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
Border failure
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Heads have to roll over border catastrophe, but whose head should it be?
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Flat Earthers: For how much longer must New Zealand be damaged by Neoliberalism’s demented perceptions of reality?
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Blame for COVID-19 quarantine, PPE fails lies squarely with Ministry of Health
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Covid-19 border botch-up: ‘Next few days will be crucial’
Selwyn Manning (Evening Report): Snakes and Mirrors – National Sat On Covid-19 Infection Information For Hours Before Dropping Political Bombshell In Parliament
Jane Clifton (BusinessDesk): Good old-fashioned incompetence (paywalled)
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): The law is clear – border testing is enforceable. So why did New Zealand’s quarantine system break down?
Stuff Editorial: Border bungle can’t be repeated
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Tumultuous day for Government as quarantine botch-up causes major fallout
Gordon Campbell: On the perils of making damage control your top priority
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Another government botch-up which shouldn’t be tolerated
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Richard Harman (Politik): What the military are really doing in the Covid-19 battle
Paul Buchanan: The military is no quarantine panacea
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Assistant Chief of Defence was already in charge when COVID-19 pair left quarantine
1News: MPs Shane Jones, Mark Mitchell both support military intervention at NZ’s Covid-19 quarantine facilities
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Michael Morrah (Newshub): National claims half of those in quarantine yet to be tested for COVID-19
Amelia Wade (Herald): Border issues a ‘catalogue of cock-ups’ as National’s Michael Woodhouse calls for transparency
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Public wedding party held at Auckland quarantine hotel
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Health academic raised concerns about Novotel Ellerslie quarantine with Ministry of Health 13 days before new cases
Michael Morrah (Newshub): 18 allowed to leave quarantine to attend Christchurch burial, only half tested beforehand
Blair Norton (1News): Quarantined travellers who went to Christchurch funeral were kept away from other attendees
Marine Lourens and Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Two hours’ notice for quarantined group to attend Chch funeral
Kristin Hall (1News): Man identified as contact of women from UK with Covid-19 flown to Christchurch during isolation without being tested
Sam Sherwood (Stuff): Contact of two Covid-19 cases flew to Christchurch without being tested
Rebecca Ryan (ODT): Quarantined man untested for a week, queries conditions
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Concern at reports sailors disembarked
George Block (Stuff): Novotel guests ‘met outside visitors’ before pair tested positive
Isaac Davison (Herald): Mourners who went to event with US traveller want to know her test result
George Block (Stuff): Homeless man walked into $500/night Auckland isolation hotel
Lana Andelane (Newshub): Homeless man allegedly stayed in Auckland COVID-19 quarantine facility for two weeks
Herald: Homeless man stayed in Auckland Covid-19 quarantine hotel for two weeks – Woodhouse
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Vaimoana Tapaleao (Herald): Epidemiologist Sir David Skegg – ‘We could have clusters of infection emerging … that we don’t know about’
RNZ: Covid-19 prevention at borders: ‘Clearly we have a slack system’ – Skegg
Michael Daly (Stuff): New Zealand yet to have Covid-19 ‘first wave’ as country faces border quandary
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Emma Russell and Kim Moodie (Herald): Passengers reveal ‘shocking’ detail about flight carrying latest confirmed case
RNZ: Flight with latest Covid-19 case had no social distancing, passenger says
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Trans-Tasman passengers must wear face masks as coronavirus fears resurface
Dan Lake (Newshub): Face masks now compulsory on all trans-Tasman flights as NZ introduces stronger air travel restrictions
RNZ: Ministry of Health confirms masks to be compulsory on trans-Tasman flights
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Air NZ crew not the problem – it’s been NZ border control, says expert
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RNZ: PM denies personal responsibility over border bungle
Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s focus is now to restore Kiwi’s confidence in the Government
Matt Burrows (Newshub): People are being held accountable for Government’s COVID-19 quarantine debacle, Grant Robertson says
1News: Dr Ashley Bloomfield insists public can continue to trust him despite Covid-19 isolation debacle
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): ‘I’ve certainly been upset by it’: Dr Ashley Bloomfield’s apology for Covid-19 border blunder
1News: Dr Bloomfield apologises for Covid-19 debacle, but doesn’t believe community is at risk
1News: ‘I was not a happy chappy’ – Chief Ombudsman says inspections will change focus in wake of quarantine botch up
RNZ: Iwi leaders take aim at government’s border control systems
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RNZ: Checkpoint: Mutual friend told two women to contact Bishop
Collette Devlin and Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Claims in Parliament National MP lobbied for leave for sisters who have Covid-19
Anna Whyte (1News): National MP who lobbied for women later diagnosed with Covid-19 calls Government outing a ‘desperate smear’
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Covid-19 pair released from quarantine after lobbying from National MP Chris Bishop, Labour claims
Herald: Two women let out after National MP lobbied for release
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Nikki Macdonald (Stuff): The road trip that turned Ashley Bloomfield from hero to zero
Lane Nichols (Herald): The curious case – and unanswered questions – of Covid pair’s road-trip
RNZ: NZ’s two Covid-19 cases: Pair did not hug and kiss anyone on their travels – Bloomfield
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): New details of trip to Wellington emerge
Jason Walls (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern says Govt shouldn’t be focused on ‘witch hunt’ after Winston Peters’ comments
Collette Devlin and Brittney Deguara (Stuff): Covid-19 border botch not a ‘witch hunt’, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says
Belinda Feek and Caroline Fleming (Herald): Rotorua schools exposed by latest covid cases, warns parents of risk
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Jamie Morton (Herald): How fast could virus spread if unleashed?
