NZ Politics Daily: 20 August 2021
Alert level decision, expert advice
Anneka Smith (RNZ): Lockdown extension likely for entire country, experts say
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Why it’s very hard to see a way out of level 4
Matthew Hooton (Herald): NZ health system can’t look past lockdown (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Alert level decision day for Delta outbreak, experts say extension likely
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Indications suggest lockdown to be extended
Keith Lynch (Stuff): How the South Island lockdown could be lifted earlier
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Delta outbreak: Why we’re not out of the woods yet
Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris (Spinoff): The hunt for the missing link in NZ’s delta outbreak
Zane Small (Newshub): The considerations behind Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s COVID-19 alert level decision
Derek Cheng (Herald): Why an MIQ leak is cause for relief, and is level 3 in sight? (paywalled)
David Welch (The Conversation): Why rapid genome sequencing is key to finding out how long Delta has been in NZ, and how large this outbreak might be
RNZ: Covid-19 lockdown will ‘stop the virus in its tracks’, but case numbers could rise for another week – modeller
Jamie Morton (Herald): Outbreak may be ‘more contained’ than first feared
George Heagney (Stuff): Disease expert confident lockdown can limit Delta’s reach
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Covid-19 outbreak may be smaller than first expected after border link found
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Is it time to put Covid-19 tracer app scanning codes in homes?
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Hipkins: The cheerful face of a Covid nightmare
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Middle class Stuff journalists soften us up for Covid death & globalization
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Contagious variant will curb iwi response, says Māori Party co-leader
ODT Editorial: Compliance and Delta outbreaks
RNZ: Covid-19 lockdown day 2: What has happened
Michael Neilson (Herald): North Shore Hospital, Northcote College, Lynfield College caught in outbreak; Lockdown decision today – extension likely, say experts
1 News: Auckland NZ Post worker contracts Covid-19
Vaccine rollout
Joel Rindelaub (Spinoff): Five reasons vaccines remain a critical weapon against gatecrashing delta
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Industry leaders call for workplace vaccinations and jabs for younger essential workers
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Government fast-tracks COVID-19 vaccinations for front-facing essential workers
Ross Stitt (Herald): NZ can’t be held hostage by the vaccine-averse (paywalled)
Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): Vaccines for children
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Reports of vaccine online booking confusion as people race to get jabs
Hannah Martin (Stuff): The case for vaccinating children and teenagers
Cherie Howie (Herald): Vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 available now – PM
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Children aged 12 to 15 now eligible for Pfizer vaccine
Robin Martin (RNZ): Misinformation, social media could play role in low Māori vaccination rate
Julia Gabel (Herald): Police Association angry officers weren’t higher priority for vaccinations
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): First drive-thru vaccination clinic starts up in Feilding
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Vaccine numbers don’t lie
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): At least Delta is getting us jabbed
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Charting New Zealand’s vaccine rollout
Lockdown breaches
Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): Some hospitality workers asked to work during lockdown in apparent breach of restrictions
Katy Jones (Stuff):Hospitality workers plagued by uncertainty about Covid-19 restrictions
(Stuff): Legal basis for lockdown now ‘spelt out in neon lights’ – academic
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Kmart staff asked to ‘keep it simple’ and work during lockdown
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Wine glasses, fake grass: Retail staff fear being put at risk for ‘non-essential’ work
RNZ: Employers directing staff to work on non-essential tasks – union
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): ‘Probably a crime against humanity’ – AUT law lecturer denounces lockdown
Sam Sherwood and Catrin Owen (Stuff): Police receive nearly 700 reports of lockdown breaches
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Two arrested as mask use becomes compulsory at supermarkets
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Lockdown protesters, non-mask wearers arrested
John Weekes (Herald): Billy TK banned from internet but gets bail
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika denies police charges after anti-lockdown protest
Northern Advocate:Northland police turning back holidaymakers but no checkpoints — yet
Vera Alves (Herald): Locals worry as Aucklanders exploit ‘loopholes’ to flee to South Island
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Whangārei mayor hits out at Aucklanders escaping to holiday homes ahead lockdown
