NZ Politics Daily – 20 October 2021

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Today’s content

Housing
Zane Small (Newshub): How it happened: The story behind Labour and National’s political truce on housing
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Political consensus on NZ’s deep-rooted housing problems
Claire Trevett (Herald): What was behind Labour-National united housing stand against Nimbys? (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour and National’s plan to increase housing density by cutting regulation and sticking it to NIMBYs
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): David Seymour not keen on housing bill, promises he is still a libertarian
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Significant proportion of Kiwis’ income going towards housing costs, affecting wellbeing – report
John Minto (Daily Blog): Labour and National announce Kiwibuild Version 2
Richard Harman (Politik): Farewell to the “Quarter Acre, Pavlova Paradise”
1 News: Govt’s rare bipartisan housing effort a ‘moot point’ – expert
RNZ: Medium density housing law proposal greeted with tentative support
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Housing density plan: Mayors caught off guard by announcement
Stuff Editorial: Housing density gets more intensity
Tina Law Liz McDonald and Steven Walton (Stuff): Garden City at risk? Christchurch reacts to new housing density rules
Grant Miller (ODT): High density streamlined
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Wellington Mayor Andy Foster ‘blindsided’ by Labour and National’s housing intensification plan
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland housing: Government density plan ‘won’t make a dent’ in shortfall of homes
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Labour and National’s latest housing fix will only make a small dent in the number of new houses, says Auckland councillor
RNZ: More than just RMA issues holding back building, Auckland councillor says
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Govt rule change could be a turning point for housing market
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Sweeping housing legislation could reshape New Zealand cities for decades to come
Joel MacManus (Stuff): New rules could mean thousands of new homes in Wellington
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour, National announce sweeping housing density law, three-storey homes without consent
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour and National join forces for housing crisis fix, ending decades of standoff
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Rare show of cross-party unity paves way for housing density breakthrough
RNZ: Housing density to increase across New Zealand under rare bipartisan solution
Anna Whyte (1 News): Labour, National work together to cut house building red tape
Zane Small (Newshub): Labour and National unite to help solve housing crisis by forcing councils to build up
Brent Edwards (NBR): Political housing detente could see extra 100,000 built (paywalled)
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): 100,000 more houses: parties band together to cut red tape (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Labour and National agree to change RMA to allow three storey intensification without consent (paywalled)
Carmen Hall (Herald): NZ Super Fund and Classic Group to deliver thousands of new homes through $300m partnership (paywalled)
Zoe Hunter (Herald): OneRoof – Mount Maunganui property values climb $1238 a day, $452k a year (paywalled)
Tony Alexander (OneRoof): Reserve Bank’s huge mistake means borrowers have just days to act on rates

Govt Covid strategy, expert warnings
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government leaning towards no specific Māori vaccination target under new COVID-19 alert level system
Herald: Government can’t afford to rule out level 4 return – modeller Shaun Hendy
Zoe Holland (Herald): Professor Nick Wilson not surprised with rise in daily case numbers
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Daily case numbers on ‘upwards trajectory’, could peak ‘significantly higher’ than 200 a day – Chris Hipkins
George Heagney (Stuff): Expert urges higher immunisation: ‘Living alongside Covid a myth’ 
Derek Cheng (Herald): Virus ‘the new normal’ – expert hits out at Govt’s approach
1 News: Hipkins: Tuesday’s 94 Covid cases ‘sobering’ but could have been worse
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Why we need to embrace the Covid middle ground (paywalled)
RNZ: Checkpoint: ‘Covid-19 is on the doorstep’ – Henare’s stark warning to Māori
Anna Whyte (1 News): Māori vaccine rollout saw ‘lack of strong leadership’ by some DHBs – Henare
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Time for Cabinet to wake up on Māori vaccination
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says Government should ‘get out of the way’ and let Māori fix vaccination gap
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Māori crucially missing out with Government’s centralised response (paywalled)
RNZ: Home isolation progressed without Māori or Pacific clinical leadership consulation – Pasifika GP network chair
Tess McClure (Guardian): New Zealand Covid cases rise to new record as young people bear brunt of infections
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Australia-based Kiwi epidemiologist Tony Blakely adamant COVID vaccination targets will see Auckland out of lockdown by Christmas
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): The Government plumbed new lows in yesterday’s conference
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Yesterday’s press conference was disingenuous and plain cruel
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The drip feeding of the Covid plan is a disgrace
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): The wheels have started to come off for the Government
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): What you need to know before making your Christmas plans
Stuff: Level 3 likely over by Christmas, Jacinda Ardern says, but should Aucklanders plan to travel?
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap: Daily cases reach record high, Waiheke Island records first case

