Today’s content
Omicron, NZ border changes, MIQ
Henry Cooke (Stuff): New Zealand decides to keep itself free from Omicron – for now
RNZ: Limit or halt arrivals from risk countries to avoid big Omicron numbers MIQ – Michael Baker
RNZ: New Zealand may need to tighten borders further to keep Omicron at bay – professor
Liz McDonald, Henry Cooke and Charlie Gates (Stuff): Changes to pandemic plan as Government tries to buy time
Stuff Editorial: Faster, slower, shorter, longer – combatting Covid is a rough ride
Chris McDowall (Herald): Siouxsie Wiles on the key numbers to watch over summer
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Chris Hipkins says he wouldn’t immediately lock down if Omicron found in the community
Scott Palmer and Tom McRae (Newshub): Government reveals plan to combat Omicron
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): The omicron overhaul: Booster and border rules revealed in face of new menace
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government brings forward boosters, postpones end to MIQ because of Omicron
1 News: International travel free of MIQ delayed to late Feb 2022
Herald: New Zealand border reopening pushed to end of February
Eva Corlett (Guardian): New Zealand delays border reopening in bid to strengthen defences against Omicron
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Kim Moodie (RNZ): Omicron threat: Delay to borders opening a further blow to Kiwis overseas
Herald: ‘Crushing the souls of Kiwis’: Tourism industry, airlines and Kiwis abroad react to border delay
John Anthony (Stuff): Omicron border restrictions ‘final nail in the coffin’ for some tourism businesses, operator says
Nadine Porter and Siobhan Downes (Stuff): ‘We matter too’ – Devastated Kiwis react to delay in border opening
Alexa Cook (Newshub): Kiwis in Australia stranded after Govt decision to delay border reopening
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RNZ: Air New Zealand cancels about 120 flights after border reopening plan delayed
1 News: 120 Air NZ flights to be cancelled, 27K customers affected
John Weekes and Katie Harris (Herald): At least 27,000 flyers in limbo after Omicron border delay
Newshub: Air New Zealand cancels around 120 trans-Tasman flights after delayed border reopening
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RNZ: MIQ room release cancelled due to Omicron situation
Herald: MBIE cancels MIQ room release as Govt announces temporary change
Tom Hunt (Stuff): New Zealand re-opens door to wealthy foreign investors promising to drop millions
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Revealed: First Omicron case left MIQ before variant identified
Nadine Porter (Stuff): Man incorrectly told he had Covid while in MIQ now worried mistakes could cause Omicron cases
Hannah Martin (Stuff): MIQ returnee who left Middlemore Hospital had child with them
1 News: Child with Covid-negative MIQ traveller missing from hospital
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Travel ban: ICU nurse stuck in South Africa unable to take up job offer
Govt management of Covid-19
Keith Rankin (Evening Report): Visualising a Way out of the Pandemic
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): Details from Waitangi Tribunal report on goverment’s Covid-19 response
1 News: Waitangi Tribunal finds Govt Covid response actively breached Treaty
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): Tribunal’s report on Covid response for Māori offers vindication but no comfort
No Right Turn: Labour’s racist covid policy
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Government hits back at Sir Ian Taylor’s ‘holiday’ comments
Newshub: Jacinda Ardern tackles child vaccination misinformation, health rumours and ageing remarks in Facebook live
Vaccine rollout, mandate
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Paediatric vaccinations a ‘litmus test’ for Covid-19 response partnership, New Zealand Māori Council says
Amy Williams (RNZ): Papakura GP says community ready for immunisation of children aged 5 to 11
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Govt should learn from its mistakes by targeting vaccination of Māori children – paediatrician
Adam Pearse (Herald): Māori/Pasifika child vaccine rates will outstrip Pākehā – rollout equity manager
RNZ: NZ kids able to get Pfizer vaccine from Jan 17
Herald: Child vaccinations – parents put at ease, more students to return to school
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Experts welcome January 17 start date for child vaccine roll-out
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Roll-out to children to begin January 17, booster interval cut
Eva Corlett (Guardian): Death of child with Covid-19 prompts calls for Māori to be prioritised in NZ vaccine rollout
1 News: Govt reduces Covid-19 booster wait time to 4 months
1 News: Around 200,000 Kiwis still waiting to receive vaccine pass
1 News: Risk of Covid ‘far outweighs’ risk of myocarditis – Hipkins
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington’s Newtown festival cancelled, too hard to check vaccine passes
John Anthony (Stuff): Popular Whangārei cafe’s no vaccine pass days not breaking any traffic light rules
Dan Satherley and Juliet Speedy (Newshub): Vaccine-linked death prompts reminder letter from Ministry of Health to doctors – report
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Broadcasting Standards Authority tells anti-vaxxers not to bother complaining about discrimination
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Broadcasting watchdog rules discussion about unvaccinated people on air not discriminatory
Whatitiri Te Wake (Māori TV): ‘I felt paru because I was gay’ – Café owner sees homophobia over vaccine pass
2021 in review, Parliament, parties
