Covid-19 lessons from a plagued flight

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 pm, January 11th, 2021 - 22 comments
Categories: covid-19 - Tags: , ,

In September there was a 18 hour flight Dubai that ended in Auckland. A relatively close group on that plane showed infection after arrival, and a genetically similar version. The evidence of in-flight infection is very strong and points to the on-going issues with shipping virus hosts around the world. This has some pretty strong implications for long-haul flights in particular. But also to the risks of having travel ‘bubbles’ without enforced quarantine.

On September 29, 2020, flight EK448, which originated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, landed in Auckland, New Zealand. During the required 14-day MIQ period, 7 passengers who had traveled on the flight received positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. The 7 passengers had begun their journeys from 5 different countries before a layover in Dubai; predeparture SARS-CoV-2 test results were negative for 5 (Figure 1). These 7 passengers had been seated within 4 rows of each other during the ≈18-hour flight from Dubai to Auckland. Because recent studies have reported conflicting findings of the risks associated with in-flight transmission (24), we undertook a comprehensive investigation to determine the potential source of infection of these travelers.

CDC – Emerging Infectious Diseases: “Genomic Evidence of In-Flight Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Despite Predeparture Testing

There is a lot of information in the early release article about the process of the travel of the people infected and of the flight. Reading through it, there are some obvious possible holes like mask and glove wearing on the flight. The 2 hour refuelling stop over in Kuala Lumpur had no passengers on or off. However it did have a auxilary power unit off for 30 minutes during that time, and therefore no environmental control during that period – a possible contributing factor.

The abstract states (my italics) in its conclusion..

Among 86 passengers on a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that arrived in New Zealand on September 29, test results were positive for 7 persons in MIQ. These passengers originated from 5 different countries before a layover in Dubai; 5 had negative predeparture SARS-CoV-2 test results. To assess possible points of infection, we analyzed information about their journeys, disease progression, and virus genomic data. All 7 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were genetically identical, except for a single mutation in 1 sample. Despite predeparture testing, multiple instances of in-flight SARS-CoV-2 transmission are likely.

CDC – Emerging Infectious Diseases: “Genomic Evidence of In-Flight Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Despite Predeparture Testing

For me the figures in the article are the most explanatory. So I’m going to put them up.

Figure 1. Countries of travel origins for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection after traveling on the same flight (EK448) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. Asterisks indicate where 6 other genetically identical genomes have been reported

Figure 1. Countries of travel origins for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection after traveling on the same flight (EK448) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. Asterisks indicate where 6 other genetically identical genomes have been reported

 

The most notable part of the image is the diversity of locations that the infected passengers came from. The probability of having the same covid-19 genome is very low. But the likely incubation times and times of the tests is even more interesting. 

Figure 2. Timeline of likely incubation and infectious periods, indicating testing dates, for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection after traveling on the same flight (EK448) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020.

Figure 2. Timeline of likely incubation and infectious periods, indicating testing dates, for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection after traveling on the same flight (EK448) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020.

 

As is the positioning of these seven passengers in a spaced out flight. Not to mention the locations of the passengers who didn’t get positive tests. Look at seats 24E, 24G and 28D and 26C – obviously either very lucky or had very nasty immune systems.

Figure 3. Seating arrangement (Boeing 777–300ER) for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on flight EK448 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. Passengers F and G interchanged seats within row 24. Open circles represent nearby passengers who were negative for SARS-CoV-2 on days 3 and 12 while in managed isolation and quarantine. All other seats shown remained empty.

Figure 3. Seating arrangement (Boeing 777–300ER) for 7 passengers who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on flight EK448 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. Passengers F and G interchanged seats within row 24. Open circles represent nearby passengers who were negative for SARS-CoV-2 on days 3 and 12 while in managed isolation and quarantine. All other seats shown remained empty.

 

Figure 4 is the analysis genomic family. It is a extremely close match, especially from a group from such diverse locations.

