Today’s content

Parliament, government, 2021
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): 2022: Ardern’s plans for co-governance with iwi face rough seas
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Politics and the pandemic – another year of Covid-19
Russell Palmer (RNZ): NZ politics in 2021: Rabbles, restrictions and recriminations
Martin Bradbury (Daily Blog): TDB 2021 predictions vs 2021 reality
RNZ: David Shearer: from South Sudan to Tāmaki Makaurau
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Summer off politics: Cooking and hiking for Labour’s Ayesha Verrall

Housing
1 News: Average NZ home value surpasses $1m; slowdown predicted
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Million dollar homes: Average New Zealand house price exceeds $1 million for first time
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Want an ‘average’ NZ home? You’ll need $1 million
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Auckland median house price jumped $230,000 in 2021, says Barfoot & Thompson
Steven Walton (Stuff): ‘Pretty exceptional’: Christchurch house values jump record 38 per cent in 12 months
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Auckland landlord ups rent $50 to $900 per week due to ‘overwhelming response’
Anne Gibson (Herald): Holy Trinity Cathedral land leased: Trees, homes gone for apartment project (paywalled)

Covid
1 News: NZ needs to do ‘a lot of preparation’ for Omicron – Baker
1 News: NZ has dodged Omicron bullet ‘for now’ – expert
Lincoln Tan (Herald): NZ’s ‘lucky escape’ with Omicron as cases hit record levels overseas
Keith Lynch (Stuff): The NSW Omicron outbreak is not what you think
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Pelican Club cluster grows to ten as New Year’s cases begin to emerge
Herald: Ten cases now linked to Auckland brothel Pelican Club
Julia Czerwonatis (Herald): Northland health authorities urge for more testing, booster shots after new regulations kick in
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Fears of ‘appointment pile-up’ as booster shot rollout ramps up
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Strong demand for booster vaccine as 1.2m people become eligible for third shot
Esther Ashby-Coventry (Stuff): Long Covid-19 booster queues frustrate some in Timaru
Adam Pearse (Herald): Booster interval shortened as third Omicron case found
1 News: Over 20,000 Kiwis receive Covid-19 booster vaccines today
Leni Ma’ia’i (Guardian): New Zealand yoga industry suffers as anti-vax sentiment co-opts wellness industry

Border, MIQ
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Five Covid cases would ‘overwhelm’ a hospital: How Rotorua said no to more MIQ
RNZ: Daily cases in MIQ outnumber those in the community
Stuff:  Travellers from Australia shut out of next MIQ room release
Herald: MIQ room release: Kiwis stranded in Australia locked out
Laura Hooper (Stuff): Clougher: It’s not a political issue, it’s a human rights issue
Geraden Cann (Stuff): Research into how Delta spread in Auckland MIQ reveals ‘findings of global importance’
Herald: DJ Dimension avoids prosecution – Ministry of Health

Environment, conservation
1 New: NZ seeing five times more temperature extremes than expected
David Chaston (Interest): The paradox of “clean” EVs and the “dirty” lithium mining business
David Lewis (Stuff): Lifting the lid on responsible investing
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Will DoC make progress on stewardship land in 2022?
Kethaki Masilamani (Newshub): Coromandel iwi take back the reins to protect forest from kauri dieback
University of Auckland: Microplastics in Auckland waters rival the Rhine
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Southland’s freshwater objectives call for a big drop in contaminants

Transport
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): $600m hit to war chest: Agency fears public transport will cut budget
Simon Wilson (Herald): Safer roads: How cable barriers have cut deaths on NZ highways (paywalled)
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Holiday road toll ends at ‘absolutely horrendous’ total of 17 with desperate calls for safer driving
RNZ: Police stress need for driver responsibility after holiday road rises to 17
1 News: Holiday road toll climbs to 17, police ‘disappointed’
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ACT claims ‘irresponsible spending’ on cycling is driving up inflation
Herald: Which Auckland intersection has sparked the most red light camera fines? (paywalled)
Northern Advocate: Refining NZ infrastructure support Govt’s biofuel mandate
Herald: Air New Zealand suspends in-flight food and drinks
1 News: Air New Zealand named world’s safest airline

Police
Te Aniwa Hurihanganu (1 News): Police set new rules after young Māori unlawfully photographed
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Thirty-three cents here, $135m there: How police seized more than half a billion in criminal assets in five years
Jared Savage (Herald): Follow the money: New intelligence tool to find dirty cash as police focus on professional money laundering services (paywalled)

Employment
Oliver Lewis (BusinessDesk): The NZ industries hit hardest for labour breaches (paywalled)
1 News: Employers urged to step up as pandemic sees more resigning
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Assets of former Indian restaurant owners frozen in employment dispute
Anne Gibson (Herald): Two mothers denied paid parental leave for second children, ERA upholds decisions

Health
Ben Thomas (Stuff): Smoking policy shaped by acrid whiff of hatred
Māori TV: Health survey shows people are smoking less
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): More needs to be done to tackle synthetic cannabinoids, experts say
Katrina Bennett (Herald): ICU doctor thanks ‘heroic’ Kiwis for protecting health system from Covid-19 in 2021

Economy & Business
Keith Woodford (Interest): Economic storm clouds lie ahead
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland businesses busy despite red light, but bookings slowing 
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Damien Grant, economic forecasting, cluelessness, efficient market theory, wisdom of crowds, effective altruism & conservatism (paywalled)
Simon Bridges (Stuff): Why Grant Robertson should listen to US Senator Joe Manchin
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Shoppers splashed out on alcohol for New Year’s, data shows
Andrea Fox (Herald): Vodafone billing bungle reveals customer names, numbers and addresses

Education
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Otago Covid experts copping abuse
ODT Editorial: Covid’s avenues and alleyways
Esther Ashby-Coventry (Stuff): Veteran kindergarten teacher: ‘NZ kids need male role models’
Mike Styles (Stuff): NZ schools are failing dyslexic kids. Parents should consider US-style class action
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Challenges, success for tertiary institutes

Local government
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Council dysfunction, healthcare chaos and political showdowns – Local Democracy Reporting captures it all
Tom Hunt (Stuff): New Wellington convention centre already has more than 60 conference bookings
David Hanna (Stuff): Reimagining Wellington: The art of being community
Todd Niall (Herald): Inner City Pressure: Auckland CBD’s quest to find its post-lockdown mojo
Yashas Srinivasa (Stuff): Timaru water restrictions imposed to fight discolouration issue

Water safety
Elizabeth White (Newshub): Concerns Kiwis losing ability to swim as 27 people dead in water incidents already this summer
RNZ: Concern about level of water safety education after spate of drownings
Piers Fuller (Stuff): NZ on track for one of the deadliest summers in the water in 2022
ODT Editorial: A summer of despair

Other
Kaysha Browlie (Newshub): Kiwi gathering 501 deportee stories in hikoi before suing Australian government
Shane Te Pou (Herald):  Why diversity is a winning formula (paywalled)
Daniel Rutledge (Newshub): Chris Bishop says sorry after Chlöe Swarbrick again accuses Opposition of ‘lies’ about drug testing
Stuff: Heritage NZ cash boost for Mātauranga Māori programmes across country
Cherie Howie (Herald): New Zealand gay rights pioneer Ngahuia te Awekotuku remembers first protest (paywalled)