NZ Politics Daily: 9 September 2021

NZ Politics Daily: 9 September 2021

Mall terror attack
Andrew Geddis (Pundit): Why Not Just Send The Auckland Terrorist Back?
Paul Buchanan (Kiwipolitico): The supermarket stabbing spree was not a terrorist act
Hanlie Booysen (The Conversation): Social inclusion is important in Aotearoa New Zealand — but so is speaking honestly about terrorism
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Act and Greens agree on counter terrorism laws; they may have a point(paywalled)
Waatea News: Terror laws only work against Māori – McCarten
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Maori Party hopelessly compromised on terrorism
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Auckland professor says ‘specific nation-building’ course to get citizenship could counter terrorism
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): No immigration ‘knee-jerk’ needed after Auckland terror attack
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Mosque attack survivor calling on Government to take tougher stance on terrorism

National Party, Parliament
Matthew Hooton (Metro): The National Party Death Spiral
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – What’s going on in the National Party?
Dan Satherley (Newshub):Judith Collins blames latest leadership spill rumours on Labour ‘activists’
1 News: Bridges rules out bid for Nats leadership in horror-themed escape room
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why replacing Judith still leaves National hollow
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The one building in Wellington still in Level 4
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Betting agency ranks Jacinda Ardern as top female candidate for Nobel Peace Prize

Housing
RNZ: Housing affordability at its worst level in 18 years – CoreLogic
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Housing affordability as bad as it has been in 18 years – CoreLogic
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Housing affordability worsens ‘with little sign of easing’ – new report
David Hargreaves (Interest): Firing blanks into the riotous housing market
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Reserve Bank cracks down on first-home buyers
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Massive housing issues are still coming
Tess McClure (Guardian): Home affairs: New Zealanders forced to turn to dating sites to find a mortgage mate
Phil Pennington (RNZ): New builds ‘absolutely not’ recommended for first-home buyers
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): $113 million, 5236 homes: council’s bid for govt housing cash
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Huge new Drury subdivision to be finished by 2024

Vaccine rollout, mandatory vaccination
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): David Seymour is cast into hell… alongside Tova O’Brien
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Why ethnicity matters in public policy and the Covid-19 response
David Seymour (Herald): Why I published the priority access code for Māori
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Shane Reti calls David Seymour sharing Māori access codes ‘disgusting’
Craig Ashworth (RNZ): Providers say Māori-only vaccination clinics vital (paywalled)
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Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Judith Collins says Government should look at everything to learn lessons from slow vaccine rollout
Bruce Munro (ODT): Call for global vaccination before booster
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Pasifika mass vaccination events launching around New Zealand
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Vaccines are a legal minefield for employers
Michael Andrew (BusinessDesk): Bosses swaying, not paying, staff to vaccinate (paywalled)
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Not one critical border worker has sought a vaccination exemption
Herald: Workplace vaccination programme includes family bubble
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Businesses advertising a fully vaccinated workforce to attract customers will need staff consent to publicise their jab status
Henry Cooke and Kate Newton (Stuff): New Zealand’s vaccine roll-out explained in 10 charts, and compared with the rest of the world
1 News: How does NZ’s 4 million Covid-19 jabs stack up against the world?
Craig Platt (Stuff): Qantas confirms unvaccinated passengers will be banned from international flights
Jo Spratt (Herald): Your ‘free’ Covid jab is making billionaires richer (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: Novavax – an old-school approach catching up with the innovators
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Novavax booster shot decision surprises experts
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): How to get 90 per cent of Kiwis vaccinated, quickly
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Health officials refuse to release jab numbers for scrapped Auckland vaccination site

