Today’s content

National Party
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Can Luxon “Reimagine Capitalism” – Like Muldoon?
Matthew Hooton (Herald):  Dream start for Christopher Luxon-Nicola Willis combo (paywalled)
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): If Luxon’s looking for a new direction, he could start by investing in our kids
Gordon Campbell: On the elusive charms of Christopher Luxon
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): National can finally focus forward
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): On the Philosophy and Politics of Abortion (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Can Luxon help National take off? (paywalled)
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Luxon is leader but what’s in it for Māori?
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Luxon should listen, not talk, with iwi Māori – Finlayson
Herald: Christopher Luxon’s houses earned him 15 times what he will get as National Party leader
No Right Turn: An embodiment of our problems
Karl du Fresne: The hit jobs on Luxon came even sooner than I expected
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ’s support for rainbow community reached new heights under Christopher Luxon’s watch
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Claire Trevett (Herald): Chris Luxon’s pick of Simon Bridges as his number 3 was more than just an olive branch (paywalled)
Richard Harman (Politik): Luxon builds Bridges
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Bridges gets bridges to calm troubled caucus (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Christopher Luxon gives leadership rival Simon Bridges finance and infrastructure portfolios
RNZ: Simon Bridges named as National’s finance and infrastructure spokesperson
Anna Whyte (1 News): Simon Bridges lands National’s coveted finance portfolio
Zane Small (Newshub): Simon Bridges given coveted finance portfolio after stepping aside to let National elect Christopher Luxon
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Woodhouse loses portfolio
Newshub: Simon Bridges provides update on son’s ‘serious’ injury that saw him miss finance portfolio announcement
1 News: Simon Bridges’ son seriously injured in school accident
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Christopher Luxon reveals Simon Bridges missed portfolio announcement because his son is in hospital
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Christopher Luxon gets warm reception as he meets the public in Tauranga

Traffic light system, regional concern over Auckland border opening
Keith Lynch and Kate Newton (Stuff): Why these 166 places may be most at risk of virus spread
Keith Lynch (Stuff): ‘Freedom Day’… so now what for our Covid-19 story?
1 News: Future lockdowns not out of the question – Hendy
Newstalk ZB: Police defend decision to man Northland iwi’s summer checkpoints
1 News: Police, iwi to man checkpoints at Auckland-Northland border
Karina Cooper (Northern Advocate/Herald): Tai Tokerau Border Control and Northland police to operate summer checkpoints (paywalled)
RNZ: Police and iwi to set up checkpoints on Northland/Auckland border
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Shane Jones slams plans for iwi roadblocks in Te Tai Tokerau, says he ‘won’t be listening’
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): How can you take Northland iwi’s requests seriously?
RNZ: Northland needs more time to get vaccination levels up – DHB chair
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): ‘Don’t travel unless you need to’ plea as Māori and Pasifika vaccination rates catch up
RNZ: ‘Risk too high’ for Whanganui when Auckland border reopens
Robin Martin (RNZ): Whanganui mayor backs iwi’s plea for holidaymakers to steer clear of region
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): Unvaccinated private boat owners a risk to Aotea’s community – iwi
1 News: Auckland emerges from lockdown after 107 days
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Auckland’s almost-four-month lockdown, in numbers
1 News: Scan, mask and pass – the basics of the traffic light system
Sapeer Mayron and Nathan Morton (Stuff): Traffic light system no help for struggling special needs families
Olivia Shivas (Stuff): Freedom Day: For many disabled people, it’s just another day
RNZ: Aged care residents apprehensive ahead of expected spike in visitors

Govt management of Delta outbreak
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): Truth behind Government’s delta reversal
Derek Cheng (Herald):  ‘Not out of the woods’ – Expert Sir Brian Roche on the challenges in coming months (paywalled)
Gehan Gunasekara (Newsroom): NZ’s Covid vaccination legislation: the fastest law in the west
Michael Andrew (BusinessDesk):Rushed traffic light legislation ‘constitutionally unsound’ (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Attorney-General David Parker defends Government’s hasty lawmaking 
Stuff Editorial: Will you pass go or be stuck in traffic?
Herald Editorial: We know what to do to beat Omicron
Herald: Confidence high vaccination rates making a big impact as the country moves to traffic light system tomorrow
Covid-19 wrap: Expert urges patience with children’s vaccine rollout, case numbers grow in Nelson

