Today’s content

Newshub-Reid Research poll
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: National back in 30s at ACT’s expense as Labour keeps riding pandemic popularity wave
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern still far and away preferred Prime Minister in Newshub-Reid Research poll
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: How National’s Christopher Luxon compares in the popularity stakes
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub):Newshub-Reid Research poll: Nearly 40 pct of people think National’s Christopher Luxon is doing a good job
Henry Cooke (Stuff): New poll shows large drop in support for ACT, left bloc comfortably ahead
Michael Neilson (Herald): Latest political poll: Large drop for Act sees bump in support for Labour, National and Green Party
Herald: Latest political poll: Christopher Luxon winning favour as National leader

Parliament, parties, MPs
Anna Fifield (Stuff): When did our public service get so arrogant? 
Claire Trevett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on opening the borders, her wedding, MIQ and living with Omicron (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Move to ‘new normal’ a huge test for Ardern (paywalled)
Mike Munro (Herald): From BBQ to pressure cooker for Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
Simon Wilson (Stuff): Why so much Luxon love when he hasn’t done anything yet? (paywalled)
Jon Johansson (Stuff: Serving your country gives you the chance to get things done
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Tapping the government kitty (paywalled)
Karl du Fresne: How this revolution differs from the last one
Nicholas Agar (Newsroom): Beware politicians who ‘bright side’ scientific advice
Herald: Chloe Swarbrick on being queer, depression and starting a family
David Fisher (Herald): Ex-MP and Covid theories: The cost of a ‘treacherous political rabbit hole’ (paywalled)
Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Diary of Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: National v Labour: Game on
Clint Smith (Spinoff): Can Luxon get the upper hand in the question time bear pit?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How far right is ACT? David Seymour demands race war – that’s how far right
Herald: On the Tiles: Former Speaker Margaret Wilson reflects on political career

Waitangi Day: Green Party call to return private land under Tiriti settlements
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Exclusive: Green Party push to return private land under Tiriti settlements
Michael Neilson (Herald): ‘Land back’: Green Party calls for revamp of Treaty settlements, inquiry into dispossession of whenua
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): ‘Land back’: Greens call to return stolen land and revisit Treaty settlements
William Hewett (Newshub): Green Party say returning stolen land to Māori ‘right thing to do’

Waitangi Day: Te Pāti Māori calls for constitutional change / Queen’s Jubilee 
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Almost half of Kiwis want New Zealand to remain a monarchy after the Queen dies
Grant Duncan: Te Pāti Māori calls for constitutional change
1 News: Māori Party calls for removal of Queen as head of state
William Hewett (Newshub): Māori Party calls for British Monarchy to be removed as New Zealand’s head of state
Tess McClure (Guardian): New Zealand Māori party calls for a ‘divorce’ from Britain’s royal family
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Can the Crown and tino rangatiratanga co-exist? Kelvin Davis walks a delicate line
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Tiriti-centric Aotearoa must start with a relationship overhaul
Stuff:  Te Pāti Māori seek ‘divorce’ from Britain’s monarchy
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Prime Minister’s Queen tribute ‘Tone deaf and insensitive’ on Waitangi Day – Te Pāti Māori
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth to mark start of Platinum Jubilee celebrations
Will Trafford (Māori Party): Queen sends te reo message amid republic pātai

Waitangi Day: Te Reo, tikanga Māori, history in schools
Bronson Perich (Te Karere): Race Relations Commissioner wants compulsory te reo in schools
Meng Foon (Stuff): High time to make te reo a core subject in our schools 
Mairatea Mohi (Stuff): Race relations commissioner calls for compulsory te reo Māori in schools 
1 News: Ardern reflects on 50 years since reo petition
Mairatea Mohi (Stuff): How we should be treating the Treaty: Perspectives from history teachers 
Tess McClure (Guardian): From outrage to No 1 hits: how Māori musicians conquered the charts in their own language
Ngarimu Blair (Stuff): We are maturing as a nation by embracing and progressing our use of te reo and tikanga Māori
Verity Johnson (Stuff): Humiliation is not the path to understanding tikanga 