Border, MIQ, immigration
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Chris Hipkins says Delta outbreak has changed international reopening plan, risk-profiling of countries may be scrapped
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand to rethink plan to reopen borders amid Delta outbreak
Michael Neilson (Herald): Chris Hipkins says outbreak could push back phased reopening to world
Richard Harman (Politik): Covid spooks Government
Newstalk ZB: Des Gorman: Delta caught the Government by surprise
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Government u-turns on pre-flight tests
Herald: New red flight added from NSW to New Zealand
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Another managed flight taking off from Sydney for emergency cases
Keith Rankin (Evening Report): Quarantine, an effective temporary Public Health measure
1 News: Talks about trans-Tasman bubble reopening ‘a fair way away’ – Hipkins
Brook Sabin (Stuff): Trans-Tasman bubble: No hope of opening soon, stranded Kiwis warned not to wait
1 News: Pasifika struggling to get admitted to hospital despite severe Covid-19
Zoe Holland (Herald): Pasifika community leader struggled to receive hospital care despite severe symptoms
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Phil Twyford grants residency to criminals but says no to doctors
Newstalk ZB: Erica Stanford: ‘Stings’ that Phil Twyford has given criminals residency but not doctors
Adam Pearse (Herald): Original complainant glad to see Crowne Plaza MIQ changes
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Officials deem Crowne Plaza MIQ facility safe to reopen Thursday
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The 1pm update review – Detective Hipkins declares Crowne Plaza case closed
RNZ: ‘Highly unlikely’ community outbreak came through Crowne Plaza’s public atrium
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Sectors desperate for staff still struggling despite promise to let in critical migrant workers

Government management of outbreak, expert advice
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Elimination possible in coming weeks – Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy
Zane Small (Newshub): A look inside Shaun Hendy’s COVID-19 modelling that influences Government decisions
Dan Satherley and Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Takeaways loom for Aucklanders as reward for beating Delta – expert
Samuel Yu (Stuff): Innovation missing in the fight against Covid
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Return to Level 1 depends on further fall in cases
Mike Hosking (Herald): Less of the fear, more of the hope, please (paywalled)
1 News: Govt announces $5m fund for Delta-hit Māori communities
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government asks Parliament for permission to spend up to an extra $41b
Herald Editorial: Auckland hunkering down to save NZ
Herald: ‘Spread your legs’ – Chris Hipkins’ hilarious subtle joke for NZ at press conference
RNZ: Delta outbreak day 22: How it unfolded

Alert level rules, compliance, enforcement
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Judith Collins says venues should be able to bar unvaccinated people from entering
Nathan Morton (Stuff): Vulnerable Aucklander afraid to go out as people break lockdown rules
Adam Pearse (Herald): Anti-maskers having ‘heartbreaking’ impact on disabled community
Shea Jefferson (Hawkes Bay Today): 16 Hawke’s Bay businesses reported to WorkSafe for alleged breaches
Denise Piper (Stuff): Motorists trying to cross Auckland face being turned back by police
RNZ: Police add more officers to assist on Auckland border checkpoints
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Man charged with evading Auckland checkpoint, assaulting police
RNZ: Checkpoint: ‘We need clarity’ for Covid-19 test to cross Auckland border – business owner
RNZ: Nasal swabs at Auckland border will delay deliveries – truck drivers
Rob Stock (Stuff): Insurer invents national ‘state of emergency’ to decline claim
Siobhan Downes and Brook Sabin (Stuff): No social distancing requirement on flights under level 2
Herald: Covid victim’s family grief compounded by L4 restrictions
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Prisoners put in isolation with new inmates after escorted trips outside the wire
Sarah Templeton (Newshub): Sex workers, clients urged to ‘be inventive’ as face masks mandatory during COVID-19 alert level 2
Cecile Meier (Stuff):‘Like a rave party for over 70s’: Level 2 rule-breakers ‘overwhelm’ cafe
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Performers wear plastic face visors on stage to meet level 2 rules

Contact tracing, testing
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Covid-19 app data protection: Government resists calls for new law
Katie Kenny (Stuff): Contact tracing data remains vulnerable to misuse, experts say, as mandatory record keeping kicks in
No Right Turn: Stupidly counterproductive
RNZ: Researchers welcome mandatory Covid-19 QR codes after ‘complacent’ scanning revealed
1 News: Immunologist does not see ‘huge role’ for rapid antigen testing in NZ
RNZ: Judith Collins reiterates call for use of rapid antigen testing
RNZ: Government criticised over saliva testing ‘misinformation’
Derek Cheng (Herald): ‘Fumbling over saliva testing’: Expert scientist questions whether Jacinda Ardern has been misinformed
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Saliva testing at the Level 4 Auckland boundary
Arena Williams and Stuart Smith (Stuff): Vaccination rates are increasing, but now it’s time our testing was up to scratch

