Daily Archives: October 5, 2021

New Zealands daily Covid cases have jumped sharply to 45 more than five times the previous days number. The rise comes after several days of about 12 cases a day, and around a week after the Auckland region lifted its strictest lockdown restrictions.

This is a big number. Its a sobering number. I dont think anybody whos involved in this process would be celebrating a number like the one were seeing today, said the Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins.

But the fact that such a significant proportion of those are known contacts or household contacts does point a little bit to the nature of this particular outbreak that were now dealing with in the way its concentrated in larger households.

The director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said a number of the cases had been expected by health officials much of Aucklands outbreak is spreading through large family groups. Thirty-three of the new cases were known household or close contacts of existing cases. Of these, 26 were household contacts, and 12 came from two households. Twelve cases were unlinked.

Officials urged people to continue following level 3 rules and get tested. Weve still got to hold our nerve here, Hipkins said. Were still aiming to run this into the ground.

The government lifted some restrictions in Auckland last week after a month of lockdown, in what experts called a gamble and a calculated risk. The changes saw an estimated 300,000 additional people return to work in their city workplaces.

Bloomfield said: Some of our cases today may have been working in essential or permitted businesses this emphasises the importance of everyone in Auckland continuing to abide by level 3 measures. They are there for a reason. Asked if New Zealand would have seen this number of cases under level 4, Hipkins said possibly.

The leap in cases comes as the government faces its first major challenge from opposition parties on the elimination strategy.

New Zealands largest opposition party unveiled its Covid plan on Wednesday, which would see lockdowns permanently scrapped once 70-75% of the eligible population is vaccinated, and quarantine-free travel allowed at 85% for those who are fully vaccinated.

The National partys leader, Judith Collins, said elimination had worked while vaccines were under development, but now the plan must change. If adopted, Nationals plan means Kiwis overseas could come home to spend this Christmas with loved ones or take an overseas holiday for new years, Collins said.

Collins said the prime minister had not offered a specific vaccine target while ministers throw around numbers willy-nilly. She also took aim at the governments proposed trial that would allow 150 business people to return and isolate at home before Christmas: Its an insult.

The National party says its three-pillar plan has been thoroughly vetted by experts, but it has declined to publicly name those experts.

The first pillar of the plan includes 10 steps for supercharging vaccination rates, going door-to-door to reach vulnerable communities, and boosting testing measures and health service capacity. The second pillar aims to end lockdowns, once vaccination reaches 70-75%.

Nationals Covid-19 response spokesperson, Chris Bishop, said the third pillar was about reconnecting New Zealand back to the world, with a system that would create different isolation requirements for returnees, depending on the country of origins Covid-19 status.

Just prior to the Delta outbreak, the government announced its border reopening strategy, which also takes into account the risk level of the countries people are returning from. That plan is under review after the outbreak.

Meanwhile thousands of New Zealanders overseas are struggling to book a spot in managed isolation. On Tuesday 3,800 places were released and snapped up in seconds, leaving tens of thousands of others on hold for the next round, due in the coming weeks.

Bishop said the government was running a lottery in human misery every week, adding that the party was advocating for a vigorous suppression method, over elimination, to allow people to return.

Deltas here, its gonna come back, there will be Covid in the community and we need to reopen, whilst making sure we mitigate the impacts of Covid and have a low number of cases.

Hipkins said he had not looked at Nationals plan in detail but it was clear the party wants to throw open the borders and allow hundreds of thousands of people to come into the country. Therefore one can conclude that the biggest promise they are making at the moment is they are willing for Kiwis to get Covid for Christmas.

Hipkins said the party had not provided any modelling for the number of cases it would be willing to tolerate, nor what it would do if there were significant case numbers in the community.

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Covid: New Zealand reports jump in cases as opposition calls for opening up - The Guardian

Experiences in the Asia-Pacific are demonstrating that the eradication of COVID depends on the development of an independent movement of the international working class, fighting for a scientific program that prioritises health and safety, not capitalist profit. With extraordinary rapidity, countries held up as pandemic success stories are dispensing with earlier safety measures and adopting the let it rip policies that have created a disaster internationally.

