Today’s content
Govt Covid strategy, expert warnings, Waikato, King Country cases
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Is the Covid response rooster turning into a feather duster?
John Bishop (Stuff): Elimination has been abandoned – or not. The PM isn’t clear
Richard Harman (Politik): Covid strategy flakes as reality bites (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Is anyone pleased with government’s new Covid-19 strategy? (paywalled)
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Why Is Labour So Frightened Of “Mr Stick”?
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Introducing Mr Stick
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Political Best Case – Worst Case for NZ’s looming Delta Summer
Michelle Fay Cortez and Ainsley Thomson (Stuff): China now stands alone as last country still chasing elimination
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Kate Newton (Stuff): Five things to expect between now and Christmas, as our coronavirus strategy changes
RNZ: New Zealanders should prepare to encounter Covid-19 before Christmas, experts say
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealanders should ‘plan to encounter’ Covid before Christmas, expert warns
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Trajectory of hospitalisations on rise, experts warn NZ could experience crisis similar to Melbourne
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Peeni Henare wants Auckland border to remain in place until Māori vaccination rates increase
1 News: Alert Level 3 boundary extension “absolutely” the right thing to do; vaccines a ‘personal sprinkler system’ against Covid ‘fire’ – Epidemiologist
Hannah Kronast and Janika ter Ellen (Newshub): Alert level boundary map now includes parts of Waikato ahead of alert level change
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Waikato border shifted further south, new COVID-19 cases in Raglan and Hamilton
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Extending bespoke level 3 to include Waipā, Waitomo and Ōtorohanga was the right call – Waikato mayors
1 News: Waikato Alert Level 3 boundaries extended amid Covid cases
1 News: Waikato district mayor pushing vaccine uptake after area put back in Level 3
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): We are sitting ducks in the South Island
RNZ: Covid-19: What happened on 7 October
Outbreaks in gangs
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Michael Baker calls for drug decriminalisation as part of effort to stamp out COVID-19
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Gangs hold our Covid freedom in their hands (paywalled)
Rachel Moore (Stuff): First Waikato case crossed Auckland border, returned with the virus
RNZ: Waikato Mongrel Mob says Covid-19 cluster resolved, not distributing meth across border
Zoe Holland (Herald): Waikato Mongrel Mob spokeswoman says there is ‘zero Covid’ amongst Waikato gangs
RNZ: Government defends gang leader border exemptions
Mark Quinlivan and Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Officials reveal five Jet Park quarantine rooms smashed up as workers deal with infected gang affiliates
Testing
RNZ: Government to meet with companies wanting to import rapid antigen tests
RNZ: Covid-19 briefing: Saliva, rapid testing uptake ‘slow’, report finds, as govt plans wider rollout
Science Media Centre: Rapid antigen tests get the go-ahead – experts respond
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government to pilot rapid antigen testing with private sector
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Expert warns business coalition calling for rapid antigen tests to proceed with caution due to unreliability
Irra Lee (1 News): ‘Negligence’ — Bishop echoes report saying NZ ‘slow’ with saliva, rapid antigen tests
Anna Whyte (1 News): Rapid antigen tests to be trialled in workplaces
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Rapid antigen testing ‘within a month’: Verrall (paywalled)
Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Govt to work with businesses to trial rapid antigen testing; details unclear
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Border worker testing regime ‘held together by Sellotape’, IT system struggles with frequent testing
Vaccine certificate, mandatory vaccination, incentives
Mike Lee (Newsroom): Vaccinations and the workplace
Bernard Hickey (Spinoff): Many businesses only want vaccinated staff and customers. Will government let them make the big exclusion?
