NZ Politics Daily: 13 December 2021
Today’s content
Parliamentary Services
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): ‘Just a f…ing secretary’: Former MP Nick Smith bullied, harassed and swore at staff, according to a draft report
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Parliament staffer on bullying: ‘The institution covers it up’
Matt McCarten (Daily Blog): One Union calls fo inquiry into Chief Executive of Parliamentary Services
National Party
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): The questions are only going to get tougher for National leader Christopher Luxon
Jon Johansson (Stuff): National party leadership change means it’s game on
Paul Catmur (Herald): Do we really want the country to be run like a business? (paywalled)
Liam Dann (Herald): Christopher Luxon could be next PM, but here’s his biggest challenge (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Christopher Luxon and Act’s David Seymour battle for the ‘battlers’ and farmers (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Luxon’s views speak volumes about his attitude to women
Cecilia Robinson (Herald): Let’s hear what Christopher Luxon really means (paywalled)
John Roughan (Herald): Christopher Luxon primed to make Parliament’s Question Time compulsive viewing (paywalled)
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Christopher Luxon off to a ’10 out of 10′ start – Simon Bridges
Jacinda Ardern end-of-year inteviews
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): A sit-down with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern admits Government could have handled Māori vaccination better
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Full interview: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reflects on ‘awful’ 2021
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern on 2021’s biggest success, biggest failure and summer nuptials
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Jacinda Ardern on Christmas, Covid, vaccines and movies Die Hard, Home Alone and Love Actually
1 News: ‘It was incredibly tough’ – Ardern reflecting on the Delta outbreak
Parliament, week in review
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Don’t count on political life returning to normal in 2022
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Fog of Christmas settles over Beehive (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): The Week in Politics: Christopher Luxon’s first test
Stuff: Points of Order: Christopher Luxon wants you to happen to the future, apparently
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Persistent political myths are back, including a variation on ‘grow the pie’
Steve Braunias (Herald): The secret diary of … The Jacinda Ardern-Christopher Luxon showdown(paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1 News): Kiri Allan handed ‘new lease on life’ after cancer scan news
ODT Editorial: Summit decisions significant
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith finds energy in his new portfolio
Traffic light decision
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern’s last alert level-traffic light decision of the year
1 News: Ardern: Govt continues caution in traffic light restrictions
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Too early for Auckland and other regions to move out of red – expert
Cherie Howie (Herald): Virus case numbers promising, Auckland should stay at red light – expert
Melanie Earley (Stuff): It’s possible Auckland could move to orange light setting this week, expert says
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Orange Day in Auckland (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Mayor Phil Goff, National leader Chris Luxon and hospitality call for Government to move Auckland to orange setting
Katie Todd (RNZ): Some red regions eager to move to orange, others realistic they’ll stay put
RNZ: Should Auckland move to orange?
Auckland border, summer travel
1 News: NZ has tools to limit Covid-19 spread over summer – Baker
Māori TV: Māori vulnerable in 9 DHBs when Auckland Border opens – Dr Rawiri Taonui
RNZ: Checkpoint: Lab boss warns of Covid testing delays in holiday hotspots
Heather du Plessis Allan (Newstalk ZB): Aucklanders, please go where you want to this summer
Rangimarie Sophie Jolley (E-Tangata): Resisting the pull to go home
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Several Auckland suburbs yet to hit 80 percent vaccinated rate ahead of border opening
Herald Editorial: Auckland borders – Trusting science has limits for Govt (paywalled)
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Lowest case numbers since October ‘reason to be cautiously optimistic’
Vita Molyneux (Herald): As Aucklanders prepare to leave the city, I’m fighting my fears to enter
Liz McDonald, Cate Broughton and Olivia Caldwell (Stuff): More campgrounds ban unvaccinated campers but experts fear a summer spread
Stuff: South Island gears up as Aucklanders prepare to leave town
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Otago and Southland planning for hundreds of Covid-19 cases
Grant Bradley (Herald): The great escape: Aucklanders keener than other Kiwis to holiday overseas(paywalled)
Govt management of Covid-19
Irra Lee (1 News): NZ’s social cohesion post-Covid still unclear — researchers
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Covid 19 NZ: Why ‘elimination’ (inadvertently) kind of messed with our brains
RNZ: Ministry initially advised against early move to traffic light system – documents
Zane Small (Newshub): The three reasons National opposed COVID-19 traffic light law
Moana Jackson (E-Tangata): Covid and the pandemic of colonisation
Will Trafford (Māori TV): ‘Inherently racist’ – Māori Authority says government failed in vaccine rollout
Gabrielle Baker (Spinoff): Where was te Tiriti in the government’s Covid response?
