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

Opinion polls, Parliament, Government
Matthew Hooton: Poll slide a warning to PM Jacinda Ardern – and it could get even worse (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald):  Is Labour’s poll slump the beginning of the end, or will summer burn it off? (paywalled)
Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour down in two polls, as support crumbles
Luke Malpass (Stuff): New poll shows Labour dipping below 40 per cent, National up slightly
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern’s popularity plunges as New Zealand reckons with new era of endemic Covid
1 News: Labour, Ardern take hit in mid-Delta outbreak polls
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Labour shouldn’t assume 2023 is in the bag
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Labour down in two polls
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 2 new polls highlight the problem for National & ACT
Greg Presland (The Standard): Covid and the latest polls
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Brent Edwards (NBR): Frustrations of dealing with a ‘transparent’ government (paywalled)
Marama Davidson and James Shaw (Spinoff): Why we chose accelerator over handbrake: The Green leaders on the 2020 election
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Concern at Parliament over misleading Chinese translation (paywalled)
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Ayesha Verrall knocks them off
Dan Lake (Newshub): Inside the RNZAF Boeing 757 used by Jacinda Ardern
(Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s ‘bedtime fail’ goes global after Neve interrupts live video

Vaccination protests
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Behold, The Losing-class
Nicky Hager (Spinoff): My message to friends who joined this week’s protest
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): The Escalation Game That Protesters Cannot Win
James Nokise (Stuff): The things we forget about …. pandemics 
Rosemary McLeod (Stuff): Mad as hell – but have the vaccine protesters got a better plan?
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Law Society to investigate complaint over anti-vax lawyer Sue Grey
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Tino rangatiratanga designer calls whakamā on anti-vax protestors
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): ‘Not fighting for justice’: Brian Tamaki’s own iwi condemns anti-lockdown protests
RNZ: Iwi urge Brian Tamaki to ‘follow science’ in fight against Covid-19
Herald: Brian Tamaki’s iwi condemns his actions

Govt management of Delta outbreak, Auckland border
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Mr Hipkins, tear down this wall
Stuff Editorial: The pandemic’s new phase
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The Prime Minster can’t avoid the frustrated public
Ian Powell (Second Opinion): A very scary graph: Comparing Delta variant in New Zealand and New South Wales
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Government plans Covid files release for this month
Jane Nixon (1 News): Bloomfield compares pandemic journey to Lord of the Rings
RNZ: The day in review: Covid-19 developments on 11 November

Home isolation, MIQ, NZ border 
Michael Morrah (Newshub): New Zealand’s home isolation programme like ‘building a plane as we fly it’ – GP
Lynley Ward (Herald): Glen Eden father-of-seven dies at home, daughter says he tried to get help
Bernadette Basagre (Stuff): Self-isolating man who died was father of seven from war-torn country
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Covid-positive cases waiting days to hear from Health Ministry – Auckland GP
Russell Palmer (RNZ): MIQ under pressure due to outbreak, home isolation – Ministers
Katie Todd (RNZ): MIQ: Eight times more departures than usual expected on Sunday
RNZ: Checkpoint: Airline representatives urge certainty so NZ does not lose international routes
1 News: Auckland Airport CEO wants vaccinated Kiwis stranded offshore home
RNZ: Sir Ian Taylor says MIQ system is no longer logical
Grant Bradley (Herald): What Chris Hipkins thinks of call to ditch MIQ for Kiwis (paywalled)
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): No more excuses, MIQ has to go
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Call for humane approach on ‘very high risk’ India travel block
Qiuyi Tan (Herald): Migrant family holiday turns into Covid nightmare

