Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.  Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily.

Today’s content

Parliament
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Judith Collins’ reaction to Covid-19 criticism risks familiar public backlash
Jo Moir (RNZ): Opposition plays role in national crisis
Claire Trevett (Herald): Judith Collins is not the only villain in ‘pantomime’ of the lockdown Parliament (paywalled)
1 News: Judith Collins defends move to Wellington during level 4: ‘I’ll ask the questions’
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Politicking in a pandemic: Judith Collins scraps with media and Government in whirlwind day
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins accuses media of being ‘wing of the Labour Party’ after fiery interview, cites talking to husband when asked about Pasifika engagement
Claire Trevett (Herald): Judith Collins accuses TVNZ Breakfast host Indira Stewart of having ‘a political agenda’
Stuff: Judith Collins in heated clash during TVNZ interview over travel to Wellington during lockdown
Herald: Judith Collins blasts ‘ridiculous’ TVNZ Breakfast interview with Indira Stewart
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Collins blames Parliament standoff on Ardern: ‘It’s her call’
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Method to Judith’s media madness
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National has forgotten the economy, it needs to remember (paywalled)
Zane Small (Newshub): Deputy PM Grant Robertson, National leader Judith Collins trade barbs in fiery speeches
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Talofa Judith – Collins hasn’t been in touch, says Pasifika church community
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Stuff leaves out a rather salient fact
Zane Small (Newshub): ACT leader David Seymour swipes at Green MP Jan Logie’s opposition to physical gathering at Parliament

Government management of outbreak, expert advice, alert level changes
Ian Powell and Michael Baker (Stuff): Here’s why Jacinda Ardern’s British critics are wrong
Adam Pearse (Herald): NZ Herald-Kantar poll shows what New Zealanders think about elimination strategy (paywalled)
Jamie Morton (Herald): What will the next big variant look like? (paywalled)
Shane Te Pou: Why I’m grateful for Govt’s Covid response (paywalled)
Daniel Dunkley (Stuff): What New Zealand can learn from Singapore’s Covid success
Jo Moir (RNZ): Peeni Henare: The buck stops with Māori
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Ashley Bloomfield says Jacinda Ardern’s late-night COVID theories are ‘usually good’
Newstalk ZB: Chris Hipkins, feeling nervous and calling for MOH to be more transparent
Jo Lines-MacKenzie (Stuff): Spring Hill Covid-19 case shows why screws should be tightened on Auckland, says expert
Roger Partridge (Herald): Why Government can’t drive Covid strategy by looking backwards (paywalled)
Chris McDowall (Herald): Analysing the strange power of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s paper charts (paywalled)
Anna Leask (Herald): Freedom – slightly – for those in Alert Level 3 but Ashley Bloomfield warns NZ is ‘not out of the woods yet’
Keith Lynch (Stuff): Ashley Bloomfield’s key number, explained
RNZ: Covid-19 alert Day 15 – How it unfolded

MIQ, border, immigration
Gordon Campbell: On how New Zealand can get itself a safe, purpose-built Covid isolation facility
Ben Strang (RNZ): Govt dropped ball over lack of air filtration systems in MIQ facilities – public health expert
Corazon Miller (1 News): Delays in transfer to MIQ see dozens of positive cases isolate at home
Richard Harman (Politik): What next for the border (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): There are in fact two teams: New Zealanders living here and those living abroad
Amy Williams (RNZ): Hope of fairer MIQ system, but booking pause puts people in limbo
Russell Palmer (RNZ): MIQ voucher bookings to change, but pause on new spaces remains
1 News: ‘Virtual queue’ for MIQ room bookings coming, Hipkins says
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government extends freeze on managed isolation bookings to grapple with rising Covid cases 
1 News: Govt agency scraps system ‘gaming’ MIQ booking
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Virtual lobbies on horizon for MIQ booking system
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Woman dies while daughter in Canada is waiting for managed isolation spot

Vaccine rollout
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘In country’s best interest’ to prioritise jabs for Auckland, but when and how unclear
Stuff: Vaccines could be prioritised in Auckland if extra supply doesn’t arrive
Stuff Editorial: All right, Auckland. This time you’re a bit special.
Newstalk ZB: Immunologist: Covid-19 vaccine rollout needs to be targeted
Adam Pearse (Herald): Ministry of Health keeps quiet on DHB staff vaccination
Cate Broughton and Nadine Porter (Stuff): Huge queues for Covid-19 jab as demand, staff sickness puts pressure on clinic
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): ‘We need to up our game for Māori’ – PM admission on vaccination rates
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): The struggle to get at-home vaccination
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Doctor who sent anti-vax text to patients says his contract has been terminated
Craig Kapitan (Herald): Vaccine appointments cancelled across NZ leaving residents ‘high and dry’
Marena Mane (Māori TV): Exasperated Reti tells government to authorise pharmacists immediately to give the jab
1 News: MPs outpacing Kiwis for Covid jabs
Herald: Labour MP Stuart Nash bets case of wine on 90 per cent of kiwis being vaccinated by Christmas
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Big test for our vaccine rollout coming today
John Anthony (Stuff): Air NZ proposes making Covid-19 vaccination compulsory for 4000 staff
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand plans to beef up vaccination requirements (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): Tech company UCG gifts fully vaccinated staff an extra day of annual leave
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Graph reveals NZ’s rapidly increasing COVID-19 daily vaccine rate overtaking US, UK, Australia
1 News: Over 2000 jabbed at Dunedin mass vaccination event
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Marae drive-thru vaccines: ‘I want to do it in my own community’
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Marae opens doors for drive-through vaccinations
Stuff: ‘Protect yourselves and your loved ones’: All Blacks encourage New Zealanders to get Covid-19 vaccine
Helen Petousis-Harris (Newsroom): Some perspective on vaccine side effects
Stuff: We need a vaccination target to avoid lockdowns, and we need it now

