Morning Report

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Hotels in the South Island are sacking staff and going into liquidation as a lack of business takes its toll.

The Methven Resort Hotel, first opened in the Canterbury region in 1985, was placed into the control of liquidators on Friday.

Yesterday, the Milford Sound gateway of Te Anau was hit by news that about 60 jobs are being cut at two hotels in the town.

A staff member who wants to remain anonymous told RNZ that the job losses were announced on 14 May and will affect Distinction Te Anau and the Distinction Luxmore.

The chain's owner Geoffrey Thomson declined to comment.

Southland District councillor Ebel Kremer, who lives in Te Anau, told reporter Anan Zaki that most of the town's income comes from overseas.

The National Party is raising further questions about whether refugee journalist Behrouz Boochani should have been allowed into New Zealand in the first place.

Boochani, who spent six years in detention on Manus island, has been in the country since November and is believed to have applied for asylum.

National immigration spokesperson Stuart Smith told RNZ reporter Gill Bonnett Boochani appears to have been excluded from Australia, making him ineligible to come to New Zealand without a special direction.

In a statement, Immigration New Zealand says the immigration minister was made aware of Boochani's visitor visa application but as this was an operational decision the Minister was not involved in the decision.

It says its staff assess whether applicants truly intend a temporary stay, but would not comment further for legal and privacy reasons.

RNZ has contacted the immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, whose office said he was not involved in the decision.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs confirmed it is the Australian Government's policy that anyone who attempts to come to Australia illegally by boat will never settle there.

Last night saw a relatively quiet night in Minneapolis, where George Floyd died.

Speaking to a crowd, Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, harrangued those engaged in violence and looting for pulling attention from his brother's death.

A memorial for Floyd is set for Thursday.

Brandt Williams from Minnesota Public Radio speaks to Corin Dann.

America has experienced its seventh night of protests after the death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer.

This despite President Donald Trump warning if cities and states fail to control the protests and, in his words, "defend their residents" he would deploy the army and "quickly solve the problem for them".

In New York looters tore off the plywood that boarded up Macy's flagship department store, dozens made it inside the store to steal whatever they could find before being chased down by the police.

Others smashed the windows at a Nike and other stores, scores of smaller storefronts in midtown Manhattan were destroyed.

The streets of the city were covered in broken glass and trash can fires.

The continued looting is a new crisis for mayor Bill de Blasio, he has even been criticised by President Trump and democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo

Tonight's curfew in New York has now been changed from 11pm to 8pm.

Other cities overnight: 

Two people were reported killed amid unrest in Chicago, although the circumstances are unclear.

The chief of police in Louisville, Kentucky has been sacked after law enforcement officers fired into a crowd on Sunday night, killing the owner of a nearby business.

In Las Vegas, a police officer was among two people shot following protests in the city.

Two more people were killed in the Chicago suburb of Cicero.

In Atlanta in Georgia arrest warrants have been issued for six Atlanta police officers after video footage of officers firing Tasers and dragging two college students out of a car on Saturday ignited outrage.

In Los Angeles, a video has emerged of police officers wrongly identifying black businesses owners as looters.

News from the rural and farming sector.

A brief update from the business sector.

A brief update from the business sector.

More than half of a $30 million emergency welfare fund has been spent in just over a month, and many of those in need are foreigners and migrant workers who can't get home.

With the borders still closed and unemployment skyrocketing, the government is now looking at more support - and at the rate the money is already being soaked up the extra help will be needed in just a matter of weeks.

It's something the Salvation Army's support services are already sharply aware of. The demand for its services increased by 350 percent during April and May as the Covid-19 lockdown hit.

Places like Queenstown, where there's a more transient community and a heavy reliance on tourism, were particularly badly affected.

Captain Gerry Walker told RNZ political reporter Jo Moir their local branch there was flat out helping people regardless of their citizenship or work visa status.

From lockdown to board up unrest continues in the US The National Party says mixed messages from the government is causing the public to get complacent about social distancing. With our borders still closed and unemployment skyrocketing, the need to support foreigners and migrants trapped here continues to grow House prices are showing the first signs of fragility