Florence Kerr (Stuff): During tangihanga, it’s the most vulnerable who are on the paepae
Jamie Morton (Herald): Why NZ needs a better strategy to protect kids
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Sorry – a word governments find almost impossible to say
Kate MacNamara (Herald): How Shaun Hendy’s Twitter blasts poisoned engagement with the Productivity Commission (paywalled)
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): NZ purchases 120,000 courses of Covid antiviral medicine
Stuart Nash (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): We can be proud of our country’s 2021 story
Checkpoints
RNZ: Checkpoint stickers for Northland border snapped up
George Block (Stuff): Trainee police to staff Northland checkpoints, no powers of arrest
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Who calls the shots at northern checkpoints, iwi or police? (paywalled)
Herald: Traffic chaos at Waipu, Northland, pick-up spot for checkpoint sticker
Karina Cooper (Northern Advocate/Herald): Waipū locals on police and iwi checkpoints
Karina Cooper (Northern Advocate/Herald): Northland businesses ‘very distressed’ by potential impact of checkpoints (paywalled)
Vaccine pass
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government only sought advice on COVID-19 vaccine passes a month after Delta outbreak
Sam Olley (RNZ): Overseas New Zealander left waiting 23 days for vaccine pass
Sarah Catherall (Stuff): The outcasts: Life as an unvaccinated person in the traffic light system
Sandra Conchie (Herald): Tauranga funeral directors says vaccine pass checks cause extra stresses
Molly Swift (Stuff): Vaccine pass not an accurate record of how immune a person is
Herald Editorial: Vaccine pass system hiccups ahead of the holidays (paywalled)
Stuff: Vaccination not a must for Wellington bus drivers, mask-wearing patchy
Herald: More My Vaccine Passes than vaccinated people – Ministry of Health explains why
Vaccine rollout
Damien Grant (Stuff): Unvaccinated Māori have a right to privacy
Matai O’Connor (RNZ): Ministry of Health agrees to release Māori vaccination data
Will Trafford (Māori TV): MoH vaccine data drop could be too late – Tamihere
Stuff: Māori health agency accuses Dr Ashley Bloomfield of drip feeding Covid-19 vax data
Herald: Health Ministry wanted children to be vaccinated before traffic light system started
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Work under way to prioritise Māori children in paediatric vaccine roll-out, Waitangi Tribunal hears
Herald Editorial: Next vaccine target already in sight thanks to Omicron (paywalled)
RNZ: More than 140,000 people have had Covid-19 booster shots
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Māori and Pacific disability community Auckland vaccine event
Hannah Martin (Stuff): How Auckland’s vaccination rates are looking ahead of the boundary lifting
Border, MIQ, Omicron
Jamie Morton (Herald): What we’ve learnt about Omicron variant and what it means for New Zealand(paywalled)
RNZ: Border loosening should be postponed amid rise of Omicron – Baker
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Omicron ‘inevitable’ but it won’t mean more lockdowns – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): The costs we don’t see when going overseas
RNZ: Border exceptions announced for 600 tech workers, some agricultural workers
1 News: Border exceptions announced for hundreds of tech workers
Esther Taunton (Stuff): More border exemptions for crucial agricultural workers
RNZ: MIQ exemptions for workers as labour shortage squeezes primary sector
Kate Green (Stuff): Six hundred border exemptions granted for tech workers
Alexa Cook (Newshub): 200 rural contracting drivers will be granted special entry visas, but farmers fear MIQ delays could cost lives
Fake vaccine exemptions, anti-vaxxers, misinformation
RNZ: Checkpoint: Less than 30 antivax GPs in NZ, college estimates
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Husband of Covid-19 vaccine exemption certificate doctor also under investigation
Herald: Husband of fake vax exemption Christchurch doctor Dr Jonie Girouard under spotlight
Hanna McCallum, Kate Green & Molly Swift (Stuff): Bakery feels targeted by anti-mandate ‘fanatics’
Zane Small (Newshub): Fake Labour Party billboard promoting ‘six months of freedoms’ for getting COVID-19 booster circulates social media
RNZ: Covid-19 vaccine advisor warns against getting multiple Pfizer doses in a day
Herald: ‘Unbelievably selfish’ – expert slams people who paid man to take 10 vaccine shots in one day
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Battling Covid with Vitamin D, mouthwash, and a dose of stupidity
John Lewis (ODT): Anti-vaxxer’s video threats investigated
Foreign affairs, defence, trade
Gordon Campbell: On Defence’s desire to join the ”lets confront China” club
Robert G Patman (Guardian): New Zealand isn’t naive about China – but it doesn’t accept the Aukus worldview
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: NZ ‘out of step’ with Winter Games stance
Chris Trotter (Interest): Democracy in danger?
