland
Anne Gibson (Herald): Workers’ pay might soon be cut, says building chief (paywalled)
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): It’s time the labels of essential business and workers were redefined
Newstalk ZB: Grant Robertson: Government have provided more financial support this lockdown than any previous
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Hospitality businesses need more than just the Government’s ‘thanks’
Belinda Feek (Herald): The stressful toll of an Auckland business owner’s 10-day wait for wage subsidy
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Business to get a second Resurgence Support Payment to help ease financial burden during Covid-19
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): South Auckland businesses struggle with lockdown extension: ‘People are worried about their futures’
Rahul Bhattarai (Stuff): Another week in level 4 ‘devastating’ news – Retail NZ
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Alert level extension frustrating but not surprising
Herald: Lockdown extension another blow for Auckland businesses
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Level 4 extension ‘may be fatal blow’ for Auckland businesses
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Level 4 pain getting ‘a bit high’, different alert levels a strain for business
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Bars and restaurants at ‘crisis point’ as concern over lockdown conditions mount (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Hotel Council Aotearoa counts $1.5 billion cost (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): 35% of Otago jobs subsidy supported
Logan Savory (Stuff): Opening ILT Stadium Southland doors in level 2 almost pointless
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Community theatre groups scale back and risk closure over lockdowns
Kate Gree (Stuff): From zero diners to a full lunch service, it’s a promising start to the week for Wellington hospitality
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): Garden shopping trumps eating out in Taranaki’s first weekend at level 2
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Mixed response to level 2 for South Canterbury businesses
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Job opportunities rapidly returning to Manawatū after lockdown blow
Jake McKee (RNZ): Palmerston North ‘batted above its weight’ to help NZ through pandemic, mayor says
Tom Hunt (Stuff): WOW: Cancelled show costs Wellington City Council up to $5 million
Liam Dann (Herald): GDP preview: Economy was red-hot. Is that meaningless now? (paywalled)
RNZ: GDP figures expected to illustrate state of economy prior to lockdown
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): GDP result this week: The leap before the fall
Sam Olley (RNZ): Building materials from Auckland running out in NZ
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Airbnb looks to RMA reform in latest push for consistent regulation with a ‘floor of rights’ (paywalled)
Dennis Wesselbaum (Newsroom): Is the focus on wellbeing a Cinderella story?
Ben Walker, Erin Roxburgh-Makea, Jesse Pirini, Stephen Cummings (The Conversation): Putting the community back into business: what te ao Māori can teach us about sustainable management
Alert level rules, compliance, enforcement
Vera Alves (Herald): Auckland couple who flew to Wānaka holiday home granted interim name suppression
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Auckland couple who flouted lockdown rules to escape to holiday home seek name suppression
1 News: Parent of Wānaka travel accused a high-ranking legal professional
Nadine Porter and Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Official’s son caught breaching lockdown rules granted suppression
Mark Quinlivan and Isabella Durant (Newshub): Man who allegedly crossed Auckland border, flew to Wānaka is the son of a high-ranking public official
RNZ: Couple who flouted Auckland lockdown rules were dobbed in online
RNZ: Queentown’s mayor wants police plan to avoid future Covid-19 border breaches
Stuff Editorial: Flying in the face of a nationwide effort
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Lincoln Tan (Herald): Auckland woman emotionally distraught after being denied border crossing for mum’s funeral
Guy Williams (ODT): Queenstown businessman charged over lockdown travel
Herald: Two ‘essential workers’ with cannabis arrested at Auckland checkpoint
Mike Dinsdale (Northern Advocate): Two sisters remanded in custody for allegedly driving through Northland/Auckland border
Michael Neilson (Herald): PM vows to ‘find a way’ for summer festivals to go ahead
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern gives hope that level 1 won’t be a pale shade of normal life
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Government extends expired WoFs, regos and licences
Kim Knight (Herald): Delta Diary – Week 4 (paywalled)
Inequality, charities
Todd Niall (Stuff): After triple-whammy lockdown, south Auckland deserves more than just vaccination
1 News: Govt offers $10m funding for Aucklanders to access food, essential items
Jade Temepara (Stuff): Food insecurity is Aotearoa’s gaping wound, and we’re running out of band-aids
Myjanne Jensen (Northland Age): Lockdown Hero – fisherman gives away $12,000 of fish to people in need
Border, MIQ, immigration
Katie Todd (RNZ): New Zealand losing migrant rest home staff to Canada, UK due to MIQ unavailability
Sahiban Hyde (Herald): Hawke’s Bay RSE worker’s cancer diagnosis: ‘I just want to get back (home)’
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Australia pinches NZ’s migrant dairy workers who cannot get residency
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Migrant exodus felt in Mid-Canterbury as ongoing immigration delays bite
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Pacific corridor brings some relief to short-staffed orchards
Cases, demographics
Jamie Morton (Herald): 10 maps that reveal NZ’s vulnerability
Rawiri Taonui (Māori TV): Analysis: Expect Māori Covid cases to spike this week as second-highest by ethnicity
Rawiri Taonui (Waatea): Māori highest number of cases for the first time
Herald Editorial: Protecting children from Delta requires an effort from everyone (paywalled)
Siouxsie Wiles rule-breaking allegations
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins denies fat-shaming microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles
Newstalk ZB: National leader: Criticism for Siouxsie Wiles comments are politically motivated
Contact tracing, testing
Sam Olley (RNZ): Burnout a primary concern for Covid-19 vaccinators, contact tracers, testers
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Corporates opt for private covid saliva tests (paywalled)
Health
RNZ: Auckland DHB restricts visits to compassionate grounds only
Emma Russell (Herald): Auckland DHB changes visitor policy – ‘compassionate’ entry only
Afghanistan
Stephen Hoadley (Herald): Twenty years after 9/11 – where to now for America? (paywalled)
Evan Jones (Newsroom): A plea for Afghanistan
Mary Argue (Spinoff): Afghans in Aotearoa on the agony of whānau facing life under the Taliban
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori; Aotearoa, place names
1 News: Māori Party launches petition to change NZ’s official name to Aotearoa
Chloe Ranford (RNZ): Iwi on mission to restore mana to mangled Marlborough place names
RNZ: From surviving to thriving
Prof Rawinia Higgins (Stuff): An open letter to Aotearoa
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Māori Language Week kaupapa looks to top last year’s efforts
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Pioneering Māori language programme celebrates 30 years
Paul Brooks (Herald): Māori Language Week is about broadening the mind
Te Rau Winterburn (Stuff): Aotearoa, walk with me
Ben Walker, Erin Roxburgh-Makea, Jesse Pirini and Stephen Cummings (Stuff): What te ao Māori can teach us about sustainable business management
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Dream of a bilingual nation – what will the linguistic future of Aotearoa New Zealand look like?