In Australia, where the virus has repeatedly been eliminated, governments are rushing to reopen the economy amid the countrys worst COVID outbreak.

In New Zealand, one of the few countries to have pursued an eradication strategy throughout the pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that her government would be transitioning to a new way of doing things, based on the fact that the Delta variant is a game-changer.

The New York Times, speaking on behalf of the Wall Street banks and corporations, immediately reported the announcement, declaring that: For a year and a half, New Zealand has pursued a strategy of Covid zero, closing its borders and quickly enforcing lockdowns to keep the coronavirus in check, a policy it maintained even as other Asia-Pacific countries transitioned to coexisting with the viral threat. On Monday, New Zealand gave in.

This was part of a broader shift, the Times noted, referencing the drive to end lockdowns in Australia, and the situation in Singapore, where an end to a government strategy of suppressing the virus has resulted in a major outbreak. The change in strategy by Singapore and other countries in the region has left China as perhaps the last major country to pursue a Covid-zero approach, it declared.

With a clear air of triumphalism, the Times was championing the fact that those countries were adopting the same profit-driven policies that have resulted in mass infection and death around the world.

Infections have soared in Britain since all mitigation efforts were dispensed with on freedom day last July, with current fatality rates matching Prime Minister Boris Johnsons declaration that 50,000 annual deaths from the virus would be acceptable. In the US, thousands of people are dying every few days, while hospital paediatric units are being overwhelmed as 200,000 or more children are infected each week, many of them having contracted the virus in schools that are functioning as lethal petri dishes.

Case numbers vary in the Asia-Pacific countries that have recently shifted their policy. In Australia and Singapore there are thousands of active infections, in New Zealand, only several hundred. The trajectory, however, once the live with the virus policy has been adopted is the same: mass transmission, hospitalisations and fatalities.

This has already been demonstrated by developments in Australia. The countrys governments never sought eradication, rejecting it in the earliest stages of the pandemic as being too costly. Nevertheless, over the past 18 months, they have repeatedly been compelled to institute lockdowns and other safety restrictions.

This has largely been a result of demands from teachers, health staff and other sections of the working class, and because the underfunded hospital system is in such a parlous position that it cannot cope with even a limited COVID outbreak. The country was also insulated to a certain extent by its geographical isolation and stringent border restrictions. Transmission of the virus was repeatedly eliminated, as millions of working people adhered to social distancing and made sacrifices to ensure public health.

Within a very short period of time, the situation has been reversed. The country went from having no cases of community transmission in early June, to more than 84,000 in the three-and-a-half months since, along with 447 deaths. More than a quarter of all fatalities since the pandemic began have occurred since the end of August.

The surge has been the outcome of governments, especially in the state of New South Wales (NSW), resisting calls from epidemiologists for timely lockdowns, instead preparing for a reopening. Even once restrictions were imposed, most workplaces remained open, leading to infections and deaths being concentrated in the working class suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.

In previous outbreaks, governments have stated that it is not safe to end lockdowns before community transmission is reduced to zero or close to it. Now, the opposite is the case. The higher the case numbers, the more stridently they insist that lockdowns and other restrictions be overturned as quickly as possible, based on the same inoculation levels that have failed to halt surges in countries such as Singapore and Israel.

Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that international travel would resume in November, earlier than planned, as the spearhead of a far broader reopening.

The announcement was made days after an article In the British Financial Times (FT) declared that Australia is making big mistakes in failing to reopen to the world, with business leaders accusing the government of putting politics before science ahead of a looming general election. The preeminent mouthpiece of finance capital highlighted statements by business chiefs, who were Increasingly fed up with COVID-19 lockdown policies and have said the nation will have to learn to live with the virus, as many other countries have done.

It is these profit interests that are determining government policy. In NSW, the limited lockdown is to be ended next Monday, despite infections continuing to approach one thousand a day. A full reopening is planned for November-December. The Labor government in Victoria has adopted an almost identical roadmap, even though infections in the state have reached a record of more than 1,700 per day, including a jump of 50 percent in a 24-hour period last week.

