NZ Politics Daily: 4 February 2022

Border, MIQ
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Government’s Fortress NZ strategy comes to an end
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): RIP MIQ: An early obituary for a border system that’s run its course
Jane Patterson (RNZ): MIQ soon to be a thing of the past but Covid wounds run deep
Michael Plank (Herald): New Zealand’s MIQ has intercepted thousands of cases, but is it time to retire the flawed system?
RNZ: Experts give stamp of approval to government’s border re-opening plan
Science Media Centre: Gradual reopening of NZ from late Feb – Expert Reaction
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Border self-isolation may be too ‘leaky’ and hurt Māori, experts say
Zoe Holland (Herald): Expert airs fears on households of returnees being allowed to come and go as they please during self-isolation
No Right Turn: Importing covid by the planeload
James Nokise (Stuff): MIQ has helped, and MIQ has hurt. Nothing about Covid is simple
Stuff Editorial: RIP MIQ: The necessary evil of New Zealand’s pandemic response
Damien Venuto (Herald): How long will the stench of MIQ hang over NZ? (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Finally the borders are opening!
Ian Taylor (Herald):  Encouraging signs in Jacinda Ardern’s MIQ announcement, but the devil may be in the detail (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Opposition parties take contrasting views on border re-opening plan
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Christopher Luxon says Jacinda Ardern should resign if she backs down on COVID-19 border reopening dates
Michael Neilson (Herald): Joy as border to reopen but with a warning of high case numbers
RNZ: Border re-opening plan: Businesses ‘chomping at the bit’ but want more detail
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Business gives mixed response to Labour’s 5-step reopening plan (paywalled)
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Border plan leaves split families divided
River Lin (1 News): ‘A relief’ – Overseas Kiwis react to border announcement
Herald: Kiwis abroad fear border announcement too good to be true
Katie Todd (RNZ): New Zealand border reopening plan brings relief but MIQ pain unforgettable for some
Emma Cropper (Newshub): Kiwis in Australia excited to fly home this month after border reopens
Anne Gibson (Herald): Grounded Kiwi pensioners welcome border reopening: ‘It’s marvellous. I can’t believe it’
Debbie Jamieson and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Border reopening plan welcome, but ‘too cautious and too slow’ for some
Nadine Porter (Stuff): MIQ announcement too little too late for some 
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Jubilation for Kiwis stuck overseas as borders set to open but Dan Wootton is ‘mad’
Nadine Porter (Stuff): ‘No longer a citizen’: Ex-pat Kiwis welcome MIQ decision but say they feel abandoned
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Overseas Kiwis relieved and ‘worn down’ by border announcement
Herald: Self-isolation rules could dissuade airlines from flying to NZ – BARNZ
Grant Bradley (Herald): Border reopening means light at end of the tunnel for some travellers
Grant Bradley (Herald): Reopening New Zealand: Isolation rules a ‘demand killer’ for tourism (paywalled)
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Border reopening: Tourism operators welcome positive step forward
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Border reopening a relief, but little hope for tourism revival 
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): ‘Devastating blow’, operator says
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Horticulture sector: Border reopening comes too late
Carmen Hall and Emma Houpt (Bay of Plenty Times/Herald): Border opening could be too late for kiwifruit sector (paywalled)
Alex Chapman (Newshub): Coronavirus hits sports: Kiwi sports stars, teams react to NZ Government’s border reopening plan
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RNZ: ‘Self-isolation won’t be something that we ask people to do forever’ – Chris Hipkins
1 News: Fines up to $12k for isolation breaches when border opens
Anna Whyte (1 News): Details of isolation rules as NZ prepares for border reopening
1 News: What you need to know about NZ’s border reopening
Henry Cooke (Stuff): How New Zealand’s five-step border reopening will work
Anna Whyte (1 News): Jacinda Ardern reveals NZ’s new border reopening dates
Zane Small (Newshub): Staged COVID-19 border reopening for New Zealand: Kiwis in Australia can self-isolate from end of February, most tourists can enter by July
Michael Neilson (Herald): NZ reopens border from February 28, most returnees can self-isolate, no MIQ
RNZ: Border reopening for New Zealanders confirmed for end of February – what you need to know
1 News: Ardern acknowledges Defence Force ‘burden’ as MIQ winds down
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand border will open in stages from end of February, Jacinda Ardern announces
1 News: ACT, Te Pāti Māori clash over Omicron border management
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Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Community isolation scheme needs to be overhauled, study says
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Custom-built facilities on the cards for new national quarantine service
John Lewis (ODT): Infecting each other ‘ticket out’ of MIQ
1 News: A timeline of New Zealand’s MIQ system

