With 10 days to go until papers are sent out and voting opens, Policy.nz is filling up fast, with more than 1,200 candidates, over 40% of everyone nominated, having completed their profiles. The response rate among mayoral and councillor races in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch is much higher, at 61%. The council with the best response rate nationally is Napier City with 90%, followed by Wellington City with 71%. For more on the complete guide to local elections, see here.

The Ministry of Health is reporting 2,035 new community cases of Covid-19 today. There are currently 273 people in hospital with Covid-19, a slight increase on yesterday’s 257.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 1,719. Last Tuesday, it was 2,251. The seven-day rolling average of hospitalisations today is 267. Last Tuesday, it was 339.

There are now a total of 1,933 deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor. Of the 12 deaths reported today, one was a person in their 20s. Of the others, one person was in their 60s, three were in their 70s, five were in their 80s and two people were aged over 90. Seven were from Auckland, with one from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki, while two people were from Canterbury.

The seven-day rolling average increase in total deaths attributable to Covid-19 is now seven.

Reweti Kohere reflects on his work writing part one of our new series, The Quarter Million:

As reporters, we’d love for all our pieces to be read: from the silly ones we take seriously to the serious ones we poke fun at, and all those that remain silly or serious.

Some stories, however, demand to be read because they reflect how far society can fall. Part one of The Spinoff’s Quarter Million series explores the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and its efforts to understand what happened, for nearly 50 years, to a quarter of a million children and young people while in the care of the state and faith-based institutions. Child abuse persisted as a stain on Aotearoa New Zealand for half a century – and it hasn’t been washed out either – so why did any sense of justice take so long to initiate? The first instalment seeks an answer.

It’s been a long and heavy eight months of reading reports and books, watching victims and survivors share in public hearings their experiences of abuse, speaking with advocates about what is at stake, and then trying to synthesise everything with dispassion and compassion. The process has been difficult and rewarding, and the final piece necessarily reflects that. Please look after yourself when reading it, and do reach out to loved ones or support services if you need them.

To all the survivors, victims and advocates, those for whom speaking up felt like the right thing to do and those who aren’t yet ready to share their stories but continue to heal in their own time – ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. I hope we do right by you and current and future generations.

Read the full feature here

Today we’re launching a new regular segment on live updates: The Spinoff’s Image of Day.

Our very first image comes from Anna Rawhiti-Connell, our newsletter editor, featuring New World Birkenhead shelves with exactly two packets of Purex left. Purex is made by international tissue giants Essity, who’ve locked 145 workers out of the paper mill in Kawerau since August 9th, after workers asked for pay rises in line with inflation.

Pay the workers Essity – we’ve all got butts to look after.

Shares in chemicals firm DGL – the company run by the boss behind the “Eurasian fluff” saga – have crashed by almost 50% in less than a week. But chief executive Simon Henry says it was an overreaction from the market and has urged shareholders to hold the course.

According to the Australian Financial Review, the company’s share price has nearly halved from almost $3.00 down to about $1.50.

“DGL has grown rapidly over the past year or two – our profits have grown by 130% per year,” Henry told The AFR. “So, I wanted investors to understand that we will continue to grow strongly, but not at that rate.”

The NBR has reported that Henry has bought another $500,000 AUD of the company in response to the price drop.

However, while the share price has caved, the company’s revenue has jumped. Revenue was up 88% to $369.8m AUD – 4% higher than its most recent guidance.

I’ve spent the past day in Rotorua working on some coverage for our local elections campaign – and it couldn’t have come at a more relevant time in the news cycle.

On Sunday, TVNZ’s aptly named Sunday programme broadcast a shocking investigation into the homelessness and emergency accommodation crisis facing Rotorua. Dubbed The Golden Mile, the investigation looked into the motels of Fenton Street which have largely been taken over by displaced citizens.

It prompted sharp outcry and calls for an inquiry from across the political spectrum. It’s also all anyone in Rotorua wants to talk about – I can literally hear the barista in the cafe I’m sitting in asking a customer whether they tuned in on Sunday night.

Since then, the government has acknowledged the issue but claimed they can handle it. Jacinda Ardern told TVNZ Breakfast that she still had confidence in the housing minister, Megan Woods, to address Rotorua’s problems.

