Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 27, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz

3.30pm: Olympics wrap – what to watch tonight

It’s been a fairly slow day of Olympics action but tonight is packed full of New Zealanders vying for glory. Here are some of this evening’s highlights:

• 3.51pm: Boxing – David Nyika
• 4.05pm: Sailing – Josh Junior (Finn races 1, 2)
• 5.50pm: More sailing! Peter Burling & Blair Tuke (49er races 1, 2, 3)
• 6.03pm: Canoe slalom – Luuka Jones (women’s K1 semifinal, followed by the final at 7.15pm)
• 8pm: Football – Football Ferns (women) v Sweden
• 8.30pm: Rugby sevens – Men’s quarterfinals
• 11.21pm: Swimming – Zac Reid (men’s 800m freestyle heats)

Have a good afternoon and, as always, go the Kiwis!

2.10pm: Wallabies granted ‘economic’ travel exemption

The Australian rugby team has been granted a travel exemption to enter the country due to “economic reasons”, the government has confirmed.

The Wallabies will travel from their Queensland base on a charter flight to Auckland on Friday. As with all other arrivals, they will require a negative pre-departure test within 72 hours of travel.

In a statement, sport minister Grant Robertson said the trip was economically important for New Zealand.

“A test match is estimated to be worth between $17-20 million in spending for host regions, while the broadcast rights provide much needed income for the sport, which positively effects all levels of the game,” Robertson said.

“Test rugby between the All Blacks and the Wallabies is keenly anticipated by New Zealanders, and I welcome the decision to allow the Australian team to travel given the game was less than two weeks away when trans-Tasman travel was suspended.”

At this stage, the Bledisloe Cup match in Auckland on August 7 will go ahead as planned with decisions still to be made on later games.

1.30pm: No more Covid-19 results after extra wastewater testing in Taranaki

Ongoing wastewater testing in Taranaki has revealed no further evidence of Covid-19.

Two samples taken last week tested positive for the virus, prompting a call for increased testing in the region. The Ministry of Health said test results from a 24 hour period between Saturday and Sunday, from six sites, show no further virus has been detected.

Local PCR testing in Taranaki has remained “steady”, the ministry said, with around 300 swabs taken yesterday. That’s almost double the number taken on Sunday.

“The ministry is continuing to encourage anyone in Taranaki with symptoms to be tested,” said a spokesperson. “The ministry is also recommending that any recent arrivals from Australia, who have symptoms, also get tested, and anyone who has recently been in Australia who is now in Taranaki to get tested even if they don’t have symptoms.”

Our latest numbers

There are no cases of Covid-19 to report in the community in New Zealand today. There is one case to report today in managed isolation.

Two previously reported cases have now recovered. The number of active cases in New Zealand is 52.

A previously reported case, from South Africa who arrived on July 15, has now been reclassified as historical.

A case we reported on Sunday who arrived from the USA on July 12, has been reclassified as “under investigation” and has been removed from our confirmed cases tally.

1.10pm: A timely reminder… Scan in, people!

It’s just as well that the delta variant isn’t wreaking havoc in Australia and threatens to at any moment leak into the New Zealand community because usage of the Contact Tracer app continues to be, well, pathetic, having drooped from a small bump when delta spent a lovely weekend aboard on Australian in Wellington.

In the 24 hours to 1pm yesterday, there were just 510,000 scans from 286,000 users, which is, frankly, hardly anyone.

A friendly reminder:

12.40pm: Victoria lockdown could be lifted as new case numbers fall

Victoria is poised to lift its lockdown after just 10 new cases were reported overnight, all who had been in quarantine while infectious.

According to Nine News, some rules could remain in place but schools and shops may reopen ahead of the weekend. The 5km travel restriction could also be scrapped.

10.50am: Brownlee changes view on alleged terrorist's deportation

National's foreign affairs spokesperson appears to have changed his views overnight about the impending arrival into the country of an alleged Isis terrorist, giving two different answers to the same media outlet.

