Category Archives: New Zealand

As the pale drawn figure of Lauren Dickason stood in the dock accused of murdering her three young daughters, flowers and soft toys piled up at the address where the girls died.

Dickason, 40, a medical practitioner appeared before Judge Dominic Dravitzki in the Timaru District Court and was remanded without plea to a secure facility at Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch.

Police continued to guard the family's house in Queen St as bunches of flowers and soft toys, dropped off by the people of Timaru wanting to make a gesture recognising the tragic deaths of the children (Liane, 6, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla) piled up.

Escorted by two police officers, Dickason arrived in court dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, soft shoes and black trousers. She looked calm and kept her arms folded close to her chest, staring at the floor for much of her appearance.

READ MORE:* A promising new life in New Zealand ends tragically on a Timaru street* Former nanny 'torn apart' over alleged murder of three girls in Timaru* Woman charged with murdering her three daughters in Timaru

Dickason, her husband Graham, and their three girls arrived in New Zealand last month and had been in Timaru for only a week.

Friends say the couple had been planning their dream relocation to New Zealand for two years. But the dream was shattered after one short week.

Graham, an orthopaedic surgeon, who was employed by Timaru Hospital, came home about 10pm on Thursday to find his three children dead.

Officials say they are working on facilitating urgent overseas travel for family to join him in New Zealand.

Back home in South Africa, friends and family are struggling to comprehend the enormity of the tragedy.

A woman who worked with the couple at Pretoria East Hospital and also lived in the same security estate for seven years (the Mooikloof Heights Estate in Pretoria East) said everyone liked them.

"They were a perfect normal family, they had the prettiest and neatest house in the estate, there was nothing strange, even when they spoke to each other it was calm and kind."

She had worked with both of them in the operating theatre where Graham was the orthopaedic surgeon and Lauren always assisted him.

"He is what you would call a genuine nice guy... she was more of an introvert; quiet, but very humble, It wasn't strange that she didn't speak much, it was just her nature.

"I want to share the good side about her, because all you hear now are terrible things... and she does not deserve that at all.

SUPPLIED/Stuff

Lauren Dickason is accused of killing her three children, Liane, 7, Maya, 3, and Karla, 3, in Timaru.

She said the children were a regular sight on the estate.

"Before they sold their house, you would always find the nanny walking in the estate with the twins, it was as if there was a routine, for example between five and six, the nanny would walk with the twins so that she could probably, I presume, have time to give some attention to the eldest."

Life in New Zealand would have been very different.

Here she had a nanny, a domestic worker and a gardener who all helped in and around the house.

"She isn't an evil person, she was pushed outside her limits...but I think it might have been the extreme circumstances. Her mum isn't there, her family isn't there...who will know, we weren't there, not one of us. ....perhaps they didn't anticipate what it would mean to leave everything behind and go."

The woman said it had been terrible to witness how people reacted to the tragedy.

"It is so sad to see people make horrible comments, some saying she must burn in hell and why didn't she just kill herself, I mean she is in hell on earth now and the rest of her life.

"As far as I know they had fertility treatment, she struggled to fall pregnant with all of them, so it was precious babies all of them.

Another neighbour, Chantel Pretorius, said their children had gone to kindergarten together.

"That news is terrible, we don't know what to make of it."

"Their emigration took very long, they wanted to emigrate before Covid, and then Covid held everything back. Her last message to me was how panicked she was when there was a power outage at their home during the recent looting in South Africa. So they were really ready to get over to New Zealand, its what they worked for and planned for, it was their dream for two years.

Mendy Sibanyoni worked for the Dickason family for three years as the children's caregiver, from 2018 to 2020. She said she was not coping with the news, and hadnt slept since she heard.

She said Karla, one of the twins, had a tough time, needing a number of surgeries for a cleft palate.

She was supposed to do the last one when she was five. We went through a lot with that child. But she was perfect now. She was perfectly normal, just like her sister, a strong lovely girl."

Sebabatso Mosamo/AP

Mendy Sinanyoni, nanny of the three daughters of Graham and Lauren Dickason, holds photographs of the Dickason family in her Pretoria, South Africa home.

