Police erecting barricades Police moved in early this morning to attempt to secure parliament by erecting massive concrete block barriers at various points around the complex. Videos posted on Twitter by Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara show that sometime between 4am and 5am, police began escorting forklifts and large flatbed trucks carrying concrete barriers through the crowd of protestors, with the apparent intention of creating a barrier around the Parliamentary precinct.
Scuffles and internal dissent Scuffles broke out with protestors, some of whom climbed into the trucks, and arrests have been made. The videos show protestors confronting former New Conservatives leader Leighton Baker for allegedly co-ordinating with police and not tipping off other protestors.
Stronger Russian encirclement Belarus announced overnight that 30,000 Russian troops exercising on its borders with Ukraine would stay indefinitely as western leaders fear a full invasion could happen within hours, now that Beijing’s Winter Olympics has finished. The troop movements came as shelling in Eastern Ukraine escalated to its worst levels since a fragile ceasefire was negotiated in 2019. British PM Boris Johnson warned Russia was planning the biggest war in Europe since 1945 and he promised financial sanctions against Russian companies operating in Britain.
China’s lasers target Australian planes Australia has accused Beijing of an unprovoked “act of intimidation” after a Chinese navy ship aimed a laser at an Australian surveillance plane in the seas north of Australia. (The Guardian)
Audacious AGL bid Australian tech billionaire and climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes, who co-founded Atlassian, announced a surprise A$8b takeover bid over the weekend with Canadian funds manager Brookfield for Australia’s largest coal and gas polluter, AGL. Cannon-Brookes is expected to bring forward AGL’s exit from coal and gas to generate electricity. AGL produces 8% of Australia’s climate emissions. The announcement comes days after Origin Energy announced it would shut down Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring north of Sydney, seven years earlier than scheduled.
Fresh on BusinessDesk this morning
Pattrick Smellie writes from an interview with Greg Foran that the Air NZ CEO is hopeful the government could decide before Easter to bring forward the border re-opening and reduce self-isolation restrictions.
Victoria Young reports that a witness in Vector’s private fraud prosecution has told the high court of false accounting, fake invoices and kickbacks in the construction sector case.
Jenny Ruth writes in her weekly column that we shouldn’t blame the banks for our house-price bubble.
Brian Gaynor wrote in his weekend column about bottom fishing on the NZX.