Waitangi Day
Morgan Godfery (Guardian): Māori might be the ‘luckiest’ Indigenous people – but that’s not down to New Zealand exceptionalism
Chris Trotter (Interest): Thoughts on Waitangi Day, 2022
Newshub: Māori leaders don’t think Jacinda Ardern has followed through on promises in 2018 Waitangi Day speech
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Was the Treaty of Waitangi an act of love or a vast deception?
Aaron Smale (Stuff): Living on the faultline: The tension between my Māori and Pākehā heritage
ODT Editorial: Wherefore art thou Waitangi Day?
Stuff Editorial: Waitangi Day is still a time for reflection
1 News:‘Tough road so far’ for Māori since Tiriti, says top judge
Luke Fitzmaurice and Maria Bargh (Newsroom): Upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2022
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The Cheaty of Waitangi & how it has failed us all in 2022
Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says ‘the mahi is not done’ in Waitangi Day speech
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): ‘The mahi is not done’: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Waitangi Day speech
David Fisher (Herald): ‘We do not want to stand by’: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Waitangi speech and Covid response for Māori
RNZ: PM’s Waitangi Day speech: ‘With togetherness, we overcome’
Eva Corlett (Guardian): ‘Like a forest without birdsong’: Waitangi Day becomes more reflective as Covid takes toll
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Waitangi Day: A legacy of protest
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): How the good intentions of ‘New Zealand Day’ diminished the mana of the Treaty
1 News: ‘We live and we hope’ – Waitangi Day goes virtual for 2022
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate/Herald): Eerie stillness over Waitangi as Covid slashes crowds on national day
Herald: Feisty fighter, lovely gran: Titewhai Harawira and nearly 90 years of activism
Vincent O’Malley (Herald): Te Tiriti and the New Zealand Wars – a wahine toa speaks
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate/Herald): Attack on historic Russell flagpole upsets local hapū
Herald: Attack on Russell’s historic flagpole sparks police investigation
André Chumko (Stuff): How the new Wellington heritage campus has te ao Māori at its heart
Evan Harding (Stuff): Southland businesses embrace Māori culture
Eda Tang (Stuff): Where do Chinese fit in Te Tiriti o Waitangi?

Border, MIQ
Tess McClure (Guardian): ‘We’re all nervous’: NZ’s Covid tsar Chris Hipkins admits uncertainty over border reopening
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Focus on Politics: Border breakthrough: Ending the siege of Fortress New Zealand
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern reaches for John Key Covid playbook in MIQ and border reopening plan (paywalled)
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Impacts on Māori ignored in Government’s border reopening plans
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern, Kelvin Davis deny COVID-19 border reopening decision was made without Māori consultation
ODT Editorial: Accelerating border changes
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): NZ border opening probably won’t help Labour in the polls (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): What kind of welcome will stranded Kiwis receive?
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): When being kind stops at the border: How MIQ made Kiwis mean
Anan Zaki (RNZ): MIQ hotels will struggle with border reopening rules – expert
Thomas Manch (Stuff): NZ’s ‘do not travel’ warning lifted after two years of Covid-19 pandemic concern
Steven Joyce (Herald):  Closing the doors – is that really who we are? (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis Allan (Newstalk ZB): The Government’s high trust self-isolation model is a good move
Jack Tame  (Newstalk ZB): The end of MIQ, but there’s still one big hurdle
1 News: Isolation when borders fully reopen would be ‘massive handbrake’
Vandhna Bhan (1 News): Kiwi family struggling to return to NZ before birth of child
RNZ: ‘Compassion fatigued’ – NZ healthcare worker says border restrictions broke her
Newshub: Hunger striker allowed out of MIQ to see dying dad after he went to media
Herald: ‘Most emotional days of my life’ – Hunger striker reunites with dying dad
Tom Hunt and Rachel Thomas (Stuff): ‘We won’: Nil-by-mouth striker confirmed he will be let out to see dying dad
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Pay up, grandma: Pensioners trapped overseas by Covid-19 hit with huge fines
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Border-busting boss ‘runs the red light’ into NZ without MIQ voucher

