NZ Politics Daily: 12 August 2021

Energy
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Take back your power! What a real Labour-Green Government might do to combat climate change
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Dawn Chorus: ‘The market has failed’
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Ministers were warned about power outages (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Market failure
Clint Smith (Spinoff): Hey Clint! Is it time for our electricity regulators to revisit NZ Power?
Neil Holdom (Taranaki Daily News): Avoiding a crisis in our complex energy system
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Madison Reidy (Newshub): Transpower admits it messed up numbers after mistakenly pulling power from too many homes
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Heat goes on Transpower after Wel Networks reveals grid operator made huge error
RNZ: Waikato power company was told to reduce load by 20%
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Power outages: Government backs down on Genesis attack, heat on Transpower
Belinda Feek (Herald): Power outages: ‘They didn’t have the time to turn Huntly turbines on’, former Genesis boss says
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Megan Woods sticks to guns, says ‘commercial reasons’ behind outage, denies scapegoating Genesis
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Transpower sidesteps question on exactly what it expected from Genesis
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Jordan Bond (RNZ): Genesis carbon dioxide levels up 82% compared to previous years
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Amid power supply scrutiny, Genesis not planning to build NZ’s biggest wind farm at Castle Hill
Heather du Plessis-Allen (Newstalk ZB): It’s not Genesis’ fault
Olivia Wanna (Stuff): Is it time to ban onshore exploration for fossils fuels?
Olivia Wanna (Stuff): Is the offshore oil and gas ban to blame for the rolling black-outs?

Covid-19 – Border restrictions, Public Health Advisory Group Report
Derek Cheng (Herald): The political headache awaiting Jacinda Ardern and Labour that could see voters flee (paywalled)
Kate Gregan (RNZ): Australia’s Covid-19 outbreak ‘probably means the end of the travel bubble’
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The three little letters that may lead to a level 4 lockdown – NSW
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Strict lockdown ‘right approach’ to Delta variant – Covid-19 modeller
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Delta in NZ community would ‘risk collapsing or compromising our health system’
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Expect ‘swift and severe’ level 4 lockdown if Delta emerges, Chris Hipkins says
1 News: Delta community case would spark lockdown – Hipkins
RNZ: New Zealand should expect a ‘short, sharp’ response to Delta – Hipkins
Luke Malpass and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government advisory group says borders can open in 2022 without forgoing elimination strategy
Derek Cheng (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set to respond to Sir David Skegg report on vaccine targets, border opening
RNZ: Full vaccine rollout required to start opening border, report says
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Complacency the biggest risk to vaccine roll-out Sir David Skegg says
Siouxsie Wiles (Spinoff): We all want to open up to the world. Here’s what we need to do first
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Don’t expect too much from Government’s announcement today (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): David Seymour: Open the borders next year regardless of vaccination levels
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Act leader wants border restrictions eased at start of 2022
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Chris Hipkins snaps back at David Seymour for claiming Sir David Skegg panel a ‘focus group’
Māori TV: Seymour says government taking the p*** out of Kiwis on Covid-19 report
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): No new community cases, over 46,000 more vaccinations as Fiji and Indonesia added to ‘high-risk’ list
RNZ: Indonesia and Fiji designated as very high risk – govt

Covid-19 – Port workers
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Health officials quietly change vaccine availability for port workers following Tauranga Delta scare
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Who, exactly, is monitoring vaccination numbers at the port in Tauranga?
Herald Editorial: Unvaccinated port workers inconceivable
Andrea Fox (Herald): Government’s Tauranga infected ship ‘mistakes’ test border faith – port chairman(paywalled)
Herald: Only half of ‘high risk’ contracted port workers vaccinated – Chris Hipkins
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): All port workers test negative, as Rio de la Plata leaves Tauranga
RNZ: Rio de la Plata: Ship carrying crew members with Covid-19 departs Tauranga
Stuff: Three MS Mattina crewmen considered not yet recovered 

Covid-19 – Vaccination rollout
Cate Broughton (Stuff): National MP brands text invite to young Māori for Covid-19 jab race-based
Denise Piper (Stuff): ‘Have a cuppa and a Covid-19 vaccine’: How one clinic is reaching Māori
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Kiwis ‘haven’t seen how devastating this pandemic is’ expert says, urges vaccination
Dan Satherley (Newshub): People who don’t get jabs ‘will meet the virus’ as herd immunity no longer possible – COVID vaccine inventor
Mike Houlahan (ODT): 20,000 behind in vaccinations
Adam Pearse (Herald): Advocates fear disabled community being forgotten in rollout
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Call to give first jabs ‘quickly as possible’, dose gap decision pending
Henry Cooke (Stuff): One-third of adults have had first dose of vaccine, Government hints it will extend gap between first and second dose
RNZ: Kiwis changing second vaccine appointment despite no change in official advice
1 News: Most Kiwis not seeing public health campaign about Covid vaccine
Mike Houlahan (ODT): GP thought about quitting vaccine rollout
Hannah Martin (Stuff): One fifth of all eligible New Zealanders now fully vaccinated
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Charting New Zealand’s vaccine rollout
Anthony Dennis (Stuff): Don’t want a vaccine passport? Don’t expect to travel again, anywhere
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Is the vaccine push giving us false hope?

