Today’s content

2021 in review, 2022, Parliament
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Riding 2022’s Revolutionary Tiger
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): TDB – Political Winners & Losers 2021
Henry Cooke (Stuff): How did our political predictions for 2021 go? We scraped by with a passing grade
John Bishop (Stuff): Normal’s one present no-one got for Christmas
Stuff: Auckland’s year in pictures: The best news photos of 2021 from Stuff’s visual journalists
Tim McCready (Herald): The Herald’s 2021 front pages: Vaccines, variants and victories
Stuff:  Summer off politics: What Maureen Pugh is doing, reading and watching over the summer break 
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Meet the dogs of Pawliament

Omicron – community case, MIQ
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Hipkins cool and calm in face of Omicron (paywalled)
1 News: ‘Just takes one case’ – expert worried about Omicron spread
Lincoln Tan (Herald): NZ should be worried about case – but it is going to come regardless, says expert
Herald Editorial: A separate traffic light system for border may be needed in 2022 (paywalled)
RNZ: Baker optimistic DJ with Omicron was not infectious while socialising
John Hartevelt (Stuff): How to judge the actions of Dimension, the first NZ Omicron case in the community
RNZ: Hipkins ‘very disappointed’ Omicron-infected DJ didn’t follow rules
Laura Walters (Stuff): DJ Dimension rule-breaking ‘disappointing’, minister says
Newshub: Chris Hipkins’ message to DJ Dimension, New Zealand’s first community Omicron case
1 News: Close contacts of DJ Dimension could number 100 – Hipkins
Kate Green (Stuff): A timeline of DJ Dimension’s movements after arriving in New Zealand
Lucy Xia and Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): DJ Dimension on third border exemption to NZ since December 2020
Nadine Porter (Stuff): ED doctor says DJ who broke the rules is a ‘punch in the face’ 
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Business owners, ex-pats fuming after DJ becomes first Omicron community case
Kurt Bayer (Herald): International DJs also forced to pull out of festivals after being named DJ Dimension close contacts
Olivia Caldwell (Stuff): DJ ‘angry’ after losing Rhythm and Alps gig due to becoming close contact
1 News: DJ Dimension speaks out over abusive messages on social media
1 News: Omicron case’s three Waiheke housemates test negative
RNZ: Any Hidden Lakes Festival symptomatic attendees asked to get tested
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Second Omicron case in community as Auckland moves to orange, Waiheke Island on edge after infected DJ visits
1 News: Air NZ crew member with Omicron was out in community
Mina Kerr-Lazenby (Stuff): Second Omicron case in community confirmed
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap: Urgent search for DJ’s close contacts, second Omicron case in community

Delta outbreak, Government management of Covid
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Calls for rapid COVID testing criteria to be dropped so everyone can get tested
Māori TV: Māori 85.7% of Covid-19 deaths in December
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Opposition wants urgent action on boosters, vaccines for children, and rapid testing
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): A breakdown of how NZ’s once-successful elimination strategy ended, conceding defeat to the Delta variant
RNZ: Covid-19: Iwi-led health provider urges vigilance as case numbers rise
Chloe Blommerde (Stuff): Waikato surpasses Auckland’s Covid-19 community case numbers after exposure events
1 News: Napier resident tests positive for Covid-19
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): New community Covid-19 case identified in Napier
Stuff:  Two new Covid-19 cases in Gisborne, including already isolating family member
RNZ: Two locations of interest identified in Wellington
Kim Knight (Herald): In a Delta lockdown year we each defined what freedom meant – now we live with the consequences (paywalled)
Kendall Hutt (1 News): ‘Only in NZ’ – Hipkins’ bush Covid update takes social media by storm
Stuff:  Chris Hipkins’ Covid-19 update from ‘The Shire’ spurs social media humour and memes
Vera Alves (Herald): Minister Chris Hipkins’ mum warns media he will be late