The final figure is quite interesting as it uses the anticipated times and seating to try to look at possible transmission paths. Look at it in conjunction with figures 2 and 3. 

Figure 5. Network of likely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among 7 passengers who traveled on flight EK448 (Boeing 777–300ER) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. The gray shaded area illustrates likely in-flight virus transmission. Dashed circles represent likely virus transmission between travel companions.

Figure 5. Network of likely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among 7 passengers who traveled on flight EK448 (Boeing 777–300ER) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Auckland, New Zealand, with a refueling stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 29, 2020. The gray shaded area illustrates likely in-flight virus transmission. Dashed circles represent likely virus transmission between travel companions.

What is notable from this is that it shows the several notable characteristics of this disease.

It is infectious, but nothing like the same order as influenza. In an 18 hour flight even with precautions, a more virulent infection would have probably infected more people in the immediate vicinity. In particular the pattern in row 24 with the two people not getting a positive result is pretty abnormal.

The preflight checks were essentially useless and probably gave a false sense of security for both crew and passengers. That is my primary dislike for such tests – people can and will get tests both before getting infected and also return negative results if they have just been infected. On a long haul flight, they will infect others. The time taken before the disease is detectable by symptoms or test compared to the time to become infections is such that it is really hard to detect for flight onboarding.

That is the primary reason you won’t get my 61yo body in a long haul aircraft anytime soon. They are the ideal infection canisters for covid-19, if not on the way out, then on the way home again.

The same considerations apply for local no-quarantine travel bubbles where there are repeated unexplained community outbreaks – such as we have been seeing repeatably in Australia. Someone who is infected can be happily walking around after testing negative, and without a strong receiving quarantine infect others in-flight or after arrival.

Bearing in mind the financial and economic costs of suppression in the order of what we or the Australians have done to date, and the much smaller costs of strong border controls – this is a economic no-brainer for the country as a whole.

Incidentally, for an individual to have a vaccines don’t make as much of a difference as you’d expect. Ignoring the time to them becoming effective (a not inconsiderable consideration). Then even when and individual is fully vaccinated they are better at stopping the infection from spreading inside the individual than they are in stopping others being infected. The reason is that the bodies defences have noticeable delays at suppression after infection, and many if not most vaccinated people will be infectious.

Personally I don’t want to fly until I’ve had a chance to see what happens in the real world with vaccines in my age group. I sure as hell don’t want vaccinated Aussie tourists or returning kiwis here without quarantine until both countries have a sufficient induced population immunity to reduce the risks to an acceptable level. Certainly not to benefit airlines. tourism operators, and universities. After all they’re not paying me anything to negate the risks I would carry for them.

Just as importantly, this demonstrates the diagnostic utility of getting genomic analysis correlated with travel patterns.

There is more analysis in New York Times “One 18-Hour Flight, Four Coronavirus Infections“. However the title seems like a somewhat optimistic reading of the evidence.

22 comments on “Covid-19 lessons from a plagued flight ”

  1. lprent 1

    On re-read, there were quite a few other lessons that I missed. I will leave them for comments to elucidate.

    But I will take the most obvious.

    Long haul flights obviously need wider separation between passengers. That is pretty good separation. It wasn't enough if people were as masked as they said.

    • Forget now 1.1

      Eyeballing that separation, I'd definitely go for a window-seat if I couldn't get out of flying altogether. The aisle side looks a lot riskier, maybe due to bathroom walks by infected passengers? For extra safety you could have a depressurized plane filled with passengers all on independent individual oxygen supplies (scuba tanks is how I picture it, but probably ducted from central tanks). It'd be really cold and unpleasant though.

      To be of much benefit, the 3day test really should be alongside managed isolation in the country of origin. Which I seem to recall Baker including in his initial recommendations, though don't have a source to hand. The logistics and enforcement of that would be a bit tricky though.

      • lprent 1.1.1

        Problem is that I don't want to rely on managed isolation in the Ukraine or most of the other places this set of passengers came from.

