The Aussies are coming
The tourism industry is celebrating the start of isolation-free trans-Tasman travel this week, but worries remain over how ready we are to welcome them.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, April 11, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Countdown to the Australian election; Louisa Wall comes out all guns blazing; misogynist abuse against Jacinda Ardern a “security threat”; but first, the tourism industry prepares for isolation-free travel.
The Australians are coming back – but are we ready for them? (Getty Images)
New Zealand gets ready to throw open its doors.
When a week ago Stuff published a story on the “the one road trip every Kiwi needs to do before the tourists come back” – journalist Brook Sabin picked the spectacular (and remote) Milford Road – the message was clear: our hermit kingdom’s tourist-free days are numbered, so enjoy the peace and quiet while you can. New Zealand takes a major step towards reopening on Wednesday with the start of isolation-free travel for Australian visitors, three months earlier than originally planned.
But will they come?
It’s great news for our tourism industry, but anxieties remain – among them worker shortages, high flight prices and the question of how quickly the tourists will return, or if they will at all. While around 1.5 million Australians visited annually pre-pandemic, nobody is expecting anything like those numbers either this year or next. Economist Shamubeel Eaqub told Stuff this week’s changes could even be a net negative for our economy since there will also be a rush of New Zealanders booking holidays in Australia, and New Zealanders spend more in Australia than vice versa. As we head into winter, there’s also the lure of warmer climes for our industry to contend with. Aussie tourist favourite Bali is now open to vaccinated visitors, and many Australians are enjoying the clean, uncrowded beaches and rare lack of drunk compatriots, according to 7 News.
Airlines are still struggling.
One of the biggest issues right now is a shortage of trans-Tasman flights. Newshub found that prices across the ditch have soared in the lead-up to the reopening, with flights to New Zealand “so expensive and hard to get that it's proving difficult to travel here at all”. According to National Party leader Christopher Luxon, a former Air New Zealand chief executive, that’s the government’s fault. The Otago Daily Times reported on his accusations that the prime minister had left the announcement "way too late" for airlines and tourism operators to prepare for the return of international visitors. In the same story, the ODT noted that international flights into Queenstown will only start in late May; Air New Zealand won’t resume non-domestic flights there until June 24.
Queenstown gears up for a full winter with overseas skiers.
That’ll be a bitter pill for a region that’s been hard hit by the border closures and is preparing for its first full winter with international visitors since the pandemic hit. Queenstown’s CBD is “pockmarked with emptied-out premises” with “empty spaces in virtually every block”, according to local paper Mountain Scene, but the local business owners Stuff talked to are realistic about how much difference the reopening will make in the short term. The immediate issue is finding enough staff while the migrant workforce is still depleted, a challenge whether you’re staffing up an entire ski field or looking for a single good butler – an exceedingly difficult task due to New Zealand lacking a butler school, reports RNZ.
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Scott Morrison fires the election starting gun.
The battle to lead Australia kicks off in earnest today, following yesterday’s announcement that the federal election will be held on May 21. After years of hurt for the Labor Party, the prize ring appears to be within leader Anthony Albanese’s grasp, with polls putting his party comfortably ahead of Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition. In fact, if the election was held today Labor would win in a landslide, according to the ABC. On The Spinoff, Ben McKay has written a form guide to the runners and riders, and what to look out for over the coming six weeks.
Louisa Wall says PM ‘very clear’ she wanted her out.
Louisa Wall gives her valedictory speech to parliament on Thursday, and going by yesterday’s Q&A interview we can expect fireworks. The departing Labour MP told Jack Tame the prime minister had made it "very clear” that she wanted Wall out of the caucus, and that the “lack of recognition” of the work she’d down for Labour “hurts because it was so public”. Watch the full interview here.
Enemies of the state? On the cover of this month’s North & South, the fascinating story of how a group of Wellington friends ended up under life-long surveillance – for the “crime” of being young, educated thinkers. Also in this issue: How we measure happiness; Lizzie Marvelly writes of the traumatic birth club no mother wants to join; and where our galleries get their collections – sometimes the story of how a piece was acquired can be as interesting as the work itself. Plus: politics, books, food, wine and more in the May issue of North & South, on sale nationwide. (Sponsored)
Misogynist online abuse at crisis levels.
The amount of misogynistic abuse against public-facing women has exploded in recent months, and it constitutes a security threat that authorities are struggling to combat, writes Michelle Duff on Stuff. The abuse is focused most obviously on Jacinda Ardern, the subject of a daily torrent of violent and degrading messages and images, but almost any woman with a public profile will have experienced something similar. “If you block them they’ll find you, they complain to your boss, they’ll call in their tribe of helpers,” Palmerston North councillor Lorna Johnson told Duff.
The making of a conspiracist leader.
Also on Stuff is an excellent profile of the anti-vax activist and conspiracy theorist Sue Grey. Kirsty Johnston traces Grey’s progress from crusading anti-corruption lawyer to hero of the so-called “freedom” movement and guest of far-right Counterspin presenter Kelvyn Alp, who has advocated for the hanging of Jacinda Ardern. Grey has “rockstar status” in the conspiracy world, media and misinformation expert Nick Wilson told Johnston. “It’s interesting because all of these groups are constantly having spats, arguing with each other, and yet she slips in and out of them. She’s a chameleon.”
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz
Dr Emma Espiner writes about the ceaselessness of this pandemic. Samson Samasoni looks at why people are talking about TV licences again. Charlotte Muru-Lanning explains how to split the bill the right way. Alex Casey talks to the man behind US slasher movie X about why they filmed in Whanganui. Kerryn Pollock finds out what kind of queer sex was illegal in New Zealand before 1986.
Warriors say sorry for Montoya’s homophobic slur
The Warriors have apologised for the “unacceptable” homophobic slur yelled by player Marcelo Montoya at Kyle Feldt of the North Queensland Cowboys on Friday night, 1 News reports. After an on-field microphone picked up Montoya uttering the slur he was charged with a contrary conduct offence with the matter referred to the NRL judiciary. "Both Marcelo and the club are extremely apologetic for the offence this has caused. It was unacceptable," said Warriors CEO Cameron George.