NZ Politics Daily: 17 August 2021

Afghanistan
Henry Cooke (Stuff): ‘All up in smoke’: New Zealand’s 20 years and 10 lives lost in Afghanistan
David Fisher (Herald):  After 20 years at war, this is what NZ got out of going to war in Afghanistan(paywalled)
Liam Hehir (Blue Review) The disaster in Afghanistan
Gordon Campbell: On the fall of Kabul
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Helping those who helped us in Afghanistan is the least we can do
Robert Ayson (Newsroom): Afghanistan: The end of strategic optimism
No Right Turn: It was always going to end like this
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Afghanistan war: 20 years of blood and treasure – and for what?
David Fisher (Herald): As Afghanistan fell, our military’s interpreters sat in silence and feared for families they tried to bring to New Zealand (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Taliban is new reality in Afghanistan – let’s talk to them: Former Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee
George Driver (Spinoff): ‘It might be too late’: resettled NZDF interpreter on fears for family in Afghanistan
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Political parties urge government to support Afghan nationals
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘We are desperate’ – Terrified Afghans who helped NZ in hiding awaiting evacuation
Stuff Editorial: Government scrambles to react to Taliban resurgence
ODT Editorial: Tears for Afghanistan
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Failure Of The West
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Who is scrambling faster? The Taliban taking Kabul or Helen Clark protecting her reputation?
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Amnesty International urges Government to ‘do all it can’ to help those caught in Afghanistan 
Kirsty Lawrence (Stuff): Abandoned: My siblings served New Zealand, now they’re targets
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Afghan Kiwis plead with government to bring their families to NZ
1 News: NZ contribution in Afghanistan a ‘positive one’: Henare
RNZ: Checkpoint: Afghanistan deployment by Wednesday earliest – Defence Minister
Zane Small (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins fears ‘death cult’ Taliban will murder New Zealand allies if they haven’t been evacuated yet
Newstalk ZB: Getting Afghan Nationals out will be difficult
Tess McClure (Guardian): New Zealand to deploy troops to aid citizens’ evacuation from Afghanistan
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Our responsibility to support those who supported us: Jacinda Ardern plans to evacuate Afghan nationals and Kiwis amid Taliban takeover
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff):‘We can help’: Kiwi couple fundraise to help those displaced in Afghanistan
Newstalk ZB: Former SAS Commander: We have a moral obligation to help Afghan civilians
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Afghans face ‘rule of the gun’ under Taliban control, retired major says 
Tom Hunt (Stuff): ‘I cannot do anything’: Afghan man in Wellington watches homeland helplessly 
1 News: NZ academic has reservations about Taliban despite its moderate claims
Derek Cheng (Herald): NZDF sending plane to help evacuate New Zealanders, local contractors from Afghanistan – PM Jacinda Ardern
RNZ: New Zealanders, at-risk Afghan nationals being helped to leave Afghanistan
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): NZ Defence Force plane to go on deployment with 40 personnel for Afghanistan evacuations
Michael Daly (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern has not ruled out sending Defence Force to Afghanistan to get New Zealanders out
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): A mercy mission: Jacinda Ardern deploys troops to Afghanistan just months after New Zealand pulled out
Herald: Fall of Kabul: Cabinet to act urgently to get Kiwis and helpers out of Afghanistan
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Cabinet calls on NZ troops for Afghanistan rescue
1 News: Govt to offer assistance to Afghan citizens who helped NZ forces
Stuff: Taliban’s retake of Afghanistan sparks anguish among New Zealanders
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Calm urged among Afghan and Pakistan Kiwis as tensions rise abroad 
Thomas Manch (Stuff): ‘Utterly surreal and devastating’: Former PM Helen Clark shellshocked to be ‘back where we were’ in Afghanistan as Taliban take over
RNZ: Former PM Helen Clark says Taliban control in Afghanistan ‘massive step backwards’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Our responsibility to support those who supported us: Jacinda Ardern plans to evacuate Afghan nationals and Kiwis amid Taliban takeover
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand joins international statement on Afghanistan calling on Taliban to allow departures
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Defence Force to be deployed in Afghanistan to evacuate Kiwis, Afghan allies after Taliban takeover
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Former Afghan aid worker calls for sympathy rather than fear
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Calm urged among Afghan and Pakistan Kiwis as tensions rise abroad 

UMR poll
Claire Trevett (Herald):  Political poll: Labour down, National up but Act’s David Seymour extends lead over Judith Collins
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): UMR poll: Why New Zealand First got a bump and how Winston Peters could return in 2023 – Jenny Marcroft
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand First on verge of political comeback in UMR poll as Labour slips
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Latest internal UMR Poll – Left plummet while Right rise
Richard Harman (Politik): How POLITIK was duped by fake news