        I certainly wouldn't trust it from uncontrolled mayhem places like the US.

      • Treetop 1.1.2

        Probably the toilet would have the highest viral load on a long haul flight.

        I would like to know if swabs are taken from the toilet area and tested?

  2. Incognito 2

    Very interesting and a few links to follow up on.

    Regarding the effects of vaccines on prevention or reduction of symptomatic disease (i.e. becoming sick) and prevention of spreading the infection, here’s a nice clarifying article on that:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/123886555/covid19-few-vaccines-prevent-infection–heres-why-thats-not-a-problem

    In other words, we don’t know yet which kind of immunity we may enjoy. It could well be different with different vaccines.

    Maybe it is wise to wait with rolling out vaccines in NZ 😉

    • lprent 2.1

      Saw a RNZ report on a Otago epidemiologist (not Baker!) saying we may need to do more blockage at the border from places with out of control epidemics. Worried about how thin the border defenses are.

      Problem is that is effectively everywhere in a few more months.

      Looking at border staff vaccinations as a extra will help. But it is just another few percent protection rather than a panacea.

      I would agree that inside the border has gotten really slack. Any case any outbreak inside will now need a wide set of lockdowns.

      • Incognito 2.1.1

        Yup, that was Prof. Nick Wilson.

        I posted a comment earlier today about the new variant becoming the dominant one globally: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-01-2021/#comment-1774115.

        It does make sense to vaccinate frontline and border staff first.

        I agree that New Zealand has become complacent and is relying too much on the frontline defence, which will be breached again at some stage, unfortunately; it is simply a numbers game and therefore a matter of time, i.e. not “if” but “when”.

        When shit hits the fan, the blame games will start, again. Anyway, this is drifting away from your OP 😉

      • Treetop 2.1.2

        Probably it was on one news last night the reason for not opening up more MIQ facilities is because there is not the staff to manage the isolation/quarantine.

        Not sure how popular to have a lock out before a lockdown for a limited period a month. This could be required as it is a not if but a when for a community out break.

    • gsays 2.2

      Thanks for the link, Incognito.

      Answered a few questions, but the answers largely fell into the 'We don't know yet' file. Not enough assurance for me to be pushing my way to the front of any queue.

      • Incognito 2.2.1

        Thank you for your response, which I find slightly puzzling.

        I assume you’re not keen to be the first to be vaccinated for some reason. Although our Government has ensured purchase & supply of vaccines, it is not rushing to roll out any vaccination program yet. In other words, NZ is not first in the queue.

        Why would you hesitate or delay? What “assurance” would change your mind, if I may ask?

        • gsays 2.2.1.1

          Sure ask away.

          What would I be vaccinated for? Which strain of Covid? Do I run the risks of passing that on to Mum? Plus I have a healthy disrespect for Big Pharma.

          A bit like the annual flu jab, you get innoculated for last year's illness.

          The massive rush that this medication has arrived with makes the inner cynic in me wary.

          Another thread to the thinking is the false sense of security society has about the vaccine. Once we get the jab, everything will be alright, back to BAU.

          One of the positive sides to this pandemic is folk learning halfway decent hand hygiene. Coming out of a lifetime of kitchen work it's great that others have caught up.

          Edit, without telling Nana how to suck eggs, perhaps this is better on OM, we saw how quickly Mike Smith’s post on Julian Assange turned sour quick…

          • lprent 2.2.1.1.1

            I’ll answer a few while I think about timers.

            Which strain of Covid?

            As far as I am aware most of the current released vaccines are targeting a particular attachment point (the bushy bits in a covid-19 virus) that it uses to attach to cells.

            This current strains have vary limited variations in that area because that particular bit was how they managed to species jump to humans. So current vaccines should trigger the immune system to recognise that. So they should all work with varying levels of effectiveness.

            A bit like the annual flu jab, you get innoculated for last year’s illness.

