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The government is temporarily amending immigration law to make it more flexible and responsive to challenges posed by Covid-19.
It will introduce a bill to Parliament on Tuesday, to support more "efficient management" of visa changes.
The bill introduces eight time-limited powers … View moreThe government is temporarily amending immigration law to make it more flexible and responsive to challenges posed by Covid-19.
It will introduce a bill to Parliament on Tuesday, to support more "efficient management" of visa changes.
The bill introduces eight time-limited powers allowing it to:
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• Impose, vary or cancel conditions for classes of temporary-entry visa holders
• Vary or cancel conditions for classes of resident-class visa holders
• Extend the expiry dates of visas for classes of people
• Grant visas to individuals and classes of people in the absence of an application
• Waive any regulatory requirements for certain classes of application
• Waive the requirement to obtain a transit visa
• Suspend the ability to make applications for visas or submit expressions of interest in applying for visas by classes of people
• Revoke the entry permission of people who arrive either on private aircraft or marine vessels (to align them with people who arrive on commercial flights, who can already be refused entry)
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Oliver Christiansen's dad lay dying and asking: "Where is my boy? Where is my boy?" But Christiansen couldn't see him - he was subject to the Government's mandatory 14-day isolation period after arriving in New Zealand on April 23 on a flight from the United Kingdom. … View moreOliver Christiansen's dad lay dying and asking: "Where is my boy? Where is my boy?" But Christiansen couldn't see him - he was subject to the Government's mandatory 14-day isolation period after arriving in New Zealand on April 23 on a flight from the United Kingdom. Christiansen spoke today about his "eight days of battling and about 36 hours to spare" before his father Anthony Christiansen, who had brain cancer, passed away. The case has led Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to order a review into all 24 cases whereby a request to see a dying relative during lockdown was refused by health officials. When he left his family in London, Christiansen thought he had time to sit out the quarantine in New Zealand before spending his father's last days with him. "Things were still looking okay. We thought we had plenty of time to see out the 14 days," he said. But his father's condition deteriorated rapidly. Doctors gave Anthony, a retired associate High Court judge, only a few days to live and suddenly it was a race against the clock. Christiansen, who had no symptoms of coronavirus, applied to the Ministry of Health to allow him to see his dying father on compassionate grounds. The ministry, after first mistaking what Christiansen was asking for, repeatedly refused. An email reply to Christiansen read: "...there is just nothing we can change at this time. 14 days isolation in managed facilities is a mandated requirement in force in New Zealand". Christiansen then directly emailed Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and the Minister of Health David Clark. Bloomfield responded within an hour and a half saying he will refer the letter to the managed isolation team to "carefully consider the information". But again he was denied for a third time. Christiansen also asked for a Covid-19 test - but was refused because he had no symptoms. Today, he said the unwillingness of authorities to test him for Covid-19 was extremely frustrating, as it seemed a "logical step". So Christiansen went to court to challenge Bloomfield and the ministry's refusal to allow him to cut short his quarantine period. "It just seemed like continual automatic rejection which fortunately meant the courts were a last avenue for a final roll of the dice," he said. Meanwhile, his father's health kept going downhill rapidly. His family was "increasingly desperate" for him to get home so he could farewell his father – and vice versa. From his quarantine hotel, he could almost see his family's Auckland home just 5–6km away.
The courts recognised how precious time was, he said, and pushed through his case. At a hearing on Friday in the High Court at Auckland, Justice Tracey Walker said the ministry got it wrong. She said it was "difficult to envisage more compassionate grounds than those presented here". Christiansen told he was able to spend just over a day with his father before he passed away. When he finally got to see his father, it was an emotional time. "It was a massive relief to be able to join the family in time," he said. "There was a lot of emotion, a lot of release – anguish, grief, everything rolled into one. "It makes you realise, in hindsight, just how critical it is that you're there at that time." Justice Walker said in her ruling, released today, there was "a very strong argument" to allow Christiansen to visit his dying father after it was "not considered on the correct legal grounds and did not take account of relevant mandatory considerations". "It had the hallmarks of automatic rejection based on circumscribed criteria rather than a proper exercise of discretion required by the Health Act (Managed Air Arrivals) Order," she said. The judge said the Ministry of Health's decisions to decline permission were, on their face, "legally flawed on more than [one] basis".
