Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato Reaction to the New Zealand government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown has ranged from high praise to criticism that its actions were illegal and its management chaotic. Partly in response to the concerns, and to put the continued containment of the disease on a firmer legal footing, the COVID-19 Public Health Response …
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NZ’s COVID Tracer app won’t help open ‘travel bubble’ with Australia anytime soon
Mahmoud Elkhodr, CQUniversity Australia New Zealanders finally have access to the Government’s new tracing app to help people monitor their movements as lockdown continues to ease. As businesses can now open, the NZ COVID Tracer app allows people to keep a register of the places they visit. This “digital diary” can be used to contact people if it finds they …
Read More »Google & Facebook pay way less tax in NZ than in Australia – and we’re paying the price
Victoria Plekhanova, Massey University The New Zealand government’s recently announced NZ$50 million subsidy package to support local media was necessary and urgent – even if it came too late to save the Bauer magazine titles from closing. But the injection of government cash did not address the underlying cause of the decline of New Zealand’s media, which predates the COVID-19 …
Read More »Was NZ’s lockdown legal? One week might make all the difference
Kris Gledhill, Auckland University of Technology As New Zealand approaches the end of its strictest lockdown period, a debate has begun about whether it was legal in the first place. This is important because people are being prosecuted for breaching the lockdown. Naturally, lawyers are getting involved, so things are going to get technical. Some lawyers tend to speak in …
Read More »Coronavirus may be eliminated, but probably never eradicated: here’s the difference
Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia Compared to many other countries around the world, Australia and New Zealand have done an exceptional job controlling COVID-19. As of May 7, there were 794 active cases of COVID-19 in Australia. Only 62 were in hospital. The situation in New Zealand is similar, with 136 active cases, only two of whom are in …
Read More »NZ’s ‘catch up, patch up’ health budget misses the chance for a national overhaul
Robin Gauld, University of Otago New Zealand’s budget brings a significant funding injection for health and disability services, amounting to around a 9% increase. It is the most substantial increase for the health sector in some time, and in this regard, aligns with the government’s 2019 well-being budget. Overall, the budget provides an additional NZ$4.3 billion over the next four …
Read More »Will New Zealand’s $50 billion budget boost Jacinda Ardern’s chance of being re-elected?
Grant Duncan, Massey University New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won global admiration for her personal style. But how will Kiwis judge her government’s performance at the ballot-box in September? A major factor in that decision will be how well today’s budget is received – and how well it achieves its stated aim of “responding, recovering and rebuilding” after …
Read More »The pandemic budget: moving NZ from critical care to long-term recovery
Norman Gemmell, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington May 14’s budget will surely be remembered as the “pandemic budget”. It might seem like the worst possible timing – economic uncertainty rages, Treasury has had to abandon its usual economic “forecasts”, and the pandemic’s viral economic spread is far from over. On the contrary, this may be very good …
Read More »NZ’s pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins
Jonathan Boston, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Budget 2020’s focus on “jobs, jobs and jobs” is understandable, commendable and vital. COVID-19 poses the largest threat to paid employment since the Great Depression almost 90 years ago. The number of people receiving Job Seeker Support (Work Ready) – the main benefit available for the unemployed – rose almost …
Read More »Suse Reynolds: Startups key to NZ’s revival
New Zealand’s startups and their founders are our untapped powerhouse of problem solvers, says Suse Reynolds. Startups are not SMEs. We are talking about a cohort of super ambitious, high growth, tech-rich businesses with highly driven teams which are generally venture investment-backed. These businesses are developing solutions to problems with highly valuable, large and sometimes new, markets. They are businesses like …
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