The Minister for Infrastructure Shane Jones, says building new roads could help address the looming unemployment crisis; and the head of the ANZ bank says 7000 customers have applied to defer mortgage repayments during the Covid-19 pandemic response.
1.Unemployment looks set to climb due to Covid-19 with the Finance Minister Grant Robertson acknowledging it will be greater than that experienced during the global financial crisis. Opposition MPs have been pushing for more data on the economic shock this morning as part of Parliament’s new strict back proceedings.
2.The Minister for Infrastructure Shane Jones, says building new roads could help address the looming unemployment crisis. The Government has asked industry leaders to identify major projects that can start as soon as things return to normal.
3.The head of the ANZ bank says 7000 customers have applied to defer mortgage repayments during the Covid-19 pandemic response. Last week the government announced an agreement with the banks to offer up to six months deferral on home loans – and banks began taking applications from last Friday afternoon.
4.The Auckland Catholic Diocese, says students and staff infected with Ciovid-19 at Marist Collegeare all doing well. The cluster of 48 cases linked to the Auckland school is the biggest in the country. 14 staff including the principal and 12 students have been diagnosed with the contagious disease.
5.The telecommunications provider Chorus is working with the Ministry of Education to get broadband into as many as 50,000 homes currently not connected. The Ministry of Education will identify households in need of the connection for education purposes and where there is the necessary infrastructure.
6.MediaWorks has asked its staff to take a voluntary 15 percent pay cut. The company owns Newshub, TV3 and about half the country’s commercial radio stations, including The Breeze and More FM.
7.An IT security expert is warning the Government that cabinet meetings conducted on Zoom could pose a threat to national security. The cabinet has been using the Zoom software to hold meetings by video conference.
8.A charity says four asylum seekers have been released from detention at Mount Eden Prison and need money to survive. The Asylum Seekers Support Trust, says the authorities released the asylum seekers from detention before the lockdown.
9.The pork industry is worried the closure of independent butchers during the Covid-19 lockdown will cause an animal welfare crisis for the sector. All independent butchers across the country have been classified as non-essential businesses.
10.The mother of a New Zealander who was stuck in Peru, says she is relieved her son was able to get a seat on a British repatriation flight. Dozens of New Zealanders are desperately trying to get out of the country which has been in lock down for about a fortnight.
11.The British High Commissioner Laura Clarke, has told nationals stranded in New Zealand, that it may take a while to organise a plane ride home. The British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced rescue flights for many countries.
12.Inland Revenue has startled people receiving working for families payments with an incorrect letter suggesting the payments would stop. It says the information in the letter is wrong and refers to the previous tax year.
