Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Today’s content
Coronavirus – public health strategies
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Should the Government be locking the country down now?
Ella Prendergast and Dan Satherley (Newshub): NZ only eight days behind the UK – expert
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Close schools immediately, Teaching Council pleads
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The case for lockdown now
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Doctor group – raise threat level now or risk becoming like Italy
Amelia Wade (Herald): Front-line health workers and other medical staff want Alert Level 4 now
Scott Palmer and Ella Prendergast (Newshub): New Zealand health workers clash over petition calling for Level 4 alert now
RNZ: Health professionals urge government to adopt Alert level 4
Richard Harman (Politik): It’s time for the Cabinet to choose
John Weekes (Stuff): There will be dire consequences if we don’t lockdown now, expert says
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Shut everything now: Govt still behind the curve – health expert
David Skegg (Newsroom): NZ’s Covid response: We need to be more open
RNZ: ‘We’re underestimating Covid-19’: Experts debate govt response
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Controls could cut Kiwi deaths from 60,000 to 10,000
Jamie Morton (Herald): Coronavirus: ICU overload risks ‘thousands’ more NZ deaths – model
Keith Woodford (Interest): The notion that New Zealand is running ahead of the curve no longer stands up to scrutiny
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Newshub Nation: NZ faces potential UK and China-style moves to stop COVID-19’s spread
1News: New Zealand has a ‘good chance’ at slowing coronavirus – WHO expert
Michael Wright (Stuff): Can New Zealand follow Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong in containing the spread?
Sam Morgan (Newsroom): Why urgency, not gradualism, is needed for Covid-19
Pattrick Smellie (Business Desk): The govt must go far harder and far faster
David Farrar: Are we at the right alert level
Andrew Geddis (Pundit): Hammering Home Measures To Stop COVID-19
1News: Jacinda Ardern says she believes coronavirus can be contained – ‘I have absolute faith in New Zealanders’
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Former Prime Minister Helen Clark commends Government response to COVID-19 pandemic
ODT Editorial: Cometh the hour…
Coronavirus – Alert system, PM’s address to the nation
1News: Government ‘prepared to move quickly’ to stop community spread of coronavirus
1News: Coronavirus ‘alert system’ to be introduced for New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern announces
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): New Zealand has a threat system, here’s how it works and how it will affect you
Jane Patterson (RNZ): New Zealand moves into uncharted territory
Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris (Spinoff): What does ‘level two’ mean – and why does it matter?
RNZ: Coronavirus alert system: What you need to know
Derek Cheng (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern outlines NZ’s new alert system, over-70s should stay at home
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New Zealand’s COVID-19 alert levels, how they affects Kiwis
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): PM Jacinda Ardern announces alert system – ‘this is about saving lives’
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John Anthony (Stuff): Two thirds of labour force won’t be able to work from home, economist says
Andrew McRae (RNZ): Estimated 10 percent of workers at home
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Out of office is now on – Kiwis expected to work from home if they can
1News: NZ now at level two alert for coronavirus as PM says ‘start working differently’
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Who is the Government advising stay home amidst coronavirus fears?
