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

Mixed messages over social distancing
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): George Floyd protest crowds show Beehive’s lost control on gathering
Audrey Young and Claire Trevett (Herald): National leader Todd Muller says confusion reigns in Govt over alert-level 1
David Fisher (Herald): Nat MP says Ardern and Bloomfield ‘hypocrites’ for breaching social distancing but PM says too many wanted ‘handshakes and hugs’ (paywalled)
Natalia Sutherland (1News): Black Lives Matter protestors don’t need to quarantine after breaching social distancing – Dr Bloomfield
1News: ‘We are in a global pandemic’ – Ardern gives Black Lives Matter protestors telling off for flouting Covid-19 restrictions
Thomas Manch (Stuff): No political appetite for the prosecution of George Floyd protesters, after thousands breach social distancing rules
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): NZ Black Lives Matter march distancing breaches ‘irresponsible’ – Police Minister
Anna Whyte (1News): Police Minister understands Black Lives Matter protestors will not be prosecuted
Zane Small (Newshub): Todd Muller ‘totally understands’ if Black Lives Matter protesters were confused about COVID-19 level 2 rules
Aroha Mane (Māori TV): Auckland Protest Breaches: Safety vs Sentiment
Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Christchurch Black Lives Matter protest organiser stands firm
Philip Russo (The Conversation): Can you socially distance at a Black Lives Matter rally in Australia and New Zealand? How to protest in a coronavirus pandemic
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Retailers pressure Government to move to coronavirus alert level 1 after massive protest in Auckland
Stuff Editorial: Time to get off our own knees, perhaps

Alert Level 1 decision
Jamie Morton (Herald): The three extra steps NZ needs to take at alert level 1 (paywalled)
RNZ: Hidden transmission of Covid-19 still possible in NZ – expert
Anna Whyte (1News): Scientific community still concerned over asymptomatic spread of Covid-19, Ardern tells Parliament
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Audrey Young (Herald): Winston Peters v Jacinda Ardern on speed of exit is not a federal case (paywalled)
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Winston Peters would offer to resign if he broke Cabinet rules, but says no breach occurred
Yvette McCullough (RNZ): PM Jacinda Ardern rejects Todd Muller claim government ‘fractured’ over level 1
Herald: A single unexplained case of Covid-19 could keep us at level 2, Grant Robertson suggests
Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): Ardern says New Zealand on track to eliminate coronavirus ‘ahead of schedule’
Amelia Wade (Herald): Covid 19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern confirms Cabinet to consider level 1 move on June 8
Anna Whyte (1News): NZ could move to Alert Level 1 next week after PM brings forward review
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern signals earlier move to COVID-19 alert level 1 when ‘all restrictions basically go’
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern brings forward level 1 decision to next Monday
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Todd Muller hits out at ‘tardy’ Jacinda Ardern, ‘confusing’ alert level 1 messages
RNZ: Opposition MPs urge immediate move to Covid-19 alert level 1
Herald Editorial: Surprising wait for alert level 1 call (paywalled)
ODT Editorial: A stronger case to relax restrictions

NZ’s coronavirus response, public health measures
Graham Adams (Democracy Project): Should we have a Royal Commission of Inquiry into our Covid-19 response?
Andrew Macfarlane (1News): Government’s official Covid-19 tracing app used an average of once per download
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Ardern yet to assure country critical tracing regime on track (paywalled)
1News: Countries around the world could learn from NZ’s social bubble strategy, research shows
Peter Adams (Newsroom): The PM’s metaphorical view of Covid-19

Selective border exemptions
Richard Harman (Politik): Twyford under fire over entry exemptions
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Time to call ‘Cut!’ on the Government’s film subsidy 
Tom Hunt and Joel MacManus (Dominion Post): ‘Political favouritism’ for Hollywood film crews, says opposition MP
Tom Hunt (Stuff): NZ would have lost major film without border exemption, MBIE says
Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Avatar 2 crew fly in to coronavirus row in New Zealand
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Border tipped to open for America’s Cup sailors
Kaitlin Ruddock (1News): Jobs at risk in Nelson with foreign ships unable to get repairs because of border restrictions

Education
Simon Collins (Herald): Apprenticeship fees scrapped for all from July 1
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern confirms ‘any form of apprenticeship will be free from July’ until December 2022
1News: Free job training for some sectors following Covid-19 pandemic job losses
Daisy Hudson and John Lewis (ODT): Free trades training welcomed
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Beekeepers won’t revive the economy
Alison Mau (Stuff): Professor accused of sexual stalking resigns
Grant Miller (ODT): Cheat-monitor software upsets students
Peter Dunne (Herald): Why has Playcentre been relegated to the back of the class? (paywalled)

Migrant workers, welfare
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Our compassionate PM’s mean policies
RNZ: Queenstown community hub opens Thursday
Philip Chandler (Mountain Scene): Fallout from Covid-19 ‘taking dreams away’
George Block (Stuff): Former Chinese soldier gains NZ refugee status despite lying on visa application

NZ armed police concerns, George Floyd murder, racism
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): No doubt racism exists in New Zealand Police – Māori law expert
Bronson Perich (Māori TV): Police should not be armed at all times – Shane Jones
Simon Collins (Herald): New Zealand’s African minorities: Police target us, call us ‘n*****s’
Joel Rindelaub (Stuff): Why black lives matter in New Zealand too
RNZ: Ardern says George Floyd situation in US ‘horrifying’
Matt Burrows (Newshub): George Floyd: Jacinda Ardern cagey on whether she thinks Donald Trump is racist, urges Kiwis to ‘look at our own backyard’
Chris Trotter (Interest): Farewell to America’s ‘Better Angels’