Jamie Ensor and Emma Stanford (Newshub): ‘Disappointment’ among Kiwis ‘inevitable’ as case numbers grow – expert
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Little appetite to move New Zealand back to level 2
Dianna Vezich (Newshub): Growing pressure for Kiwis to use COVID-19 Tracer app amid new case
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Contact tracing could be reinstated
1News: Auckland testing facility sees demand quadruple following new Covid-19 cases, quarantine debacle
Charles Anderson (Guardian): New Zealand reports fresh coronavirus case as more quarantine breaches emerge
Herald: ‘Fiasco’ – World media doubles down on NZ as military brought in to sort quarantine woes
Trans-Tasman, Pacific travel bubble
Jamie Tahana (RNZ): Enthusiasm for NZ travel bubble into Pacific dampens
Collette Devlin (Stuff): National say border blunder puts trans-tasman bubble at risk
Guy Williams (ODT): Fears breach jeopardises travel bubble
Stuff: Australia says border likely closed to 2021 – but still hope for Kiwis
Government
Simon Wilson (Herald): Is now a good time for real change, Jacinda? (paywalled)
Peter Dunne (Newsroom): An expectation of change
Jennifer Lees-Marshment (Newsroom): Can Ardern dance her way to a second term?
National Party
Brent Edwards (NBR): Voters’ choice: ‘be kind’ or ‘love your neighbour’ (paywalled)
David Fisher (Herald): Fresh to the leader’s job, Todd Muller used a safe cracker to get into Simon Bridges’ old safe (paywalled)
Health
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): A Vigorous Rearrangement of Deck Chairs: Heather Simpson’s Neoliberal Prescription For New Zealand’s Health System
Tim Tenbensel (Newsroom): Health system changes no small task
Sophie Trigger (Stuff): Local representation could be lost in health board overhaul, say members
Sophie Trigger (Stuff): Structure of PHOs ‘will disappear’, but functions will continue, says regional boss
Amelia Wade (Herald): Three months without clean sheets – Home care workers had to stop visits without PPE
Jonathon Harper and Daniel Ryan (Spinoff): Poking holes: ACC, acupuncture and the problem of proof
Samantha Gee (Stuff): Thousands back call to save Nikau House in Nelson
Joe Porter (RNZ): All Blacks tackling stigmas around mental health
Economy, trade
Rob Stock (Stuff): South Islanders face more severe recession than North Islanders
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): South Island likely to be hardest hit in Covid-19 recession – Westpac report
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Job losses could keep coming for years: Economist
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Economist predicts recession and ‘v-shaped’ recovery for New Zealand
Heather Du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): GDP figures shows Govt has bungled economic response to virus
Anna Whyte (1News): GDP drops 1.6%, largest quarterly fall in 29 years
Susan Edmund and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Covid-19 took 1.6 per cent chunk out of GDP by end of March
RNZ: GDP figures down 1.6 percent in March quarter
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): New Zealand records largest GDP plummet in 29 years
Brian Fallow (Herald): Progress of NZ economy has been a rocky road (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): UK trade prize moves closer, but pitfalls remain
RNZ: CPTPP to be used as leverage in free trade negotiations – David Parker
Newstalk ZB: UK High Commissioner says NZ trade deal sets the tone for post-Brexit policy
Welfare
RNZ: Checkpoint: Benefit denials skyrocket for jobseekers with partners earning
RNZ: Queenstown residents ‘exhausted, afraid and losing hope’
Police, Justice and corrections
Mike White (Stuff): Justice at last – inside the new wrongful conviction body
1News: Police Commissioner acknowledges ‘appalling’ criminal justice outcomes for Māori in NZ
Rosie Gordon (Newshub): Victims’ advocate ‘appalled’ after community service hours erased
RNZ: Government erases thousands of hours of community service
Mike White (Stuff): Scott Watson’s bid for freedom being considered by justice minister
1News: Man charged in connection with death of man in Auckland was being monitored by Corrections at time of shooting
Firearms
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Second tranche of gun laws following March 15 shootings
Anna Whyte (1News): Second tranche of gun law reform passes through Parliament
RNZ: Firearm legislation passes final reading
Environment and conservation
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Commercial fisher caught and killed four endangered albatrosses
Katie Newton (RNZ): Beyond reasonable drought: New Zealand’s climate future
Lois Williams (RNZ): West Coast Conservation Board to resume meetings after rift with Ngāi Tahu
Damian Rowe (Stuff): Policy in the works to ban commercial shark cage diving
Luisa Girao (ODT): Shark cages Bill’s demise dismissed
Statues, place names, Black Lives Matter
Chris Trotter: Whose History?