She had followed the court proceedings, and heard Lauren didn't talk; I am asking myself over and over: What did go wrong, Lauren.

"That family was most awesome family that I have ever come across, I am torn apart really, torn apart..."

She had joined the family when the twins were just days out of hospital.

It was such an awesome family, such a good family I never heard any quarrel in the house or fighting from them, also the kids, as time goes, they were awesome kids, Liane used to love the sisters, because she is the older one."

"I used to spend most of my time there, sometimes weekends when they were busy with something or when they wanted to go out I will be there with the kids.

"They were happy, I never saw the wrong side of them, I don't know what happened now.

Through tears, Sibanyona said she had expected that the next time she heard from the family would be when they came to visit from New Zealand.

"I was expecting when they came to visit from New Zealand.......calling me and say: Come see us Mendy.....never...never...never did I expect this.

"Most of my time with them, I would be in the house, that is why I would share my things with Lauren, if I ever had a problem I would talk to Lauren, and we will sit down and try to figure out how we will solve that, and usually she would invite my kids in her house and everything...

"The last contact I had with Lauren was when I told her Lauren my other contract is ending can you please put an ear out for me for anyone who is looking for a job. And after three days she called and said Mendy someone is going to call you..so I went for the interview, and when I called her and said, 'Lauren, I got the job,' she was so excited and happy for me."

Doctors, staff and management of Netcare Pretoria East Hospital expressed their shock at the tragedy.

Commenting on the tragic circumstances, Pieter Louw, general manager of the hospital said, We are deeply saddened by what has taken place. Our hearts go out to our former colleagues, their families and loved ones to whom we offer our unconditional support at this very difficult time for them.

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They dreamt for years of a new life in New Zealand - but after only a week their babies were dead - Stuff.co.nz

India will play two Tests each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka and will host West Indies in three ODIs and as many T20Is. South Africa will tour India in June next year for a five-match T20I series.

India will play two Tests each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. (Reuters Photo)

India will host the West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa in four Tests, three ODIs, 14 T20Is later this year and in the first half of 2022 as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its home season for the 2021/22 season. The Test matches will be played against New Zealand, who beat India in the final of the World Test Championship earlier this year in England, and Sri Lanka.

New Zealand's tour will start with a three-match T20I series that will be played from November 17 to 21 in Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata. This will be followed by the first Test which will start on November 25 in Kanpur and the second Test will be played from December 3 in Mumbai. It will mark New Zealand's first Test series in India since 2016 in which the visitors lost a three-match Test series 3-0.

The West Indies will then tour the country for three ODIs and as many T20Is. The ODI series will be played from February 6 to 12 in Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata. Sri Lanka's tour is then scheduled to start on February 25 with a two-Test series. The first Test will be played in Bengaluru while the second will be hosted in Mohali from March 5. Mohali will also host the first T20I against Sri Lanka on March 13 after which the second and third matches will be played in Dharamshala and Lucknow on March 15 and 18 respectively.

South Africa will then tour India for a five-match T20I series from June 9 to 19. The matches will be played in Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Rajkot and New Delhi.

Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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India to host New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa in 4 Tests, 3 ODIs, 14 T20Is in 2021/22 - India Today

Blooming pest, or blooming beautiful?

Russell Lupin provoke varied reactions, and efforts to banish promotional images of the brightly coloured wild flowers are having mixed success.

The officially designated pest plant pops up in Tourism New Zealands latest spring campaign, and a photo of Russell Lupin beside Lake Tekapo covers an entire wall in the first of 40 Kiwiso stores to open in China selling New Zealand skin care and well-being products.

Following a plea from the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board last year, tourism agencies ChristchurchNZ and Mackenzie Tourism stopped using Russell Lupin in their promotional material and on social media channels, and encouraged tourism businesses to adopt a similar policy.

READ MORE:* Struggle against wild lupins sows the seeds of change in the South Island* Mackenzie operators upbeat despite Aussie travel pause* The mystery of Tekapo's disappearing lupins: Who killed the social media star?* Russell lupin: iconic to Mackenzie Country or invasive weed?

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The Mackenzie region is famous for its Russell Lupin, but there have been efforts to limit use of promotional images of the pest species.