Election, parliament
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Political poll: Labour has more than double National’s support, Kiwis happy with country’s direction
Jo Moir (RNZ): Labour switches up strategy for Māori seats

National Party
Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup: Todd Muller’s torrid start as National leader
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Where did National Party leader Todd Muller go?
Anna Whyte (1News): Simon Bridges ‘glad to be back’ at Parliament after ouster as Opposition leader
Herald: Former National Party leader Simon Bridges returns to Parliament

Employment
Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Unions to pressure Government on extending sick leave in New Zealand from five days to 10
Emma Hatton (RNZ):Employee surveillance software sales surge in lockdown
Esther Taunton (Stuff): Job search sites embrace remote work trend
Irra Lee (1News): Union appreciates Countdown gifting employees $10 million in shares, but says they ‘don’t pay the rent’
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Countdown gives most of its workers shares in the company
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Countdown supermarket workers gifted shares in the company
Amelia Wade (Herald): Jennifer Ward-Lealand: Kiwi actors dubbed the ‘Mexicans of the South Pacific’ due to poor pay

Environment and conservation
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Cap finally added to NZ’s cap-and-trade scheme
Jamie Morton (Herald): Govt reveals new cap, emissions budget, in ETS reform
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Bill puts slowly sinking lid on emissions
No Right Turn: Climate Change: Banking failure
Brent Edwards (NBR): Ideal time to strengthen the emissions trading scheme, Shaw says (paywalled)
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Climate risk reporting set to ramp up
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Coronavirus: delayed UN climate summit dates announced
Ralph Sims (Stuff): Climate Explained: Could the world stop using fossils fuels today?
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Dairy company seeks to double its river discharge
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Rehabilitated conservation land mine a ‘moonscape’
No Right Turn: This is not rehabilitation
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland drought: It’s time to talk about our water problem
Todd Niall (Stuff): Has Auckland outgrown its water supply? 
Kendall Hutt (Stuff): Auckland drought: Water restrictions breached 606 times in 16 days
Lawrence Gullery (Stuff): Retreat from sea among options as Thames-Coromandel plans for coastal change
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Bugs cause exotic plants to release more carbon than natives
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Kea deaths during Otago 1080 operation ‘pretty predictable’ – DOC staffer
1News: Campaign launched to bring awareness to ‘raft of fisheries in danger’ in NZ waters

Economy, business, wage subsidy
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Four-day work week: A silver bullet for New Zealand’s economy post-COVID-19 or an idealist fantasy?
Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): How New Zealand learned to stop worrying and love government debt
Damien Venuto (Herald): The other cloud hanging over New Zealand’s recovery (paywalled)
Tim Hazeldine (BusinessDesk): Go forth and multiply…your spending (paywalled)
David Hargreaves (Interest): Westpac economists say some recent data is tentatively suggesting that the economic situation may not be quite as severe as expected
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern schools Todd Muller in Parliamentary battle
Zane Small (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern ‘not dismissing’ adoption of Todd Muller’s JobStart policy despite ‘lack of detail’
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Job cuts at Temperzone after staff used leave to get paid during lockdown
1News: Businesses in NZ’s biggest city centres continue to struggle, with foot traffic well down
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Bunnings Warehouse confirms closure of seven stores

Local government
Joel Maxwell (Dominion Post): Porirua council paid $2.6m through Covid-19 wage subsidy as income plunges
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Auckland’s budget cuts: a half billion too far
Luisa Girao (ODT): City council makes midterm changes to subcommittees

Housing
Jessica Roden (1News): KiwiBuild buyers trying to get out of delayed Wellington apartment complex to get entire deposits back
Robin Martin (RNZ): Rental market demand soars as Covid-19 forces NZers home
RNZ: More property listings expected when wage subsidy runs out – QV
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): QV delivers stark warning about future of NZ property market
Priscilla Dickinson (Newshub): Property prices ‘on the brink of a material decline’ as growth rate declines in 14 New Zealand cities
Greg Ninness (Interest): Quotable Value warns that house prices are teetering on a cliff edge
RNZ: Consents for new homes fell steeply during lockdown

Transport
RNZ: The Detail: The big kiwi company hanging on to pandemic refunds
Dan Lake (Newshub): Experts say NZ is a ‘case study’ for how aviation industry will rebuild post COVID-19
Dileepa Fonseka (Newsroom): Inside Transmission Gully’s PPP mess
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Greens will campaign on light rail if Government fails to agree a deal
Molly Houseman (ODT): Union march against mothballing, job cuts

Health and disability
Natasha Jojoa Burling (Herald): Southland family’s 13-month wait for son’s autism assessment ‘not acceptable’
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Narrow bowel cancer screening criteria slows diagnosis

Other
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Helen Clark on China and Covid-19
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): High profile Kiwis advocating for cannabis legislation change
1News: For first time, KiwiSaver statements will now show your predicted balance at retirement
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Police treated protection request during lockdown as OIA
Jonathan Mitchell (RNZ): Defence Force deployed 700 personnel in Covid-19 lockdown response
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Big advertisers channelled more spending towards newspapers in April