There's criticism on several fronts as minimum wage and benefit increases kick in, the SPCA calls for a ban on live exports of animals, and NZ's house prices reach record heights.
Low income New Zealanders will have a bit more money in their pockets from today with the minimum wage increasing by $1.10 an hour to $20 . For someone working 40 hours a week, their weekly wage before tax will go up $44.
Benefits and superannuation payments are also getting a boost today, rising by three per cent, while the amount people can earn before their benefit payments are cut has also increased.
This latest move means the minimum wage has risen by $4.25 over the past three years.
Unions say it’s still not enough, however the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) says today’s wage increase is "a hell of an April Fool’s joke" for many businesses struggling through the pandemic.
And as the benefit increases also kick in, advocates say the move is too little too late to address the country’s poverty gap.
Carmel Sepuloni says she’s saddened to be included in claims from one Auckland poverty action group that politicians are disconnected from the realities of poverty in New Zealand.
The Social Development and Employment Minister says the Government is committed to “[addressing the] income inadequacy of the welfare system”.
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'We have blood on our hands'
The SPCA is today calling for a total ban on the live exports of farmed animals by sea.
SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen and the organisation’s chief scientific officer Arnja Dale say they have sent letters to the Government asking them to “do the right thing” and enforce a total ban on live exports.
Midgen has referred to recent incidents of animals dying on ships bound for overseas ports and says, “Quite simply, we have blood on our hands.”
It comes as Auckland’s Cornwall Park also faces criticism for a plan to export live cattle.
Some of the herd of Simmental cattle at the suburban park will be exported to Mongolia to help establish a breeding programme there.
RNZ reports Cornwall Park is proud to announce the cows' shift to Mongolia – but the backlash has been swift , with criticism on social media and animal rights organisation SAFE getting involved.
Light rail still light on details
Auckland’s controversial light rail project may be back on track, however when the city might see some actual tracks is still a mystery.
The multi-million-dollar transport project was halted last year until after the election and is now effectively back to square one .
Transport Minister Michael Wood has set up a group to spend six months consulting with Aucklanders and developing a business case so decisions can be made on the project’s mode and route.
"Light rail is a critical investment to develop a modern, connected mass-transit system in New Zealand’s largest city, supporting jobs, growth, and housing," Wood says.
"Without decisive investment in mass transit, Auckland will choke on its own growth.”
Vaccine push continues
The Government has continued its Covid-19 vaccine push with two Cabinet members, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, lining up for their jab yesterday .
They joined several thousand other people receiving vaccines at the more than 50 vaccination sites operating around the country.
The move comes as Pfizer reveals its vaccine is safe and strongly protective in children as young as 12 .
AstraZeneca’s vaccine is also making headlines, with Germany suspending its use in people under 60, amid fresh concern over unusual blood clots . AstraZeneca is not New Zealand’s primary vaccine provider.
Meanwhile, the Australian Government is copping some criticism as it falls 3.4 million doses short of its Covid-19 vaccination target for the end of March.
It comes as Queensland’s latest Covid outbreak spreads across the border to New South Wales , resulting in new restrictions for four local councils in the area.
A festival that was due to draw thousands of revellers to Byron Bay over Easter has also been cancelled over fears of the virus spreading.
House prices reach new heights
New Zealand’s house prices have gone up by 16 per cent in the last year , according to CoreLogic’s latest house price index. It represents the largest increase since 2006.
The average Auckland home now costs more than $1.2 million, the first time the region has ever cracked that number.
Across the rest of the country, 14 of the 19 regions are also seeing record-high asking prices, with first home buyers making up just 23 per cent of this year’s market.
CoreLogic’s head of research Nick Goodall says these figures justify the recent Government intervention in the housing market.
Wiles dedicates award to workers
Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles, who garnered global prominence as she helped the country navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, has been announced as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year .
Wiles received the award from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last night, which she dedicated to the country’s essential workers.
She was nominated alongside Christchurch Muslim community leader Farid Ahmed and domestic violence advocate Ranjna Patel, who won the Innovator of the Year award.
Other news of note this morning:
- Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has announced he's entering a hunger strike to protest being denied medical treatment.
- A further charge is being laid against two men over the 2013 Roast Busters scandal in West Auckland after another alleged victim came forward to be a part of the case.
- With hundreds of MIQ spots suddenly made available for April , Otago's mayor has pleaded with the Government to offer them to fruit pickers first .
- There’s a warning the country’s youngest learners are missing out as primary schools struggle to cope with a ballooning workload.
- As hundreds of people rallied against sexual violence in Wellington last night, Jacinda Ardern called the country’s sexual and family violence rates a “stain on our society” .
- The stars of the My Māori Midwife TV show have welcomed funding to increase the number of Māori and Pasifika midwifery students, while lawyers question ACC's new policy on a common childbirth-related injury.
- New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson has hinted a women’s Super Rugby competition could be up and running as early as next year if a large deal with a US investor gets across the line.
- And the Archbishop of Canterbury has confirmed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's televised nuptials was their "legal wedding" .
And finally...
A mother bear caught on camera trying to coax her four rambunctious cubs across a busy Connecticut road has got parents across the internet nodding in sympathy.
Hundreds of people responded to the video to sympathise with the bear’s struggles.
It shows motorists patiently waiting as the bear tries several times to get the cubs to cross the street . Yet every time she picks one cub up with her mouth and carries it across, another scampers back into the road.
Sigh. I see you, mama bear.
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