Government extends lockdown
Matthew Hooton (Herald): Why the PM had no choice but to extend the lockdown (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Extra days of lockdown pain probably worth the gain
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern triumphant but cautious about end of lockdown
Joshua O’Sullivan (ISO): Government Gambles on Outbreak
ODT Editorial: Lockdown move the right call
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s big call – One week until takeaways, maybe three weeks till socialising
TVNZ: Q+A: Decision to extend Covid-19 lockdown met with ‘hearty debate’ – Shane Jones
TVNZ: Q+A: Extension of Covid-19 Alert Level 4 based on a ‘mix’ of factors, says Finance Minister
1News: Full speech: Jacinda Ardern addresses the nation, ‘we’ve stopped a wave of devastation’
Anna Whyte (1News): Regional approach to Covid-19 Alert Levels not ruled out in future – PM
Matt Burrows (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s seven rules for COVID-19 alert level 3
Reaction to lockdown extension, debates over public health strategy
1News: ‘Reasonable chance’ of stamping out Covid-19 in NZ if lockdown restrictions are followed – epidemiologist
The Conversation: Delight, relief and caution: Six experts on New Zealand’s move to ease its coronavirus lockdown
Science Media Centre: Exiting Alert Level 4 – Expert Reaction
RNZ: Lockdown extension: How New Zealand industries, politicians and public reacted
Herald: Kiwis, businesses react to lockdown easing
NBR: End of lockdown next Monday ‘clearly positive’, Business NZ says (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Why can’t we do what Australia’s done?’ – Bridges says look across Tasman for Covid-19 response
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Simon Bridges blasts Government after another week of lockdown announced
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Simon Bridges says the Government isn’t ready to lift lockdown
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1News: Elimination of Covid-19 possible if NZ remains in Level 4 lockdown for two more weeks, Government adviser says
RNZ: Long weekend breaks ‘a risky thing to do’ – virus modeller
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Modelling expert says lockdown should be extended two weeks
Josh Van Veen: Political Ideas in the Pandemic Age
Andrew Dickson and Anna Dickson (Manawat? Standard): No plan B for virus – it’s out to infect us no matter what
Contact tracing
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Contact tracing audit exposes significant shortcomings in health system
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealand’s contact tracing system for Covid-19 was overloaded, audit finds
Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Contact tracing audit finds system ‘beyond capacity
RNZ: Contact tracing too slow, must be expanded – audit
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Contact tracing capacity ‘a mathematical impossibility’ – Michael Woodhouse
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Dr Bloomfield announces advancements in contact tracing
Jamie Ensor and Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Kiwis still encouraged to keep track of movements despite promise of contact tracing app
1News: Covid-19 contact tracing apps must have clear privacy boundaries, Privacy Foundation warns
Government, parliament
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Epidemic Response Committee to probe decision to extend level 4 lockdown
James Fyfe (Newshub): The Atlantic praises Jacinda Ardern for putting New Zealand ‘on track for success’ in fight against COVID-19
1News: ‘Empathy in a crisis’ – Jacinda Ardern’s Covid-19 leadership praised by international media
Laura Walters (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern is outclassing Boris Johnson
Sue Allen (Stuff): Coronavirus campaign a masterclass in communications
Carol Hirschfeld (Stuff): Inside My Bubble: Green Party co-leader James Shaw on keeping optimistic
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Legal changes coming to allow politician pay cuts amid Covid-19 crisis
Blair Jackson (Stuff): Electoral boundary changes create a new look Southland and Invercargill seats
Lockdown compliance
Blair Ensor (Stuff): Cafe sold coffee to cops during Covid-19 lockdown
1News: Kiwis’ support of lockdown measures increases, research shows
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Kiwis deserve ‘pat on the back’ for compliance during lockdown
Garth Bray (1News): Old habits to be tested as New Zealand prepares for Alert Level 3
Education
Tom McRae (Newshub):Early childhood teachers don’t want centres open at alert level 3
Belinda Feek (Herald): Keep kids at home at alert level 3, professor says
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Why schools and kindergartens will reopen under alert level 3
Donna-Lee Biddle and Lee Kenny (Stuff): Schools and childcare centres to reopen under alert level 3
1News: ‘Teachers have spoken very loudly’ – preschools should stay closed under Level 3 restrictions, expert urges
1News: Early childhood centres fight to stay shut at Level 3; say it’ll be ‘impossible’ to prevent infections
Laura Wiltshire (Stuff): Petition for ECE and schools to stay shut in level 3 gains traction
