New Zealand’s aerospace sector will receive $16 million in government funding to help drive growth and strengthen the country’s research ecosystem.

Economic and regional development minister Stuart Nash and research, science and innovation minister Ayesha Verrall made the announcement before some 300 attendees at the maiden New Zealand Aerospace Summit, held in the newly built Te Pae convention centre in Ōtautahi.

About $9m has been earmarked for international research partnerships with Nasa, while $3m will fund research projects under the government’s airspace integration trials programme, which supports the safe testing, development and commercialisation of advanced uncrewed aircraft in New Zealand.

The Civil Aviation Authority, which oversees compliance by rocket and spacecraft operators, will receive nearly $4m to establish an emerging technologies programme. The government has also opened public consultation on a new aerospace strategy and will review New Zealand’s space policy, which covers broader values and objectives like national security and environmental interests.

New Zealand’s innovative aerospace sector has huge growth potential, and the development of a new aerospace strategy would help set that growth’s general direction, Nash said. “By 2030, we aim to have an aerospace sector of global importance that is coordinated in its activities, can leverage its shared strengths and is at the forefront of innovation. This strategy sets out ambitious goals and an action plan to guide us there.”

Verrall said the funding would ensure a fit-for-purpose research system that enabled the aerospace industry to continue innovating. The government viewed aerospace as a key creator of highly skilled jobs.

The aerospace summit had been postponed several times before finally kicking off today. Focusing on the main theme of “building an aerospace nation”, the conference attracted heavyweight speakers, including Nasa deputy administrator Pamela Melroy and aerospace manufacturer Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck.

Some stimulating panel discussions were also held, including one made up of five female engineers and scientists speaking to an audience overwhelmingly male about the lack of women in the sector. Besides the outer space mood lighting and the Rocket Lab swag hat, attendees have been treated to a performance of David Bowie’s iconic song, Starman.

More than 25 million people watched the debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on it’s launch day, according to Amazon.

That makes it the most watched premiere in the history of the Prime Video streaming service.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.”

The series has received a generally positive reception since launching last week, including from our very own Sam Brooks. However, Amazon has suspended the publishing of public reviews due to the threat of negative review bombing from fans upset that the show isn’t as blindingly white as they would like.

One of the country’s biggest universities has announced it will making more than 200 staff redundant as part of cost-cutting measures

Auckland University of Technology – AUT – will lose 230 staff, most by the end of the year.

According to Stuff, that represents 5% of the university’s workforce and comes after it made a $12 million surplus in 2020 and 2021.

As a result of the cuts, a number of courses offered by AUT will be canned.

In a statement, AUT’s vice chancellor Damon Salesa cited the pressures from international border closures and said it was the first time the university had been forced to take action like this.

“This is a difficult time for AUT, and we are focusing on caring for and consulting with our staff so that our way forward is the right one,” Salesa said.

I’ve been on the road most of today – believe me, it was as gross and wet as you’d expect – but here are today’s Covid-19 numbers:

• There are 1,296 new community cases – that’s one of the lowest daily totals we’ve had since the omicron outbreak first took hold in February. Of course, it’s also a Monday number which is typically on the low side.
• The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 1,778. Last Monday, it was 2,425.
• There are currently 257 people in hospital with Covid-19.
• The seven-day rolling average of hospitalisations today is 273. Last Monday, it was 351.
• There are now a total of 1,915 deaths confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor.
• The seven-day rolling average increase in total deaths attributable to Covid-19 is now six.

Amendments to the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act will give police additional tools and power to seize the illicit assets of organised criminals. Justice minister Kiritapu Allan today announced a raft of legislative changes targeted at gangs, with the intention to strip gang members of the benefits of their criminal activity.

“This is about ensuring crime doesn’t pay and that there are major consequences for criminal and gang activity,” Allan said.

Allan outlined the criminal structures currently used to avoid asset seizures, most commonly using associates as property owners. Today’s announcement comes as the government unrrolls a “multi-faceted approach” to organised crime.

“It will mean that not only do we have more frontline police than ever before, they also have greater powers to hit gangs where it hurts,” police minister Chris Hipkins said.

Cabinet has agreed to the following changes to the act:

· New powers to target the associates of organised criminal groups and restrain their property, when it is clear their legitimate finances would’ve been unlikely to have enabled them to acquire the assets.

· A new court order that will mean criminals based overseas who have assets in New Zealand will face losing those assets, unless they can provide proof within two months that they obtained their property legally.

· Amending a technical gap, which will allow the Official Assignee – the government body that manages assets restrained under CPRA – to hold seized property for longer than 28 days while the court considers an application for a restraining order.

· Allow funds in Kiwisaver schemes to be subject to civil forfeiture orders, eliminating the potential for criminals to hide illegal funds in their Kiwisaver.

