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
Ian Powell (BusinessDesk): The politics of pandemic traffic lights
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Covid-19: Explaining the tipping point New Zealand wants to reach (and why it matters)
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘I worry that it’s too risky’ – expert and modeller on easing restrictions in Auckland
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Cases could increase by over 300 a day as restrictions ease, modeller warns
Jamie Morton (Herald): Level 3.2 risks later, longer peak – modeller (paywalled)
1 News: Baker says it’s ‘not ideal’ time for loosening of restrictions
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Modelling shows Covid-19 hospitalisations may double in Auckland
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Dawn Chorus: Can Auckland really reopen with 200 cases per day? (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Fewer than 100 staff at national contact tracing centre
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): 1pm presser cutbacks a good thing
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The real Royal Commission into Covid will be in Sept 2023
Selva Selvarajah (ODT): We must adapt to the virus by outsmarting it
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): Court of Appeal rejects 2020 Covid-19 lockdown was illegal
RNZ: Appeal over legality of 2020 Covid-19 level 4 lockdown dismissed
Katie Harris (Herald): Challenge over legality of 2020 level 3 and 4 lockdown rejected by Court of Appeal
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap: Unlinked cases, change in level for some, funding for Māori vaccine initiatives
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Auckland’s restrictions could be eased next week
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Level 3 phase 2: Winners & Losers
1 News: PM visiting Auckland a ‘good idea’ – Collins
Jane Nixon (1 News): Ardern to visit Auckland after changes to Parliament’s Covid rules
Northland, Waikato
1 News: Getting vaxxed way for Far North to get ahead of virus – mayor
Kate Gregan and Sarah Robson (RNZ): Ngāpuhi Covid-19 response group backs snap lockdown in Far North
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland’s low vaccine rate not Government funding failure, PM says
Karina Cooper and Mike Dinsdale (Northern Advocate/Herald): Part of Far North plunged into level 3 lockdown after unlinked cases emerge
Anna Whyte (1 News): Northern Northland to enter Alert Level 3 after unlinked Covid cases
Lucy Xia and Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Northland waits over potential undetected spread
Zane Small (Newshub): Northern part of Te Tai Tokerau to enter alert level 3 lockdown over ‘unlinked case’ of COVID-19
Mina Kerr-Lazenby and Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Northern part of Northland to shift to alert level 3 at 11.59pm tonight
1 News: Incorrect claim of Covid case visit sees resort entry blocked
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1 News: Waikato wakes to eased restrictions in L3 step two
Nikki Preston (Herald): Hamilton mayor tells PM not to forget Hamilton
Cases, demographics
Anna Whyte (1 News): More than 700 kids under 12 part of Delta outbreak
1 News: New cases of Covid emerge in Auckland prison facilities
1 News: Two more Auckland rest home staffers contract Covid
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Eighteen more cases in Waikato with four ‘provisionally’ in Ōtorohanga, mayor says
Vaccine rollout
Jamie Morton (Herald): How do we close NZ’s vaccination gap?
RNZ: Māori vaccination data: ‘Bureaucracy has failed us’ – John Tamihere
Bridie Witton (Stuff): ‘Frustration’ as MPs blast Ministry of Health for withholding Māori vaccination data
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Whānau Ora racing to get more Māori vaccinated after legal victory
Adam Pearse (Herald): Help is on its way’: Low Māori vaccination areas to be targeted following High Court ruling
Michael Neilson (Stuff): Call for ministry to apologise over withholding Māori data from Whānau Ora
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): Ministry of Health ‘reconsidering decision’ to not provide Māori vaccine data
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Whānau Ora scores major win over access to Māori vaccination data
Māori TV: Bureaucrats told to hand over detailed vaccination data to Whānau Ora ASAP
David Fisher (Herald): Gang leaders urge whānau to get vaccinated; Willie Jackson’s idea
RNZ: Māori Covid-19 funding approved for eight groups to boost vaccinations
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate/Herald): PM convinced Northland can still hit 90 per cent target
Northern Advocate: Prime Minister in Northland to support vaccination drive
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Does a visit from the PM boost vaccination rates?
