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Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by bFM and VICE NZ.Fuel Leak Leaves Passengers Stranded at Airport
Thousands of passengers at Auckland Airport have been stranded as a jet-fuel shortage grounded dozens of flights. Oil companies are being forced to ration fuel after a digger damaged the pipeline from Marsden Point. The pipeline from the refinery was shut off within 15 minutes, but 70,000 litres of jet fuel had already leaked into farmland near Ruakaka. At least 27 domestic and international flights were cancelled yesterday, with Air New Zealand estimating 2,000 customers had been affected. Reports by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment from 2012 said that any disruption could be fixed within seven days, but that major outage could cost $466 million.Labour Concerned About Unenrolled Voters
The Labour Party has expressed concerns that voters who aren't enrolled are being turned away from advance voting booths. Anyone who is eligible to vote should be able to both enrol and vote at early voting booths. However, Andrew Kirton, general secretary for the Labour Party, said he had heard "multiple reports" of people being turned away from polling stations. Kirton has said he was concerned this glitch would disproportionately affect Labour, saying the party has a number of young supporters who are not enrolled but who like the party's policies. Labour has raised the matter with the Electoral Commission, who encouraged anyone with concerns to get in touch.Green Party Make Capital Gains Tax a Priority
Green Party leader James Shaw says the party want a capital gains tax introduced in the first term if they go into a coalition with Labour. Shaw said a capital gains tax was urgently needed in order to deal with the housing crisis. However, Labour said their timeline was non-negotiable and any changes put forward by their tax working group would not take effect until after the 2020 election. Labour Party finance spokesperson Grant Robertson said the public must be allowed to have their say on any changes to the tax system. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said a capital gains tax was off the table in any coalition discussions with his party.Government Funds a Study Exploring the Health of NZ Lakes
The Government has granted $12 million to fund a new project examining the health of 380 lakes in New Zealand. The study will explore why changes in our lakes are happening and will include the analysis of lake sediment. The study will be conducted by GNS Science and the Cawthron Institute and has local government and iwi support. Programme leader Dr Marcus Vandergoes said that while only 10 percent of lakes in the country would be analysed, this would be enough to paint a picture of all lakes New Zealand.Development Criticised for Exclusion of Affordable Homes
An Auckland Council development on Dominion Road is being criticised by the community-housing sector. The development will deliver 100 upmarket apartments but will not provide social or affordable homes. The development agency Panuku and Mayor Phil Goff both said the land was too valuable for affordable housing. James Widgery, of the Auckland Community Housing Providers Network, said it was short-sighted to focus only on the monetary return and that pushing poverty to the outskirts would only increase social problems.Children with Special Needs Denied Full Right to Education
Disability services provider IHC is fed up with delays in securing a hearing to address allegations the education system is breaching the human rights of disabled children. The Human Rights Review Tribunal held a preliminary hearing in 2014 but no action has been taken since. The IHC said that, in the meantime, children with special needs were being denied their right to full education. Justice Ministry spokeswoman Jacquelyn Shannon said the delays had been caused by a significant increase in the tribunal's caseload.Leaky Homes Crisis Takes a Toll
The leaky homes crisis is taking a toll on poorer neighbourhoods. Sixteen families face losing their homes in a Manurewa complex as they are unable to cover the cost of repairs. Repairs are due to start next year, but if costs aren't covered the body corporate can seize the homes. Several families have been unable to make the initial down payment of more than $100,000 for repairs, having been unable to secure a bank loan. The option they are left with is to sell the house, but then they would be left with a mortgage to pay and no asset as security. The Government only covers a quarter of the costs through the leaky homes assistance programme.Burning of Rohingya Villages an Orchestrated Campaign—Amnesty International
Amnesty International claims that a campaign has been orchestrated to burn Rohingya villages in Myanmar. More than 80 sites in Myanmar have been set ablaze and 370,000 Rohingya have fled across the border. bFM spoke with Executive Director of Amnesty International Grant Bayldon who said they had irrefutable evidence that the military were ethnically cleansing Rohingya people. "That includes satellites sensors of fires satellite imagery and that's then matched with video evidence and with a very large number of in-person interviews," he said. Bayldon reiterated that there was a long history of discrimination against the Rohingya.London Terror Threat Downgraded
The terror threat level in London has been reduced from critical to severe, with a government investigation concluding that a follow-up attack is not imminent. Detectives continue to question two men, aged 18 and 21, who were arrested in connection with Friday's London Underground attack. The rush-hour incident involved a homemade bomb which failed to detonate properly but still resulted in injuries to 30 people at Parsons Green tube station. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it appeared that the bomber was not a lone wolf but that it was still too early to draw final conclusions.US Ambassador Warns North Korea Will Be "Destroyed"
Tension is building between the United States and North Korea with US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warning that the rogue nation will be destroyed if it continues its nuclear programme. On Sunday Haley condemned the nuclear activity as "reckless behaviour", saying the UN Security Council has run out of options. The US Ambassador said war was not what anyone wanted but that something needed to be done and there were a lot of military options on the table.Reporting by Alessandra Nixon, Jean Bell, and Lillian Hanly.