With the healthcare system already in an unprecedented crisis, official modelling from the NSW and Victorian governments predicts that the reopening will likely overwhelm their hospitals. They are preparing to implement a triage system, under which some critically-ill patients would be denied care. Medical experts have warned that the protocols would lead to people with an eighty percent chance of survival, if they were treated, being left to die.

In-person teaching is resuming en masse in both states this month, even though 30 percent of all cases in NSW have been among children and teenagers and thousands more young people have been infected in Victoria, during a period when most learning has been conducted online.

As is the case internationally, this program is provoking widespread opposition. Thousands of teachers and students have taken to social media and issued petitions, condemning the reopening of the schools. Healthcare workers have written open letters, denouncing the official policies as creating the conditions for mass death.

It is these sentiments that the various business chiefs are railing against. In countless editorials over the past months, the financial press has insisted that governments must take on the opposition among workers and young people. As one comment in the Australian declared, it was necessary to change the Australian mindset and force an end to the popular addiction to lockdown.

In this, the trade unions have played a central role. They have joined with the corporations to ensure workplaces have remained open throughout the pandemic, have lobbied for their industries to be exempted from lockdown measures, and are seeking to suppress any mobilisation against the official pandemic policies.

Critical lessons must be drawn. In one form or other, all of the capitalist governments are turning towards the policies of herd immunity and death. The developments in the Asia-Pacific are providing a graphic demonstration of the bankruptcy of official strategies aimed at mitigating the impacts of the virus, without seeking its eradication, and the impossibility of maintaining a program of elimination, within the framework of the capitalist system.

The fight to eradicate the virus, which epidemiologists have explained is both possible and necessary, depends on the development of an independent movement of the working class that asserts the social rights of the population, including to health and life, above private profit. The October 1 school strike in Britain, which won support from thousands of teachers, parents, students and workers around the world, points the way forward.

On October 24, the WSWS is holding an international online webinar featuring leading scientists and workers involved in this struggle, to explain the case for eradication and provide the public with the critical knowledge necessary to develop a broad-based and international movement to end the pandemic and reclaim the future.

Sign up for the WSWS email newsletter

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Australia and New Zealand ruling elite demands population live with COVID-19 - WSWS

WELLINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Wednesday it will put a virtual halt to the practice of taking at-risk children away from their families, a care policy that has long angered its indigenous Maori community.

Children deemed to be facing harm have been moved into state care for decades despite Maori criticism that the process is racially skewed and a legacy of colonisation. A vast majority of the children taken, a process known locally as uplifting, are Maori.

Thousands of Maori took to the streets in 2019 in protest after media reports that the children's ministry tried to take a newnew-born baby away from her mother in hospital.

Children's Minister Kelvin Davis said on Wednesday the government has accepted all recommendations of a ministerial advisory board on how to fix the child care and the protection system. The ministry had been told that removing children should be used only as a last resort.

"This report will end uplifts as we have known them," Davis said in a statement, adding that future efforts would focus on community-led prevention.

In 2019-2020, 1,334 children entered state care, according to documents on the ministry's website, of which about 60% were Maori.

Maori have called children taken into state care as New Zealand's "stolen generation" - a reference to indigenous Australians forcibly taken from their families as children under an official policy of assimilation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen as a global figure on issues of woman's rights and social justice, launched a Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2018 into the abuse of young people in state care, saying the country needed to confront "a dark chapter" in its history.

The inquiry revealed in December that up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in faith-based and state care institutions from the 1960s to the early 2000s. read more

Reporting by Praveen Menon; editing by Richard Pullin

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More here:

New Zealand to halt removal of 'at risk' children from families - Reuters

News

NZ coach feels "there are six-seven teams that could win this tournament"

Having won the inaugural World Test Championship earlier in June, New Zealand now have the rare chance to win another world title in the same year as they prepare for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE. Head coach Gary Stead said that New Zealand aren't distracted by that prospect and that their main focus is to first qualify for the semi-finals.

"Every tournament you go in, you go in with high hopes, hope to win games and put yourself in a position to achieve that," Stead said during a virtual media interaction after arriving in the UAE. "I guess our first one is focusing on one game at a time, but the main goal is to get to that semi-finals stage and if you're there, you'll know that you're only two wins away from a title. We're in a tough pool, I genuinely think there are six-seven teams that could win this tournament, and I guess that's good for world cricket as well."