Suhayra Aden and her two children are set to be deported to New Zealand from Turkey after Australia cancelled her citizenship earlier this year.

Gerry Brownlee last night told RNZ that the government made a choice by bringing them back to New Zealand. "I think you always have a choice," he said, questioning the government's claim that the family could not be broken up.

"Those children are victims of their parents' decisions. We have organisations in New Zealand that regularly take children away from bad parents so ... I don't think the suggestion that there were family bonds there that could not be broken was reasonable."

But this morning, Brownlee said the government had no choice – but needed to come clean about how the family will be managed upon their return. "There is no choice," he said.

The government needed to reveal more details about the family's deportation, Brownlee said, such as security arrangements when she arrived in New Zealand.

10.00am: Morning Olympics wrap

No more medals to report overnight with New Zealand sitting 46th on the medal table after Hayden Wilde's bronze in the triathlon yesterday.

Some results from last night:

• Rugby Sevens – New Zealand beat Argentina
• Swimming – Erika Fairweather qualified for today's semi-final in the 200m freestyle
• Hockey – Black Sticks women beat Japan

And some of today's highlights:

• Right now, the women's triathlon is taking place. It's live on TVNZ1 for those of us who reap the benefits of free-to-air.
• 1.30pm: Erika Fairweather's freestyle semi-final.
• 2.45pm: More hockey! Men's Black Sticks vs Japan.

9.30am: Covid pandemic sees child poverty rise 10% – new report

As many as 18,000 children could have been pushed into poverty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new report by the Child Poverty Action Group, focused on the first year of the pandemic through until March, also found that Māori and Pacific children were 2.5 to three times more likely to have fallen into poverty over that time frame.

Report co-author Janet McAllister said while the government avoided the health crisis posed by Covid, it enabled another one.

"This increase in child poverty of around 10% comes at a time when property owners have seen their wealth rise at an accelerated rate," said McAllister. "Loss of income related to job loss was probably inevitable for many families; but loss of income to the point of inadequacy – or further inadequacy – was due to political decision-making."

The "system default", McAllister said, is that Māori and Pacific families bear many of the heaviest burdens in hard times like this. "It is the responsibility of decision-makers to deliberately and actively avoid that," she added.

8.05am: Auckland mass vaccination event struggles to attract bookings

A three-day vaccination event in Auckland did not get the attention health officials expected it would. New figures have revealed the slow pace of bookings for the mass vaccination set to take place in Manukau from this Friday to Sunday.

According to RNZ, less than a quarter of those sent "initial invitations" to the event booked in for a jab, prompting a wider call out for attendees. The goal, according to Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins, was to vaccinate 15,000 people over the 72 hour period.

More than 12,000 students and teachers from the Manukau Institute of Technology were sent the first wave of invites, but just 3000 booked a slot. A second wave of invites to over 80,000 people still did not result in enough bookings, prompting a final call that saw more than 140,000 invitations sent.

"I think it is always disappointing when something that you've planned for doesn't get the response that you were hoping for," Alex Pimm, head of the the roll out for the Auckland DHBs, told RNZ. "I think it is an opportunity to learn about how we run these events for New Zealand in the future."

South Auckland GP Dr Api Talemaitoga speculated that the event may have been too boring for the community.

"I think the organisers should have thought about making it a celebration or an event that is like a festival where people come along with their friends, can listen to a bit of music, or watch a bit of entertainment or dancing. Have a bit of food and then get vaccinated," he said.

7.30am: Top stories from The Bulletin

The country’s leading anti-poverty lobby group has put the blame squarely on the government for an increase in hardship. In a report out this morning, the Child Poverty Action Group said 18,000 additional children have been pushed into poverty over the last year, and that calculation did not include those affected by rising housing costs. “This increase in child poverty of around 10% comes at a time when property owners have seen their wealth rise at an accelerated rate,” said report co-author Janet McAllister. “Loss of income related to job loss was probably inevitable for many families; but loss of income to the point of inadequacy – or further inadequacy – was due to political decision-making.