Health system
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland hospitals calling for more ICU nurses
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland’s three main hospitals build more specialist rooms for Covid-19 patients
RNZ: Hospitals build more room for patients – Bloomfield
Sam Olley (RNZ): Ambulance crews wearing full PPE, urge public to be honest and patient
Georgia-May Gilbertson (Stuff): Misinformation flyer alarms Napier residents
Peter Crampton (Stuff): The cost of failure to deliver on health promises to Māori 
RNZ: Proposed ACC levy changes see hikes for some, cuts for others
Zoe Mills (Spinoff): How social media is exposing the cracks in our mental health system
Marty Sharpe (Stuff):‘History of meth’ among topics to be taught in Mob-led drug rehab programme 
Kayla Hodge (ODT): ‘They just mistreated her so badly’

Cases, demographics
David Fisher (Herald): Behind bars in Spring Hill prison with the virus (paywalled)
Sanjana Hattotuwa (Stuff): Helping our elders combat misinformation

Contact tracing, testing
Jamie Morton (Herald): ESR study confirms the power of wastewater testing
Irra Lee (1 News): Officials resume Bluetooth tracing after two-week pause
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): So much for digital contact tracing efforts (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Ministry of Health ‘now confident’ saliva testing could identify cases early
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): ACT urges saliva testing for essential workers as PM and Ministry of Health signal shift in attitude
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Report): Nurses’ union slams delay in informing it of Middlemore Hospital case
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Auckland woman frustrated COVID-19 test ‘unable to be processed’ after ‘anxious’ five day wait, has to test again
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Covid-19: 3 million swabs processed by ‘unsung heroes’ of testing labs
RNZ: The Detail: The tricky work of the contact tracer

Lockdown compliance, enforcement, rules
RNZ: Security heightened at Auckland Airport after student lockdown breaches
Vicki Anderson and Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Covid-19 minister ‘disappointed’ after second student flies from Auckland in lockdown breach
Vicki Anderson and Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Student who breached Covid lockdown restrictions ‘never told’ of rules or checked before flying
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Hipkins waiting for answers on how students managed to board flights
1 News: Two people who flew out of Auckland without exemptions slapped with police notices
RNZ: Uni student who flew from Auckland to Wellington didn’t understand guidelines
Sophie Trigger (Herald): Police report increase in Wellington traffic; motorists to be stopped, questioned at alert level 3
Newstalk ZB: Police Commissioner: Five checkpoints set up along Auckland border
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Queues disappear, masked drivers file through Auckland-Waikato southern border
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Police consider deploying extra officers to Auckland amid lockdown
Herald: No risk to the public after nurse attends sports stars’ lockdown gathering
Nick Truebridge (RNZ): Dog returns, family births in reasons denied at Auckland border
1 News: Cannabis found in car of fleeing Aucklanders who ‘didn’t know about lockdown’
NZ Herald: Bizarre excuse used by two men with bong in their car at police Auckland checkpoint
Denise Piper (Stuff): Police say checkpoints with iwi can’t run due to Delta dangers
1 News: Ministry of Health relaxes ban on viewings at funeral homes
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Daughter forced to say goodbye to mum at Auckland cemetery gate due to COVID-19 alert level 4 lockdown
Herald: Heartbreaking video shows reality of lockdown funerals
Sharnae Hope (Stuff): Uber drivers wait up to two hours for takeaway orders in Hamilton

Employment
RNZ: Union says extra pay for food retail workers shouldn’t stop during level 3
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): Explained: hospitality and retail workers’ rights during level three
Emma Vitz (Spinoff): How the pay gap affects the time it takes to pay back a student loan