Vaccine mandates, certificates, restrictions
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Hospitals reach out to unvaccinated workers as deadline looms
Adam Pearse (Stuff): Which DHB has the most unvaccinated staff?
Cate Broughton (Stuff): Handful of health professionals threaten to quit over vaccine mandate
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Hundreds of healthcare workers in Wellington region yet to disclose vaccine status
Megan Wilson (Herald): Midwife of 30 years leaving due to vaccine mandate (paywalled)
Megan Wilson (Herald): Vaccine mandate could have 180 health workers with Eastern Bay trust lose their jobs (paywalled)
Mike Houlahan and Andrew Marshall (ODT): Resignation ‘the correct call’
Jake McKee (RNZ): Southern DHB board member resigns after sending email to Countdown against vaccine mandate
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Southern DHB member resigns over vaccine mandate conflict
Jessica Roden (1 News): Govt to consider extending vaccine mandate for firefighters
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Fire and Emergency requests temporary exception to vaccine mandate
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Firefighters union warns of roster chaos over mandate
Michael Neilson (Herald):  ‘No jab, no job’ – who’s covered by the vaccine mandates, and when are the deadlines?
Philip Chandler (Mountain Scene): Not getting jab puts people at risk, says colleague after GP quits
Kirsty Frame (RNZ): Fears disabled will go without essential care after mandate deadline
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Covid-19 vaccine mandates: Clarity sought for lifeguard volunteers
Dubby Henry (Herald): Northland principal Pat Newman says teachers should resign now rather than disrupt kids further
ODT: School in spot after run stopped
Katy Jones (Stuff): Fears school vaccine mandate could ‘split’ small community
Daisy Hudson (ODT): University talking to staff over mandate
Thomas Bywater (Herald): Covid Vaccination Certificate: Holiday parks map rules for unvaccinated guests
Ben Strang (Stuff): Lack of vaccine pass clarity leading some to have four Pfizer shots
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Pensioner surprised to get visit from police for not wearing a mask

Vaccine rollout
Richard Harman (Politik): What’s wrong at the Ministry of Health
Māori TV: Henare backs ministry against Tamihere over health data
Michael Neilson (Herald): Ministers at odds with ministry Whānau Ora Māori vax stoush back in Court
Zane Small (Newshub): Health Minister Andrew Little at odds with Ministry of Health over $70,000 legal battle to release Māori health data
Māori TV: Whānau Ora back to court as Māori vaccination rates stall
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency taking Ministry of Health back to court over Māori vaccination data
RNZ: Whānau Ora back in court over Māori vaccination data from Health Ministry
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Herald): Government says Māori responsible for hesitancy, not once admitted their plan was at fault
Cate Broughton (Stuff): South Island Māori receive fraction of funds for Covid-19 vaccine roll-out
Sam Olley (RNZ): Leaked data shows hundreds of pregnant Northlanders unvaxed
Sam Olley (RNZ): Covid-19 vaccination rates on pregnant people ‘would really help’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government says anyone will be able to get AstraZeneca vaccine
Jane Nixon (1 News): AstraZeneca vaccine to be available later this month
ODT Editorial: Vaccinating younger children
Carly Gooch (Stuff): Vaccine number crunching – ‘so close’ to reaching 90 per cent
Sapeer Mayron (Stuff): Pasifika vaccine events aim to hit 90% first dose target in Auckland
1 News: 90% of Kiwis over 12 now at least partially vaccinated
Janine Rankin (Stuff): Some Palmerston North suburbs reach 90 per cent vaccination goal
Māori TV: Silent majority of Māori getting vaccinated – Dr Rawiri Taonui
Justin Latif (Local Democracy Reporting): Lips syncs and facts: Pacific doctors fight misinformation on TikTok

Testing, cotact tracing
Jamie Morton (Herald): Why Govt is rethinking contact tracing
RNZ: Poor planning, conflicts of interest in saliva testing programme – Auditor-General
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Saliva testing processes slammed by auditor-general
Derek Cheng (Herald): Auditor-General’s ‘serious concerns’ with Ministry of Health over saliva testing
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Auditor General flays health ministry over saliva testing procurement (paywalled)

Education
Shannon Redstall (Newshub): Parents worry about safety of their children as Auckland primary schools prepare to re-open
Newshub: Anxious wait for parents ahead of schools reopening
Lawrence Gullery and Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Online teaching suggested for unvaccinated teachers as mandate deadline looms
Katy Jones (Stuff): Rise in home schooling registrations linked to Covid-19 and ‘social engineering’ 
RNZ: More than 2000 Otago University graduands miss ceremony due to Covid-19 restrictions
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Graduation ceremonies called off due to pandemic
Guy Williams (ODT): School bus safety rules lashing
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Community Colleges NZ calls halt to youth scheme
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Sixty per cent of Gore High School buildings to be demolished in major redevelopment

