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NZDF personnel at Novotel
An isolation hotel at the centre of a border bungle [is now running like clockwork]( military personnel took charge, according to a man inside. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced last week that she was sending in the military to sort out border blunders, after two women who returned from the UK were allowed out of quarantine early under compassionate grounds and later tested positive for Covid-19 after driving to Wellington. Angus Elgin, 20, who is in his final week of mandatory isolation at the Novotel Ellerslie in Auckland after returning from Brisbane, says he's noticed massive changes in the past week. âThere's more security outside, and they're heaps more switched on. The communication's been quite strong, whereas in those first couple of days there was a lack of communication.''
HMNZS Aotearoa
A [brand-new Navy ship]( is heading for New Zealand and is more than halfway to its new home. HMNZS Aotearoa, which will be the largest ship ever to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy, was about 75 nautical miles southwest of Nouméa at 3pm on Tuesday. The $500 million supply ship was sailing steadily towards Devonport Naval Base in Auckland from South Korea at a speed of about 15 knots (28 kmh), according to [marinetraffic.com](. The ship was purpose-built to support the Navy's combat and humanitarian relief functions, along with operational and training support and is scheduled to make its first appearance in WaitematÄ Harbour on Friday. HMNZS Aotearoa was originally set to be delivered in January 2020. But coronavirus threw a spanner in the works of commissioning and delivery plans.
Auckland light rail plan
OPINION: Transport Minister Phil Twyford on Wednesday conceded that [the light rail line from Britomart to Auckland Airport wouldn't be built]( as he had intended it, and certainly not in the timeframe he'd wanted, Todd Niall writes. Mayor Phil Goff campaigned on it in 2016, the Labour and Greens likewise a year later - so [what could possibly go wrong]( The [political shambles]( which has forced the government to dump its "competing bidder" model after three lost years, and go back to square one after the election - if re-elected, has few equals. Goff would not concede to Stuff that he could have done more to make light rail happen and called the mess "delayed, not dead". But had the project remained with Auckland Transport, its former chair [Lester Levy believed it would be under construction by now](.
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Auckland High Court
An Auckland father accused of his son's manslaughter has been [awarded $175,000 in costs after an "inexcusable" prosecution botch-up](. The boy died in December 2017, after suffering what the Crown said was a brain bleed from blunt force trauma. The father was [charged with manslaughter]( in November 2018, but he said the 11-month-old must have fallen after standing against a couch or on top of the couch. The father, whose house, car and phone were bugged during investigations into the toddler's death, denied the charge. A jury [last year could not reach a verdict]( and the charge was later withdrawn. Now, a High Court judge has found inexcusable, significant delays in the Crown case, after the father sought almost $250,000 in costs. The Crown said the father's defence had enough time to process some evidence, but accepted disclosure issues caused unnecessary delays.
Constable Matthew Hunt
Staff and students at Auckland's Orewa College are still [coming to terms with news one of their own is dead]( at just 28-years-old. [Constable Matthew Hunt]( a former Orewa College pupil, was shot dead and another officer seriously hurt during a routine traffic stop in Massey on Friday. The 24-year-old man accused of murdering Hunt was granted interim-name suppression. Kate Shevland has been the principal at Orewa College since 1996, and said she and many of the staff remember Hunt fondly. "Matthew was involved in lots of school activities, and he formed strong, close school friendships which continued long after he left school." Staff recall Hunt as a bright, hard-working student who was well-liked by all, especially his peers. [Hunt's funeral has had to be delayed]( due to some family members returning from overseas, and having to be sent to isolation.
Stoat footprints
Fresh stoat tracks have been detected on two pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf as a [loose stoat continues to island hop](. Stoat footprints were spotted by a ranger on Motutapu Island on May 20, just a few weeks after a stoat was confirmed on the neighbouring Motukorea/Browns Island in mid-March. The stoat had killed a kÄkÄriki â a New Zealand parakeet â last month on Motutapu Island. The Department of Conservation (DOC) disclosed on Wednesday fresh tracks had been detected on May 29 and June 16. Evidence suggests the stoat spent several days around the original detection area at Administration Bay, near the Motutapu Outdoor Education Camp, moved to Rangitoto and then returned to Motutapu. "It's likely to have swum from Motukorea Island." Although it had more than 350 traps in place over Rangitoto and Motutapu islands, DOC has now deployed extra traps.
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