Wage subsidy, business, economy
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Dawn Chorus: $9b in Govt kitty for Covid
John McDermott (NBR): Debt blowout means govt needs viable long-term plan (paywalled)
John Anthony (Stuff): Government looking at whether further Covid-19 support for business is needed
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): The wage subsidy scheme change that could catch some businesses out (paywalled)
1 News: Kiwis advised to stock up due to supply shortages
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Building industry fears shortages if supplies remain stuck in Auckland
Anne Gibson (Herald):Building materials shortage forecast outside Auckland (paywalled)
RNZ: Concerns raised about online shopping and shipping during lockdown
John Anthony (Stuff): ‘Lockdown culture’ marks transformational shift in New Zealanders’ spending habits as online sales boom
RNZ: Lag in processing business travel applications likely to be small – EMA
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Country’s major banks not repeating 2020 waiving of contactless debit fees for business customers
Anuja Nadkarni (Newsroom): Airbnb’s ‘unfair’ Covid policy puts customers off
RNZ: Most tourism operators report mental health concerns
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): Lockdown 2.0 dashes tourism’s hope of seeing international visitors return in 2022
Grant Bradley (Herald): Tourism Industry Aotearoa survey finds sector in a grim place – before latest lockdown (paywalled)
Bonnie Flaws (Stuff): Some Hello Fresh deliveries cancelled due to worker shortages as staff self-isolate
Stuff: Countdown waives rent for retail tenants like cafes and takeaway outlets in its supermarkets and shopping centres in level 4
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Investors warned as desolate hotels claim wage subsidies
Herald: Aucklanders running out of options after food deliveries cancelled

Lockdown inequality, charities
Susan St John (Daily Blog): What a disgusting state of affairs
Sela Jane Hopgood (RNZ): Scarcity of food for Pasifika communities during lockdown
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): Auckland foodbank working day and night to meet demand
Georgia Forrester (Stuff): ‘Most generous year yet’: Kiwis still giving back to others in lockdown
Ella Stewart (RNZ): Digital divide increasing resthome loneliness during Covid-19 restrictions – Age Concern

Afghanistan
Nicky Hager (Spinoff): The Taliban won the war. Can we learn the lesson?
Ben Thomas (Stuff):Crown risks indelible stain on its honour over Afghan refugees
John Minto (Daily Blog): Who should lead reconstruction in Afghanistan?
RNZ: How the NZ Defence Force evacuated people in Kabul

Education
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Fears more students will drop out after taking jobs to support whānau
Katy Jones (Stuff): Parents backtrack on sending children to school as alert level 3 begins
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): School bubbles make most of unique lockdown experience
ODT Editorial: Limits on learning
Jessica Wilson (ODT): Assignments in lockdown to receive grade increase

Housing
Tony Alexander (OneRoof): Why house prices are rising in lockdown
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Fewer homes available to buy this lockdown compared to April 2020 – realestate.co.nz
Tom Hunt (Stuff): ‘Clean up your own blood’: Horror claims from inside Wellington emergency housing 

Primary industries
RNZ: Billions of litres of water from Far North aquifer to be used on avocado orchards
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Hawke’s Bay farmers watching gathering signs of a third ‘big dry’

Local government
Peter Dunne: Is Three Waters dead in water?
Joseph Mooney (Stuff): Pause the 3 Waters push – councils need to focus on lockdown recovery support
Todd Niall (Stuff): Entrust election: Climate-focused group’s bid to control Vector’s majority owner
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Grumpy, white, old men, or critics?
Gianina Schwanecke (Herald): Hawke’s Bay councillor calls for independent report into Napier’s flood protection  (paywalled)
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): ‘Up to voters’: Invercargill MP supports embattled mayor Tim Shadbolt
Andrew Marshall (ODT): Poll finds in favour of retaining ORC elected members
Adam Burns (Local Democracy Reporting): Dumping town slogan review a missed opportunity for Ashburton, councillor says
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Auditor-General and Ombudsman action urged over High St Motueka
Daniel Smith (Stuff): West Auckland’s The Trusts pay the living wage immediately to more than 300 workers
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Mutiny in the south: Wānaka’s plan to break free from Queenstown
Kerrie Waterworth (ODT): Varied responses to call for own council

Wellington
Zane Small (Newshub): How Wellington’s growing reputation for violence has made bar workers the new frontline against alcohol abuse ‘epidemic’
Kate Green (Stuff): Wellington city ranks first in the world for environmental security, UK’s Economist says
Georgina Campbell (Herald): What Wellington is doing to clean up its unsafe streets

Other
Herald: Man in court charged with fraud, breaching election rules gets name suppression
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Man accused of filing false electoral donations, obtaining by deception
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Gentailers forced to reveal pricing and profit detail (paywalled)
No Right Turn: Climate Change: The ETS is a farce
Susan Edmunds (Stuff):Taxing pensioners’ other income at higher rate ‘could be better way to make super affordable’
Amber Allott (Stuff): Call for Government to support international plastic treaty
Ben Kepes (Herald): The environmental cost of our Covid response (paywalled)
RNZ: Highway construction projects restart in level 3
Dave Lee (Herald): Why Big Tech should embrace the ‘right to repair’ revolution (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Islamic State orphan may be repatriated to New Zealand if found, advocate says 
Roberto Rabel (Stuff): Anzus at 70: Still a model for peace and prosperity in our region
Maja Burry (RNZ): Timeline shifts for UK-NZ free trade deal
Anne Gibson (Herald): US billionaire Peter Thiel proposes luxury lodge near Wanaka (paywalled)