Housing
Emily Ireland (RNZ): Shelter Masterton homing vulnerable seeks funding support
RNZ: Pressure on construction work changing way houses are sold
Anne Gibson (Herald): $2b-$3b of Auckland house sales hang in balance (paywalled)
Ashley Church (OneRoof): Are higher house prices really a bad thing?
John Bolton (OneRoof): The big difference between buying a home in 2008 and buying a home in 2021
Liz McDonald (Stuff): New development with houses, apartments and shops approved by Environment Court
Local government
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Corporate cliches distract nicely
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington City Council unable to spend $94 million on capital projects
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Groundswell NZ calls for councils to hold referendums before deciding on 3 Waters reforms
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Council restructuring aims to strengthen leadership as it copes with 140 vacancies
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): Have community boards had their day?
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Councils shut iwi out of planning process
Kerrie Waterworth (ODT): Public input means board likely to stay
Gary Taylor (Herald): Auckland needs a proper metro rail system
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Road deaths soar in Auckland after bold new safety plan and lower speeds come in (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): Councillor’s comments on composting concerns raises a stink
ODT Editorial: Keeping sports’ hall dream alive
Grant Miller (ODT): Lifeline offered to keep hall open
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Suburban heritage protection mooted
Parliament
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Is there anyone left who thinks Judith Collins is a future PM?
Michele Hewitson (Listener/Herald): The rise and rise of David Seymour: Could he really lead NZ? (paywalled)
Verity Johnson (Stuff): What we need right now is for politicians to stop trolling
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Suspect white powder discovered in envelope by prime minister’s staff posed ‘no risk to anyone’
RNZ: Emergency services at Parliament after suspicious parcel sent to Beehive
Transport
Simon Wilson (Herald): In praise of bonkers – the transport debate (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Dangers, ‘incompetence’ among truck specialist engineers
1 News: Changes to learner and restricted licence renewals proposed
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ plans to be flying electric aircraft by 2030, chief pilot says
Education
Katy Jones (Stuff): Think-tank examines how to put new history curriculum into practice
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Parents and schools clash over school holiday dates
RNZ: Covid-19 demands school ventilation standards as priority – health experts
Media
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Kill Facebook ‘comments’ before the buck stops with you
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Cornell Tukiri chosen from thousands for NZ Geographic photographer of year final
Environment, Climate change
Lindsay Wood (Newsroom): Now’s not the time for your climate change high horse
Inga Smith (ODT): Holding back the rivers of ice
Cyber attacks
Chris Keall (Herald): The one move our Government must make to deter hackers (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Kiwibank customers still having access issues
Primary industries
Seth Borenstein (Herald): No bull: Kiwi scientist potty trains cows to use ‘MooLoo’
Maja Burry (RNZ): MooLoo – researchers find toilet training cows is possible
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Wool farmers see potential salvation in new products for builders, architects
Other
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Not Understood: Chris Trotter Replies To Susan St John
Graeme Edgeler (Public Address): Everything was Done; or some answers to some of the questions people have been asking
Greg Billington (Stuff): Meet ‘the Woke’ – they’re neither social revolutionaries nor extremists
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Woods grabs new powers in electricity sector (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1 News): Public submissions on proposal to ban conversion therapy highest ever received
Dan Lake (Newshub): Conversion therapy prohibition bill receives over 100,000 submissions
Karl du Fresne: A few thoughts on that Moana decision
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): Replacement theory, wokism, Karens and the politics of the zero sum game
1 News: Rotorua whānau ‘disgusted’ by letter sent to kuia over Māori flag
Giles Dexter (Newshub): Food prices rise for fifth consecutive month as tomato growers ‘try to survive’
The Standard: The problems for women with sex self-ID in law and society