Mackenzie Tourism Development Manager Lydia Stoddart said operators who wished to could still include the blooms in their own promotions, however when featuring their content we avoid using imagery with lupins.

Tourism New Zealand said it had not been approached by the conservation board regarding use of Russell Lupin images, and it would contact the board and the Department of Conservation (DOC) to determine its response, which might be removing imagery that contains them.

Kiwiso spokesman Mike Arand said store owners Alpha Group were unaware of the pest status of Russell Lupin when the first outlet was designed, and the enlarged photo obtained from Getty Images would not appear in any future stores.

Screenshot

Tourism New Zealand. Despite being a pest plant, Russell Lupin appear in a spring promotion on Tourism New Zealand's newzealand.com website

The photo already in the store is a bit more problematic to replace in terms of location and how it is applied, so for now we will have to leave that one there.

Arand said now knowing the lupin variety was regarded as a noxious weed, he was surprised to find Tourism New Zealand featuring Russell Lupin, and to see online guides on the best places to view and photograph the flowers.

Under the Biosecurity Act, the wild Russell Lupin is a declared pest in Canterburys regional pest management plan making it illegal to grow the plant within specified distances of waterways and property boundaries, but the Act does not prevent lupin images being used for commercial purposes.

supplied

Russell Lupin are among the landscape shots used in this Kiwiso store which opened in China earlier this monthselling New Zealand skin care and well-being products.

DOCs eastern South Island operations director, Nicola Toki, said the departments position was that Russell Lupins should not be promoted.

We know New Zealanders have a high affinity for the landscapes and natural values of places like the Mackenzie.

These landscapes dont need lupins to make them awe-inspiring, they are sufficiently striking in their natural state.

Toki said allowing weeds like lupins to invade New Zealand braided rivers had a significant impact on their functioning, and by providing hiding places for predators, such as stoats and feral cats, they put vulnerable species at risk.

Alden Williams/Stuff

Tourists amongst a field of lupins on State Highway 8 near Tekapo. Along with their environmental impact, the flowers have also been blamed for creating a traffic hazard as visitors stop on roadsides to take photographs.

But others argue that the striking flowers, beloved by both amateur and professional photographers, have significant economic value for areas where they grow, such as Tekapo.

Mackenzie photographer George Empson said the only ill effect of the lupins was on waterways, so that is where attention should be focussed, and those supporting widespread eradication should consider the potential financial impact.

The lupins are a great part of the landscape here, you only have to see the attraction they are when in bloom, this eradication path is a very short-sighted approach, council should be open to any attraction to draw in the tourist dollar at present.

We run a business in Australia, have done for 30 years, and when clients and others realise Im from the Mackenzie, the first thing they say is I just love that wee church then, when is the best time to visit for the lupins?

George Empson

Photographer George Empson took this image of lupins in the Mackenzie, and he opposes widespread eradication of the plants.

Landscape photographer Megan Maloneys summer photography workshop in the Mackenzie in November ($1800 a head) has sold out and her six students will get the chance to capture photos of the flowers against a mountain backdrop.

Her website has an ultimate guide to New Zealand lupins which acknowledges the ongoing war over the plants, and the polarising arguments between farmers who want to use lupins as stock feed and environmentalists.

What the outcome will be is unclear, but for now we still have the opportunity to enjoy the lupins, so we should make the most of it while we can, Maloneys website said.

Link:

Blooming pest pops up on Tourism New Zealand website despite efforts to halt promotional pics of Russell Lupin - Stuff.co.nz

Queen Elizabeth II was apparently so captivated by the view on a 1991 descent into Queenstown that she stood in the aisle for so long the cabin crew worried they wouldnt be able to complete the in-flight service before landing.

Philippa (Pippa) Field describes serving as a flight attendant manager on the Ansett flight from Queenstown as a highlight of a career that also saw her crew Air New Zealands first ever flight to Rarotonga, share cabin space with the King and Queen of Tonga and South Africas Springboks rugby team.

Pippa Field/Supplied

Pippa was turned down for a role with Air NZs international crew in the late 70s because she was married, a mum and over 30.