Economy, business, government subsidies
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Auckland revival package overlooks most vulnerable, say Greens
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Bar owner Leo Molloy says scanning QR codes ‘very, very slow’, a ‘serious issue’ for businesses as Auckland reopens under traffic light system
John Anthony (Stuff): Hospitality can’t make a profit in red traffic light setting, industry group says
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Restaurants welcome dine-in customers as Auckland turns ‘red’
Amy Williams (RNZ): Auckland hospitality reopens to new challenges in traffic light system
1 News: Bars the first to open doors after Auckland lockdown
Vita Molyneux (Herald): Wellingtonians put on their dancing shoes and bar owners rejoice as the first weekend at orange looms
Megan Wilson (Herald): Tourism operators ready for day one of the traffic light system
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Freedom Day: Auckland pubs and punters revving up for midnight
Herald: Pubs to open at 11.59pm as Auckland enters traffic light system
Amy Williams (RNZ): Economic agency warns of further business closures if Auckland stays in red
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Hospitality sector ‘devastated’ after being excluded from Auckland stimulus package
Kethaki Masilamani (Newshub): Auckland businesses excitedly prepare to welcome back patrons for first time in three months
Courtney White (OD)T: Shops in quandary over using vaccine pass system
David Skipwith (Stuff): Rhythm and Vines festival postponed until Easter 2022
RNZ: Rhythm and Vines postpone festival until Easter 2022
Herald: Gisborne’s Rhythm and Vines music festival postponed to Easter Weekend 2022
Vita Molyneux (Herald): Kiwiburn cancelled due to ethical concerns over Covid 19 risk
1 News: South Island start-up provides easier way to scan in
Liam Dann (Herald): The cost of inflation: Real wages going backwards – ANZ report (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Out-of-control inflation ‘would deal a devastating blow to household purchasing power’
Stuff:  Tel Aviv named the ‘world’s most expensive city’, as Auckland jumps up rankings

Mandatory vaccination, vaccine pass, rules
Mia Sutherland (Stuff): Vaccine mandates: An open letter from your friendly hospo staff
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Vaccine pass enforcement: customers will be the judge 
Jane Clifton  (Listener/Herald): The pandemic has united the majority on the issue that counts (paywalled)
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Overwhelming support for COVID-19 vaccine certificates but 900,000 yet to be downloaded
Andrew Chen (The Conversation): Verification will be essential as New Zealanders start using vaccine passes – to stop fraud and the spread of COVID
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Coronavirus: My Vaccine Pass rollout – ‘damn impressive’ or a ‘shambles’?
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): Temporary exemption granted to 70,000 people still waiting for help to get their My Vaccine Pass
1 News: 70,000 Kiwis temporarily exempt from producing vaccine pass
Herald: 70,000 vaccine pass temporary exemptions include Napier girl whose first jab wasn’t recorded
RNZ: Temporary exemptions available for those unable to obtain vaccine passes
Megan Wilson (Herald): Tauranga cafe trials vaccine pass ahead of traffic light system
Gary Hamilton-Irvine (Herald): Age Concern’s warning as Central Hawke’s Bay firm charges elderly $50 to set up vaccine pass
John Gerritsen (RNZ): About 1400 school teachers refuse Covid-19 vaccination
Josephine Franks (Stuff): 97.6% of teachers vaccinated, Ministry of Education reveals
Dubby Henry (Herald): Teacher vaccination rates released by Ministry of Education
RNZ: Nearly 100 fewer firefighters on job due to Covid-19 vaccination mandate
1 News: People need to be fully vaccinated to book DOC facilities
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Wellington councils introduce vaccine certificate requirements
Helen Harvey (Stuff): New Plymouth Council staff concern over Covid pass decision
ODT: Councils move on vaccine passes
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Vandervis irate over ban on unvaxxed
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Upper Hutt council will not require vaccine passes at most public facilities
Chris Tobin and Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Councils’ decisions on vaccinations and passes differ across South Canterbury
Henry Burrell (BusinessDesk):‘It’s a breach’: vax pass data storage concerning for Māori (paywalled)
Sandra Conchie (Herald): Destiny Church pastor Leon Wharewehe Samuels to fight Covid-19 public health order charges
Siobhan Downes (Stuff): Gisborne’s Tatapouri Bay campground stands by decision to welcome unvaccinated guests
Courtney Winter (Herald): Christchurch flatmate asked to move out after refusing to get vaccination (paywalled)
John Anthony (Stuff): Stewart Island Four Square actively seeking unvaccinated staff
Charlie Gates (Stuff): Orange level could make funerals harder for grieving families, directors say
Helen Nickisson (Stuff): Services for the vaxxed and the unvaxxed: Marlborough churches plan for orange
Gianina Schwanecke (Herald): Wairoa will get through its red dawn if it sees the traffic light system as modern-day ‘tikanga’