Vaccination rollout
Virginia Fallon (Stuff):  Kiwis flock to vaccine centres as Covid cases hit record high
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Omicron increase dwarfed by booster push
RNZ: Māori reach 90% first Covid-19 vaccination dose milestone
Rachel Moore (Stuff): 90 per cent of Waikato Māori have had first vaccine dose

Testing
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Ministry of Health admits requisitioned RATs already in New Zealand
1 News: Not enough testing being done in Omicron outbreak – expert
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Businesses still waiting to hear which workforces will be deemed ‘critical’ to access COVID-19 rapid antigen tests
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Expect bump in cases this week after Waitangi weekend testing slump
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Testing numbers plunge as fatigue sets in
Kim Moodie (RNZ): Health expert reminds people to get tested for Covid-19 as rates fall

Housing, Lending rules
1 News: Govt blames Covid-19 for small increase in new state homes
Henry Cooke (Stuff): The crisis isn’t around the corner or about to cross the border – it’s already here
1 News: Rare moment Greens and National agree on NZ’s housing ‘challenges’
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Mass exodus of landlords from rental market unlikely, survey shows
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Government policies will ruin the private rental property market, investors say
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Labour’s lack of action has made NZ a world leader in house-price growth
Bernard Orsman (Herald): New Auckland valuations: The poor get richer and pay the price (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): NZ housing consent records broken, nearing 50,000 mark – Stats NZ
Brian Gaynor (BusinesDesk): Housing – just like the NZX before the crash of ’87? (paywalled)
Greg Ninness (Interest): Foreign owners selling their NZ homes at about twice the rate they are buying them
Miriam Bell (Stuff): CCCFA rules are bad, but they’re slowing the ‘abnormal’ increase in home lending, economist says
Sasha Borissenko (Herald):  Being an evil capitalist, one year on (paywalled)
Anne Gibson (Herald): ‘Lockdown project’: NZ’s richest man Graeme Hart starts on Auckland house-buying spree (paywalled)
Carmen Hall (Bay of Plenty Times/Herald): Building material delays, prices rises leading to ‘catastrophe’ for new homes, says Bay of Plenty builder (paywalled)

Economy, Business
Brian Easton (Pundit): What Does The Government Think About Economic Inequality?\
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): The Reserve Bank looks at wealth distribution – not asset prices
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Individuals’ tax bill jumps 6%pa since 2017: ‘Bracket creep’ gets the blame
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Big Mac index shows NZ dollar undervalued against greenback
Steve Maharey (Stuff): New Zealand needs to make more money if we’re to reach our goals as a nation
Liam Dann (Herald):  Is your KiwiSaver next? Why Meta’s meltdown is a wake-up call (paywalled)
Jane Clifton (Listener/Herald):  NZ’s had it with Covid and political hubris – here comes inflation (paywalled)
Donna Miles (Stuff): Our future shouldn’t be determined by our result in the lottery of life
John Braddock (WSWS): In New Zealand, rising inflation, inequality intensify social crisis
RNZ: NZ’s border reopening ‘too little, too late’ – horticulture industry chief
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Luring Kiwis back to farm ‘essential’ amid border closure
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Self-isolation a ‘complete handbrake’ for international tourism (paywalled)
RNZ: Concern for tourism as third of bus and coach businesses closed during pandemic
Emma Clark-Dow (Stuff): Explore Tāmaki Makaurau: Only 58% of Auckland vouchers redeemed in first round
Mike O’Donnell (Stuff): While Omicron remains calm, hospitality should be allowed to flourish
Steve Stannard (Stuff): Slim pickings in hospitality as Omicron spreads
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Self-isolation will cause ‘tragedy’ in Christchurch hospitality sector
Vanessa Phillips (Stuff): Border reopening too slow for Nelson’s struggling hospitality sector
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Self-isolation rules will ruin NZ’s ski season
Diana Clement (OneRoof): The big sick: Will Omicron wipe out hard-up building firms?
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Another major South Canterbury event feels bite of Covid-19 restrictions
Laura Hooper (Stuff): Omicron could be ‘absolute nightmare’ for hairdressers
Vicki Anderson (Stuff): The ‘fame drain’: What the border opening could mean for Aotearoa’s music industry
Andrea Fox (Herald): Retail dairy prices could get a lookover in Fonterra’s capital restructure talks with Govt
Karen Coltman (Stuff): Federated Farmers president says unfinished immigration paperwork will risk dairy season
Anne Gibson (Herald): Property revaluations boost Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei fortunes by $243m in latest year (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): The Monitor economy Q&A: Serko chief executive Darrin Grafton

