Everything you need to know about the world today, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.
LOCAL NEWS
Retailers Underpaying Staff
Footwear chain Hannahs and Homeware chain Briscoes have both been accused of underpaying staff. Hannahs has been using a fixed hour system to avoid paying overtime, and Briscoes has not been paying some staff for the last 15 minutes of their shift. On Monday Briscoes staff noticed their shifts had been extended by 15 minutes. Managing Director Rod Duke said he was appalled by the roster change, having made an earlier claim that staff had been paid correctly. Smiths City and Spotlight have also faced criticism after they were found forcing staff to attend a daily, unpaid 15-minute meeting.
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Demand for State Housing
The number of people waiting for state housing is at an all time high. Almost 8,000 people are waiting, with an additional 2,000 wanting to switch houses. Housing Minister Phil Twyford says demand has gone up 26 percent in the last three months, and the government is working as fast as it can to solve the issue. The government faced criticism yesterday for raising the top price of Auckland and Queenstown Kiwibuild homes by $50,000.
Kaumātua Confrontations
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has commented on yesterday’s Kaumātua confrontation. The MP was challenged by a Kaumātua from Tauranga Moana yesterday morning on the forecourt of parliament as 600 people met in protest, demanding the crown recognise Māori tikanga in the treaty settlement processes. The protest follows the first day of a Supreme Court case involving central Auckland hapu Ngāti Whātua Orākei and the Crown on an overlapping treaty claim issue. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust says Little’s decision to sign a treaty deal despite overlapping claims on the land disregarded Māori law. Little told RNZ, “I gave notice to the Tauranga iwi that it was my intention to sign a deed of settlement between The Crown and Hauraki that provided for some redress within the Tauranga Moana, and parts of some iwi within the Tauranga Moana collective were opposed to that.” Despite this, Little still acknowledged there are overlapping claims causing tension.
Northcote By-Election Candidates
Eight candidates have been confirmed for the Northcote by-election. The election was triggered by National MP Jonathan Coleman’s resignation back in March. Those running include Shanan Halbert from Labour, Dan Bidois from National, Rebekah Jaung from the Green Party and Stephen Berry from ACT. Overseas voting starts on May 23 and advance voting in the Northcote electorate will start on May 28.
Auckland Council to Sell Properties
Auckland Council has announced a move to sell seven office sites as part of its corporate property strategy. The sales are expected to allow for reinvestment in customer service centres, local board offices and staff workspace. Finance and Performance Committee Chair Ross Clow says holding on to the properties could have led to a $200 million maintenance spend as the buildings aged over the next decade. The decision means the council will retain all 20 customer service centres and 21 local board facilities.
Vanguard Approved as ‘Designated Character School’
The first charter school to gain approval to become a “designated character” state school has been approved. Vanguard Military School will open as a state school next year, and was the first of 11 schools to apply to join the state system. The Labour government has held a strong stance on the schools, describing the charter school model as “flawed”. Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins says the school will have a strong focus on “second chance” students. Other schools will be notified by July 31 as to whether their applications to transition have been successful.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Indonesia Suicide Attack Mourned
Indonesians are horrified as details come to light of Sunday’s suicide attacks on three churches. The attacks in Indonesia’s second largest city, Surabaya, were carried out by a Muslim family who killed a dozen people. Two sons aged 16 and 18 rode a motorcycle into a church, while Puji Kuswati, the mother, attacked worshippers at another church with her daughters, aged 9 and 12. Police said all were wearing suicide vests. The father, Dita Oepriarto, detonated a car bomb outside a third church. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has condemned the actions as beyond humanity.
Scotland Brexit Conflict
The Scottish Parliament is refusing to accept one of the main pieces of Brexit legislation. The UK government’s withdrawal bill was rejected by 93 votes to 30. This fresh blow for Theresa May could result in a constitutional crisis, as the first time the UK government pushed laws against Scotland’s will. Scottish government Minister Mike Russell says the attempt to undermine the transfer of power from national to government level, is unacceptable.
Polycystic Ovary Cure?
Researchers have found the cause of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome could be due to hormonal imbalances before birth. The disease affects how women’s ovaries work and causes pain, irregular periods and difficulty getting pregnant. The anti-Mullerian hormone is thought to be behind it, and pregnant women with the disease have 30 percent higher levels of it than normal. The scientists successfully cured the disease in mice, and a clinical trial for women will begin later in the year. It is the most common hormone-related disease in women.
UK Opposes New Embassy in Israel
The United States has opened its new embassy in Israel despite backlash from allied countries. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told BBC that Britain disagrees with backing one nation over the other in the Israel-Palestine conflict, “As you know the position of the United Kingdom is we don’t agree with the position of the US to move their embassy, we think that is playing the wrong card at the wrong time, but we remain absolutely committed to a two state solution.” The United States went against the 1993 Israel-Palestine peace accords by recognising Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem in December 2017. In a video link address to the embassy opening President Trump reaffirmed the United States’ stance, “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like any other sovereign nation to determine its own capital, yet for many years we failed to acknowledge the obvious. The plain reality that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem.” The status of Jerusalem has long been disputed and is not recognised internationally as being sovereign to one nation.
Additional reporting by: Harry Willis and Ben Webber.