MIQ, home isolation
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): What is wrong with James Shaw lately?
Phil Pennington (RNZ): MIQ health and safety reps left waiting 11 months for training, union says
RNZ: MIQ rules could be changed to allow 501 deportees to stay longer
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Isolating 501 deportees ordered to MIQ after Auckland CBD incident
Miriam Burrell (Herald):‘It was like a circus’: Australian deportees escape isolation, seen crying and drunk
Kaysha Brownlie (Newshub): Fears turning Christchurch youth prisons into COVID-19 facilities could ruin young offenders’ rehab
1 News: Inmates at risk if prison youth units close – advocate

Cases, demographics, testing
1 News: No plan’ to put Nelson in Red over Covid cases – Bloomfield
RNZ: Too early to say potential size of Nelson Covid-19 outbreak – Chief Medical Officer
1 News: Nelson residents ‘anxious’ about Covid-19 spread – mayor
RNZ: Nelson school expects up to 40 close contacts of Covid-19 case
Nikki Preston (Herald): Waikato schools warned cases could increase by 70 per cent this month
RNZ: Three new Covid-19 cases reported in New Plymouth
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): Outward Bound students among the first to use ‘interesting’ rapid antigen testing
Ian Taylor (Herald): The warning we should have heeded in May 2020

Vaccine rollout
RNZ: Covid-19 vaccine for children: Rollout timeframe helps ensure safety, says immunologist
1 News: ‘Vaccine better than virus’ – Expert welcomes 5-11 rollout news
Cate Broughton and Michael Wright (Stuff): A community apart: The low-vax suburb where everyone knows someone who isn’t jabbed
1 News: Auckland DHB first to hit 80% fully vaccinated rate for Māori
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Iwi providers take vaccination vans to vulnerable Gisborne communities
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Unexpected death of ‘cool Kiwi bloke’ Rory Nairn under investigation
RNZ: Scientists release ‘nerdcore’ vaccination rap in collaboration with politicians
Katie Harris, Rosie Gordon (Herald): In the Loop: Helen Clark criticises vaccine inequity as Omicron variant spreads

Pharmac report, health
Kristin Hall (1 News): Scathing interim report released on Pharmac
RNZ: Pharmac slated in new report after independent review of its decision-making
Michael Neilson (Herald): Pharmac review: ‘Damning’ interim report reveals ‘fortress mentality’, Māori, equity progress slow
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Pharmac review: Māori, Pasifika and disabled disadvantaged by medicine-buying agency 
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Damning report finds Pharmac is too focused on saving money, rather than lives
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Rowan Quinn (RNZ): $644 million boost as ICU and hospitals brace for widespread Covid-19
Liz McDonald and Cate Broughton (Stuff): New ICU beds approved for Covid battle will be ready mid-2022
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Major funding boost for ICU as country moves to traffic light system
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Health system reform: ‘Transition Unit’ to spend $18m on consultants this year (paywalled)
Lois Williams (RNZ): Surgery waitlists grow on West Coast
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Hawke’s Bay Hospital postpones 21 elective surgeries in two days as admissions soar
Kurt Krause (Newsroom): Covid-19 drugs: NZ’s state of play
Dan Satherley (Newshub) How stigma against people with HIV could be prolonging the COVID-19 pandemic
Lois Williams  (Stuff): Surgery waitlists grow on West Coast
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Lack of aged-care nurses affects quality of care

Housing
RNZ: Environment select committee releases recommended changes to housing intensification bill
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Bipartisan housing deal: ‘Townhouse bill’ restrictions set to be weakened
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Mega landlords could grow as they snap up mum and dad investment rentals
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Housing crisis: Everything points towards a market correction in 2022 – economist
Anne Gibson (Herald): Barfoot & Thompson data: Auckland average house prices up 18.5% annually
Miriam Bell (Stuff): ‘Abnormally high’ number of expensive sales drive Auckland prices up 

Local government, Three Waters
Ethan Te Ora (Stuff):  Messy politics postpone vote on rent freeze for Wellington City Council housing tenants
Nikki Preston (Herald): Waikato Regional Council chairman Russ Rimmington accused of ‘racist’ Māori comments over Three Waters
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Shelly Bay battle: De-escalation talks in progress, land occupation continues
Mathew Nash (SunLive): Tauranga CBD revamp could include museum, hotel, civic whare to encourage connection to city ‘heart’
James Pocock (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Napier Aquatic Centre: Not impossible to build new facility at Onekawa, $500,000 report finds (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: Hobbs’ vacancy poorly handled
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Waiting game for council annual reports