RNZ: Pfizer’s ability to manufacture paediatric vaccines to meet demand will be a challenge – Bloomfield
Ashleigh Yates (1 News): Kiwis receiving second Covid-19 vaccine dose trends up
Laura Mills (Greymouth Star): Race to meet 90% target
Vaccine mandates and certificate, Anti-vaxxers
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Schools estimate several thousand staff are vaccine-resistant
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Family doctors cop abuse from patients wanting vaccine exemptions
1 News: Countdown, Auckland University announce vaccine mandates
Craig Kapitan (Herald): University of Auckland issues vaccine mandate
Joanna Davis (Stuff): Should we have ‘no vax, no entry’ for our private homes too?
RNZ: Reefton gym owners shut shop rather than police vaccine certificates
Herald Editorial: Vaccination record of frontline health staff is essential (paywalled)
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Alienating half a million unvaccinated Kiwis won’t help the vaccine roll-out, health provider says
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Chris Trotter (Interest): Turning up angry
Newstalk ZB: Sociology Professor: anti-vaxxers lashing out because they feel cornered
1 News: Davis says pair who heckled Ardern ‘think they are smarter than the virus’
1 News: Protester interrupts Jacinda Ardern’s Northland news conference
Henry Cooke and Denise Piper (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern press conference in Northland disrupted by anti-Covid-vaccination heckling
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shuts down and moves press conference after heckling
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern press conference in Northland shut down after heckler hijacks question time
Cira Olivier (Herald): Katikati woman offered $200 to get vaccine for someone else (paywalled)
RNZ: Auckland councillor told to take safety precautions after threat from suspected anti-vaxxers
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Police monitoring councillor’s home amid concerns anti-vaxxer threats on rise
eorge Parker and Eva Neely (Spinoff): We’re home-birthers, we have a healthy distrust of medical authority, and we’re vaccinated against Covid-19
Health system
Anna Matheson (Newsroom): Covid inequities no surprise
Sam Olley (RNZ): Whangārei Hospital: Leaky roofs, dodgy lifts, waiting lists and Covid-19’s here
Cecile Meier (Stuff): Health boards request funding for extra ICU beds as Covid-19 looms
Glenda Alexander (Stuff): Why we should be glad New Zealand’s nurses have settled
RNZ: Southern DHB outlines scenarios if virus becomes endemic
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Planning for Covid scenarios
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): MIQ changes for health staff won’t plug South Auckland gap – NZ Nurses Organisation
Mike Houlahan (ODT): SDHB’s very long waiting list
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Cancer whānau will be directly impacted by vaccine rollout
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Govt’s sidelining of gold-standard Health Select Committee beggars belief
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Health NZ to take on at least $700m worth of deficits from DHBs
Michael Neilson (Herald): Major Pharmac review delayed nearly 3 months
Brooke van Velden (Herald): End of Life Choice Act gives Bobbie the choice she deserves
Alert Level Rules and breaches
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Aucklanders confused by lockdown rules, one-third admit breaking them
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Auckland sex worker accused of lockdown breach yet to enter plea
1 News: Second man arrested over latest Auckland Domain protest
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Anti-lockdown protester denies fresh charge over weekend gathering
Herald: Video shared of anti-lockdown protest MC Kaleb Cave’s arrest
MIQ, NZ border, Home isolation
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Is New Zealand the new laughing stock of the travel world?
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): MIQ changes for health staff welcomed, but won’t plug South Auckland gap
Ian Taylor (Herald): Ian Taylor descends into Los Angeles on his private MIQ trial
Tom Hunt and Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Round six of MIQ virtual lobby books out as Kiwis try to reunite with family, in smallest queue to date
Environment, climate change, conservation
Gordon Campbell: On decoding the COP26 climate change hype
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand plan to halve greenhouse gas emissions criticised as an ‘accounting trick’
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Can we pay other countries to save the climate for us? Should we?
