Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here.

Today’s content

Auckland restrictions, Govt management of Delta outbreak
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Ardern sets herself up for tough call on Nov 29
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): It’s buyer beware as Auckland gets its freedoms (paywalled)
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): NZ faces a crunch call on Auckland’s Christmas border. What can we learn from Australia?
Herald: ‘Risky’, ‘not under control’ – experts react to Auckland alert level decision
1 News: Caution needed by Auckland retailers as restrictions ease – Hendy
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Government starts to wean NZ off lockdowns – but slowly
Verity Johnson (Stuff): A week of slow disillusionment
Anna Whyte (1 News): PM confirms first return to Auckland since lockdown began
Richard Harman (Politik): The Covid retreat; border problems (paywalled)
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): The 40,000 cars in the way of Auckland’s border opening for Christmas
Anna Whyte (1 News): Auckland border reopening date set to be announced next week
Herald: Jacinda Ardern expected to give a date on Auckland border reopening next week
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Has the Prime Minister had a worse week?
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Christmas freedoms for Auckland: What we know and don’t know so far
Duncan Garner (NBR): Lockdown for Christmas? (paywalled)
Stuff Editorial: Nuance and complexity lost in obsession with rigid targets
Tom McRae (Newshub): Aucklanders joyous at loosening restrictions despite warning case numbers will climb
Henry Cooke (Stuff): How the traffic light system will work, and what New Zealand needs to do to reach it
1 News: What you can and can’t do at Step 2, Level 3
RNZ: Auckland will move to level 3 step 2, Northland to move to level 2
Michael Neilson (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sets ‘freedom day’ for Auckland as vaccination rates edge to 90 per cent
Thomas Manch and Bridie Witton (Stuff): A ‘freedom day’ for Auckland nears, the spread of Covid-19 elsewhere looms
Anna Whyte (1 News): Auckland’s move to Step 2 Level 3 confirmed
Nathan Morton (Stuff): Auckland set to move into traffic light system on November 29
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Easing Auckland restrictions now would be two weeks too early, Māori leaders say
Sam Olley (RNZ): Covid-19 concerns abound in the Far North as government announces easing of restrictions
1 News: Upper Northland moving to Alert Level 2 late Thursday
RNZ: Vaccination rates a consideration as Cabinet meets, PM says
RNZ: Covid-19 wrap: Restrictions ease for Auckland and Northland, boosters approved, traffic light system on the horizon
James Pocock (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Rocket Lab: Auckland staff travel will pose no risk to Mahia locals

Parliament, Government, Parties
Grant Duncan (The Conversation): Labour makes it easier to change leaders, but Jacinda Ardern has no reason to go – yet
Chris Trotter (Interest): Sweet surrender?
Charlotte Muru-Lanning (Spinoff): Hightops in the house: How Rawiri Waititi’s Jordans became a political issue
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Economist Cameron Bagrie hits out at Nats ‘stuck in historical mindset’
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 1 year of NZ Greens lost in woke wonderland

Vaccine rollout
William Hewett (Newshub): Leading epidemiologist Rod Jackson says New Zealand should aim for 95 percent fully vaccinated, limit unvaccinated people taking health care away from vaccinated people
1 News: South Auckland councillor wants community vaxxed in time for Christmas
Herald Editorial: New milestone reached as Auckland pushes forward (paywalled)
Louise Ternouth (RNZ): Checkpoint: Concerns of a ‘hard slog’ for second doses in Counties-Manukau DHB
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Legal scrap over Māori vaccination data set to continue between Whānau Ora and Ministry of Health
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Whanganui iwi leader shocked by low vaccination uptake
RNZ: Checkpoint: Māori health providers drive tough roads to bring vaccine to Northland whānau
1 News: Volunteers step up to help Northland Māori vaccination rates
Māori TV: Te Whānau o Waipareira vaccination support crews head for Far North
ODT: Almost 400 jabs on ”farmgate tour” of Southland
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Man with waning AstraZeneca vaccine urges fast-tracking of booster shots
Devon Bolger (Herald): Queenstown and Selwyn reach 99 per cent first dose

Vaccine mandates, certificate, incentives
RNZ: Air NZ domestic passengers will have to be fully vaccinated or Covid-19 negative to fly
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air NZ imposes no jab-no fly or test rule for domestic flights
1 News: Air New Zealand releases new domestic travel rules
Auckland reporter (Stuff): Government workers fail in claim that vaccine mandate breaches human rights
Ben Strang (Stuff): Police vaccine mandate decision ‘imminent’, Government fears 1200 officers might have to be stood down
John Gerritsen (RNZ): All staff at small King Country school refusing vaccine by next week’s deadline
Wyatt Ryder (ODT): Teachers fear ‘dire situation’ due to vaccine mandate
Alice Wilkins (Newshub): 202 Corrections staff put on special paid leave for a month as vaccine mandates come into force
1 News: Aviation workers fail to overturn vaccine dismissal ruling
Neal Thompson (Stuff): Are vaccine passports fair?

