Today’s content

Newshub-Reid Research poll, Parliament, parties
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Simon Bridges isn’t ruling out another tilt at National leadership – and he’s got public’s support
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Simon Bridges reminds National MPs of their doubts about him (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Herald):  Country, National supporters back Simon Bridges over Judith Collins – poll
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Growing number of voters believe Jacinda Ardern performing badly
Barry Soper (Herald): For Jacinda Ardern, press conferences seem to be all about media control
ODT Editorial: The continued rise of Act
Newstalk ZB: David Seymour: Public sector to blame for Labour’s poll lead
Jo Moir (Newsroom): The minister happy to call out the PM on Covid

Three Waters, local government
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research poll: Half of New Zealand doesn’t support Three Waters reforms
Ben Kepes (Stuff): The Three Waters reform isn’t a government conspiracy
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Two cheers for Three Waters 
Soumya Bhamidipati (RNZ): 200ha of council land could go with Three Waters assets transfer
Todd Niall (Stuff): Money talks – what will Auckland’s proposed Budget say next month?
RNZ: Protesters at Shelly Bay in Wellington say they will remain at site
RNZ: Whangārei: Submissions overwhelmingly against Oruku Landing events centre
Logan Savory (Stuff): Council’s consultation on city block funding structure delayed until early 2022 

Housing
Simon Wilson (Herald): What’s up with Labour and National’s ‘slum enabling act’? (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): Government warned about speed of housing intensification
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Submitters critical of new Government planning rules, as committee mulls changes
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): Dawn Chorus: ACT bids for National’s NIMBYs
Anneke Smith (RNZ): ‘A public disgrace’: State landlord accused of breaking law over abusive tenants
Lane Nichols (Herald): Kāinga Ora under fire after Black Power gang party in Whangārei state house
Stephanie Ockhuysen (Stuff): Taranaki house prices continue to rise with demand forcing new development sections on the market early
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Rise in reverse mortgages: More retirees eating into their home equity to live (paywalled)

Govt management of Delta outbreak, move to traffic light system and Vaccine pass
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government’s own research showed people found level 3 steps ‘confusing’
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Clock ticking for the unvaccinated with ‘traffic light’ date set
RNZ: Explained: What the traffic light system is and how it works
1 News: ‘Unanswered questions’ about traffic light system – Bishop
RNZ: Traffic light system: Businesses and opposition parties say more clarity needed
Alice Neville (Spinoff): Traffic light system kicks in next week: here’s what you need to know
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Another major law being reammed through under urgency
Michael Neilson (Herald): Freedom Day set for Aotearoa, Auckland to become ‘red-light district’
Guardian: New Zealand set to ease Covid restrictions and end lockdowns from December
Anna Whyte (1 News): New Zealand to move to traffic light system next Thursday night
Herald: NZ to move to traffic light system on Friday next week, Auckland hairdressers open from this Thursday – PM Jacinda Ardern
Herald: Just over a week until everything is open again – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
John Anthony (Stuff): Auckland hospitality businesses can reopen their doors from December 3
Rahul Bhattarai (Herald): ‘Cruel, disappointing and difficult to fathom’ – Hospitality group on latest reopening date
Lucy Xia (Stuff): Auckland unlikely to see ‘significant shifts’ before traffic light move – PM
Aaron Leaman (Stuff): Traffic light system: Hamilton’s big push ahead of December 3
Melanie Earley (Stuff): Concerns raised over ‘deadnaming’ on vaccine passes 
Ben Strang (Stuff): My Vaccine Pass verifier unable to scan overseas certificates when border reopens
Chris Keall (Herald): Foreign nationals in NZ baffled by My Vaccine Pass site – Ministry offers workaround (paywalled)
1 News: International students unable to access vaccine pass feel ‘excluded’
—————
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland hairdressers to trial vaccine passport from Thursday
Tom McRae (Newshub): Auckland hairdressers ‘stoked’ to reopen this week to fully vaccinated customers
Jean Bell (RNZ): Businesses test vaccine pass to see if it makes the cut
Zoe Holland (Herald): Auckland hairdressers face ‘logistical nightmare’ after being closed for three months
Zane Small (Newshub): COVID-19 vaccine pass trial announced for hairdressers ahead of New Zealand’s shift to ‘traffic light’ on December 3
Herald: Auckland hairdressers given the green light to open from Thursday
1 News: PM explains why hospitality restrictions remain as hairdressers open
1 News: Auckland hairdressers to open this week
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Phones run hot as Aucklanders scramble to book first haircuts in three months