New Zealand are placed in Group A, which also includes former champions India and Pakistan. They will first run into Pakistan in Sharjah on October 26 and there could potentially be some tension around the clash after New Zealand recently called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan, citing security concerns. Newly appointed PCB chairman Ramiz Raja was particularly critical of New Zealand's abrupt pullout, promising to avenge the cancellation when Pakistan face them at the World Cup.

Stead, however, downplayed the chatter around the game. "I'm not sure if there's any more tension on it from our perspective," he said. "Obviously, what happened in Pakistan was sad for Pakistan cricket, their players and also our players who missed out on that opportunity as well. We can't change what has happened there; all we can do is, I guess, prepare for the tournament, and we face Pakistan first up. I'm sure it will be an exciting game. We've always had good games with Pakistan cricket and this one will be no different."

Stead said that New Zealand are also wary of the challenging conditions they could face in the UAE. They will play two games in Sharjah, where pitches have become sluggish after being relaid and as many in Dubai, where tracks have slowed down at the fag end of this IPL, before rounding off their league stage with the match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. It helps New Zealand that ten players in their World Cup squad are currently part of the IPL in the UAE and the likes of Martin Guptill and Ish Sodhi, who had arrived in the UAE earlier from Pakistan, have been training with Thilan Samaraweera.

"We've taken it [mental health] very seriously and tried to be upfront with our players and stuff around how we sit with it."

Gary Stead, NZ head coach

"I've watched a fair bit of the IPL," Stead said. "It looks like there are three different surfaces and even as the tournament progresses, there seems to be the odd bit of rogue score - a very high-scoring game in Abu Dhabi, where 190 got chased down but the norm has been anywhere between 120 through to 150 mark. With the three grounds, I guess, they will provide different options and opportunities that we need to consider as well. We will certainly be calling on the expertise of and knowledge of those guys that have been playing in the IPL - what they can add to our intel as well."

Stead stressed that the mental well-being of the players and staff is something that is of utmost priority for New Zealand. Stead, the rest of the support staff, and wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway are currently in isolation for six days before they could head out and train.

"We've taken it [mental health] very seriously and tried to be upfront with our players and stuff around how we sit with it," Stead said. "We've also brought John Quinn with us to look after the well-being of our staff and players who are over here at the World Cup and then John will go home and will be replaced by Rod Corbin - they are guys within our mental skills network of providers back home. Those guys are there just to make sure they are checking in with all our players and staff and making sure we are taking that really, really seriously as well.

"When you sit in a room for long periods of time, it's not always that easy. It's perhaps a novelty for the first day or two, but then when you look at the same four walls time and time again, it can be difficult. That's, I guess, the world we live in at the moment, but also understanding that we're in a privileged position of being able to tour around the world as well and play these World Cups, which is still exciting for us."

As part of New Zealand's plans to rotate players and even staff over the winter, Stead himself was given a break for the tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan, with Wellington Firebirds head coach Glenn Pocknall standing in for him. Stead was pleased with the progress of the fringe players who stepped up in spin-friendly conditions and ran a near-full-strength Bangladesh side close before eventually losing the series 3-2.

"It was definitely a different experience [watching the Bangladesh tour from the outside]," Stead said. "I'm really proud of the way the guys played over there. That was a relatively inexperienced Black Caps team that went over there when you consider what we normally had and to be able to take two games off a real quality side was encouraging, and to be in the running for all five matches was also very encouraging. So pleased with the development of the team there. We've planned out well in advance because of the well-being aspect of all our players and this was going to be the way we would tour for the winter. I guess, no surprises from our sense of how it's playing out."

Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Gary Stead on T20 WC: Main goal is to get to the semi-finals - ESPNcricinfo

Lauren Anne Dickason was arrested and charged with murdering her three daughters, and appeared in court on Saturday morning.Video / George Heard

A woman charged with murdering her three young daughters at their Timaru home has been excused from today's court appearance as her mental health assessments continue.

A trial date has been set but she is yet to enter a plea.

