NZ Politics Daily: 8 September 2021
Mall terror attack
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – Could government agencies have averted the development of a terrorist?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): How to stop the next terrorist
RNZ: The Detail: Turning around a terrorist
Kris Gledhill (The Conversation): Despite deportation and detention attempts, could New Zealand have done more to prevent Friday’s terror attack?
Dan Satherley (Newshub): New terrorism laws likely to target ‘innocent people doing innocent things’ – expert
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Auckland terrorist couldn’t be deported as he was likely a ‘protected person’
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Greens, ACT urge caution over counter-terrorism laws
Richard Harman (Politik): Little lays down the law on terrorism (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Terrorist highlights our refugee conundrum (paywalled)
Julia de Bres and Emily Greenbank (Stuff): Why we should stop framing the Auckland terrorist as a refugee
Hina Tabassum Cheema (Stuff): As everyday NZ Muslims, we condemn terror. But we fear being demonised all over again
Anna Hood (Herald): Q&A on our refugee system in light of the LynnMall terrorist (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins urges Government to release deportation advice
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Medical report on LynnMall terrorist ‘unreliable’, officials said
Edward Gay (Stuff): Auckland terror attacker was ‘very difficult’ inmate to manage, non-compliant with orders
Karl du Fresne: Guled Mire urges Twitter followers not to give an apology that no one asked for or expected in the first place
Vaccine rollout, mandatory vaccination
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The stark inequity of the vaccine rollout
Michael Neilson and Chris McDowall (Herald): Māori inequity in the rollout could be even worse – 70,000 fewer in health dataset compared to Census (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): The irony in the response to David Seymour releasing the Maori vaccination code
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins can’t decide if David Seymour is a hero or a cockwomble
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Vaccination clinics prioritising Māori ‘swamped by Pākehā’
Rawiri Jansen (Spinoff): Kia ora, David Seymour. Let’s talk about Māori, health and vaccination
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Pākehā privilege in way of jabs equity (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): David Seymour’s political stunt backfires into public health vandalism
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): David Seymour’s Māori vaccination code attack misguided
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Public health expert calls David Seymour ‘irrelevant’ after tweet encouraging people to use Māori code to get COVID-19 vaccine
Liz Gordon (Daily Blog): Big mistake, David Seymour
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): ‘Kia kōtahi tātou’- iwi partnering to support vaccinations
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): NZ to have vaccine passport by Christmas
David Fisher (Herald): Prisoner vaccination rates low after ‘pause’ to rollout while staff vaxxing beyond national average
Steven Walton (Stuff): ‘It is safe, it is effective, it will help you’ – 3600 Kiwi doctors sign letter backing Covid-19 vaccine
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Luke Malpass (Stuff): The 1pm update review where some vaccines fell off the back of a truck
RNZ: Checkpoint: Govt close to securing deal for more Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government ‘finalising arrangements’ for extra vaccines to maintain fast pace through September
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern finalising deals for extra Pfizer doses as Covid cases steady
Derek Cheng (Herald): Will Jacinda Ardern need to dampen vaccine demand, or has she locked in a deal?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): The Government behind in race to procure less wasteful syringes (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Novavax expected to be first Covid-19 booster vaccine in New Zealand
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Nikki Preston (Herald): Government agency’s no vaccine, no job stance for frontline worker justified: ERA
RNZ: Sacking of border worker who refused vaccine not unjustified, ERA says
Stuff: Challenge to legality of vaccine mandate for frontline border workers
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): Could the ‘no jab, no job’ rule become legal?
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Covid-19 vaccine mistake: Man still waiting for answers on what to do
Dubby Henry (Herald): Dozens of people linked to Māngere church cluster finish isolation and get vaccinated
Richard Davison (ODT): Drive-through mass vaccination at freezing works
Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Michael Plank and Shaun Hendy (The Conversation): With lockdowns easing for the rest of New Zealand, Auckland becomes the elimination frontline
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Bad politics are a virus’s best friend
Roger Partridge (Herald): Should the Ministry of Health be responsible for pandemic policy? (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins probes Jacinda Ardern on when ‘use of lockdowns’, ‘gathering size limits’ won’t be required
ODT Editorial: Changing up, or down, a gear
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government to ask Parliament to approve big new spending ‘buffer’
Alert level changes, rules
Derek Cheng (Herald): Why Auckland could move to level 3 next week, and what to watch for (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Auckland could still come down alert levels, even with continued cases
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Casinos gain approval for gambling floor changes ahead of level 2
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): WorkSafe records more than 900 lockdown breaches
RNZ: School mask recommendation will create more anxiety than a rule – Principals’ Association
RNZ: Testing workers at regional borders ‘the price of more freedoms’ – Jacinda Ardern
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Auckland’s long stay at alert level 4 has earned the nation’s aroha – will it be forthcoming?
