Politics Central

A Covid-19 expert says Australia's four-stage plan to beat the virus is really nothing new.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison laid out the country's plan which has a heavy focus on vaccines.
Otago University Epidemiologist Micheal Baker says Morrison is still following what is still essentially an 'elimination' strategy.
Baker told The Weekend Collective Morrison is complicating things.
"It's not helped by Scott Morrison using terms and concepts which are clearly politically motivated, they are not good communication."
LISTEN ABOVE

Opposition parties have come out strongly against the He Puapua report that makes recommendations for co-governance between the Crown and Māori.
Bridges told TVNZ's Q+A the party was not walking back on the previous National-led government's decision to sign up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip), on which the controversial report He Puapua was based, but was "concerned" about the Government's signalled implementation.
It comes after Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson this week outlined the next steps for the country to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples under the Declaration.
Jackson said the Government was not ruling anything out ahead of consultation, first with Māori followed by the general population, sparking further speculation constitutional changes suggested in He Puapua could be on the table.
Act leader David Seymour has called on Parliament to renounce the Declaration completely, meanwhile Te Paati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says He Puapua does not go far enough and calls for a completely independent Māori Parliament.
Jackson said a plan to enact the Declaration would be in place by the end of next year, preceded by consultation first with Māori then the general population about what it should include.
It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.
He Puapua included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament for Māori, to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.
During the announcement Jackson took pains to state He Puapua was "not the plan".
But while the Government had made clear its dislike of some aspects, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament, they were not ruling anything out.
"It is about the opportunity to have a kōrero," Jackson said.
The Declaration was not binding and any policies that came out of it would need to be consistent with New Zealand's current laws, he said.
Simon Bridges, National's Māori-Crown spokesman, told Q+A broadcaster Jack Tame that Jackson's comments National should be supportive given it had signed New Zealand up to the Declaration was a "fig leaf of an excuse".
"Any government has complete discretion on how to implement it," Bridges said.
The party was concerned the Government was heading towards "50/50" arrangements between Māori and the Crown, something that was "inconsistent with a multicultural, modern liberal democracy," he said.
Rather, Bridges said targeted instead of "top down" approaches were needed to address the inequities facing Māori.
He said he accepted He Puapua was not Government policy, but believed it was still driving some of the ministers in Government.
"There is something a bit religious about this. A sense that 'if we haven't said Aotearoa 18 times by lunchtime, if we haven't referenced the Treaty and tried to do some things in that area, we'll have to go home in the evening and say a few Hail Marys'."
Seymour said Parliament never voted for New Zealand to sign up to the Declaration, beyond a Ministerial Statement that Act spoke against in 2010.
"Act is calling on all parties in Parliament to renounce the Declaration that Government Ministers signed up to without full democratic consent.
"Either New Zealand is to be a liberal democracy where all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, or a kind of ethno-state where some are born more equal than others."
Waititi told Newshub's The Nation the current Parliamentary system was not working for Māori.
"Our people have tried to manipulate and work in the system for a long, long time. But I think it's time for us to start...

A Covid-19 expert says Australia's four-stage plan to beat the virus is really nothing new.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison laid out the country's plan which has a heavy focus on vaccines.
Otago University Epidemiologist Micheal Baker says Morrison is still following what is still essentially an 'elimination' strategy.
Baker told The Weekend Collective Morrison is complicating things.
"It's not helped by Scott Morrison using terms and concepts which are clearly politically motivated, they are not good communication."
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposition parties have come out strongly against the He Puapua report that makes recommendations for co-governance between the Crown and Māori.
Bridges told TVNZ's Q+A the party was not walking back on the previous National-led government's decision to sign up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip), on which the controversial report He Puapua was based, but was "concerned" about the Government's signalled implementation.
It comes after Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson this week outlined the next steps for the country to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples under the Declaration.
Jackson said the Government was not ruling anything out ahead of consultation, first with Māori followed by the general population, sparking further speculation constitutional changes suggested in He Puapua could be on the table.
Act leader David Seymour has called on Parliament to renounce the Declaration completely, meanwhile Te Paati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says He Puapua does not go far enough and calls for a completely independent Māori Parliament.
Jackson said a plan to enact the Declaration would be in place by the end of next year, preceded by consultation first with Māori then the general population about what it should include.
It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.
He Puapua included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament for Māori, to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.
During the announcement Jackson took pains to state He Puapua was "not the plan".
But while the Government had made clear its dislike of some aspects, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament, they were not ruling anything out.
"It is about the opportunity to have a kōrero," Jackson said.
The Declaration was not binding and any policies that came out of it would need to be consistent with New Zealand's current laws, he said.
Simon Bridges, National's Māori-Crown spokesman, told Q+A broadcaster Jack Tame that Jackson's comments National should be supportive given it had signed New Zealand up to the Declaration was a "fig leaf of an excuse".
"Any government has complete discretion on how to implement it," Bridges said.
The party was concerned the Government was heading towards "50/50" arrangements between Māori and the Crown, something that was "inconsistent with a multicultural, modern liberal democracy," he said.
Rather, Bridges said targeted instead of "top down" approaches were needed to address the inequities facing Māori.
He said he accepted He Puapua was not Government policy, but believed it was still driving some of the ministers in Government.
"There is something a bit religious about this. A sense that 'if we haven't said Aotearoa 18 times by lunchtime, if we haven't referenced the Treaty and tried to do some things in that area, we'll have to go home in the evening and say a few Hail Marys'."
Seymour said Parliament never voted for New Zealand to sign up to the Declaration, beyond a Ministerial Statement that Act spoke against in 2010.
"Act is calling on all parties in Parliament to renounce the Declaration that Government Ministers signed up to without full democratic consent.
"Either New Zealand is to be a liberal democracy where all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, or a kind of ethno-state where some are born more equal than others."
Waititi told Newshub's The Nation the current Parliamentary system was not working for Māori.
"Our people have tried to manipulate and work in the system for a long, long time. But I think it's time for us to start...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has laid out a four-year roadmap to deal with problem plastics.
PVC meat trays and polystyrene takeaway packaging will be phased out late next year.
Plastic tableware and plastic straws will be taken off the shelves by mid-2023 and all other polystyrene food and beverage packaging by mid-2025.
Environment Minister David Parker says it gives the industry and businesses time to comply.
"We've already got good alternatives for polystyrene meat trays, which are plastics that are recyclable, so we are pushing for that to happen early.
"For some of the other products, it takes producers a bit longer." 
He told The Weekend Collective that there is also a $50 million fund to design new alternatives for plastic replacements. 
"We are only phasing out things that we think by the time they phase out we will have alternatives too. Some things we haven't announced a phase out for, we've got on a longer track."
Wet wipes are included on that longer list. 
LISTEN ABOVE