Isaac Davison (Herald): 500,000 New Zealanders told to stay home
1News: Those over 70 and those with compromised immunity asked to stay home as NZ sits at coronavirus alert level two
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives address to nation on the Covid-19 response
Coronavirus – testing, border restrictions, self-isolation requirements
Jamie Morton (Herald): Why NZ needs to keep ramping up Covid-19 testing
David Fisher (Herald): Massive jump in tests amid demands for more and questions over data from the Ministry of Health (paywalled)
Emma Cropper (Newshub): Testing stations set up around New Zealand as fears of ‘community spread’ grow
1News: ‘The right people get tested’- Director General of Health outlines who qualifies for Covid-19 testing
Kirsty Lawrence (Stuff): Hamilton nurse denied test despite displaying Covid-like symptoms
Jame Ensor (Newshub): No one denied entry at New Zealand border for refusing to self-isolate, having inadequate plans
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Ministry of Health sets up dedicated email to dob on self-isolation breaches
Ben Strang (RNZ): Family of Chinese New Zealanders stuck in Fiji after border restrictions
Laine Moger (Stuff): Travellers in NZ territories not exempt from new border controls
Coronavirus – schools and tertiary education
James Fyfe (Newshub): Teachers call for schools to be shut immediately
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Community transmission would likely see schools close by area – Chris Hipkins
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Ministry of Education reveals factors that will close schools, bring holidays forward
Kim Moodie (Herald): Four Auckland schools linked to Covid-19 in one day
Mei Heron (1News): Elderly teachers staying home, forcing schools to scramble as they try to keep it business as usual
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Kōhanga reo to identify vulnerable kaumātua needing support
Steve Elers (Stuff): Education institutes around the world scramble to prepare for online teaching
RNZ: University of Auckland suspends teaching for next week
1News: AUT responds to student petition by closing for a week to prepare for online learning
Herald: Auckland University of Technology suspends teaching next week
Isaac Davison (Herald):AUT law students upset as large lectures continue, despite cancellations elsewhere
Stuff: Waikato tertiary institutes suspend teaching to students
RNZ: Victoria Uni makes education more accessible with free tuition
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Victoria University offers free study for those impacted
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Victoria University offers free classes to those impacted by coronavirus
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Students demand assurances from Victoria University of Wellington
Laura Wiltshire and Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Massey and Auckland universities suspend face-to-face teaching
Thomas Mead (1News): Canterbury University makes abrupt U-turn and cancels face-to-face lectures
Jake Kenny (Stuff): University of Canterbury moves all classes online
1News: University of Canterbury students launch petition to close school as coronavirus fears grow
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): University of Otago moving classes online
Coronavirus – political management
Claire Trevett (Herald): Coronavirus – PM Jacinda Ardern the great reassurer, but did she have to follow Muldoon’s footsteps? (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern heads into new territory with Covid-19 ‘address to the nation’
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern declares war on Covid-19, but Kiwis aren’t listening
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus – Both sides playing politics in time of crisis (paywalled)
Audrey Young (Herald): Coronavirus – an incredible week for government and NZ’s fight against Covid-19 (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Thought you knew Kiwi politics? Forget it
Mike Houlahan (ODT): What kind of unity will parties show?
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in politics: Taking charge in a crisis
Claire Trevett (Herald): Beehive Diaries: the PM and the media’s Covid-19 dance: ‘it’s not us it’s you’ (paywalled)
Coronavirus – Parliament and politicians
ODT Editorial: Election up in the air
Craig McCullough (RNZ): MPs restrict travel, Cabinet to use video-conferencing
Phil Smith (RNZ): Where two or three are gathered together… the new way to govern
Jo Moir (RNZ): Winston Peters to keep working, despite government advice for over 70s
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, 74, will keep working despite stay home request
1News: Winston Peters won’t have to stay home, despite being over 70, says Jacinda Ardern
RNZ: Politicians in self-isolation
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Coronavirus-isolated MPs show how bloated Parliament is
Coronavirus – hospitality guidelines
1News: New hospitality guidelines to reduce coronavirus transmissions include keeping a register of guests
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Guest register part of restrictions on gatherings in bars and restaurants
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Every bar, restaurant customer must sign in under hospitality coronavirus guidelines