Tasked with coordinating the service for the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and other dignitaries on the British Aerospace 146 Whisper Jet, Pippa admits she felt daunted. And nerves quickly escalated to alarm when another crew member informed her the trollies couldnt be released for service at the back of the plane because the Queen had got up from her seat, pinned her hat to a seat on the opposite side of the aisle and was peering out the window.

Angela (the air hostess charged with serving the royal pair) did not feel she could possibly bump Her Majesty on the bum and say scuse me maam. I need to get the trollies out to the back so that the other passengers can eat, says 75-year-old Pippa. And she wasnt the only one on tenterhooks.

READ MORE:* Air New Zealand's best and worst flight attendant uniforms * Rough Ride: Air NZ's turbulent 80 year history * Air New Zealand: The first flights to London

The on-board chef was so nervous he couldnt get Her Majestys hors doeuvres out of the ovens as his hands were shaking so much! Eventually we were left scrambling down the back to complete service and clear in before landing.

The late duke also gave the crew a bit of grief, refusing to take his seat before landing.

Pippa Field/Supplied

Pippa and fellow graduates from Air New Zealands flight attendant training school in 1979.

Angela gave up trying. Captain John Bartlett told me later that he was very apprehensive about the flights!

Pippa says the day is a bit of a blur now, but she recalls serving the crew a hot meal afterwards to thank them for their hard work, and convincing the captain to crack open a bottle of Krug champagne.

It is of course a big no-no for crew to drink whilst on duty for safety reasons. He said okay, but after weve landed, okay.

Its only thanks to Pippas chutzpah and determination that she became an air hostess (or hostie, as she puts it) at all. When she applied for a job with Air New Zealand in the late 1970s after a career as a nurse in the UK, three things counted against her: She was over 30, married and had a three-year-old child.

While the womens liberation movement was gaining significant momentum in New Zealand at the time, the national carriers hiring policies hadnt caught up.

Air New Zealand/Stuff

The uniform Pippa wore when she started with Air NZ Certainly not up there fashion-wise, but it was practical I guess. We all envied the international hosties with their lovely Nina Ricci uniforms. I think we all felt a tad dowdy beside them.

Convinced the airline wasnt playing fair when it turned her down for medical reasons, she went to see her GP, who ordered a battery of tests for her to undergo. As luck would have it, her GP counted Air New Zealands doctor among his contacts and called him to ask why Fields application had been rejected.

(The doctor) had a very loud voice and the answer came booming out of the phone: Well, shes over 30 and married with a child. We can have our pick of 25-year-olds so why would we hire her? Suffice to say, I started on about human rights and discrimination!

Her indignation served her well: The airline took her on as cabin crew trainee on domestic flights in 1979, the year after its merger with the National Airways Corporation (NAC).

Pippa believes she may have been the first married woman to have been hired by the airline as a hostie, as well as the first with a child. She struggled at first, finding out on her first day on the job that she was terrified of turbulence.

My hands used to sweat so much I feared I would pour the tea and coffee in the wrong places due to hand slippage. I was so scared that I thought I would have to give my dream up, but in the end sheer stubbornness overcame everything.

Pippa Field/Supplied

Top: Pippa never thought of her role as glamorous but enjoyed it nonetheless. Bottom left: A highlight of Pippas career was being stranded in Rarotonga for 10 days during a strike.

That said, it was love at first flight. Flying into Wellington from Gisborne on her first day without her trainer accompanying her, Pippa recalls standing by the flight deck of the Fokker aircraft and watching the planes approach for as long as she could.

It was a wonderful, amazing experience to watch the guys at work. And we got to fly into Wellington on a good day.

There was much she loved about the role: Regularly watching the sunrise and sunset from 30,000 feet in the air and the long layovers in the Pacific Islands being chief among them. But she never found it particularly glamorous, describing the work as hard yakka.

Cleaning up puke, emptying sick bags, pouring tea and coffee, and emptying garbage bags just how glamorous is that? It was similar to nursing, but in a more rarefied atmosphere.

She also felt pressure to ensure she looked her best every day as it was a criteria that one had to be pretty to be hired for the job. A boss I had, once used to call it facial validity but Im a fan of Este Lauder. There are no not beautiful people, only lazy ones.

