Today’s content

Parliamentary Grounds occupation
Former VUWSA student (Democracy Project): “Once were radicals”
John Minto (Stuff): The Government must engage the protesters, and help to regulate social media
Sophie Cornish and Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Watch: A walk through the Parliamentary occupation site
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Videos of the parliamentary grounds occupation
Ben Strang (Stuff): Parliamentary protest likely to ‘fizzle out’, but Wellington must be patient
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Prime Minister says Parliament’s approach to protests will likely be reviewed following occupation
Nick Bollinger (RNZ): Parliament protests: Tragedy or farce?
Steven Cowan: The Liberal left has lost its mind
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): A revolution came to Parliament & it was middle class woke activists who were revolted
Audrey Young (Herald): Getting inside the mind of Parliament’s unique Speaker Trevor Mallard (paywalled)
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Who is who at the Convoy 2022 occupation of Parliament’s grounds
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Who’s paying for the portaloos, where are the tow trucks? All your questions answered (paywalled)
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Top cop’s towing ultimatum with no tow trucks is laughable
Richard Harman: Splits and threats at Camp Freedom (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea News): A protest at Parliament without mana
1News: Parliament protest ‘symptomatic of immense frustration’ – Luxon
1News: Parliament protest should be stopped ‘at some point’ – law expert
Dylan Reeve (Spinoff): Why we can expect more aggressive quasi-legal action from Covid protesters
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Defence Force considering providing military recovery vehicles, discussions ongoing
Matthew Theunissen (Herald): Towies ‘sympathetic’ to Parliament protesters, tow truck operator says
RNZ: Police concede tow truck operators unwilling to help with clearing roads near Parliament
Sophie Cornish and Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Protest vehicle towing to begin ‘shortly’ but could have started days ago – police
Herald: Towing operation could take days, involve Defence Force
RNZ: Police Commissioner gives ultimatum to protesters outside Parliament
Herald (Herald): Pregnant MP says anti-mandate protesters threatened to lynch or kidnap her and staff
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Thousands of students may have to learn from home if protest continues
Tom Hunt and Erin Gourley (Stuff): ‘They are not allowing us any freedom to trade’: Protest neighbours speak
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Parliament Protest Meltdown: On negotiating with lunatics & the Woke Left calling in the military
Molly Swift (Newshub): Ex-Labour President Mike Williams says anti-mandate protest will ‘solve itself’ because crowds are unvaxxed, not wearing masks
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Parliament protest absolutely positively not my Wellington (paywalled)
ODT: Editorial – Respect our House
Herald: Police Commissioner warns protest ‘no longer tenable’ as sit-in enters second week
RNZ: Anti-vaccine mandate protests: Victoria University of Wellington supports police tactics
Naomii Seah (Spinoff): A requiem for the parliament lawn
Greg Presland (The Standard): The difference between Black Lives Matter and the Anti Mandate protest
Devon Bolger (Herald): Anti-mandate protesters set up in Chch, council working ‘closely’ with police
1News: Full video: Day 8 of anti-mandate protest at Parliament
James Hall (Daily Telegraph UK/Herald): Barry Manilow as a weapon: A short history of sonic warfare (paywalled)

Omicron
Jamie Morton (Herald): Experts predict three trends to watch for over coming weeks (paywalled)
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Businesses rush to buy rapid antigen tests as Omicron spreads, with some test kits selling for more than $10 each
Damien Venuto (Herald): Government’s RAT policy will punish small businesses – Auckland Business Chamber chief Michael Barnett (paywalled)
Herald: Editorial: Phase two of Omicron is on, but are people ready? (paywalled)
Bryan Betty (Herald): Dealing with Covid requires a change in mindset (paywalled)
Oscar Francis (ODT): Some students plan to party on in face of virus
Stuff: Rights of Kiwis overseas not forgotten, Crown’s lawyer tells High Court

Conversion therapy banned
Andrew Macfarlane (1News): Good riddance to conversion therapy
RNZ: Bill to ban conversion practices passes third reading
1News: ‘Validated’ – Activist welcomes conversion practices ban
Irra Lee (1News): Deputy PM delivers impassioned speech on conversion therapy
No Right Turn: 122-8

Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Salvation Army: It’s a housing catastrophe, not crisis
Brooke van Velden (Herald): New Zealand’s home ownership dream has become a nightmare
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Housing crisis: Poll shows vast majority of homeowners don’t want house prices to really fall
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Grant Robertson to face select committee grilling as house prices outpace Government forecasts
Liam Dann (Herald): Is the housing slump finally here? (paywalled)
RNZ: House prices expected to fall further than previously forecast – ASB
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): REINZ: Big slump in turnover, Auckland house sales down by a third

Economy, Business
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Bring back subsidy, Boult says
Rebecca Macfie (Newsroom): Workers willing to strike while inflation’s hot
Amy Williams (RNZ): Government says ‘one-off’ support on the way as hospitality firms appeal for lifeline
Jo Moir (Newsroom): Robertson’s plea for workers to come into work
Damien Venuto (Herald): New Zealand about find out the real value of ‘low-skilled’ workers (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Scars of the Covid-19 ‘rekovery’ haunt the social insurance debate
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): The Big Quit hits construction industry
Eric Crampton (Herald): Monetary policy requires expertise (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): We’re experiencing the economic ‘sugar crash’
Dan Brunskill (BusinessDesk): The Cayman Island Kiwis worth $20b (paywalled)
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Six hit with corruption charges after alleged bribery for roadwork contracts
RNZ: Serious Fraud Office charges six people over alleged corruption with subcontracts

Foreign affairs and trade
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nanaia Mahuta heads to Paris for Indo-Pacific conference, with United States and China off invite list
Jamie Ensor (Newshub) NZ-China Free Trade Agreement upgrade coming into effect in April
Herald: Wood and dairy export paths to China eased in FTA developments
RNZ: New Zealand ratifies upgrade to 2008 free trade agreement with China

Environment, Climate Change
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): All-of-government climate planning “lumpy”, admits James Shaw
Pat Baskett (Newsroom): Buying our way out of a big problem
1News: ‘Tough conversations’ needed on climate adaptation in NZ
Jane Clifton (Listener): Weed it and weep: The ‘silent invasion’ threatening NZ’s native species (paywalled)
David Williams (Newsroom): Legal threat over planned hydro scheme

Transport
Richard Prebble (Herald): Forget slogans and put real money into road safety engineering (paywalled)
No Right Turn: The police aren’t doing their job on traffic safety
Laurel Stowell (Herald): Online petitioners want continued rail passenger services (paywalled)

Other
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): Yes, minister: Lianne Dalziel on the ‘terrible’ central-local govt relationship
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Reports warns $55m journalism fund risks protecting established players from new entrants
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): No strong case for public journalism funding: MCH report
Eric Crampton: Statistics NZ’s data pipes have broken, and it’s as dire as any burst sewer
Naomi Arnold (RNZ): My rapist was found not guilty – Young woman horrified and revictimised during trial
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Destiny Church charities removed from register for failure to file annual returns
Phil Smith (RNZ): A Parliament with no MPs