Auckland border 
Mark Longley (Newshub): Expert warns against opening Auckland’s border too early, says 95 percent should be vaccination target rate
Leonie Hayden (Spinoff): You can leave the city on December 15. But should you?
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): ‘The worry is being completely overwhelmed’: NZ regions brace for a Covid summer
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Waitemata DHB seeks 133 new staff to deal with Covid-19 in community
D Angelo Martin (Newshub): Rangatahi shares battle getting mental health help while living alone in lockdown

Mandatory vaccination
Michael Andrew (BusinessDesk): The unvaccinated v Chris Hipkins (paywalled)
Michael Daly and Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Here is everything you need to know about the vaccine pass
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Proposal for Auckland councillors and Local Board members to work remotely if unvaccinated
Adam Jacobson (Stuff): Auckland Council proposes vaccine mandate for elected members
Stuff:  Te Papa to require vaccination for visitors, proposes vaccination for staff
Esther Taunton (Stuff): City Fitness, Les Mills gyms to require proof of Covid-19 vaccination
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Surf life savers face summer vaccine deadline
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Remote daycare’s fears as vaccine mandate puts squeeze on teacher supply 
Tamati Tiananga (Māori TV): Caregiver opens up on mandate vaccination that ends job
Ethan Griffiths (Herald): Ruapehu birthing unit closed after midwife stands down (paywalled)
RNZ: More disability carers expected to reject mandate than expected
Mike Yardley (Stuff): Framework uncertainty cutting down community events

Cases, demographics, Delta spreads
Derek Cheng (Herald): Why we shouldn’t get too excited about the Auckland outbreak hitting a peak (paywalled)
Hannah Martin (Stuff): ‘Encouraging’ signs Auckland’s cases could be on a ‘plateau’
1 News: Man in 40s with Covid-19 dies in Auckland
1 News: Bloomfield says low covid hospitalisation rates a ‘good sign’
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Napier Covid-19 confusion caused by ‘system failure’ – Bloomfield
Nicole Bremner (1 News): Covid-positive visitor leaves Mt Maunganui retirement village in lockdown
Stuff: Fourth case found in wider Manawatū
Katie Townshend (Stuff): Weak positive case in Nelson ‘likely historical’

Vaccine rollout
Tony Walls (Newsroom): Safety the priority in vaccinating children
1 News: Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay 1000 jabs from 90% first dose vaccine rate
Te Aorewa Rolleston (RNZ): ‘It takes everything to overcome this fight’ – Polio survivors urge whānau to get vaccinated

Home isolation
Kim Moodie (RNZ): Self-isolating cases need help to understand oximeters – experts
Jordan Bond (RNZ): Confusion from government over taking the pulse for Covid-19
James Halpin (Stuff): Oximeters will still be used for home isolation despite ‘racial bias’ 
Duncan Garner (NBR): We’ve spent billions to die at home – whose plan is this?
Rewa Harriman (Newshub): Te Whānau o Waipareira helping 75 families through self-isolation

MIQ, NZ Border
RNZ: Checkpoint: Details of ‘progressive’ MIQ phase out in two weeks – Covid-19 Response Minister
RNZ: Checkpoint: NZers returning forced to take long routes to meet MIQ dates
RIchard Harman (Politik): PM still cautious about opening international border (paywalled)
Grant Bradley (Herald): Air New Zealand cancels 1000 flights due to continued border uncertainty
1 News: Air NZ cancels over 1000 Aussie flights due to border uncertainty
Ian Taylor (Herald):  MIQ logbook – We have been ignored long enough

Vaccine misinformation, protests, rule breaches
Taroi Black (Māori TV): Ngāti Toa will take anti-vax protestors to court if they misuse Ka Mate
Nicholas Agar (Newsroom): Why you can’t reason with the mob
Herald Editorial: An ongoing battle for influence in the pandemic (paywalled)
Herald: Destiny’s Brian and Hannah Tamaki summoned to appear at Auckland police station
James Halpin (Stuff): Brian Tamaki to attend Auckland police station after protest speech

Economy, business, wage subsidy
Greg Smith (Stuff): Reserve Bank will lift rates – the only question is how much
Liam Dann (Herald): Reserve Bank expected to hike interest rate, offer fresh clues on inflation (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): With inflation running hot, Reserve Bank should raise interest rates (paywalled)
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): To hike or not to hike? That is the question (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Reserve Bank needs to paddle its waka to the conditions
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): OCR hike baked in. But how big should it be & is there actually a case to hold?
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Bank mortgage rates on the rise ahead of Official Cash Rate announcement
David Hargreaves (Interest): BNZ economists now forecasting ‘modest’ falls in house prices – but a large correction ‘cannot be ruled out’
Adam Pearse (Herald): Government reviewing ‘heartless’ gap in resurgence support payment scheme
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ‘Monopoly buster’ Tex Edwards to lobby for reform of building materials industry
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Big GIB maker up against the wall in Commerce Commission inquiry
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): No last minute reprieve for Marsden Point oil refinery