Rosemary McLeod (Stuff): Statues tumble as the test of heroism changes to never doing anything bad
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Call for Kirikiriroa to be city’s dual name along with Hamilton
Laura Mills (Greymouth Star): Name change debate resurfaces
Hamish MacLean (ODT): The Cook no more – it’s now called Dive
Maxine Jacobs (Stuff): Marton’s Captain Cook statue locked in a box
Laura O’Connell Rapira (Spinoff): Why do we gather? To pull a more just and beautiful future towards us
Media
Damien Venuto (Herald): Bauer boss to Listener subscribers: ‘We’re asking for forgiveness’ (paywalled)
Dita De Boni (NBR): Ex-Bauer NZ staff on standby for masthead sales (paywalled)
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Hang on, magazines are on their way
Gavin Ellis: A victim of white supremacists
Air NZ, aviation industry
1News: Air NZ expecting $120m loss for 2020 financial year following Covid-19 border closures
RNZ: Air NZ forecasts $120m underlying loss for 2019/20 financial year
Herald: Air New Zealand forecasts loss of up to $120m for 2020 financial year
Grant Bradley (Herald): New Zealand Aviation Coalition warns country could get left behind as global travel gears up (paywalled)
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Pilots protest as government shoots down laser pointer penalty bill
Election
Gina Dao-McLay (Spinoff): I’m 17 and I’m ready to vote. Here’s why I should count in this year’s election
Samantha Olley (Herald): Destiny Church’s Hannah Tamaki announces policies
Local government
Tina Law (Press): Pay cuts are delivered for New Zealand’s mayors and councillors
Deena Coster (Taranaki Daily News):700 forms filed announcing intention to buy Waitara leasehold land
Joel MacManus (Dominion Post): Insults fly as councils clash over stalled Riverlink project
Lois Williams (RNZ): West Coast Regional Council locks in rates freeze
Matt Shand (Bay of Plenty Times): Tauranga Mayor Tenby Powell says city insolvent ahead of rates rise
Rugby
Gregor Paul (Herald): The Business of Rugby part VII: Do the All Blacks deserve Government support?
RNZ: The Detail: Tackling New Zealand rugby’s financial woes
Hamish Bidwell (RNZ): Players key to rugby revolution
Primary industries
1News: Fonterra says new report calling out its emissions doesn’t help to reduce them
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): National MP claims ‘political element’ to Fonterra’s approach to her son’s prosecution
Maja Burry (RNZ): Drought hit farmers get extra $3 million boost
Other
Stuff: NZ Law Society can join lockdown test case
Rob Stock (Stuff): Bus company Ritchies discriminated against First Union members, Employment Relations Authority rules
1News: Emergency protections for renters to end next week as Government boosts support
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): RMA fast track for rail and cycling, vs roads
Joel MacManus (Stuff): Why can’t Wellington handle a little rain?
Rob O’Neill (NBR): NZ’s holiday pay debacle just got worse (paywalled)
Robin Martin (RNZ): Iwi walks away from Taranaki Crossing project
Ben Strang (RNZ): Radio network used by emergency services predicted to fail by 2023
Chris Keall (Herald): Only three e-scooter operators for Auckland council’s latest licence (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): NZTA to wrap up Transmission Gully negotiations within six weeks
Benn Bathgate (Stuff): Charge against Dr Lance O’Sullivan dropped
Anna Whyte (1News): Wellington’s port to get $15 million to cut emissions
David Farrar: Teen abortions down massively
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Complaints, investigations and the ERA: How to deal with workplace bullying
1News: More than 1000 Vanuatu nationals stranded in NZ to be repatriated home
Luisa Girao (ODT): Burden of smelter uncertainty acknowledged
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Apprenticeship boost: Experts say subsidy will help with skills shortage
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Cruise industry says it’s time to allow ships to sail again
RNZ: $15m pumped into electric vehicles, renewable energy at CentrePort Wellington