George Driver (Spinoff): Will New Zealand really reduce its emissions by 50% by 2030?
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Things start to move at COP26
RNZ: NZ politician promises to amplify Pacific positions at COP26
Ralph Cooney (Herald): Can nuclear power or geoengineering deliver?
Simon Wilson (Herald): Glasgow Diary – November 3 (paywalled)
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RNZ: Water discharging into sea not up to standard after Christchurch treatment plant fire
RNZ: Little risk of contamination after fire at sewage treatment plant – council
RNZ: Wilding pine control efforts praised for efforts exceeding expectations
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): New approach to tahr management by Department of Conservation
Economy, business, Wage subsidy
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Farmers pays bonus to managers while others remain on 80 per cent pay
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand company founded by students gives employees $10,000 ‘thank you’ bonus
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Government’s traffic light system a ‘waste of time’ say Auckland hairdressers (paywalled)
Jane Nixon (1 News): Ministry of Health approves Botox under step 2 of Level 3
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Covid-weary workers plan longer holidays this summer – red light or green
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland mall owner ‘disappointed’ about waiting extra week for alert level 3.2 (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Auckland, Northland businesses show high debt stress
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Business defaults in Auckland and Northland reflect lockdown distress
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government decided not to follow through on idea of talks to save refinery
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Ministers thought about subsidising oil refinery (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): New Zealand is staring down the barrel of a recession
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Tax more or spend less, Treasury warns (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Auditor-General criticises Government’s ‘difficult to track’ accounting of public spending
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Beer and other alcohol prices to rise due to cost pressures and excise taxes – DB Breweries (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Law firms pitch to wealthy Kiwis over possible court challenge to Inland Revenue survey (paywalled)
Chris Keall (Herald): The Great Resignation could lead to a great deal of employee theft, expert warns – pointing to recent heist (paywalled)
Supermarket inquiry
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): ComCom prepared to go hard on big supermarkets
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Āpōpō or Costco: The two faces of a new supermarket chain
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Is there a direct role for Government in the supermarket sector? (paywalled)
Housing
Greg Ninness (Interest): Average value of NZ homes increases $217,136 in the year to October
RNZ: House prices spiked in October as Reserve Bank anticipates drop
RNZ: Housing prices pose risk to New Zealand’s financial stability, RBNZ governor says
Katie Bradford (1 News): ‘Tide is changing’ on house prices – Reserve Bank
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Housing crisis: All eyes on housing market ahead of Reserve Bank’s next report
David Hargreaves (Interest): Orr pleads with Kiwis not to put all their eggs in the housing basket
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says access to land remains biggest challenge to housing market
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Adrian Orr says Reserve Bank only has ‘bit role’ in unsustainable house prices
David Hargreaves (Interest): RBNZ says recent increase in house prices ‘at odds’ with the fundamental drivers of the market
Daniel Riordan (NBR): Runaway house prices not our fault, Reserve Bank says (paywalled)
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): RBNZ plays just ‘a bit part’ in fueling house price inflation: Orr (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Stuff): House prices rising again because of lockdown listing shortages and strong buyer demand
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Govt could intervene if property owners use covenants to stymie intensification
Luke Kirkeby (Stuff): Quadrupling of house price shocks Taupō real estate agent who’s still in the game at 89
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Wellington tops main centres in property value growth as housing crisis groans on
Jake McKee (RNZ): Frustration rising along with Wellington rental prices
