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Auckland’s alert level restrictions have been relaxed slightly with the city officially going from Level 2.5 to Level 2 overnight.
It occurs when another group of Covid-19 cases emerge in the community, linked to a man who tested positive for the virus after emerging from controlled isolation.
The three new cases are in a family related to the same chartered flight the man took between Christchurch and Auckland. Health officials are ready to reveal more about this apparent new group today.
Meanwhile, New Zealand also officially recorded six historical cases of the virus for the first time yesterday, all related to a traveler from Italy in February.
It follows one such case that recently registered a weak positive result, indicating an old infection that is now believed to be the country’s first official Covid-19 case.
Chief Health Officer Dr Ashley Bloomfield says New Zealand will likely see more historical cases with weak positive results, but is confident they are not infectious.
He explained more about how an old infection is identified and why such cases are believed to be no longer a risk to the public here.
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Minor parties continue to be a major talking point in the latest 1 NEWS Colmar Brunton poll.
First New Zealand leader Winston Peters once again dismissed his party’s poor result of just two percent support, saying the poll was “boring” and “ridiculous.” Peters says he is “absolutely certain” to return to Parliament on Election Day.
National’s Judith Collins also weighed in on the minor party debate, commenting on stronger ACT polls.
He told reporters that ACT has two jobs in this election: winning the Epsom seat and “getting the rest of New Zealand’s first ballot.”
Several other minor parties registered in this week’s poll, with the New Conservatives doubling their support to two percent and the Opportunities Party, the Māori Party and Advance New Zealand all at one percent.
1 NEWS has looked at some of the issues those smaller parties are campaigning on and how they plan to increase their base of support here.
And if you’ve ever wondered how political polls work, Re :’s Zoe Madden-Smith has an in-depth look at exactly that here.
Despite her own party’s poor poll result Tuesday night, Judith Collins was at the top yesterday after the first leaders’ debate.
Collins told TVNZ’s Breakfast that she was still “upbeat” after winning the debate “without question,” though the Vote Compass voting tool found that more people thought her opponent Jacinda Ardern won that night.
Others weren’t as excited about the performance of the leaders’ debate.
Aorere College principal Aigagalefili Fepulea’i Tapua’i was one of several people who asked the leaders questions overnight and says the responses she received from both showed there was little understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on low decile students.
Party campaign for the rural vote
Meanwhile, the main parties returned to the road yesterday with the rural community as the focus of both.
Labor unveiled a new policy that promises to help farmers and producers deal with compliance requirements if they return to power in October.
National’s Judith Collins also focused on agricultural issues during a public meeting in Matamata, while speaking about mental health in rural New Zealand.
But that softer side didn’t stick around for long when Collins met the Waikato man who got a tattoo of her holding a gold pistol earlier this month.
As he sat with Nik Given in a cafe, he told him not to worry about the gathered media.
“If they bite you, I’ll bite you,” he said.
Strawberries off the menu?
Strawberries could be hard to come by this Christmas, according to one of the country’s largest producers of the fruit.
Francie Perry told 1 NEWS, unless the government allows much-needed foreign workers into the country to help desperate fruit growers, strawberries may leave them to rot and 1,000 jobs could be lost in the fruit plants. packing.
The government says foreign workers with expired visas can now switch to horticulture, however Perry is skeptical the move will produce the number of harvest personnel needed.
Long wait for Elton John fans
Elton John concert goers will have to wait another two years before he returns to New Zealand to finish his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
The singer’s last two shows at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium had already been postponed to early next year due to health concerns, but those concerts will now take place in January 2023.
Elton John says he’s using his downtime during the pandemic to make sure he’s healthier than ever when the new shows finally arrive.
Other highlights this morning:
– A former police officer has been charged in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in the United States.
– The number of NCEA credits reported to the Qualifications Authority has been reduced by 20 percent due to the pandemic.
– The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has left the official cash rate unchanged at a record low of 0.25 percent.
– CCTV footage of an “extremely traumatic” kidnapping in Wellington has been released as the criminals remain at large.
– A 20-year-old man faces charges related to sex crimes in the Gloriavale Christian Community.
– A group of Kiwi fishermen have returned home after seven months trapped on a boat in the southern Indian Ocean.
– And motorsport legend Greg Murphy says he’s fed up with the differences in gasoline prices across the country and calls for more transparency from the oil companies and the government.
Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. Source: 1 NEWS
In the 24 hours since Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins met in the first leaders’ debate, it seems that no details have escaped scrutiny.
With that in mind, Seven Sharp has avoided further fact-checking or pushing political agendas and instead compiled the sounds and vision that best capture the vibe of debate.
They have withering looks. They have the intense hand gestures. They have moderator John Campbell lovingly holding his clipboard. And they have the real star of the show: the bell.