Richard Prebble (Herald): My attempt at praising Labour (paywalled)
1 News: Green Party co-leaders worried about disinformation
1 News: Te Pāti Māori’s 2022 focus: building te Tiriti-centred NZ
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Trusting The People: Chile Elects A Far-Left President
1 News: Massey University announces NZ’s Quote of the Year winner
William Hewett (Newshub): Chris Hipkins wins quote of the year for his ‘spread your legs’ gaffe
Stuff: Chris Hipkins’ press conference slip of the tongue voted quote of the year
Steven Cowan (Against the current): Lifestyles of the rich and famous
Auckland border checkpoints, summer travel, Delta outbreak
Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris (Spinoff): Five factors to help us avoid Covid-19 this summer
RNZ: Testing positive for Covid-19: What you need to know
Dr Mataroria Lyndon (Herald): Planning your summer holidays? Plan for home isolation at the same time (paywalled)
Professor Michael Bunce and Dr Jemma Geoghegan (Herald): Why studying the origins of Covid-19, its variants and relatives matters (paywalled)
1 News: Pasifika home isolation pilot expands following success
RNZ: Ronapreve gains Medsafe approval for treatment of worst-affected Covid-19 patients
Janika ter Ellen (Newshub): Kiwis taking shorter holidays and staying closer to home amid COVID-19 pandemic
Jamie Ensor and William Hewett (Newshub): Latest on COVID-19 community outbreak – Tuesday, December 21
Megan Wilson (Herald): Two cases in Murupara
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Former holiday park confirmed as isolation centre
Covid Rule Breaches, Protests
Logan Church (1 News): Fine, donation for Auckland couple who flew to Wānaka in lockdown
Jean Bell (RNZ): Auckland couple who flouted lockdown face court: Man convicted and fined, woman ordered to donate
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Judge’s son William Willis, lawyer Hannah Rawnsley sentenced for flouting Auckland lockdown to holiday in Wānaka
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Wānaka lockdown breach couple: Judge’s son fined, his partner escapes conviction
Tia McDougall (Newshub): Auckland couple who escaped to Wānaka during COVID-19 lockdown sentenced
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki gets bail conditions tweaked
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Brian Tamaki allowed at Auckland Domain but not to protest, in bail conditions U-turn
Health
Zoe Holland (Herald): Effectiveness of pandemic drug against Omicron to be reviewed
Cira Olivier (Herald): Revealed: How many millions ACC spends on alcohol injuries (paywalled)
David Burton (Stuff): At what point are people on their own?
Scott Palmer and Perry Wilton (Newshub): New Zealanders urged to get drugs tested this summer festival season
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): Drug testing urged as post-lockdown summer party season approaches
Jane Matthews (Stuff): ‘No-one wants Covid for Christmas, stay home if you’re sick’ – Taranaki Covid-19 boss
Herald: Health practitioner fined $30,000 after accessing patient records for personal reasons
Economy, business, govt subsidies
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘Rage at the violence of racism’: Marama Davidson joins chorus of outrage at Farmers
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Change rather than apology needed to stop racial profiling in stores (paywalled)
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Rangatahi lead amazing kaupapa and deserve to be heard, not stood over
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): From global food basket to ‘Foodbank Nation’ – a year of lost opportunities
Simon Bridges (BusinessDesk): Grantonomics risks rousing the inflation dragon
RNZ: New Zealand infrastructure investment not getting bang for buck
RNZ: Investors pick up hotels in anticipation of tourism rebound
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): More than a dozen tourism operators are affected by a rāhui discouraging visitors to the Whirinaki forest park to protect unvaccinated locals
Nathan Morton (Stuff): Auckland restaurants struggling to recruit staff post-lockdown
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Restaurant owner to community: ‘we will be lucky to survive’
Herald: Supreme Court dismisses Pizza Hut franchisees’ appeal in delivery drivers case
Esther Taunton (Stuff): H&M, Kate Sylvester remove sustainability claims after Consumer NZ investigation
Melanie Carrol (Stuff): Holidays Act changes should end expensive payouts to short-changed workers
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Bosses warned: Salary Survey shows skills shortage to bite further next year
Herald: NZ Post announces price increase for sending letters
Police, Justice, corrections
Gordon Campbell: On the obscure Bill that erodes our system of justice
Phil Pennington (RNZ): How one of the country’s longest and most fraught fatal crash investigations unfolded
Miriam Burrell (Herald): Criminals given chance to appeal convictions after police prosecution blunder
Jeremy Sutton (Herald): Review of succession law – Rights to a person’s property on death (paywalled)
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Broken phones at Waikeria cause trouble for prisoners trying to call home
1 News: Corrections reveals Xmas day menu for those in prison
Jordan Bond (RNZ): IPCA concludes police officer used ‘unnecessary force’ on mentally ill man
Herald:Levin man in coma after falling during attempt to arrest him
Environment, conservation, climate change
David Williams (Newsroom): Emails expose council’s clash with scientist
Jo Hendy (Stuff): Climate change: We must think across the system
Jacqueline Rowarth (Stuff): Farms can reduce animal numbers, but how much would you like to pay for food?