Supplied

Pippa and fellow hosties appeared with British broadcaster Alan Whicker in Air NZs Nobody does it better campaign.

Still, she had experiences on the job she will never forget. She had another brush with royalty on a flight on which the then-King and Queen of Tonga were guests of honour. She says two sheepskin-lined seats were taken off an international aircraft and placed at the front of the Boeing 737 for them to sit on.

They sat enthroned up the front with their own special hostie.

Pippa was working at the back of the aircraft so didnt spend time with them during the flight, but was summoned to bid farewell to them after landing.

They swept past us with not even a ta. There was no acknowledgement whatsoever from the King or Queen of the special service that had been given to them at all. I remember thinking this is royal. You just kind of expect that we all busted a gut.

DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran is one of a handful of people trialing the Iata travel pass app (first published April 2021).

Pippa became something of a VIP herself after appearing in a high-profile Air New Zealand advertising campaign with British broadcaster Alan Whicker in 1979. Featuring the slogan Nobody does it better, the ad was promptly pulled after the Mt Erebus disaster in November of that year, which was and remains New Zealands deadliest air disaster.

Pippa was on duty the night the Air New Zealand DC-10 airliner crashed into Antarcticas Mt Erebus, killing all 257 passengers and crew on board.

I heard the screams of one hostie who was engaged to a crew member on that flight. It was ghastlyI was rostered to work the next day, and it just passed in a blur. There was no counselling or managers talking to us. We just got on and did our jobs.

The disaster is something she and many others will never fully come to terms with but, all in all, Pippa looks back on her career as a hostie with fondness, saying her jobs with Air New Zealand and then Ansett were the best she ever had.

I learned to enjoy the flying, even in rough conditions and there were plenty of those. I liked the hours of work, meeting the passengers and giving service, as limited as it was in those days: Tea, coffee, crackers and cheese in packets that one had to put one's feet on to open. It was a fantastic time.

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Confessions of a former Air New Zealand and Ansett flight attendant - Stuff.co.nz

Sheppard became the first president of the National Council of Women (NCW) in 1896, but flanking her in bronze are others central to the women's movement.

Meri Te Tai Mangakhia of Taitokerau requested the vote for women from the Kotahitanga parliament. Amey Daldy was a leader of Auckland's Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and Franchise League. Ada Wells of Christchurch worked for equal educational opportunities for girls and women. Harriet Morison of Dunedin was an advocate for working-class women and active in the Tailoresses' Union. And Helen Nicol led the important women's franchise campaign in Dunedin.

The monument also recognises the complex layers and themes of women's suffrage, including the place of men such as MP Sir John Hall who played a vital part in the suffrage victory. Seven other prominent suffragists are also named. Smaller panels depict generic women going about their daily lives, all part of the wider movement.

So what makes Sheppard so iconic? As well as her role in a world-first episode in New Zealand history, I would argue Sheppard embodies many of the characteristics common to modern heroines globally.

She is emblematic of a mother figure, specifically as a maternal feminist concerned with home, purity and well-being. Metaphorically, her work involves giving birth to the nation.

Accompanied by an image of the symbolic white camellia flower presented to pro-suffrage MPs, Sheppard's image on the banknote is part of her invention as a feminine, stylishly dressed, commanding figure.

But there are other dynamics at work, too. Sheppard is sometimes framed as a reformer, called to work for a more peaceful and egalitarian society. But the 2015 punk-rock musical That Bloody Woman portrays her as a rebel warrior queen, fighting with bravery and determination.

Intrigue in her private life also adds to Sheppard's appeal. Was her marriage to Walter Sheppard unhappy? They lived apart from 1905 until he died in 1915. Author Rachel McAlpine wrote a fictional account involving an extramarital affair and a love child.

And what of the rumours surrounding Sheppard's friendship with William Lovell-Smith, who she married towards the end of her life after the death of his wife Jenny? Her private life hints at mystery and suggests a woman advancing new ways of co-habiting.

There is also tragedy. Sheppard lost her only child, Douglas, in 1910, and outlived her nearest and dearest friends and relations, including her only grandchild.