Paul Buchanan (Kiwipolitico): Warnings versus threats in foreign relations
AAP/1 News: NZ and Australia’s bond will always be tight – Ardern
Logan Church (1 News): Workers at World Expo allege safety issues at New Zealand pavilion
Jon Stephenson (Stuff): Senior Taliban spokesman a former New Zealand resident
Māori TV: Mahuta announces indigenous peoples trade arrangement
Inequality, welfare
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The richest saw their wealth soar during the pandemic. Was there a different path?
Max Rashbrooke (The Conversation): Over 300,000 New Zealanders owe more than they own – is this a problem?
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Māori beneficiaries facing higher weekly debt repayments to MSD
No Right Turn: Labour chooses to be cruel to beneficiaries
MIchelle Cooke (RNZ): What I really want for Christmas: Ricky Houghton
Kevin Norquay (Stuff): As the rich-poor gap widens, corporates told they could do ‘a whole lot more’
Rob Stock (Stuff): Why do so many from the ‘silent generation’ still have mortgages?
Polly Gillespie (Stuff): If you can afford a $300 leash for your pup, you’re making too much money
Economy, business, government subsidies
Jarrod Kerr (Interest): Kiwibank’s economists say their 2022 outlook is one of cautious optimism, strong inflation and rising wages
Roger Kerr (Interest): Debilitating inflation for most households has been a problem for a long time
RNZ: Manufacturing activity slows, employment in the sector contracts
Liam Dann (Herald): GDP Preview – How much damage did Delta do to the economy?
Grant Bradley (Herald): 72,000 tourism workers lose jobs in pandemic’s first year (paywalled)
James Lee and Ben Gilbert (Herald): Out of the pandemic — and into uncertainty (paywalled)
Tess Brunton (RNZ): ‘Slower and staggered recovery’ for conference industry when borders open
1 News: Kiwis’ card spending rises as Covid-19 alert levels ease
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Fears Auckland will be ghost town over summer as bookings down 30-70%
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Holiday hotspots scratch around for staff as Auckland freedom looms
Maryana Garcia (Herald): Slow start for some Rotorua accommodation providers over Christmas season(paywalled)
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Shipping delays and staff shortages bite the meat industry
Fair pay agreements, employment
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Pay rates are rising as recruiters and employers poach skilled workers to fill job vacancies
Steven Joyce (Herald): Government’s wage plans a farce from the past (paywalled)
Greg Presland (The Standard): Fair pay agreements – the employers fight back
Eric Crampton (Stuff): When does ‘collective bargaining’ become a cartel?
Dennis Wesselbaum (Herald): The Government’s next great blunder, social unemployment insurance(paywalled)
RNZ: Talley’s sues TVNZ over health and safety breach allegations
Vanessa Phillips (Stuff): Talley’s Group sues TVNZ
Matt McCarten (Daily Blog): Ice cream boss is a crook. Where is he?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ACC deductions from pay packets set to rise almost 15% over three years
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): How Inland Revenue can tap into your staff Christmas bonus
Smoking
Chris Bullen (Newsroom): Why smokefree action plan ticks all the boxes
1 News: Smokefree 2025 action plan a ‘game-changer’, advocate says
ODT Editorial: Last gasp, almost
Stuff Editorial: Smokefree 2025: Making smoking a thing of the past
Jane Bowron (Stuff): Stubbing out the smoking habit
Jack Tame (Newstalk ZB): Governments go hard on cigarettes…so why not booze?
RNZ: Government plan to stub out smoking draws mixed reactions
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Govt thinks prohibition will work!