Mark Quinlivan and Isabella Durant (Newshub): Auckland councillor Efeso Collins still receiving calls, texts claiming COVID-19 ‘a great big conspiracy’
Health system
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Specialists ‘gravely concerned’ over hospital capacity amid COVID-19 Delta outbreak
Richard Harman (Politik): Officials ruled out closing the border
Josie Adams (Spinoff): ‘Here we go again’: Auckland nurses on returning to high alert
Mina Kerr-Lazenby (Stuff): Positive case found in Auckland’s Waitākere Hospital
Northern Advocate: Northland hospital opens Rongoā Clinic as resurgence of traditional Māori healing grows
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Lower Hutt families rally to save capital’s only primary birthing centre
Testing
Lana Andelane and Aziz Al-Sa’afin (Newshub): Avondale College student ‘turned back’ after three-hour wait to be tested, as Aucklanders brace for another long day of queues
Adam Pearse (Herald): Passion Bakery owner – a location of interest – turned away at Northcote after waiting all day for a test
Wage subsidy, business
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): More scrutiny expected this wage subsidy rollout
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Retailers seek clarity on what constitutes an essential service
Liam Dann (Herald): NZ economy can survive lengthy lockdown (paywalled)
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland economy losing $100m a day, says council chief economist(paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Borrowing not on Grant Robertson’s agenda despite millions spent on non-COVID issues from coronavirus fund
Frances Chin (Stuff): Nelson hotels dealing with a ‘mammoth’ number of cancellations
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Butchers frustrated by forced closures, as doughnut deliveries continue
Hanna McCallum (Stuff): Dairy owners seeking more police support and vaccination priority
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Foodstuffs giving 10 per cent bonus to essential staff
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Clearhead and The Mind Lab offer free mental health support for struggling small business owners
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): What employers and employees need to know in level 4 lockdown
Lockdown
Stuff Editorial: Compliance is better than complacency
Felix Desmarais (RNZ): Pumpkin tapestries, yoga and book lists: Politicians in lockdown
Liu Chen (RNZ): Auckland foodbank requests double after lockdown
Josephine Franks and Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Food banks ‘overwhelmed’ as Covid-19 lockdown starts, expecting need to grow
Vicki Anderson (Stuff): Christchurch City Mission night shelters ‘near capacity’ as homeless housed for lockdown
Josephine Franks and Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Homeless young people more at risk during Covid-19 lockdown: ‘It’s heartbreaking’
Michael Fallow (Stuff): Lockdown – back into old habits, are we?
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Confusion at Otago University over remote learning in lockdown
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Mental health at the forefront of schools’ response to lockdown
Helen Nickisson (Stuff): Four-day school camp cut short after one as lockdown announced
Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): Mental health toll on Kiwis as NZ goes into second national lockdown
Tim Brown (RNZ): Grocery shortages reported at Dunedin supermarkets on day two of alert level 4 lockdown
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Supply assured, hectic Foodstuffs says
James Nokise (Stuff):The dynamic duo are back, time to get the toilet paper
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Masks on as Southerners do what’s asked of them
Sarah Templeton (Newshub): Should we be wearing masks while exercising? Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield respond to confusion
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): Government extends travel deadline for Queenstown, Cook Strait ferries until midnight Friday
RNZ: Travel deadline extended by 24hrs with hundreds still stranded in Queenstown
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Interislander puts on extra sailings to get people home for lockdown
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Trampers on Stewart Island unaware of nationwide lockdown
Chris Keall (Herald): NZ internet use hits new record – how close we are to the limit
Kim Knight (Herald): Lockdown 2.0 – three perspectives from small town New Zealand
David Fisher (Herald): The weekend Delta came to Coromandel
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Taranaki leaders fear region ‘not ready’ for Delta outbreak
MIQ/Border
Alan Kenyon (1 News): Concerns over safety measures at Crowne Plaza
Christopher Reive (Herald): More calls for changes to MIQ system as top Kiwi athletes face ‘massive risk’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Australia closes one-way travel bubble from New Zealand
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Cook Islands extend travel bubble suspension as community cases rise in Auckland
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): More Pacific travel bubbles unlikely to open this year after Covid-19 outbreak
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): More Pacific travel bubbles unlikely to open this year after Covid-19 outbreak
Afghanistan
