Briefs

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is looking at how the Provincial Growth Fund can be repurposed for initiatives deemed more critical to fighting the economic impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling for Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development to be scrapped, saying its role of promoting tourism and events is redundant.

The police are warning New Zealanders to stay home during the upcoming Easter holidays, as the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown continues.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council is reminding track and trail users to stick to Covid-19 lockdown rules, especially social distancing.

Forty thousand people have signed a National Party petition calling for mandatory quarantining for anyone arriving at New Zealand borders.

Public submissions on plans for a new highway to replace the closed State Highway 3 Manawatū Gorge route are now open, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

Auckland Transport has updated its AT Mobile app to show users how many people are on a train in real time.

Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult is establishing two recovery taskforces to help the district prepare for post-Covid-19 lockdown.

Walkers and hikers in the Waikato are flouting Covid-19 lockdown rules, according to the Department of Conservation.

The Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates will not be published next week, says MBIE.

Tourism Talent has partnered with Go with Tourism in a bid to help the tourism sector bounce back from Covid-19.

Business confidence has plummeted amidst the current Covid-19 crisis, with a new survey showing 67% of businesses expect a deterioration in general economic conditions.

Family-owned Leisure Time Group has expanded into the event management space with the acquisition of Auckland-based Lime & Soda.

In the week after the Government’s 23 March lockdown announcement, scheduled airline traffic declined by 47%, or 8600 flights to 4400, compared with the same period last year, says Airways.

International airline seat capacity fell to just 23% of what it was in the first week of April last year, according to travel insights firm ForwardKeys.

Hospitality and accommodation in Christchurch was hardest hit with an 82% decline in spending in the week ended March 29 compared with the same week a year ago.

Nelson City Council is calling for the Ministry of Justice to enable the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) and councils to waive alcohol licensing fees in light of the Covid-19 shutdown.

Northland host families have opened their homes to international students as they sit out the Covid-19 lockdown.

Porritt Stadium in Hamilton has been set up as a Covid-19 self-isolation site for freedom campers at the request of the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

The Bus and Coach Association says it is “dumbfounded” by the suggestion of one union organisation that bus companies are ‘double dipping’ on the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme.

Roads into Egmont National Park will be closed following an order by Civil Defence in a bid to combat Covid-19.

The Thames Coromandel District Council is warning residences against travelling to their holiday homes for the Easter period, saying they need to abide by lockdown rules during the Covid-19 crisis.

A new Government Order has banned hunting while New Zealand remains in level four lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis.

The World Wide Fund for Nature is bringing a ten-week public art sculpture trail to Auckland fo the summer/autumn season in 2021.

Tourism marketing agency Tomahawk has launched a new website that lists accommodation options for people who need to self-isolate due to Covid-19.

Christchurch City Council has introduced a three-month rent holiday for commercial tenants.

Fullers360 has implemented a passenger register on its Waiheke and Devonport routes during the level four alert.

A lockdown track etiquette reminder has been issued by Queenstown Lakes District Council.

New Zealanders self-isolating on their return from overseas have been asked to consent to being contacted by text message, for the purposes of compliance checks.

Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower has been lit royal blue to “acknowledge and support the tireless efforts of front-line emergency services staff engaged in the fight against Covid-19.”

International arrivals will fall by 20%-30% in 2020 compared to last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, says the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

The value of building consents issued for hotels, motels and other short term accommodation for the year to February 2020 was $616m.

The Government is looking at ways to fast-track consents for development and infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy and provide jobs during Covid-19.

Twenty-one New Zealand airports will remain open during alert level 4 as ‘lifeline utilities’ under the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act, says the New Zealand Airports Association.

Auckland Zoo has tested a new series of live streams that will connect lockdown New Zealand with the attraction.

The former site of the SilverOaks Hotel Geyserland in Rotorua is for sale.

Air New Zealand is moving faster than it needed to with plans to make up to 3500 employees redundant, says E tū assistant national secretary Rachel Mackintosh.

The New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association is urging the aviation sector to work together to keep jobs in New Zealand, rather than lose highly skilled Kiwis to international markets in the recovery from Covid-19.

Business confidence plunged over the second half of March as the Covid-19 outbreak become a global pandemic, says ANZ.

Quest is offering up to 500 rooms for essential workers and returning travellers to use for self-isolation during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has contracted 25 motels to provide immediate housing to the homeless in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Queenstown Lakes District Council is asking holiday home owners spending lock down in the district to provide information on how many people are staying at their property.

St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the Redoubt Bar in Matamata are the source of a cluster of Covid-19 cases.

Nelson and Tasman commercial campgrounds will provide temporary space for freedom campers who don’t have a place to stay for the next four weeks in isolation.

Following recent rainfall, and discussion with the Marlborough Mountain Bike Club, the local council has decided to close its mountain bike parks in Blenheim’s Wither Hills Farm Park and Picton’s Victoria Domain.

The Government has fast-tracked up to $1m to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight going to Shanghai.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is seeking feedback on the dedicated walking and cycling link between central Auckland and the North Shore.

Colliers is marketing the sale of the County Hotel in New Zealand’s Art Deco capital of Napier.

Airways New Zealand’s air traffic controllers will defer a planned pay increase in response to the Covid-19 outbreak and its impact on the aviation sector.

People with an urge to snitch on neighbours and others they think are flouting lockdown rules can go online to let off steam.