New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
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Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.

New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.

Today’s content

Public health strategy
Henry Cooke and Luke Malpass (Stuff): Poll shows Kiwis back harsh measures but are extremely worried about virus
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Poll shows Kiwis back the Leviathan of the state
Michael Baker (The Conversation): ‘Overjoyed’: a leading health expert on New Zealand’s coronavirus shutdown, and the challenging weeks ahead
1News: ‘This has given us a chance’ – Public health expert commends Government on coronavirus lockdown
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ may have been spared worst-case disaster in ‘nick of time’ – expert
Newshub: Coronavirus can be beaten if New Zealanders follow intense isolation rules – infectious disease expert
Jamie Morton (Herald): Lockdown ‘sacrifice’ must come with testing surge
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Doctors warn of blind spot in Government’s COVID-19 response plan
Gordon Campbell: On how long lockdowns need to last, and the ventilator shortages
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Drive-up virus testing clinics swamped by demand
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Screening has been ramped up but how does testing work?
1News: Sir Peter Gluckman strongly urging Kiwis to abide by level four restrictions or risk spreading coronavirus
1News: ‘Yes we can’ – Jacinda Ardern confident New Zealand can beat coronavirus pandemic
1News: Ardern calls on young people to take self-isolation seriously – ‘You may feel resilient but it’s not just about you’

Government, Parliament
Richard Harman (Politik): Nobody got a bargain
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The committee keeping the Government honest
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Parliament will close until late-April, replaced with Simon Bridges-chaired select committee
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Special committee set-up as Parliament is adjourned
Jason Walls (Herald): Speaker confirms Parliament won’t sit until April 28 amid alert level 4 lockdown
Anna Whyte (1News): Winston Peters to work from home as country prepares to go into coronavirus lockdown
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff: Forget unity, New Zealand needs dissent now more than ever
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): No place for politics in ghastly Covid-19 situation
David Farrar: Is it fair for the opposition to criticise?
No Right Turn: Transparency and the pandemic

Lockdown
Derek Cheng (Herald): Lockdown approaches but Jacinda Ardern says to stay at home now
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): As NZ goes into lockdown, authorities have new powers to make sure people obey the rules
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Fines, prison and loss of property – What the Government could do if you break quarantine
Clare Aspinall (The Conversation): Self-isolating for coronavirus is impossible for tens of thousands of New Zealanders – unless we help them fast
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Plea for hikers, hunters, bikers and fishers to stay home
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): This is a lockdown, not a holiday
1News: Confusion as NZ First promotes solo hunting during coronavirus lockdown
Jake McKee Cagney (Herald): Kiwis advised not to spend lockdown at bach
Herald Editorial: A whānau of five million
Herald Editorial: Get behind the Covid-19 coronavirus shutdown
Southland Times Editorial: We shall be released

Border
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Returning Kiwis raise virus concerns
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern to focus on tightening up restrictions on returning New Zealanders

Health system
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Health workers could live away from families for weeks
Nicholas Jones (Herald):Software to help doctors decide who gets an ICU bed
RNZ: 53 intensive care beds in country – survey
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Worry over burnt-out and understaffed Intensive Care Units
Herald: Auckland nurse opens up about Covid-19 reality for healthcare workers
Emma Russell (Herald): All non-urgent surgeries cancelled
Nikki Mandow (Newsroom): Protective gear stocks: are medics exposed?

Essential services
RNZ: Government clarifies essential services during Covid-19 lockdown
Esther Taunton (Stuff): ‘Forcibly shut down’ non-essential services trying to operate, says union
Lane Nichols (Herald): Pizza chain labelled ‘socially irresponsible’ for remaining open during lockdown
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): PM’s ‘name and shame’ moment for non-essential firms still trading
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemns cafes, bars staying open despite alert level increase
Herald: The Warehouse, liquor stores to close during lockdown
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Further clarification on ‘essential services’ that can stay open during COVID-19 lockdown
Liu Chen (RNZ): All restaurants, cafes and bars set for total closure

Supermarkets
Michael Daly (Stuff): Supermarkets to put up screens, limit customer numbers
Lukek Kirkness (Herald): Perspex screens and pack-your-own, Countdown’s lockdown safety measures
1News: Countdown stores to limit customers, introduce perspex shields during coronavirus lockdown

Housing
No Right Turn: What about renters?
Jason Walls (Herald): Six-month mortgage holiday scheme likely to stop housing market ‘fire sale’
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Government has announced a mortgage holiday, here’s what it could look like
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern announces mortgage holiday for affected workers in scheme with banks
RNZ: Retail banks agree to a mortgage holiday repayment scheme
Anna Whyte (1News): Banks to provide mortgage holidays to those whose incomes impacted by Covid-19
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): House sellers, buyers face derailed or delayed sales

Economy, business support
Rod Oram (Newsroom): We can’t resurrect people, we can restore economic activity
Brian Easton (Pundit): Dealing With The Covid-19 Tsunami
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister says Government has more fiscal firepower to fight virus
Joe Nunweek (Metro): Coronavirus support package: Government putting too much trust in business owners to do the right thing
Liam Dann (Herald): How big is this global economic shock? How long will recovery take? (paywalled)
Michael Andrew (Spinoff): ‘You can’t really control it’: Economists on how the shutdown will change NZ
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): As credit markets panic, the Government is poised to make a stunning move into lending (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): $6.25b Government-backed loan scheme designed to see more firms through crisis
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government hints at help for ‘very large’ companies as it unveils $6.25 billion loan guarantees (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1News): Upper limit of Business Guarantee scheme ‘arbitrary’, says National
Newstalk ZB: Reserve Bank urged to take Official Cash Rate below zero