Ben Strang (RNZ): The three possible ways vaccine certificates could be legally enforced
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Aviation Security officers sacked for refusing vaccines
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Teachers’ union will follow COVID-19 vaccine mandate as long as teachers are given other options, not fired
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Government plans to require all teachers and support staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19
Anna Whyte (1 News): Mandatory vaccine decision for health and education workforce on Monday
Herald: Grant Robertson on the self-isolation trial, mandatory vaccination for workers
Rachel Moore (Stuff): No need for teacher vaccine mandate, kaiako will do the right thing – Hamilton principal
1 News: Te Matatini likely to require vaccine certificates – Henare
Taroi Black (Māori TV): ‘I’m vaccinated – for my kapa haka’
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): Double jabbers to get $10k discount on apartments (paywalled)
Vaccine rollout
Chris McDowall and Adam Pearse (Herald): Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Vaccination by area – Rural Kiwis lagging behind
RNZ: Vaccinations by suburb data: Murupara slowest in NZ
Harkanwal Singh (Spinoff): The vaccination rate for every suburb in New Zealand on an interactive map
Hannah Martin (Stuff): What we know about vaccination rates in Auckland’s suburbs of interest
Kate Newton (Stuff): The most detailed look yet at where vaccination rates are lagging
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Wellington city’s eligible population about to hit 90pc vaccine coverage for at least one dose
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Wellington vaccination rate disparity ‘not disastrous’, but work to be done
1 News: ‘Te Tiriti focus’ key in Dunedin becoming most vaccinated city in NZ
Grant Miller (ODT): Vaccination insight: act now
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1 News: MOH to receive High Court injunction to release Māori vaccination data
Edward Gay (Stuff): Legal action launched in effort to boost Māori vaccination rates
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Whānau Ora has been seeking better Māori vaccination approach since February
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Government needs to ‘brown up’ its vaccine message, expert says
1 News: Henare: Govt shifts focus to one-on-one approach for raising Māori vaccine rates
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Exclusive poll reveals just how many Kiwis keen to get vaccine (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): How white middle-class bureaucrats are holding up Maori vaccinations (paywalled)
Judith Collins (Stuff): Delta is coming, get vaccinated now
Luke Kirkness (Herald): Jacinda Ardern hopes to solve Covid vaccination reluctance, visits Rotorua
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Pfizer and some verbal jabs as PM Jacinda Ardern tours vaccination sites
1 News: Ardern on tour to push greater vaccine uptake among Māori
Stuff Editorial: When the vaccine push shouldn’t come to shove
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): ‘Roadblock’ after early success in Wairoa Covid-19 vaccinations
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Hipkins calls on vaccinated New Zealanders to help reach 20 pct unvaccinated
Carly Gooch (Stuff): Youth vaccination rates addressed during school holidays
William Terite (Herald): The huge vaccination dilemma facing churches
Talei Anderson (RNZ): Pacific sport stars get behind mass vaccination events in Auckland
Matai O’Connor (RNZ): Covid-19 vaccine: Mum encourages teen to grab chance for ‘normality’
Maja Burry (RNZ): Farmlands keen to assist with Covid-19 vaccination drive in rural areas
Māori TV: Dedicated team to support disabled people to access vaccine
ODT: Freight company delivers Covid jabs to its workers
Anti-vaxxers
Sam Olley (RNZ): Minister denounces anti-vax GPs, but won’t intervene
Sam Olley (RNZ): Vaccine opposition in Te Tai Tokerau driven by misinformation – DHB head
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Hardy’s Health Stores co-owner apologetic after boasting ’99 percent’ staff unvaccinated
Aimee Milne (Newsroom): The anti-vax cult has found a witch
Man dies of Covid, cases, demographics
Rawiri Taonui (Waatea News): Delta OutBreak total set to pass last year’s First Wave by Sunday
1 News: ‘Loving father of five’ Covid-19 death felt right throughout AOG church
Herald: Church leaders call for people to get vaccinated after member dies from virus
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Fears new COVID case will spark outbreak amongst unvaccinated Northlanders
Troels Sommerville and Mina Kerr-Lazenby (Stuff): Northlanders ‘on tenterhooks’ after Whangārei case confirmed
Herald: Northland health bosses on high alert after positive case
Northern Advocate: Essential worker who travelled to Whangārei returns second positive Covid test
1 News: Northland’s weak positive case confirmed as having Covid in Auckland
RNZ: Person who visited Northland confirmed as positive case
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Case at Auckland City Mission sparks concern for vulnerable community
RNZ: Call centre staffer at major testing provider returns positive result