The Government has laid out a four-year roadmap to deal with problem plastics.
PVC meat trays and polystyrene takeaway packaging will be phased out late next year.
Plastic tableware and plastic straws will be taken off the shelves by mid-2023 and all other polystyrene food and beverage packaging by mid-2025.
Environment Minister David Parker says it gives the industry and businesses time to comply.
"We've already got good alternatives for polystyrene meat trays, which are plastics that are recyclable, so we are pushing for that to happen early.
"For some of the other products, it takes producers a bit longer." 
He told The Weekend Collective that there is also a $50 million fund to design new alternatives for plastic replacements. 
"We are only phasing out things that we think by the time they phase out we will have alternatives too. Some things we haven't announced a phase out for, we've got on a longer track."
Wet wipes are included on that longer list. 
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's Covid battle has significantly worsened in the past 24 hours, as multiple states and territories respond to new cases and expanding contacts. 
The Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland have joined New South Wales in implementing restrictions as health authorities battle surging Covid cases.
Four new cases connected to an infected miner in the NT has sparked a snap 48-hour lockdown in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield, with residents only allowed to leave their home for five reasons: to seek medical treatment, to purchase essential goods and services, for essential work, to undertake one hour of exercise or to give care.
In WA, a traveller from Sydney has also tested positive for what authorities believe is the Delta variant. As a result, the state has reinstated new restrictions across the Perth and Peel areas. 
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded a further 30 cases, with the total number of infections in the state currently at 102. Despite this, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said larger daily figures will likely be reported in the coming days. 
“We do anticipate that in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase even beyond what we have seen today,” she said.
“We are seeing that people in isolation, unfortunately, would have already transmitted to all their house contacts.”
Listen above as Australian Correspondent Murray Olds talks with The Weekend Collective live from Sydney's lockdown

Australia's Covid battle has significantly worsened in the past 24 hours, as multiple states and territories respond to new cases and expanding contacts. 
The Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland have joined New South Wales in implementing restrictions as health authorities battle surging Covid cases.
Four new cases connected to an infected miner in the NT has sparked a snap 48-hour lockdown in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield, with residents only allowed to leave their home for five reasons: to seek medical treatment, to purchase essential goods and services, for essential work, to undertake one hour of exercise or to give care.
In WA, a traveller from Sydney has also tested positive for what authorities believe is the Delta variant. As a result, the state has reinstated new restrictions across the Perth and Peel areas. 
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded a further 30 cases, with the total number of infections in the state currently at 102. Despite this, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said larger daily figures will likely be reported in the coming days. 
“We do anticipate that in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase even beyond what we have seen today,” she said.
“We are seeing that people in isolation, unfortunately, would have already transmitted to all their house contacts.”
Listen above as Australian Correspondent Murray Olds talks with The Weekend Collective live from Sydney's lockdown

