Lately for Thursday 6 May 2021

10:17  NZ's bubble with NSW paused for 48 hours

Travel between New Zealand and New South Wales will be paused from 11.59pm tonight. A man from Sydney's eastern suburbs tested positive for the virus yesterday, while his wife tested positive today. The Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says genome sequencing has linked the man to a recent returnee who arrived in Australia from the United States. The problem is that there's no epidemiological link, between yesterday's case and the recent returnee, which suggests there could be more cases in the community.  Ursula Malone from the ABC fills us in on the latest

 

10:25 Tourism leader says industry must become sustainable

The Minister of Tourism, Stuart Nash, has announced a 200-million dollar support plan for the Covid-impacted tourism sector at the annual tourism industry conference in Otautahi Christchurch today.   20 million dollars has been ear marked to help Queenstown diversify away from its reliance on international tourism and 15 million dollars will ensure Milford Sound is protected from high density tourism. Stuart Nash says a report on how tourism in Milford Sound can be managed will be released next month.
The CEO of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Chris Roberts explains what the industry and the Government need to do to ensure the future is sustainable.

 

10:35 HVHS students call for action on toxic mould

Students from Hutt Valley High School set up class on the front lawn of Parliament today to protest the dangerous levels of toxic mould found in their classrooms.  The Ministry of Education has agreed to demolish the worst affected block and install prefabs by August to replace the 16 teaching spaces closed since April. There's been a meeting tonight between students, the principal and Board of Trustees and the head of the Ministry of Health's property team. Head girl, Charlotte Leach was at that meeting and explains the student's next steps.

 

10:45 Queen Street businesses' court action fails

A group of Queen Street landlords and businesses has failed in their bid for an interim injuction, to stop further temporary work to make Auckland's main commercial street more pedestrian-friendly. The Save Queen Street Society was in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, trying to prevent the some of the Auckland Council's planned improvements to lower Queen Street.  Viv Beck is the chief executive of Heart of the City which represents 10-thousand businesses - part of the Save Queen Street Society.