Simon Bridges’ book
Danyl McLauchlan (Spinoff): It means no worries: a revealing interview with Simon ‘Simba’ Bridges
Steve Braunias (Guardian): Simon Bridges’ memoir reveals the candid, funny, vulnerable person behind the stiff exterior
Dita De Boni ((NBR):): Reading better than rugby: Simon Bridges the outsider in new memoir (paywalled)
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Simon Bridges’ book details events leading to toppling: ‘The bedwetters won’

Covid-19
Chris Trotter (Interest): Racism is always and everywhere the creation of elites and ‘perfect storms’ are invariably unleashed upon us from above
Nick Truebridge (RNZ): ‘A serious problem’: Vaccination rates not tracked at east Auckland border facility
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Decision to jab 12- to 15-year-olds coming in ‘not so distant future’, Ardern says 
1 News: Ardern: ‘Talks ongoing’ about potential Covid booster jabs
Herald Editorial: The booster debate – by next year will we need an extra dose?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Westpac ponders life after mass vaccinations
Daily Telegraph Opinion (Herald): Zero-Covid ‘hermit economies’ headed for catastrophe (paywalled)
Marty Bradbury (Waatea News):  Let’s be clear – reopening the borders will kill Maori, Pacifica & the poor
Mike Hosking (Herald): Mike Hosking’s ‘seamless’ first vaccine jab
RNZ: Students told anti-vaccine campaigners to ‘go away’ – Deputy principal
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Vaccination Inc: Corporates step up to speed up rollout

Covid-19 – MIQ, immigration
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): I refreshed MIQ site 10,000 times and still no room
Hannah Martin (Stuff): 100pc of cases at the border in last three weeks were Delta variant
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Covid exposure en route to MIQ
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Millions in visitor income at risk after Government says no to MIQ for SailGP
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern surprised 11yo cancer patient who flew to US for treatment can’t get MIQ spot
Michael O’Keeffe (Newshub): SailGP organisers hopeful of New Zealand leg after January plans scuppered by MIQ spot shortage
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Millions in visitor income at risk after Government says no to MIQ for SailGP
RNZ: The Detail: Immigration – who’s in, who’s out, who’s waiting?

Troy Bowker race comments
Claire Trevett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took a donation from Troy Bowker in 2017
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern vows to never again accept donation from Hurricanes board member Troy Bowker over ‘appalling and backward’ remarks
Peter Williams (Magic): Get that divisive cancel culture out of New Zealand

Health
David Farrar: Little says Cancer Society “off the planet”
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Southlanders call on Health Minister to prioritise cancer care
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Patients sent home, surgeries deferred as hospital nurses and midwives strike again
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): More than 30,000 midwives, health workers prepare to strike
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Lower Hutt birthing centre’s decision to close ‘theirs to make’ – Associate Health Minister
Imogen Wells (1 News): Hutt birthing unit closure ‘unfortunate’, says Health Ministry
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Wellington’s ‘code red’ as region’s only birth centre risks closure, expecting parents struggle to find midwives
Matai O’Connor (RNZ): Calls for more Māori health provider funding and Māori nurses pay parity
Esther Ashby-Coventry (Herald): Work to break down barriers to Māori health, recognised
Esther Ashby-Coventry (Stuff): Healthcare NZ withdrawal puts South Canterbury support workers on edge
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Taranaki waiting lists for specialists longest in the country

Housing
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): ‘It’s a broken system’: A single father’s never-ending ordeal with an emergency housing model that gives him no security
Daniel Smith (Stuff): House price drop may test home loans with 5 per cent deposit
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): First-home buyers will need longer to save deposit under proposed loan-to-value restrictions – CoreLogic
Daniel Smith (Stuff): House price drop may test home loans with 5 per cent deposit
David Hargreaves (Interest): Households expecting house prices to continue rising over next year
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): Napier housing, 3500 new homes needed in 10 years: The only way is up? (paywalled)
Tim Newman (Stuff): Proposal aims to bring affordable housing to Nelson’s central city
Samathana Gee (RNZ): Kāinga Ora eyeing chance to develop Nelson CBD land for housing
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland buyers could need an extra $90,000 after October’s Reserve Bank clampdown (paywalled)