Unemployment insurance scheme
Simon Connell (Pundit): Assessing The Government’s “Unemployment Insurance” Proposal
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ‘Little, if any evidence’ income insurance schemes improve job-market outcomes
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Unemployment insurance: The rorts to come
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why unemployment insurance is as tone death as the pink $750m bike bridge
Michelle Duff (Stuff): Where are women in the social insurance scheme? On the benefit
Stephen Ward (Stuff): Unemployment insurance plan draws fire and praise in Waikato

Employment
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): The deep unfairness of New Zealand public holidays
Rebecca Macfie (Newsroom): The never-ending bulls**t over Pike River
RNZ: 64% of employees concerned about being in workplace as Omicron spreads – study

Omicron outbreak, cases, public health measures
RNZ: Waitangi weekend Covid cases may not show for two weeks – modeller
RNZ: NZ Covid-19 Omicron strategy ‘too cautious’ – epidemiologist
Herald: Michael Baker suggests a move away from daily case numbers
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Why the daily Covid-19 data will soon be a bit of a muddle
John Anthony (Stuff): Mask exemptions proving ‘impossible to manage’, Countdown says
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Epidemiologist Rod Jackson says New Zealand’s Omicron response set to be ‘better than anybody else’
Jamie Morton (Herald): Five ways NZ can tackle the Omicron wave (paywalled)
Jamie Morton (Herald): What can NZ learn from Australia’s Omicron wave?
Ben Leahy (Herald): Can NZ flatten the Omicron curve better than Oz?
Jennifer Summers, Nick Wilson and Michael Baker (Public Health Expert): Covid-19 hospitalisation peaks in Australian States since Omicron emerged: potential relevance to Aotearoa NZ
Katie Kenny (Stuff): What does the red light setting actually do to combat the Omicron outbreak?
1 News: Hipkins tells Kiwis to stock pantries after record cases
Alison Mau (Stuff): Time to drop the sourpuss act, New Zealand – and get used to the new rules
Herald Editorial: Covid Omicron outbreak in the balance but case numbers aren’t the only thing to watch (paywalled)
Tom Dillane (Herald): Ian Taylor claims Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verall tried to muzzle him
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Omicron in NZ – Political Winners & Losers
Dr Carwyn Jones (Stuff): Exercising tino rangatiratanga in a pandemic
Karina Cooper (Northern Advocate/Herald): Government responds to calls for Northland checkpoints
Harkanwal Singh (Spinoff): Covid tracker: live graphs telling the story of the pandemic in Aotearoa
Stuff: 188 new cases in the community, 27 at the border
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The one chart by Matthew Hooton you must watch to see Omicron Tsunami
Herald: Cases pop up in multiple school communities as students settle into class
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Four primary school children in Havelock North test positive for Covid-19
Rachel Moore (Stuff): All Year 7s at a Waikato school isolating, four other Hamilton schools affected by cases
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Ten Covid cases in Wellington region over long weekend
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Three new community cases in Canterbury
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Timaru case shows variant making way south
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): It’s the big picture that counts when it comes to assessing Omicron
Nicole Bremner (1 News): Kiwis should be wary of ‘Long Covid’ with Omicron – expert
RNZ: NZ study on Covid-19 impacts launched

