National party leader Judith Collins was supposed to be relishing her first opportunity to go up against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Parliament’s debating chamber today.
Instead, Ms Collins is in damage control after National MP Andrew Falloon resigned from politics in disgrace late yesterday, saying he’d made “a number of mistakes”.
1 NEWS understands the 37-year-old MP for Rangitata sent pornographic material to a 19-year-old woman.
TVNZ's Breakfast has been told this morning that Mr Falloon's explanations for the incident were not consistent, raising further alarm bells among the party's leadership.
Mr Falloon is the third National MP to resign from politics in the week since Ms Collins took on the mantle of party leader.
Stuff reports his alleged actions have come as a shock to National with some in the party wanting him to depart before the election.
1 NEWS Political Editor Jessica Mutch McKay says National is "desperately trying to hold themselves together" following the new disaster.
Ms Collins will be speaking to Breakfast just after 7am today.
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Covid vaccine shows promise
A coronavirus vaccine developed by scientists at Oxford University appears safe and triggers an immune response .
Those findings from early trials of the vaccine are very promising, however it’s too soon to know if it’s enough to offer protection from the virus. Larger trials of the vaccine are now underway.
The news comes as New Zealand’s Government reveals it’s setting aside the final $14 billion left in the Covid-19 Recovery Fund to use if the country experiences a second wave of the virus.
Many parts of the world are currently battling that second wave. New South Wales recorded its largest number of new cases in three months yesterday, while Hong Kong and France have both introduced new measures to try and contain their own new outbreaks of the disease.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Covid-19 testing criteria is back in the spotlight with RNZ reporting just eight people were swabbed for the virus in the community on Sunday.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins says he wants those testing numbers back up to an average of 4000 a day.
UK suspends Hong Kong treaty
The British government has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over Beijing's imposition of a new national security law in the territory.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the treaty, which has been in place for 30 years, has been halted “immediately and indefinitely”.
China has accused the UK government of “brutal meddling” and insists it’s committed to upholding international law.
Meanwhile, Jacinda Ardern addressed concerns about China’s human rights record during the China Business Summit in Auckland yesterday.
She says New Zealand has a “direct and resounding interest” in the issue.
Job cuts loom at big red sheds
First Union is slamming The Warehouse over its proposal to lay off hundreds of staff, suggesting the company is using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse for the move.
The Warehouse told staff yesterday of their plans to slash up to 750 jobs , leaving many upset and fearing for their future.
Consultation on the proposed job cuts will close next month.
Eruption warning system offers hope
The brother of a tour guide killed in the Whakaari/White Island eruption says he hopes tours on the island can resume soon following the development of a new eruption warning system .
Mark Inman, whose brother Hayden Marshall-Inman died in last year’s eruption, says the research is encouraging.
"I think for the Whakatāne area, it certainly would give you an opportunity to go back to the island, and rediscover what Whakaari has to offer," he told RNZ .
Other news of note this morning:
This year’s men's T20 Cricket World Cup has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A new study predicts polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change.
Five drivers captured on camera dangerously driving around a lowered railway barrier on the Kāpiti Coast earlier this month have been identified by police and fined.
Air New Zealand customers owed credit from cancelled flights due to Covid-19 can now redeem it online .
And a Northland local has offered up his digger services for free after the region was hit by flooding over the weekend.
And finally...
Kiwis love a Frankenstein food mash-up. Which is probably why Bluebird has seen fit to release a new range of chips that includes a controversial lamington flavour.
Seven Sharp’s Jeremy Wells paid a visit to the company’s headquarters to pitch his own ideas for some chip flavours but strangely found his kererū and kūmara suggestion failed to fly.
New Zealand’s pre-eminent chip critic Madeleine Chapman is also joining TVNZ’s Breakfast just before 9am today to weigh in on the lamington chip controversy.
Given she once ranked 123 chip flavours , I personally can’t wait to see her verdict on this new entry in the potato chip market.
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