National Party Covid-19 strategy
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): National says it would end lockdown by December 1, boost ICU capacity
1 News: National sets vaccine target to end Covid lockdowns
Bridie Witton (Stuff): National blasts Government for withholding lockdown vaccination target before announcement, won’t say its own target
Derek Cheng (Herald): National leader Judith Collins demands Govt release vax targets now, then refuses to release her own until tomorrow
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern ‘treated New Zealanders like children’ – Judith Collins

Vaccine passports, mandatory vaccination
Andrew Mayfield (RNZ): Vaccine passports: Government must focus on ‘equity, privacy and security’
John Lewis (ODT): Vax cert caution urged
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Govt consulting hospitality industry on introducing vaccine passports ahead of Friday COVID-19 plan announcement – Jacinda Ardern
Ben Strang (Stuff): Ministry of Health hasn’t sought legal advice on introduction of vaccine certificates
Emily Brookes (Stuff): Everybody’s talking about… vaccination certificates
Laura Hooper (Stuff): Government considering different settings for unvaccinated in new framework
Susan Hornsby-Geluk (Stuff): When it’s not OK to ask employees about their Covid-19 vaccination status
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Giles Dexter (Newshub): Union representing St John implores Government to clarify ‘high-risk health worker’ as COVID vaccine mandate order yet to be released
Katy Jones (Stuff): Schools await guidance on vaccine mandate
Dubby Henry (Herald): Vaccine mandate – quarter of early childcare workers surveyed say they’re ‘very likely’ to leave
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Government extends vaccine mandate to all prison staff
Herald: Corrections National Commissioner welcomes staff vaccine mandate
1 News: All prison staff must get Covid vaccines by December
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Doctor who ran mask campaign quits after refusing mandated vaccine
John Anthony (Stuff): Sanford makes Covid-19 vaccination compulsory for fishing crews
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Spark tells staff they may need Covid jab as MediaWorks joins early movers

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Vaccine rollout
Morgan Godfery (Guardian): In Kawerau one thing impedes the effort to vaccinate Māori: New Zealand’s history
Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): Held to ransom by the unvaccinated
RNZ: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff on vaccination target: ‘We can’t wait for the last reluctant person’
NIta Blake-Persen (RNZ): Whangārei doctor warns of low-vaccine risk as hospitals face surge
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Whānau Ora says 90 per cent of Māori would be vaccinated if Government had used its plan
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Vaccination campaign targeting young Māori ready to roll but promised funds yet to arrive
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): PM defensive over Māori vaccination resourcing
1 News: Māori Party ‘appalled’ Tairāwhiti residents had to fundraise to access Covid jabs
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Covid-19 vaccines at schools: An imposition or making the most of a ‘captive audience’
Anna Whyte (1 News): Third vaccine dose for immunocompromised Kiwis recommended
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Third dose of Covid-19 vaccine recommended for immunocompromised people
Jane Nixon (1 News): Govt poised to make changes as vaccinated workers stood down for not having Pfizer
Katie Bradford (1 News): Construction worker urges Kiwis to get vaccinated after hospital battle with Covid
Tony Wall (Stuff): ‘Tell the mayor to get vaccinated’: Sandra Goudie won’t take the Pfizer vaccine, and won’t say why
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Meet the city councillor using KFC and comedy to get Auckland vaccinated