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): As the Taliban’s grip on Afghanistan tightens, New Zealand must commit to taking more refugees
Malcolm Evans (Daily Blog): A failure of Objectivity
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): New Zealand’s Afghanistan Legacy
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): The Men of the West’s Day Has Come – and Gone
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Afghan translator’s plea for his family: ‘Please help them get out’
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Green MP calls to expand evacuation efforts amid harrowing tales
Tess McClure (Guardian): ‘The Taliban are searching’: Afghan interpreter who worked with New Zealand pleads for help
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): ‘Don’t forget about us’: A plea from Afghans as New Zealand is consumed by lockdown
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Relieved but not out of the woods yet – Kiwi stuck in Kabul reacts to news of Defence Force mercy flight
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): UK will accept 20,000 additional Afghan refugees, after Five Eyes meeting
Thomas Manch and Geraden Cann (Stuff): Defence Force deploys as Kiwis and Afghan allies ‘struggle’ to reach Kabul airport
Newstalk ZB: Afghanistan, potential that people Defence Force rescues not eligible for NZ visas
RNZ: NZ military personnel leave for Afghanistan, 100 expected to be repatriated
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Afghanistan evacuation mission begins; New Zealand military plane heads to Kabul
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand Defence Force deployment en route to Middle East with twice the number of troops
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Afghanistan falls: Taliban in Bamiyan where NZDF served destroys statue of legendary leader
Housing
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Inside the community of Auckland’s homeless young men
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Dawn Chorus: RBNZ warns of house price falls…eventually
Trish Oakley (ODT): Options for ‘Generation Rent’ seeking to build or buy home
1 News: House prices could drop as soon as 2022, Reserve Bank predicts
Anne Gibson (Herald): Reserve Bank expects house prices to decline
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Housing is no longer a one-sided bet, says Adrian Orr
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Adrian Orr says house prices should be falling (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says why he thinks house prices will fall 5%
Dan Satherley (Newshub): OCR pause won’t send house prices skyrocketing again – economist
Environment, climate change, conservation
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Napier waterway has 53 times more zinc than one of the world’s most polluted
Brianne West (Stuff): Protecting 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030 – what can you do to help make it happen?
Marie Russell (Newsroom): How hunters are winning against climate action
Local government
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Major changes in way Porirua City councillors are elected set for consultation
RNZ: Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt ‘unnerved’ and waiting for apology over email leak
Logan Savory (Stuff): Sir Tim Shadbolt says latest report criticises him
Matthew Rosenberg (ODT): Sir Tim says still waiting for apology
Energy
Chris Hyde (Herald): Why all of NZ needs a Winter Energy Payment and fast (paywalled)
Gianina Schwanecke (Herald): Power bill fears during lockdown a concern, Flaxmere councillor says
Media
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Prime Minister loses most by not fronting
Patrick Crewdson (Stuff): The Backstory: Crisis conditions show the news media’s value
Transport
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington’s $350 million plan for public transport, walking, cycling revealed
Joel MacManus (Stuff):Transmission Gully crew given essential worker permits to protect road during lockdown
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Homes, wetlands and rural landscapes stand to be lost to rail yards
Sport and athlete welfare
Hamish Bidwell (RNZ): Podmore tragedy: Sporting bodies can’t drive change
RNZ: Cycling New Zealand under review – again
Adrian Seconi (ODT): Emotional pressure on athletes
Other
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): National stroking white identity anxieties
Dominic Godfery (RNZ): Inquiry into why Pasifika are paid 23 percent less than Pākehā
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Report details steps to raise equity in tertiary study for Pasifika
RNZ: The Detail: Downplaying the arts at school
Bernard Hickey (Spinoff): We’re flying blind into our population future
Brian Fallow (Herald): Go easy on the bubble-bursting, Adrian (paywalled)
Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): On the MPS
Jeremy Moses, Geoffrey Ford and Sian Troath (The Conversation): New Zealand could take a global lead in controlling the development of ‘killer robots’ — so why isn’t it?
RNZ: Auckland Airport reports $464m profit
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): Kaivolution up for the challenge to rescue and redistribute food during alert level 4
RNZ: Chair of Ports of Auckland to step down
Greg Marcar (ODT): Better love overrides hateful accusations and judgement
Guardian: Former Great Grimsby Labour MP Austin Mitchell dies aged 86
Stephen Bates (Guardian): Austin Mitchell obituary