Daily Archives: February 17, 2022

Closed borders and other Covid-19 restrictions have resulted in the number of people crossing the border falling to the lowest in 50 years, while the country has had its first migration loss in nine years, according to new data.

File image. Photo: 123rf

Stats NZ said 826,400 people crossed the border last year, with 398,600 arrivals and 427,800 departures, and the numbers might have been lower but for the brief travel bubbles with Australia and the Cook Islands.

"Over three-quarters of trips made in 2021 took place during the months of April to August, while the travel bubbles were in effect," Stats NZ manager Tehseen Islam said.

Before the pandemic 14.2 million crossed the borders.

New Zealand citizens living overseas made up 45 percent of overseas visitor arrivals in 2021, compared with 14 percent in 2019.

And the country last year also had its first migration loss since 2012.

There was a net loss of 3900 last year compared with a 36,800 gain in 2020. New Zealand had had an average migration gain of 50,000 a year between 2013 and 2020.

Islam said the closure of borders had disrupted the previous flow of immigrants, which had outnumbered departures of New Zealanders.

"In the past, net migration losses from New Zealand were driven by New Zealand citizens heading overseas, mainly to Australia," Islam said.

"However, Covid-19 border and travel restrictions have seen reversals of historic patterns, and current net migration losses are driven by non-New Zealand citizens."

The government has allowed a limited number of essential and seasonal workers to enter during the pandemic, and will start a phased re-opening of the border from the end of the month.

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Number of people crossing New Zealand border lowest in 50 years - RNZ

Queenstown: Staring at another series defeat, a struggling India will welcome the return of star opener Smriti Mandhana for the third women's ODI against New Zealand on Friday.

Mandhana, the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year, had exited mandatory quarantine in Christchurch to join the squad ahead of second ODI but needed a few days to get match ready.

Pacers Renuka Singh and Meghna Singh are also available for selection after completing their quarantine. Lead pacer Jhulan Goswami, who had to miss the second game due to a neck spasm, is also expected to play on Friday.

Though Mandhana's return will be very much welcomed, India did not lose the previous game due to their batting. The bowlers let the team down as they were unable to defend a competitive 271-run target.

Goswami's absence was also felt as only 10 overs of pace was used with Pooja Vastrakar bowling seven overs and debutant Simran Bahadur three. The spinners did not leak a lot of runs but were unable to get the breakthroughs. The team also needs to improve its fielding going into the must-win game.

T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who has scored only two 50 plus scores in ODIs since the 2017 World Cup, badly needs a big score. Yet to fire with the bat in the series, the 32-year-old has been playing a bigger role with the ball.

She bowled nine overs of off spin in the second ODI and was the most expensive bowler.

With a spin bowling all-rounder like Sneh Rana warming the bench, Harmanpreet needs to deliver to keep her place in the eleven.

Opener Shafali Verma is also under pressure, having averaged a modest 25 in the eight games that she has played so far since making her debut last year. It will be a tough call for skipper Mithali Raj to pick the opener alongside Mandhana with S Meghana also grabbing her opportunity in the southpaw's absence.

India's last series win came back in 2019-20 in the West Indies and they badly need some momentum going into the World Cup.

The visitors will have to piece together a near perfect game to beat New Zealand, a team which seems to be getting better with every game. Their top-order is in top form with Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr starring with hundreds in the first and second game respectively.

Regular skipper Sophie Devine, who passed on the leadership responsibility to Amy Satterthwaite in the second ODI as part of the team's "contingency" plans, has done well with the ball but needs to do more as a batter.

New Zealand pacer Lea Tahuhu said her team is aiming to seal the series on Friday.

"We are in a position to put a series away which we have not been in for a long time. We are looking to go out there and nail our skills tomorrow and hopefully be 3-0 up," she told NZC.

Squads:

India: Sabbhineni Meghana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Simran Bahadur, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Taniya Bhatia, Renuka Singh, Smriti Mandhana, Jhulan Goswami.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Amy Satterthwaite (c), Maddy Green, Katey Martin (wk), Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Fran Jonas, Lea Tahuhu, Lauren Down, Frances Mackay, Hannah Rowe.

Match starts 3.30 am IST.

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India vs New Zealand: Mandhana set to bolster batting but pressure mounts on Harmanpreet in must-win game - Firstpost

Thousands more people who will become residents under the government's one-off visa can start to apply a week early.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is trying to reduce pressure on its online systems when the policy's second stage opens at the start of March.