Eugene Bingham (Stuff): Auckland’s marathon Covid-19 lockdown: running in circles, worrying we’ll never catch up
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Aucklanders can fly out of level 4 citing ‘need to care for a pet’
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Transport sector fears disruption due to Auckland border testing(paywalled)
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland leaders want more than just business travel through Auckland
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): How transit through Auckland will work once rest of New Zealand enters alert level 2
Herald: Jacinda Ardern speaks to Ryan Bridge on wearing masks at swimming pools
Lee Kenny (Stuff): What should working parents do with schools closed on Wednesday?
Vera Alves (Herald): Lockdown memes pop up on billboards on Auckland streets
RNZ: New level 2 rules a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ for South Island, Collins says
Cecile Meier (Stuff): How will gyms and swimming pools operate at level 2?
Border, MIQ, immigration
Jo Moir (Newsroom): ‘Possible’ pre-flight testing would have stopped outbreak
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern disagrees pre-departure testing in Sydney could have prevented COVID-19 Delta lockdown
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government told checking every pre-departure test would take months
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Travel bubble stance at odds with advice
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): One-way quarantine-free travel still a possibility for RSE workers
Rachel Clun (Stuff): Australia issuing vaccine passports within weeks to prepare for flights resuming
Contact tracing, testing
David Williams (Newsroom): Ramp up wastewater testing, public health expert urges
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): If the Govt wants testing to ramp up, we need more options
Cases, demographics
Ben Leahy (Herald): 29 staff at Middlemore Hospital stood down after identified as close contacts
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Concerns over advice for at-risk patients leaving Middlemore Hospital after person admitted tested positive
Michael Morrah (Newshub): 29 staff at Middlemore Hospital stood down, deemed as close contacts after positive case visits hospital
Ireland Hendry Tennent (Newshub): Middlemore COVID-19 case: NZ Nurses Organisation concerned about shortages after 29 staff forced to isolate
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘Delays’ in processes involving Covid-positive patient at Middlemore being examined
Health system
Florence Kerr (Stuff): Auckland DHB staff told in memo not to speak to the media
Melanie Earley (Stuff):Extra nurses poised to come to Middlemore, where 29 staff in isolation
Charmian Smith (ODT): Sugar is evil: science trumped but advice spot on
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Hospital board locked into 15 year food contract
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Cancer patient accuses government of playing with people’s lives as surgery cancelled three times due to COVID-19
Dan Satherley and Isabella Durant (Newshub): Kiwi arthritis patients lose access to vital drug after it turns out to be effective treatment for COVID-19
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Addiction treatment wait ‘unacceptable’
Spinoff: My miscarriage was hard. A stretched health service made it so much worse
Lucy McLean (Spinoff): Why I’ve had enough of mental health awareness
Herald Editorial: We must confront mounting levels of dementia need
Danielle Clent (Stuff): Mental health ‘suffers more every lockdown’ as Auckland’s fifth stint rolls on
Education
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Early childhood centres prepare to open under alert level 2 as Delta increasingly afflicts the young
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Kindergarten relief teachers go without pay during lockdown
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Covid-19: Longer lockdown puts Auckland students in different class to level 2 peers
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Students outside Auckland miss out on lockdown support
Sam Olley (RNZ): Digital divide hurting new cohort of kids
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Schools face funding shortages as fairs under threat for second year
Newstalk ZB: Psychologist: Have faith in our teachers to handle mask wearing
John Lewis (ODT): University staff, students praised for Covid response
Wage subsidy, business, economy
Richard Wagstaff (Herald): Employment law remains as written during Covid lockdowns (paywalled)
Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Some businesses still working out new level 2 rules on eve of restrictions change
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern reminds struggling South Island businesses they can apply for wage subsidy even at level 2
Skara Bohny (Stuff): More outdoor dining space nice idea, but no silver bullet, hospitality owners say
John Anthony (Stuff): Auckland hospitality businesses threaten to stay closed under Covid-19 alert level 2
1 News: Auckland hospitality industry calls for better Govt support during lockdown
Rob Stock (Stuff): Why hospo industry needs help: Cafe owner’s ‘high six-figure’ Covid losses
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Tough choices loom for desperate hospitality and accommodation providers
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Progress stalls on pandemic insurance scheme for live events
Debbie Jamieson and John Anthony (Stuff): Tourism operators anticipate slow growth without Auckland market
Aaron Leaman and Chris Marshall (Stuff): Auckland’s lockdown pain could be Hamilton’s economic gain
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Major theatres decide not to operate under stricter new pandemic rules
Janna Sherman (Hokitika Guardian): Glacier businesses starting to close
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Flower farmers forced to bin or mulch harvest due to restrictions
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Barbers, restaurants will lose money under alert level 2 restrictions, say owners
Herald: Mental health, finances weigh on business owners – survey
