A global pandemic may still be raging, but those who must travel abroad to help suffering loved ones should be shown empathy and understanding, writes Rebecca Howard for BusinessDesk. We pat ourselves on the back for dodging the Covid-19 bullet. We are vaguely smug as we head to the beach, to restaurants, summer barbecues and … Read more
Grounded in the UK, Scarlett Cayford is nostalgic for a very specific reading experience. In order to qualify as an “airport book” a novel must meet a very specific set of requirements. The first, unsurprisingly, is that it must be purchased at an airport. But this is far from being the only defining characteristic of … Read more
With new strains of Covid-19 bearing down on our shores, Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk looks at the challenges 2021 has in store, and what can be done to prepare. In the three weeks that New Zealanders have been at the beach and ignoring Covid tracer app sign-ins, the threat of Covid-19 has grown exponentially. Where … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Property market set for scorching summer after Reserve Bank announcements, National makes big reshuffle, and Auckland Council facing much bigger deficit. A big day for the Reserve Bank, with a range of announcements on monetary policy, with big implications for the housing market. First of all, … Read more
More and more community cases linked to the border have been detected in recent days, first in Christchurch, then in Auckland, and now in Wellington. Justin Giovannetti looks at what’s happening. Community cases of Covid-19 linked to quarantine facilities have been reported in New Zealand’s three largest cities over the past week, but director general … Read more
The case of a person who tested positive almost a week after leaving managed isolation has highlighted the need to keep tracking those who have been through MIQ, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health reported a case of Covid-19 in Auckland that is not related to the current Auckland cluster. Before … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 13, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other New Zealand news. Find official Covid-19 information here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. Contact us at info@thespinoff.co.nz 8.05pm: Person … Read more
The two week jail sentence handed out to the woman who breached isolation with her grieving children is an abomination, writes Leonie Hayden. In a week where New Zealanders are celebrating the prison sentence of a monster who murdered 51 people, we all need to think hard about what we’re celebrating. I choose to leave … Read more
If you’re worried about getting a Covid-19 test because of fears of going into quarantine, don’t be. Here’s what you need to know, to make one scary thing a little less scary. The government’s decision to move community cases of Covid-19 into quarantine facilities has raised fears among some New Zealanders that might stop them … Read more
The government has finally announced plans to begin charging some New Zealanders returning to Aotearoa, but the list of exemptions will be long and the money raised won’t come close to covering the cost of managed-isolation. What’s all this then? As New Zealand settled into the freedoms of alert level one over the past two … Read more
Last week it looked like fees for managed isolation were going to cover nearly all returnees. Now it looks as though the formula is very different. Political editor Justin Giovannetti explains After over a week of debate in the parties of government and in public, the prime minister has said she’s expecting an imminent announcement … Read more
Both major parties now want people returning to the country to pay for mandatory managed isolation. Our fellow New Zealanders don’t deserve such cruelty, argues Alex Braae. Sarah has been trying to get home to New Zealand for months now. The eastern European country she is in locked their borders before MFAT started sending out … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National announces its plan to charge returnees $3,000 and the government indicates a policy is coming soon, Judith Collins’ first weekend as National leader, and Northland reels from flood damage. The days of free hotel stays for all returning New Zealanders appear to be drawing … Read more
What should you expect when you touch down in New Zealand, bound for your temporary hotel home? It all depends on the luck of the draw, writes the NZ Herald’s Isaac Davison in this Herald Premium article. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE GUIDE TO THE 32 HOTELS It is the lottery of managed isolation: Some returning … Read more
In June, Trevor McKewen, an Australian citizen living in New Zealand, travelled to Queensland to be with his dying brother. Now back home, and staying in an Auckland hotel, he writes this dispatch from his second spell of managed isolation in as many months. For the past month and a bit, I have lived in … Read more
The government’s review of managed isolation facilities paints a picture of an under-resourced, uncoordinated and ad hoc system. Here’s what you need to know. What’s all this then? Housing minister Megan Woods and defence official Air Commodore Darryn “Digby” Webb were put in charge of New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine facilities last week, following … Read more
The government has proactively released a whole bunch of Covid-19-related documents. Alex Braae has been trawling through them to bring you the highlights. The last time a whole lot of Covid-19 papers were released, it was controversial. They came out late on Friday afternoon, and seemed to be a case of overwhelming the nation’s journalists … Read more
Mistakes in the testing regime for people departing managed isolation have prompted alarm about the possibility the virus has been seeded locally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles offers a dose of perspective, and explains why the critical line of defence remains the isolation and quarantine process. Both the leader of the opposition Todd Muller and University of … Read more
The strain of the experience, writes a returning NZ citizen, is compounded by the opprobrium. Over recent days I have been struggling psychologically with the experience of returning home. Not only the experience of being detained, which while of course necessary is no easier for it, but particularly the experience of being the subject of … Read more
Think people in hotel isolation here have it tough? As Trevor McKewen, an Australian citizen living in Auckland, writes, the Australians take it to a whole other level. It didn’t really feel like a choice when I boarded a plane to Australia from my home in Auckland. My brother is 56 and gravely ill. I … Read more
Anxiety is totally understandable, and there have been a few own goals. But what we’re seeing is no great surprise, and it’s no time to panic, writes Siouxsie Wiles. After weeks of no new cases of Covid-19, in the last week we’ve recorded nine. That’s sounds pretty scary, but here’s why there’s no reason to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drought leads to fears of severe water restrictions, exclusive new poll results on government’s Covid-19 response, and is a resolution coming at Ihumātao? The Auckland water crisis isn’t getting any better, and the city’s leaders are getting extremely nervous about the coming months. That is … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New case amid capacity concerns at isolation facilities, police mourn colleague who was killed, and vibrant weekend of party politics as election nears. Quarantine and managed isolation facilities are continuing to dominate the news, after a weekend of new developments. The news broke last night on Radio … Read more
While the announcement that nobody in managed isolation will be allowed out early on compassionate grounds might sound reassuring, its legal basis appears extremely shaky, writes law professor Andrew Geddis. As recounted by The Spinoff’s own Justin Giovannetti, there’s no doubt that last week’s Covid-19 traipsing travellers omnishambles caught the government unawares. Indeed, I think … Read more
Seven days ago New Zealand was basking in a Covid-free glow. But over the week, holes sprung in the managed isolation system, with a scramble to assert authority seeing the military called into an oversight role. Spinoff political editor Justin Giovannetti recounts an extraordinary few days in NZ’s Covid-19 response story. A sense of victory … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout continues from quarantine system failures, new GDP figures released show first quarter drop, and ACC pouring millions into acupuncture treatments. It was another difficult day for the government yesterday, with new developments and assurances that problems would be fixed. Our political editor filed a report … Read more
In a massively ironic piece of timing, international research group The Economist Intelligence Unit declared the New Zealand’s government response to Covid-19 the best in the OECD on the same day that massive health ministry failings were revealed. The Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked 21 countries throughout the OECD on how well they’ve responded to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Repeated blunders shake faith in quarantine system, report finds ministry was unprepared on PPE, and trade negotiations with Britain begin. New measures will be taken around the border quarantine system after a series of idiotic failings. Our live blog has the details, including the news that the health … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Failings around Covid-positive visitors who were allowed to travel, massive new report on health reform unveiled, and police executive redesign proposed. There are two new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, breaking a long streak of zero days. Our live updates page from yesterday has the details of … Read more