Charlotte Bellis
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): The Bellis Embarrassment
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Activists call out Kiwi journalist Charlotte Bellis over Taliban ‘safe haven’ comment during MIQ row
RNZ: Afghan women say they wouldn’t be afforded the same rights as a pregnant NZ journalist under the Taliban
Rosemary McLeod (Stuff): Pregnancy and childbirth have long been politicised
Herald: Charlotte Bellis ‘relieved’ overseas Kiwis can finally return home
Herald: In the Loop: Charlotte Bellis, ‘cooked’ flat markets and Boris Johnson in hot water

Unemployment insurance scheme
Rob Stock (Stuff): How might Labour’s compulsory unemployment insurance change our money lives?
Kathy Errington (Herald):  Why NZ families need social insurance (paywalled)
Brian Fallow (Herald):  Job insurance plan won’t come cheap (paywalled)
Steven Cowan (Against the current): Grant’s got a brand new welfare blueprint
Don Franks (Redline): Further on Labour’s Unemployment Insurance Scheme
Rob Stock (Stuff): How might Labour’s compulsory unemployment insurance change our money lives?

Vaccination rollout
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Bracing for Omicron, Govt shores up NZ’s immunity wall
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Up to 1200 people turned away for boosters due to software mismatch
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Pacific vaccination rates pass 99 per cent across several regions 
Science Media Centre: Booster gap shortened to three months – Expert Reaction
Jamie Morton (Herald): When can NZ expect a vax for under 5s?
Adam Pearse (Herald): Parent’s warning after daughter vaccinated without consent
Naomii Seah (Spinoff): Why is the Asian community behind on boosters?

Housing, Lending rules
Zane Small (Newshub): Associate Housing Minister Poto Williams floats rent controls as cost of living bites
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Government not revealing detail of potential rent control options
1 News: ‘Nothing off the table’ as Government looks to support renters
Michael Daly (Stuff): ‘Nothing off the table’ as Government considers rent controls to tackle unaffordable housing
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How tiny is Poto Williams table & why a nationwide rent strike is the only solution?
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Auckland house sales drop 12 per cent in January 
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Napier City Council to put question of public housing’s future to the community, three options being considered
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): Wellington City Council votes to give its tenants much-needed rent freeze
Isaac Davison (Herald): Please don’t change lending rules, budget advisers say – we’ve fought for them for 20 years (paywalled)
Steve Stannard (Stuff): Pawnbrokers Inc.
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): David Clark digs in over lending laws, which are adding strain beyond the headlines (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Credit crunch or responsible lending? Has the law gone too far?
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): More cases emerge of banks using customers’ house sale profits to pay off other mortgage

Omicron outbreak, cases, public health measures
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Omicron NZ: Why the daily Covid-19 data will soon be a bit of a muddle
Michael Neilson (Herald): Chris Hipkins compares modelling with weather forecasts – ‘I’ve always been sceptical’
Molly Swift (Newshub): Ministry of Health warns New Zealanders to have self-isolation plan when travelling this Waitangi weekend
1 News: 147 new Covid-19 community cases in NZ on Thursday
Stuff: About 414 new cases a day forecast for Waikato’s Omicron peak
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Twelve students Covid positive after St Paul’s Collegiate, Hamilton, camp
Denise Piper (Stuff): No known virus transmission in NZ prisons, so far
Kate MacNamara (Herald): The fate of one rapid Covid test and why it’s taken New Zealand 18 months to consider it (paywalled)
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ introduces ‘test-to-return’ policy for critical staff as Omicron outbreak affects regional services
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand speeds up return to work of Omicron close contacts
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Damning Treasury report gives Ashley Bloomfield’s Ministry of Health a ‘D’ for spending (paywalled)