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Principals warn students could fall behind with remote learning
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Principals keen to get NZ ‘back on its feet’ despite concerns over school return
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Infometrics: ‘Covid-19 presents a steep learning curve for education
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Students want refunds after universities move learning online
Hannah Martin (Stuff): AUT University to provide laptops, broadband to students at home
Economy
Richard Harman (Politik): We’ve got a long way to go yet
1News: Economy thrown much-needed lifeline as Government plans drop to Alert Level 3
1News: Many small businesses ‘will never open again’ after Covid-19 turmoil
John Anthony (Stuff): Business leaders share tips for surviving crisis based on past recessions
Jenny Ruth (BusinessDesk): Cash is king in a downturn and stop reading disaster stories
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): ASB warns no certainty as to shape of recovery
James Fyfe (Newshub): Economist warns unemployment set to ‘surge’, house prices to fall
M?ori health response
Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Government’s M?ori Covid-19 response all words, no action – response group
Jessica Tyson, Tapatahi (M?ori TV): M?ori health leaders disappointed in Govt’s response to support M?ori during COVID-19
Health system
Peter Davis (Herald): What our health system has learned from pandemic (paywalled)
Lucy Warhurst (Newshub): Calls for elective surgeries to resume as NZ moves to alert level 3
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Hawke’s Bay Hospital sets up dedicated Covid-19 areas
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): Nurse chased to her car, Christchurch Hospital staff car park set to move further away
Mike Houlahan (ODT): Hospital floor space questioned
Nicole Bremner (1News): Maternity care providers urge pregnant women not to fear seeking antenatal support
Torika Tokalau (Stuff): Auckland nurses dance to keep spirits high amid coronavirus pandemic
Aged care, resthomes
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Summerset boss sells stake after company receives $8.8m in government wage subsidies
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Summerset boss sells shares after company takes $8.8m wage subsidy (paywalled)
1News: Union for aged care workers says Government’s $26m funding boost isn’t enough
RNZ: Residential aged care sector understaffed – union
Media
Gavin Ellis: Finally…someone gets tough on Facebook
Robin Martin (RNZ): Call to force social media giants to pay for traditional news media content
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government mulls Australian plan to make big tech like Google and Facebook pay for journalism
Charlotte Cook and Colin Peacock (RNZ): Stuff reaches out to readers
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Stuff asks website readers to donate to its journalism
Community action, checkpoints
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): T?hoe bans hunting and camping for alert level 3 at Te Urewera
Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Harawira’s nonsense shows danger of self appointed guardians
Winston Peters’ super privacy breach
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Winston Peters superannuation case: Claim for damages dismissed
Isaac Davison (Herald): Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters fails in privacy claim against Paula Bennett, Anne Tolley and others
1News: Court dismisses Winston Peters’ allegation that superannuation leak breached his privacy
RNZ: Winston Peters superannuation leak privacy court claim fails
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Winston Peters’ $1.8m privacy claim against Paula Bennett, Anne Tolley dismissed by High Court
Local government
Todd Niall (Stuff): Top-earning Auckland officials targeted in lobby group’s name-and-shame
Dave Armstrong (Dominion Post): Conven-19 – the disaster that everyone in Wellington saw coming
Damian George (Stuff): Tamatha Paul accuses fellow Wellington councillor Diane Calvert of bullying and ‘petty’ behaviour
Newstalk ZB: Pay cut out of her hands says Christchurch mayor
Lois Williams: Analyst urges West Coast councils to shed staff
Lois Williams: Covid-19 forces rethink of Grey District council budget
Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Waikato’s two billion dollar wishlist for a Covid-19 recovery
Charlotte Jones: Covid-19’s impact: Kawerau seeks $17m to boost economy
Tracy Neal (RNZ): Tasman powers on with Waimea hydro dam
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Mothballing may cost 51 jobs
ODT: Taieri Gorge track to be mothballed, 51 jobs likely to go
Debbie Jamieson (Stuff): Dunedin’s Taieri Gorge railway to be mothballed, 51 jobs may go
RNZ: Dunedin’s Taieri Gorge track to be mothballed
ODT: DCHL looking to forestry for succour
Luisa Girao (ODT): SDC rates increase to be lower than projected
Banking, finance, insurance
Rob Stock (Stuff): Loan repayment ‘holidays’ top 100,000, but home loan ‘discounts’ disappear
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): During crisis, is the Finance sector really stepping up?