The report makes it clear that problems were already festering before Covid. You might recall the Welfare Expert Advisory Group report right around the start of this government’s tenure – while recommendations from that are slowly being implemented, many have seen no progress. Benefit rises were included in the 2021 budget, but it was noted at the time those benefit rises reflected a situation that had existed several years earlier, not the exacerbated situation of today.

There are severe ethnic inequalities within the data. In their report, the NZ Herald noted worse outcomes for Māori and Pasifika people since lockdown started, which again comes on top of existing inequality. “We already knew Māori, Pasifika and disabled children were disproportionately affected by poverty. We were concerned and suspected it would be worse for Māori, Pasifika and disabled children during Covid. This report appears to confirm those suspicions,” said Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft.

Meanwhile, one of the outcomes of poverty is food insecurity. And because we live in a country that produces plenty of food, that is an issue of political will, argues Katharine Cresswell Riol in this op-ed on The Spinoff. It is something of a microcosm issue for the wider societal problem – there is enough for everyone, but far too many are missing out, while others take far more than their share.

A New Zealand citizen captured in Turkey on suspicion of being a terrorist with Islamic State will be repatriated back to NZ, reports Radio NZ. The woman, who has two children, is also a dual Australian citizen – on paper, she is far more an Australian than a New Zealander. However that country cancelled her citizenship, and for New Zealand to do the same would render the woman stateless, which PM Ardern said we have an obligation not to do. It is understood that the woman will be free to live in the community in New Zealand, but she may be monitored by authorities.

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 26, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz

3.30pm: Olympics wrap – what to watch tonight?

I’m about to head off for the day so I’ll leave you with this evening’s Olympic schedule (if you’re not glued to The Block NZ/Love Island).

Here are the times when you can catch us in action. Remember, TVNZ1 is airing coverage of every New Zealander!

• 5.12pm: Surfing – Billy Stairmand
• 6pm: Cycling (mount biking) – Anton Cooper
• 6.30pm: Tennis – Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus
• 8.30pm: Rugby sevens – All Blacks v Argentina
• 10.05pm: Swimming – Erika Fairweather (women’s 200m freestyle heats)
• 11.08pm: Swimming – Hayley McIntosh and Eve Thomas (women’s 1500m freestyle heats)
• 11.45pm: Hockey – Black Sticks v Japan

2.30pm: Erika Fairweather finishes eighth in 400m freestyle

New Zealand swimmer Erika Fairweather has missed out on a medal in the 400 metre women’s freestyle. The 17-year-old from Dunedin made the final yesterday after swimming a personal best in her heat.

Australian Ariarne Titmus grabbed the gold and her coach, as seen below, reacted completely normally.

1.40pm: 160 people in New Plymouth tested yesterday after Covid scare

Just 160 Covid-19 tests were taken in New Plymouth yesterday, despite the city’s Covid-19 scare.

Wastewater testing confirmed late on Friday that Covid-19 had been detected in Taranaki from samples taken on July 20 and 22, despite no confirmed cases in the community.

According to the Ministry of Health, all test results currently processed for New Plymouth from Friday, Saturday and some of Sunday are negative. There remain “a number of results” that are pending from swabs taken yesterday that are expected later today.

Preliminary results of further wastewater testing have come back with no further Covid-19 detected, the ministry said. Results from samples taken over a wider area in Taranaki are expected tomorrow.

“In order to determine whether there are any undetected cases the ministry is recommending anyone in Taranaki, or who has visited recently, and who has symptoms to get tested,” said a spokesperson.

According to reports, it was “likely” the delta variant detected in New Plymouth’s wastewater.

The latest numbers

There are no cases of Covid-19 to report in the community or in managed isolation in New Zealand today. Five previously reported cases have now recovered. The number of active cases in New Zealand is 54.

The situation onboard the Mattina and Playa Zahara ships has not changed, the ministry said, but 14 of the 20 crew are back on the Viking Bay in Wellington.