Vaccine rollout, mandates, pass, rules
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Why are the media naming a non-frontline worker who is unvaccinated?
Rob Stock (Stuff): Auckland Transport includes religious exemptions in Covid-19 vaccination policy
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Fleur’s Place to close indefinitely after half of staff refuse vaccine
Rob Stock (Stuff): Flaw in My Vaccine Pass system extends expiry date beyond six months
Sapeer Mayron and Abigail Dougherty (Stuff): Auckland nightclubs open their doors to dancers as city moves to Orange
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Meet the people behind the country’s biggest vaccination roll-out in Auckland

New Year Honours
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): Chop off the top of the honours list. They don’t need any more rewards
ODT Editorial: Celebrating our creators of social capital
Newshub: New Year Honours 2022 – the full list
RNZ: New Year Honours list announced for 2022
Laura Walters (Stuff): Outstanding Kiwis despite the tough times
Marena Mane (Māori TV): Last Māori Battalion soldier accepts knighthood in honour of comrades
1 News: Last survivor of Māori Battalion ‘Bom’ Gillies knighted
Kelly Makiha (Herald): Sir Robert Gillies reluctant war hero accepts knighthood for all Māori Battalion soldiers (paywalled)
Laura Walters (Stuff): Longtime public servant Marie Shroff hopes NY Honour will raise awareness of work behind the scenes
Adam Pearse (Herald): Dame Marie Shroff’s advice to social media users – ‘think hard before you post’ (paywalled)
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Making a difference purpose of life’s work
RNZ: NZ’s Pacific community recognised in New Year’s honours
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Business leaders recognised (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Agriculture dominates New Year business honours (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Knighted nutrition expert Sir Jim Mann calls on Government for ‘serious action’ (paywalled)
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Otago professor honoured after career researching the link between diet and health
RNZ: Jacinta Ruru: Top legal scholar hopeful of more inclusion for Māori
Ben Strang (Stuff): Air Commodore Darryn Webb says Covid-19 MIQ challenge was daunting
Helen Harvey (Stuff): From paperboy to New Year Honour – Taranaki’s Jim Tucker gets gong for services to journalism
Kate Green (Stuff): Rosemary McLeod celebrated for contribution to TV and journalism
Troels Sommerville and Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Chief executive of Auckland City Mission ‘shocked’ by knighthood
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Lower Hutt’s Glorious Oxenham has promoted Melanesian culture for 25 years
Maia Hart (Stuff): Woman who dedicated time to Pasifika community ‘humbled’ to receive honour
Uma Ahmed (Stuff): Southlander of the Year: The Ardent Activist

Economy, business, govt subsidies
Mark Fryer (Herald): Inflation, interest rates and housing – all the business news that wasn’t Covid (paywalled)
Simon Bridges (Herald):  Inflation hitting at people’s purchasing power (paywalled)
Brian Easton (Pundit): Turning To Jane Austen To Understand Social Development

Local government
RNZ: Nelson fully allocates $200,000 Covid-19 emergency fund
Māori TV: Protestors halt planes at Raglan Airport

Environment, conservation, climate change
Simon O’Connor (Stuff): Why protecting nature is no longer just for green groups
Geraden Cann and Denise Piper (Stuff): A Shore Thing: Not enough money ‘to hold back the sea’, but defence is possible
Laura Walters (Stuff): Activism, connecting with nature, talking – How young Kiwis are dealing with climate anxiety
Denise Piper (Stuff): How climate change impacts what fruit and vegetables we can grow in our gardens
Hawkes Bay Today: Two-million-year-old fossils on Te Mata Peak hammered out of rocks by group

Drug testing
Samantha Mythen (Herald): World-first drug checking law at festivals kicks into reality this New Year’s
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Rhythm and Alps works with WellSouth to promote testing

Other
RNZ: More than 2000 Corrections staff suspected of misconduct over five-year period
RNZ: Call for govt action on unhealthy food ads aimed at children
David Greig (BusinessDesk): Congestion pricing coming to New Zealand (paywalled)
Kalika Kastein (Newsroom): Universities need funds for international postgrads