NZ Politics Daily: 24 August 2021

Elimination strategy
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Time to eliminate elimination?
David Williams (Newsroom): Opening up: Should NZ break with Australia?
Eva Corlett (Guardian): ‘Big questions’: New Zealand Covid minister raises doubts about elimination strategy
Zoe Holland (Herald): Jacinda Ardern stands by elimination strategy
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Ardern will rue the day she dug her toes on Covid elimination
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): Delta highlights why loosening borders can’t work now
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): A response to ‘an isolated dystopia’: New Zealand’s successful pursuit of Covid elimination
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): We must change the way we talk about Covid-19
Herald: ‘Fortress NZ strategy crumbling’ – World reacts to latest lockdown move
William Hewett (Newshub): World reacts to New Zealand’s lockdown move nearly one week on

Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – The Government’s Covid preparedness under scrutiny
Zane Small (Newshub): Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet seeks senior analyst to help curb spread of COVID-19 ‘disinformation’
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Exclusive poll: Only one in four wants trans-Tasman bubble reopened this year
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern needs more visibility on blind spot before any move out of level 4(paywalled)
RNZ: PM Jacinda Ardern: Covid-19 case numbers haven’t yet peaked
Herald Editorial: An unofficial review of where we’re at (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: Longer in lockdown, with plenty of work to do
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Keith Lynch (Stuff): Explaining the variable that has a Covid-19 modeller most worried
Michael Neilson (Herald): Cases could reach 200 to 1000, expert Shaun Hendy expects Auckland in lockdown for weeks
Hannah Kronast and Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Disease modelling expert Shaun Hendy warns NZ outbreak could grow to 1000 cases
RNZ: Lockdown should impact on Covid-19 numbers by end of week – Modeller
Geraden Cann (Stuff): High vaccine rates not enough to end lockdowns, expert says
Marine Lourens (Stuff): Cautious approach the right one, say experts

MIQ, border, immigration
RNZ: Covid-19 numbers reassuring, but city hotels for MIQ not appropriate – Professor Nick Wilson
1 News: Dr Siouxsie Wiles expresses concern over Crowne Plaza public thoroughfare
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Public walks right into Crowne Plaza mess
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Narrowing in on the Delta outbreak
Tom McRae (Newshub): Mystery of Crowne Plaza continues as investigators try find source of Delta outbreak
1 News: Pair linked to Auckland MIQ facility who need Covid tests remain unaccounted for
Herald: MIQ temporarily paused
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Managed isolation bookings paused amid virus outbreak, no rooms available

Parliament suspended
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Time for government-dominated select committees to step up
Richard Harman (Politik): Governing without Parliament (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Parliament arrangements a test for Labour backbenchers
Newstalk ZB: David Seymour: Suspending Parliament; select committees ‘notorious’ for obstructing questions
Newstalk ZB: Constitutional lawyer: Parliament should be moved online, not suspended
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern opts to suspend Parliament sittings for a week
RNZ: Parliament suspended for a week – PM Ardern
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Opposition parties want Parliament to resume
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Ardern suspends the House

Contact tracing, locations of interest, testing
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Slow saliva testing roll-out hurting New Zealand’s ability to get on top of outbreak: Scientist
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): The tricky legal grey areas around mandatory masking up and scanning in
Newstalk ZB: ACT proposes $5 million fund for cash prizes to encourage using Covid app
Newstalk ZB: Legal expert: Making scanning mandatory instead of using police might be enough
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Over 50pc of outbreak cases Pasifika, church event ‘could become biggest cluster’
Mariner Fagaiava-Muller (RNZ): Over 50 percent of outbreak cases are Pasifika
Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): Auckland’s Pasifika urged to get tested as church cluster set to grow
RNZ: Delta outbreak investigations done by physicians throughout NZ – Verrall
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Labs under pressure to build up workforce without migrant labour
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Contact tracing staff urgently recruited to meet demand
Bridie Witton (Stuff): New locations added every two hours as contact tracing runs at capacity 
Laura James (1 News): Nursing students stepping up to become Covid testers
Newstalk ZB: Research scientist: Adoption of saliva testing is frustratingly slow
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): University students being recruited as Covid-19 testers amid staff shortage
Herald: Glitch in Govt’s Covid-19 database sees delays at testing sites for up to two hours
Megan Wilson (Bay of Plenty Times): Why there are no confirmed cases in the Coromandel (paywalled)