Sheppard's shape-shifting presence leaves room for us to create our own versions to augment all the writing she left revealing her beliefs and ideas. The Kate Sheppard Women's Bookshop aptly memorialises her, and her leadership is honoured through scholarships and awards.

All this has helped keep her memory alive, especially with the feminists who have always claimed her as a heroine.

Sheppard is on the money, then, but who else might represent the heroic archetype? Waikato woman of mana and Kngitanga leader Te Puea Hrangi is surely one, described by historian J.G.A. Pocock as possibly the most influential woman in New Zealand's political history.

Te Puea was also a mother figure. A literal healer, she nursed her people back to health -- especially after the smallpox epidemic of 1913 and the devastating 1918 influenza epidemic that killed a quarter of the population at Mangatwhiri, leaving many orphans to be cared for.

Her motto is said to have been "work, eat, pray, work again". Te Puea was called to help her people and was dedicated to leading their resurgence. In particular, her efforts secured the Kngitanga movement. Part of her legacy as the most active leader of her generation was the building of Trangawaewae marae at Ngruawhia.

Like Sheppard, Te Puea's health and welfare work included campaigns against alcohol and smoking. In the face of Pkeh resistance she built an impressive health facility at Trangawaewae. In 1951 she became the first patron of the Mori Women's Welfare League.

Her activism included seeking compensation for land confiscation. An early peace warrior, she led a non-violent campaign against conscription during the first world war. Like Sheppard, she was part of an international network and well-connected around the Pacific.

Also like Sheppard, Te Puea was strategic and collaborated with many men. She launched Mui Pmare's political career and later collaborated with pirana Ngata. Well known in the Pkeh world as Princess Te Puea, in 1937 she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In many ways, of course, Christchurch and Ngruawhia were worlds apart. While both women challenged the state, Sheppard represented a mainstream Pkeh establishment, whereas Te Puea pursued mana motuhake for her people. Yet, placed side by side and viewed through an early 21st-century lens, both are important heroines in history.

Both stand for citizens working together for the common good. Kate Sheppard might be on the money to represent women's rights as a fundamental part of Aotearoa New Zealand. But, as her memorial suggests, it's important we don't see her as the only woman worthy of being on a pedestal.

Katie Pickles is a professor of History at the University of Canterbury.

Pickles received funding from Royal Society Te Aparangi James Cook Research Fellowship.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.

The Conversation

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On the money: Kate Sheppard and the making of a New Zealand feminist icon - Newshub

Police officers executed search warrants at four Turangi properties and found six stolen snowboards. Photo / File

Police have found six stolen snowboards, along with firearms and several hundred cannabis plants in Turangi.

Officers executed search warrants at four Turangi properties, between September 4 and 14, a police spokesperson said.

They located six snowboards, which were stolen over three days from Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields.

In addition to the snowboards, three firearms were also located and seized aswell as several hundred cannabis plants, the spokesperson said.

"Follow up inquiries have identified five people involved in the snowboard thefts."

They said offenders would be trespassed from both Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields fortwo years, and would likely face charges relating to theft, firearms and drugs.

Sergeant Lane Demchy said the ski industry was a significant part of the local economy.

"When offending occurs on our mountain we will make every effort to hold people accountable.

"In this case it's great to be able to recover some of the stolen property and return it to the rightful owners," Demchy said.

Read more from the original source:

Police find six stolen snowboards, three firearms, hundreds of cannabis plants - New Zealand Herald

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Karate New Zealand - HOME

A normally busy road is deserted during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand, August 26, 2021. REUTERS/Fiona Goodall

WELLINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asked New Zealanders on Tuesday to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it was the only way to beat the spread of coronavirus and see curbs lifted in the biggest city of Auckland.

Tuesday's 15 new infections in New Zealand were a drop from Monday's figure of 33, but about 1.7 million people will stay in lockdown in Auckland until next week, as the government battles to hold down a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant.

"The vaccine is the best tool we have in our toolbox and our ticket to greater freedom," Ardern told a news conference. "The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer restrictions you have to have."

Auckland's lockdown has shut schools, offices and public places, with people allowed to leave home only for exercise or to buy essential items. In the rest of the country, the lockdown was lifted last week.