Covid-19 – MIQ
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Dwindling MIQ room supply as govt increases its own allocation
Nick Truebridge (RNZ): Govt using shed at busy Auckland marina to ferry foreign shipping crew offshore
1 News: No special MIQ treatment for Podmore’s funeral – Hipkins

Covid-19
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Chris Hipkins defends Dr Ashley Bloomfield over Judith Collins’ ‘one-trick pony’ comments
Marika Khabazi and Louise Ternouth (RNZ):  Mandatory masks slipping from faces on Auckland’s buses
RNZ: The Detail: Long Covid short on research
Chris Keall (Herald): Slingshot offers frontline workers six months’ free broadband

Environment, climate change, conservation
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 4.5% due to Covid, but upward trend resumes
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): NZ’s greenhouse gasses fall to seven-year low because of Covid
Dan Satherley (Newshub): NZ records biggest drop in greenhouse gas emissions ever, but still far from meeting targets
RNZ: Narrow window to halt climate catastrophe – Pacific Forum leader
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Call for government to partner with Māori following harrowing climate report
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Take shorter showers and don’t wait for state to act on climate change – mātauranga Māori researcher
RNZ: Govt to assist development of next-gen waterways protection tool
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): No quick fix for Waikato River as second report card shows ‘deteriorating’ trend
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Waikato River deteriorating, improvements will take time – report
RNZ: Great Walks guided operators investigated for gaming the hut booking system

Parliament
ODT Editorial: Managing the party line
Audrey Young (Herald): Attorney-General supports Winston Peters’ bid to have judgment set aside(paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): We need our politicians to start solving issues, and stop fighting a culture war
News: Judith Collins defends AGM speech in fiery exchange with John Campbell
Richard Harman (Politik): We are the boys from down on the farm …(paywalled)
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Me and My Money: Julie Anne Genter, Green Party

Winston Churchill portrait spat
Claire Trevett (Herald): War of the Churchill portrait: Judith Collins, the Greens and Labour in Parliament battle over Winston Churchill’s portrait (paywalled)
Sam Brooks (Spinoff): Ten arty alternatives to Winston Churchill for parliament’s walls
RNZ: The issues that matter? Churchill controversy paints politicians as petty
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Dismiss the debate: Jacinda Ardern says she doesn’t care about Winston Churchill painting spat
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘Do they want Stalin up there?’ Judith Collins lashes out at Greens for ditching Churchill
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern derisive of Greens, National spat over Churchill painting
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins lashes out at Greens over shifting of Winston Churchill painting in Parliament
1 News: Collins blasts ‘disrespectful’ Greens after Churchill portrait removed

Housing
Qiuyi Tan (Herald): The poor pay more: How housing problems are costing our kids
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Act Party slams housing agency Kāinga Ora for $30,000 Māori carving spend
Sam Olley (RNZ): The sad price of New Zealand’s soaring housing market
Tony Alexander (One Roof): 11 reasons why house prices have jumped 30%
David Hargreaves (Interest): YES – we are finally getting DTIs – but what exactly will we get and when?
Catherine Masters (One Roof): Revealed: First home buyers outside Auckland fear price rises the most
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): House prices: Won’t someone think of the movers?
Tim Newman (Stuff): Proposal put forward to back developers’ applications for $1b fund

Health
Jo Moir (Newsroom): A bad week for Bloomfield’s ministry
Corazon Miller (1 News): Growing nursing shortage sees more nurses call in sick
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): ‘Giving them everything you’ve got’: The life of a hospital midwife
RNZ: Midwives strike: Six DHBs cancel non-urgent caesarean births
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): MidCentral midwives strike for fair pay and safe staffing
Katie Townshend (Stuff): RSV outbreak: could get ‘significantly worse’ for older population
Luisa Girao (ODT): Response to suicide attempt criticised
Will Trafford (Māori TV): $1.6 million Suicide Prevention Fund accepting applications

International relations
Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): Climate change report a reminder of UN’s clout
Gordon Campbell: On how New Zealand is punching below its weight in Afghanistan
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government prepared for more than one New Zealand citizen with children to return from Syria
RNZ: Samoa’s former leader criticises NZ/AUS for lack of support

Trade
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): How free Is New Zealand’s trade?
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): Easy growth drives NZ’s risky reliance on China
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): Trade-Off: What happens if China stops buying?
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Will the British FTA push for greater leniency on investment rules?

