UMR poll Matt McCarten (E-Tangata): Jacinda Ardern’s rising tide Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Poll won’t roll Simon Bridges but that doesn’t mean he’s safe Henry Cooke (stuff): How much has Covid-19 truly changed politics? Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): National has a difficult decision to make
Economy, recovery, UBI Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The List Candidate: Winston Peters and the Looming Covid-19 Depression Chris Trotter: If The Answer Is “Treasury”, Then Ask Another Question Matthew Hooton (Herald): Into the future — by committee (paywalled) Richard Harman (Politik): Years of pain, difficulty and frustration lie ahead Brian Fallow
Nicole McKee Spokesperson Fair and Reasonable Campaign Next week the rubber hits the road: on Monday we’re in Court against the Minister of Police, and I’m writing to ask you for your support so we can make the best possible showing and mount pressure on the Government in
Winston Peters is back, Ministry of Health proposed complete border shutdown Jane Patterson (RNZ): Winston Peters back on his podium with Covid-19 border closure bombshell Henry Cooke (Stuff): Peters takes on officialdom Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Winston Peters comes back with a splash Richard Harman (Politik): Reminding us that NZ
War Is Over Peace returns, sort of. The end of lockdown means a return to work for many, but not all, businesses and workers. It is also time to survey the ruins. The Government has belatedly realised how damaging the lockdown is and now seeks Alert Level Two as soon
Rt Hon Winston Peters’ first speech back today in parliament. Now is the time for New Zealand’s economic future “If New Zealand can grow it, or make it, then we should…” Our focus now is to rebuild our economy New Zealand has now moved from alert level 4 to
Pandemic preparedness, “eliminating” Covid-19, contact tracing Emma Russell (Herald): New Zealand ‘currently eliminated’ virus. So why are we still seeing new cases? (paywalled) Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Reinventing elimination shows PM has lost count Amelia Wade (Herald): Virus won’t be eliminated until there’s a vaccine, says PM Jo
The Treasury The Dashboard will provide a regular snapshot of economic conditions as they are developing. High-frequency indicators show that economic activity continues to run at much lower levels than normal under Alert Level 4. New Zealand will move to Alert Level 3 from 28 April, where it will remain
Government Phil Pennington (RNZ): Controversial tech firm Palantir had talks with govt on Covid-19 Chris Trotter: Long Live The People’s Dictatorship! RNZ: Study investigates NZ reaction to government’s strict laws Peter Dunne: Resumption of Parliament welcome and overdue Malcolm McKinnon (Democracy Project): The Epidemic Response Committee in historical
National Party, Simon Bridges’ leadership Tova O’Brien (Newshub): National MPs concerned about leader Simon Bridges’ ‘tone’ on COVID-19, ‘membership is not happy Richard Harman (Politik): Those who could depose Bridges Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Why it’s easy to believe the National coup story Duncan Garner (Newshub): Alleged
NZ First Party The sacrifices we are making under alert level 4 lock-down is making New Zealand one of only a handful of countries able to prevent an uncontrolled COVID-19 outbreak. Thanks to our collective efforts as a nation we have one of the lowest number of cases per 100,
Ian Harrison Principal Tailrisk economics Factual Statements Note these are not necessarily taken verbatim from the Prime Minister’s speech, but capture the substance of what was said. Transmission rate New Zealand’s current transmission is 0.48 compared to the world rate of 2.5. Assessment: False An assessment
ACT Party “Ministers’ appearances at the Epidemic Response Committee yesterday morning made clear that the Government hasn’t done any robust analysis of the number of business failures that will result from an extra week in lockdown”, says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Business owners are telling us that they can
National Party response to lockdown extension, Simon Bridges’ leadership Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Simon Bridges fends off leadership coup rumours, says focus is on COVID-19 RNZ: Morning Report: Bridges defends criticism of lockdown extension Claire Trevett (Herald): Covid 19 was bad for Simon Bridges, he just made it worse (paywalled) Alan
Government extends lockdown Matthew Hooton (Herald): Why the PM had no choice but to extend the lockdown (paywalled) Henry Cooke (Stuff): Extra days of lockdown pain probably worth the gain Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern triumphant but cautious about end of lockdown Joshua O’Sullivan (ISO): Government Gambles on
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Kia ora, When faced with the threat of COVID-19 spreading across New Zealand, we believed that decisive action – going hard and going early – would give us the very best chance to stamp out the virus. And the evidence shows it’s working. So far, thanks to