Cases, demographics
Michael Neilson (Herald): Calls for greater resources for South Auckland as ‘ongoing frontline against Covid’
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Middlemore Hospital patients closest to Covid-19 case test negative
RNZ: Middlemore Hospital says Covid-19 screening rigorous amid calls for rapid testing after case in wards
Zane Small (Newshub): Health Minister Andrew Little rebukes National’s deputy over Middlemore
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Dr Ashley Bloomfield refuses to apologise for Middlemore COVID-19 blunder
1 News: Middlemore Hospital’s Covid contacts test negative so far
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Why Middlemore didn’t put positive COVID patient in a separate room
1 News: Middlemore adds abdominal pain to Covid-19 symptoms

Health
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Questions remain about isolation room capacity after Middlemore case
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Unions united in call for mandatory Covid-19 tests for all hospital patients in Auckland
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Auckland DHB’s visitor policy threatens patient, staff safety – union
Emma Russell (Stuff): Auckland DHB getting 600 visitors daily, alleged sex with patient
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Health Minister Andrew Little unsure why private hospitals were told to cancel surgeries
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Surgeries, scans delayed for 37,000 patients due to lockdown
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Teenagers would still be alive if they had known about meningococcal vaccinations, father believes
1 News: Parents who lost daughter to meningococcal want greater vaccine access
Dougal Sutherland (RNZ): Languishing, burnout and stigma – Delta’s possible psychological impacts
David Skipwith (Stuff): Vaccine stress and dwindling resilience have made this lockdown harder
Richard Simpson (Spinoff): Mapping order in the chaos: a view from the pale blue dot
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Health board misses safe staffing deadline
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Long wait for new health builds (paywalled)
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Shortage of psychologists leaving patients on waitlist for 9 to 12 months

Education
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Specialist schools under-reported use of restraint
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Schools prepare for voluntary student mask rules
RNZ: Returning to school poses a risk for children with respiratory illness – report
Spinoff: Back to school in level two: How parents can help kids handle today’s big change
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Forty-one days without school, but Hutt Valley High School students ineligible for extra credits
Lee Kenny and Marine Lourens (Stuff): Student hardship fund is ‘an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff’, union says
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Chlöe Swarbrick launches petition for more COVID-19 student support, says Government’s $20 million boost not enough
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Uni classes restricted
RNZ: Rangi Matamua to head Te Pūtahi-a-Toi at Massey University

Wage subsidy, business, economy
Tina Morrison (Stuff): NZ not likely to suffer as much economic pain during this lockdown
Karen Coltman (Stuff): BNZ: This lockdown could be easier on economy
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Businesses want sector-specific support as wage subsidy bill rises
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government yet to decide if firms can get wage subsidies for level 2 impacts
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Draft resurgence payment applications to be wiped ahead of criteria change
Phil O’Reilly (Herald):  Five things to consider for post-Covid ‘normal’ (paywalled)
Brigitte Morten (NBR): Govt lack of business nous shows in Covid response (paywalled)
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Losing $30,000 a month rather than $60,000 the hospitality hope under Alert Level 2
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Cafe chain shut 24 stores early after ‘disastrous’ first day under level 2
John Anthony (Stuff): Auckland hospitality businesses threaten to boycott GST and stay closed under Covid-19 alert level 2
Amy Ridout (Stuff): ‘Quite simply, we can’t do much at level 2′: quandary for Nelson venues
Richard Harman (Politik): Cook Strait ferry crisis (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Supply chains under pressure: Interislander down to one ferry due to maintenance
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland businesses struggling after being marooned by Auckland
1 News: Flower growers lobby for change as product heads to compost heap
RNZ: Flower growers forced to dump truckloads of flowers in bin
Sam Brooks (Spinoff): What the 50 person limit means for New Zealand’s live events industry
Tina Law (Stuff): Motelier calls for more Government support after losing home and retirement business from Covid-19
Tara Shaskey (Stuff): Virtual queuing app sees climb in users following Covid restrictions
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Government not keen on bringing back commercial rents dispute scheme which had tiny uptake
Grant Bradley (Herald): Travel agents want refund scheme extension (paywalled)

Building and construction
Amy Williams (RNZ): Warehouses in Auckland ‘completely full’ with building materials
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Building company says material costs are out of control as COVID-19 shortages bite
Anne Gibson (Herald): Four Fletcher factories in Auckland to re-open (paywalled)