The launch of the first phase in December led to IT failures when migrants clamoured to apply at the same time.

INZ said today up to 10,500 people who already had Skilled Migrant expressions of interest (EOI) would be able to apply early, in a staggered process.

Prioritising those people recognised that their pathway to residence was affected by policy decisions at the start of the pandemic, it said.

INZ assistant general manager Geoff Scott said good progress was being made processing applications received since the 2021 Resident Visa category opened on 1 December which meant INZ could allow people who had already taken a step towards applying for residence to apply for their 2021 Resident Visa earlier than planned.

"Since phase one applications opened on 1 December 2021, we have received more than 13,000 applications. Of those, nearly 6000 have been approved, resulting in more than 12,500 people becoming residents under this new policy," he said.

"This means that we are well through processing the applications received under Phase 1 and the majority of the applications still being processed are waiting for third party checks to be completed or more information from the applicant, before they can be progressed."

Up to 1500 individuals would be able to apply each day from 21 February in the order of the date the individual submitted their EOI. They will receive an email from INZ on the day they are able to apply from and will need their EOI reference number to be able to apply.

"This will limit the number of applicants trying to apply at any one time and will help to reduce pressure on the online system," said Scott.

"Allowing this group of individuals to apply early recognises that they had already taken a step towards gaining residence by submitting an EOI, but their pathway was impacted by the suspension to EOI selections as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic."

INZ said it had learnt from phase one and continued to work on ways to manage the large volume of upcoming applications, adding it would provide more information on that in the next fortnight.

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Immigration New Zealand to better manage second round of residence visa applications - RNZ

Air NZ boss Greg Foran says friction points like home isolation are delaying recovery. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Air New Zealand is clear on where it wants to fly - and where it doesn't - as it rebuilds its international network.

It has put a wide range of destinations into a rejigged schedule but chief executive Greg Foran doesn't expect heavy demand for international flights until New Zealand changes its home isolation requirements for returning Kiwis and later this year for people from other countries.

While outlining the airline's refreshed Kia Mau Thrive Strategy to the Herald, he said two years into the pandemic the outlook remains uncertain.

Some airlines were bullish about demand being at pre-Covid levels by the end of the year.

"Maybe they will be, I don't know. It will depend on the settings and each country."

He said "friction points" such as home isolation requirements of seven to 10 days would hit demand although over time they would be dropped.

The airline is set to announce another heavy half-year loss this month and has plans locked in for what he described as a "massive" capital raise in the first quarter of this year.

While unable to talk about the details of the capital raise estimated by some analysts to be debt and equity of at least $1.2 billion he was hopeful it would go ahead after being delayed several times.

The timing could be more favourable this time because of the reopening of international borders to Kiwis initially from the end of this month and to arrivals from other countries from the middle of the year.

He said the arrival of Omicron had affected domestic bookings which hit a record last July but growth of the domestic operation was one of three key areas in the five-year strategy.

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The airline carried 7.4 million domestic passengers last year, up from 6.7 million in 2020.New routes were being explored along with different schedules and a subscription service to give members preferential access to flights and cheaper fares would be trialled.

"Domestic is a great business for us it gives us our best return on invested capital."

The development of smaller battery or hydrogen-powered aircraft later this decade would give the airline even more scope to expand its network.

A second part of the strategy is to optimise its international network, part of which had been kept "warm" by cargo flights which hadn't stopped during the pandemic.

Last week the airline relaunched 24 international routes, including transtasman flights to Adelaide and Cairns and a return to Singapore late in March, San Francisco in April, Hawaii in July and Chicago on September 30.

Foran said he was determined to launch non-stop services to New York in September this year.

The airline was moving towards a uniform Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet and would build up frequency to fewer destinations than before Covid hit.

"We're pretty clear where we want to fly and when we don't want to fly. You can never say never but we don't [intend] to jump back to South America or go to London."

Shanghai was on the list but he doubted China would open up this year.

The long-awaited relaunch of the airline's business premier seats would happen early next year and would initially be fitted on new Dreamliners on order. New plane orders had plateaued.

"You'll start to see that the amount of capital that's required starts to come down. The business has spent quite a bit of capital [over] the last few years so that gives us a chance to sensibly start to improve our returns on invested capital."

Cargo would remain a critical part of the operation and he was confident the Government's freight support scheme would be extended beyond the March cut-off date as self-isolation requirements made it difficult for airlines to operate traditional passenger services.

Air New Zealand would not get into the dedicated freighter business.

Part three of the strategy is to further boost the airline's loyalty scheme which has 3.6 million members and in Forsyth Barr analysis late in 2020 was valued at $725m.

The airline has formed new partnerships during the past two years and was about to relaunch its scheme for top-tier flyers to make it easier for them to get upgrades on flights. It was investigating launching a programme for customers who prioritised sustainability initiatives.

Foran said although loyalty was a significant part of the business, Air New Zealand had no intention of selling it off.

''We have done some work on that. We don't have any intention of doing what some airlines have done. My analysis of what I've seen happen - when they do that they end up buying it back.''

He said the airline would like to see Airpoints be like a "second currency" in New Zealand.

The airline's workforce is about 8000, compared to about 12,500 two years ago. About 200 staff had been rehired in the past few months but Foran said it was hard to tell whether numbers would fully recover and what shape the airline would be in as it recovered from Covid.

"It's easier to grow than shrink and if we suddenly found out we had an amazing opportunity then we'll go out there and get ourselves organised and go a bit quicker. But at this stage we think a measured approach is needed."

The route restart:

Asia and US

Auckland - Singapore, March 27

Auckland - San Francisco, April 14

Auckland - Seoul, July 7

Auckland - Chicago, September 30

Pacific

Auckland - Honolulu, July 4

Auckland - Tahiti, July 6

Auckland - New Caledonia, July 6

Christchurch - Nadi, July 5

Wellington - Nadi, July 5

Australia

Auckland - Adelaide, July 6

Auckland - Cairns, July 5

Auckland - Hobart, July 7

Auckland - Gold Coast, March 2

Auckland - Sunshine Coast, July 9

Christchurch - Brisbane, February 28

Christchurch - Sydney, March 1

Christchurch - Melbourne, July 2

Christchurch - Gold Coast, July 3

Wellington - Brisbane, March 31

Wellington - Melbourne, April 4

Wellington - Sydney, April 5

Queenstown - Brisbane, June 24

Queenstown - Melbourne, June 24

Queenstown - Sydney, June 25

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Air New Zealand's Greg Foran outlines the airline's Kia Mau five year plan - New Zealand Herald

Cyclone Dovi packed a punch across many parts of New Zealand today, with howling gales and heavy rain causing widespread damage. Video / NZ Herald

WEATHER LATEST* Auckland Harbour Bridge closed before reopening as wind gusts hit 109km/h;* Flooding, slips force homes to be evacuated and roads to be closed in Wellington;* Thousands without power in Northland, boats tear from moorings in Russell, Opua;* Air NZ cancels at least 100 flights due to the cyclone* Financial assistance released for deluged South Island farmers* Several state highways closed around the country. Check list here* Man taken to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries after tree falls on car

Cyclone Dovi packed a punch across many parts of New Zealand today, with howling gales and heavy rain causing havoc - and temporarily forcing the closure of the Auckland Harbour Bridge as well as temporary power outages across Auckland.

Police urged people to avoid non-essential travel as gale-force winds struck, with gusts of between 130km/h and 150km/h in some parts as the storm reached its peak around lunchtime and early afternoon.

Vector said today's storm brought "extremely challenging" weather conditions with gusts of up to 150km/h leading to widespread power outages in nearly every part of Auckland.

Some customers could be without power for days, it said.

At the worst point this afternoon, about 50,000 customers were without power for a brief time. Later this afternoon the number had fallen to about 14,000.

"This number continues to change as the crews assess each area and are able to get a clearer picture of the extent of the damage," Vector's GM Operations and Maintenance Marko Simunac said.

"Our crews have been working around the clock to make sure areas are safe, before they can finish assessing the damage and carry out repairs.

"The volume of outages, and the location of some in rural areas that can be harder to access, means full restoration in some cases may take a few days.

"As we continue our work we ask the public to please stay well away from downed lines and call 111 if they see any.

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"Our crews are working with extra Covid-19 safety precautions in place, such as smaller crew bubbles. This helps keep our crews safe, but it could mean that outages take longer than usual to resolve."

Waka Kotahi National Emergency Management Team leader Mark Owen said several highways were closed due to slips and flooding, with major disruption unavoidable given the scale of the severe weather.

"Our crews are working hard to clear slips and reopen roads as soon as possible, but heavy rain and severe winds are still affecting many areas, and we need floodwaters to recede in some areas before damage can be assessed.

"Driving conditions are hazardous in many areas, with the risk of surface flooding, slips, falling tree branches or power lines coming down, and people should avoid all non-essential travel in these areas."

Auckland Harbour Bridge was closed at 9.30am due to heavy winds. It was reopened at 2pm with speed restrictions in place and motorists advised to take extra care.

"Waka Kotahi crews reopened the bridge to traffic at 2pm today, with wind gusts dropping below permitted levels for safe use of the bridge," NZTA said.

A maximum wind gust of 109km/h was recorded at the bridge at 10.45am, well in excess of the 90km/h threshold for safe use.

"We want to thanks motorists for their understanding and patience during this severe weather event. Closing the Harbour Bridge is not a decision we take lightly, but it was necessary in order to keep everyone safe today," Owen said.

This evening, Waka Kotahi crews began the task of repairing damaged roads across the country to clear slips and re-open key state highway routes.

Many road surfaces have been damaged by extensive rainfall, and drivers were asked to slow down and take extra care as they are likely to encounter surface water, fallen branches and other residual debris as rain and strong winds continue to affect many parts of the country.

"Our crews will also be out in force getting stuck in to repair work to ensure highways remain safe please comply with any temporary speed restrictions and other traffic management measures at our worksites. These restrictions are in place to keep workers and road users safe," Waka Kotahi's Owen said.

"Driving conditions will remain hazardous in many areas for some time, with the risk of surface flooding, slips, tree branches or even power lines down on the road. Please slow down and take extra care if you need to drive tonight or tomorrow."

In Wellington, Featherston residents were urged to boil water before being used fordrinking, food preparation or brushing teeth.

This weekend's unusually high rainfall has caused surface water to enter the Boar Bush reservoir, which has contaminated the water supply, Wellington Water said.

Many parts of the North Island and the upper half of the South Island were hit hard - the deluge has seen several households evacuated in Wellington overnight as landslides hit the area. Many roads are closed and surface flooding has been reported in some areas.

Fire and Emergency is continuing to get lots of 111 calls related to today's wet weather.

This afternoon firefighters responded to more than 300 calls across the country - the majority in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Wellington.

Most of the calls were to related to trees and power lines down.

Air New Zealand cancelled at least 100 flights due to the challenges with the cyclone, with further cancellations likely, the airline said.

"Most of the North Island is experiencing strong winds causing cancellations into and out of these regions. The challenging weather is expected to last through to tonight and the airline is working through recovery flights for impacted customers," Air NZ said in a statement.

The airline said its contact centre is "experiencing a high volume of calls contributing to longer wait times".

There are reports a man has been taken to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries after a tree is believed to have fallen on his vehicle in Raglan.

Police said the incident was reported around 11.30am at Main Rd in Raglan.

"It is understood the vehicle was mobile at the time," a police spokesperson said.

In another incident, Auckland nurse Vinosh Kumar and two friends were driving to Hamilton when a large tree fell on their truck, a large trunk missing their vehicle by centimetres.

"Two more seconds and 100 per cent we'd be in hospital," he told the Herald.

Kumar said he and his friends were stopped at a roundabout when they were struck.

"I thought we were going to die, that moment, it was the first in my lifetime ... totally unexpected," he said.

He could hear people screaming around him before a number of locals came out and helped free the truck from the branches.

No one was hurt and the vehicle was not damaged, he said.

Kumar and his friends drove off just as they heard emergency services arriving.

Earlier, strong wind warnings were issued for Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Great Barrier Island, Waikato, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Tararua, Waitomo, Wairarapa, Wellington and Marlborough.

WeatherWatch's Philip Duncan said the gusts were intense, with the risk of power cuts as trees fell victim to the wind. Some places had already seen gusts of more than 150km/h.

Power outages have been reported in New Plymouth, Kaitake, Kaupokonui, Hwera, Normanby and Okiawa this morning due to high winds, the Taranaki Emergency Management Office has reported. Power is also out in parts of Northland and the Waikato.

"[We] are asking people in areas impacted by the bad weather to avoid non-essential travel," police said in a statement on Sunday morning.

Heavy rain battered the lower North Island and the upper South Island last night and these areas are seeing more heavy rain today.

MetService said in the last 12 hours, Wellington recorded 109mm of rain, Lower Hutt 126mm, Kelburn 86mm and Wellington Airport 81mm. There have also been 121mm of rain in Masterton, and 130mm in Takaka Hill (Nelson).

There were more than 130 weather-related callouts overnight across the North Island.

MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said the worst was still to come, with Cyclone Dovi expected to make landfall between mid and late morning - latest forecasts have it hitting land in the northern Taranaki/Waitomo area.

Police said there were several landslips affecting houses in the greater Wellington region:

A Houghton Bay home was damaged by a landslide this morning;

A landslide came down against a house and road in Plimmerton with several other houses evacuated as a precaution;

A large slip came down across three lanes of SH2 (Western Hutt Rd), Korokoro in Lower Hutt just before 12.30am. The northbound lanes are blocked and diversions are in place. The occupants of a house at the top of the slip were evacuated.

Two other roads have also been closed - a slip has closed State Highway 58 between Paremata and Haywards near Wellington. The slip was reported around 1.16am.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Belinda Beets says the most severe callouts of the 50 for central fire crews related to landslides that caused problems for property owners.

She says firefighters were mainly pumping water out of homes and making sure people were safe.

All Interislander sailings today have been cancelled due to the severe weather. The service may also be cancelled tomorrow and currently Interislander is not opening Monday morning sailings for bookings.

Wairarapa has a number of road closures in place due to slips, water breaking the banks of the Waipoua River and trees down. There is also localised flooding in streets throughout Masterton township.

A Carterton man called Emergency Services about 3.30am after his vehicle became trapped in deep water flooding Kokotau Rd. The man was able to get out of the vehicle and was not injured. The road is now closed.

The Waihenga Bridge, between Featherston and Martinborough on State Highway 53 in Wairarapa, has been closed until further notice due to rising water levels, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has reported.

The bridge was closed just before 1am.

People in Taranaki are being urged to hunker down due to ex tropical cyclone Dovi.

There's surface flooding and closures on State Highways One and 45, and the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway is closed between the Wind Wand and East End.

Power outages are affecting many houses in the region, especially Hawera and along the Surf Highway, and some in central New Plymouth.

Emergency Management controller Sue Kelly said people shouldn't travel unless they have to.

Kelly said there was a large amount of rain and wind this morning, but there was a slight lull right now. The eye of the storm's expected to make landfall in the region this afternoon.

According to Kelly, South Taranaki appeared to have taken the brunt of the rain and wind.

Police across the Central District (Taranaki, Manawatu) received a number of calls for weather-related highway blockages and minor surface flooding.

There have already been multiple reports of surface flooding on State Highway 1 and State Highway 45 in the Taranaki region, the emergency management office said.

"Have a get ready kit handy with a few emergency supplies if the power goes out," advised Taranaki Emergency Management Civil Defence Group Controller Todd Velvin, suggesting that everyone "hunker down and brace for the storm to pass".

Showers in the City of Sails will be accompanied by severe southwest gales later in the morning and into the afternoon.

Further power system faults in Auckland are expected as stormy weather continues.

A peak of around 20,000 customers were without power overnight which reduced to around 3,500 early this morning.

The number of customers experiencing outages will keep changing throughout the day and customers who have had power restored may lose it again.

Vector's Marco Simunac says additional crews are out responding to faults and the focus is on rapidly and safely clearing debris from power lines and restoring power.

The impact of the high winds is being felt across the region - in Piha, plastic cladding on a major hillside construction site has been torn to shreds.

Around 5000 people are without power in Northland, and it could be out for some time, possibly into Monday.

Fire crews in the north of the country have had 86 weather-related callouts from Cape Reinga to Waikato between 6pm and 6am.

The wild weather brought down trees across the roads throughout the Northland District with more than 35 weather-related incidents reported to Police. This included reports of a tree falling and damaging a home in Kauri, Whangarei.

Police also received reports of several boats breaking free from moorings at Russell and Opua.

Trees are down across some roads in Waikato and police across the Central District (Taranaki, Manawatu) continue to receive calls for weather-related highway blockages and minor surface flooding.

Power is out in parts of Hamilton, Glen Murray, Raglan and Karamu.

Police in Marlborough are reporting surface flooding, tree fall and debris on the roads and urge people to delay travel while clean-up is under way.

Canterbury is experiencing localised flooding and State Highway 1 between Kaikura and Waipara is closed due to flooding and slips. A detour is in place.

Rural Communities Minister Damien O'Connor has unlocked Government support for farmers and growers impacted on the West Coast and top of the South Island.

"We're making $200,000 available for the local Rural Support Trusts and Mayoral Relief Funds to call on to help farmers and growers recover, with the majority on support efforts for the West Coast," he said.

"The funding will help farmers and growers across Buller, Grey and Westland districts along with Nelson/Tasman and Marlborough districts, many of whom are facing a huge clean-up after the wettest February on record triggered widespread flooding.

"Floodwaters caused by two severe weather events in the space of a week have damaged infrastructure, farm buildings, and paddocks, left feed crops submerged and washed away bales of winter supplementary feed."

A state of emergency remains in place across the Buller district on the West Coast. Hundreds of people remain isolated north of Westport, cut off by slips and damage to State Highway 67, and support and medical supplies have been delivered by helicopter.

"The Government is closely watching the impact of Cyclone Dovi across the country today and will provide further support as needed," O'Connor said.

Latest models last night put the cyclone, which started as a tropical low between Vanuatu and New Caledonia this week, on track to make landfall between New Plymouth and Kwhia Harbour before moving eastward across the North Island.

It's no longer tropical, but will still pack a punch and sparked wind and rain warnings from Auckland to the upper South Island last night, MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam said.

"This is an evolving situation so I think the message is for everybody is just to keep an eye on our forecasts and just take heed from what the local authorities are saying.

"You wouldn't be going out in a boat on the [North Island] west coast with the swell warnings and 50-knot winds if you had any sense."

Wind watches have been issued for Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato (from Kwhia Harbour to around Te Aroha northwards), Wellington, Marlborough Sounds, Tasman and Buller till late afternoon.

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Weather: Cyclone Dovi strikes New Zealand - heavy wind, rain in Wellington, Auckland and across North Island, top of South Island - New Zealand Herald

Moscow has deployed troops and weapons to Belarus, adding to a build-up of Russian forces near Ukraine that is fuelling fears of an invasion. Photo / AP

The New Zealand Government is advising any New Zealanders in Ukraine to leave immediately as fears of a Russian invasion escalate.

"In response to heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the New Zealand Government is advising New Zealanders in the Ukraine to leave immediately while there are commercial flights able to get them home," said Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta this afternoon.

Kiwis registered on the SafeTravel website have been notified directly.

Now, all New Zealanders currently in Ukraine who are not registered are being advised to register immediately.

New Zealand has no diplomatic representation in Ukraine and the Government's ability to provide consular assistance to New Zealanders in Ukraine is "very limited".

The White House said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come within the week, possibly within the next two days, even before the end of the Winter Olympics, and urged Americans to leave the country now.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States did not have definitive information that an invasion has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But he said all the pieces were in place for a major military operation that could start "rapidly".

"The risk is high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that prudence demands that it is the time to leave now," Sullivan said.

"We are not saying that a decision has been taken by President Putin," Sullivan said. "What we are saying is that we have a sufficient level of concern based on what we are seeing on the ground, and what our intelligence analysts have picked up, that we are sending this clear message."

The security situation in Ukraine could change at short notice and New Zealanders should not rely on support with evacuating in these circumstances.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the situation in Ukraine and continues to update its travel advice to New Zealanders in Ukraine regularly. Our revised travel advisory mirrors similar travel updates from Australia, United Kingdom and the United States," said Mahuta.

"New Zealand strongly supports ongoing international efforts to resolve the crisis diplomatically but the continuing and unprecedented build-up of Russian military forces on its border with Ukraine is deeply concerning.

"Aotearoa New Zealand calls on Russia once more to take immediate steps to reduce tensions and the risk of a severe miscalculation."

New Zealand's travel advice reflects potential risks and what these might mean for New Zealanders. It's designed to assist New Zealanders make their own informed decisions.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine's Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed more than 14,000 people.

A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

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Ukraine crisis: New Zealand Government calls on Kiwis in Ukraine to leave immediately - New Zealand Herald

With the Auckland Council-owned land the station is located on about to go on the market, the team based in the historic village have moved out of their premises. Current and former staff were on site to help officially close the station before it is put on a truck and moved to its new home in Paeroa.

It seems that history does indeed repeat after a photo of a previous station being hauled away by a truck in 1958 was discovered in the New Zealand Police Museum.

Matua Brownie Rauwhiro opened the event with a karakia before Counties Manukau East Area Commander Inspector Scott Gemmell spoke of the history of policing in the area.

"With a rich history of keeping the East Auckland community safe, we look forward to continuing our presence in the area and ensuring the local community have the service they've come to expect over the past 150-plus years," he said.

Eastern Waikato Police were represented on the day by Senior Sergeant Peter Van De Wetering. The building will be used by the district as an area administration headquarters at the back of the Paeroa station.

Plans are well under way to secure new premises. In the meantime, staff from the former Howick Station will be working out of the Eastern Area headquarters in Ormiston but will continue working in Howick and remain visible in the community.

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In for the long haul | New Zealand Police - New Zealand Police

Bejon Haswell/Stuff

Steve Lyttle, 100% Pure New Zealand Honey owner, said he was confident the merger was a positive step.

The founder of Timarus 100% Pure New Zealand Honey has called the companys merger with Hamilton based Three Peaks Mnuka Honey a positive step.

The two honey producers announced the merger in a media release on Monday, calling the new business venture, The Mnuka Collective.

The Timaru honey producers owner, Steve Lyttle, said Three Peaks had approached them about the venture and called Hamilton based producer a great company with strong family values.

We were ready to retire anyway when they approached us, Lyttle told The Timaru Herald.

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The manuka honey industry in New Zealand needs to be rationalised and consolidated. There is an oversupply of manuka.

Lyttle said the merger allows for greater potential for the two companies in the world market, and they might go from being in the top 20 to being in the top 5.

We will have more critical mass, and we can take on bigger customers.

Lyttle added that the beekeeping will take place in Hamilton and the honey packing would happen in Timaru and he expects the employee base of the new venture to expand.

In the release, Lyttle said while Covid-19 made the future uncertain for business, he was confident the merger was a positive step.

There has been a lot of change over 25 years running 100% Pure and there will continue to be change in the future, Lyttle said.

Supplied

100% Pure New Zealand Honeys chief executive Sean Goodwin has been appointed as the chief executive of the new venture, The Mnuka Collective.

There is however growing interest in health and wellbeing, which sits at the core of mnuka honey, and we are confident in the direction of The Mnuka Collective.

We have a great team, strong relationships with customers and independent beekeepers, and we believe there is great alignment with Three Peaks and Perry Group.

Three Peaks founder, Simon Perry, said the collective is a new and exciting approach.

It represents the joining together of entities across the honey supply chain, that all share a common interest or mission, Perry said.

In this case, that is to spread the goodness of mnuka and our vision is to create a world-class end-to-end honey collective, and to spread the goodness of mnuka globally.

Supplied

Founder of Three Peaks, Simon Perry, said The Mnuka Collective is a new and exciting approach.

Sean Goodwin, 100% Pures chief executive Sean Goodwin has been appointed chief executive of the new venture.

Goodwin said the merger was an exciting opportunity for both companies.

We have a very fragmented industry with a predominance of small companies, that lack critical mass and prevent us from achieving our full potential.

Goodwin said it was the shared view of both companies that there is a clear and attractive opportunity for a land-to-brand collective of organisations to scale-up and succeed, by meeting the requirements of the changing global landscape.

Goodwin added that the companys focus was on delivering profitable scale by building partnerships.

Our strategy will be developed over coming months, and it will reflect where we see opportunities for growth.

Presently The Mnuka Collective includes Three Peaks and 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, plus our landowner shareholders. It is our intention that the collective will grow to include other stakeholders, and we are actively evaluating new opportunities.

Continue reading here:

Timaru's 100% Pure New Zealand Honey merging with Hamilton-based Three Peaks Mnuka Honey - Stuff.co.nz

A possible Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the biggest risk to international peace since the end of the Cold War, MPs have been warned.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Chris Seed fronted a parliamentary select committee on Thursday morning, answering questions from MPs on New Zealands response to the threat of conflict in Eastern Europe.

Russia has in recent months denied it intends to invade Ukraine, while massing more than 150,000 troops at the countrys border and conducting military exercises. The United States and United Kingdom are among countries that have warned Russia appeared poised to imminently invade, this week.

"There's no question in our mind that this is one of the most significant security challenges and risks to international peace and security, since the end of the Cold War," Seed said, at the hearing.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Chris Seed briefed MPs on Thursday about New Zealand's response to the crisis in Ukraine.

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"There's an awful lot of information in the public domain ... But diplomatically I think our judgment is that the investment which so many countries are making in calling for de-escalation, the investment they're making in trying to understand the issue, the outreach they are doing to both the Ukraine and to Russia, you know, speaks volumes about their concern.

Seed said war in Europe would be of no benefit to New Zealand.

"Certainly as a small state, we cannot abide the idea that large countries assert their interest by invading small ones, or, indeed, any country invading any other.

National Party foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee asked if officials had considered the consequences of sanctions being imposed on Russia for any military action, and the impact of any response from Russia to sanctions from countries such as the US, UK, and European nations.

If Russia were to retaliate by cutting off or restricting energy supplies into Europe, what does that mean for the international economy and consequences for New Zealand?

Seed said it would mean "disruption, almost certainly it will mean for at least for a time higher oil prices, it clearly already means impacts on international share markets.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

National MP Gerry Brownlee has asked what the consequences could be for New Zealand.

Such effects would wash through our supply chains and affect New Zealands ability to trade, he said.

Brownlee questioned how New Zealand might participate in sanctioning Russia, as New Zealand does not have law allowing it to place sanctions on countries outside those agreed upon by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member.

Seed said that, if Russia were to invade, New Zealand could look to retaliate through official engagement, restricting people from crossing the New Zealand border, or restricting exports to the country.

He said New Zealand officials had talked to their Russian and Chinese counterparts in both Moscow and Beijing about a recent conversation between President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping.

"There was a view that the statement that they issued was extraordinarily extensive. It actually was quite silent on the issue of Ukraine. I don't think the word was mentioned, he said.

There was a continuing sense about the relationship Beijing and Moscow look to build ... The query many have is, can they put us put aside, many of the challenges to their own bilateral relationship with which, as you'll be aware, is extraordinarily fraught.

Brownlee, who has pushed the Government to pass law allowing it to place autonomous sanctions on countries, on Thursday sought to introduce a bill to this effect into the House for the Parliament to consider. His attempt was objected to, and failed.

See original here:

Russia's threat to Ukraine the most significant risk to international peace since Cold War, MPs warned - Stuff.co.nz

Maps showing the double vaccination and booster rates for every suburb* in the country, updated weekly. Built by the Spinoffs head of data, Harkanwal Singh.

These maps display the most recent available data, released on Wednesday, February 17.

The Spinoffs coverage of the Covid story depends on support from Members. Keep us going by joining today. Read the latest news, including rolling updates of breaking Covid news, here.

These maps are made using Ministry of Health data on the vaccination uptake across the country. In the maps below, the second and booster dose uptake rate is shown as a percentage of that areas population. This data uses eligible populations for proportion. It excludes children aged 0 to 11 for the second dose map and those aged 0 to 17 for the booster dose map. The population denominator we use is based on Health Service User numbers provided by the Ministry of Health.

All of The Spinoffs data visualisations are made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members; join here so we can continue this work.

In areas with particularly low populations, the results are suppressed for privacy reasons (displayed on the maps below as null). In a few areas, you might get a vaccination count over 100%, owing to population movements. You can zoom into specific areas and hover or click to see vaccination proportion for all population groups. See all the details for an area by hovering, or clicking on it.

This page now includes a searchable table for better accessibility. It is available below the maps.

This area doesnt look like a suburb. What is it?

The geography is called Statistical Area 2. The SA2 geography aims to reflect communities that interact together socially and economically. In populated areas, SA2s generally contain similarly sized populations.

Why are you not calling it Statistical Area 2 in the headline?

It makes for a really long headline and no one knows what they are.

Where can I learn more about these strange geographies?

Here you go.

The vaccination rates have gone down for my suburb. How is this possible?

Counting people is hard. Ministry of Health estimate for population number has most likely changed. This means now the base for vaccination uptake in your area has changed.

See more here:

The vaccination and booster rate for every suburb in New Zealand on an interactive map - The Spinoff