Cases
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Visitor from Auckland identified as the source of six new cases in Stratford, Taranaki, local Mayor Neil Volzke confirms
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland has seven new cases, as region set to return to level 2
Herald: Ministry of Health releases pre-existing conditions of deaths linked to virus
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): The number of unvaccinated New Zealanders in hospital with COVID-19
Katie Harris (Herald): In the Loop: Women’s Mongrel Mob leader on the gang’s Covid response

Health
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Wellington ICU leader’s modelling shows huge bed shortfall with 90 per cent vaccine rate
Hannah Martin (Stuff): More than 100,000 procedures and specialist appointments cancelled due to Delta
Sahiban Hyde (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Hawke’s Bay nurse on Paris frontlines has warning for region’s unvaccinated
Natalie Akoorie (RNZ): Waikato DHB warned a cyberattack ‘catastrophic for patient safety’

Kāinga Ora, Housing
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Housing Minister Megan Woods dobs Kāinga Ora in to public service watchdog over cover-up
RNZ: National Party wants investigation into Kāinga Ora
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Kāinga Ora tries to clean up self-made mess
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): ‘Shocking revelation’: Kāinga Ora’s selective memory on Labour links
William Hewett (Newshub): New Zealand’s housing shortfall will be met in around 12 months’ time, major bank predicts
David Hargreaves (Interest): ASB economists say Auckland’s housing shortfall will drop to ‘zero’ by late next year
Miriam Bell (Stuff): New planning rules could accommodate more than 350,000 new homes
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Median house prices up $100k on September’s REINZ figures
Greg Ninness (Interest): Residential property sales volumes down 22% in October year-on-year, but prices were through the roof
Frances Chin (Stuff): Tasman district housing hits “record high” in October
Anne Gibson (Herald): Pandemic lockdowns hit house sales: volumes drop 21%, but prices still rise
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Martinborough housing intensification option shut down
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua housing crisis: 3500 homes needed in a year – draft report
Christine Fletcher (Herald): What I was trying to say about intensive housing for Auckland (paywalled)
Miriam Bell (Stuff): House prices, sales rise in spring resurgence 
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Transitional housing purchase helping to meet urgent needs
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Developers bailing out of house buyer contracts via sunset clause

Three Waters, local government
Peter Davis (Newsroom): Councils’ failure to provide safe water shows need for amalgamations
Grant Bradley (Herald): Court ruling on Auckland Council’s ‘reverse engineered’ bed tax could cost millions (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Petition to force vote on West Auckland liquor licensing monopoly fails
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Pasifika let down by Christchurch council over new stadium build
Luisa Girao (ODT): ICC transition tipped to be ‘time of highest risk’
Doug Laing (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Napier City Council books library into stage one of civic rebuild (paywalled)
Vita Molyneux (Herald): Cuba St Bucket Fountain likely to remain missing a bucket for at least another month

BusinessDesk Public Service series
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Editor’s note: how good is our public service?
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Whaddya mean public service? A beginner’s guide to the machinery of government (paywalled)
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Welcome to the 2nd best public service in the world
Brian Roche (BusinessDesk): On? Cardigans? No
BusinessDesk: About our public sector investigation

Justice
RNZ: Three strikes law – you’re out: Justice Minister to repeal
John Weekes (Herald): Three strikes law to be repealed, opposition parties furious
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Government repeals three-strikes law, which sees repeat offenders get max sentence
Zane Small (Newshub): With NZ First out of the picture, Labour finally moves on ‘three strikes’ law repeal
Amelia Wade (Newshub): First person sentenced under ‘three strikes’ speaks out after Government axes law
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Bridgette Toy-Cronin (Newsroom): Legal aid crisis a threat to justice
Cusha Norman (1 News): Legal aid system on brink of collapse – Law Society survey
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Dames say their concerns ignored by top Family Court judge

