Today’s content

Parliamentary Grounds occupation
Barry Soper (Herald): Govt’s refusal to engage with Parliament protesters unwise if not unkind
Karl du Fresne: The fascinating new fault line in New Zealand politics
RNZ: Parliament protest: Negotiation expert pushes for mediation
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Is the anti-mandate movement Winston’s final frontier?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Winston Peters joins former MPs backing anti-mandate message
Ani O’Brien (The Platform): Contempt from the Parliamentary balcony
Anna Leask (Herald): How to end the protest in one easy step: activist, negotiator reveal the key to resolving parliamentary occupation (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): When Policing By Consent Gets Too Granular (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Do these protesters have a point?
Herald: Editorial – Time for anti-vaccine mandate protest to find one voice (paywalled)
Stuff: Editorial – Leave the crowd control to the experts, Mr Speaker
Simon Wilson (Herald): Playing Barry Manilow at Parliament was a genius move (paywalled)
Bridie Witton, Thomas Manch and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Freedom Convoy: How the protest with no leadership keeps going
Ross Hendy (The Conversation): The occupation of NZ’s parliament grounds is a tactical challenge for police, but mass arrests are not an option
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Law experts: Police taking a ‘light-handed’ approach to protesters
Sophie Cornish, Joel MacManus and André Chumko (Stuff): Police say ‘high probability’ protest could continue for days, weeks after roads cleared
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Politicians at war over Trevor Mallard’s ‘immature’ response to Parliament’s anti-mandate protesters
Herald: A glimpse inside pop-up tent city
Richard Harman: The hippies take over
Samuel Hill (The Platform): The Anti-Mandate protestors are winning
Gavin Ellis: Copycat media abuse from ragtag bag of protesters
James Perry (Waatea News): ‘Just stoking the fire’ – Waititi tells Speaker to end tactics at parliament protest
Chris Trotter (Interest): Changing their story
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Trevor Mallard has lost the plot
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Trevor Mallard and Govt have misread Parliament protests so badly
Steven Cowan: Do as I say not as I do
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Parents explain why they’ve brought children to anti-mandate protest in Wellington
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Businesses near Parliament struggling with anti-vaccine mandate protest on doorstep
Gordon Campbell: On why compromise isn’t an option
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): You can’t call yourselves freedom fighters as you take other people’s freedom away
Verity Johnson (Stuff): We have failed to rein in social media’s misinformation
Ian Powell: Rights, responsibilities, François-Marie Arouet and far right agendas
Herald: Prime Minister questioned over use of sprinklers on protesters, including children
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern won’t voice opinion on Speaker’s protest tactics as Opposition accuses Trevor Mallard of ’embarrassing’ behaviour
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Christopher Luxon says Trevor Mallard’s sprinkler, music tactics were ‘not helpful’, protest should be left to police
Aimee Shaw (Herald): Business leaders react to Jacinda Ardern being in Auckland over weekend amid Wellington protest
Kerre McIvor (Newstalk ZB): What we can be sure of with Parliament protests
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): ‘It shakes you’: Wellington bus driver spat on and yelled at by protesters
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): High risk of gastro bugs like E coli at Wellington’s anti-mandate protest – public health experts
Herald: Covid 19 convoy at Parliament: Protesters ignore police plea to move vehicles, request meeting with Cabinet
Herald: Police have ‘productive talks’ with protesters; vehicles set to be moved
Tom Hunt and Kate Green (Stuff): Parliament protesters ignore offer of free parking at Sky Stadium
RNZ: Efforts to remove illegally parked cars mildly successful, collaboration needed with protesters – police
RNZ: Wellington’s Sky Stadium offered as parking to free up Parliament streets blocked by protesters
Tom Hunt and Kate Green (Stuff): Police hopeful protesters will move vehicles away from Parliament
Euro News: New Zealand authorities blast ‘Baby Shark’ and James Blunt to disperse protestors
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): White supremacist Philip Arps arrested after alleged ‘public execution’ comment

Omicron
RNZ: ‘This is crazy’: Shortfall in booster numbers worries top Covid-19 adviser
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern moves New Zealand into phase 2 of Omicron response, shrinking isolation period
Henry Cooke (Stuff): What ‘phase 2’ of Omicron response will mean for isolation times, testing
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Isolation rules loosen at same time people opt to stay home
John Anthony (Stuff): ‘Do not apply the Delta rules to manage Omicron,’ Australian business leader urges
Tess McClure (Guardian): NZ Covid outbreak ‘like nothing we’ve experienced’, Ardern says, as cases skyrocket
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Stuff press gallery reporter confirmed as Covid-negative, ending scare in Parliament
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Kiwis encouraged to live normally as omicron outbreak surges (paywalled)
RNZ: MIQ should have changed to uphold right of Kiwis to come home, Grounded Kiwis’ lawyer says
Matthew Parry (Newsroom): Q&A: Modelling, what is it good for?
Henry Burrell (BusinessDesk): RIP Bluetooth tracing: app function to be phased out
John Weekes (Herald): Banning unvaxxed from driver licence test foolish, unsafe, network says
Rohan MacMahon (Herald): We need to talk about digital equity and vaccine passes (paywalled)
1News: Michael Baker: 2022 flu season may be ‘particularly tough’

Housing
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Property asking prices jump by 25 per cent for second month in a row, Trade Me says
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Build-to-rent sector ‘needs Government action’ to scale up
Ben Leahy (Herald): Auckland rental videos turn Kiwi woman into TikTok star
Liz McDonald (Stuff): City tenants compete for fewer homes at higher rents
RNZ: First-home buyers ‘being hampered by tighter credit policies’ – CoreLogic

Economy, Business
Ben Kepes (Stuff): The revolution is coming: Playing Russian roulette with inequity
Felix Walton (Spinoff): The pay gap that divides skilled migrants by country of origin
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Minimum wage increase kicks businesses when they’re down
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Will Kiwibank be sold off, and what is the role of NZ’s bank in 2022?
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Chinese SOE pushes NZ for U-turn on live export ban
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand’s Greg Foran outlines the airline’s Kia Mau five year plan (paywalled)
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Aramex offers $600 a week subsidy to courier drivers revealed to be earning less than minimum wage

Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland mayoralty: Labour to clarify process to succeed Phil Goff
Todd Niall (Stuff): The bumpy end to Auckland mayor Phil Goff’s 41-year political career
RNZ: Goff hopes for younger generation as Auckland mayor
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Learning to love the I in Wellington

Environment, Climate Change
Todd Niall (Stuff): How much climate change action do you get for $1 billion?
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): The folly of carbon farming with pine trees
Colin Williscroft (Farmers Weekly): Climate Change Commission to explain advice

Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Police road safety operation misses the target
Daphna Whitmore (The Platform): Class is the elephant in the newsroom
Thomas Manch (Stuff): PM Jacinda Ardern confirms she will travel to United States in May
John Minto (Herald): A two-tiered system for calling out human rights abuses (paywalled)
Tony Simpson (Newsroom): Self-portrait
Chris Fowlie (Daily Blog): 20 years ago I fought the Law – And I won!