12.25pm: Isis-linked woman to return to NZ with family

An Isis-linked woman and her two children will be deported to New Zealand from Turkey, the government has announced. The three have been in immigration detention since crossing the border from Syria earlier this year.

Suhayra Aden was a dual citizen of both Australia and New Zealand, but the Australian government revoked her citizenship earlier this year.

“As most New Zealanders know, I made very strong representations to Australia that she should be permitted to return there,” Jacinda Ardern said. “Her family moved to Australia when she was six and she grew up there before departing for Syria in 2014, on an Australian passport. Unfortunately, Australia would not reverse the cancellation of citizenship.”

New Zealand was not able to remove citizenship from a person and leave them stateless, Ardern said. As citizens, New Zealand was the only place for Aden and her family to legally live.

“While negotiations with Australia have taken place, extensive contingency planning has been underway involving the police and several other agencies and the government wants to be as upfront with people as it can be about the planned return,” Ardern added.

Australia would “proactively consult” on future cases like this, Ardern added.

According to the Herald, Aden had been referred to by Turkey’s defence ministry as an Islamic State terrorist prior to her detention.

Islamic Women’s Council: NZ ‘obligated’ to provide new life for Aden and family

In a statement, the Islamic Women’s Council said it’s “proud” to be part of a country that commits to upholding its international responsibilities.

“Together, as New Zealanders, we are obligated to provide a chance for a new life for this family to integrate and to flourish in society,” said a statement. “Quality, long-term solutions are never simple, and it takes time and effort to raise children and rebuild lives.”

12.00pm: Extremely Online – Are we training racist robots?

In 2013 the Chicago Police knocked on Robert McDaniel’s door. They told him that their artificial intelligence technology had predicted he would be involved in a shooting. The thing is, they couldn’t determine which side of the gun he’d be on – he could be the shooter, or he might get shot. Either way, their data knew he was at risk. But how can data predict someone’s future? And how can it be racist?

Shit You Should Care About finds out in the new episode of Extremely Online, made with the support of NZ On Air.

11.25am: NZ wins first 2021 Olympic medal

New Zealander Hayden Wilde has taken out a bronze in what looked like a gruelling men’s triathlon. It’s the first medal for New Zealand at this year’s Olympics.

Speaking to media after the event, Wilde described taking out third place as “pretty awesome” but said he “didn’t have enough for the gold”.

Wilde was about 20 seconds behind the event’s winner Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway who collapsed at the finishing line.

9.50am: Is it time for private managed isolation facilities?

David Seymour has argued it’s time for privately operated managed isolation facilities for high paying returnees.

The Act Party leader’s made the pitch as part of a wider economic policy announced this morning, according to the Herald.

Seymour’s idea is to allow certain hotels that have lost business due to the pandemic to open as private facilities, in a move he claimed would ease pressure on the current system. His proposal would see vaccinated people allowed to pay a higher rate for their stay in MIQ, with regular testing in place to stop Covid-19 spreading into the community.

“Private MIQ capacity will be an essential tool when bubbles pop and suddenly thousands need to isolate on repatriation,” argued Seymour. “The simple question for the government is, do they want to safely reconnect with the world or keep us in crisis mode forever?”

The private facilities could also act as overflow if an influx of returnees needed a spot in MIQ, such as now with the Australia travel bubble closing.

The idea of private MIQ was floated last year but ultimately rejected by the government.

9.20am: First stars announced for Treasure Island 2021

The first wave of cast members for this year’s Celebrity Treasure Island have been announced, with comedians, actors and a former All Black captain making the cut.

The reality competition will return to TVNZ 2 in September, hosted once again by Matt Chisholm and Bree Tomasel.

In a press release this morning, TVNZ confirmed Angela Bloomfield, Buck Shelford, Chris Parker, Jess Tyson, Joe Daymond (read my interview with Joe here) and Lana Searle would be going head-to-head for the $100,000 charity prize.