Protests, anti vaccination, rule breaches
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Hands off our tamariki’ – Iwi vaccinators egged as anti-vaxxers force caution in children’s jab rollout
Kurt Bayer (Herald): Parent outraged as anti-vax protesters gather outside Canterbury schools
Tina Grumball (ODT): Woman fined for not wearing mask in supermarket
Herald: Anti-mandate protester arrested at Tāmati Coffey’s Rotorua restaurant
Newshub: Anti-mandate woman arrested for refusing to show vaccine passport at Labour MP Tāmati Coffey’s Rotorua restaurant
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Group advertising cards that falsely claim to give ‘diplomatic immunity’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Ivermectin import attempts not slowing down amid warning against use

Economy, Business, Employment
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Winners and losers in this grave new world of so-called full employment
RNZ: Emergence of Omicron variant among negatives to hit GDP – Infometrics forecast
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Households feeling the squeeze as Omicron rolls in: Infometrics
Herald: ‘Rock and a hard place’: Liam Dann on inflation, rates, wages and investing in an overheated market (paywalled)
Edward O’Driscoll (Newshub): NZ arts sector welcomes Government’s $120m support fund but venue owners left short
Jake McKee (RNZ): Overseas travel tempts young New Zealanders despite ongoing pandemic
RNZ: Businesses should prepare for increased regulatory, enforcement action in 2022
RNZ: Main commodity exports remain at record highs, soft NZ dollar boosts returns
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea): 5.9% inflation highlights why Supermarket duopoly must be smashed!
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Fewer Trade Me sellers attempting to cash in on Covid-19
Conor Knell (Stuff): Palmerston North business owners ‘struggle’ through record-high inflation

Parliament, parties, polling
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Something Entirely Different: Why Co-Governance Is A Very Bad Idea
Barrie Saunders: Democracy or partnership revisited
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Can Christopher Luxon become PM – and mend a divided NZ? (paywalled)
David Farrar (Patreon): Luxon focusing on brand first (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): ACT’s David Seymour mocks ‘Red Queen’ Jacinda Ardern in state-of-nation speech
John Weekes (Herald): Act’s state of the nation: Seymour says voters need asylum from Ardern ‘wonderland’
Catrin Owen (Stuff): New Zealand First Foundation case: Duo continue name suppression fight
Sam Hurley (Herald): NZ First Foundation investigation: Accused argues for continued suppression in High Court

Health
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Half of cancers potentially preventable, but Govt investment needed – report
RNZ: Breast cancer outcomes worse for Māori, Pacific women, new study finds
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Major breast cancer report reveals lower survival rates for Māori, Pasifika, and younger women 
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): ‘I thought I might be running out of time’, lockdown puts off breast cancer treatment 
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Racism preventing young Asian Kiwis from seeking health services, study shows
Jane Matthews (Stuff): Taranaki mother, pelvic health physiotherapist calling for ACC to cover all birth injuries

Education
Lee Kenny (Stuff): New Zealand ‘back in business’ with return of international students, but will lag behind rival countries
Shea Turner (Stuff): Auckland University moves to online learning until mid-semester break
Shea Turner (Stuff): Universities move to online learning for semester 1 as Omicron looms
Emily Writes (Spinioff): ‘There’s nothing I won’t do to keep my child safe’: The rise in pandemic homeschooling
RNZ: Melville High School and intermediate may be replaced by new school
Wyatt Ryder (ODT: Otago Boys’ bans phones
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Parents complain ‘Go Bus, no bus’ in Wairarapa at start of school year

