Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.

Today’s content

New Government
Colin James (Democracy Project): ‘Beyond Jacinda’
Max Rashbrooke (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern must use her mandate to tackle child poverty in New Zealand
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Jacinda Ardern reaches out to business (paywalled)
Richard Harman: Ardern turns to business
Jo Moir (RNZ): Jacinda Ardern reveals top economic priorities government will focus on for rest of 2020
Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on US election and her priorities in first major speech since re-election
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): Jacinda Ardern to meet with union delegates, Business New Zealand
Peter Dunne (Newsrooom): Winners, losers and a powerful PM
Sarah Austen-Smith (Spinoff): Insider tips for lobbying each member of Ardern’s new NZ cabinet
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern promises draft law to double sick leave will be introduced before Christmas
Michael Andrew (Spinoff): What are the government’s plans for business and the economy?
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour’s opportunity and challenge to implement its agenda (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Small business loans, flexi-wage top of Govt to-do list
Dita De Boni (NBR): PM fast-tracks RMA reform to assuage business concerns (paywalled)
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Ardern broadens, extends small business loans scheme (paywalled)
Shane Te Pou (Herald): Nanaia Mahuta’s appointment a rock-solid call (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern plans to visit United States, Britain, Europe and China when COVID-19 border settings change

US election and NZ
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): Who are Donald Trump’s supporters in New Zealand and what do we know about them?
Thomas Manch (Stuff): US Election: Biden presidency could push New Zealand into tricky positions on China
Thomas Manch (Stuff): US Election: New Zealand stands to gain if it is a Biden presidency, experts say
RNZ: US election: NZ could expect more ‘conventional presidency’ from Biden – expert
Matthew Hooton (Herald): How New Zealand can help Joe Biden (paywalled)
John Key (Herald): Now I finally understand why voters like Donald Trump (paywalled)
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Donald Trump was ‘first to call’ Ardern after Christchurch terror attack, claims US Ambassador Scott Brown
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says ‘every vote’ must be counted in democratic elections
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern reacts to United States presidential election, calls for ‘every vote to be counted’
Zoe Holland (Herald): US Election: Ponsonby bar criticised for throwing ‘MAGA party’
Jo Moir (RNZ): Collins on Trump: ‘Always best to accept…and do so with grace’
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): A Biden victory will be bad news for Kim Dotcom

Economy and work
Tina Morrison (Stuff): When will we be back to normal? BNZ says it might be sooner than you think
John Anthony (Stuff): Prime minister pledges $311m to help workers made unemployed due to Covid-19 get into jobs
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Focus on innovation and the knowledge economy needed in post-Covid world
Mary Jo Vergara (Spinoff): Why are so many women leaving the workforce?
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Export market could slow Māori unemployment
David Farrar: Latest unemployment data
Brian Easton: Sailing in a New Direction
Brian Gaynor (BusinessDesk): KiwiSaver – far better than Lotto (paywalled)

Covid
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Why the Covid-19 Response Minister matters
Derek Cheng (Herald): Chris Hipkins ‘confident but paranoid’ about border control measures
1News: ICU nurse in managed isolation worried about catching Covid-19 because of how facility was run
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern predicts ‘difficult’ years ahead as COVID-19 cases reach levels ‘not seen since the first wave’
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): No change to borders before Christmas: Ardern (paywalled)
Chris Lynch (Herald): ‘Huge tension and resentment’: Workers speak out over running of managed isolation facility
RNZ: Poo probe: Sewage testing for Covid-19 rolled out across NZ

National Party
NZ Herald: Judith Collins says voters prevented National from having more diverse caucus
NZ Herald: Judith Collins on how to get a more diverse National Party
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): National Party regional chair attacked ‘pathetic’ Todd Muller leadership bid
Nadine McDonnell (Daily Blog): National party problems
Liz McDonald (Stuff): Former MP Hamish Walker launches real estate career in Queenstown

Election results
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Special votes could make National Party loss worse
Chris Keall (Herald): Revealed: Political ad spending by party – and per vote won (paywalled)
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Good and bad news from referendums for Māori as final results loom
1News: Could cannabis scrape through? Final election, referendum results to be revealed today

Environment and farming
Robin Martin (RNZ): Seabed mining opponents outraged by Attorney-General intervention
Mike Joy (Spinoff): NZ embraced the science on Covid-19. So why are we spurning it on water?
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Sending dairy calves to beef farms could slash our carbon footprint
Chloe Ranford (RNZ): Government releases new guide to open ocean farming
RNZ: Farmers increasingly using tailored environment plans – Fonterra

Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Govt ‘should focus on state houses, not first-home buyers’
Brian Fallow (Herald): When rates are this low, why go lower? (paywalled)
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Blenheim hotel fears Kāinga Ora homes will increase ‘unauthorised’ parkers
Skara Bohny (Stuff): ‘Cynical’ reaction to sale of council houses

Abuse in Care Inquiry
David Cohen (RNZ): ‘Strikingly low’ pay-outs for victims of state abuse
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Abuse in care inquiry: Court alternatives to settling claims mooted
David Williams (Newsroom): The case for shutting out Crown Law

Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Head of merged council agency to earn $506,000
Logan Savory (Stuff): Report addressing ‘significant conflict’ put to Invercargill city councillors
Christina Persico (Stuff): Council recommends accepting gifting of land next to pā site
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): How prudent planning has backfired on Auckland Council (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Mayor hints at a trick-up-the-sleeve ahead of big Shelly Bay vote
Todd Niall (Stuff): Thousands of Auckland homes face 35 per cent rates rise in council cash-raising plan

Health
Stuff: Wellington health board panel member accused of conflict of interest
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Veteran nurse who complained of racism: ‘It exists, it’s rampant’
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Waikato study busts myth Māori don’t take diabetes medicine – they’re just not given it in the first place

Other
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): US Ambassador: One regret in four sometimes terse years
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Audit reveals new tech tools in police’s digital armoury
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): Never mind Dotcom, let’s fix copyright law (paywalled)
Emile Donovan (Newsroom): Arts and tech sectors clamour for attention