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

State of emergency, Lockdown
Andrew Geddis (Spinoff): How politics, police and power work in lockdown New Zealand
Press Editorial: Welcome to the pandemic police state
Richard Harman (Politik): Army and police to show no tolerance
RNZ: State of National Emergency explained
Zane Small (Newshub): Government officials declare state of national emergency in New Zealand amid COVID-19 pandemic
ODT: Call for calm as emergency declared – PM’s statement
Lois Williams (RNZ): Council staff co-opted as Civil Defence gears up for action at midnight
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘There will be no tolerance’ – Covid-19 lockdown rules will be enforced, says PM
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): How the Government will enforce the COVID-19 lockdown
Māori TV: What does a State of Emergency mean for Māori? – Minister Kelvin Davis
Newstalk ZB: A drive to the beach? Don’t even think about it, warns top cop
Herald: What New Zealanders can and can’t do during lockdown
Sam Brookes (Spinoff): What are the rules for lockdown in New Zealand?
RNZ :‘Don’t pop the bubble’ – Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles
Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: You’re waking up in lockdown New Zealand. Here’s how it works
Audrey Young (Herald): Whole of New Zealand in self-isolation in battle against disease
Steven Walton (Stuff): Kiwis need to keep their pets in lockdown bubble too

Government, Parliament
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): It’s Time For Disaster Socialism
Tim Watkin (Pundit): Why Timing Is Everything: ‘A Time To Refrain From Embracing’ Starts Today
Paul Hunt (Stuff): We all have a duty and responsibility to self-isolate
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): A careful balancing act for the Government
Claire Trevett (Herald): Covid-19 lockdown begins, live the life of Eleanor Rigby (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Hands across the aisle as Parliament locks down
1News: Simon Bridges says his role amid coronavirus lockdown will be to ‘constructively’ ask ‘hard questions’
James Fyfe (Newshub): NZ in ‘good place’ to fight COVID-19 but ‘constructive scrutiny’ of Government needed – Simon Bridges

Border
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Nail the border down hard (Better late than never) (paywalled)
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): We need to be tougher at the border during lockdown
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern defends decision not to quarantine everyone arriving into NZ
Anna Whyte (1News): All returning Kiwis to be screened for coronavirus as border rules tighten
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s tough new border measures for arrivals to New Zealand

Inequality, poverty
Max Rashbrooke (Guardian): New Zealand must ensure coronavirus crisis doesn’t become an inequality crisis
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Food banks face Covid-19 lockdown issues – demand high, supplies low
Matt Burrows (Newshub): What Auckland City Mission is doing for homeless during COVID-19 lockdown

Healthcare
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Six-day testing delay raises concerns
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Speed-builds of hospital negative pressure rooms wow ICU doctors
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Location rules out nurse’s bid to join Covid-19 contact tracing team
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Frontline doctors prepare for ‘what’s coming’ by sending kids away
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Health workers assaulted by people wanting to be tested for COVID-19
RNZ: Hospital to allow staff to park for free after nurse forced to pay $19
RNZ: ‘It really is shameful’ – Nurse says Wilson Parking still charging during Covid-19 pandemic
Matt Nippert (Herald): Panic sparks discrimination against healthcare worker (paywalled)
RNZ: Hospitals, medical centres face staff shortage
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Clinicians face of the fight
Herald Editorial: Hail those who walk into the path of Covid-19 coronavirus
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Restrictions in force in SDHB hospitals

Covid-19
George Heagney (Stuff): New Zealand in ‘excellent position’ to stop virus spread
Jamie Morton (Herald): Big Read: How Covid-19 has perplexed scientists everywhere
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Covid-19: NZ’s latest numbers in charts – March 25
Kate Newton (RNZ): Early analysis suggests NZ Covid-19 cases fit pattern of victims being older
David Farrar: The numbers

Financial support package, economy
Thomas Manch and Henry Cooke (Stuff): Finance Minister considers universal basic income to ward off economic peril
Keith Rankin: Universal Basic Income And Covid19
Newstalk ZB: CTU concerned employers are abusing covid-19 fiscal support package
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Wage subsidy scheme ‘working’, but changes could be coming – Finance Minister
Bridie Witton (Stuff): More than 200,000 employers apply for coronavirus wage subsidy and leave payments
Ilan Noy (Newsroom): Financial package a golden opportunity for long-term change
Raf Manji (Interest): Good QE vs Bad QE: RBNZ launches bond-buying program
Bridget Tunnicliffe (RNZ): Concern for small business who opt to go under
Tess Brunton (RNZ): ‘Left in limbo’: Fears for foreign hospitality workers who lose jobs

Essential services, export, trade
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Export-driven food manufacturers questioned as staff say they’re forced to work during lockdown
Kate MacNamara (Stuff): Make wine, not homes: The new essential services
1News: Coronavirus-impacted countries announce pact to keep trade links open
RNZ: Sistema to pay workers striking until Sunday night
1News: Sistema workers walk off the job amid concerns over working during lockdown