Local government
Martin Foo (Interest): NZ councils have largely fared well in the Covid-era but infrastructure deficits may prove challenging
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Project): Waiuku developers face hefty bill for wastewater treatment plant
Seni Iasona (Newshub): Auckland Council defends euthanising dog despite offers to home it
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Three waters reform: Divisions widen among Hamilton politicians
RNZ: Company running Wellington wastewater treatment plants failed basic asset management – report
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Golf course may go to the dogs
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Proposal to turn former landfill site into ‘rugged, rustic’ park
Skara Bohny (Stuff): Nelson City Council gets AA rating for ‘robust financial management’
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Mackenzie District Council receives unchanged grade from new report
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Unvaccinated council staff given ‘alternate work arrangements’
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Down the drain: Masterton District Council’s damaged drip line wastes water
Amy Ridout (Stuff): Council inaction over leak led to flooded bedroom, says resident

Environment
Phil Pennington (RNZ): PFAS contamination: Scientists keen to find source of pollutants in urban water systems
Bay of Plenty Times (Herald): Out-of-towners caught fishing in Mōtītī Island protected area

Foreign Affairs, trade
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promises to travel to Europe, US, Asia, Australia in 2022
RNZ: Ardern to lead trade visits in 2022 to Australia, Asia, US and Europe
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Trust to appeal mānuka honey trademark rejection
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Honey producers appeal after bid to trademark ‘mānuka honey’ fails
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealand to send a single official to cheer on Olympic team at Beijing Winter Games
Ben Strang (Stuff): NZ athletes warned about cybersecurity, political statements
Marcus Musson (Stuff): The demand on forestry: If a tree falls in the forest, should it be exported?

Foreign investment
Richard Harman (Politik): Government looks set to do u-turn on foreign investment rule (paywalled)
Sally Murphy and Maja Burry (RNZ): Rules helping foreign investors turn NZ farmland into forestry reviewed

Transport
Timothy F Welch (Newsroom): Who really wants Auckland’s light rail plan?
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Is Auckland’s new $14 billion rail line a Harry Potter fantasy?
RNZ: The Detail: How realistic are Auckland’s light rail plans?
Joel MacManusstf Transmission Gully: Waka Kotahi withheld $7.5 million payment to builder after missing opening deadline 
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff):  Electric vehicle numbers surge as petrol price climbs and subsidy kicks in
Chris Keall (Herald): EV sales ease as Clean Car Discount bounce fades (paywalled)
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Waka Kotahi accuses Hawke’s Bay leaders of putting efficiency ahead of lives 
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Lower speed limit on SH5: Waka Kotahi asked to justify decision
Matthew Martin (Stuff): Taupō truckie angry with 80kmh limit on Napier-Taupō highway
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Roadworks cause concern for locals after crashes in Franklin
Luisa Girao (ODT): Council wants to lower city’s speed limits

Tonga
Lydia Lewis and Finau Fonua  (RNZ): Tonga’s PM says investigation underway into Covid-19 outbreak
RNZ: Tonga eruption: RSE workers arrive in NZ
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Tonga told virus ‘is here to stay’ as first of community cases recovers
Lydia Lewis (RNZ): ‘Resilience and strength of people’ will get Kingdom through, Tonga’s PM

IPCA
RNZ: Independent Police Conduct Authority loses USB stick with complaint information
Seni Iasona (Newshub): IPCA staff member loses unprotected USB stick containing police information
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): ‘We have failed’: USB stick with private police watchdog information lost

Waitangi
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): How New Zealand’s political leaders will mark Waitangi Day at Covid-19 red
Kerry Enright (ODT): Hope of Waitangi Day key to healing

Other
RNZ: Afghans still stranded despite court ruling allowing them into New Zealand
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1 News): Ngāpuhi Treaty settlement: Glimpse of what Govt could offer revealed
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Are heritage laws failing Māori?
Edward Gay (Stuff): 80% of Aucklanders called for jury service fail to show as trials resume
RNZ: Supreme Court to weigh assurances from China in extradition case of murder-accused
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Māori set to receive quarter of key 5G spectrum band and $57m under Crown deal
Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Spinoff): What does it mean to be tangata Tiriti?
Melissa Lee (Kiwiblog): Guest Post: The Future of New Zealand Media
Nicholas Agar (Newsroom): How the pandemic put science on steroids
Kate Green (Stuff): People urged not to overestimate abilities in water, data shows over-65s most at risk