“One of the things we made a clear decision on as a government, do we want motels to be a long-term residence for any New Zealander? Absolutely not. But I would much rather people have temp housing that is not a garage, that is not a car,” she said.

Last night, four of Rotorua’s mayoral candidates gathered in a local pub for a debate ostensibly meant to canvas a range of issues. Unsurprisingly, it was dominated by the issues of housing and accommodation. Stay tuned for more coverage on this in the coming days.

I’m currently sitting in a cozy Rotorua cafe enjoying an espresso and an almond croissant, because you can take the Aucklander out of Auckland etc.

I’m in the city for some local elections coverage that we’ll be running later this week (it took less than two hours of being in town before I was harassed for being a journalist), but I thought I’d use the live updates as my personal blog for a moment.

While cafes are bustling on a Tuesday morning, I forgot that Monday nights outside of Auckland largely involve places being closed. I intended to eat last night the Herbs and Spice Thai Restaurant – an establishment you should know well if you followed any Covid content in 2020 because it basically became a national landmark. In case you don’t remember, the restaurant was named by Ashley Bloomfield during one of those Covid pressers back in the day where they used to read out all the locations of interest.

Anyway, long story short it was closed. And because it was very, very wet I basically had to choose between the closest establishments to where I was: Valentines, Cobb & Co or McDonald’s. I’ll let my choice remain a mystery.

I’m about to head off to Kawerau, the town making headlines over the elongated shut out at the paper mill. Stay tuned.

Three months after an independent review of Pharmac was released, the agency has responded. Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt spoke with Stuff’s Rachel Thomas. The review found Pharmac needed to substantially lift its performance and outlined 33 recommendations for change. The government accepted 31 of the 33 recommendations made in the review. Fitt said Pharmac will supercharge its commitment to Māori and diverse communities but that change needs to be funded by the government.

The agency is currently working on costings to implement the recommendations ahead of a bid for Budget 2023.

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Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Liz Truss who, overnight, became the next UK prime minister.

Truss swoops in to replace embattled PM Boris Johnson who announced his resignation a few months back.

In a statement, Ardern said New Zealand had an “exceptionally strong” relationship with the UK – and Truss had been a close friend to us through her roles as secretary of state for trade and foreign minister. “We are looking forward to working closely with prime minister Truss and her cabinet to progress a range of shared interests,” said Ardern, citing ratification of the NZUK FTA, implementing the extension to the youth mobility scheme, climate change, the Pacific and supporting Ukraine.

“I am looking forward to meeting prime minister Truss and building on the strong relationship between New Zealand and the UK. I know a range of my cabinet colleagues are hoping to meet with their new British counterparts soon as well.”

On outgoing PM Boris Johnson, Ardern said our two countries had enjoyed excellent relations under his leadership.

But while Truss may be enjoying the whirlwind of ascending to the job top, she faces tough times getting the public onboard. A new poll this week by YouGov suggested only 12% of Britons think Truss will be a great or good prime minister. More than half expect her to be poor (17%) or terrible (35%).

The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire has a full rundown of the Truss ascension, which you can read here.

Meanwhile, enjoy this video of comedian Joe Lycett being a serious political pundit on a serious BBC news show.

A suite of policies targeted at curbing youth offending – including ram raids – have been given a boost by the government.

Dubbed the “Better Pathways” package, the programme involves an increased investment in policies already in existence that the government says have a proven track record.

Policies getting a cash injection include the Youth Guarantee Programme, which has been extended to support up to 1,100 more participants, He Poutama Rangatahi, which has been extended to support around 1,400 more rangatahi, and the Ākonga Fund, which has been extended to the end of 2023 to support up to 2,750 additional young people and their whānau.

“While youth crime is down on a decade ago, we’re seeing a spike of young people, even children, putting themselves and others in harm’s way through high-risk activities such as ram-raiding and smashing shops and we want that to stop,” said police minister Chris Hipkins.

In addition, all children aged under 14 in West Auckland who are caught doing a ram raid will be referred to the cross agency Social Wellbeing Board to intervene with wraparound support. The social development minister Carmel Sepuloni said this policy had resulted in a three quarter reduction in reoffending in the Counties Manukau area over the past four months.

“The success of this initiative in South Auckland is why we are extending it into West Auckland,” she said.