Energy
Luke Blincoe (Stuff): Power ‘blackout’ highlights NZ’s electricity problem
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Transpower’s social media posts lead to confusion on East Coast
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Contact Energy promotes ‘ThermalCo’ proposal as profit rises 50%
Jamie Gray (Herald): Contact lifts profit by 24%, makes a case for ‘ThermalCo’  (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Contact Energy earnings lift by $107m, seeks thermal asset consolidation

Environment, climate change, conservation
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Defence Force’s most polluted bases revealed
Todd Niall (Stuff): Climate change: Who will lead Auckland emissions reduction if there is no leader?
Timothy Welch (The Conversation): To get New Zealanders out of their cars we’ll need to start charging the true cost of driving
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporting): Airstrip in East Coast wetland area consented despite objections of DoC, council ecologist
Herald: Waikato Regional Council lays 44 charges against Huntly landfill over fire
RNZ: Dozens of charges laid in wake of long-running rubbish dump fire
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Identifying source of neon green substance in Queenstown creek may take weeks
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Cause of green water in Wakatipu may take weeks to establish – council
Jared McCulloch and Maddy Lloyd (1 News): NIWA and schools combine to get to bottom of Cromwell’s air quality issues

Parliament
Spinoff: After many years responding to OIA requests, I have an idea to make it actually work
Sarah Templeton (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern weighs in on viral ‘bridezilla’ Reddit thread on The AM Show

Lord of the Rings
Newstalk ZB: Grant Robertson: Doesn’t accept Amazon’s decision to not film in NZ due to MIQ
Oliver Lewis (Spinoff): They may take our Amazon series, but they’ll never take our giant airport Gandalf

Local government
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Axe Three Waters model, co-fund infrastructure projects
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Sir Tim Shadbolt upset over email leak that led to ‘let’s attack the mayor fest’
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Marae hui call for more Māori seats in Ruapehu council proposal
Ted Wells (Stuff): Trying to solve New Plymouth’s parking problem

Auckland
Simon Wilson (Herald): Cheaper and easier, but do trackless trams make sense? (paywalled)
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Trackless trams on Auckland’s Dominion Rd won’t solve congestion, urbanist says 
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s potential $400m transport funding hole puts roading and public transport projects at risk (paywalled)
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Auckland’s climate likely contributed to train track damage, causing speed restrictions
Todd Niall (Stuff): Contractor fined for theft of mains water in Auckland
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Crime in the City: Auckland security guard on ‘new generation of bad behaviour’
Mike Scott (Herald): Crime in the City: The cost of violent crime on Auckland’s health services

Labour market, industrial relations, migrant workers
Chris Keall (Herald): Skills crisis: Video gaming boss unloads on Immigration NZ (paywalled)
Mariné Lourens (Stuff): Booze baron’s record scrutinised as authority considers cancelling liquor licences
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Gisborne grower hopes to pay half his workforce $27 an hour 

Education and training
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Regular ERO audits help ‘turnaround’ problem schools
Cas Carter (Stuff): Why can’t we accept that girls are smarter?

Business, economy
David Hargreaves (Interest): ANZ economists point to a ‘sharp disconnect’ between what NZ analysts and offshore pundits believe the Reserve Bank will do on interest rates this week
Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Reserve Bank poised to increase OCR to ease economic pressures
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Full employment, but more people are on benefits
Simon Draper (Stuff): We need to increase our export opportunities, not isolate ourselves from the world
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Price increases v cost inflation likely key focus of earnings season
RNZ: Services sector and employment levels continue to expand

Primary industries
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Groundswell NZ plans more protest action against Government regulations 
Sally Rae (ODT): Howl organisers planning even larger protest

Conversion therapy
1 News: Law professor: National’s vote against conversion therapy bill ‘odd’
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Will Gay Conversion becomes Jacinda’s Anti-smacking curse?

Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Marsden Point closure yet another loss for community next door
Barry Erickson (Hawkes Bay Today): It’s 2021 – could NZ trains be made safer? (paywalled)
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Iwi stand up to KiwiRail plans to claim land
Jimmy Ellingham (Stuff): Thirty-one Manawatū Prison ‘action points’ outstanding after four years
Antonia Fisher and Vivienne Crawshaw (Herald):  The Family Court has a backlog of cases but is not broken (paywalled)
Gain Ellis (Knightly Views): Please don’t quote me on that
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Lecturer says police have undue influence on Police Ten-7
Siouxsie Wiles (Stuff): Science: Some studies better than others
John Anthony (Stuff): Event organisers distance themselves from sponsor’s ‘rant’ over call for inclusion of Māori speakers
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Oranga Tamariki CE on leave for health reasons
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): NZ wades into South China Sea dispute
Susan St John (Interest): There may be a better way to deal fiscally with our ageing population