Herald: Banks made $7.5b in new loans during lockdown
Rob Stock (Stuff): Tower follows AA Insurance’s coronavirus lockdown profit pledge
Building and construction
John Anthony (Stuff): Clean tools twice daily, eat lunch 2 metres apart: The strict new rules construction workers must follow under Alert Level 3
Anne Gibson (Herald):Construction sector gets $160m+ wage grants (paywalled)
Lana Andelane and Miriam Harris (Newshub): New protocol for New Zealand’s builders revealed for when COVID-19 lockdown lifts
Maria Slade (NBR): What’s the fix for the wider construction industry? (paywalled)
Transport
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Tough talks are taking place behind Treasury doors, if Air NZ bail-out set the precedent
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Could fareless public transport boost passenger numbers and cut emissions?
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Airport security guards patrol the streets as work dries up
RNZ: Air New Zealand crew self-isolate after physical distancing rule breach
Repatriation, immigration
Daniel Faitaua (1News): More than 1500 Britons stranded in NZ to return home on UK Government chartered flights
Sarah Robson (RNZ): Families split by Covid-19 border restrictions
Hannah Kronast (Newshub): Honeymoon couple stranded in Fiji unable to board flights returning to NZ
Pacific
RNZ: Cook Islands opposition calls for govt to take a pay cut
RNZ: Fiji PM announces new Covid-19 case, total now 18
RNZ: Law and legal process must be maintained in Fiji during crises like Covid-19
RNZ: Fiji schools to remain closed until June
RNZ: Close to 300 arrested in Samoa for breaking Covid-19 orders
Environment
Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Ministry for Environment report paints grim picture for NZ’s freshwater
Jamie Morton (Herald): Covering Climate Now: What difference can individual action make? (paywalled)
Other
TVNZ: Q+A: Motels around the country hosting former prisoners, homeless to try and survive Covid-19 downturn
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Level 4 for another week will tip many businesses over
Steven Cowan: Carmel Sepuloni: Ignoring the plight of beneficiaries
RNZ: Family harm callouts dominate Dunedin police work in lockdown
Zane Small (Newshub): New Zealand joins US and UK in condemning arrest of Hong Kong democracy activists
Olivia Carville (Bloomberg): ‘We Needed to Go’: Rich Americans Activate Pandemic Escape Plans
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): Xero founder Rod Drury taking bolt-hole plan for foreign billionaires to Parliament (paywalled)
Katie Todd (RNZ): Orana Wildlife Park describes appeal response as ‘incredible’
Thomas Mead (1News): Christchurch zoo forced to seek donations to feed animals as income plummets during lockdown
Alice Geary and Matthew Littlewood (Timaru Herald): Mackenzie mayor backs calls for different approach to tourism
Donna Lee Biddle (Stuff): ‘Youth prison’ gets the go-ahead in south Auckland despite community backlash
RNZ: New Zealand sport has good opportunity post Covid-19 – Martin Snedden
RNZ: Estimated power bills may be a shock for some – Consumer NZ
Debrin Foxcroft (Stuff): Alert level three brings some light for retailers and shoppers
RNZ: Drone footage reveals lockdown from above
RNZ: Charities face hefty revenue cuts due to lockdown
Dan Satherley and Perry Wilton (Newshub): Elderly handling the loneliness of lockdown better than their grandkids – survey
1News: Fonterra on track to contribute $11 billion to NZ economy despite Covid-19 turmoil
Katie Todd (RNZ): Drugs seized at border plummets during lockdown