Read more here about the cast here

8.05am: PM confident all stranded NZers in Australia will make it home this week

The prime minister has made a commitment to New Zealanders in Australia who are trying to get home, saying they will all be able to make it home before a mandatory quarantine order kicks in.

On Friday, Jacinda Ardern announced that the trans-Tasman travel bubble would be suspended for eight weeks due to a surge in cases of the delta variant of Covid-19 in Australia. Anyone who returned before Friday this week (except from New South Wales) would be able to avoid a spot in managed isolation.

Ardern told TVNZ that the government was confident that all New Zealanders in Australia who wanted to return home this week would be able to do so.

“For us this was about shutting down the risk entirely,” Ardern said of the decision to pause the bubble entirely.

On RNZ, the PM said that if people could not make it home this week, despite trying, the government was open to extending the time before mandatory quarantine was required. “It’s been difficult for us to ascertain how many of the roughly 21,000 New Zealanders who have left New Zealand for Australia since the bubble opened want to return,” she said.

“Early suggestions are that we will be able to meet demand,” she said.

Officials will check in on the number of returnees on Wednesday this week before a decision on extending the timeframe is made.

7.30am: Top stories from The Bulletin

In the eyes of the international community, Sāmoa has a new government. It’s a strange way of stating the importance of events in recent days, but reflects a significant milestone in the legitimacy of governments when elections are contested. Stuff reports PM Ardern has congratulated PM Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s FAST party on having their election victory approved by the courts, and said she looked forward to “working with Samoa’s new government in the spirit of partnership”. The Samoa Observer (paywalled) reports it has been recognised by the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Sydney Morning Herald reports congratulations have come from Australian PM Scott Morrison.

The recognition comes after a court decision that the controversial outdoors swearing in ceremony in May was legitimate. At the time, FAST were barred from entering parliament. Samoa Global News reports the new government has started their work, holding meetings with department heads. Parliament will convene next week, and the government will attempt to pass a budget to keep services functioning, after a long delay. That story included a section on the economic priorities FAST campaigned on, including export growth and lower service costs.

Long serving but defeated PM Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi may not go quietly.RNZ Pacific reports he refused to concede defeat over the weekend, saying the court’s decision was unconstitutional. However, the Samoa Observer’s Soli Wilson reported that PM Tuila’epa had started to pack his things up in his government office, perhaps suggesting he is getting ready to go after 23 years in charge.

The travel bubble with Australia closed on Friday, and will be so for at least eight weeks. The Air NZ “managed return” flights out of Sydney are already sold out, reports Radio NZ, and many families will once again have to face the prospect of being split. The bubble as a whole was closed over concerns that the worst outbreaks wouldn’t be limited to just the state of New South Wales – hard luck for those in Tasmania who haven’t had a skerrick of Covid in months. But across the rest of Australia, the delta variant is now doing real damage, with the 7-day average of new cases nationwide up to 141 as of yesterday.

Deputy PM Grant Robertson said yesterday that the calculation for New Zealand had changed significantly, when he appeared on Q+A. What hasn’t changed though is the government’s risk-averse overall approach. Newsroom’s Marc Daalder analysed the call through the lens of previous policy, and whether a hypothetical delta outbreak could be contained using the same tools that have worked with previous outbreaks, particularly with vaccination rates in both countries still low.

It’s very hard to know if Australia will be able to get a handle on this outbreak – and equally whether the general public is willing to do what it takes. I haven’t seen recent polling to rely on – in May at least, the public was broadly supportive of the government’s strategy. But there were attention grabbing anti-lockdown protests in Sydney over the weekend, and 1News reports thousands attended without masks. Some guy punched a police horse, to give you a sense of how tense the situation is.

Meanwhile, testing in Taranaki hasn’t hit particularly good levels after a positive Covid result from wastewater, reports Radio NZ. They were just wastewater traces, and it’s possibly just someone “shedding” the virus after recovering. But even so, if you’ve got the symptoms, please do get a test. Because as some exclusive new Stickybeak/The Spinoff polling shows, only about half the country has confidence in the contact tracing system.

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