Lauren Anne Dickason, 40, was charged with murdering her three daughters - Lian, 6, and twin sisters Maya and Karla, 2.

She first appeared in the Timaru District Court on September 18, two days after allegedly murdering the children.

The specific details of the alleged murder have been suppressed.

Dickason was remanded in custody to a forensic psychiatric ward at Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch.

There, she underwent a mental health assessment ahead of her first appearance in the High Court today.

Dickason's appearance in person this morning before Justice Rachel Dunningham was excused.

She was due to appear via an audio visual link from Hillmorton Hospital but the court heard more time was needed for her health assessment.

The case is being heard in the High Court at Timaru but the hearing itself was today facilitated from the Christchurch Justice Precinct.

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Dickason's lawyer Kerryn Beaton QC sought a further remand for the alleged killer at Hillmorton Hospital.

A forensic psychiatrist has been booked to assess her further this weekend.

A trial date for March 2023 was set, even though no pleas have been entered at this stage.

Dickason's case will be called again on October 15.

The Dickason family arrived in Timaru just a week before the children died on September 16.

They moved here from Pretoria in South Africa and spent their mandatory time in managed isolation before they were released to start their new life.

Graham Dickason is an orthopedic surgeon and had a job with the South Canterbury District Health Board.

It is understood he had been at a work function with colleagues and arrived home to find the grisly scene.

A neighbour told the Herald the morning after the alleged murders that she heard the sounds of sobbing and moaning at about 9.40pm.

Another neighbour found the distressed father and called 111.

Police then converged on the house.

Lauren Dickason was unresponsive and in a critical condition when her husband arrived home.

She was taken to Timaru Hospital for treatment and was stable enough by Friday night to speak with police.

She was charged with murder soon after.

Lauren Dickason is also a doctor who worked in the orthopedic area.

A week after the alleged murders, a vigil was outside the house by members of the community.

The event was in memory of the girls and to show the Dickason family support and love.

Hundreds of people attended and words by Graham Dickason, his parents and his in-laws were read.

A similar event was held simultaneously in Pretoria.

The message penned by Graham Dickason was the first the public had heard from the family since the tragedy unfolded.

"It is a loss I will carry with me for the rest of my life my words are few," he said of the deaths of his "precious angels".

"In this time of terrible tragedy and adversity I can only ask for prayer for strength and for healing.

"Please also pray for my lovely Lauren for I honestly believe she is a victim in this as well.

"I have already forgiven her and I urge you in your own time to do the same it is the key to healing this loss we have all experienced."

Family in Pretoria shared details of a second memorial they held last week.

They spent time at a local park where they had put up huge photos of the slain sisters along with descriptions of them.

"A beautiful little girl inside and out. You were such a chatterbox with an infectious laugh," Lian's read.

"You loved cuddles, you enjoyed baking - even though you ate a lot of the mixture before it was baked.

"You were so creative and loved your stickers and sparkles.

"You were kind and always cared deeply for those around you.

"You were a loving sister with a soft heart."

Karla was born with a cleft lip and her grandparents said last week she did not have the best start in life - but she overcame that and was brave and an explorer.

At the family service she was described as "a beautiful little girl who was feisty, independent and strong".

"Yet, kind and caring," her photo caption read.

"You loved a cuddle and loved early mornings.

"Your smile left an impact on each person that met you.

"You were such a cheerful and happy little soul, your little personality was contagious."

Maya was remembered as "a beautiful gentle little girl who was always smiling".

"And a real little charmer who knew just what look to give us to get one more sweetie.

"Playful to the core, so happy and cheerful - you loved tea parties and perfected the pinkie finger ."

If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.

OR IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE:

LIFELINE: 0800 543 354 or 09 5222 999 within Auckland (available 24/7) SUICIDE CRISIS HELPLINE: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633 ,free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat. NEED TO TALK? Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7) KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757 SAMARITANS 0800 726 666.

See the rest here:

Timaru tragedy: Murder-accused mum Lauren Dickason back in court after tragic death of three daughters - New Zealand Herald

SUPPLIED

Te Raekura Redcliffs School in Christchurch won the Supreme Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project 2021 Awards.

For almost a decade the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards have celebrated teamwork, collaboration, and outstanding buildings in the commercial construction sector.