Brent Edwards (NBR): Bars, restaurants advised to keep a guest list to stay within 100 limit (paywalled)
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Burger King, KFC close dine-in seating in New Zealand
Nikki Preston (Herald): Bars still heaving despite social distancing warnings
Coronavirus – health system
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Man who tested positive for Covid-19 could not get through to helpline for four days
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Doctors urged to move to online consultations
Katarina Williams (Stuff): Non-urgent routine GP appointments to be done remotely
RNZ: GPs to consult patients online, over the phone
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Southern GPs close for walk-in patients
Amelia Wade (Herald): ‘Trust doctors’ – Jacinda Ardern says NZ has ‘good supply’ of test kits
Dan Satherley (Newshub): No shortage of facemasks, health officials insist
John Lewis (ODT): Non-essential and elective dental services cancelled
1News: Staff in full protective equipment to be stationed outside emergency departments at Hawke’s Bay hospitals
Coronavirus – economy
Brian Easton (Pundit): GFC Vs Covid-19
Brian Gaynor (BusinessDesk): Post Covid-19 – when will that be and what will it look like? (paywalled)
Luke Malpass (Stuff): The serious threat the pandemic poses to our economy
Rod Oram (Newsroom): Unprecedented havoc needs unorthodox remedies
Liam Dann (Herald): Why supermarkets aren’t the scariest markets right now (paywalled)
Bryce Wilkinson (NBR): What do economic models say about Covid-19? (paywalled)
Paul Goldsmith (Stuff): Please open the Crown’s wallet now, National says, we’ll support you
Eric Crampton (Stuff): Unconventional times call for unconventional economic policy
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): New Zealand retains ‘ample flexibility’ even after $12.1b spending programme: Moody’s
Adrian Orr (Stuff): NZ has more firepower to keep financial taps turned on
RNZ: Reserve Bank announces further financial countermeasures
Susan St John (Daily Blog): Time to rethink everything especially super policy
Coronavirus – jobs, welfare system, poverty
1News: Most Kiwis don’t have enough savings to weather economic downturn, survey finds
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Economist calls for benefit rules to be suspended
Ben Leahy (Herald): Thousands of job cuts coming, warns industry boss
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Bureaucracy looms for beneficiaries trying to survive in a Covid-19 world
1News: Social providers bracing for impact of coronavirus on those living in poverty
Jason Walls and Derek Cheng (Herald): The Government will consider changes to migrant workers rules
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government willing to extend wage subsidies if demand outstrips $5 billion
Paul McBeth (BuinessDesk): Covid-19 wage subsidy requests: 27,397 and counting (paywalled)
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Charities reliant on major fundraisers scrambling to find other sources of income
Coronavirus – local government
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Mayor Phil Goff wary of shutting Auckland down before public are ready
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington City Council calls urgent meeting on self-isolation quorum issue
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Council closes facilities but popular market draws hundreds
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington council facilities close, rates hike reconsidered
Justin Lester (Stuff): Wellington needs far more action and communication
RNZ: Councils around New Zealand close community facilities
Stuff: Councils across New Zealand close facilities indefinitely
1News: Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin councils close community facilities
Tina Law (Press): Councillor and health board member accused of ‘irresponsible’ online post
Coronavirus – communities isolate, pull together
Holly Carran (Newshub): North Island iwi warned against blocking major state highway
Kim Moodie (Herald): Police, local council assist with Bay of Plenty iwi border closure
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Te Whānau ā Apanui closes tribal boundaries
Catherine Groenstein and Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Isolated East Cape community takes matters into its own hands
Hannah Kronast and Delphine Herbert (Newshub): Great Barrier Island fighting to stay COVID-19 free
Kelly Dennett (Stuff): Killing coronavirus with kindness: how Kiwis are primed for goodwill during a pandemic
Liam Hehir (Spinoff): ‘Rongocare’: how a small NZ village is helping its people through the pandemic
Holly Carran (Newshub): Volunteer organisations step up to help vulnerable New Zealanders
Coronavirus – Māori health and wellbeing
1News: Government cash boost to Māori communities welcomed
Māori TV: Package to assist Māori through Covid-19 ‘good start’ – Merepeka Raukawa-Tait
1News: Over $56 million prioritised for Māori communities in coronavirus support package
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): $56.5m to be spent on Māori coronavirus response package
Māni Dunlop (RNZ): Māori communities, businesses get help to respond to Covid-19
Dan Satherley (Newshub): $56 million package aimed at helping Māori unveiled
Jason Walls (Herald): Government to spend $56 million on supporting Māori communities and businesses