            It isn’t like the 1700 odd base pairs in a influenza variant that have virtually no error checking. This is a 32000 base pair virus with a lot of error checking. It mutates or recombines at a much lower rate. The only reason that we’re seeing any significant strains is because there were ancestral strains present at the outbreak in Wuhan, and then it had a very large number of hosts to play recombination games in.

            Different type of disease.

            With covid vaccines, the question is going to be different about effectiveness. It won’t be about coping with this years model like influenza. It will be how long the immune responses persist in humans. We won’t know that for years because we have to wait until the immune response stops either induced from vaccines or from ‘natural’ immunity after having it.

            But Covid-19’s close cousin SARS had immune responses that have persisted for up to 15 years. On the other hand Covid common cold immunities seem to last for only a few years. The difference appears to be to do with how much of a immune response was triggered in the first place. The people getting SARS tended to get very sick very fast, which was why it was so easy to stamp out. Getting covid common cold just makes people a bit miserable.

            So covid-19 vaccines need to trigger a strong response without making people sick. We won’t know how effective the first is for a while. The vaccine testing has mostly focused on how to make sure people didn’t get too sick.

            The massive rush that this medication has arrived with makes the inner cynic in me wary.

            It is one of the first diseases that came after we understood viruses, know how to produce vaccines for them (something that only really only started in the 1950s), and had a massive widespread economic impact that caused money to be thrown at it. It isn’t a stealthy retrovirus like HIV (which we still don’t have a vaccine for). It also helps when producing vaccines to have large numbers of test subjects – it abbreviates the testing process.

            But many of the vaccines have been going through the usual semi-public government testing. I don’t have a problem with that. There will be unforeseen effects as it gets rolled out to wider populations because people aren’t exactly the same. There will be a lot of data collecting – same as for every vaccine.

            Because we have the luxury of moderately effective border control – we can wait. But it is all about risk management. The first group that needs it are those at greatest risk of spreading – our border people and medical staff. After that the elderly who die from this too fast. etc etc…

            Edit, without telling Nana how to suck eggs, perhaps this is better on OM, we saw how quickly Mike Smith’s post on Julian Assange turned sour quick…

            I have a vaccine against people acting like non-listening arseholes. I just release my inner arrogant sarcastic arsehole, and then turn an amplifier up on it. This is one of my posts.

            • Treetop 2.2.1.1.1.1

              I have never had an issue with vaccination. When it comes to vaccination for Covid I would want to know what the side affects are for rare auto immune conditions where several per million are diagnosed with the condition annually. There would be no data on this as it would take years to accumulate.

              • lprent

                I would agree. We aren’t going to have as much information on these vaccines as we would normally have.

                If someone has conditions that could be an issue, then there has to be a tradeoff on risk.

                But that is always the case with vaccines or medicines. This one is just collapsed into a shorter time frame.

                The question is going to be if you take a vaccine with a possible unknown risk against any particular medical conditions. Or get a possibky fatal disease that may have long term consequences. Or constrain your life to minimize risk of infection. There are no absolute certainties.

                About the only certainty is that after the distribution of vaccines gets widespread, at some point the government and other citizens will start reducing the barriers to infection.

            • gsays 2.2.1.1.1.2

              Thanks for yr considered response lprent.

              As you point out, here in NZ we have the luxury of time and distance.

          • Incognito 2.2.1.1.2

            Ta

  3. Editractor 3

    An interesting article but it still leaves unanswered questions about the method of transmission, especially given the negative tests shown – from the last figure 26C is the luckiest I would say, assuming light blue is the original case (A).

    I am not sure " In particular the pattern in row 24 with the two people not getting a positive result is pretty abnormal." is necessarily correct though. If F and G were newly infected on the flight, they were themselves not likely to have been infectious during the flight. The last figure and the article text show that G caught coronavirus from their travel partner subsequent to the flight.