Housing
Amelia Wade (Herald): Rents frozen and evictions banned under emergency legislation
1News: Rent freezes to provide relief for those struggling with coronavirus business shutdown
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government to ban most evictions and rent-rises for several months
Zane Small (Newshub): Support for renters as Government bans termination of tenancies during COVID-19 lockdown
1News: Kiwi renters demand same financial certainties as homeowners amid coronavirus lockdown
Katie Todd (RNZ): Tenants told skipping rent not an option
Katie Todd (RNZ): Tenants group calls for more help for renters
Mandy Te (Stuff): Tenants told 14-day notices sent if rent not paid
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Six-month mortgage holiday will increase loans, but people will keep their homes, Robertson says
David Farrar: Beware the mortgage holiday

Essential workers
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Essential workers don’t need a letter of authority, but some have one
Glen McConnell (Stuff): Thanks to the bus drivers, to the nurses and shelf stackers
Herald: Government will fund home-based childcare for essential workers

Price gouging, online shopping
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s warning to supermarkets after accusations of price gouging
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Supermarkets, food outlets deny price hikes
Herald: Online shopping only allowed for essentials during lockdown

Mobile phone tracing
Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): Could NZ use mobile phones to trace the contacts of Covid-19 cases?
Ayesha Verrall and Peter Fuller (Newsroom): Is it time to use technology to trace Covid-19 cases?

Education
Amelia Wade (Herald): All schools will now be controlled by the Government under new emergency changes
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teachers respond to challenge of online learning
Josephine Franks (Stuff):School closures hard on parents of children with special needs
ODT Editorial: Deep breaths for families on day 1
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Universities may scrap work experience, practical assessments
Katie Harris (Herald): Student hardship applications skyrocket
John Lewis (ODT): Lecturer, students turn hands to sanitiser

Children
Julie Spray (Spinoff): Children are experiencing the pandemic too
RNZ: Parents with shared custody arrangements given guidance

Lockdown for the vulnerable
Herald: Vulnerable Kiwi kids to benefit from new approach
Kate Nicol-Williams (1News): Domestic violence support organisations bracing for impact as NZ enters lockdown
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Charities warn COVID-19 lockdown may cause spike in domestic violence

Iwi close tribal borders
1News: Northland iwi put up checkpoints to help stop coronavirus spread
Rukuwai Tipene-Allen (Māori TV): Taitokerau bands together to keep virus out
Kayne Ngātokowhā Peters (Newsroom): Foreign tourists stopped at iwi checkpoints
RNZ: Tribal borders in East Coast and Northland now closed
1News: East Cape iwi places rāhui to prevent coronavirus spread

Kiwis stranded overseas, tourists stranded in NZ
Collette Devlin (Stuff): New Zealand mercy flights for Kiwis stuck abroad are unlikely
1News: Stranded Kiwis fear the unknown as PM tells them to prepare for the long haul
1News: Group of 17 Kiwis stranded on cruise ship pens open letter to NZ Government to get them home
RNZ: Nine to Noon: Kiwi student stranded in South Africa due to broken NZ embassy printer
Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Tess Johnson stranded in Australia despite growing up in New Zealand
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Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Fears thousands of ‘homeless’ and ‘ignorant’ tourists will break lockdown rules
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Stranded tourists hunkered down on lawns, high-rent homes
Hugh Collins (ODT): Far from family, trying to get home
Kerrie Waterworth (ODT): Lockdown catches out tourists
1News: Campervans a valid isolation spot as lockdown looms, but there’s a catch

Transport
John Anthony and Steve Forbes (Stuff): Here’s what major airlines are offering customers affected air travel turmoil
Herald: Air New Zealand drops international flights to just 12 routes
Herald: Fullers announces free services for Waiheke Island essential travel during lockdown
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Virgin Australia looks to shut down NZ operations, 550 jobs on line

Banks
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): New Zealand banks are now an extension of a socialist state
RNZ: Banking system in New Zealand secure, says ANZ boss

Local government
Hamish MacLean (ODT): New rules permit video links
Tim Miller (ODT): ‘Be kind’: A message of hope from Southern mayors
RNZ: Invercargill council shuffles to protect councillors
Rotorua Daily Post: Zero rates rise the goal – Bay of Plenty regional councillors agree

Internet
Conan Young (RNZ): GPs worry games, movies slowing down internet for referrals, prescriptions
Jessica Tyson (Māori TV): Public assured that the internet won’t go down during lockdown

Environment
Sam McGlennon (Newsroom):Let’s never return to normal
Christine Rose (Daily Blog): A Call to do Better By Nature

Justice, corrections
Sam Hurley (Herald): Court to continue during lockdown if liberty, safety and wellbeing affected
Collette Devlin (Stuff): More prison phone calls for inmates during lockdown

Other
Gordon Campbell: On Australia’s callousness, and grandparents as parents amid Covid-19
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The virus crisis gives us a chance to shake things up (paywalled)
Simon Wilson (Herald): Pandemic diary – now we have the Kiwi Queue (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Tiwai Point smelter exempted from lockdown
Barry Stewart (ODT): Our commitment to inform you remains
1News: Gull giving 340k litres of ethanol to make 950k bottles of hand sanitiser for NZ’s coronavirus battle
Susan Strongman (RNZ): Big numbers head to coastal baches
Laura Smith (ODT): Govt’s liquor decision means Invercargill avoids ‘prohibition’
RNZ: Two prominent public figures among 205 Covid-19 cases

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