Retiring veteran National MP Dr Nick Smith has apologised for voting against gay marriage in 2013, saying the error was all the more personal with his 20
But in New Zealand, the pandemic has failed to dampen the islanders spirits.
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Photo: Dom Thomas
Fiji recorded its fourth covid death yesterday as the Suva and Nausori corridor, home to three towns and one-third of the population, goes into a lockdown from 11pm tonight to 4am Wednesday morning.
Fijian President Jioje Konrote, who hails from Rotuma, said the world was hit with this deadly virus and Fiji was no exception.
In his Rotuma Day message, Konrote said while he was relieved the coronavirus had not reached his island home, the effects on Fiji s main island Viti Levu were devastating.
Peter Wilson
Analysis - For a government that s acutely aware of political risk the action it took to curb public service pay was a bewildering aberration.
Jacinda Ardern flanked by Grant Robertson, left, and Chris Hipkins, right.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas I can t make any sense of it, said
Heraldcolumnist Shane Te Pou, a former Labour Party activist. How can the modest fiscal savings involved possibly offset the obvious political cost of inflicting an effective pay cut on tens of thousands of frontline workers who, after all, comprise a significant chunk of Labour s base?
That was typical of the reaction at the beginning of this week to last Wednesday s announcement. The criticism became a torrent until the government met unions and, as Stuff reported, hit the reset button.