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

Final election results
Jason Walls (Herald): The five fascinating election special vote facts you might have missed
Alex Braae (Spinoff): 10 buzzy bits of trivia about the final election results
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Final NZ election results – winners & losers
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Redder wave for Labour, red faces for National
Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ‘humbled’ by final election result
Stuff: Editorial – Election 2020: A lesson in trusting democracy
Graeme Edgeler (Public Address): Election ’20: The No Threshold Hypothetical
Australian Associated Press: New Zealand election: Labour and Māori parties gain MP each in final results
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Labour and Māori Party claim seats, National loses two MPs in final vote tally
Jo Moir (RNZ): Special votes: National loses two MPs, one each to Labour, Māori Party
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): The special votes are in and it’s bad news for the cannabis referendum, and National
Crystal Wu (Newshub): Confirmed list of MPs that make up the 120 seats in Parliament
Emma Russell (Herald): Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick officially wins Auckland Central seat
Zane Small (Newshub): Labour’s red wave pushes out two National MPs as Māori Party celebrates new seat
Tom O’Connor (Stuff): Voters made the right choice, whatever their choice
1News: New Greens MPs: Diversity in Parliament is nice but it must stop being a ‘beacon of colonisation’
Blair Jackson (Stuff): ACT leader David Seymour regrets not having Invercargill or Southland candidates for election

New Government
David Farrar: Which Labour MPs are out of favour
Audrey Young (Herald): There’s something different about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (paywalled)
Julie Iles (NBR): Fact or Fiction: Is a bold cabinet enough to usher in change? (paywalled)
Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Labour needs to throw conservative spending plans out the window
Christopher Tremewan (Spinoff): How progressive will Ardern’s second term really be?
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern promises to govern for all Kiwis as new Government sworn in
NZ Herald: PM Jacinda Ardern holds first Labour-only Cabinet meeting ‘humbled’ by 50 per cent election result
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern’s ‘Aotearoa Cabinet’ readies for daunting recovery job
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Nanaia Mahuta’s giant leap on to the world stage (paywalled)
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Mahuta makes international headlines
Benedict Collins (1News): Prime Minister told ‘children should be able to flourish’ as demands made to raise benefit levels now
Vita Molyneux (Newshub):  More than 40 charities plead with Govt for benefit increases before Christmas hits poverty-stricken Kiwis
Dan Satherley (Newshub): ‘New Zealand has come of age’: Māori MPs don’t want their presence in Cabinet to be news
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why Jacinda is like Michael Joseph Savage: Trigger warning – you won’t like it
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Blueprint for new Foreign Affairs Minister
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Kelvin Davis refuses to say he has confidence in Oranga Tamariki boss Grainne Moss
Jason Walls (Herald): Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis refuses to say if he has confidence in Oranga Tamariki boss
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Ardern’s plan is not the urgent strategy we need

Māori Party
Caroline Fleming (Herald) Waiariki’s new MP: The Māori Party’s Rawiri Waititi on his journey to Parliament (paywalled)
Caitlin Ellis (Newshub): Debbie Ngarewa-Packer on how the Māori Party plans to avoid a repeat of 2017
RNZ: ‘Thrilled’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer enters Parliament on special votes
1News: Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi promises to ‘hold Government to account’

Biden presidency and NZ
Richard Harman: After Trump what?
Luke Malpass (Stuff): US divided by election but a Biden win would matter for New Zealand
David Cohen (RNZ): What are New Zealand’s trade prospects under the new US presidency?
Dick Brass (Herald): Message to NZ from America – sorry, give us another chance (paywalled)
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Judith Collins hammered by NZ MAGA supporters after sending congratulations to Joe Biden
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern praises Joe Biden’s message of unity; acknowledges Trump
Derek Cheng (Herald): Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta on Joe Biden’s win
1News: Joe Biden will be ‘great for the US-New Zealand relationship’ – former Ambassador
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta congratulates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): Here’s what Biden win might mean for your KiwiSaver

Cannabis referendum and further reform
Kate Newton and Felippe Rodrigues (Stuff): How the votes on cannabis and euthanasia differed across the country
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Cannabis referendum: Where support for legalisation was highest
Bob McCoskrie (Kiwiblog): Why the Yes campaign went up in smoke (against all the odds)
1News: Cannabis referendum was ‘for New Zealanders to decide, and they have,’ Jacinda Ardern says
Benedikt Fischer (Spinoff): Decriminalisation isn’t the answer: Where to now for cannabis law reform?
RNZ: NZ government needs to be courageous on drug laws – criminologist
RNZ: Narrow cannabis result proves need for reform – Helen Clark
RNZ: Cannabis referendum: Helen Clark urges Government to rethink its stubborn cannabis stance
Chris Fowlie (Daily Blog): Cannabis referendum final result and opportunities for reform

