Today’s content

Govt ends elimination strategy
Lew Stoddart (Guardian): How New Zealand snookered itself by calling time on its Covid elimination strategy
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Will Jacinda Stand? Or, Has She Already Fallen?
Derek Cheng (Herald): It looks like Jacinda Ardern has waved the white flag to Delta – but she hasn’t (paywalled)
Kristin Hall (1 News): NZ could see Covid resurgence similar to Singapore, experts warn
Lara Greaves (Spinoff): Māori experts have been all but invisible in the government Covid-19 response. Why?
Nadine Porter, Cate Broughton and Joanne Naish (Stuff): Vaccinations critical as virus spreading south becomes ‘inevitable’, say experts
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Experts respond to Auckland’s new rules with concern, confusion
Judith Collins (Herald): Can the Government just do its job? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Restrictions must lift by Christmas for weary Auckland: Judith Collins
Lorna Thornber (Stuff): Experts divided on likelihood of Christmas travel to and from Auckland
Kate Newton (Stuff): Five things to expect between now and Christmas, as our coronavirus strategy changes
Mike Hosking  (Herald): While we did our job, the Govt has failed (paywalled)

Outbreaks in gangs
Belinda Feek, Jared Savage and Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Hamilton index case has gang connections and long history, say sources
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): COVID-19 sweeps through New Zealand’s underground with gangs at heart of Waikato Delta outbreak
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Gang members in Waikato Covid-19 outbreak
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): PM Jacinda Ardern defends head of Waikato Mongrel Mob Sonny Fatupaito being given essential worker exemption to travel to Auckland
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Gangs aren’t hard to reach, just try buying drugs from them – Judith Collins
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Chris Hipkins says he has no sympathy for gang members, defends border exemption for Mongrel Mob boss
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Gangs are not the real problem with border exemptions
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand Mongrel Mob leader given essential worker exemption to help boost Covid tests
Laura Walters (Stuff): Gang vaccine plan working to overcome long-standing mistrust
Jason Walls (Herald): Government granted Mongrel Mob life member Harry Tam essential workers exemption
1 News: Gang boss given exemption to cross Auckland border

Waikato, King Country cases
Belinda Feek (Herald): Mayor calls for North Island lockdown – says it’s too hard to contain in Waikato
1 News: Calls for Level 3 for North Island after Covid cases emerge outside Waikato boundary
Herald: Mayor sent ‘vitriol and horrific’ emails after comments around North Island lockdown
Michael Neilson (Herald): Calls for more restrictions as cases march through Waikato
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Hipkins explains why Waikato boundary hasn’t been extended despite Kāwhia, Karāpiro cases
Chris Marshall (Stuff): Waikato Covid outbreak: forget border extensions focus on vaccination
RNZ: ‘It becomes very real when it arrives in your community’ – Ōtorohanga mayor
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Cases in Kāwhia, Karāpiro ‘concerning but not surprising’, lockdown border extension likely needed – expert

Vaccine certificate, mandatory vaccination
Mike Lee (Newsroom): My body, my choice? Not this time
RNZ: Covid-19 vaccine certificates: How they might work and what questions remain
1 News: Hipkins: Govt ‘working through’ complex vaccine certificate system
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Real Me outages due to high traffic on vax certificate website
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Hard to make vaccine certificates completely ‘fraud-proof’, but extra ID checks will help
1 News: NZ should have had vaccine certificate ‘a long time ago’
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Government needs to take the lead and make vaccine passports mandatory, say business groups (paywalled)
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Tourism operators call for mandatory vaccine certificates
RNZ: National Party leader Judith Collins criticises vaccine certificates and mandates
Mike Yardley (Newstalk ZB): Vaccine certificates present a fork in the road
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Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): Airlines are right to keep anti-vaxxers grounded
Liu Chen (RNZ): Debate over mandatory teacher vaccination continues ahead of government decision
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Teachers likely to face vaccination mandate as New Zealand’s jab drive heats up
1 News: Teachers urged to get jab as Govt mulls mandatory vaccination
Sue Cherrington (Newsroom): ECE teachers essential workers in all but name
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Selwyn College to mandate vaccinations
Māori TV: ‘No vax no vines’– Rhythm and Vines founder