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): High Court appeals filed against ECan’s Plan Change 7
RNZ: DOC urges upper South Island residents to look out for at-risk dolphins
Niva Chittock (RNZ): ‘No room for complacency’ despite positive signs for 25 native bird species – DOC
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Cleared out’: Fears for future of Fiordland fish stocks
Doug Paulin (Stuff): In a world of black and white, it’s about balance
Sam Olley (RNZ): Kaimaumau fire: Hapū fears widespread damage to sacred sites
RNZ: DOC appeal for information after dead leopard seal decapitated on Monkey Island
1 News: Dead leopard seal decapitated in ‘horror’ act
John Boynton (Newshub): 10-year project to restore Ōkahu Bay with kūtai reaches end, already helping water quality
Local government, Three Waters
Anne Salmond (Newsroom): Three Waters and Te Tiriti
Logan Savory (Stuff): Invercargill city councilllors take aim at Audit New Zealand over annual report process
Marjorie Cook (ODT): QLDC system ‘failed’: coastguard
Marjorie Cook (ODT): Concerns over new contract
Chris Tobin (Stuff): Timaru’s discoloured water issue still being sorted
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Tūwharetoa building new home for council to cement ‘enduring relationship’
Housing
Imran Ali (Herald): Northland’s rent hike one of the highest among regions – Report (paywalled)
Ollie Neas (Spinoff): All I want for Christmas is a landlord register
Murphy (RNZ): Discrimination in housing market leading to takatāpui and LGBTQI homelessness – study
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Credit crunch: Mortgage brokers hit back at lending rule changes
Kylie Klein-Nixon (Stuff): Inside a 1906 state-built home once considered ‘too flash’ for workers
Stuff: ‘I’m just blown away’: Watch longtime Kāinga Ora tenant’s reaction to home upgrade
Stuff: Growth sites identified as regional plan takes shape
Transport
Georgina Campbell (Herald): A Capital Letter: Let’s be clear, we need a new opening date for Transmission Gully (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: No more excuses on Transmission Gully
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Let’s Get Wellington Moving has spades in the ground at all of two intersections
RNZ: Water safety concerns in Wānaka as Harbourmaster resigns
RNZ: Air New Zealand aiming to fly zero emissions aircraft in five years’ time
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Fuso New Zealand investigating tow bars to see if vehicle recall needed
Media
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Commerce Commission outlines issues for media bid to negotiate collectively with Facebook, Google
RNZ: Ex-cabinet minister Simon Power to replace Kevin Kenrick at TVNZ
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Simon Power can guide TVNZ through political minefield: media expert
Herald: TVNZ appoints Simon Power as CEO
1 news: Simon Power named TVNZ’s new chief executive officer
Daniel Dunkley (BusinessDesk): TVNZ turns to Power for new chief executive (paywalled)
Tom Frewen (Listener/Herald): Politicians remain the masters of control over TV (paywalled)
Foreign affairs
RNZ: Hong Kong elections: NZ joins allies in urging China to respect ‘protected rights’
Audrey Young (Herald): NZ signs Five Eyes statement urging China to respect Hong Kong freedoms (paywalled)
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand joins Five Eyes partners in expressing ‘grave concern’ after Hong Kong election, sends message to China
Other
Newsroom: Academics: Don’t stifle healthy debate
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Lake Alice psychiatric hospital: John Richard Corkran named as 89-year-old man charged
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): Tāmaki Makaurau marae team up for Kirihimete drive-throughs
Herald: New mum, baby die four days apart: Husband gains residency
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Retired senior judge warns squadron he’ll sue if it takes America’s Cup offshore (paywalled)
RNZ: New share ownership model needed to combat fragmentation in Māori farm incorporation
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Robertson, Quigley have no concerns about RBNZ exodus (paywalled) |