National Party
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Appointing Simon Bridges as deputy leader might just save National
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Michael Woodhouse weighing up whether to run for National deputy leader
Jason Walls (Herald): National’s deputy leadership: Shane Reti tipped to be new second in command
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Todd Muller faces MPs, members, in first major party meeting since disastrous defeat
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Judith Collins will ‘definitely not’ stand down as leader despite National’s crushing defeat
1News: Two potential front-runners emerge for vacant National deputy leader role
Zane Small (Newshub): Judith Collins pays tribute to defeated National MPs as Jacinda Ardern celebrates Labour’s gains
NZ Herald: Gerry Brownlee steps down as National Party deputy leader
RNZ: Brownlee taking rap for campaign failures – commentator
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Nick Smith stays in Parliament as a National list MP

Economy and work
Liam Dann (Herald): What went wrong? Why is the economy doing so well? (paywalled)
1News: Up to half a million Kiwi expats could return home in next few years to escape Covid-19 – survey
Liam Dann (Stuff): Historic wave of returning Kiwis has just begun – new expat survey (paywalled)
Kristin Hall (1News): Kiwi fruit pickers have simple message as growers cry out for labour – ‘pay us more’
David Fisher (Herald): Fields of courgettes go to waste because grower can’t get workers
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Slow demand for cheap campervans for $25/hr fruit-pickers
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Cut the chat and act: manufacturing and the post-covid economy (paywalled)
Catherine Harris (Stuff): Metlifecare wage subsidy handback ‘right thing to do’
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Government urged to ease restrictions on temporary visas to address labour shortage

Covid
RNZ: Should NZ copy Taiwan?
RNZ: Covid quarantine system: ‘We need an additional step’
1News: Confusion as man sitting on same plane as positive Covid-19 case receives conflicting information from health services
Jehan Casinader (BusinessDesk): Covid complacency is our worst enemy (paywalled)
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Covid-infected nurse ‘did everything right’, report finds
RNZ: ‘Troubling’ that quarantine workers are catching Covid-19 – union
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): MIQ squeeze leads to calls for change
Marc Wilson (Listener): Fashion statement: The polarising nature of the face mask (paywalled)

Housing
Tony Alexander (Stuff): Here’s why neither first-home buyers nor investors to blame for prices
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Council passes up affordable housing action, again
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Housing boom: Renters will feel the pain too, BNZ boss warns (paywalled)
Jane Clifton (Listener): NZ’s lingering property price problem (paywalled)
Andy Fyers (BusinessDesk): Is the housing market too hot? (paywalled)
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Wellington housing crisis stops mental health unit discharges
Stephen Forbes (RNZ): Auckland housing ‘dangerously’ unaffordable – councillor
Marta Steeman (Stuff): Landlords reluctant to use the Government’s $40 million subsidised Covid rent disputes scheme

Local government
Susan Botting (RNZ): Mahuta vows to clear obstacles to creating Māori council wards
Damian George (Stuff): ‘When you try to put down roots, there’s rot’ – warning to Wellington about retaining young talent
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington Water discovers leak of 20,000 litres a day as consumption spikes
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Nick Hill, the $506,000 man resurrecting Auckland in the post-Covid world (paywalled)
Charlotte Jones (RNZ):  Whakatāne Māori ward advocates cheer government stance
Felix Desmarais (RNZ): Why Rotorua’s council failed to meet nearly half its service targets
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington council leaves itself loophole before Shelly Bay land sale vote

Health
Ian Powell: New Zealand’s medical specialist workforce crisis
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Revealed: Which DHBs have toughened cataract surgery thresholds – check your area (paywalled)
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Study of 200 countries highlight Kiwi kids among the unhealthiest in the world
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Family harm programme budget at risk as part of health board cost cuts
1News: Over 3000 primary healthcare workers striking today over pay

Education
Simon Collins and Cherie Howie (Stuff): Enrolments soar at training institutions as Covid bites (paywalled)
Katy Jones (Stuff): Poverty as much to blame as devices for childrens’ language delay
George Heagney (Stuff): Staff disgruntled over Massey University proposals
Matt Nippert (Herald): The billion-dollar private school: Dilworth’s archaic road to riches (paywalled)
Simon Collins (Herald): Te Kawerau ā Maki iwi buys Campbells Bay, Henderson Primary, Matipo and Waterview Schools

Pay equity
RNZ: Government accused of ‘bull in a china shop’ approach to pay equity
Māori TV: Equal pay changes significant for women, says Minister for Women

Other
Brian Easton (Pundit): Winston’s Legacy
Catherine Miller & Holly Hedley (Herald): What does the End of Life Choice Act mean for New Zealand? (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Selling hope, security and widgets
John Battersby (Stuff): Do New Zealanders only care about terrorism if it happens to us?
Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): Inside the doomed campaigns of Gareth Morgan, Colin Craig and Mike Lee
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): A deep dive into Ngāi Tahu’s court case on South Island water guardianship (paywalled)
Laura Wiltshire and Piers Fuller (Stuff): Protesters turn out in Napier over live cattle export ship
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): New Plymouth food bank manager fears families will go hungry
Stuff: Clarke Gayford will DJ at Splore – could Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern be on the decks too?