Kiwis stranded in NSW are offered a way home, MBIE fields new criticism over managed isolation bookings, and Sir Richard Branson wins the billionaires' race to space.
Kiwis stuck in New South Wales will be able to book flights back to New Zealand later this morning.
Air New Zealand tickets will go on sale from 10am for those looking to return home and spend two weeks in managed isolation. Qantas will also be offering flights through a priority phone number being released today.
Returnees on these flights don’t need to book a spot in managed isolation as these will be automatically assigned.
It comes as the ministry responsible for MIQ fields new criticism of the managed isolation system from other travellers.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is checking its booking system is fit for purpose as a third-party website is accused of taking advantage of people’s desperation to travel home.
MIQ Helpers is charging New Zealanders upwards of $1200 to help them secure a spot in managed isolation, a charge one travel agent has labelled “crazy”.
MBIE says it’s up to individuals to decide whether they want to use a third-party website, however it is still looking into its own booking processes.
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Outbreaks spiral overseas
And as Kiwis jostle to return home, Covid-19 continues to tighten its grip in other parts of the world.
New South Wales recorded another 77 cases of the virus yesterday, with state premier Gladys Berejiklian expecting those numbers to exceed 100 today. One person has died after contracting the virus in Sydney, while 15 other patients are in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Fiji has reported another 485 new Covid cases in 24 hours, with special containers being brought into the morgue to help the country cope with its escalating crisis.
And Covid cases in the UK have also surged to their highest levels in five months as the country prepares to ditch all lockdown restrictions in a week’s time.
It comes as more than 100 scientists and doctors signed an open letter in The Lancet , saying the scrapping of restrictions now is “unethical and illogical”.
Trial over officer's killing begins
A trial will begin this morning for those charged following the killing of Constable Matthew Hunt in the Auckland suburb of Massey last year.
The 28-year-old officer was carrying out a routine traffic stop when he was fatally shot.
Eli Epiha is facing three charges of murder, attempted murder, and dangerous driving causing injury. Natalie Bracken is accused of being an accessory after the fact. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man is appearing in court today following the shooting of a police officer in Hamilton in the early hours of Saturday morning. The officer involved remains in Waikato Hospital in a stable condition.
Risks of lead back in spotlight
When East Otago residents found out their water supply was registering spikes in lead levels earlier this year, it put the toxic metal back on Kiwis’ radars. But how much do we really know about its risks?
Although it’s been phased out of the country’s paint and petrol, lead exposure is still a public health concern.
TVNZ’s Sunday has investigated the issue, uncovering where the source of the poison could be in your own home .
Big shift for NZ's workplaces
The Covid pandemic has seen big changes in our daily lives, with the way we work one of the most noticeable.
Office space is being reduced as businesses both big and small move to working from home or into co-working spaces.
1 NEWS has taken a closer look at the trend that some predict is now here to stay – and the ramifications of that shift .
Other news of note this morning:
- The Viking Bay fishing vessel carrying two crew members infected with Covid-19 will dock in Wellington today .
- National leader Judith Collins says her party's new campaign, Demand The Debate , argues Kiwis are "being left out of important decisions by the Labour Government".
- With the Reserve Bank set to publish its monetary policy this week, several economists are anticipating an increase in the Official Cash Rate by the beginning of 2022.
- Labour MP Louisa Wall has told Q+A she had very personal reasons for wanting to address Parliament about a suicide report last week.
- Weather extremes have battered both US coasts over the weekend, with daunting wildfires driven by blazing heat in California, and the fast-moving storm Elsa lashing New York City and New England.
- A child has had a lucky rescue after slipping on a chairlift at Mt Hutt .
- Novak Djokovic has claimed his 20th Grand Slam title after winning the Wimbledon final overnight.
- And England is taking on Italy in the final of the European Championship.
And finally...
Sir Richard Branson has won the billionaires’ race to space with a successful flight aboard his own rocket ship overnight.
Branson and five employees from his Virgin Galactic space tourism company reached an altitude of 88 kilometres over the New Mexico desert, enough to experience several minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth.
He’s become the first person to blast off in his own spaceship, beating fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos by nine days.
Bezos, who’s due to ride his own rocket into space on July 20, sent Branson wishes for a safe flight – before taking to Twitter to list the ways he thinks his company’s rides to space will be better.
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