Vaccine rollout, procurement
RNZ: Checkpoint: Covid vaccinations: ‘We must leave no-one behind’ – leading immunologist
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Effective vaccination campaigns must include Māori and Pacific leaders – immunologist
Paul Catmur (Herald): Vaccine race – how did Ireland get to 90% so fast?
Anna Whyte (1 News): Vaccine dose gap recommendation changed to three weeks
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Shortening vaccine dose gap to combat Delta ‘pragmatic’, expert says
Zane Small (Newshub): Government declares October 16 ‘National Day of Action’ to drive up COVID-19 vaccination rates
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Nationwide ‘vaccination day’ push announced for October 16
RNZ: Labour, National in agreement over need to increase Māori Covid-19 vaccination rate
Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Judith Collins’s KFC sales pitch to vaccine hesitant and Government’s ‘on the fly’ rules for Auckland
1 News: Marama Davidson drops ‘judgy aunty’ vibe to sway nieces to get Covid jabs
1 News: ‘Multiple levels of injustice’ contributing to low Māori vaccination rates
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): John Tamihere threatens court over Māori vaccination data
RNZ: Vaccine opposition in Te Tai Tokerau driven by misinformation – DHB head
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Boosting Māori vaccination rates
Herald Editorial: How to overcome Covid vaccine hesitancy (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): ‘Aunties power’: Māori Women’s Welfare League removing barriers to get Waitara vaccinated
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Close to 6000 Pasifika vaccinated at ‘Rally your Village’ event
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): South Auckland Pasifika vaccine event gives 7000 doses in six days
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Chinese Kiwis have lowest vaccination rates in over-65 age group
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Auckland vaccine centre pulls an all-nighter to reach shift workers, night owls
Helen Harvey (Stuff): Māori tell associate health minister Peeni Henare how the vaccine roll out is working in Taranaki
Anne Gibson (Herald): Vaccinated apartment buyers offered $10,000 discount on new units (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Dunedin topples Kaikōura as vaccination Top Town
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Charting New Zealand’s vaccine rollout
Herald: Seven Sharp host Hilary Barry hits back at anti-vaxxer trolls
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Peter Dunne: When you go into war you use all the troops and resources at your disposal, not just those you like
Zane Small (Newshub): Winston Peters lashes out as COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins denies putting off Pfizer meeting in 2020
Brooke Hunter (1 News): Government criticised after Pfizer left waiting weeks over vaccine meeting
RNZ: National questions delay over government Pfizer meeting

Man dies of Covid, cases, demographics
Adam Pearse (Herald): ‘Never easy to say goodbye’ – Friend of latest Covid death describes ‘loving’ man
RNZ: Covid-19 death man in his 50s who died at Middlemore Hospital
RNZ: Wife of man who died of Covid-19 also battling virus in hospital
Rawiri Taonui (Māori TV): Case surge for Māori as government dumps restrictions
Denise Piper (Stuff): Possible Delta case being investigated in Whangārei
Māori TV: Weak positive Covid case in Whangārei but may be a false positive

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teachers feeling anxious about return to school: ‘It is far too soon’
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Auckland parents left disappointed after early childhood spots filled up
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Lincoln Uni aiming for 40 per cent more students in five years, says new VC
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Dilworth School’s former chaplain admits to indecently assaulting boys in his care

Alert level rules, compliance, enforcement
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Churches supporting anti-lockdown rally took more than $1.2m from Government’s wage subsidy scheme
George Block (Stuff): Travel breach accused is Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal member
Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Checkpoint: Waiheke, Aotea restricted to residents only in new level 3 rules
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): Whāngai not considered ‘parenting agreement’, mother turned back from Auckland border
Claire Trevett (Herald): Welcome to the Hotel Auckland Delta outbreak: you can check out but you just can’t pee (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Newshb): Using the loo just one of the COVID-19 rules causing confusion as Auckland enjoys taste of freedom
Herald: Outdoor gatherings back on, but confusion remains as rules changed overnight
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Waiheke Island remains off limits to Aucklanders but islanders can travel to the city
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Confusion over toilet rule after Deputy PM Grant Robertson contradicts Government advice on outdoor gatherings
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Clover Park resident says lockdown breaches are ‘out of control’
RNZ: Second person charged following anti-lockdown protest
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Second arrest over Auckland anti-lockdown protest
1 News: Boatie caught trying to flee Auckland’s water boundary
Herald: Canterbury universities’ Tea and Garden parties cancelled

Testing
RNZ: New Covid-19 testing regime to be announced today
RNZ: Coalition of 25 companies want to import 370,000 rapid antigen tests – but need permission
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Corporates want 370k rapid tests in NZ by next week (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Businesses urge Government to let them bring in rapid test kits
Tracey Roxburgh (ODT): Call to allow rapid antigen tests