MIQ, home isolation and quarantine, NZ border 
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Auckland man with Covid-19 spent six days isolating in his car
Lucy Telfar Barnard, Jennifer Summers, Lesley Gray, Michael Baker, Nick Wilson (Public Health Expert): Management of Auckland’s external border with the world and internal boundary with NZ needs major changes to reflect the city’s shift from Covid-19 elimination to suppression
Jamie Morton (Herald): MIQ for most arrivals now not needed – experts
Katie Todd (RNZ): Study finds Aucklanders more likely than MIQ stayers to spread Covid-19
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern rejects expert call to dismantle MIQ for Auckland
Zane Small (Newshub): Professor Michael Baker and expert colleagues highlight ‘inconsistent and arbitrary’ MIQ requirements
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern explains why managed isolation hasn’t been scrapped yet
Mike Houlahan and Karen Pasco (ODT): Positive tests for two crew
Anna Whyte (1 News): One-way MIQ free travel begins from some Pacific Islands
Ian Taylor (Herald): On why the ‘mental trauma’ caused by MIQ can’t be ignored

Anti-vaxxers, protests
Gordon Campbell: On the calls for “freedom” from Covid restrictions
Jason Walls (Newstalk ZB): Attacks on the media are escalating and look like they’ll only get worse  
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Carefree Calumnies: Vaccination Policies Under Nazism and Communism
1 News: Protesters mass at Auckland’s northern border
1 News: Destiny Church member charged over Auckland protests says he has Covid-19
George Block (Stuff): Destiny Church member charged with organising anti-lockdown event has Covid-19, Brian Tamaki negative
Herald: Brian Tamaki and wife say they aren’t Covid positive
Herald: Parliament, Auckland borders to face anti-lockdown protesters on Tuesday
Herald: Heavy police presence at Auckland borders as protesters arrive
Joel MacManus and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Customer service staff being abused on nearly daily basis as Covid frustrations rise
Belinda Feek (Herald): Dental practice threatened after advising extra charge for unvaxxed

Cases, demographics, testing
Rawiri Taonui (Māori TV): Māori highest number of Delta cases and deaths
1 News: Person with Covid-19 dies in MIQ
1 News: Auckland City Hospital patient with Covid-19 dies
Scott Yeoman (Stuff): Waikato’s steady trickle of Covid cases appears to be heading for containment – modeller
Anna Whyte (1 News): 6-week-old baby with Covid in Whangārei Hospital
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Locals criticise Hawke’s Bay DHB’s ‘appalling communication’ on Covid-19 tests
Caitlin Ellis (Newshub): Waiheke Island confirms first local case
Herald: Man who intentionally caught virus wishes he hadn’t done it
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Ministry investigating mariner cases in Bluff

Euthanasia
Sylvia Giles (Listener/Herald): Dying with dignity: Why crucial questions remain over new euthanasia law (paywalled)
Chris Ford (RNZ): End of Life Choice Act: Keeping an eye on early statistics
ODT Editorial: Brave new world of assisted dying

Water Quality and health
Jamie Morton (Herald): Nitrate contamination may cause 40 NZ deaths a year – study
Lana Andelane and Alexa Cook (Newshub): Nitrate in drinking water could cause up to 100 cases of bowel cancer in New Zealand – research
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Nitrate levels may be factor in cancer rates: research
RNZ: Contaminated water may lead to 40 deaths a year in NZ – study
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Robin Martin (RNZ): Taranaki DHB has capacity to handle a Covid-19 outbreak – modelling
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Mapping the health gaps for Māori with prostate cancer
Derek Cheng (Herald): NZ second on new global index for health-based drug policy; but Helen Clark says not much of a badge of honour
Connie Buchanan (E-Tangata): Talking to save lives
Alice Angeloni (Local Democracy Reporting): Assault of mental health staffer at Gisborne Hospital prompts workplace violence review
Lois Williams (Local Democracy Reporting): Mental health unit for West Coast moves a step closer
Rebecca Moore (1 News): Nurses say staff parking price hikes a ‘kick in the guts