Leigh-Marama McLachlan (RNZ): Pressure on government to protect Māori in pandemic
Carmen Parahi (Stuff): New pandemic group says Māori ‘left out’ of planning
Coronavirus – mental health
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Focus on mental health to cope with Covid-19 stressors
Jehan Casinader (Stuff): Coronavirus poses an unprecedented threat to our mental health
Coronavirus – Air New Zealand, airlines
RNZ: Air NZ boss: 30 percent of workforce not needed despite loan bailout
Herald: Air New Zealand to start laying off up to 30% staff this week
1News: Air New Zealand to keep flying with Government’s almost $1 billion rescue package
RNZ: Government offers $900m loan for Air New Zealand
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: ‘We have an obligation to let NZers come home’
Victoria Young, Paul McBeth & Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Air NZ bailout too small; value slashed by $550m (paywalled)
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Halt to domestic travel hits New Zealand’s small airlines
Coronavirus – aged care
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Concerns elderly people not getting Covid-19 messages
Herald: Nursing home in lockdown after staff member tests positive for Covid-19
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Nurse at Auckland rest home tests positive, 11 residents isolated
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Iwi arranging care packages for vulnerable amid Covid-19 crisis
Kate Newston (RNZ): Patients worry as healthcare workers unsure of Covid-19 protocols
Coronavirus – primary industries
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Shane Jones says now is not the time to regulate freshwater
RNZ: Redeployment starts for East Coast forestry workers
Sean Hogan (1News): East Coast forestry gets ready to redeploy hundreds of out-of-work contractors
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government spends and loans $113m to the East Coast businesses to cushion Covid-19 blow
Brent Edwards (NBR): Redeployed East Coast forestry workers to fix roads and plant trees (paywalled)
RNZ: Otago farmers nervous about labour shortage from border restrictions
Coronavirus – Pacific
RNZ: Covid-19 tests in Samoa, Vanuatu come back negative
RNZ: Fiji confirms second case of COVID-19
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): How the Pacific is responding
Lana Lopesi (E-Tangata): Right now, our islands need us to stay away
Coronavirus – transport
Andre Chumko (Stuff): KiwiRail suspends tourist rail routes, cuts Interislander services
Damian George (Stuff): Cancelled bus services across Wellington as at-risk drivers asked to stand down
1News: Greater Wellington’s bus services stand down drivers aged 70 and over
RNZ: Wellington, Auckland public transport goes cashless
Kim Moodie (Herald): AT limits bus access to rear doors
Herald: Big road toll drop likely result of Covid-19, campaigner says
Coronavirus – Diplomatic posts, NZers struggle to get home
Jason Walls (Herald): Diplomatic posts shut amid Covid-19 pandemic – Government warns more may be shut
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Diplomatic posts closed due to COVID-19 fears
RNZ: ‘Flights are being cancelled left, right and centre’ – NZers struggle to get home
RNZ: NZ woman stuck in Peru due to border closures desperate to go home
Ben Leahy (Herald): Trapped in Argentina: Kiwi’s desperate bid to get last flight home
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Former PM Helen Clark says window is closing for Kiwi travellers overseas
Coronavirus – Business
Jason Walls (Herald): Government wants Commerce Commission to be more flexible amid outbreak
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Anti-competition laws relaxed for business
Brent Edwards (NBR): Go easy on competition law, Faafoi tells ComCom (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Coronavirus – in these days of crisis there is the rarest of gifts: Time (paywalled)
Damien Grant (Stuff); In these extraordinary times, the social contract is coming under strain
Chris Keall (Herald): Spark closes three stores, Vodafone NZ hit by India lockdown
Coronavirus – Singapore-NZ trade
1News: New Zealand, Singapore vow to keep supply chains open amid coronavirus pandemic
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government takes action to secure flow of goods from Singapore amidst crisis
Herald: New Zealand and Singapore commit to keeping supply chains open
Brent Edwards (NBR): NZ, Singapore keeping trade lines open (paywalled)
Coronavirus – messaging
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Media strive to adapt to ‘the new normal’
Liam Hehir (Pundit): A Plea To Experts: Safeguard Your Role In Public Life
Stephen Forbes (Stuff): Celebrities join forces in battle against pandemic
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Scientist Siouxsie Wiles has dropped everything to tell Kiwis about coronavirus
Coronavirus – sport
Marvin France (Stuff): What’s next? Major New Zealand sports events at risk due to coronavirus
Steve Hepburn (ODT): NZ-based contest may be dead in the water
Coronavirus – other
Kate Newton (RNZ): Kiwis in Australia face Coronavirus-created unemployment with no govt help
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Balancing the need to share health information with the right to privacy (paywalled)
Max Towle (RNZ): When will a Covid-19 vaccine be available in New Zealand?