With entries now open for the 2022 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards all architects, building owners, designers, engineers, and contractors are being called on to enter.

The NZ Commercial Project Awards is the only competition of its type in New Zealand. "The awards are a moment for us to celebrate and acknowledge the project teams and partners behind New Zealand's best commercial buildings," says Master Builder's president, Kerry Archer.

In its 10th year of the competition, the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards are proudly owned by Registered Master Builders yet you don't need to be a Master Builder to enter. The competition is open to all New Zealand based commercial construction project partners.

"The awards are designed to shine a light on New Zealand's buildings and the skilled teams behind them," explains Archer. "Commercial buildings play a big part in our lives - from apartments, to schools, offices, hospitals, libraries and entertainment facilities. The way these buildings are designed and built make a difference to every New Zealander. This is reflected in the vast range of New Zealand's buildings and projects that are entered into the 10 different award categories."

"The awards have something for everyone, both big and small. To address the misconception that commercial just means large and high value, this year we have expanded the Value Awards to include smaller value projects which are just as important to our communities," says Archer.

"These changes will allow smaller contractors to showcase their local projects to national clients who operate all around New Zealand, as well as celebrating the very best of our larger builds.

"The awards recognise the project team's collaboration, innovation, quality and how they overcame challenges of the project together. It is not about the size of the project or the size of the budget."

All entries are judged by a small but accomplished panel of judges - a commercial contractor and one other experienced member of the construction industry.

NZ Commercial Project Award judge and architect, Rod Macdiarmid says it was pleasing to see last year's competition entries have a focus on both managing carbon emissions and improving site safety. "Companies are putting in more effort to measure and manage their own emissions across all operations, even vehicle fleets. It is also positive to see waste management becoming a normal practise with a greater focus on waste separation."

The judges were also impressed by the focus of the project teams on on-site safety, crediting much of this down to new technology.

"A key development we noticed was the use of apps to record near-miss incidents. This technology means the record can be anonymised, taking away the fear that can come with reporting incidents. We hope to see these trends continue to grow in this year's entries," says Macdiarmid.

The Awards are made possible through the support of Altus Window Systems, CARTERS, Construction Marketing Services, GIB, and Resene.

Entries are now open.For more information about the competition and to enter visit commercialprojectawards.co.nz.

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Be part of New Zealand's best commercial builds - Stuff.co.nz

A sizeable audience at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre was treated to a performance central to New Zealands national identity the Kapa Haka

For most, the ceremonial Maori war dance is performed before each All Blacks rugby game and is intended as a challenge to the opposition and rousing rally for players before heading into battle on the pitch.

For New Zealanders, it is part of their national identity, creating meaningful connections within communities, other nations and people.

Those lucky enough to witness the performance of UAE-based Kapa Haka group Ngati Koraha at the amphitheatre in the Al Forsan district were treated to a rousing performance of compositions, chants, choral singing and graceful action songs.

For those who missed it, there are plans to have further Kapa Haka performances in November as well as on New Zealands national day, on January 31.

Updated: October 4th 2021, 4:02 PM

Read more from the original source:

New Zealand Maoris Kapa Haka wows audience at Expo - The National

Firdia Lisnawati/AP

Indonesia plans to reopen the airport in the resort island of Bali to several countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

Indonesia plans to reopen the airport in the resort island of Bali for international flights on October 14, after closing it for more than a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Monday the airport will open to international flights as long as it fulfils requirements for quarantine and testing.

International arrivals must show proof of hotel bookings for a mandatory eight-day quarantine.

READ MORE:* Bali could be open to foreigners by end of July* Foreign tourists to be locked out of Bali until 2021 * Coronavirus: Bali begins to reopen after 3-month lockdown

We are open to several countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, Pandjaitan said.

Indonesia, the worlds fourth-most populous country, has recorded more than 4.2 million Covid-19 cases with 142,261 deaths, but infections have decreased in the last few weeks after peaking in mid-July.

Tourism and Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said Bali's reopening will focus on travellers and returning expatriates who used to live in Bali.

The government is still finalising some steps including lists of countries with direct flights to Bali.