Housing
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Here’s why it might be fruitless to pin your hopes on a house price crash
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Government to spend $282m to enable 1260 extra homes in Auckland
RNZ: First home buyers represented 26% of market in latest quarter
Māori TV: Iwi, government partners on apartments for Tauranga homeless
Sophie Jerram (Stuff): Reimagining Wellington: We need common spaces for a happier, more connected city.
Tina Law (Stuff): City council pushes for change to Government’s new housing rules

Environment, climate change, conservation
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Could New Zealand be forced to take more climate action?
Jamie Morton (Herald): Councils shouldn’t wait to tackle coastal threats – report
Rod Oram (Newsroom): NZ’s Shaw given key task at COP26
John Boynton (Newshub): COP26 important for indigenous communities, but ‘massive’ barriers to entry exist – Māori lawyer
Sophie Sandford (Newsroom): Leaders feel the heat at international summits
Todd Niall (Stuff): Climate Change: Auckland’s puzzling parking political own-goal 
RNZ: $1.3m boost for study of erosion, sediment control measures in forestry sector

Economy, business, employment
RNZ: Auckland Covid-19 restrictions easing still leaves some businesses out in the cold
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): Hospitality industry left languishing as Auckland retail allowed to open
Liam Dann (Herald): Now the retail rebound begins … or does it? (paywalled)
Georgie Ormond (Herald): The Covid refugee carnival ‘making things up as we go along’
RNZ: Government tells telecoms to hang up misleading marketing
RNZ: Trustpower reports solid profit gain on higher electricity generation
RNZ: Kiwibank owner calls time on life insurance business

Three Waters, local government
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Analysis: The biggest mistake at Shelly Bay was buying land there to begin with
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Shelly Bay land occupation served notice to vacate within seven days
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Shelly Bay whānau to fight eviction notice
Kiri Gillespie (Herald): Tauranga election shake-up: Ex-mayors Tenby Powell, Greg Brownless at odds over new representation model (paywalled)
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): New $13 million price hike for Whangārei’s Oruku Landing conference and events centre
Chloe Ranford (RNZ): Legally uninhabitable senior flats to be fixed
Mike Mather (Stuff): Recommendation following Hamilton City Council review: Let’s have another review
Wyatt Ryder (ODT): Council staff take up collection; challenge to others
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Rebel councils considering uniting to fight Three Waters reforms (paywalled)
Cherie Sivignon (Stuff): Contractors push for continuity of work through Three Waters reform
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Can we be purged of chlorine’s pong … and if so, when?
Rotorua Daily Post: Lizzie Marvelly stepping down as Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa director

Foreign Affairs
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Negotiating Christmas – the real political test in APEC Leaders’ Week (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): APEC’s digital diplomacy in a time of Covid
RNZ: New Zealand aims to work more alongside Pacific nations

Education
William Hewett (Newshub): Leading epidemiologist Rod Jackson says opening primary schools will be ‘super-spreading event’, should stay close until 2022
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Universities hopeful international students can enter NZ next year
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Auckland school board dissolved after complaints over lack of Māori representation
Ben Kepes (Stuff): Spelling and maths still matter in the workplace

Christchurch mosque terrorist
Charlotte Cook (RNZ): Christchurch mosque terrorist claims he pleaded guilty because of inhumane treatment in prison
Tess McClure (Guardian): Christchurch mosque shooter claims guilty plea obtained under duress, expected to appeal
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Mosque terrorist says his guilty pleas were obtained under ‘duress’

Transport 
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Wellington transport options – paved with good intentions 
Grady Connell (Newshub): 152 Electric buses on the way for Tāmaki Makaurau

Immigration
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Productivity commission report reveals immigration is both good and bad
Heather Du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Can anyone take the Productivity Commission’s migration recommendations seriously?
Richard Harman (Politik): Surprising report on immigration (paywalled)
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): The cost of rapid population growth
Dita De Boni (NBR): Productivity Commission suggests axing ‘sponsored’ visas (paywalled)

Other
Susan St John (Interest): Urgent reform of Working for Families needed – not tinkering
Rob Kidd (ODT): Grossly under paid workers, threatened bodily harm
RNZ: Linda Clark to head ACC client information and privacy review
Bryan Leyland (Herald): Why our unreliable electricity supply is so expensive – and what to do about it (paywalled)
RNZ: Covid-19 pandemic driving a ‘downgrading of social discourse’, researcher says
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Andrew Little – The Cyclops inside 5 Eyes
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Beware of Geeks bearing gifts (again)
RNZ: The Detail: The new type of giving
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Charges filed against nine police officers after Auckland man wrongly arrested, injured and stripped
Christine McCarthy (Newsroom): People in prison are people too