1 News: NZ home loan rates going to continue to grow – economist
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland property – Barfoot & Thompson sales plummet 41% as pandemic bites
Parliament, Government
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Roy Morgan poll October 2021
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): New Roy Morgan Poll – Labour hold on despite lockdown
Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Jacinda Ardern to travel to Auckland after Trevor Mallard drops restrictive Parliamentary Covid rules
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern will visit Auckland after speaker changes Parliament’s Covid-19 rules
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Speaker scraps isolation rules for MPs’ return to Parliament
Three Waters, local government
RNZ: Nine to Noon: Three Waters: Minister responds to outpouring of opposition
Matt Burgess (Herald): Three Waters needs to be on a commercial footing (paywalled)
Mike Tweed (Herald): Whanganui-based MP Harete Hipango labels Three Waters a ‘grab on power’ (paywalled)
Logan Savory (Stuff): Councillor: Time for Three Waters grandstanding to stop
Rebecca Ryan (ODT): Mayor, council pen protest on effect of Three Waters
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Waikato mayor’s fury at Government following Three Waters signal
Liu Chen (RNZ): ‘Disgraceful, criminal behaviour’: Councillors, staff increasingly abused
Star News: Declining satisfaction behind Christchurch City Council action plan
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Property sales in pipeline for ORC
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Rainbow crossing ‘PC virtue signalling’
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporting): Gisborne District Councils votes to review dog policy and bylaw
Robin Martin (RNZ): Lockdown leads to poetic justice for Whanganui pound dogs
Transport
Zane Small (Newshub): Let’s Get Wellington Moving: How the capital could look after multibillion-dollar light rail transformation
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): New Zealand’s traffic barely registers on the list of most congested roads
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Commuter parking levy investigated for Wellington of up to $2500 per car park
Michael Wood (Herald): Light rail is coming for Auckland, at long last (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council drawing up radical plan to remove parking on roads across the city
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Final link in Palmerston North’s ring road back on track
Primary industries
Jamie MacKay (The Country): Does Groundswell NZ have a problem with anti-vaxxers?
RNZ: Growing regulation causing added stress for dairy farmers – Survey
Shawn McAvinue (ODT): Premium price suggested for milk produced using regenerative farming practices
Keith Woodford (Interest): No-one has found an alternative to dairy for New Zealand’s export-led economy
Media
Stephen Parker (Newsroom): Cabinet delays decision on new public broadcaster
John Anthony (Stuff): Covid-19 and elections drive Broadcasting Standards Authority complaints to 10-year high
Bill Ralston (Stuff): Little doubt Moralising Mike is target of Tova O’Brien hire
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Tova O’Brien just might shift the plates in NZ news radio
Mark Jennings (Newshub): Tova O’Brien: The new face of talk radio
Emily Brookes (Stuff): Tova O’Brien quits Newshub for new talk radio gig
Herald: Radio wars: MediaWorks poaches Tova O’Brien from Newshub to host breakfast show
Newshub: Tova O’Brien leaving Newshub, joining MediaWorks’ new talk radio brand
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): MediaWorks cuts the last tie to the past
Other
Vincent O’Malley (Guardian): New Zealand’s children will all soon study the country’s brutal history – it’s not before time
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Public servants invited to house Afghan evacuees
RNZ: The Detail: Copyright laws are a hitch in the UK trade deal
1 News: 40% of NZ kids showing signs of depression in lockdown – study
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Why unemployment is more likely to drop than rise
ODT Editorial: Trust me, I’m a scientist
Bob Brockie (Basset, Brash and Hide): The flight from reason
James Halpin (Stuff): Only 4 per cent of alcohol sales happen after 9pm, so should hours be cut?
André Chumko (Stuff): The arts absent in Infrastructure Commission’s 30-year plan
Stuff Editorial: A ministry that will need abilities
RNZ: New ‘navigator’ to reduce methamphetamine harm on the West Coast
Jody O’Callaghan (Herald): Victims’ Christchurch terror attack stories told on New York stage
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Rob Everett’s tough love in a tough job
Todd Niall (Stuff): Dame Catherine Tizard: The trailblazer who ‘lit up the room’