Vaccine rollout
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Property rights trumped pleas from the poor for cheap vaccines (paywalled)
RNZ: Auckland still needs Covid-19 vaccination priority – Phil Goff
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins sets vaccination target to avoid lockdowns
Matt Cowley (Bay of Plenty Times): Covid-19 vaccines should be part of your business plan (paywalled)
Derek Cheng (Herald): Does immunity from Pfizer vaccine wane, and should MIQ workers get booster shots now?
D’Angelo Martin (Newshub): Virologist encourages more Māori to get vaccine given higher likelihood of death compared to Pākehā
Waatea News: Advocates shifting mood on Maori vaccine plans
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Renewed calls for Māori, Pasifika to be front of vaccination queue
Tim Newman (Stuff): Nelson on track to hit 10,000 vaccination target at new centre

Health
1 News: Doctor on Covid frontline sleeping on boat to keep family safe
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Nurses feel unsafe after government exemption around close contacts
Māori TV: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Te Tai Hauāuru health providers are being kept in the dark
1 News: Frontline healthcare workers’ vehicles stolen from Auckland hospitals
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Cyber attack continues to cause delays in Waikato DHB
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporter): Gisborne Hospital all set despite respiratory specialist stranded in Queenstown
Emma Russell (Herald): Cancer experts on extended lockdown
Frances Chin (Stuff): Daffodil Day street appeal cancelled for the first time in almost 60 years

Lockdown compliance, enforcement
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Police issue 328 infringement notices for failing to stay home
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Police slam ‘ignorant behaviours’ during Covid-19 lockdown
RNZ: Police ‘pleased’ with lockdown compliance despite continued breaches
Denise Piper (Stuff): Iwi ‘sitting on our hands’ as Northland checkpoints not allowed to run
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Lockdown spitter arrested again, for coughing
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Alleged supermarket spitter claims he ‘spat at the ground’, not at security guard
Belinda Feek (Herald): Fisherman caught fishing on rocks at Muriwai
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Seven men charged over Wānaka lockdown jet boating 
Devon Bolger (Herald): Charges laid against jet boaters near Wānaka
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Surfers flouting lockdown rules turned back at Remutakas
Andy Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Kāwhia shelves hospitality during Covid-19 outbreak
RNZ: Protesters’ campsite at Pūtiki Bay taken down by police
Tamati Tiananga (Māori TV): Pūtiki protesters decamp as police check Alert Level 4 ‘breach’
Northland Age: Far North holiday parks quiet despite reports of people heading north
Northland Age: Fatal crash in Far North triggers reminder from Northland police
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Bust enhancers among ‘essential’ items sold online during level 4 lockdown

Lockdown
RNZ: Covid-19 lockdown day 6: How it unfolded
RNZ: Aucklanders react to the lockdown extension
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Mixed reaction to alert level 4 decision in the South Island
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): The trials of an ordinary Kiwi bloke under lockdown 
Eva Corlett (Guardian): ‘Spread your legs’: New Zealand makes hay with Covid minister’s gaffe
Herald: ‘Spread your legs’ Chris Hipkins’ merchandise on sale after slip-up
Kevin Page (Herald): Supermarkets a hotbed for silly stuff (paywalled)
Kim Knight (Herald): On week one – leg spreading, lobster and level 4
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Social media reacts: Kiwis lose it after Chris Hipkins says it can be difficult to ‘spread’ legs in lockdown
RNZ: Daily cheer: Social media content from lockdown day 5
Dubby Henry (Herald): No rent rise freezes, mortgage deferrals ‘at this stage’
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Lockdown sees Taranaki council suspend late rate penalties
Fiona Connor (Newshub): ‘We are human too’: Homeless man sleeping in a park during lockdown pleas not to be treated ‘like an animal’
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Pensioners stranded in Wānaka still unsure when they will get home 
Damian George (Stuff): Wellington’s public transport operator no passengers will be turned away during Covid-19 alert level 4
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Coromandel community awaits day 12 tests
RNZ: Coromandel Mayor ‘cautiously optimistic’
Robin Martin (RNZ): Barriers set up in New Plymouth to discourage unnecessary travel