Protests, anti vaccination, rule breaches
RNZ: Convoy protesting at vaccine mandates gathers at Parliament
Herald: Convoy protesters due to arrive in Wellington
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Anti-COVID mandate protesters confused after trolls infiltrate Telegram, attempt to mislead convoy
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Freedom Convoy makes its way up the South Island 
Morgane Solignac (Stuff): Hundreds gathered on roadsides in Marlborough supporting Freedom Convoy
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Auckland border breach couple snuck wife out of city in a truck, get discharge without conviction
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Union concerned assaults on court security officers may keep rising during pandemic
Eric Trump (ODT): Anti-vax vandals strike

Health
Jamie Morton (Herald): Why Kiwis can adapt to NZ’s new normal
RNZ: Concerns Omicron will overwhelm hospitals as staff get sick
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Health board accused of ‘bureaucratic obfuscation’ over Kāpiti Covid secrecy
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Researchers looking to study New Zealand Covid-19 survivors 
ODT Editorial: Action needed on recommendations
Fay McDonald (ODT): Barriers to change at hospital do a disservice to vulnerable people
Kate Nicol-Williams (1 News): Reports outline plan to improve NZ cancer prevention, treatment
Hannah Martin (Stuff): At least 28 assisted deaths in first three months of new law
Amanda Gillies (Newshub): Rise in drinking among middle-aged women causing concern in the medical community
RNZ: Southland Charity Hospital could open mid-2022 despite setbacks
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Bloomfield will order some water supplies to be fluoridated from mid-2022.
Johanna Thomas-Maude, Sharon McLennan (Herald): Why isn’t NZ employing more of its foreign-trained doctors? As system critically understaffed
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Hundreds languish on MRI scan waiting list
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Short of staff in aged care
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Calls for Coromandel rescue chopper to return after high mission tally in 2021

Education
Chris Keall (Herald): Greens slam school ventilation tender, local firms raise more questions (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Tertiary Education Union concerned funding changes will ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’
RNZ: Covid-19 cover needed for school support staff – Greens
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Some play centres enforce mask rules despite no mandate
Dubby Henry (Herald): Choosing a school: Survey reveals what Kiwi parents think is most important (paywalled)
Katy Jones (Stuff): Polytechs too slow to offer more programmes online, student body says
Lee Kenny (Stuff): The $30k problem: Special school faces closure unless new teachers can take pay cut
Wei Shao (Stuff):‘We need our daycares to survive’: Preschools under pressure as parents keep kids home
Jordan Rudd (1 News): Calls to increase number of international students into NZ
Tina Law (Stuff): Drownings prompt call for free children’s swimming lessons
Emma Houpt (Herald): Bay of Plenty schools prepare for staff shortages, class disruption (paywalled)

Local government
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Inside the Left wing Auckland Mayoralty meltdown – Labour has some explaining to do
Todd Niall (Stuff): Is the Left getting left behind in Auckland’s mayoral race?
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Businessman Leo Molloy winding up Headquarters bar to focus on mayoral campaign
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Wellington’s where the action at in next council elections 
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland Council chief executive gets $30,000 pay rise taking salary to $630,000
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Mind-boggling’ water loss in Featherston
Herald: Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie won’t get Novavax jab
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Hamilton City Council will list candidates’ names randomly on voting papers to avoid alphabetical advantage
Tina Law (Stuff): War of words between politicians on water management boils over
Stuff:  Three Waters not enough to protect water, Ngāi Tahu leader says
Jonathan Leask (Local Democracy Reporting): Pay hike on way for members of next Ashburton Council
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Raglan airfield closed, protesters dig in but their actions divide local opinion
Toni McDonald (ODT): $200m given by Invercargill Licensing Trust sets record