Primary industries, Groundswell protests
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Dissing The Farmers
Chris Trotter (Interest): The real interests of the country
Zane Small (Newshub): ‘Farmers should be angry’: Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick treads into Groundswell dissension
Jamie Mackay (Herald): All Blacks and Groundswell half a world apart but closer than you’d think (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Groundswell astroturf has swollen and popped – Winners & Losers
Jacqueline Rowarth (Stuff): It’s time to imagine New Zealand without production animals
Andrea Fox (Herald): Cheesed off: What’s going on with the price of a 1kg block of NZ cheese? (paywalled)
RNZ: Online job expo hopes to entice seasonal workers for picking season

Environment, climate change, conservation
Matthew Littlewood (Stuff): Demand for farmland ‘puts pressure’ on Canterbury’s braided rivers
Steve Urlich (Stuff): It’s the Sounds Jim but not as we knew them
RNZ: Bay of Plenty shark research delayed by DOC permit process
Herald: Eight seals shot dead in Kaikōura

Foreign affairs and trade
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta visits Afghan refugees in Qatar, travels to United States
Stuff Editorial: Aotearoa must stand apart as others amass nuclear weapons

ACC, Health
Thomas Mead (1 News): Exclusive: ACC found ‘critical issues’ in care of injured workers at Talley’s Group in 2019
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Cannabis use without prescription is still a crime despite softening stance, experts warn
Qiuyi Tan (Herald): Kidney dialysis demand to grow 30 per cent in 10 years: Report
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): Thousands of drivers will need support as new smoking laws come into effect
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Parents of teen with Down Syndrome angry after access to medical tests denied

Media
Gavin Ellis (Knightly Views): Multiple media reviews and the lefthand-righthand rule
Karl du Fresne: Robin Bromby looks in the rear-vision mirror

Education
Matheson Russell (The Conversation): Are New Zealand’s universities doing enough to define the limits of academic freedom?
Linda Mitchell (Herald): Early childhood education should be a public concern (paywalled)
Louisa Steyl (Stuff): Ministry of Education will review ECE funding in 2022 
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Principals believe most students affected by lockdown will sit NCEA exams despite National suggesting otherwise
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Exhaustion, strategic choices behind NCEA exam decisions
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Education ministry apologises after parents told to stop paying for son’s teacher aide

Immigration
RNZ: Afghan group given second chance at immigration after High Court review
Stuff:  Afghan nationals win case to have visa applications considered
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Migrant dads split from families by border restrictions desperate to be reunited

Justice, crime 
Stuff:  NZ must change law to compensate those wrongly detained, UN says
Bernard Orsman (Herald): Solving crime and anti-social behaviour in Auckland CBD will take Government help, says City Missioner and Heart of the City (paywalled)
Nile Bijoux (Stuff): The strictest countries for drink-driving

Police
RNZ: The pressures of small-town policing and on sole-charge officers
RNZ: Police reduce capabilitiy to investigate work-related fatal road crashes

Other
Max Rashbrooke (Guardian): The Bank of Mum and Dad is allowing New Zealand’s wealthy to become ‘opportunity hoarders’
Jimmy Ellingham (RNZ): Treasury put aside 10 times amount of money it paid abused Lake Alice patients
David Fisher (Herald): Missing weapon parts – NZDF rejects plan to help police by numbering and tracking rifle magazines (paywalled)
Terry Baucher (Interest): Does the IRD’s power creep amount to overreach?
Daphna Whitmore (Redline): Free speech is a people’s frank confession to itself
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): John Edwards is off on a ‘late-life OE’ as UK privacy watchdog, and he’s not done with Facebook yet
RNZ: IHC bath ban breaches human rights, says advocate
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Christchurch Airbnb suspended over list of racist demands to guests
Bernard Orsman (Herald): ‘No Māori language to be spoken’: Guest’s shock at notice in Christchurch Airbnb
Brianna Mcilraith (Stuff): Inland Revenue still waiting for $22m in Working for Families overpayments from the last two years
Andrea Fox (Herald): First AI white paper calls for major measures and investment in artificial intelligence research
Chris Tobin (Stuff): MyWay trial in Timaru gets tick of approval but taxis question costs