Employment
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Employee says his role is not essential but he still has to work
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): ‘Disappointing’ setback in couriers’ case against NZ Post
Jane Clifton (Listener): Government’s plans to ‘reset’ immigration policy missing the boat (paywalled)

Wage subsidy, business
Liam Dann (Herald): How economy will cope if we can’t eliminate Delta (paywalled)
BusinessDesk: What bank economists are saying about the lockdown (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Heated’ debate on health and economic tradeoffs on the way – economist
Luke Malpass (Stuff): While we try to get out of level 4, we have to ask: what does success really look like?
Newstalk ZB: Winston Peters: We cannot afford to be left behind
John Anthony (Stuff): Businesses want to know what conditions must be met for alert level change
John Weekes (Herald): Erratic hits to Auckland city will take time to recover from, business group says
Madison Reidy (Newshub): Businesses buckling up for another week of level 4 lockdown
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Lockdown and MIQ criticised for putting future of export manufacturers at risk
Liz McDonald Charlie Gates and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Calls for clarity on what happens after lockdown extension
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Businesses confused by ‘grey areas’ of new Covid-19 rules
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Festival organiser unsure about mandatory Covid-19 scanning rules
Anna Leask (Herald): Supermarket boss supports butchers opening – if ‘strategy’ is safe
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Petition calls for Govt to rethink stance on butcheries
RNZ: Meat demand: Butchers want click-and-collect as supermarkets handle supply risks
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Aussie Butcher owner helps local New World put food on shelves after it’s named a location of interest
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Freightways volumes halve under level 4 lockdown; hopes to avoid wage subsidy
Jamie Gray (Herald): What level 4 lockdown will mean for Freightways (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Food producers in South Canterbury learn new skills in level 4 lockdown
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Dairies across the country targeted by criminals during lockdown
Sahiban Hyde and Leanne Warr (Hawkes Bay Today): Racial abuse and ‘you can’t tell me what to do’ grief for Hawke’s Bay dairy workers (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Lockdown’s toll on $1.6b/week house sales market (paywalled)
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Lockdown sees Taranaki mask maker’s business go from nothing to all smiles

Media, 1pm briefing
Ryan Bridge (Magic): Don’t be fooled by the spin at 1pm
David Skipwith (Stuff): Duncan Garner quits Three over ‘brutal hours’
Newshub: The AM Show host Duncan Garner announces departure from Three
Herald: Duncan Garner quits as The AM Show host, cites ‘brutal hours’
Herald: Duncan Garner quits The AM Show: Who’s in the running to replace him
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Charlotte Bellis faces perils outside ‘enemy territory’

Education, children and Delta
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): How the Delta strain will affect Kiwi kids
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Students, teachers and parents gear up for more lockdown learning
Paul Goldsmith (Herald):  Time to fix our broken education system (paywalled)