Adam Pearse (Herald): Two positive cases found on Auckland’s North Shore
Catrin Owen (Stuff): UN worker medivaced to NZ is stable, but still in hospital 70 days on
Education
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Teachers’ unions aren’t doing themselves any PR favours
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): Number of school students stood down jumps significantly in 2021
Māori TV: PPTA Te Wehengarua sets up Māori vice president role
Grant Miller (ODT): ‘Meritocracy’ barrier to fair student selection
TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com
Alert level rules, compliance, enforcement
Thomas Manch and Henry Cooke (Stuff): New ‘traffic light’ system of restrictions could replace alert levels
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Police aware of second anti-lockdown protest, ‘planning accordingly’
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Waiheke Islanders divided over Auckland border issue (paywalled)
Liam Napier (Herald): Three Auckland teams set to lose millions after withdrawing from NPC; NZ Rugby consider bail out
Chris Hyde (Herald): Ranfurly Shield – Government gives regional NZ a level 2 hospital pass (paywalled)
Stuff: Waikato Farah Palmer Cup team escapes level 3 restrictions with earlier flight
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Midnight Gardener owner defends private picnics in outdoor space
Matthew Rilkoff (Stuff): A question of whether we’re taking Delta seriously
Border, MIQ, immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Migrant students feel cheated over residence visa decision
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Commissioner joins call for pension extension for seniors stuck overseas
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Pregnancy should be a MIQ priority because stress endangers the baby, Sir Peter Gluckman says
RNZ: Cook Islands repatriation flight to depart from Christchurch
AP (Herald): Virus measures stop legal return of thousands to New Zealand
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Plan for community-based isolation under way as MIQs fill up
Herald: Kosher MIQ meals being flown frozen from Auckland to other facilities
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Carpenter facing deportation over food vouchers pleads for second chance
Electoral law review
Steven Cowan (Against the Current): Kris Faafoi: Have I got a deal for you!
Mike Yardley (Newstalk ZB): The Electoral Law review is borne out of shameless self-interest
Parliament and Parties
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Was last week Judith Collins’ best yet? These numbers say yes
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): National leader Judith Collins receives brutal report card from business sector in Mood of the Boardroom
Lloyd Burr (Magic): Political breakdown – Where is Judith Collins?
Water reforms, Local government
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Local government review: Interim report sets out problems facing sector
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Councils buckling under Three Waters pressure from ‘ill-informed’ community, mayor says
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Decision on future of Wellington landfill at ‘critical point’
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland politician quits before conduct hearing, says local government is broken
Todd Niall (Stuff): Crunch time for campaign to end West Auckland liquor trust monopoly
Amber Allott (Stuff): ‘History of broken promises’: Canterbury’s bus drivers to strike for living wage
Zane Small (Newshub): National MP Christopher Luxon questions power to delay local elections given ‘Government’s stated commitment to ending lockdowns’
ODT: Taylor seeks answers from Hawkins following Dunedin City Council’s decision not to fund the NZ Sports Hall of Fame
Steve Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Auckland Council still facing $200m bill for leaky buildings
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Second Ashburton bridge moves to next phase after fiery debate
Emily Ireland (RNZ): Featherston board demands rates meeting
Vita Molyneux (Herald): Roaming bouncers pitched as way to keep Wellington streets safe this summer
Gianina Schwanecke (Herald): High staff turnover at Hawke’s Bay councils, Tararua and Napier due to poaching, housing, seasonal work (paywalled)
Health
1 News: Formal definition of long Covid welcomed by experts
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Ward upgrade at ‘squalid’ Christchurch Hospital wing to take Covid-19 patients
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Cancer breakthroughs ‘held back’ throughout pandemic
1 News: 72 for 72: Charity running for three days straight to raise suicide awareness
RNZ: Checkpoint: Shops open, but aches remain as physios cannot work in level 3
ODT Editorial: Te Kaika’s remarkable rise
Dr Reena Ramsaroop (Stuff):Let’s fight breast cancer Covid-style
Justice
Cushla Norman (1 News): Supreme Court allows appeal by three strikes offender who kissed stranger
Jake McKee (RNZ): Man to be resentenced after Supreme Court rules three strikes sentence ‘beyond excessive’
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Attorney-General rules out getting involved in judiciary spat
Moana case, Oranga Tamariki
Newsroom: Judge’s block on ‘reverse uplift’ appealed