Environment, climate change, conservation
RNZ: UN call for higher emissions targets doesn’t apply to New Zealand – James Shaw
Dan Satherley (Newshub): James Shaw slams countries at COP26 ‘dragging the chain’ on emissions, but won’t name names
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): China-US climate agreement a game changer, NZ experts say
Herald: NZ to issue ‘green bonds’ to help decarbonise
RNZ: Government plans to introduce green bonds from 2022
Sally Brooker (Newsroom): NZ in the box seat on hydrogen
Cameron Burrows (Herald): Keys to sustainable and affordable electricity (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ should be a ‘fast follower’ reducing car emissions, says Ford boss
Rod Oram (Newsroom): COP26 reaches its peak, final day
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Support for native forests
Tom Powell Budyong Hill (Stuff): Kicking coal habit is great but burning questions over biomass

Economy, business
Lincoln Tan (Herald): Restaurateurs slam rules barring outdoor dining as ‘stupid, absurd and ridiculous’
Herald Editorial: Government’s fixation on big summer gigs leaves others out in the cold (paywalled)
Adam Pearse (Herald): Portaloos on the footpath – Auckland hospitality headaches due to alert-level rules
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Why insurers aren’t giving rebates for car cover this time despite longer Auckland lockdown (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): National MP: MBIE tone deaf to Auckland hospitality struggles (paywalled)

Employment, Immigration
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Minimum wage ruling from Court of Appeal could ‘open the floodgates’: lawyer
Morgane Solignac (Stuff): Getting flexible with work options could help tackle labour shortage
Brian Fallow (Herald):  Immigration — too much, too fast? (paywalled)

APEC, foreign affairs
Thomas Manch (Stuff): France reportedly holds up NZ-EU free trade negotiations due to upcoming elections
Thomas Manch (Stuff): President Xi Jinping warns Asia-Pacific must not ‘relapse’ into Cold War conflict, at APEC summit
Bruce Munro (ODT): Global Insight: A shrewd piece of diplomacy
1 News: PM calls for equitable, inclusive, sustainable global Covid recovery
RNZ: ‘Asia-Pacific region should not relapse into Cold War era’ – Xi Jinping at APEC
Liam Dann (Herald): World leaders address Covid recovery challenge (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Hosting one of the world’s largest business summits in an empty room
Liam Dann (Herald): Chur bro: Stephen Colbert attempts to speak ‘Kiwi’ at Apec CEO Summit
Jennifer Eder (Stuff): End of domes at Waihopai Valley spy base ‘nothing to celebrate’
RNZ: Waihopai surveillance domes to be dismantled
1 News: ‘Obsolete’ GCSB spy domes at Waihopai to be removed
Catherine Woulfe (Spinoff): Twenty ways the GCSB could repurpose its creepy spyglobes

Transport
Kate Green (Stuff): Campaign for free fares aims to get more young people, tertiary students using public transport
Zane Small (Newshub): Man behind Facebook comment Green MP Julie Anne Genter considered threatening says it was ‘a joke’
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Solution agreed for Wellington’s controversial Island Bay cycleway
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Compromise option chosen for Island Bay cycleway revamp 
Irra Lee (1 News): Sudden busway plan change threatens 40 Auckland homes
James Pocock (Hawkes Bay Today/Herald): Wairoa mayor counts 72 ‘gnarly’ potholes on drive home from Napier (paywalled)

Primary industries
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): Meta apologises for blocking links to Groundswell’s website
Sally Rae (ODT): Mother of All Protests gets city backers
The Country (Herald): Independent review finds NZ on track to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis
Sally Rae (ODT): ‘M. bovis’ lessons will fortify system: report
RNZ: Asparagus farmers face ‘terrible, devastating’ times with low local demand, no exports

Other
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Brace yourself for ugly and intolerant politics
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): NZ not so politically and socially polarised
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): NZs sudden radicalisation + who poses a bigger threat to Democracy?
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): An apology and $177 million in financial redress as Ngāti Maniapoto settles with the Crown
Tumamao Harawira (Māori TV): Independent research reveals racism in government agencies responsible for Māori in care
Holly Hedley (Spinoff): The End of Life Choice Act is now in effect. Here’s what you need to know
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Defence force admits failing to keep soliders safe during Molotov incident
Herald: Radio wars: Mark Richardson to join MediaWorks as host for new talk brand
Darren Bevan (Stuff): Mark Richardson, Polly Gillespie join MediaWorks’ unnamed talk radio station