Auckland, Waikato, Northland
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Northland iwi checkpoints moving further south as Auckland cases surge
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Auckland should keep regional boundary ‘as long as possible’ to protect country
Sam Olley (RNZ): Ngāti Whātua defends border after Harawira criticism
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Principals, teachers and students await decision on Auckland schools
Tim Watkin (Pundit): The Picnic Period: A Sign Of Our Covid Times
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): I’m an Aucklander, I hate lockdown, and I want Auckland to go back to level four
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): In Auckland, the rule of law has given way to the rule of Wellington bureaucrats
Lana Andelane (Newshub): McDonald’s Queen St branch encouraged staff not to call in sick days before Auckland entered lockdown

Cases, demographics
Stuff: Bulk of new community cases aged 39 or under
Vandhna Bhan (1 News): Covid case ‘frustrated’ at lack of support, unsure when she’ll be taken to MIQ
Hannah Martin (Stuff): 94 new cases in Delta community outbreak, largest daily case total
1 News: Officials concerned at ‘high positivity rate’ of Covid cases on North Shore – Ardern
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Seven new community cases of Covid-19 in Waikato – the highest daily total in the past week
RNZ: Checkpoint: Waiheke Covid case travelled from Auckland after getting test
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Positive case on Waiheke Island a close contact of existing case
Emma Russell (Herald): Positive Waiheke Island case travelled by ferry, isolating at their home
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): 94 more cases

Auckland party, anti-lockdown protest, alert level compliance, rules
Herald: Brian Tamaki avoids breach of bail charge for now
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Brian Tamaki claims to have escaped charges after second protest, police say investigation ongoing
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Winston Peters apologises to Harry Tam over Northland allegation
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Winston Peters apologises for alleging Harry Tam link with Northland Covid-19 case
Anna Whyte (1 News): Winston Peters apologises to Mongrel Mob’s Harry Tam after border breach allegation
Thomas Day (1 News): Witnesses to North Shore house party fear it will become spreader event
Herald Editorial: Partygoers sought attention – that’s what they got (paywalled)
Elizabeth Binning (Herald): Landlord yet to decide what will happen to tenants of North Shore party house
Madeleine Chapman (Spinoff): The North Shore lockdown party, reviewed by someone who didn’t attend

NZ border, MIQ, immigration
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration lawyer calls for Covid-19 vaccination to be a condition of visas
RNZ: College of Midwives joins call for pregnant women to be allocated MIQ spots
Ian Taylor (Herald):  On how to end the MIQ lottery for most returning Kiwis (paywalled)

Testing
RNZ: The Detail: The lowdown on rapid antigen tests
Anne Wyllie (Spinoff): The golden drool: What makes saliva testing special in the fight against Covid-19

Environment, climate change, conservation
Andrea Vance (Stuff): This Is How It Ends: Endangered young Antipodean albatross killed by foreign fishing vessel
Andrea Vance (Stuff): This Is How It Ends: ’39 wing beats from extinction’ 
Andrea Vance (Stuff): This Is How It Ends: Extinct within our lifetime, so why is it so hard to save some species?
James Renwick (Herald): Open letter to New Zealanders – We all need to act now on climate change
Zane Small (Newshub): Climate Change Minister James Shaw defends COP26 Glasgow trip
Nathan Cooper (The Conversation): How the new human right to a healthy environment could accelerate New Zealand’s action on climate change
Tess McClure (Guardian): Environmentalists argue Peter Thiel’s luxury NZ lodge will ‘destroy’ lake landscape
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Revealed: Where you won’t be able to build in Wellington due to flood risk
Kate Green (Stuff): Flood protection ramps up with sea-level rise of 1.35m predicted in next 100 years

Personal finance, financial hardship
Janet McAllister (CPAG): The Government’s response to lockdown hardship has piecemeal and inadequate compared to 2020. Why?
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Digital divide, food costs hit hard for some families after long lockdown
RNZ: KiwiSaver withdrawals on the rise as lockdowns cause financial hardship