Border, MIQ
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Investigation reveals major missteps by Ministry of Health regarding COVID-riddled foreign ship docked in NZ
Benedict Collins (1 News): Interislander crew returned from Sydney with cold-like symptoms, didn’t isolate
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): MIQ’s ‘bureaucratic madness’ puts Southland mums at risk
Herald: Police called in after Jet Park quarantine rooms allegedly trashed by gang members
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Where are they from? The people lucky enough to win MIQ slots

Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom survey
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Top issues facing the nation — CEOs have the final word (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Honeymoon is over – Business leaders rate Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Go easy on spending, Grant (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: How effective is the Recovery Fund? (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Inflation ‘beast’ on the loose (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Labour’s stars take a tumble (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Judith Collins has ‘lost sight’ of issues (paywalled)
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: How the minor party leaders rateds (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Act leader David Seymour rises to the challenge (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Housing needs an urgent fix (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘Less spectacular’ forecast for housing market
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Wealth inequality – ‘Utterly inexcusable’ (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Why a tax on wealth is not seen as the answer (paywalled)
Thomas Pippos (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Thomas Pippos – Letting the sleeping tax dogs lie
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: A pathway full of potholes (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘We need to set a date for border re-opening’
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Border restrictions are ‘a mixed blessing’ (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Business confidence on the rebound (paywalled)
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Wage and salary packages set to rise (paywalled)
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: CEO plea – ‘Open border so we can source staff’ (paywalled)
Duncan Bridgeman (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: An issue that’s not going to go away (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Growing pains with labour shortages
Bill Bennett (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Skills shortages, closed borders front of mind
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Offshore recruiters raise the bar (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Covid blows NZ into rocky waters
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Technology — a godsend under Covid (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: A Covid caveat for business (paywalled)
Liam Dann  (Herald):  Mood of the Boardroom: Was printing money the right option? (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Fixing supply chain headaches (paywalled)
Andrea Fox (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Port navigates the Covid storm
Tim McCready (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘The only certain thing is uncertainty’
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Why methane emissions are a touchy subject (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: ‘We need to be one step ahead of the rest’
Herald: Mood of the Boardroom: Renewables offer a cheaper solution (paywalled)
Graham Skellern (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Genesis Energy calls for a national energy strategy
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Mood of the Boardroom: Tribute: Michael Cullen KNZM (1945-2021) (paywalled)

Business, economy, employment, wage subsidy
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Why lifting interest rates now was a bad idea (paywalled)
1 News: Reserve Bank could have waited to raise OCR – commentator
David Hargreaves (Interest): Has the RBNZ adequately factored-in the community Covid factor?
Liam Dann (Herald): Why the OCR had to rise, despite the lockdown pain (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): OCR rise: Brace for more – CoreLogic forecasts 4.5% by 2023 (paywalled)
RNZ: Reserve Bank announces first cash rate rise in seven years
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ANZ and Kiwibank raise mortgage rates after Reserve Bank hikes OCR to 0.5%
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Reserve Bank lifts Official Cash Rate for first time in 7 years to 0.50% as widely expected
Diana Clement (OneRoof):OCR hike: It’s about to get harder to borrow
Reuters (Guardian): New Zealand raises interest rates for the first time in seven years
Michael Neilson (Herald): Flexi-wage jobs scheme off-track as benefit numbers rise – National
Charlie Gates and Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Confusion over new Covid rules for events led to needless cancellations
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Singer-songwriter Theia says music festival season relies on vaccinations
1 News: Govt provides $5.3m funding to Auckland sport orgs hit by lockdown
Anne Gibson (Herald): Covid hits charities hard: arts, culture and heritage suffers the most – JBWere report
Jake McKee (RNZ): Three months before Christmas, companies plan early for freight delays, higher costs
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Tenant support ramps up to $650m (paywalled)
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Dunedin city business still languishing
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Precinct boss warns commercial lease changes will mean less support for small retailers  (paywalled)

Electoral law review, Parliament
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – Will electoral and political finance law reform succeed this time around?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Push for more than piecemeal electoral reform may struggle
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National could gain from gang, economy focus, as politics only ‘normal’-looking return (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): How the Greens can get some actual power (paywalled)
1 News: MPs returning to Parliament from Auckland, Waikato must self-isolate
Claire Trevett (Herald): Auckland MPs allowed back to Parliament – but only after self-isolation in Wellington
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Auckland MPs can return to Parliament – after five days self-isolation in Wellington