"Had the correct approach been followed, Mr Christiansen's application may have successfully come within the compassionate grounds (with low risk of transmission) or exceptional circumstances categories," Justice Walker said. The judge said, in her assessment, overall justice "demands an effective and swift response". She ordered the ministry to permit Christiansen to leave managed isolation to visit his father. But he could only do so if he traveled unaccompanied by car to his dad's home and remained there until his father died. Christiansen was also told to maintain physical separation from other family members at the home and to return on his own within 24-hours of his father's passing in the same car to the isolation facility for the remainder of the 14-day period. Justice Walker further told him to ensure any necessary cleaning and/or quarantining of that private car is carried out, to wear personal protective equipment, including gloves and a face-mask, to comply with any monitoring requirements by police or officials, and to comply with any other reasonable conditions directed by the Ministry to reduce any risk of transmission. The judge also considered the question of "the appropriate deference to the expertise of the decision makers in a time of unprecedented public crisis". "No matter how necessary or demonstrably justified the Covid-19 response, decisions must have a clear and certain basis," she said.
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💥View the webinar about “What I Learned Reading 30 Books on Money & Investing“. If you want to retire early, you’re probably thinking about how much you’ll need, and how much you can safely take out each year.
Watch these practical tips that you can apply today.
📚YOU WILL LEARN:… View more💥View the webinar about “What I Learned Reading 30 Books on Money & Investing“. If you want to retire early, you’re probably thinking about how much you’ll need, and how much you can safely take out each year.
Watch these practical tips that you can apply today.
📚YOU WILL LEARN:
1) Must Read Books for You to Achieve Financial Freedom
2) The Rule of 25 and How 4% Safe Withdrawal Works
3) Simple, Actionable Steps that Can Increase Your Net Worth
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This year New Zealand Music Month will be a little different. There will be no live gigs (in person at least) and no congregating in our favourite music venues to celebrate the wonder of local music together. These times will come again. But like many others, the music industry will be challenged … View moreThis year New Zealand Music Month will be a little different. There will be no live gigs (in person at least) and no congregating in our favourite music venues to celebrate the wonder of local music together. These times will come again. But like many others, the music industry will be challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact.
To show our support for New Zealand music we are sharing some of our favourite posters showcasing Auckland bands and iconic Auckland music venues. These posters offer a glimpse into Auckland’s anarchic, door-kicking punk and new-wave scenes that stomped their way into the city’s late 70s - early 80s musical landscape.
These posters also show how music venues changed and morphed over time, shedding their previous identities and inhabiting new ones. For example, the iconic Edinburgh Castle Hotel on the corner of Symonds Street and Newton Road has had many identities over its 160 years and for the briefest of moments, it was the “notorious” Liberty Stage.
New Zealand Music Month celebrates 20 years this year. For this, and plenty more NZ Music Month discoveries, take a look here.
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced this morning the Winter Energy Payment for 2020 runs for 22 weeks, from 1 May to 1 October, and doubles to $1400 for couples and $900 for single people this year. “The Winter Energy Payment started as part of the Government’s December 2017 … View moreSocial Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced this morning the Winter Energy Payment for 2020 runs for 22 weeks, from 1 May to 1 October, and doubles to $1400 for couples and $900 for single people this year. “The Winter Energy Payment started as part of the Government’s December 2017 Families Package designed to help older New Zealanders and many of our poorest families heat their homes over winter,” Ms Sepuloni said. “When the impact of Covid-19 first hit, the Government set out a $12.1 billion dollar support package for New Zealanders and business. It was within this package that we increased benefits by $25 and doubled the Winter Energy Payment. “A core part of the Government’s response to Covid-19 is to ensure families stay healthy and focused on their wellbeing, which is good for them and good for our health service.” Ms Sepuloni added that those on lower incomes generally spend any extra money on household items that keep their families well, and so doubling the Winter Energy Payment will act as an immediate stimulus in local economies. “The efforts of our team of five million helped to get us in a good position to tackle the virus and we each continue to have a role to play as we begin to reboot our economy for the good of all New Zealanders. “The Government is here to support those who need it.” Ms Sepuloni said about 850,000 people will benefit from the changes with more than one million kept warmer once children and other household members of recipients are included.
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Beds 4 U thanks all the essential workers that are braving Covid-19 dangers and serving us tirelessly. Beds4U will giveaway 10 Ortho Cool Gel Pillows to the essential workers so they can also take a restful nap/sleep. Let's do our bit and honour our Superheroes. Thank them by extending a … View moreBeds 4 U thanks all the essential workers that are braving Covid-19 dangers and serving us tirelessly. Beds4U will giveaway 10 Ortho Cool Gel Pillows to the essential workers so they can also take a restful nap/sleep. Let's do our bit and honour our Superheroes. Thank them by extending a #AGiftOfSleep. Click the link below and head to our Facebook page and tag an essential worker and share with us a gratitude note. You can tag yourself as well if you are an essential worker and leave a comment to let us know what drives you to keep going in such tough times.