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): The future of the corner dairy: Owners will need to ‘diversify’ business in order to survive without tobacco
Eleanor Margolis (Guardian): I’m all for New Zealand giving tobacco a kicking – but don’t criminalise smoking
Health
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland DHB meetings shrouded in secrecy
Mike Dinsdale (Herald): Northland health officials planning for up to 95 cases a day (paywalled)
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today): ‘ED is going to break’: Hawke’s Bay Hospital’s senior-most ED nurses say it’s not prepared for summer Covid outbreak (paywalled)
Michael Neilson (Herald): Ministry of Health explainer on therapeutic treatments for virus
Mei Heron (1 News): Some health providers may be unwittingly breaking Covid rules
Lloyd Burr (Magic): No matter how loud the government shouts about its funding for hospitals, the problems don’t go away
Rob Stock (Stuff): A bad business: The economics of obesity
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Govt’s ‘studious neglect’ of obesity leaves us among worst in OECD – nutrition experts
Michelle Cooke (RNZ): Thousands of youth waiting for help in ‘neglected’ mental health system
Toni McDonald (ODT): King hails generosity of rural South
RNZ: Health Ministry data deal aims to protect hospitals from cyber attacks
Louise Ternouth (RNZ): Lockdown blamed for rise in cancers not found earlier
RNZ: Colds and flus may re-emerge as lockdowns ease
RNZ: Coroner recommends changes to Dunedin Hospital patient assessment
RNZ: New hospital to serve Queenstown Lakes residents
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Southern District Health Board reveals extent of midwifery shortage
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Southern District Health Board plans to improve critical care units
Marena Mane (Māori TV): Aged care report looks at benefits of adapting tikanga Māori
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Family finds fight for healthcare harder than it should be
Qiuyi Tan (Herald): US doctor asked to take English test to practise in New Zealand
Katie Harris (Herald): ‘No end in sight’: Taupō woman felt like giving up on life as her husband’s carers miss shifts
Housing
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Ardern wants ‘runaway increases in house price growth’ to stop in 2022
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): First Home Grant price cap changes won’t come into effect until next year
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Could we be building too many houses?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): NZ slips to third in global house price rise index
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Could ‘affordable’ housing policies fix the broken property ladder?
Ben Leahy (Herald): Real estate agents pocket almost $2b in commission as house prices rise
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Furious homebuyers say developer cancelled agreements to resell at higher price
Ben Leahy (Herald): Builders facing fast rising costs as upset buyers pay more (paywalled)
Herald: Bed in garage shows shocking state of Auckland rental property market
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Auckland family priced off housing ladder find home as signs of market turn mount
Tim Newman (Stuff): Concerns raised over unintended consequences of housing infill bill
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Landlords hot under collar after ‘modern’ homes fail to meet heating standard
Local government, Three Waters
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Three waters: Government agreed to mandated strategy before four entities announced
Hamish MacLean (ODT): 10 Maori recommendations on Three Waters
Matthew Dallas (Stuff): Voices of elected officials should be amplifed by media, not muzzled from them
RNZ: Thames-Coromandel council requiring all employees to be vaccinated on council premises
Logan Savory (Stuff): Most Invercargill City Council staff won’t require vaccine passports despite venue policy
Jane Matthews (Stuff): 56 complaints against Taranaki councils’ call to open facilities to all
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Worker ‘distancing’ costs council extra $1m a week (paywalled)
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Almost all Auckland Council projects ‘adversely affected’ by lockdown
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Complaint cost irks councillor
RNZ: Hamilton brings in water restrictions
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Tāmaki parks to have Māori names restored
Luisa Girao (ODT): Rezoning to open way for 600-house development
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Meet the wizard hoping to be Invercargill’s next mayor
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Good, bad, ugly: Nelson council gets lowest residents rating in decade
Georgina Campbell (Herald): ‘Accident waiting to happen’: At least one person likely exposed to asbestos at Shelly Bay
Deena Coster (Stuff): Libraries should be places for everyone, no matter their bank balance
Environment, conservation, Climate Change
RNZ: Conservation laws need total makeover – Environmental Defence Society
Tess Brunton and Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Government to overhaul conservation laws: ‘We are at a defining moment for nature’
Anna Whyte (1 News): New Zealand’s ‘decades old’ conservation law set for reform
RNZ: Stock grazing to end in Queen Elizabeth Park
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Fine pollution particles recorded in Arrowtown, Timaru, Invercargill reach harmful levels
RNZ: Nine kea and a dog killed after 1080 drops last year
Sally Brooker (Newstalk ZB): An urgent step change from fossil to future fuels
RNZ: The Detail: A lot of talk, less action on climate change in 2021
Liz Wylie (Herald): Climate change and flood risk: Building Whanganui strategy for resilience (paywalled)
Joanne Naish (Stuff): Coal mining company considering shift to electric vehicles to help green revolution
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): Bay of Plenty hapū prepare for climate change impact
Catherine Delahunty (E-Tangata): The love of place
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Timaru’s air quality improved, but still among the worst in NZ
Tina Law (Stuff): Councillor’s plan to ditch the diesel and go green hits the skids
RNZ: Otago council ramps up campaign against rabbits
Education
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Dilworth School: At least 22 former students allege past school leaders ignored, punished students for complaining about abuse
André Chumko and Alison Mau (Stuff): New Zealand’s top drama school apologises to students for harm
Khylee Quince (Stuff): Closing the education equity gap will be challenging for many
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Number of foreign students in NZ drops by two-thirds
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1 News): Company accused of anti-Māori publishing promoting books at schools
Peter Griffin (Stuff): Richard Dawkins’ foray into the NZ science curriculum isn’t helpful
Vita Molyneux (Herald): Victoria University Students’ Association Don Binney art work auction decision ‘sad’
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Auckland University law students find online exams a ‘technical nightmare’(paywalled)
Police, Justice, corrections
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): For Christ’s sake NZ Police??? Why are you giving Slater a cross & why there must be an investigation!