New Zealand had been largely virus-free for months until a Delta outbreak forced a snap lockdown on Aug. 17. It has infected 970 people so far, most of them in Auckland.

The lockdowns and international border closure since March 2020 have been credited with holding down COVID-19, but a slow vaccination effort has spurred criticism for Ardern. Just 34% of the population of 5.1 million have been fully vaccinated.

To boost the programme, New Zealand has bought doses of Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N) vaccine from Spain and Denmark.

"There is nothing holding us back in Auckland when it comes to vaccines," Ardern added. "There's capacity to administer 220,000 doses of vaccine in the region this week."

Vaccine buses will begin plying this week to reach more people, she said.

Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand looks to boost COVID-19 vaccinations as new cases ease - Reuters

WELLINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that Australia's new nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in its territorial waters under a long standing nuclear free policy.

A new Indo-Pacific security partnership announced by U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will see the United States and Britain provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.

The Indo-Pacific deal is widely seen as a counter to China's growing influence in the region. read more

"I discussed the arrangement with Prime Minister Morrison last night," Ardern said at a news conference.

"I am pleased to see that the eye has been turned to our region from partners we work closely with. It's a contested region and there is a role that others can play in taking an interest in our region. But the lens we will look at this from will include stability," she said.

However, Ardern said the nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in New Zealand waters under a 1984 nuclear-free zone policy.

"Certainly they couldn't come into our internal waters.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern participates in a televised debate with National leader Judith Collins at TVNZ in Auckland, New Zealand, September 22, 2020. Fiona Goodall/Pool via REUTERS

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No vessels that are partially or fully powered by nuclear energy is able to enter our internal borders," she said.

Ardern said the new Indo-Pacific grouping does not change the security and intelligence ties of New Zealand, which is a member of the Five Eyes, a post-war intelligence grouping that also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.

"This is not a treaty level arrangement. It does not change

our existing relationship including Five Eyes or our close partnership with Australia on defence matters," she said.

Ardern, who is in her second term in office, has looked to focus on a more independent foreign policy that is not loyal to any major bloc.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has said she was uncomfortable with expanding the role of the Five Eyes, drawing criticism from Western allies who said New Zealand was reluctant to criticise China due to its trade ties. read more

China is New Zealand's largest trading partner.

Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More here:

NZ says Australia's new nuclear submarines must stay out of its waters - Reuters

Covid-19 cases in New Zealand have dropped, a hopeful sign as Auckland enters what the government has planned to be its last week of level four lockdown.

The country announced 15 new cases on Tuesday, a halving of case numbers from Mondays 33.

At this stage of the outbreak, the government is particularly attentive to how many of those cases are clearly linked to existing infections, as unlinked cases could indicate the virus is spreading unchecked through the community. All of Tuesdays cases were household contacts of existing cases, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said, and the total number of cases that remain unlinked across the outbreak is down to 10, from 17 on Monday.

The Auckland region is now in its fourth week of a level four lockdown, the strictest level of restrictions. The rest of the country left lockdown last week, although there are still some restrictions in place on gathering size and mask use. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said on Monday that government had made an in principle decision that Auckland would shift from alert level four to three next week.

Ardern also announced that the country would be launching Mr Whippy-style mobile vaccination clinics on buses, beginning in Northland, to try to reach communities where vaccines were less accessible.

In Australia theyve started operating something similar and have named the mobile outreach clinics Jabba the bus, Ardern said. Im sure that we can do better.

We have some frontrunners: double jab ute, and the jabbin wagon.

In the meantime, officials are driving to push up vaccination rates. A total of 66.5% of the eligible population [those aged 12 years and over] have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and 34% have had both doses. The country is now vaccinating about 55,000 people a day, down from a peak of about 90,000 doses a day at the end of August.

Ardern urged New Zealanders to go out and get vaccinated. Just as weve been world-leading with the success of our elimination strategy, in the future I want New Zealand to be world-leading both on the level of freedoms and our health and wellbeing, Ardern said. High rates of vaccination is how we can achieve just that.

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New Zealand Covid update: cases drop to 15 as Ardern unveils Mr Whippy-style vaccination buses - The Guardian