RNZ: Export woes may require government-chartered shipping, economist warns
Tony Alexander: (OneRoof): Kiwi spending plans point to post-lockdown bounce
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Higher prices for consumers: New shipping surcharge likely to drive Christmas inflation (paywalled)
Building and construction
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Government lets factories return to unplug building supplies bottleneck
Anne Gibson (Herald): Govt’s Auckland manufacturing u-turn
Amy Williams (RNZ): Building product manufacturers to be prioritised as factories restart
RNZ: Building supplies manufacturing allowed to restart in Auckland
Bay of Plenty Times: Govt allows manufacture of building supplies during lockdown
Carmen Hall (Herald): ‘The profitless boom’: Builders say Auckland materials drought has crippled them(paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Warning not to lock in home build prices
Lockdown compliance, enforcement, misinformation
Toby Morris (Spinoff): The Side Eye: Freedom and Everyone
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Internet restrictions remain for lockdown protester Billy TK Jr
Stuff: Almost 200 arrests since lockdown began, outbreak not over – police
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika Jr can resume online sermons after arrest
Inequality, charities, domestic violence
Frances Chin (Stuff): ‘Working poor’ in increased need this lockdown as pressures pile up
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Benefit recipient numbers spike, food grants double, Govt figures show
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Pet charities issue desperate calls for help amid lockdown struggles, shortages
Housing
RNZ: Many homeowners couldn’t afford to buy their houses if purchasing now
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Three out of five homeowners ‘could not afford their home now’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Market unlikely to return to high level of price growth after lockdown
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Skyrocketing house prices should not be part of the post-lockdown recovery, but what does this mean?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Lockdown won’t lead to a fresh housing market boom – QV
RNZ: House price growth slows to average 3.3%
Michael Reddell: Housing
Colleen Hawkes (Stuff): Heating for $1 a day: Kainga Ora’s first passive-designed social housing block is a blueprint
Transport
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): A transport budget that is yet to respond to the climate emergency
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): An end to fuel taxes? What we learned from the Government’s crazy, messy wonderful transport plan (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland light rail won’t start before 2024 according to Government transport plan
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government’s $24.3b transport plan: More money for Auckland’s roads, boost to public transport
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National land transport programme: Three-year plan to spend $24.3 billion on transport services and infrastructure
Johnathan Milne (Newsroom): $2b financing to kick-start roads, rail – and climate-friendly transport
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Cloud hangs over Auckland’s Eastern Busway in new transport funding package
Zane Small (Newshub): Transport spending to 2024 nearly doubled to $24 billion, large chunk going to Auckland
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): The government’s $24.3b transport spend (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Stuff): Mysterious long tunnel won’t see the light of day in Wellington transport plan
Amber Allott (Stuff): Safety and cycles, not bridges or light rail, prioritised in Canterbury’s transport spend
Luke Kirkeby (Stuff): No new road to Tauranga from Waikato a ‘missed opportunity’
Chloe Ranford and Skara Bohny (Stuff): Safety barriers, local roads and public transport to benefit in funding package
Denise Piper (Stuff): Maintenance and safety key in Northland’s $751 million share of national transport plan
ODT: More than $1 billion for South’s transport system
Grant Miller (ODT): Southern roading budgets better than expected: mayors
Mike Mather (Stuff): ‘Totally unsatisfactory’: Public transport focus sees Waka Kotahi manager earn grilling from deputy mayor
Mark Sainsbury (Listener/Herald): To EV or not to EV? What you need to know about the electric evolution(paywalled)
Local government
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Big winners and losers of Three Waters compo package
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland councillors demand explanation of port chief executive’s $1.8m payout
Andrea Fox (Herald): Repercussions continue over big payout to departed Auckland port CEO (paywalled)
Damian George (Stuff): Review finds lack of promotion and clear messaging at Wellington City Council
Logan Savory (Stuff): Second review takes aim at Invercargill mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt, but he’s not going anywhere
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Invercargill City Council performing well despite issues with mayor, reviewer says
Luisa Girao (ODT): Call for focus to shift from Sir Tim
Daisy Hudson (ODT): No DCC funding for New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame
Primary industries
Shawn McAvinue (ODT): Call for winter grazing submissions
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Costs rocket for farmers (paywalled)
Other
George Driver (Newsroom): Does New Zealand care less about climate change than other countries?
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Misinterpretation of conversion therapy ban bill causing confusion in some churches
Damien Venuto (Herald): MediaWorks CEO Cam Wallace’s big cleanout – has Magic Talk ‘gone woke’(paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Multiple failures allowed paedophile to be released into Wellington community – report
RNZ: Mainzeal legal action goes to Supreme Court
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Racist attack in Levin: Victim says he was beaten inside car
Herald: Deputy governor Geoff Bascand to depart Reserve Bank