LOCAL NEWS
Thousands of passengers at Auckland Airport have been stranded as a jet-fuel shortage grounded dozens of flights. Oil companies are being forced to ration fuel after a digger damaged the pipeline from Marsden Point. The pipeline from the refinery was shut off within 15 minutes, but 70,000 litres of jet fuel had already leaked into farmland near Ruakaka. At least 27 domestic and international flights were cancelled yesterday, with Air New Zealand estimating 2,000 customers had been affected. Reports by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment from 2012 said that any disruption could be fixed within seven days, but that major outage could cost $466 million.Labour Concerned About Unenrolled Voters
The Labour Party has expressed concerns that voters who aren't enrolled are being turned away from advance voting booths. Anyone who is eligible to vote should be able to both enrol and vote at early voting booths. However, Andrew Kirton, general secretary for the Labour Party, said he had heard "multiple reports" of people being turned away from polling stations. Kirton has said he was concerned this glitch would disproportionately affect Labour, saying the party has a number of young supporters who are not enrolled but who like the party's policies. Labour has raised the matter with the Electoral Commission, who encouraged anyone with concerns to get in touch.
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Green Party leader James Shaw says the party want a capital gains tax introduced in the first term if they go into a coalition with Labour. Shaw said a capital gains tax was urgently needed in order to deal with the housing crisis. However, Labour said their timeline was non-negotiable and any changes put forward by their tax working group would not take effect until after the 2020 election. Labour Party finance spokesperson Grant Robertson said the public must be allowed to have their say on any changes to the tax system. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said a capital gains tax was off the table in any coalition discussions with his party.Government Funds a Study Exploring the Health of NZ Lakes
The Government has granted $12 million to fund a new project examining the health of 380 lakes in New Zealand. The study will explore why changes in our lakes are happening and will include the analysis of lake sediment. The study will be conducted by GNS Science and the Cawthron Institute and has local government and iwi support. Programme leader Dr Marcus Vandergoes said that while only 10 percent of lakes in the country would be analysed, this would be enough to paint a picture of all lakes New Zealand.Development Criticised for Exclusion of Affordable Homes
An Auckland Council development on Dominion Road is being criticised by the community-housing sector. The development will deliver 100 upmarket apartments but will not provide social or affordable homes. The development agency Panuku and Mayor Phil Goff both said the land was too valuable for affordable housing. James Widgery, of the Auckland Community Housing Providers Network, said it was short-sighted to focus only on the monetary return and that pushing poverty to the outskirts would only increase social problems.
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Disability services provider IHC is fed up with delays in securing a hearing to address allegations the education system is breaching the human rights of disabled children. The Human Rights Review Tribunal held a preliminary hearing in 2014 but no action has been taken since. The IHC said that, in the meantime, children with special needs were being denied their right to full education. Justice Ministry spokeswoman Jacquelyn Shannon said the delays had been caused by a significant increase in the tribunal's caseload.Leaky Homes Crisis Takes a Toll
The leaky homes crisis is taking a toll on poorer neighbourhoods. Sixteen families face losing their homes in a Manurewa complex as they are unable to cover the cost of repairs. Repairs are due to start next year, but if costs aren't covered the body corporate can seize the homes. Several families have been unable to make the initial down payment of more than $100,000 for repairs, having been unable to secure a bank loan. The option they are left with is to sell the house, but then they would be left with a mortgage to pay and no asset as security. The Government only covers a quarter of the costs through the leaky homes assistance programme.
INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International claims that a campaign has been orchestrated to burn Rohingya villages in Myanmar. More than 80 sites in Myanmar have been set ablaze and 370,000 Rohingya have fled across the border. bFM spoke with Executive Director of Amnesty International Grant Bayldon who said they had irrefutable evidence that the military were ethnically cleansing Rohingya people. "That includes satellites sensors of fires satellite imagery and that's then matched with video evidence and with a very large number of in-person interviews," he said. Bayldon reiterated that there was a long history of discrimination against the Rohingya.London Terror Threat Downgraded
The terror threat level in London has been reduced from critical to severe, with a government investigation concluding that a follow-up attack is not imminent. Detectives continue to question two men, aged 18 and 21, who were arrested in connection with Friday's London Underground attack. The rush-hour incident involved a homemade bomb which failed to detonate properly but still resulted in injuries to 30 people at Parsons Green tube station. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it appeared that the bomber was not a lone wolf but that it was still too early to draw final conclusions.US Ambassador Warns North Korea Will Be "Destroyed"
Tension is building between the United States and North Korea with US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warning that the rogue nation will be destroyed if it continues its nuclear programme. On Sunday Haley condemned the nuclear activity as "reckless behaviour", saying the UN Security Council has run out of options. The US Ambassador said war was not what anyone wanted but that something needed to be done and there were a lot of military options on the table.Reporting by Alessandra Nixon, Jean Bell, and Lillian Hanly.