Denise Piper (Stuff): Police help Auckland Airport restrict visitors to passport holders only
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Lip-reading in masks, cost of protective gear, panic-buying hurting disabled
RNZ: Creative NZ announces multi-million-dollar help for artists
RNZ: Builders, suppliers told to prepare for Covid-19 disruptions
Ryan Jennings (Spinoff): How to keep New Zealanders in jobs? Buy local
RNZ: DOC to cancel bookings and close visitor centres
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Department of Conservation closing visitor centres, cancelling hut bookings
1News: DOC closes all visitor centres, cancels all hut and campsite bookings
Giles Dexter (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s plea to New Zealand as shoppers flood supermarkets
Herald: NZ Courts to stay open amid further Covid-19 restrictions
Ben Leahy (Herald): Auckland first-home buyers at greatest risk from coronavirus pain: experts
1News: Banks need to ‘step up’ to help customers through the coronavirus crisis – Kiwibank
1News: Visitors to Te Papa Museum last Saturday asked to consider self-isolating
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Te Papa museum to close for two weeks
1News: Broadband usage soars across NZ as numbers of people working from home rise
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Landlords urged to defer rent increases and help tenants stay in their homes amid crisis
David Williams (Newsroom): Defence Force readies for Covid-19 role
David Williams (Newsroom): Spend billions on jobs but save climate too
Health
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Cramped, rotting and risky – the scale of the hospital fix-up revealed
Mike Houlahan (ODT): $500K spent by Southern DHB to neurosurgery transport patients
Matthew Tso (Stuff): Hospital staff accuse cops of dumping violent patients at hospital
Larissa Howie (1News): Endometriosis sufferers in New Zealand still paying the price
Environment
Chloe Ranford (RNZ): Quad bike ban in Marlborough divides stakeholders
Alice Angeloni (Stuff): NZ King Salmon application to expand in the Marlborough Sounds declined
Mike Watson (Taranaki Daily News): Illegal oil spill discharged into New Plymouth wastewater network
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Stewart Island wind farm consultation may go out for tender
Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Climate change: Masculine marketing of utility vehicles linked to rising emissions
Local government
Simon Wilson (Herald): The Auckland Council appointment that could change everything (paywalled)
ODT: WasteNet ends recycling contract with Southland disAbility
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Three Southland councils split over controversial recycling contract
Charlotte Jones (RNZ): Council told to ‘get cracking’ on planned projects before election
Mandy Te (Stuff): Sir Peter Jackson invites councillors to a closed meeting on Shelly Bay’s future
ODT: Mayor and council in legal battle
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Flood repair cost to be ‘significant’
Other
Alison Mau (Stuff): Pizza Hut worker reported rape by a colleague, HR said it was a ‘personal’ matter
Blair Voorend (Hawkes Bay Today): Kāinga Ora pulls pin on Napier housing as community compares plan to ‘slum’
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Rejected student visa applicant says INZ has ‘shameful’ approach
Eleisha Foon (RNZ): Calls to change ‘outdated’ adoption law in New Zealand
Rick Herd (NBR): National sends wrong signal with its health and safety proposals (paywalled)
Harrison Christian (Stuff): What legal cannabis in California could mean for NZ
Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Sexual harassment victim wins landmark apology from Anglican Church
Catrin Owen (Stuff): Police sexual assault victim praised for bravery during ‘brutal’ trial
Matt Nippert (Herald): Māori King’s adviser Rangi Whakaruru tied to ‘a number of unlawful schemes’ (paywalled)
Susan Strongman (RNZ): Consent granted for Erebus national memorial
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Visa, Mastercard, banks and NZ’s retail payment systems, Part 1
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Visa, Mastercard, banks and NZ’s retail payment systems, Part 2
Derek Cheng (Herald): How MPs voted on abortion law reform
George Heagney (Stuff): Tertiary Education Union asks Massey to withdraw restructure proposal documents
RNZ: Govt plans $54b transport spend over decade, no petrol tax increase next year
Stuff: $17m tourism cash boost for Rotorua
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Too little, too slow, Super Fund tells social media giants
Moana Jackson (E-Tangtata): Racism or satire? Analysing Bob Jones’s columns
Catherine Delahunty (Stuff):Jeanette Fitzsimons: Unflinching visionary who held true to her values