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Lawyer claims decision on ‘Moana’ case was biased, appeals to High Court
Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner (Newsroom): Lawyer wants psychologist, social worker charged over child removal case
Housing, property investment, tenancy rules
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Emergency housing provider says Govt making it harder to find homes as waitlist balloons
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Two-tier social housing system ‘unfair’ and ‘completely unnecessary’
Miriam Bell (Stuff): ‘Eye-watering’ house price increases in Wellington region
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington council careful not to back itself into a corner over housing subsidy
Dan Satherley and Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Why experts think OCR hike won’t help first-home buyers
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Ngāti Toa Rangatira to build neighbourhood homes for iwi
Afghanistan
1 News: Man who worked with NZDF in Afghanistan killed by Taliban overnight
Anna Whyte (1 News): NZ launches second phase in Afghanistan response
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealand to send Afghanistan ‘special representative’ to the Middle East
RNZ: New Zealand Afghanistan special representative to support evacuations
Foreign affairs, trade
Don Wiseman (RNZ): China seemingly set on new approach to Pacific influence
David Stevenson (Herald): Arming the new Boeing P-8A aircraft (paywalled)
Business, economy, employment, wage subsidy
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Auckland businesses want clarity on 3-step reopening plan
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Much smaller lockdown impact on Fletcher this year: analyst (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Tourism Export Council says sector at tipping point (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air NZ still aiming for New York, riding out lockdown hurdles (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Risk NZ will fall off the radar for airlines (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Auckland District Law Society challenges Justice Minister to withdraw statement on lease changes (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Kiwibank offers apology but no explanation for latest internet banking outage
Damien Venuto (Herald): ‘We need to get out of lockdown’: Charity groups raising money for cancer, dementia and vulnerable communities losing millions in donations (paywalled)
Tim Newman (Stuff):Nelson businesses hurting after 18 months of Covid
Brian Fallow (Herald): Rate rise ignores dangers that could slow growth (paywalled)
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Westpac to give staff five days wellbeing leave, but union says workers wanted annual leave instead
Herald Editorial: Pandora Papers should shame NZ to act on foreign trusts (paywalled)
Primary industries
Steven Walton (Stuff): Canterbury’s famed agricultural show cancelled for second time due to Covid-19
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Farmers, breeders rue lost chance to showcase stock at Canty A&P Show
Keith Woodford (Interest): Post-1989 forest owners face complex decisions
Tina Morrison (Stuff): ANZ raises forecast for Fonterra milk payment this season
Environment, climate change, conservation
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff):Let’s face it, New Zealand: we’re terrible environmentalists
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Just half of govt vehicles to decarbonise by 2025
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Decade-old commitment to healing Manawatū River celebrated, but water quality still poor
Tina Law (Stuff): Thousands of properties at risk of flooding or erosion due to sea level rise
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Funding boost for Pareora plant’s coal conversion project
Other
Maiki Sherman (1 News): Roadside drug testing given green light despite evidence of being unreliable
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): Revealed: Jacinda Ardern warned twice Rocket Lab’s launches could break Nuclear Free Law
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government progress on debt reduction plan stalls as sum owed by poorest Kiwis nudges $4 billion
Maiki Sherman (1 News): Govt approves extension for expired firearm licences
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Whistle-blower holds meeting after rūnaka writes off more than $400,000 in loans
Thomas Mead (1 News): Man who threatened to car bomb Al Noor Mosque allowed to keep name secret
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Scrapped Auckland harbour bridge cycleway could fund regional roads
Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Opponents of proposed Central Otago international airport take fight to Parliament with petition
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): MediaWorks appoints chief people officer (paywalled)
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Balancing the energy trilemma: where NZ ranks (paywalled)
RNZ: NZ Super Fund invests $208m into sustainable energy infrastructure
Sam Olley (RNZ): Outrage after protected pōhutukawa partially hacked down
Hazel McCulloch (Stuff): Why we need to legalise pepper spray for women walkers and runners |