Welfare
Michael Fletcher (Spinoff): The case for a huge Covid-19 benefit reform
Sarah Robson (RNZ): WINZ moves to online and phone services

Iwi action
Peter de Graaf (Northern Advocate): Hone Harawira to lockdown Far North with checkpoints
Helen Castles (1News): Non-residents trying to get into parts of Northland from tomorrow afternoon will be blocked by iwi
Caroline Williams and Donna Lee-Biddle (Stuff): Iwi across NZ step up tourist blockades, close huts and walkways

NZers in Australia
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern pleads with Australia to help Kiwis laid off during economic crisis
Sarah Martin and Ben Doherty (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern asks for coronavirus relief for New Zealanders banned from Australia’s welfare

Kiwis stranded overseas, tourists stranded here
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Foreign Minister Winston Peters urges Kiwis overseas to take shelter as PM warns there will be no way home
Anna Whyte (1News): Jacinda Ardern warns some Kiwis stuck overseas ‘won’t make it back’ to NZ in time for coronavirus shutdown
RNZ: New Zealanders overseas told window to return home amid coronavirus ‘almost completely closed’
Grant Bradley (Herald): Freight flight plan for stranded Kiwis (paywalled)
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Thousands of stranded travellers left in limbo as airlines shut down
Harry Lock (RNZ): Plans to go home in tatters as international travel options crumble due to Covid-19
1News: Government to extend temporary visas to allow travellers to stay in NZ
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Potentially more than 100,000 tourists still here
ODT: Mayor warns of ‘crisis’ for migrant workers

Transport
Simon Collins (Herald): Travel deadline extended to Friday as stranded students struggle to get home by midnight tomorrow
Amelia Wade (Herald): Deadline for domestic travel extended so people can get home
Anna Whyte (1News): Domestic travel deadline extended to Friday midnight as Covid-19 lockdown looms
RNZ: Celebrations for some as new travel deadline announced
1News: Air New Zealand to put out additional aircraft as Kiwis scramble home before coronavirus lockdown
RNZ: Auckland’s public transport to be free, but restricted during Covid-19 lockdown
Herald: Wellington City Council cancels parking charges
RNZ: Most work on state highways closing down – NZTA
RNZ: The Detail: The future of flying looks grim

Freight
Jason Walls (Herald): Government’s air freight package ensures critical imports such as medicine continue
RNZ: Government provides $330m in funding to keep air freight going during lockdown
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Transport Minister says air freight will keep moving during NZ lockdown
1News: More details released of Government’s $600 million aviation support package

Education
RNZ: What you need to know about school and uni closures
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Thousands of kids could go hungry as schools close
1News: Teaching students in coronavirus lockdown a ‘significant challenge’, Principals Federation says
Sean Hogan (1News): Schools get creative as lockdown looms for education sector
Simon Collins (Herald): Innovative Auckland primary school advises 1-3 hours a day of home learning
Nikki Preston (Herald): How to home school your children

Child care
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Essential service workers scramble to find childcare
Anna Whyte (1News): Buddy system allowed to care for children of essential workers
1News: Children of parents with shared custody arrangements can travel between homes during Covid-19 lockdown
Dubby Henry (Herald): Playgrounds shut down across New Zealand

Justice, corrections
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Justice system: How prisons and courts are responding to Covid-19
Sam Hurley (Herald): What court hearings will continue during New Zealand’s pandemic lockdown?
Farqah Hancock (Newsroom): What Covid-19 could do in prisons

Pacific
RNZ: Pacific nations on heightened alert, flights suspended
RNZ: Samoa waits for seven COVID-19 tests
RNZ: Fourth case in Fiji confirmed

Guns
George Block (Stuff): Air rifle sales shoot up ‘exponentially’ before lockdown
Melanie Reid and Mark Jennings (Newsroom): Why the rush on gun shops?
Chris Marriner (Herald): Queues seen outside Auckland gun shop
RNZ: Gun store owner urges calm after firearms owners queue outside shops

Internet
Juha Saarinen (Herald): Online government services and grocery shopping must be robust during pandemics
Lana Andelane (Newshub): New Zealand’s internet infrastructure ‘world class’ – but beware of scammers

Other
Stuff: Science matters: Who has the ear of the Prime Minister? (podcast)
Alex Casey (Spinoff): Where do domestic violence victims go during the Covid-19 lockdown? 
Leighton Keith (Stuff): Experts unsure how lockdown will affect criminal activity in New Zealand
Herald: New rules for online shopping during the lockdown
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Banking system essential but many branches will close
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Hotels could become temporary hospitals, housing and quarantine facilities
Luke Kirkness (Herald):What Kiwis have been searching for online ahead of lockdown
Max Towle (RNZ): How the climate is benefiting from Covid-19
Dan Lake (Newshub: Why you don’t need to worry about the cruise ships still allowed in New Zealand ports
Herald: New Zealanders who live alone can have a ‘buddy system’ for lockdown
Steve Braunias (Herald): Kiwi virologist who knew ‘angel of death’ on way (paywalled)
Herald: Over 800 animals adopted after SPCA plea for help
Ben Strang (RNZ): Losing a loved one during a lockdown
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): New Zealand: coronavirus cases rise nearly 50% in one day as lockdown nears

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