Environment, conservation, Climate Change
1 News: Daunting climate ‘to do’ list unveiled opposite Beehive
Brian Fallow (Herald):  Aiming low in climate’s fight against farm emissions (paywalled)
Peter Davis (Newsroom): Covid and climate change: A tale of two crises
Mitchell Chandler (Stuff): ‘All is not lost’: How we can protect the ocean from climate change
Kate Green (Stuff): Former conservation minister calls for urgent halt to mining on protected land – our smallest frogs are at stake
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Prominent pōhutukawa tree chopped down in Auckland on same day climate tax announced to plant trees
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Mayor mourns iconic Auckland pōhutukawa cut down overnight
Maja Burry (RNZ): Scientists choose cryopreservation to store plant material for decades
Jonathan Guildford (Stuff): West Coast iwi ‘euphoric’ over two-year closure to save at risk pāua stocks
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Summer water restrictions ‘the new normal’ in South Taranaki after extreme weather, new regulations
Rebecca Moore (1 News): Auckland beaches get years-long swim safety warnings removed
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Part of Lake Opuha declared unsuitable for swimming

Primary industries, Groundswell Protests
Stuff Editorial: PM’s office has found Groundswell notes; now she needs to find that phone
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Southland’s farmers ageing, farms struggle to retain young staff
Andrea Fox (Herald): New Zealand milk production up but cow numbers fall

Employment
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): How & why is employment above its maximum sustainable level when 98k people are out of work?
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Youth unemployment rate declines to 9.6 pct – but it’s still three times the national average
Kirsty Johnston (Stuff): We made a law to stop sexism impacting pay – but we forgot about racism
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Restaurants and bars desperate for staff on eve of reopening day
RNZ: One in three employees high risk for burnout during pandemic
Chris Keall (Herald): Burnout soars among workers during pandemic; how to tackle it
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Countdown shoppers told ‘only buy what you need’
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Port worker strike in Timaru could last three days

Police, crime
John Weekes (Herald): Three-strikes: Any U-turn on jailed inmates ‘betrayal’ of crime victims, Act says
1 News: Man shot dead by police in Auckland’s Glen Eden named
Herald: Gang member numbers almost double around the country in five years
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): We work in the grey’: Police grapple with hate crimes
Natalie Siegel-Brown (Herald):  NZ’s chance to break the child sexual abuse chain (paywalled)

Education
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Large attendance variations in Auckland schools
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Mixed messages to education providers on borders opening to students
Laura James (1 News): Victims of Dilworth sex offender share impact of his abuse
1 News: Inquiry to be launched into sexual offending at Dilworth
Alice Wilkin (Newshub): Former Dilworth School chaplain sentenced to prison for sexual offending

Foreign Affairs
Mitchell Alexander (Newshub): New US Ambassador to NZ Tom Udall has free trade agreement on his radar
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): US ambassador Tom Udall excited to be in New Zealand, ready to engage
Tess McClure (Guardian): Tom Udall, Biden’s cowboy boot-wearing friend, makes debut as ambassador to New Zealand
Michael Neilson (Herald): New US Ambassador to New Zealand Tom Udall on Māori culture, climate change, China and trade
Dan Satherley (Newshub): No pressure from China to intervene in the Solomon Islands – Nanaia Mahuta
Lucy Craymer (Stuff): Was New Zealand too slow to deploy police and soldiers to the Solomon Islands?
RNZ: New Zealand to stay out of domestic politics in the Solomon Islands – Nanaia Mahuta
Edward Miller (Newsroom): How NZ could break the global vaccination impasse
RNZ: Britain rejoins major Pacific body

Transport
Tina Law (Stuff): Campaign for free public transport gains momentum
Andrea Fox (Herald): The $30m question: How best to boost NZ’s coastal shipping amid supply chain crisis (paywalled)
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Christchurch bus services to be reduced due to driver shortage
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland Transport brings back late buses on Friday, Saturday nights
RNZ: NZ Bus testing markets for potential buyers
Marc Daalder and Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): ‘Blue highway’: Govt moots $25-40m coastal shipping network

Media
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): Radio NZ regains listeners in latest survey (paywalled)
David Skipwith (Stuff): Paul Henry back as the voice of rebranded Magic Talk station Today FM

Other
Jessica Mcallen (BusinessDesk): Procurement gets politicial: Tū Kotahi
Michael Andrew (BusinessDesk): A crackdown on all your houses: no blind eye to poor privacy practices (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Research reveals why Wellington experienced so much damage in the Kaikōura Earthquake
Bronson Perich (Te Karere): Buy now pay later services stinging customers with late fees
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): ‘Such a mess’ – IT teams work overnight to fix immigration glitch
Chris Keall (Herald): NZ’s biggest data hogs revealed as broadband use hits another all-time high (paywalled)
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Abuse inquiry: redress report out