    It is possible that the people who were infected on the flight caught it by using the same toilet as the original case. I can well imagine that someone who is sick will relax their hygiene in an area where they can't be seen. If we discount cases B and G as having caught coronavirus on the flight, then 4 people did. From the seating plan, that's just under a 1 in 20 chance of catching it for those in the vicinity of case A, so how likely is it that there were a lot of infectious droplets in the air?

    • lprent 3.1

      I am not sure " In particular the pattern in row 24 with the two people not getting a positive result is pretty abnormal." is necessarily correct though.

      The main form of transmission for covid-19 appears to be from short distance airborne droplets, with a subsidiary and lesser transmission from some surfaces. This seems to be pretty clear with this flight – implies short distance droplets. The distance between infected and infectious is very low and entirely in aisles.

      If the passengers A and B were the infectious primary source, then they managed to infect C, D, E, and F in flight. Presumably F then infected G in quarantine.

      But as the seating diagram indicates, there are 9 people (including G) who were within similar droplet distances who didn't get directly infected during the flight according to subsequent tests.

      Since 4 did, that means a 4/13 probability of being infected at close range.

      The probability looks very high in aisles – 4/7.

      I presume that your 1/20 ratio is based on 4/87 – ie all passengers less A and B. But there has been little to no evidence anywhere of longer range infection past about 3 metres except for some rare cases of contact or enclosed spaces that don't clear the air – like lifts. If the environmental systems were a problem – then you'd expect a much wider spread issue.

      Presumably surface contact or residual droplets in the toilet would have had a similar probability for a lot more passengers than those we have a seating plan for. A lot of a passengers will use toilets in a plane – they always seem to have a queue on long haul.

      Pity that they obviously didn't have camera footage. I suspect that the pattern and frequency of contacts would have been enlightening. Like when and which toilets were accessed and who was seated and masked at the time. But my bet is that getting up and moving to toilets or stretching would be the theory to disprove. Droplets travel further when emitted at height.

      • barry 3.1.1

        The main form of transmission may be short distance airborne droplets, but that doesn't rule out fomite transmission. I think that in this case fomite transmission (probably from the toilet) is the most likely cause. With the plane mostly empty there would have been a smaller intersection of possible infection candidates.

        • Incognito 3.1.1.1

          How would the virus be internalised then? It doesn’t go through the skin so it could only happen by touching mouth, nose, or eyes with contaminated hands/fingers. I guess it is entirely possible that the ‘lucky’ ones had much better habits in the sense of not touching their faces.

  4. Patricia Bremner 4

    Yes travel to see our son… a long way off for all the reasons raised. There are still more questions than answers.

    I do think we should be praising and paying a premium to those doing the job of keeping us safe. I read many criticisms, yet our managed isolation is working.

    We need to train more staff, give real down time and rest for those charged with the task, so fatigue is not a cause of mismanagement, also a bonus could be paid if an isolation facility is rated safe and secure each calendar month. Carrot and stick.

    Perhaps in the end a certificate of vaccination/inoculation to travel will be needed, as some diseases have been managed previously.

    Let us hope we manage this infection as Queensland did, quickly reacting to an incursion of the new variant, until vaccination and herd immunity is achieved, which is some way off yet.
    That also assumes these vaccines will control the infection? That is the $64000 ? Only time will tell…so waiting…..

    • lprent 4.1

      Only time will tell…so waiting…..

      Yep. Some of the botched distribution in the US and probably in the UK should be public enough to shed light on how not to do it. The US hopefully will soon lose theire major bullshit factor.

      Europe should provide a better controlled test for how to do it better.

      China has too few cases at present to get any good idea even if they didn't do the idiotic propaganda that they seem to be focused on.

      When India gets underway, that should be pretty clear. Some of the biggest vaccine manufacturing gets done there. The shortened distance between provider and recipients has proved effective in previous vaccine rollouts fro correcting problems.

      Russia will be interesting. While they have a wide public health system, it doesn't seem to be even and appears to have political aspects that aren't usually helpful at being effective. The early phases of covid there were perfect, all ok , and then a Brazil or US like high.

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  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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