New Zealand

WINZ benefits to be paid as usual

23 minutes ago

The Ministry of Social Development's contact centres are dealing with huge numbers of calls, but it is assuring people benefits will continue to be paid as usual.

Woman deliberately coughs on supermarket staff, police say

Covid-19 health

A woman who was denied entry to a Dunedin supermarket responded by coughing on staff and abusing them.

Immigrants without visas get access to benefits, supermarket jobs

Covid-19

about 2 hours ago

Supermarkets will be able to employ immigrants without valid work visas under new emergency rules.

Covid-19: Law experts answer your employment questions

Covid-19 business

From annual leave through to pay cuts, law experts Ashleigh Fechney and Simon Martin have answered your employment questions.

Multi-millionaire child sex offender granted parole

New Zealand

18 minutes ago

A former Justice of the Peace who paid Filipino families to exploit their children online has been granted parole at his first hearing.

Community care workers unhappy with Covid-19 advice

Covid-19 health

Workers looking after people who are disabled are unhappy with government guidelines around their job and some are sewing their own face masks to keep themselves safe from Covid-19.

Southland activates emergency contacts for Covid-19

Covid-19

Emergency Management Southland has activated free telephone and online contacts to ensure Southlanders get the support they need during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Covid-19: State of Emergency extended by 7 days

Covid-19

about 1 hour ago

The State of Emergency, which gives Civil Defence, police and government extra powers, was put in place last week ahead of the Level Four alert, and can be extended as many times as necessary.

IVF patient 'devastated' over closure of fertility clinics in lockdown

Covid-19 health

Thousands of fertility treatments have been cancelled or postponed because the services are not considered essential.

Covid-19: 14,000 could die in NZ if control efforts fail

Covid-19

More than 14,000 New Zealanders could die and tens of thousands more could be hospitalised if the country fails in its efforts to stamp out Covid-19, according to new research. Audio

Mother of child with disability wants PPE for care workers

Covid-19

A Northland mother is worried for the safety of her severely disabled son after two support workers from a trust that helps her tested positive for Covid-19.

Pharmac eases restrictions on cancer drugs during pandemic

Covid-19 health

Pharmac will ease restrictions on at least nine cancer drugs to reduce hospital visits and cut the risk of highly vulnerable patients catching Covid-19.

Support for police presence to disperse crowds on beaches

Covid-19 health

Police have not ruled out taking a tougher approach to clear out city hotspots where hundreds of people are going for their lockdown fresh air fixes. Audio

Covid-19: Key developments on day five of lockdown

Covid-19 business

There have been numerous announcements and developments around the country today, if you've missed all that went down, you can catch up what happened here.

Coronavirus: PM to reconsider 'essential businesses'

Politics Covid-19

Ministers will meet today to discuss whether more services should be deemed essential and allowed to be open for business.

Covid-19: PM backs families battling to keep seniors in their bubble

Politics Covid-19

People over 70 and those with underlying health conditions faced the lockdown four days before the rest of the country - but some of the elderly still aren't taking any notice.