Today’s content

Clarke Gayford testing controversy 
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Clarke Gayford needs to clean up bad look (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘Deeply inappropriate’: Clarke Gayford sorry for ‘confusion’ after claim he tried to get mate rapid Covid test
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Bishop hits out at Clarke Gayford’s ‘deeply inappropriate’ alleged bid to get rapid antigen tests for musician mates
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Need a hand – just call Clarke

Covid, MIQ, border
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ ‘pushing its luck’ with record border cases
RNZ: New Zealand must prepare for Omicron’s arrival in community – researcher
Mark Quinlivan and Alexa Cook (Newshub): New Zealand ‘could eliminate Delta’ again, giving us advantage over Omicron – Michael Baker
Jean Edwards (RNZ): Delaying school reopening could cause more harm than Covid-19 – paediatricians
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Stay-home orders, school closures possible if Omicron spreads
Adam Pearse (Herald): Analysis – Isolation variation sends the wrong message
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Covid-19 data visualisations: NZ in numbers
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): This is why MIQ should not be a lottery
1 News: 65 new cases at NZ’s border, most expected to be Omicron
RNZ: 28 new community cases, 65 in MIQ, two further deaths
Tom Hunt and Sophie Cornish (Stuff): English teacher one of more than a hundred Kiwis in Vietnam given only days to leave the country
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): SDHB considers population risk management for Omicron 
RNZ: Northern Bass music festival in Northland cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns
1 News: Northern Bass music festival canned over Covid concerns
Brett O’Riley (Stuff): What does re-engaging with the world mean for immigration?
Dr Galia Barhava-Monteith (Herald):  Israel – speed and agility, media and communication, looking after ex-pat citizens (paywalled)

Vaccine rollout, mandate, testing
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Study shows kids can get seriously ill, should be vaccinated – researcher
Hannah Martin and Kate Newton (Stuff): Close to one million eligible people have not got their booster yet, as Omicron looms
Todd Niall (Stuff): Covid-19 vaccination deadline looms for hundreds of Auckland Council workers
Moana Ellis (Local Democracy Reporting): Vaccine passes and photo ID required at scaled-back Rātana event
John Anthony (Stuff): Importer says it has 3.5 million rapid antigen tests but can’t get approval from Ministry of Health
Janine Rankin (Stuff): MidCentral Health campaign to control Covid-19 intensifies

Anti-vaxxers, protests, rule breaches
Stuff:  Police probe letters sent to homes threatening to ‘eradicate’ PM Jacinda Ardern
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Christchurch locals fed up with Brian Tamaki protests: ‘It’s been really disruptive’
Molly Swift (Newshub): Anti-vaxx doctor Jonie Girouard’s chocolate business faces investigation by MPI over sugar substitute
Herald: Food Safety NZ to probe fake vax exemption doctor’s chocolate business over prohibited sugar substitute
RNZ: De-registered doctor questioned over her chocolate business
Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Disenchanted
Sophie Cornish (Stuff): Wellington City Council has no plans to charge or fine Freedoms & Rights Coalition over protests

Housing
RNZ: National average house price went up nearly 30% in 2021
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Christchurch takes out ‘unwanted’ 2021 property title
Steven Walton (Stuff): Growth in Canterbury house values ‘will eventually slow and perhaps flatten’
Riley Kennedy (ODT): Fears for impact of new rules
Toby Allen (Interest): Rental price increases in the pipeline
Bill Hickman (Stuff): Stabbing ‘the last straw’ for resident who fled Wellington social housing
Anne Gibson (Herald): How much are landlords borrowing to buy investment properties? (paywalled)
Colleen Hawkes (Stuff): Changing face of Auckland’s suburbs: Fast and furious housing growth
Joel MacManus (Stuff): No apartment owners applied for Government $23 million earthquake-prone building scheme

Employment
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Wages rises are setting new records as employers compete for workers
Toby Allen (Interest): Monthly jobs growth accelerated in November, continuing the surprising resilience of the previous 10 months
RNZ: ILO reviews seasonal schemes in NZ and Australia
Herald: Construction jobs swelled by 8.6pc in November – Stats NZ

Economy & Business
Brent Melville (BusinessDesk): The omicron tsunami: are our businesses ready? (paywalled)
Herald Editorial: Are our inflation fears over-inflated? (paywalled)
Herald: Will 2degrees-Orcon merger pass Commerce Commission test? (paywalled)
Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Ardern promised no capital gains tax. She should break that promise
RNZ: Ice cream could become big export earner for New Zealand, report suggests
Shannon Redstall (Newshub): New report suggests ice cream could become New Zealand’s next big export success
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): Our biggest economic risk – ineffective cybersecurity (paywalled)
Denise Piper (Stuff): Busy summer for Northland at red light, but businesses hope for orange
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Small-scale fishermen snagged in Government’s tightening quota regulations (paywalled)
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Retailer who ditched Paywave to stay afloat flooded with support from customers and business owners

Environment, conservation
Niva Chittock (RNZ): Climate change: ‘One in 50-year event is now one in 10-year event’, says scientist
Jill Whitmore (Herald):  We need to talk about climate refugees and be agents of change (paywalled)
Devon Bolger (Herald): Māui Dolphin population estimate 14 per cent lower than five years ago
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Stunning dolphin drone footage in Southland could help conservation artificial intelligence
No Right Turn: Undermining the offshore exploration ban
Bill Hickman (Stuff): Drilling rig destined for Māui fields offloaded in Marlborough Sounds
Cate Macinnis-Ng (The Conversation): New Zealand summers are getting hotter – and humans aren’t the only ones feeling the effects
Matai O’Connor (RNZ): Iwi-led conservation group begin Raukūmara Range regeneration project
Frances Chin (Stuff): Nests abandoned after quad bikers rip up protected beach
Caley Callahan (Newshub): Two faint bird calls in Kahurangi National Park may have revealed location of elusive South Island kōkako
Herald: Food waste going straight to landfill as households dump recycling habit

Health
David Williams (Newshub): Ex-Canterbury DHB boss breaks silence
Cate Broughton (Stuff): ‘Extraordinarily distressing’: Cancer patients forced to wait months for treatment
ODT Editorial: No easy fix for midwifery situation
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Māori stroke sufferers more likely to die after 12 months, study finds 

Transport
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Locals launch parliamentary petition to stop speed limit lowering on Napier-Taupō highway
Tara Shaskey (Stuff): Nearly $900k spent fighting Mt Messenger Bypass opponents

Local government
Stuff Editorial: Council seats aren’t passenger seats
Stuff:  From cop to council: Former Rotorua area commander takes deputy chief executive role
Catherine Groenestein (Stuff): Lake resource consent delays leave bad smell for Opunake residents 
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Residents’ representative wants more detail from Lower Hutt council on heritage policy

Other
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): The paddock of horror near my home is an example of our lax animal laws
Leighton Heikell (Newshub): 5000-hectare historic station on East Coast could soon be foreign-owned carbon farm
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Boris, Marja, Brezhnev, Ruth and me (paywalled)
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Drop in amount of contraband found in New Zealand prisons
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Here’s why your food labels might look different next month
1 News: Calls for lifeguards at Kiwi rivers after spate of fatal drownings
Jamie Morton (Herald): Subduction secrets: What triggers ‘megathrust’ earthquakes?
Simon Henderson (ODT): Ministry for Disabled People appointment irks disabled community
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): Despite the pandemic, New Zealand saw a drop in car thefts over 2020