Environment
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Cash-strapped DOC forced to cut subantarctic science
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): ‘Emergency’ fast-track resource consent system could become permanent (paywalled)
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): ‘It was horrible’: People urged to report waterway pollution after cows spotted in Manawatū River
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Shelter belts could slash annual farm emissions bill under industry-designed scheme
Steven Walton (Stuff): $350m not enough to improve Christchurch rivers, another $112m is needed
Stephen Ward (Stuff): Iwi’s Coromandel fish farm plan divides submitters, environmental concerns a common theme
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Death of Māui dolphin on Auckland beach a ‘huge loss’ to future of species
RNZ: Rotorua farm fined $27k for bush-grazing pigs
Niva Chittock (RNZ): NZ to attend UN environment assembly session
Gary Hamilton-Irvine (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): $40m upgrade to Napier fertiliser plant, 50m-high stack proposed (paywalled)

Foreign Affairs, trade
RNZ: More Covid vaccines for Samoa and Tonga from NZ
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Shane Reti ‘very pleased’ as Elon Musk answers his plea to help restore Tonga’s telecommunications
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): ‘Sportswashing’ to the fore at Beijing Olympics

Sport
Hamish Bidwell (RNZ): New Zealand sport in need of some affirmative action
Brent Eastwood (Northern Advocate/Herald): Sport Northland Board now truly co-governed with Māori representation

Transport
Caitlan Johnston (Herald): Expert warns that fuel prices in New Zealand could continue to rise for six months
Isaac Davison (Herald): Petrol smashes $3/litre barrier, and could go higher as New Zealanders’ budgets stretched
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Transmission Gully: Expert told Waka Kotahi road was safe to open in December
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Cyclists allowed to use stretch of Transmission Gully despite ‘no cycling’ sign
Tim Hazledine (Herald):  Throwing light on rail plans for Auckland (paywalled)
Phil Goff (Stuff):  Light rail key to a world-class, future-focused Auckland
Bernard Orsman (Herald): ‘Really unfair’: Māngere mother says $1000 light rail tax would put stress on family budget
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Auckland’s working class could cop $1000 light rail tax being considered by Government
John Roughan (Herald):  Why light rail is the wrong road for New Zealand (paywalled)
1 News: NZTA proposes speed limit changes for Northland highways
John Anthony (Stuff): Boeing 777-300ER back from hibernation: Air New Zealand’s biggest aircraft returning to service
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): One man’s 37-year battle to get a speed bump installed
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Behind KiwiRail’s failed $565 million Budget bid for Interislander mega-ferries (paywalled)
Andrea Vance (Stuff): ‘Too slow’ ferry and breakdown exacerbates supply chain worries
Grant Miller (ODT): Hundreds daily could use trail with tunnels
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Fix on the way for Masterton’s slumping bridge

Media
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Unanswered questions in MIQ victim stories
Colin Peacock: Mediawatch: Publicly-funded boost for Māori media
RNZ: Māpuna : RNZ’s new programme showcasing Māori from across Aotearoa
Greg Presland (The Standard): NZME is on a mission to change the Government

Crime, justice
Jarrod Gilbert (Herald): Why we need to rethink our approach to tackling crime (paywalled)
Khylee Quince (Stuff): Whether to prosecute or not should be subject to oversight and review
Juanita Rojas Palacio and Alejandra Jaramillo Aristizabal (Newsroom): No silence on femicide

Other
Richard Harman (Politik): Our home grown right-wing extremists
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Timaru protest against ‘ramping up’ of live animal exports
Moana Maniapoto (Māori TV): ‘Never use the word racist’ – advice given to a new race relations commissioner
Eda Tang (Stuff): Immigration medical certificate no longer required before submitting resident visa application
Guy Williams (ODT): Deportation hanging over British woman
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): PGF-funded marae upgrade project nears completion
Reweti Kohere (Spinoff): Money can buy you (11 minutes of) happiness
Ben Kepes (Stuff): Customer surveys and new NZ passports
Lois Turei and Tūmamao Harawira (Māori TV): ‘We own this whenua’ – Titewhai Harawira on nearing 90 years of activism
RNZ: The Detail: An advocacy job too well done
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Children’s monitor hits milestone in scrutiny of Oranga Tamariki
Bruce Munro (ODT): No mountain, no river
Vic Crone (Stuff): Once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform NZ innovation