Afghanistan
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Taliban searching for people who worked for NZ, interpreter says
Meg de Ronde (Spinoff): Afghans don’t need our pity. They need us to offer them refuge
Zane Small (Newshub): Taliban heaps praise on New Zealand over $3 million humanitarian donation
1 News: Taliban thanks NZ for financial aid for Afghanistan
Matthew Tso (Stuff): New Zealander and family inside Kabul airport after five terrifying days braving Taliban and desperate crowds
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Desperate family of 16 survives 72 hours outside Kabul airport to be evacuated to NZ
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Defence Force Hercules thought to be heading to Kabul as first group of evacuees arrive in NZ 
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Afghanistan evacuation: First New Zealanders rescued from Kabul arriving home today
Thomas Manch (Stuff): First evacuees from Afghanistan to reach New Zealand on Monday
RNZ: First Afghanistan evacuees to land in New Zealand
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): New Zealand citizens to arrive from Afghanistan on Monday afternoon
Chris Ford (Newsroom): When a political party split over Afghanistan

Housing
Stephen Minto (Evening Report): Housing – We can’t build our way out of this housing affordability crisis
Jade Kake (Stuff): Reserve Bank house price predictions: Have they got it right this time?
Aaron Leaman and Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Pandemic lockdown adds to emergency housing woes
Ashley Church (Herald): Will house prices go crazy again after the Delta lockdown ends?

Water reforms
Steven Walton (Stuff): ‘Serious concerns’: Canterbury councils call for pause to three waters reform
Star News: Canterbury mayors call for Three Waters reforms to pause
Nobby Clark (Stuff): Enough tiptoeing around serious Three Waters issues
Waatea News: Councils baulk at Three Waters plan

Local government
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Masterton council boss quits after controversy surrounding $30m project
Damian George (Stuff): Councillor ward seats on the line as Wellington City Council looks to establish Māori ward
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Manawatū council recommends stretching to an extra seat
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Legal concerns raised with Nelson council over library development
Stuff: Māori concerns debated in water bottling consents appeal
Todd Niall (Stuff): Taking Waikato water doesn’t mean Auckland can return to its wasteful old ways
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Where are the hard numbers on extended bus lane trial?

Environment, climate change, conservation
John Milnes (Whanganui Midweek): Time for farmer protesters to get real about climate change
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Government gives Emissions Trading Scheme a longer rein in 2022
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Green plumber’s dye in Queenstown waterway most likely a prank

Trade
RNZ: UK releases NZ free trade negotiation details as agreement nears
Richard Harman (Politik): All night talks bring British trade deal closer (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Mānuka honey dispute: What’s in a macron?

Primary industries
Keith Woodford (Interest): The price of carbon is determined by Government. There lies the risk for carbon farming
Jamie Gray (Herald): High commodity prices take the edge off high NZ farm debt (paywalled)

All Whites
Clay Wilson (RNZ): Football legend all for All Whites name conversation
Michael O’Keeffe (Newshub): All Whites GOAT Wynton Rufer rejects possible name change for national team
Phillip Rollo (Stuff): All Whites name all right with New Zealand football legend Wynton Rufer
Newstalk ZB: Former All White: Changing the name ‘total silliness’
Clay Wilson (RNZ): No more All Whites?
Reuters (Guardian): New Zealand Football diversity review could bring end to All Whites nickname

Other
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): Is Jacinda Ardern the Messiah? Or just a very crafty politician?
Simon Wilson (Herald): No kumbaya please, I’m Simon Bridges (paywalled)
Nicholas Jones (Herald): After husband died of dementia, days later Work and Income demanded money
Todd Niall (Stuff): Early end to live consultation on Auckland light rail 
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Labour Must Uphold The Rule Of Law
Bonnie Sumner and Melanie Reid (Newsroom): Judge’s questioning – ‘She was in the box, just crying
ODT Editorial: Film subsidy gamble
Herald: Rugby: ‘Objectified and commercially exploited’ – Haka on borrowed time says English writer
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Islamic State-affiliate Suhayra Aden’s family moved to New Zealand after Australia refused to accept her
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Māori politicians recall the life of ‘Te Kārena’ Sir Michael Cullen
RNZ: ‘A big man with a big heart’ – staunch advocate Des Ratima dies