Inequality, charities, domestic violence
Russell Palmer (RNZ): ‘Delta thrives on inequality’: South Auckland strategies needed, experts warn
1 News: Work and Income, MSD slammed for ‘humiliating’ treatment of Kiwis in need
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): New Zealanders can’t fight a pandemic on empty stomachs
Marena Mane (Māori TV): More people sign up for benefits but less support given – Child Poverty Action Group
Waatea News: Early benefit increase would ease lockdown pressure

Cyber attacks
Susan Edmunds, Esther Taunton and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government still gauging impact of Wednesday’s denial-of-service attacks
RNZ: Checkpoint: Another cyber attack on NZ businesses – analysis
RNZ: NZ Post, MetService, among websites to have outages
Chris Keall (Herald): Cyber attacks against Kiwibank, ANZ, NZ Post, MetService – experts see lockdown link (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): The DDoS cyber attack affecting your banking app is nothing serious, so far
Megan Whelan (RNZ): DDoS attacks: What they are and how they’re orchestrated

Transport
Jane Clifton (Listener/Herald): Dunger dilemma: The problems with getting Kiwis out of old cars(paywalled)
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Remember Jacinda’s first promise?
Chloe Ranford (Local Democracy Reporting): Safety barriers on way for Nelson-Blenheim highway
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): South Canterbury to benefit from major rail upgrades
No Right Turn: More Labour secrecy

Local government
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Horizons Regional Council proposes two new Māori wards
Jan Heijs (Stuff): Three waters reform: Two mistakes about to happen
Aaron Hawkins (ODT): Water reform needs more time for discussion
Logan Savory (Stuff): Invercargill deputy mayor’s Three Waters reform plea comes up short
Andrea Fox (Herald): No-surprises agreement? Auckland mayor to port chair over CEO payout(paywalled)
Grant Miller (ODT): Council’s national sports hall of fame funding refusal astounds
Damian George (Stuff): City councillors back call for Wellington on a Plate funding to be made public
ODT Editorial: Elephant still in the room
Luisa Girao (ODT): Stress telling, deputy mayor says
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Late rates penalty notice during lockdown causes distress

Primary industries
Keith Woodford (Interest): Carbon farming will determine the future of sheep, beef and production forestry
Baz Macdonald (Renews): Two thirds of dairy farmers report mental health issues. They tell us why
RNZ: Synlait Milk looking to cut 150 jobs – about 15% of staff
Maja Burry (RNZ): Low-emissions New Zealand-specific beef genetics programme launches
Rotorua Daily Post: East Coromandel scallop fishery to close for two years

Environment, Climate Change
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): James Shaw to attend climate talks in Glasgow
Catherine Iorns and Matthew Hall (Newsroom): Limits are limits in high-stakes environment bill
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): ‘Future Visions For Te Taiao’ film competition explores ideas on environmental protection
Mirjam Guesgen (Spinoff): New tactics against predators and pests promise to be more effective and humane
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Outgoing conservation boss Lou Sanson on New Zealand’s move away from exploiting nature: ‘The balance has shifted’

Other
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Equality, Equity & The Great Race Of Life
Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): How 9/11 changed New Zealand’s foreign policy
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): 9/11 in the age of social media – imagine it (paywalled)
Stephen Hoadley (Newsroom): Why Afghanistan was worth it
Roderick Mulgan (Stuff): Do Ardern and Faafoi understand how courts work?
RNZ: Higher number of complaints filed over access to official information
No Right Turn: The OIA has a problem with extensions
RNZ: Rise in complaints about insurance and financial services, but most not upheld – Ombudsman
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): Faking it: only half of ethical funds managers meet best practice(paywalled)
RNZ: Investment in ethical funds grows by more than a quarter – report
Aaron Smale (Newsroom): Fallout over critical Māori Council letter
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): Popularity of Te Reo Māori challenge surprises organisers
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): ODT attack a reminder of how damaged the Hate Speech fight will be
Dita De Boni (NBR): Whither Sean Plunket as Magic Talk high flyers lose their footing? (paywalled)
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): The Detail: Cutting covid losses in the film industry
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Green candidate inciting homicide against white people?
Hawke’s Bay Today Editorial: Mongrel Mob rehab funding two months on – how Wellington made a $2.75m mistake (paywalled)
Jamie Gray (Herald): Contact’s ThermalCo’s proposal gets a mixed response (paywalled)