Morning Briefing March 3: Crunch time comes for latest lockdown

Dr Ashley Bloomfield looks on during a press conference with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Auckland's latest Level 3 lockdown enters a critical 48 hours, National proposes a new payment for isolating workers, and Pharmac goes under the microscope.

Auckland’s current Level 3 lockdown is entering a crucial couple of days with Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield warning any new Covid cases emerging from the latest outbreak should become evident from today .

Experts say it’s still too soon to know if the current cluster has been contained or has spread beyond Auckland’s borders, with Covid-19 modeller Professor Shaun Hendy saying a longer lockdown may be necessary .

Meanwhile, the financial aspects of containing Covid’s spread are back in the spotlight, with National proposing a way to make it easier for workers to stay home while isolating.

The party says the Government should pay a person their full wage for the two weeks they’re told to isolate.

The current support scheme gives fulltime workers a little over $1100 for the two weeks, which is below the minimum wage.

Booking a stay in managed isolation is also set to become more costly for some travellers .

From March 25, temporary visa holders and those on student visas will have to pay $5520 for the two-week stay, which is nearly double the current fee. According to MBIE, the new fees better reflect the actual costs of managed isolation.

Some overseas workers have told Stuff the sharp increase in managed isolation fees will be another hurdle in returning to their life in New Zealand. 

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Govt looks to improve messaging

The Ministry of Health is looking at ways to make sure Covid-19 information reaches young people, but it won’t include Dr Ashley Bloomfield dancing on TikTok or appearing on Tinder .

It comes as questions continue over the effectiveness of the Government’s Covid-19 communication strategy after one recent case says she wasn’t told to isolate – a claim health officials dispute .

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined the difficulties of getting appropriate Covid-19 messaging to all communities in New Zealand. She says the Government is trying to put out messages across multiple platforms, using multiple communicators.

But community leaders say more needs to be done to get the message to people whose first language isn’t English . While general Covid-19 information is translated in 23 languages, for example, specific information like locations of interest is not. 

Pharmac goes under the microscope

Pharmac is to come under official scrutiny with the Government announcing an independent investigation into the country’s drug buying agency.

The review will look at the time it takes to fund treatments, the transparency of decision making, and equity and access to new medicines, especially for Māori and Pasifika people. 

Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) says the review is "well overdue", adding that there are “gross inadequacies in the standard of care” in New Zealand.

Their comments come as one cancer patient told 1 NEWS about her struggle to get funding for her treatment.

Twenty-five-year-old Carlyn Reed was told palliative care was her only option after she was turned down for funding by Pharmac. She and her family had to fundraise online to afford treatment with the cancer drug Keytruda.

PVA founder Malcolm Mulholland says fundraising avenues like Givealittle shouldn’t be the only avenue for hope “but that’s all that many people have left”.

The Cancer Society says Government funding should also be examined given they decide how much money Pharmac must work with.

Survey uncovers police bullying

A quarter of New Zealand's police force have been abused, bullied or harassed in the last year, with almost one in 10 suffering sustained bullying , a new report has found.

The survey conducted by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) uncovered themes of favouritism, a “boys' club”, sexism, and marginalisation. It found police officers who expressed dissent or resisted the “boys’ club” may be “marginalised and ostracised".

However, the report concludes the bullying isn’t pervasive through the entire police force and is instead found within specific workplaces and districts. 

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says many of the issues highlighted in the survey are being addressed as part of an action plan from an earlier report.

The IPCA’s full report into bullying can be downloaded here

Is a house price slowdown on cards?

The latest CoreLogic report suggests a slowdown in house price increases could be on the way, with analysts highlighting Tauranga’s 1.5 per cent drop in property values month-on-month.

However, CoreLogic’s head of research Nick Goodall says it’s still too soon to call that dip a trend.

Prices in the rest of the main centres continue to increase, with New Zealand’s average house price sitting at $827,000. 

Other news of note this morning:

- The US has announced sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

- The UN says their appeal for aid for Yemen has been “disappointing” , as the Guardian reports war and famine is threatening to wipe out the next generation of Yemenis. 

- Family violence charities are bracing for an increase in need following Auckland’s return to Level 3 lockdown.

- Rocket Lab has confirmed it will publicly list through a merger deal with a special purpose acquisition company in the US.

- A British newspaper publisher says it plans to appeal a judge's ruling that it invaded the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her father.

- The Silver Ferns have fended off a late comeback to open the Constellation Cup with a win over Australia.

- The three finalists for the New Zealander of the Year award have been revealed. 

- And what happens if a Covid case has been to a location they don’t want to be publicly linked to? 1 NEWS looks at concerns people may not reveal “sensitive locations” to contact tracers. 

And finally...

A feijoa tree

Chances are many Aucklanders are back to exploring their neighbourhoods again as they wait out another Level 3 lockdown. Chances are they’re also dabbling in a little urban foraging during those state-sanctioned walks.

So, Seven Sharp has looked at the rules when it comes to your neighbours’ fruit trees - and discovered there’s a difference between foraging and thieving...

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