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
Parliamentary Grounds occupation
Barry Soper (Herald): Govt’s refusal to engage with Parliament protesters unwise if not unkind
Karl du Fresne: The fascinating new fault line in New Zealand politics
RNZ: Parliament protest: Negotiation expert pushes for mediation
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Is the anti-mandate movement Winston’s final frontier?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Winston Peters joins former MPs backing anti-mandate message
Ani O’Brien (The Platform): Contempt from the Parliamentary balcony
Anna Leask (Herald): How to end the protest in one easy step: activist, negotiator reveal the key to resolving parliamentary occupation (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): When Policing By Consent Gets Too Granular (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Do these protesters have a point?
Herald: Editorial – Time for anti-vaccine mandate protest to find one voice (paywalled)
Stuff: Editorial – Leave the crowd control to the experts, Mr Speaker
Simon Wilson (Herald): Playing Barry Manilow at Parliament was a genius move (paywalled)
Bridie Witton, Thomas Manch and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Freedom Convoy: How the protest with no leadership keeps going
Ross Hendy (The Conversation): The occupation of NZ’s parliament grounds is a tactical challenge for police, but mass arrests are not an option
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Law experts: Police taking a ‘light-handed’ approach to protesters
Sophie Cornish, Joel MacManus and André Chumko (Stuff): Police say ‘high probability’ protest could continue for days, weeks after roads cleared
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Politicians at war over Trevor Mallard’s ‘immature’ response to Parliament’s anti-mandate protesters
Herald: A glimpse inside pop-up tent city
Richard Harman: The hippies take over
Samuel Hill (The Platform): The Anti-Mandate protestors are winning
Gavin Ellis: Copycat media abuse from ragtag bag of protesters
James Perry (Waatea News): ‘Just stoking the fire’ – Waititi tells Speaker to end tactics at parliament protest
Chris Trotter (Interest): Changing their story
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Trevor Mallard has lost the plot
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Trevor Mallard and Govt have misread Parliament protests so badly
Steven Cowan: Do as I say not as I do
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Parents explain why they’ve brought children to anti-mandate protest in Wellington
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Businesses near Parliament struggling with anti-vaccine mandate protest on doorstep
Gordon Campbell: On why compromise isn’t an option
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): You can’t call yourselves freedom fighters as you take other people’s freedom away
Verity Johnson (Stuff): We have failed to rein in social media’s misinformation
Ian Powell: Rights, responsibilities, François-Marie Arouet and far right agendas
Herald: Prime Minister questioned over use of sprinklers on protesters, including children
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern won’t voice opinion on Speaker’s protest tactics as Opposition accuses Trevor Mallard of ’embarrassing’ behaviour
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Christopher Luxon says Trevor Mallard’s sprinkler, music tactics were ‘not helpful’, protest should be left to police
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Business leaders react to Jacinda Ardern being in Auckland over weekend amid Wellington protest
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): What we can be sure of with Parliament protests
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): ‘It shakes you’: Wellington bus driver spat on and yelled at by protesters
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): High risk of gastro bugs like E coli at Wellington’s anti-mandate protest – public health experts
Herald: Covid 19 convoy at Parliament: Protesters ignore police plea to move vehicles, request meeting with Cabinet
Herald: Police have ‘productive talks’ with protesters; vehicles set to be moved
Tom Hunt and Kate Green (Stuff): Parliament protesters ignore offer of free parking at Sky Stadium
RNZ: Efforts to remove illegally parked cars mildly successful, collaboration needed with protesters – police
RNZ: Wellington’s Sky Stadium offered as parking to free up Parliament streets blocked by protesters
Tom Hunt and Kate Green (Stuff): Police hopeful protesters will move vehicles away from Parliament
Euro News: New Zealand authorities blast ‘Baby Shark’ and James Blunt to disperse protestors
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): White supremacist Philip Arps arrested after alleged ‘public execution’ comment
Omicron
RNZ: ‘This is crazy’: Shortfall in booster numbers worries top Covid-19 adviser
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern moves New Zealand into phase 2 of Omicron response, shrinking isolation period
Henry Cooke (Stuff): What ‘phase 2’ of Omicron response will mean for isolation times, testing
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Isolation rules loosen at same time people opt to stay home
John Anthony (Stuff): ‘Do not apply the Delta rules to manage Omicron,’ Australian business leader urges
Tess McClure (Guardian): NZ Covid outbreak ‘like nothing we’ve experienced’, Ardern says, as cases skyrocket
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Stuff press gallery reporter confirmed as Covid-negative, ending scare in Parliament
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Kiwis encouraged to live normally as omicron outbreak surges (paywalled)
RNZ: MIQ should have changed to uphold right of Kiwis to come home, Grounded Kiwis’ lawyer says
Matthew Parry (Newsroom): Q&A: Modelling, what is it good for?
Henry Burrell (BusinessDesk): RIP Bluetooth tracing: app function to be phased out
John Weekes (Herald): Banning unvaxxed from driver licence test foolish, unsafe, network says
Rohan MacMahon (Herald): We need to talk about digital equity and vaccine passes (paywalled)
1News: Michael Baker: 2022 flu season may be ‘particularly tough’
Housing
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Property asking prices jump by 25 per cent for second month in a row, Trade Me says
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Build-to-rent sector ‘needs Government action’ to scale up
Ben Leahy (Herald): Auckland rental videos turn Kiwi woman into TikTok star
Liz McDonald (Stuff): City tenants compete for fewer homes at higher rents
RNZ: First-home buyers ‘being hampered by tighter credit policies’ – CoreLogic
Economy, Business
Ben Kepes (Stuff): The revolution is coming: Playing Russian roulette with inequity
Felix Walton (Spinoff): The pay gap that divides skilled migrants by country of origin
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Minimum wage increase kicks businesses when they’re down
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Will Kiwibank be sold off, and what is the role of NZ’s bank in 2022?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Chinese SOE pushes NZ for U-turn on live export ban
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand’s Greg Foran outlines the airline’s Kia Mau five year plan (paywalled)
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Aramex offers $600 a week subsidy to courier drivers revealed to be earning less than minimum wage
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland mayoralty: Labour to clarify process to succeed Phil Goff
Todd Niall (Stuff): The bumpy end to Auckland mayor Phil Goff’s 41-year political career
RNZ: Goff hopes for younger generation as Auckland mayor
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Learning to love the I in Wellington
Environment, Climate Change
Todd Niall (Stuff): How much climate change action do you get for $1 billion?
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): The folly of carbon farming with pine trees
Colin Williscroft (Farmers Weekly): Climate Change Commission to explain advice
Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Police road safety operation misses the target
Daphna Whitmore (The Platform): Class is the elephant in the newsroom
Thomas Manch (Stuff): PM Jacinda Ardern confirms she will travel to United States in May
John Minto (Herald): A two-tiered system for calling out human rights abuses (paywalled)
Tony Simpson (Newsroom): Self-portrait
Chris Fowlie (Daily Blog): 20 years ago I fought the Law – And I won!