Local government
Logan Savory (Stuff): Deputy Mayor says Sir Tim Shadbolt is ‘no longer capable’
Matthew Ronsenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Tipping point: ‘Traumatised’ Shadbolt claims workplace bullying
Tina Law (Press): Councillors call for early public feedback on Government’s water reforms
Yashas Srinivasa (Timaru Herald): Waimate residents feel future Three Waters governance is ‘undemocratic’
Jimmy Ellingham (Stuff): Education could be key to reversing local body politics disinterest
RNZ: Christchurch stadium vote back on the table at city council
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): West Coast Regional rates increase by 30 per cent with more to come
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Stratford councillors vote to keep seats status quo, with additional Māori ward
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporting): Proposed Māori ward structure released as Gisborne’s representation rejig reaches next step
Mike Mather (Waikato Times): Hamilton City Council leaps back into the property game with revival of $56.3m municipal endowment fund
RNZ: Hutt City Council publishes plan to cut its carbon emissions
RNZ: Southland council to start removing black mould from chambers
Mark Price (ODT): Action against Queenstown Lakes mayor ends

Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Bill allowing trans people to change sex on birth certificates passes second reading unanimously
RNZ: Bill making it easier to change sex on birth certificate passes second reading
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National will vote for gender self-ID law, supports further scrutiny of it
1 News: Sex change legislation has support of all parties as it goes through Parliament
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Self-identification to ensure more inclusivity for trans, non-binary and intersex whānau

Labour market, industrial relations, migrant workers
RNZ: ‘A job seekers market’: Auckland, Canterbury see increase in job ads
Liam Dann (Herald): Another record for job ads as applicants per job falls – Seek (paywalled)
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Record number of jobs advertised, with fewer applicants
Vandhna Bhan and Arvind Kumar (Stuff): NZ caught napping trying to retain skilled migrants, says Act Party leader
Melissa Laing (Stuff): Creative NZ needs to step up: $25 an hour is a joke for contractors
Philip Stevens (Herald): We are all ‘richer’ for innovation and productivity (paywalled)

Banks
Rob Stock (Stuff): Reserve Bank warns Westpac over anti-money laundering system failures
RNZ: Westpac warned after failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules
David Hargreaves (Interest): Westpac issued formal warning by RBNZ
RNZ: ASB reports housing boom, Covid-19 rebound led to 39% profits rise
1 News: ASB cash profit up 34 per cent to nearly $1.3 billion

Hurricanes race controversy
Imogen Wells (1 News): Hurricanes racism issue ‘utterly mad woke-ism’: Winston Peters
Michael Neilson (Herald): Trevor Mallard to boycott Hurricanes over Troy Bowker’s Māori race comments
Stuff: TJ Perenara seeks answers after ‘insulting’ comments by Hurricanes board member
RNZ: TJ Perenara says Hurricanes board member’s comments “underlying racism”
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Pressure mounts on Hurricanes and part-owner Troy Bowker after comments
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Hurricanes Rugby distances itself from Troy Bowker’s ‘left-loving Māori agenda’ remarks
1 News: NZ Rugby against Bowker’s posts, ‘providing support’ to ‘Canes

Primary industries
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Fisheries boat forced to take evasive action twice by pāua poachers
1 News: Fonterra trying to trade mark certain Te Reo Māori words

Transport
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Analysis: Transmission Gully parties position for blame game (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland bus driver shortage sees 1754 services cancelled in a week
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland campaigners seek political backing to revive Skypath on harbour bridge
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Police didn’t monitor vehicle towing contractors for eight years, watchdog finds
RNZ: Police failed to monitor tow truck consortium – IPCA
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Māori cultural values missing from KiwiRail’s freight centre plans

Crime
Daisy Hudson (ODT): High number of illegal guns blamed on gangs
1 News: Tearful Adesanya challenges Govt on ‘coward punch’ laws again
RNZ: Mixed martial artists want ‘coward punching’ law change
Will Trafford (Māori TV): ‘How can you call this justice?’ City Kickboxing slams Vake court decision
Jack Crossland (Herald): Mongrel Mob member sentenced for threatening to kill National MP Simeon Brown

Education and training
RNZ: Rangatahi and Māori trades and training intiatives get funding boost
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Government document warns of risk of returning foreign students
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Struggle to sell NZ as option for international students
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Mixing Māori and mathematics to create new career pathways

Other
Thomas Mead (1 News): ‘I don’t want these out there’ – An inside look at Talley’s attempts to shut down a 1 NEWS investigation
Denise Montgomery (The Big Q): Does poverty impact childhood development?
Mare Haimona-Riki (Māori TV): Auckland City Mission celebrates new Māori name
George Driver (Spinoff): How do NZ grocery prices compare with overseas? We have the receipts
Stephen Parker (Newsroom): Government slow to make Google pay for local news
Devon Bolger (Herald): Gloriavale School focus of police investigation into Christian community
Joanne Naish (Stuff): Police, Oranga Tamariki and Ministry of Education investigating Gloriavale School
Arena Williams & Stuart Smith (Stuff): We expect everyone in New Zealand to be treated with dignity and respect
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Dawn Raids history should be made compulsory in schools, Pasifika leaders say
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Parole Board says prisoners waiting for rehab, psych help
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Pokie machine venues worried DIA plan will trigger ‘shopping list’ for thieves
1 News: Only a fifth of Kiwis know their rights when taking out loans
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Govt urged to boost local help to stamp out meth in Far North
Lucy Thomson (Newshub): Concerned parents come forward in the wake of Olivia Podmore tragedy
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Money talks but is it talking nonsense? (paywalled)
Daisy Hudson (ODT): ’81 Boks protest ‘a great day for Dunedin’: Minto
RNZ: Building material shortages affecting the entire industry – survey