Morning Briefing June 2: South Island links still fragile following flooding

Rhys Mathewson

The Canterbury flooding continues to disrupt vital South Island transport links, and hopes Victoria will emerge from lockdown on Friday begin to fade. 

The flood-damaged Ashburton Bridge reopened to light traffic last night but is due to close for several hours again today as authorities continue safety tests on the vital transport link.

Yesterday’s road closure came after raging river torrents caused parts of the bridge to slump with cracking in one of the piles.

As the main thoroughfare to the south, the bridge’s closure effectively split the South Island in two yesterday with drivers temporarily forced to take a 13-hour detour.

The bridge is still closed to trucks and other heavy traffic, while flooding has also affected the South Island’s rail network .

The transport disruptions have sparked panic buying in lower parts of the South Island with supermarket shelves stripped bare in Tinwald, Dunedin, and Queenstown.

Both Countdown and Foodstuffs are urging customers to shop normally as they work to minimise any disruption, while Fonterra says it’s preparing to move milk supplies down the West Coast this morning. 

Those logistical challenges come as many in the Canterbury region begin a massive clean-up effort following this week’s flooding.

Farmers near the burst stopbanks have told RNZ floodwaters swept away “everything” on their properties, including all their winter feed.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surveyed the flood damage yesterday, sharing video of the devastation from a helicopter.

The Government soon after classified the floods as an “adverse event”, unlocking $500,000 worth of funding for recovery measures .

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House value growth slows

Average house values in Wellington may have topped $1 million in the latest CoreLogic House Price Index, but the pace of growth has seen some slowdown .

Nationally, house values increased 2.2 per cent in May, down slightly on April’s 3.1 per cent growth.

CoreLogic says this slowdown can be put down to the tightening of loan-to-value ratios and the Government’s changes to interest deductibility rules.  

Meanwhile, a new realestate.co.nz report this morning has revealed housing stock is down year-on-year in every region apart from Gisborne, with five areas falling to record lows.

Spokesperson Vanessa Williams says despite an increase in listings and incentives to build, it's not enough to ease the housing shortage, putting continuing pressure on prices .

New figures released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday showed a slight dip in the number of new homes consented in April , however those numbers were still close to the record highs seen in March. 

Lockdown decision due 

Authorities in Victoria have met to discuss options for an extension to the state's seven-day lockdown.

Hopes of emerging from lockdown faded yesterday as three new community cases of Covid-19 were recorded.

Health officials are worried about the rapid spread of the virus, including its transmission through “fleeting contact”. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says the virus “has moved faster than any other strain we've dealt with”.

A decision on the state’s current lockdown is expected later today.

New South Wales is also ramping up testing after a confirmed case from Melbourne travelled to several areas of the state while potentially infectious. Meanwhile, New Zealand authorities are still yet to track five of the more than 4500 travellers who arrived in the country from Victoria between May 20-25. 

No checks on relocation subsidy

1 NEWS can reveal no checks are being made to see if beneficiaries paid by the Government to move to other regions for a job actually stay in the role.

It comes as some employers report people quitting work just weeks after receiving the $5000 relocation subsidy. 

To qualify for the subsidy, workers must be entitled to the Jobseeker benefit or be the partner of someone who is, and move for a confirmed job that’s longer than 91 days. But the Ministry of Social Development isn’t keeping tabs on how long that person stays in the role.

Minister Carmel Sepuloni says sometimes people will move for work and then potentially find other employment that better suits them. 

“If that's the case, we need to be supportive of that,” she says.

Smith situation 'surprises' colleagues

The National Party denies it has a bullying problem in the wake of veteran MP Nick Smith’s resignation this week.

Smith has announced he’s quitting Parliament amid an inquiry into a “verbal altercation” with a staffer.

National’s deputy leader Shane Reti says he wasn’t aware of the allegations being made against Smith nor his plans to retire until he saw this week’s media announcement.

Other news of note this morning: 

- The UK has reported zero daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time since the pandemic began.

- The Māori Party has filed a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), alleging police didn’t properly investigate a racist threat made against the party's co-leaders.

- Climate Commissioner Rod Carr has told farmers they need to clean up their practices or risk international punishment

- The FBI is warning Auckland company Mega.NZ is being used by ransomware attackers .

- The NZ Herald reports an offer by the Government and Auckland Council to host the next America’s Cup has been rejected.

- Around 1000 hectares on Canterbury’s Kaitōrete Spit could become home to a new rocket launch site and aerospace research facility. 

- With overseas pet food producers dogged by Covid-related delays, an iconic Kiwi food brand is stepping up to the plate

- And Re: speaks to a man who’s spent the past 40 years searching the South Island for a bird that’s probably extinct

And finally...

TVNZ has a proud tradition of subjecting reporters to the hottest of chillies.

Until now, this has been the realm of the Breakfast show (see Matty McLean and Andrew Macfarlane who were both nearly felled by a chilli live on air) but Seven Sharp has decided to get in on that action this year by sending Rhys Mathewson to the sixth annual NZ Hot Sauce Festival.

Rhys thought he was all about the spice until he came face to face with the infamous Carolina Reaper pepper.

You can watch him regret some life choices here .

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