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