Politics Central

The idea of a trans-Tasman bubble is gaining momentum -- but it's unlikely it'll happen anytime soon. Foreign Minister Winston Peters has hinted travel to Australia for business could start more quickly that we think. Peters says he's open to starting on a state-by-state basis. But, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says while an arrangement could happen in future, Kiwis shouldn't expect to be free...

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says there is "no value" in trying to save people who have coronavirus if it means greater social damage is caused. We need to save our economy as fast as we can before further damage is caused, Peters told Newstalk ZB's The Weekend Collective. The decision on whether New Zealand will move down to alert level 3 will be announced at 4pm today. "The secret is tha...

President Donald Trump will watch Easter come and go this weekend without the nation "raring to go" as a new debate buds over whether May 1 is now the target date of revival. Instead of joining packed pews at his usual 11 a.m. ET service at the stone Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said this week he'll livestream Easter on a laptop from a megachurch in Dallas. And instead of brun...

Act leader David Seymour had criticised the Government for carrying on as though business is usual. The Government is continuing to advance legislation around vaping, tenancy act, and prisoner voting. Seymour told The Weekend Collective that these issues have been around for years, and could have waited until after the lockdown. "I think it would be the right thing for the Government to hit pause....

With warmer weather beckoning, Italians are straining against a strict lockdown to halt the coronavirus that is just now showing signs of ebbing at the end of five weeks of mass isolation. Italy was the first Western democracy to be hit by the virus, and it has been leading the official global death toll with 19,468 victims through Saturday. Now it is likely to set an example of how to lift broad...

The head of the Taxpayer's Unions has admitted it is embarrassing but necessary that they accepted Government money.  The lobby group, which is focused on lower taxes and better public spending, has always vowed it would never take taxpayer support. However, it was revealed last week it had received over $60,000 from the wage subsidy scheme.  Executive Director Jordan Williams told The Weekend Col...

A National MP on the Epidemic Response Committee wants New Zealand to be tougher at the border. Mark Mitchell told The Weekend Collective that we still haven't got that right, and it's a big risk to tackling Covid-19.  He says that 4,000 people arriving since Alert Level 4 have been allowed to quarantine at their own homes, and thinks they should have been better monitored.  "That should be monito...

President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the country could be headed into its "toughest" weeks yet as the coronavirus death toll mounts, but at the same time he expressed growing impatience with social distancing guidelines and said he's eager to get the country reopened and its stalled economy back on track. "There will be a lot of death, unfortunately," Trump said in a somber start to his dai...

Until three weeks ago, Auckland bar owner Jane* had never imagined lining up for a benefit. Covid-19 changed her life quickly. Her landlord increased her rent - before a national rent increase freeze was introduced - then the business closed because of the Government-imposed lockdown. Her income evaporated overnight, and she is now seeking help just to put food on the table. "I don't even know whe...

From questioning community newspapers decisions to police pulling over drivers, the opposition leader says he’s on the case in his new role. Simon Bridges is chairing the Epidemic Response Committee, which allows the Opposition to scrutinise the Government’s COVID-19 response while Parliament’s not in session during lockdown. He says the Government’s all in this together, but he’ll be asking the q...

The Government is keeping close tabs on the nation's supermarket duopoly through the national lockdown, and ministers will tomorrow discuss a range of topics facing the grocery chains. Pricing, staffing and stock levels are among issues that will be discussed before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives a more general update on supermarkets, she said at today's daily media briefing. "It is something...

US President Trump tweeted on Saturday night (US time) that he has asked the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a "strong Travel Advisory" but that a quarantine on the New York region "will not be necessary." Earlier in the day Trump had said that he might order a quarantine for the area, a possibility that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) called "preposterous". The decision was...

Ryman Healthcare is shutting the doors of its retirement villages to the public -- in a bid to guard its residents against Covid-19. From 5pm today, people can't visit care centre or serviced apartment residents. Only family of those in palliative care or end-of-life care will be able to visit. NZ Retirement Villages manager Troy Churton told The Weekend Collective other villages should take note....

Tasman District is joining several other local councils in shutting down its public libraries in the face of Covid-19. Mayor Tim King says the closure of the Richmond, Motueka and Takaka libraries will help minimise the risk of inadvertent spread of the virus. He's also postponed all non-essential Council meetings and will make a decision on recreation centres and pools in the coming days. They jo...

Developing countries need our help in the fight against Covid-19. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark told The Weekend Collective they're more than likely under-estimating the effect in those countries. Clark says just last month she spoke to World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom. "He has an appeal out to be getting support into those poorest countries, because they need testi...

The government expects the economy to take a significant hit from tough new border rules, and a relief package is expected this week. The travel industry is reeling from the new travel restrictions, announced Sunday that mean from midnight tonight all incoming travellers, including New Zealand citizens, will have to self-isolate for two weeks, except for those coming from the Pacific Islands. All...

Spain locked down its 46 million citizens and France ordered the closing of just about everything the rest of the world loves about it — the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the cafes and restaurants — as governments took increasingly desperate measures to put more space between people and contain the coronavirus. More borders snapped shut around the globe on Saturday and Sunday: President Donald Trump a...

Elizabeth Warren spoke for millions of women on Thursday when asked what role gender played in her presidential campaign. "You know, that is the trap question for women," she replied, speaking to cameras outside her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as she bowed out of the race. "If you say, 'Yeah -- there was sexism in this race,' everyone says, 'Whiner.' And if you say, 'No, there was no sexism,...

The division between Labour and its coalition partner New Zealand First grew last week - with the Prime Minister saying if voters don't like what Shane Jones has said about Indian students they can show their displeasure at the ballot box. Jones told The Nation last weekend: "I think the number of students that have come from India have ruined many of those [educational] institutions." It lead to...

Former Labour MP and Auckland mayoralty hopeful John Tamihere has confirmed he will stand for the Māori Party at this year’s election. Following a tilt at the Auckland mayoralty Tamihere said the last thing he wanted to do was re-enter national politics. However he says he was approached by people asking him to represent them. Tamihere says his policies will unashamedly promote Māori matters, and...

Joe Biden scored a thundering victory in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Saturday, riding a wave of African American support and ending progressive rival Bernie Sanders' winning streak. Biden's win came at a do-or-die moment in his 2020 bid as the moderate Democrat bounced back from underwhelming performances in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. The race now pivots immediately to a new phase...

Health officials have contacted 18 passengers seated on a flight near the first person in New Zealand to be diagnosed with coronavirus. The one person in New Zealand to be diagnosed with coronavirus, who returned on a flight last Wednesday, remains in Auckland City Hospital. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today that the patient was in a stable condition and improving. The patient's family memb...

Winston Peters this week maintained his party's done nothing wrong. The New Zealand First leader has taken to Facebook Live to answer questions about the New Zealand First Foundation. Donations given to the New Zealand First Foundation are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, after the Electoral Commission referred its findings to police. It was later revealed later that the foundation...

There are reassurances from the Police Minister's to those concerned about getting caught in gang crossfire. Investigations are ongoing into a double homicide in Tauranga last week, with two other deaths connected to it. The latest body found is that of a woman, who was found at a home in the suburb of Brookfield. A man was also shot dead by police after a pursuit.  Police say the deaths involve g...

New legislation to regulate vaping will be introduced to Parliament tomorrow in an effort to balance helping smokers quit while not encouraging new users. The move to regulate the industry has been welcomed but there are fears some rules are too restrictive and could result in "losing people back to cigarettes". The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Vaping Amendment Bill bans the sale...