Inflation
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Inflation not embedded. Yet (paywalled)
Madison Reidy (Newshub): New Zealanders’ wages failing to keep up with rate of inflation
David Hargreaves (Interest): Our inflation battle just got very complicated
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Inflation shock: Rising prices likely to stay for a while – economist
Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): Inflation and monetary policy
RNZ: ANZ economists revise forecasts, expect Reserve Bank to raise official cash rate rapidly over next year
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Inflation shock may hit mortgage holders hard and soon

Economy, business, Wage subsidy
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Consumer NZ and food suppliers urge MPs to back supermarket reforms
RNZ: Some companies post positive trading updates despite Covid-19 lockdowns
Herald: Auckland tourism employers ‘worried senseless’ (paywalled)
NBR: Fletcher chair seeks ‘rational, risk-based approach’ on Covid (paywalled)
RNZ: Ethical fashion report puts five NZ brands in top 20
Karen Coltman (Stuff): ‘Great resignation’ coming to NZ: More people ponder quitting their job
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Commerce Commission looks into Harvey Norman and LG Electronics
RNZ: Small business owners bogged down by admin, survery finds
Hanna McCallum and Amber Allott (Stuff): Cantabrians encouraged to ‘make the most’ of Cup and Show week, just not in person
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Moteliers no longer ‘loath’ to take ‘lifeline’ guests on emergency housing grants
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): ‘People are at their breaking point’, says Govt-funded service (paywalled)

Employment, workplace safety
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Firefighters say they were exposed to asbestos in Ponsonby and Onehunga incidents
Tina Morrison (Stuff): Silver Fern Farms lifts minimum pay to attract and retain staff
RNZ: Defence Force goes back to court over death of SAS soldier
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Company and director fined $155,000 after parts of worker’s fingers amputated following metal press injury
RNZ: The Detail: Minding the Gap on equal pay
Linda Clark (Newsroom): What will it take to close the pay gap?
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): DHB nurses gain big wage boost but others miss out
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Why lockdown will accelerate NZ’s ‘big quit’

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Prinicpals considering options as exam fears loom for students
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Schools losing students during lockdown, expect some won’t return this year

Health system
RNZ: Delay calculating Māori health services compensation risks compounding prejudices – Waitangi Tribunal
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Anti-alcohol campaigners call for end to Auckland bottle stores’ ugly signs
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): Smear Your Mea campaigners disappointed by health ministry’s proposal for new programme
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Study predicts spike in Māori dementia

Media
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): MediaWorks to bring news reporting back in-house
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Newshub proposes to make radio reporter roles redundant
National Geographic: Calling All Aspiring Magazine Journalists in Aotearoa

Local government, Three Waters
Tim Newman (Stuff): Councillors opt for two wards plus Māori ward for Nelson
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Wellington councillor says staff were ‘undemocratic’ for checking on potential library conflict
Devon Bolger (Herald): Wizard of New Zealand to continue duties without pay after contract cancelled
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington’s Freyberg Pool potentially earthquake-prone
No Right Turn: The Entrust election
Matthew Ronsenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Unconsented sign reported to council must come down, but mayor might step in
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua tops the list for most noise complaints about single premise

Foreign affairs and trade
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Afghanistan evacuation: From ‘not feasible’ to underway within days
Herald: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to open APEC CEO Summit
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Changes to dairy product names likely needed for EU trade deal – minister

Other
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): How is Labour doing four years in?
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Aotearoa’s rainbow communities to be formally quantified
Katie Harris (Herald): New Zealand’s 2023 census first to collect gender and sexual identity data
Rob Stock (Stuff): NZ Super Fund ends campaign to reform Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Years more supply chain pain for construction
Herald: PM defends staffer’s role in wedding plans, says they worked hard to follow the rules
RNZ: Erebus memorial site preparation begins
1 News: New Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro meets the Queen

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