The most important priority is the safety of the Indonesian people in terms of health and being protected from the potential spike in new cases of Covid-19, Uno said.

Read more:

Indonesia to reopen Bali to several international flights, including New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz

Business

5 Oct, 2021 04:40 AM2 minutes to read

The deal will add over 21,000 KiwiSaver and Master Trust members to Fisher Funds' portfolio. Photo / NZME

TSB-owned Fisher Funds has acquired Aon New Zealand's superannuation business, which includes its KiwiSaver scheme and Master Trust businesses.

The deal will add over 21,000 KiwiSaver and Master Trust members and approximately $1 billion to Fisher Funds' existing $14.5b portfolio.

Bruce McLachlan, chief executive of Fisher Funds, said the acquisition is a natural progression of Fisher Funds growth plans in funds management in New Zealand.

"This is an exciting moment for Fisher Funds and will further strengthen our position as one of New Zealand's leading independent active funds management businesses," he said.

"The Aon New Zealand KiwiSaver Scheme and Master Trust businesses particularly appealed to us due to their clients affinity for high quality active management investment solutions. This aligns with Fisher Funds ethos of delivering outstanding client outcomes.

"Our priority is now on working closely with Aon to ensure a seamless transition for all members and clients involved."

The transaction is due to complete at the end of November 2021.

"Once the transition is complete all Aon members and clients will benefit from full access to Fisher Funds active investment team, online platforms, and award-winning client services team. There will be no impact on our existing Fisher Funds clients," McLachlan said.

McLachlan confirmed that all Aon New Zealand KiwiSaver Scheme and Master Trust employees would be offered roles at Fisher Funds.

"We look forward to them becoming valued members of our team," he said.

Until the transaction completes, each business will continue to operate separately with no changes for members.

See more here:

Fisher Funds acquires Aon New Zealand's KiwiSaver scheme and Master Trust businesses - New Zealand Herald

The Government will require all non-New Zealand citizens to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 before entering the country, from November 1.

Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins on Sunday afternoon announced the Government would place the requirement on any traveller to New Zealand who is aged over 17 years, and is not a New Zealand citizen.

Fully vaccinated travellers will still need to spend two weeks in a managed isolation facility upon entry to New Zealand. The requirement that most travellers obtain a negative Covid test 72 hours prior to departure will also remain.

Most people coming to New Zealand tell us they are already vaccinated. This requirement makes it formal and will provide an extra layer of protection at the border, Hipkins said in a statement.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

The Government says it willl require non-NZ citizens to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 to enter the country.

READ MORE:* Government will require non-NZ citizens to have Covid vaccine before entering New Zealand* 'No vaccine, no flying': Airline passengers should be vaccinated, experts say* Covid-19: No new community cases, over 46,000 more vaccinations as Fiji and Indonesia added to 'high-risk' list

Even a single case presents a risk. However, high and wide-spread vaccination rates will mean more freedoms, fewer restrictions, and the day-to-day confidence that protection from the virus brings.

Air New Zealand, early on Sunday, said it would be introducing a no jab, no fly policy for international travellers, that would come into effect on February 1, 2022.

The national air carriers policy would apply to travellers aged 18 or over, and will apply to both inbound and outbound flights.

Hipkins said the Government's new requirement will work well alongside the announcement today that everyone on board an Air New Zealand aircraft travelling internationally will need to be fully vaccinated.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins.

He said people entering New Zealand will need to provide proof of vaccination or a relevant exemption to both the airline and Customs officers once they land in the country. They will also need to declare their vaccination status when they enter the managed isolation and quarantine system.

This requirement will be an interim measure while development continues on the traveller health declaration system, which will introduce the ability to digitally verify the vaccination status of people arriving into New Zealand, Hipkins said.

The Government would legislate to make the requirement law. If a person fails to provide proof of vaccination they may be fined $4000.

RSE workers headed to New Zealand in a quarantine-free travel scheme will be exempt from the requirement, as will refugees.

There would also be an ability for people to seek exemptions from the requirement on humanitarian grounds, or in cases where a person had no opportunity to get the vaccine.

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Government will require non-NZ citizens to have Covid vaccine before entering New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz