Category Archives: Jacinda Ardern

Reuters reports that the aim of the summit is to deliver progress on 17 sustainable development goals, created by the United Nations in 2015 as a wide-ranging "to-do" list including ending hunger and poverty, achieving gender equality and taking action on climate change.

Guterres told the summit - held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic on the sidelines of the annual high-level UN General Assembly - that food systems need to support the health and well-being of all people, protect the planet and support prosperity.

We need to re-think how we see and value food not simply as a commodity to be traded, but as a right that every person shares.

"As a global community, we need to shift our approach on agricultural subsidies, and employment support for workers," he said. "And we need to re-think how we see and value food not simply as a commodity to be traded, but as a right that every person shares."

After remaining virtually unchanged for five years, world hunger and malnutrition rose last year by around 118 million people to 768 million, with most of the increase likely caused by the pandemic, according to a UN report.

On internationally traded markets, world food prices were up 33.9% year-on-year in June, according to the UN food agency's price index, which measures a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.

"We must grow food where the environment supports it best and where emissions efficiency is greatest, while minimizing the barriers to trade and efficient distribution," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the summit.

US President Joe Biden said on 21 September that Washington would spend $10 billion to end hunger and invest in food systems at home and abroad. US officials said half of that money would fund Feed the Future over the next five years, a US initiative that aims to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

The World Bank Group, International Food Policy Research Institute and the Food & Land Use Coalition introduced a roadmap at the summit that aims to show how capital can be shifted from a high-carbon, unequal, extractive food system and into models that add value for people, planet and the economy.

They said the roadmap could unlock $4.5 trillion in new business opportunities every year by 2030 and ensure a more sustainable food system.

The summit also saw farming organizations across the globe seek to make contributions to food security. In a joint declaration signed by EU farming union Copa and Cogeca and other key producer organizations, farmers made commitments outlining how their efforts will shore up the global food system.

Farming groups also stressed the need to actively collaborate with policymakers to ensure that all stakeholders can partake in a sustainable food future.

The joint declaration underlines the commitment of primary producers to continue their efforts in producing enough nutritious food for a growing population while improving the sustainability of their production. They also commit to working hard to preserve habitats while contributing to social vitality and job creation in rural areas.

The declaration calls on EU members and other key stakeholders to reward farmers efforts to produce food while respecting planetary boundaries and biodiversity. It also calls on governments to facilitate the access to technologies, knowledge and financial resources that will help farmers achieve the objectives of the Food Systems Summit. Farming groups also stressed the need to actively collaborate with policymakers to ensure that all stakeholders can partake in a sustainable food future.

Read more about this story here.

Read more:

UN Food Systems Summit looks for recipe to tackle global food dysfunction - The Pig Site

Overseas New Zealanders who are now trying to return home are facing a queue of tens of thousands of people as the country reopens bookings to cross the border.

New Zealand's borders have been strictly controlled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic only citizens, permanent residents and a handful of essential workers can enter.

Also, all of them must make a booking to spend two weeks in government-controlled quarantine (MIQ). The demand for these spaces has been increasing drastically.

As per reports by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 31,800 people were in the queue on Monday, and 5,364 of them secured vouchers for rooms.

The vouchers were released at 9am and all were gone within two and a half hours.

Also read |New fissure opens in Canary Islands volcano

The joint head of MIQ, Megan Main, in a statement said, "I know many thousands of people missed out on vouchers in todays release."

She added, "I want to reassure people that there are still several thousand vouchers still to be released through to the end of the year. They will get other chances. There will be another large release of a few thousand vouchers early next week and there may also be another smaller one later this week.New Zealand struggles to battle the Delta variant outbreak.

A level 4 lockdown has managed to reduce daily case numbers to about 11-24 a day but has not yet eliminated community transmission completely.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that Auckland, the centre of the outbreak, would move out of its level 4 lockdown into level 3 restrictions.

This will allow socially distanced services like takeaway food, at midnight on Tuesday.

The rest of the country is at level 2, no longer in lockdown, but with some restrictions on gathering size and mask-wearing.

New Zealand reported 14 new cases on Tuesday.

There are now 1,085 cases in the outbreak, 790 of which have recovered.

Original post:

Frustration for New Zealand returnees as COVID-19 quarantine waiting list hits 30,000 - WION

By Geoffrey Miller for the Democracy Project.

Opinion - China's level of anger at the new Aukus defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US was only to be expected.

France's was not, and Paris's dramatic recall of its ambassadors to Canberra and Washington at the weekend may be just the start of the impact.

Photo: AFP

Even in New Zealand, policymakers will be feeling more than a little miffed - despite Jacinda Ardern stressing that everything was fine.

When quizzed about Aukus, Ardern said "we weren't approached but nor would I expect us to be" and emphasised the "strong relationships" with all three Aukus members.

But perhaps deliberately, the New Zealand Prime Minister also revealed that she had only been informed of the deal by the night before.

While the US suspended its obligations to New Zealand under the Anzus alliance in 1986, the arrangement has never been formally terminated.

Australia remains New Zealand's only formal ally.

After talks with Ardern in May, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison went to great lengths to emphasise harmony between Canberra and Wellington.

He warned that there would be others who "seek to divide us" and "undermine Australia and New Zealand's security by trying to create points of difference that are not there".

The leaders' joint statement reinforced the supposed unity: "The Australia-New Zealand relationship is unique in its closeness; we are partners and allies, and we share a relationship of family, of whnau."

Of course, the bonhomie between Ardern and Morrison in May was to a degree exaggerated.

The meeting followed a month of debate over the level of New Zealand's commitment to the Five Eyes - a period which had culminated in an Australian TV programme asking whether New Zealand was becoming 'New Xi-Land'.

Fast-forward four months and it turns out that the Australia-New Zealand divide was real after all.

Shortly after his trip to New Zealand to meet Jacinda Ardern, Scott Morrison headed to Cornwall for the G7 and hatched the Aukus plan with Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.

New Zealand was not even worth a courtesy phone call - at least until the very last minute.

Moreover, Aukus means that nuclear technology will soon be arriving on New Zealand's doorstep.

For New Zealand - which declared itself a nuclear-free zone in 1987 - this should be more than a little concerning.

On Thursday, Ardern stated the obvious - that New Zealand's legislation meant the nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in its waters.

But otherwise, Wellington will not be protesting very loudly about Aukus.

There is zero chance that New Zealand will recall its diplomatic representatives to Canberra or Washington.

That's because New Zealand is poised to be the big winner of the Aukus partnership.

Trade is a big factor - but it's not the only one.

The day after the Aukus announcement, the EU released its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy.

The strategy explicitly prioritises the need to sign free trade deals with Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.

But France's fury means that Australia's agreement is now almost certainly going to be delayed.

When asked about the deal, France's European affairs minister Clment Beaune said "I don't see how we can trust our Australian partners".

And Arnaud Danjean, a senior Member of the European Parliament - which would have to ratify any agreement - tweeted "Considering how they behave with a European ally that was the most committed to build a lasting, strategic partnership in Indo-Pacific, Australians can expect more than a delay in concluding the Free Trade Agreement with EU!"

It might be easy to write all this off as short-term sabre-rattling.

But the apoplectic language used by France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian - who called Australia's cancellation of its $AU90 billion submarine deal a "stab in the back" - coupled with France's recall of its ambassadors to Canberra and Washington shows that Paris is deadly serious.

Moreover, Brexit means that France and Germany - the EU's traditional two powerhouses - are now firmly back in the bloc's driving seat.

Indeed, the impact of Brexit and the ensuing rivalry with the United Kingdom is a major motivator behind the EU's sudden surge of interest in the Indo-Pacific.

If France wants to stop the EU's free trade deal with Australia - or heavily delay it - it can and will.

In fact, the move would recall French President Charles de Gaulle's own repeated vetoing of Britain's applications to join the then European Economic Community in the 1960s.

If Australia is punished and the EU seeks to reward the countries that have not blotted their copybooks, Indonesia and New Zealand could turn out to be major beneficiaries.

Jacinda Ardern's very good working relationship with Emmanuel Macron - cemented by the pair's co-chairing of the Christchurch Call - will not hurt either.

But trade is just the start.

Aukus has effectively formalised a new hierarchy when it comes to countries' views of China. Essentially, a new 'premier league' of hawks has been created.

For now, this consists of the Aukus members - Australia, the UK and the US - but in time, both India and Japan may align themselves with Aukus - even if more informally.

Both countries are already members of the reinvigorated 'Quad' grouping that also includes both the US and Australia.

The Quad will hold its first face-to-face leaders' meeting in Washington on Friday.

Below the hawks, a second division includes the EU, Canada and New Zealand, as well as potentially some Southeast Asian countries.

This grouping is not oblivious to the challenges presented by China, but generally prefers to take a less confrontational approach.

Its preferred modus operandi emphasises partnerships, engagement and dialogue (including behind the scenes) - combined with a more limited show of force when needed.

Formalising and developing these methods is essentially what the EU's new Indo-Pacific strategy is all about.

By design, Aukus is and will remain a very exclusive club.

The constant pressure put on New Zealand over the past year to sign up to the US position on China may start to diminish as a result.

Instead, New Zealand can start to work more closely with the more like-minded countries that are more closely aligned with its views.

In the EU, Germany will also play a major role.

The imminent departure of Angela Merkel - with whom Jacinda Ardern has been on friendly terms - will not necessarily hurt New Zealand's cause.

In fact, if this Sunday's German elections put the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens back into government for the first time since 2005 - as polling suggests is likely - relations may only improve further.

Ardern's personal star power and her past role as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth mean she would be welcomed particularly by the SPD.

Exactly what a more coordinated, non-Aukus approach towards China might involve remains to be seen.

But it is worth thinking about.

* Geoffrey Miller is the Democracy Project's international analyst and writes on current New Zealand foreign policy and related geopolitical issues. He has lived in Germany and the Middle East and is a fluent speaker of German and Arabic.

See the original post here:

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand could be the big winner of Aukus fallout - RNZ

Less than a month ago, New Zealanders disappeared into their homes, retracting from the public domain like spilled water into a dry sponge. The motorways and city streets stood mostly empty, shops closed, schools and playgrounds were deserted. A single case of the highly contagious Delta variant had been detected and the government called a snap level-4 lockdown, introducing some of the strictest restrictions in the world.

It was a new threat for a country whose Covid-zero pandemic response had been ranked one of the best globally. New Zealand had never faced a Delta outbreak before, and no one knew if its past strategies would prove up to the task.

Across the Tasman, a bleak picture was emerging: Australia, like New Zealand, had maintained a zero-Covid elimination strategy throughout the first year of the pandemic but was now struggling with outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria. Both countries had less than a third of their total populations immunised. With cases in NSW now regularly hitting more than 1,400 a day, the state provided a stark worst-case scenario of what New Zealand might see.

But now, against all odds, New Zealand is bending the Delta curve.

Its looking very good for ending this outbreak, says Prof Michael Baker, an epidemiologist and public health expert. I wouldnt say absolute certainty, but its now far more a matter of when, rather than if.

Left alone or managed half-heartedly, the Delta variants exponential growth quickly turns a trend line vertical. For many countries in the midst of outbreaks, the goal is to change that precipice to an incline distributing the peak over a longer period so that health systems dont collapse, resulting in needless deaths. In New Zealand, and for a few other Covid-zero Asia-Pacific states, the goal is more ambitious. They aimed to not only ease down the growth line, but to bend the curve completely, forcing case numbers back to zero and wiping out transmission completely. Today, just under a month from when the variant arrived in New Zealand, that goal suddenly looks within reach.

After peaking at the end of August at 83 cases a day, cases have been steadily tracking down daily numbers havent passed 21 over the past week. Midweek, they dropped to 15, and then to 13, then 11. Modellers predict that barring disaster cases should hit single digits next week. Auckland, the centre of the outbreak, remains at alert level 4. But most of the country left a hard lockdown on Wednesday, flocking back to restaurants, cafes and schools.

It hasnt been an easy path. In August, as the outbreak began, Baker told the Guardian it was an infectious disease experts nightmare. Nightclubs, churches, restaurants, hospitals, schools the list of exposure events read like a checklist of every high-infection-risk gathering imaginable.

It also hasnt been a path free of naysayers. Internationally, some parties portrayed the response at first as an overreaction disproportionate to case numbers and later, as case numbers climbed, as a hopeless, futile effort in the face of a variant that had overwhelmed others defences.

Any state and territory that thinks that somehow they can protect themselves from Covid with the Delta strain forever, thats just absurd, the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, said. New Zealand cant do that. They were following an elimination strategy. Theyre in lockdown.

But New Zealands government has so far been unwavering in its commitment to elimination a strategy that has allowed residents to maintain a life of relative normalcy for most of the past year. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said: While we know that Delta is a more dangerous enemy to combat, the same actions that overcame the virus last year can be applied to beat it again.

Experts say the same essential toolkit is working.

I think we can say, more or less, that our alert level 4 has got the measure of Delta, says Prof Shaun Hendy, epidemic modeller for research centre Te Pnaha Matatini.

Early on, we were trying to think about how effective alert level 4 would be, and were thinking it could be substantially less effective against Delta over what we saw in the March, April outbreak, he says. But actually its been very similar performance has been helped by the vaccination rates, no doubt. But basically its worked almost as well as it did last year. A couple of weeks on, it does look like were on track to eliminate the outbreak.

Compared to previous outbreaks, this has been an order of magnitude more severe and has really tested our systems, Hendy says. Our systems, you can never say that theyre good enough. But in this case, weve just lifted our game enough that weve brought this under control.

The trajectory of the latest outbreak can also provide a certain amount of reassurance for New Zealand that the countrys go hard and go early strategy can contain a Delta outbreak.

New Zealand also has the opportunity to learn something from Australias experience.

At the moment, I think its a cautionary tale for us, says Dr Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist and one of New Zealands central pandemic communicators. They show what happens if you dont control transmission. And I guess what they have shown also is if the virus gets into essential workers and their workplace.

Experts are careful to warn that there is still a long road ahead as well as absolute numbers declining, New Zealand also needs to push up the percentage of cases without exposure events, or that are isolated for the duration of their infectious period. If we see declining numbers but we also have several days seeing no unexpected cases, thats very reassuring, Baker says.

If New Zealand does successfully eliminate the Delta variant, it still raises questions of what next for a country that has used extremely strict border controls to remain Covid-free thus far. The government had released a tentative plan for reopening just days before the outbreak began. But on Wednesday, the Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, said that might need to be re-evaluated. It would be fair to say that Delta has actually changed some of the thinking about that, even in the last few weeks, he said. Delta has changed the game.

New Zealands elimination strategy means it has avoided most of the economic, social and public health toll of Covid so far. If New Zealand manages to wipe out Delta again in the coming weeks, that is an advantage it may seek to hang on to.

Were in the privileged position of just a few countries on Earth that excluded the virus, Baker says. We can keep options open. We are choosing when to engage with the virus, whereas most of the world has no choice. I would be loth for us to surrender that advantage weve got, until were ready to do it on our terms.

Im very optimistic that we can get to elimination, Wiles says. She pauses, then amends to: I guess cautiously optimistic.

We are in this position because of one case, and so we just have to be really mindful of that. One case could be all it takes.

See the article here:

Against all odds: how New Zealand is bending the Delta curve - The Guardian

New Zealand is expressing unity with all victims, families, and loved ones affected by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and all terrorist attacks around the world since, including in New Zealand.

Saturday marks twenty years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, and influenced global politics for the ensuing decades, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

I was in the United States on 9/11, and its a day Ill never forget. I still have the front pages of the newspapers from that time because it instantly felt like a moment from which everything would change.

I saw first hand the shock and fear that goes hand in hand with terrorism.

In New Zealand we saw similar motivations in the March 15 attacks in Christchurch where a terrorist used the tactic of livestreaming his attack on the internet to amplify his hate.

That experience is why New Zealand has chosen to play a leading role in tackling online violent extremism.

Our work on the Christchuhrch Call alongside other countries including the US and the global tech giants seeks to prevent future attacks and limit the role the internet plays in the radicalisation of individuals.

Ultimately our greatest defence against terrorism is to build diverse, inclusive societies in which we welcome and celebrate difference and where violent extremist ideologies of any kind are rejected.

As the Imam of Al Noor mosque recently said in response to our most recent terror attack, all terrorists are the same, regardless of their ideology, they stand for hate and we all stand for peace and love. May that be a legacy we all work hard to continue, Jacinda Ardern said.

The rest is here:

New Zealand marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks - The Siasat Daily

This week Parliament got back beyond the basics. It even devoted time to a unanimous ovation for our paralympians.

There was more action in Parliaments debating chamber this week than the first week under level3-4. The first week back the House only performed its government oversight function.

This week it also did that but managed other things like passing a Budget and hailing conquering heroes returned from what seem at the moment to be fantasticallyfar-off lands.

Photo: Pool / ROBERT KITCHIN / STUFF

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began Thursday with an all party round of congratulations.

I want to, on behalf of the government, acknowledge all of the paralympians who were members of the team competing in Tokyo, and congratulate them collectively on their achievements.

Every now and then the House begins its day by marking an historic (or historical) event or a particularly impressive performance on the international stage. This week it was the New Zealand Paralympic team that got that treatment. A good 15 minutes of rave reviews.

The team is now all tucked cosily away in MIQ but I hope they were watching in their hotel rooms - there arent many people or groups that get universally glowing references from across the political spectrum.

Not many people have the MPs describe their behaviour and skills so enthusiastically - or at all. Here is a taste of the praise.

This truly has been a Paralympics that has captured hearts and minds of New Zealanders and provided countless hours of incredible and inspiring sporting moments I hope that you achieved and even exceeded your aims. Your friends, your family, and the rest of New Zealand are so proud of you, and were right behind you, cheering you on. - Jacinda Ardern (Labour)

They've made us extremely proud, and are an inspiration to all New Zealanders. Thank you for showing us that achievement is limitless, and can I say, personally, I am very much looking forward to welcoming you home, as much as I enjoyed farewelling you as you endeavoured to achieve greatness. - Jacinda Ardern

At a time when good news is hard to come by, it's great to see Kiwis performing so admirably on the world stage. New Zealand's tally of 12 medals, six of them gold, at the Tokyo games again proves just how much we punch above our weight when it comes to world sport. - Judith Collins (National)

It has been another memorable games for our incredible and inspiring paralympians. These world-class athletes who have let nothing stand in the way of success. In many cases, they have overcome enormous hurdles to be the best, and have never let disability define them. These are our heroes, and we salute all who took part. - Judith Collins

Firstly, I'd like to acknowledge all 29 athletes who made it, and those who didn't make it because of difficulties qualifying in the midst of a global pandemic. Elite athletes seem to me like a bit of a breed apart from the rest of us, demonstrating such determination, sacrifice; just sheers guts, as well as that illusive thing called athletic prowess. They say, though, much of the success comes down to mental attitude, and I suspect that has been more true this year than in any other year, what with the delay, breaks in training, and a loss of audience and the usual supports. - Jan Logie (Green)

I think the Paralympics, particularly in a time like this when our little country has faced a lot of bad newsperhaps one of the most beautiful and uplifting things that happen: they show what people can achieve when they put their mind to it. They show what an exceptional country New Zealand is, for its competitiveness and for its ability to get out there and make a difference, no matter who we are. David Seymour - ACT

Opening ceremony flag bearer Sophie Pascoe with closing ceremony flag bearer Stacey Michelsen, in 2018. Photo: Instagram /Sophie Pascoe

The team was praised, medalists were named and renamed, nervous moments were recalled;but one paralympian was focussed on by all speakers - Sophie Pascoe.

Among the achievements, it is hard to go past New Zealand's greatest paralympian, Sophie Pascoe. She once again showed the world what an absolute champion she is Sophie is a legend: a dedicated trainer, a tough competitor, a leader, and a mentor. She is truly one of our finest ever sportspeople. - Jacinda Ardern

Of course, special recognition must go to Sophie Pascoe, our greatest ever paralympian. With two golds, a silver, and a bronze in Tokyo, Sophie is one of this country's greatest ever athletes. It's testament to her pursuit of excellence that she was in tears after taking bronze in the 100-metre backstroke final. Such was her determination and drive to be the best, third was below her own high standards. - Judith Collins

the legend Sophie Pascoe, who left everything in the pool, and a bit more on the side. She brought home two golds, a silver, and bronze after almost pulling out just weeks before the games because she'd not been able to compete in an international competition for almost two years and it had been months since she had been in a serious competition. She said at one point she felt she had let us down. I want to say clearly in this House: Sophie, you did not let us down, you did us bloody proud. - Jan Logie

Special congratulations, of course, must go to New Zealand's greatest paralympian. Sophie Pascoe returned the biggest individual medal haul, bringing home four, or one in three, of all of the country's medal two golds, a silver, and a bronze from five events. She now sits on a career tally of 19. - David Seymour

And along with all the praise Green MP Jan Logie had one or two other things to note. Firstly about the level of TV coverage.

As a country stuck to our couches with our chippies and beers, we cheered them on, and they all made us so proud. To be honest, we would have liked to see more of them, and the Greens will advocate for better TV coverage for the next games.

And also about usingthe games as an example for reorienting our own society.

Finally, I also want to acknowledge the words of Chef de Mission Paula Tesoriero describing the paralympic village: "There are more people like me, no awkward stares, and most things are accessible. I wish the rest of the world could be like that. More social inclusion, greater accessibility." So as the ultimate tribute to our athletes, let's all take an action to make our country more inclusive, #lifeshouldn'tbeanOlympicstruggle.

That was how the House began on Thursday, before it got down to the more typical Question Time and finishing off its long consideration of this years Budget.

Link:

Parliament hails the returning heroes - RNZ

ANALYSIS: Spain has never been all that high on New Zealands Christmas list.

It is literally on the opposite side of the world, and has historically not been a great importer of our various proteins.

But Covid-19 has scrambled plenty of old truths, and we can now thank Spain as one of two countries that have helped us out of a tight spot. The other will remain a mystery until next week.

Spain, and its dashing prime minister, allowed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to present that rarest of things for a 1pm press conference in the middle of an outbreak: Good news.

READ MORE:* Covid-19 live: Kiwis have 'wind in our sails' with vaccination campaign* Covid-19 NZ: Government buys 250,000 extra Pfizer vaccine doses from Spain, another deal in works

Twitter/sanchezcastejon/Supplied

Jacinda Ardern with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez (File photo).

Ardern announced that New Zealand would be buying 250,000 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from Spain, with the shipment set to arrive on Friday morning.

Alongside another larger and as-yet unsigned deal with an unknown country, this will get the country through a looming supply shortage set to hit in late-September.

That supply shortage wasnt huge it would have restricted the Government to 50,000 doses a day, instead of the 70,000-odd it is doing now so it doesnt need a giant amount of extra doses to get through.

But it would have been extremely damaging politically for the Government to have shown that it can do vaccinations at a huge scale about 1.8 per cent of the population in a single day at some points only to scale that down in the middle of an outbreak because it hadnt ordered the vaccines early enough. (Ironically, just as the news of these deals has firmed up in recent days, the actual rate of vaccinations have dropped back down a bit about 10,000 fewer doses a day on average.)

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Spanish PM Pedro Snchez.

So Spain got Ardern out of a tough spot. She wasnt afraid to admit that her pre-existing personal relationship with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez may have helped.

Snchez and Ardern have a reasonable amount in common, both having helped resurrect social democratic parties that were circling the dustbin of history while younger parties to the left of them snipped at their heels.

But goodwill was not all it took: Ardern also made clear that New Zealand had spent some money more than the list price Pfizer offers. The deal was in good faith which presumably means we werent absolutely gouged, but you never know.

Spain, it should be said, can stand to send over 250,000 doses. At the height of its vaccine roll-out it was administering twice that many doses every day. And having fully vaccinated well over 70 per cent of its population, its now hit a bit of a wall - with more doses than there appears to be immediate demand for.

It wasnt all good news at the podium, however.

While there were just 13 new community cases on Thursday, the Government revealed that six of Wednesdays cases were out in the community while infectious. The more days that number is above zero, the longer Auckland will have to stay in lockdown.

The number of unlinked or mystery cases also grew by six to 30 cases. These are people who have Covid-19 but no clear link to another case. Hopefully those six cases will be cleared up soon, but some unlinked cases do seem to be sticking around. There were 25 as of yesterday, meaning just one mystery got solved overnight. Of that 25, 14 are from before August 31, meaning their link to the outbreak was quite a while ago and hopefully came before level 4.

The Ministry of Health is focusing more of its efforts on the cases from about a week to a week and a half ago notably nine cases found between August 31 and September 4. The timing suggests these cases were all infected during the level 4 lockdown, but the Government still cant work out how.

It seems unlikely Spain will be any help with that one.

Read more from the original source:

Covid-19: The 1pm update review - Spain rides to the Government's rescue - Stuff.co.nz

"Where our experts have really cautioned is just putting a single number on it, and I can see why, when you look at some countries which many members in this House hold up as being beacons of vaccination programmes.

"Most of them still have restrictions in place in some form and many of them sit somewhere between 70 to 80 percent vaccination rates.

"So yes, we do want to see an end to those, but we haven't put a number on it. We want to encourage everyone to be vaccinated as soon as possible."

New South Wales, the Australian state registering more than 1000 COVID-19 cases a day, is preparing to reduce restrictions in October regardless of the 1151 cases currently in hospital and 139 deaths since June.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said last week life would feel "very much more normal" by mid-October when the state is expected to achieve its 70 percent vaccination milestone, which would allow freedoms for vaccinated residents in some areas.

The UK removed all limits on mixing and allowed venues like nightclubs and sports stadiums to open at full capacity starting on July 19, a day often referred to as "freedom day".

Face masks are no longer required apart from in a few specific locations, such as airports and hospitals, and fully vaccinated people don't need to quarantine after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive.

But the freedoms come at a high cost. The UK is still averaging around 90 deaths a day from COVID-19, with about 64 percent of the entire population fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.

New Zealand, by comparison, has fully vaccinated 27 percent of the population, with just over half having received at least one dose.

Collins asked Ardern if the current lockdown would have been necessary if the Government had managed to secure vaccines from Pfizer earlier, with New Zealand one of the last in the OECD to experience its peak.

"No, I absolutely disagree with that sentence, for two reasons," Ardern said.

"First of all, countries that started their vaccination programmes in earnest in February and even peaked around April or May in some cases still have restrictions in place - they still have gathering limits in place, they still have things that are constraining their everyday lives, and in those places where they don't have that, they have record hospitalisations, so I think it's an overly simplistic analysis.

"The second issue I would point out to the member, is the only thing that has constrained our vaccine rollout has been supply.

"We have had in place an order in place with Pfizer that covers our whole population. Pfizer has determined globally who receives their supply and when.

"So regardless, we got allocations for quarter one, two, three and four, and as with many countries, the bulk of ours are coming in quarter four, which is why we always designed a vaccine programme that factored that in."

Ardern confirmed the Government is finalising a deal with "multiple countries" to get additional doses of Pfizer into New Zealand this month to keep up with high demand, before the bulk of supply arrives in October.

See the original post here:

Judith Collins probes Jacinda Ardern on when 'use of lockdowns', 'gathering size limits' won't be required - Newshub

A man, inspired by ISIS ideology, who stabbed at least six people in a supermarket was a "violent extremist" known to the police, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said.

The man was shot and killed by police within 60 seconds of beginning his attack at a Countdown store in Auckland.

The man was a Sri Lankan national and had been living in New Zealand since 2011.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

"A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders," Jacinda Ardern told a briefing on Friday.

The man cannot be named due to a suppression order currently in place.

He had been known to multiple agencies since 2016, with Ms Ardern confirming she had been personally aware of the individual - adding that she was gutted to hear what had happened.

She said: "This was someone who was known to our national security agencies and was of concern and was being monitored constantly. There are very few that fall into this category."

Police following the man thought he had gone into the New Lynn supermarket to do some shopping, but he pulled out what one witness described as a large knife and started stabbing people.

"There's someone here with a knife ... he's got a knife," a woman is heard saying in one video, posted online after the attack.

Another recorded the sound of ten shots being fired in rapid succession.

"We were doing absolutely everything possible to monitor him and indeed the fact that we were able to intervene so quickly, in roughly 60 seconds, shows just how closely we were watching him," Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said.

Described as a "lone wolf", Ms Ardern said the attacker was a "supporter of ISIS" and inspired by extremist ideology.

The man was not allowed to be kept in prison by law, she said.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Of the six wounded people, three were in critical condition, one in serious condition and another in moderate condition, the St John Ambulance Service said in a statement to Reuters.

Ms Ardern said any backlash against the Muslim community "would be wrong", and said the attacker "is who is responsible, no one else".

"What happened today was despicable, it was hateful, it was wrong. It was carried out by an individual, not a faith," she added.

The security in the country will remain at a medium level.

New Zealand has been on alert for attacks since a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch on March 15, 2019. In May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island.

Auckland is on a strict lockdown as it battles an outbreak of the coronavirus. Most businesses are shut and people are generally only allowed to leave their homes to buy groceries, for medical needs, or to exercise.

More here:

New Zealand terror attack: 'Violent extremist' carried out ...

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took aim at a violent extremist who stabbed and wounded six people with a knife in a New Zealand supermarket on Friday, the countrys second attack in two-and-a-half years.

The New Zealand prime minister described the incident as a terrorist attack after a Sri Lankan national wounded civilians in Auckland.

She added that she had been absolutely gutted to hear about the incident.

Ardern continued: What happened today was despicable.

She was also keen to keep blame solely on the individual responsible, saying: It was hateful, it was wrong, it was carried out by an individual, not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity, but an individual person.

Ardern said the attacker, who was not identified, was obviously a supporter of ISIS ideology, in reference to the Islamic State terror group.

Fridays attacker had been in New Zealand for a decade. He had been under constant surveillance for the last five years due to concerns about his ideology, according to the prime minister.

He was on a terror watchlist and was known to multiple agencies.

Police were following the man and initially thought he was going into the supermarket to do some shopping.The individual allegedly picked up a knife from a supermarket display before running around like a lunatic, shopper Michelle Miller told the Stuff news outlet.

Police managed to shoot and kill the man 60 seconds once he initiated the attack.

Three out of the six people he wounded were in critical condition. One was in a serious condition while the remaining two were in moderate condition.

Pool via Getty ImagesJacinda Ardern speaks to the media at a press conference with the details of the Auckland supermarket terror attack.

New Zealand last experienced a terror attack in March 2019, when a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two Christchurch mosques.

Ardern gained worldwide respect when she showed great compassion for the victims and their families.

At the time, The Washington Posts Ishaan Tharoor claimed that Ardern has become the face of her nations sorrow and grief and its resolve.

The prime minister has said it was not clear if the recent attack was an act of revenge for the mosque shootings.

Even so, the stabbings have now prompted widespread questions as to why the individual was able to roam around New Zealand freely if he was under surveillance.

Ardern said: If he had committed a criminal act that would have allowed him to be in prison, thats where he would have been.

Unfortunately he didnt ... instead he was being monitored constantly, constantly, and followed.

Gamal Fouda, imam of the Al Noor mosque and main target of the 2019 attacks, told Reuters: We are broken-hearted but we are not broken again ... we stand with the victims of the horrible incident.

Phil Walter via Getty ImagesJacinda Ardern consoling a grieving woman after the 2019 attacks.

Hitting back at criticism over the police response, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said officers had not been able to act more quickly because they needed to maintain a distance in order to be effective.

He said: The reality is, that when you are surveilling someone on a 24/7 basis, it is not possible to be immediately next to them at all times.

The staff intervened as quickly as they could and they prevented further injury in what was a terrifying situation.

Fiona Goodall via Getty ImagesPolice standing outside the supermarket where the stabbings occurred on Friday.

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter

Read the original:

'Not A Faith': Jacinda Ardern Blames 'Individual' For New ...