A by-election in the Rongotai election, which will be triggered should Paul Eagle wins the Wellington mayoralty, could cost as much as $1.2 million.

As Stuff reports, Eagle has not given up his Rongotai seat despite campaigning to replace Andy Foster as mayor. Instead, he’s taken leave from parliament.

But should Eagle win, a by-election will be required ahead of next year’s general election. As Stuff explains, the cost will probably be comparable to the by-election that took place after National’s Simon Bridges quit the Tauranga seat earlier this year.

The cost is not surprising: all by-elections cost taxpayer money. However, ahead of the 2020 election, Eagle denied claims he would run for mayor and pledged not to trigger a by-election.

The government’s controversial immigration green list has opened up for residency applications from today.

Under the scheme, eligible migrants with a job or job offer in selective roles are able to enjoy an expedited pathway to residency. But it’s proven an easy target for attacks from the opposition after certain key roles, like nurses, were left off the list entirely.

Immigration minister Michael Wood said the residency pathway provided an incentive for migrants. “This new pathway offers potential migrants, like health practitioners, engineers, construction and infrastructure workers, and IT professionals more certainty,” Wood said.

“The streamlined process makes it easier for employers to attract and hire people that will help address shortages in these highly skilled areas.

Meanwhile, Wood confirmed that New Zealand’s refugee quota programme was back up to full capacity and will be able to resettle 1,500 individuals each year.

“As part of the 1,500 intake, 200 places will be allocated to resettle Syrian refugees, including Kurdish minorities, located in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, given the huge scale and prolonged nature of the Syrian refugee crisis and the coordinated international resettlement efforts,” said Wood.

Just a little update for those anticipating a Covid-19 traffic light announcement today: there won’t be one.

It was rumoured last week that the government was getting ready to ditch mask requirements in all but the most high risk situations. Since then the prime minister has all but confirmed that an overhaul of the traffic light framework is on the cards.

It won’t, however, be for at least one more week. Jacinda Ardern told RNZ that cabinet will be considering whether to scrap out current Covid-19 restrictions next Monday, meaning an announcement won’t come until (at the earliest) next week’s post-cabinet press conference.

It’s a recess week at parliament meaning that today’s post-cab presser – which will likely still include questions on our Covid settings – will take place at the slightly earlier time of 3pm.

Meanwhile, Ardern also faced questions on her morning media round today about the possibility of setting up an embassy in Ukraine (RNZ), the aftermath of last week’s KiwiSaver tax debacle (TVNZ Breakfast) and whether or not gangs favoured Labour over National (Newshub AM).

We’ll soon know whether the UK’s foreign secretary Liz Truss or former chancellor Rishi Sunak will take over the keys to Downing Street from Boris Johnson.

The UK leadership has been in a state of limbo since Johnson confirmed he would step down after a major exodus of ministers from his government, many releasing statements directly condemning the prime minister.

After an initial leadership battle between several candidates, Truss and Sunak emerged the frontrunners and have spent the past month campaigning for support within the Conservative Party.

The BBC has a solid recap of the Tory leadership campaign and a deep dive into both Truss and Sunak. We’ll have the results for you tomorrow.

The Dominion Post is leading with a story from Rachel Thomas about surgical waiting lists this morning. You might recall that in July, Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ (HNZ) ordered all 20 districts to book surgical slots for 7475 patients who had been waiting at least a year for surgery by August 31. That deadline has passed and perhaps it will take a few more days to be able to confirm that’s been done, but at the time of the story going to print, HNZ couldn’t confirm whether it has.

Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said while the move was a worthwhile aspiration, it was unlikely to be meaningful. “Nothing has changed in the past two months in terms of workforce or building capacity” she said.

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Jacinda Ardern will head to New York on the first direct Air New Zealand flight from New Zealand later this month.

The prime minister is travelling to the US on September 17 to attend the United Nations general assembly and co-host a summit related to the Christchurch Call. She will also participate in events to promote trade, investment, and tourism.

It’s been about three months since Ardern last visited the US, where she met with president Joe Biden at the White House and popped up on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“I look forward to visiting the United States to meet with counterparts, and taking the opportunity to further promote New Zealand’s reconnecting plan,” Ardern said. “It’s an important opportunity to set out New Zealand’s continued commitment to the multilateral system and international rules based order.”

Ardern said the direct flights between Auckland and New York were an “exciting step in reconnecting New Zealand with the world, and will bring a welcome boost for our tourism and other businesses”.

While in New York, the PM will also attend the launch of an Invest New Zealand campaign and meet with the Motion Picture Association of America executives to promote New Zealand as a film destination – just ahead of Avatar 2 hitting theatres later this year.