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An Auckland fire department made a special rescue on the weekend and saved a newborn kitten from an …
Did your mum transform rainy days into hot chocolate and bad moods into giggles?
Show you care, whether she’s with you or far away.
Enter our Mother’s Day competition before 6 May 2020 for a chance to win!
Too many memories to choose from? Here’s our team with some inspiration.
Follow this … View moreDid your mum transform rainy days into hot chocolate and bad moods into giggles?
Show you care, whether she’s with you or far away.
Enter our Mother’s Day competition before 6 May 2020 for a chance to win!
Too many memories to choose from? Here’s our team with some inspiration.
Follow this link to enter our competition.
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A body found in West Auckland bush on Friday was that of missing person Calvin Wicksteed. Police sa…
Heavy downpours saw "huge rainfall" in Auckland's Hunua Ranges on Sunday, contributing to an increas…
Waitakere Hospital nurses reportedly asked not work in coronavirus-free wards after working in a Cov…
Figures released by the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance today say that 48 staff earn more than Mayor Phil Goff's salary of $296,000. Seven staff at the council earn more than Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose annual salary is $471,000, the alliance claims. The list collated publicly … View moreFigures released by the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance today say that 48 staff earn more than Mayor Phil Goff's salary of $296,000. Seven staff at the council earn more than Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose annual salary is $471,000, the alliance claims. The list collated publicly available information about the pay of staff earning over $250,000, Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance spokeswoman Jo Holmes said. The alliance says 71 per cent of those identified on the list are men, including all six of the staff who are paid more than $500,000. On the list are 24 Auckland Transport employees, 11 from Watercare, six from Regional Facilities Auckland, five from ATEED, and five from Panuku Development. In an April 17 letter Auckland Council chief executive Stephen Town told the lobby group its figures were inaccurate. The council agreed there was a degree of public interest in the value of senior roles and had earlier provided salary bands - without names - attributable to senior council and CCO roles. The council believed that response met public interest, transparency and accountability requirements. The ratepayer group published that letter itself to show it had attempted to check the accuracy of its information before publishing. Holmes said publishing today's "Town Hall Rich List" was "an exercise in transparency and accountability". "If someone is paid more than a government minister, ratepayers should at the very least know who they are and what they do." However Town said in the letter that despite the inaccuracies, the council would not be correcting or confirming the salary figures or the names of the people concerned as it would be an "unacceptable intrusion into their privacy". Town referred to a previous Ombudsman's decision in which a request for specific details about Christchurch City Council salaries was refused, on the basis that privacy issues outweighed the public interest in releasing the information. "We object to you targeting specific council group employees and pressuring them to release their personal information. We ask you to refrain from doing so and to make any further requests for information through the official and proper channels," Town wrote.
But the alliance told Town that it had collated the figures using publicly available information - it had then taken the extra step of emailing those concerned to ask them if they wished to correct or clarify any information. "We totally reject your assertion that the Rich List is an 'unacceptable intrusion into [the] privacy' of the individuals listed... These aren't frontline or lowly paid anonymous staff. "Without exception, those listed are in senior positions," the alliance said.
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Hello! Does anyone have any chicks or laying hens up for adoption or for sale? In this case the chicken comes before the egg! We sadly had a chicken of ours die a week ago and we are wanting a few more. Thanks!
The owner of one of the oldest heritage buildings in Auckland has been charged with failing to make …
Do you want to be healthy for life? Join us this Saturday 9am on TVNZ 1.
Hosted by Bernice Mene, Healthy for Life is designed to help over 65 year olds work on their strength and balance through an exercise programme called the Super7.
All done from the comfort of your bubble, this show … View moreDo you want to be healthy for life? Join us this Saturday 9am on TVNZ 1.
Hosted by Bernice Mene, Healthy for Life is designed to help over 65 year olds work on their strength and balance through an exercise programme called the Super7.
All done from the comfort of your bubble, this show provides great tips for staying safe in the home, keeping your brain active, how to keep up your social links and friendships and advice about healthy eating and sleep during this time.
Healthy for Life is available on TVNZ OnDemand, or screens this Saturday at 9AM on TVNZ 1.
Find out more at Live Stronger for Longer.
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