Water reforms, Local government
RNZ: Northland Mayors jointly call for three waters pause
Emily Ireland (RNZ): Wairarapa councils ready for water standards to change
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Palmerston North will continue to elect mayor and 15 councillors

Environment, climate change, conservation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Just half of govt vehicles to decarbonise by 2025
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Not keeping their promises
Reuters (Newshub): Carbon offsets slammed as ‘pure greenwash’, Greenpeace calls for them to be scrapped
Cathy Quinn (Herald): Balance is key to fraught climate-change debate (paywalled)
Mike Yardley (Newstalk ZB): Blame Auckland Council for Christchurch’s self-declared climate emergency
David Williams (Newsroom): Soupy water flows into dolphin habitat
Morgane Solignac and Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Government funds more than 100 conservation jobs in top of the south
Jacqui Dean (Stuff): Opaque reporting raises questions about Jobs for Nature
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Pāua harvesting returns to Kaikōura

Health
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): ICU plan for ‘endemic’ Covid-19 won’t work due to staff shortages, expert says
Zoe Holland and Demelza Jackson (Herald): Auckland Hospital neonatal ICU transporting expectant mothers, staff ‘contingency plans’ after Covid case
Roderick Mulgan (Stuff): Labour’s health reforms are about philosophy, not better service
Rebecca Macfie (Newsroom): Home care deal as Covid care looms
Stuff: Children are hurting as part of ‘the team of 5 million’
Arena Williams and Stuart Smith (Stuff): Every year, like clockwork, officials tell us we need to tighten up our alcohol laws

Energy
Michael Fountaine (Listener/Herald): Is it time for New Zealand to go nuclear? (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Meridian warns wholesale electricity prices may stay high for ‘some time’

Housing, property investment, tenancy rules
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff): The multimillion-dollar answer to Wellington City Council’s housing conundrum
Tony Alexander (OneRoof): The first signs of a big shift in Kiwi attitudes to property investment?
BusinessDesk: Rising mortgage rates aren’t weighing on housing market: survey (paywalled)
Carmen Hall (Herald): How rising building costs are hitting Bay of Plenty first-home buyers (paywalled)
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): With few roads, a new development offers cheaper Auckland housing
Mandy Te (Stuff): Iwi plans to finish development of Porirua’s newest suburb
RNZ: 10 more families to be housed

Foreign affairs, trade
Dita De Boni (NBR): NZ best to steer clear of Australian shirtfronting of China (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand warship sailing disputed South China Sea as Taiwan warns ‘we will fight to end’ if China attacks
Lucy Craymer and Ed Scragg (Stuff): NZ frigate sails with UK Carrier Strike Group through South China Sea
Herald: China and . . . ‘We’ve been a long time on the road’ (paywalled)
Mahsheed Mahjor (Stuff): Humanitarian support should not lead to recognition of the Taliban 
Guy Trafford (Interest): Can Damian O’Connor get the deals long promised?

Other
Joanne Naish (Stuff): Management ‘deliberately ignored’ gas build up in Pike River mine, investigation suggests
Claire Breen, Alexander Gillespie, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki (The Conversation): Putting Aotearoa on the map: New Zealand has changed its name before, why not again?
Laura Walters (Stuff): Kiwis more vulnerable to online extremism in lockdown
Adam Hunt (Herald):Pandora Papers and the silver tongue of tax avoidance
RNZ: The Detail: The Pandora Papers reveal how the other half a percent lives
Andrew Becroft (Stuff): Repeal cruel policy of taking child support from jobless sole parents
No Right Turn: OIA: A useful ruling
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Outrage at Lorde and the Mongrel Mob shows we’re losing our ability to see two sides of an issue
Georgina Campbell (Herald): No guarantee Transmission Gully will open by Christmas
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Design work continues on Auckland bike bridge after Government scraps the project
Marjorie Cook (ODT): Tarras airport petition launched
Waatea News: New role to push Māori in public service
George Heagney (Stuff): Waitangi Tribunal process ‘healing’ for Māori
Alan Granville (Stuff): New Zealand has the world’s second most powerful passport, but is also 16th. Confused?
Will Trafford (Māori TV): Microsoft unveils Aotearoa keyboard in new Windows 1
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): From despair to joy and optimism for Ngāi Tahu
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Vet labour shortage at crisis point, recruitment agency says
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Fonterra could pay farmers a record milk price this season, Westpac says