Transport Minister Phil Twyford has pledged to put “the pedal to the metal” on transport spending, signalling an intent to invest a record $54 billion over the next decade; and the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield expects to announce more confirmed cases of Covid-19 later today.
1.The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield expects to announce more confirmed cases of Covid-19 later today. Eight positive test results announced yesterday, brought the total number of cases to 20.
2.Authorities are considering tightening border restrictions from flights to and from the Pacific because of a suspected Covid-19 case in Samoa. An Aucklander showing signs of the virus is in isolation at hospital in Apia.
3.The World Health Organisation says all countries need to implement comprehensive strategies to slow down the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of cases worldwide now exceeds 200,000.
4.The actor Miranda Harcourt and her husband Stuart McKenzie are among 11 New Zealanders stranded at Dubai Airport amid Covid-19 confusion. She says they were trying to get home from the UK but their flights were changed and then re-routed to Dubai.
5.An immigration adviser is challenging New Zealand’s travel restrictions under which visitors from China are still completely banned. The number of new cases in China continues to decrease but new infections are surging in Italy, the worst affected country in Europe.
6.Share prices in New York have continued to plummet. The Dow Jones dropped by more than 8 percent following earlier falls on European and Asia markets.
7.A National Party MP is describing the removal of abortion from the Crimes Act is long overdue. The Abortion Legislation Act passed its third and final reading yesterday on a concious vote which went 68 to 51.
8.Transport Minister Phil Twyford has pledged to put “the pedal to the metal” on transport spending, signalling an intent to invest a record $54 billion over the next decade. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on land transport released today also promised there would be no increase to petrol excise or road user charges next year.
9.The organisers of the largest indigenous film festival in the southern hemisphere are finding creative ways to greet each other. The 7th annual Māoriland Film Festival began at Raukawa Marae in Otaki yesterday.