Cameron Slater (BFD): Police Admit to Surveilling The BFD
Karl du Fresne: Why the judicial conduct panel’s secret inquiry can’t possibly be about Judge Callinicos
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Healthcare, rehab issues at Manawatū Prison despite warnings
Laura James (1 News): Police safety in spotlight again after sentencing of Constable Hunt’s murderer
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): Is gang violence in NZ the worst it’s ever been? (paywalled)
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Brawls and police raids: Living next door to members of rival gangs
RNZ: Not a single Māori Crown prosecutor in Christchurch, Gisborne, Whanganui
Sexual Assault Laws
Marie Dyhrberg (Daily Blog): False sexual accusers face little risk
Samira Taghavi (Daily Blog): The Sexual Violence Bill – (More) Unintended Consequences
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The new Sexual Assault Laws being crammed through Parliament this week
Primary industries
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Why Fonterra lacks credibility on climate
RNZ: Fonterra should be able to ‘capitalise on opportunities’ – Agriculture Minister
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Will Damien O’Connor save Fonterra’s farmers from themselves?(paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Trawling for the truth – why New Zealand’s main method of fishing is so controversial
Rebecca Macfie (Newsroom): Coroner wants urgent safety changes in forestry
Anna Sintenie and Mike Joy (Newsroom): Farm plan proposals should be careful not to put the cart before the horse
RNZ: Greens call for imported animal feed to be phased out
1 News: Luxon takes aim at Government over treatment of farmers
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Greens pressure Government to stop palm kernel imports
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Cheap accommodation, social sport used to entice workers for orchard jobs
Media
Wayne Hope (Daily Blog): Media Ownership in Aotearoa New Zealand 2021
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Young entrepreneur’s death sparks media backlash
David Farrier (Webworm): Bad News: the anatomy of dodgy news
Damien Venuto (Herald): Breakfast wars 2022: Tova O’Brien v Mike Hosking, John Campbell v Ryan Bridge (paywalled)
Herald: Mark Richardson announces he is pursuing politics ahead of 2023 election
Film industry
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): Review launched into NZ screen production industry funding
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 20 years of Lord of the Corporates
Transport
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Mayors across North Island frustrated at lack of funds for key transport projects
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Pre-Christmas Transmission Gully opening looks doubtful, despite speculation
Other
Brian Easton (Pundit): Why We May Expect To Pay More Tax
Emma Hatton (RNZ): Government space launch moving forward, despite officials’ concerns
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Chlöe Swarbrick says Jacinda Ardern could have made ‘massive difference’ in cannabis referendum
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Chlöe Swarbrick: Green Party can’t be the only ones pushing drug law reform
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Pasifika and Asians under-represented in Environment Ministry management
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Ministry for Culture and Heritage staff report ‘lack of confidence with kaupapa Māori’
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Why historical wars still matter
David Williams (Newsroom): Police silent on Lake Alice questions
Alison Mau (Stuff): Patriarchy rules – why we’re nowhere close to escaping the grip of a system that hurts us all
Trevor Richards (Spinoff): The Sunday Essay: The 1976 Montreal boycott
1 News: Anger, Anxiety & Us: Why we’re discussing abuse of frontline staff
Craig Tamblyn (Spinoff): End-of-life services and hospices can work in harmony
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Marama Davidson opens up about what it took to get Te Aorerekura over the line
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Revealed: Violence in Oranga Tamariki care and protection residences increasing
Felix Desmarais (Herald): Parliament’s support for transgender rights a glimmer of hope in dark times(paywalled)
Paul Lewis (Herald): America’s Cup drama resembles TV’s ‘darkly comic’ Succession (paywalled)
Tony Smith (Stuff): Black Sox softball coach says Covid has ‘widened the gap’ between NZ’s pro and amateur sports