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A prominent epidemiologist says Wellington has "probably dodged a bullet" with the capital's Covid-19 scare, but has nonetheless called the Government's decision to extend restrictions a wise move.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins this afternoon announced the Wellington region would stay at alert level 2 another two days – until midnight 11.59pm on Tuesday – as local test results continued to come in.
It was also revealed the partner of the Sydney man at the centre of the incursion had now also tested positive in Australia, and may have been infected near the end of their Wellington visit or on the flight home.
No new cases in the community were reported today – a time when modellers predict that anyone who may have been infected in the capital would begin showing symptoms.
Otago University epidemiologist Professor Nick Wilson said while Wellington may have escaped an outbreak, it wasn't time to relax yet.
"The Government has made a wise decision to keep at the current alert level 2 settings for Wellington for at least a few more days – given the major problems being caused by the new Delta variant in Australia," he said.
"Also, we now know that the case who visited Wellington was able to infect others – given his partner has subsequently tested positive."
It was however reassuring news, he added, that thousands of test results for people in Wellington are all negative and that the wastewater test results for Friday had also come back negative.
Fellow Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker agreed the extension was "fully justified".
"More than 2000 people were considered exposed to a potentially infectious traveller from Sydney who visited multiple crowded indoor venues last weekend in Wellington up until they left on Monday, June 21," he said.
"Given the timing, it is possible that some of these contacts are still incubating this infection and will only be identified in the coming few days, though the risk is now low."
University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles told The Weekend Collective that Wellington is still within the incubation period, and we are not "out of the woods yet".
She said that the news the case's partner has tested positive for Covid-19 despite being isolated from her partner shows there is cause for extending. 
"That does show the person was infectious, while they were in New Zealand and while they were travelling home."
Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank said it appeared the most likely scenario was that the man entered his infectious period towards the end of his stay in New Zealand.
While he agreed it was good news that most of the 2400 contacts identified have now tested negative, it was still possible there are other contacts that were missed – such as those who hadn't been scanning in wherever they went.
"Given what we know now, finding and testing contacts from Monday morning is particularly important," he said.
"If there is even one case lurking out there, it has the potential to spread like wildfire because the Delta variant is so infectious and our vaccination coverage is too low at the moment to slow it down much."
While New South Wales had one of the best contact tracing systems in the world, Plank said it hadn't been able to keep up with the speed the virus was spreading.
The state today reported another 30 infections, bringing the size of the outbreak to 110 cases as Greater Sydney entered the second day of its two-week lockdown.
"If anyone was infected on Sunday or Monday, now is around the time they would most likely develop symptoms," Plank said.
"So it's essential you stay alert for symptoms, especially if you were in Wellington last weekend, and get tested immediately if you do feel even slightly unwell.
"High testing rates will help authorities have confidence to relax alert level restrictions as soon as possible."
For another Otago...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A prominent epidemiologist says Wellington has "probably dodged a bullet" with the capital's Covid-19 scare, but has nonetheless called the Government's decision to extend restrictions a wise move.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins this afternoon announced the Wellington region would stay at alert level 2 another two days – until midnight 11.59pm on Tuesday – as local test results continued to come in.
It was also revealed the partner of the Sydney man at the centre of the incursion had now also tested positive in Australia, and may have been infected near the end of their Wellington visit or on the flight home.
No new cases in the community were reported today – a time when modellers predict that anyone who may have been infected in the capital would begin showing symptoms.
Otago University epidemiologist Professor Nick Wilson said while Wellington may have escaped an outbreak, it wasn't time to relax yet.
"The Government has made a wise decision to keep at the current alert level 2 settings for Wellington for at least a few more days – given the major problems being caused by the new Delta variant in Australia," he said.
"Also, we now know that the case who visited Wellington was able to infect others – given his partner has subsequently tested positive."
It was however reassuring news, he added, that thousands of test results for people in Wellington are all negative and that the wastewater test results for Friday had also come back negative.
Fellow Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker agreed the extension was "fully justified".
"More than 2000 people were considered exposed to a potentially infectious traveller from Sydney who visited multiple crowded indoor venues last weekend in Wellington up until they left on Monday, June 21," he said.
"Given the timing, it is possible that some of these contacts are still incubating this infection and will only be identified in the coming few days, though the risk is now low."
University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles told The Weekend Collective that Wellington is still within the incubation period, and we are not "out of the woods yet".
She said that the news the case's partner has tested positive for Covid-19 despite being isolated from her partner shows there is cause for extending. 
"That does show the person was infectious, while they were in New Zealand and while they were travelling home."
Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank said it appeared the most likely scenario was that the man entered his infectious period towards the end of his stay in New Zealand.
While he agreed it was good news that most of the 2400 contacts identified have now tested negative, it was still possible there are other contacts that were missed – such as those who hadn't been scanning in wherever they went.
"Given what we know now, finding and testing contacts from Monday morning is particularly important," he said.
"If there is even one case lurking out there, it has the potential to spread like wildfire because the Delta variant is so infectious and our vaccination coverage is too low at the moment to slow it down much."
While New South Wales had one of the best contact tracing systems in the world, Plank said it hadn't been able to keep up with the speed the virus was spreading.
The state today reported another 30 infections, bringing the size of the outbreak to 110 cases as Greater Sydney entered the second day of its two-week lockdown.
"If anyone was infected on Sunday or Monday, now is around the time they would most likely develop symptoms," Plank said.
"So it's essential you stay alert for symptoms, especially if you were in Wellington last weekend, and get tested immediately if you do feel even slightly unwell.
"High testing rates will help authorities have confidence to relax alert level restrictions as soon as possible."
For another Otago...