Category Archives: New Zealand

After a weeks-long illegal occupation that ended in a riot, New Zealands parliament has a new unwelcome visitor to contend with: cannabis seedlings popping up among its rose gardens.

An eagle-eyed Wellingtonian spotted the tiny green leaves emerging from the soil this week and posted his find to social media. The man wished to remain anonymous, but a parliament groundskeeper confirmed to the national broadcaster, RNZ, that the plants were indeed a few cannabis seedlings thought to be left by the protesters.

A lot of seeds had been scattered around, among other things left from the protesters, the groundskeeper said.

A security guard added that it was probably the first cannabis that has ever been planted on parliament grounds.

A protester who had returned to the site told RNZ that the protesters were responsible for scattering the seeds and many more will likely germinate for years to come.

The plants, which are illegal in New Zealand, have since been pulled out and destroyed after the speaker of the house, Trevor Mallard, asked for the weed to be weeded.

The 23-day protest on Wellingtons parliament grounds was nominally about opposition to vaccine mandates, but was blighted by conspiracy theories, death threats, abusive behaviour and a riot that ended in violence and fires. The grounds were left muddied and charred by campers, who also tore up parts of the established gardens to plant herbs, vegetables and, it turns out, cannabis.

Following weeks of peace, high fences were erected around the grounds and the police presence upped again on Friday morning, after a new group said they would begin another 14 days of action to demand an end to all Covid-19 restrictions.

Two weeks ago, the government announced it would end some vaccine-mandates and the requirement for vaccine passes from 4 April. However, one protester, Tessa Jefferis, told RNZ: Therell be protest action until we, first, get an acknowledgment. Second, we get an apology. Third, we get justice. And fourth personally, Im not stopping until the Covid-19 Health Response Act legislation is obliterated.

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Cannabis sprouts in New Zealand parliament garden in protesters parting pot-shot - The Guardian

Its an exciting prospect for my trips home! More convenient than doing a 24-hour trip from door to door, which typically transited through Los Angeles, San Francisco or Houston, says Noll, who grew up in Montgomery in Orange County.

The new nonstop travel time is 16-18 hours, faster in the Auckland to NYC direction, thanks to the jet stream.

Noll, who forecasts Hudson Valley weather via social media and his website on his own time, typically struggles to get a good nights rest on long-haul flights. He has a few tricks up his sleeve to make the trek easier. My general rule is to get a couple of solid nights sleep leading up to the trip. Im usually happy if I can tuck in a few hours of shut eye on the flight itself.

Still, Noll doesnt think the distance JFK Airport is 8,814 miles from Auckland should keep anyone from the adventure. If youre in New York and considering a trip to New Zealand, two words: Do it!

He has been living in the other hemisphere since the mid 2010s, moving for his job. Being in New Zealand and seeing its scenery is like being inside of a movie set.

Tickets are currently on sale for Air New Zealands nonstop flights, which will take place three times a week on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Noll is already enjoying thinking about the possibility they will afford him as an expat.

Being 16 hours from a slice of NYC pizza is alluring.

Be sure to hike to Kitekite Falls while visiting Aucklands west coast, a 45-minute drive from the city.

What should New Yorkers traveling to New Zealand be sure to see and do? While chances are good that travelers will extend their explorations beyond Auckland, Noll recommends pausing a beat to explore his adopted home town.

Auckland is well worth spending a day or two in at the beginning or end of your travels: great coffee, a cultural melting pot that influences its cuisine, an extremely comfortable climate almost any time of the year, and its mix of leisure and adventure activities being located on the water.

His suggestions:

You may not be able to find New York-style pizza in New Zealand, but the countrys grass-fed beef is bar none, says Ben Noll, who recommends Better Burger.

North Island

South Island

New Zealands most jaw-dropping scenery can be found in the South Islands Fiordland, including Milford Sound.

Dont expect to find NY-style pizza or subs up to the standard were all used to.

Dont expect your bill to be cheap: New Zealand is an island nation on the bottom of the planet; import costs are large and expect to pay while youre here. (That being said, the exchange rate is favorable.)

Dont assume the season is the same as New York. New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, so the seasons are opposite.

More Hudson Valley travel

Originally posted here:

Local tips as direct flights from NY to New Zealand go on sale - Times Union

An Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER plane taxis after landing at Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney, Australia, February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

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March 30 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd (AIR.NZ) said on Wednesday it would raise NZ$2.2 billion ($1.53 billion) to shore up its pandemic-hit balance sheet and repay a government-liquidity package of NZ$2 billion as New Zealand's international border reopens.

The equity capital raise will be conducted via a deeply-discounted rights issue and redeemable shares raising NZ$1.8 billion, of which NZ$850 million will be used to repay outstanding debt owed to the New Zealand government, which owns 51.9% of the airline.

The remaining NZ$950 million will be used to strengthen the balance sheet and aid recovery from the COVID-19 ravages, the carrier said. It has also undertaken a fresh debt of NZ$400 million from the government to provide additional liquidity.

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"The timing is right to position our airline for recovery," Chairman Therese Walsh told reporters.

The carrier, which uses a June-end financial year, plans to return to 2019 profit levels by 2025 and to restart dividends by 2026, she said.

Chief Executive Greg Foran said capacity would reach 90% of pre-pandemic levels by 2025 but would be weighted more toward domestic flights than in the past.

The two-for-one rights issue will be offered to shareholders on record on April 5 at a 61.5% discount to the last traded price.

The shares closed at NZ$1.375 on Wednesday.

Air New Zealand had last month flagged its worst annual loss since 2001 due to a combination of an Auckland lockdown, expiring government relief schemes, rising fuel prices and an international border closure. read more

As international borders reopen, the carrier has seen some improvement in sales, prompting the company to forecast an annual underlying loss before tax and significant items to be less than NZ$800 million, lower than its earlier view.

It logged an underlying loss before tax and one-off charges of NZ$440 million in the last financial year.

The government earlier this month moved up the opening of international borders to some travellers after more than two years of COVID-19 isolation. read more

Vaccinated travellers from Australia, New Zealand's biggest source of tourists, can enter the country without the need to quarantine from April 12 rather than July as previously planned.

Tourists from visa-waiver countries including the United States, Britain and Singapore will now able to visit from May 1.

($1 = 1.4366 New Zealand dollars)

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Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Raju Gopalakrishnan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Air New Zealand to launch $1.5 bln recapitalisation as borders set to reopen - Reuters

The 2022 New Zealand Swimming Championships kick off on Monday with the likes of big gunsLewis Clareburt, Helena GassonandErika Fairweatherpoised to take to the Sir Owen G. Glenn National Aquatic Centre.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Swimming New Zealand has adjusted this years championships to span 6 days, starting one day earlier than scheduled. This resulted in a warm-up day being removed, while relay races have also been removed from the daily agenda.

These Championships represent a World Championships qualification opportunity for swimmers, although Swimming New Zealand has adopted an open meet qualification system. That means any single FINA-approved event between April 1, 2021 and April 10, 2022, can count toward qualification, as long as the swimmer posts a time that meets or dips under the FINA A cut in the event.

Key entries next week include Clarburt taking on the 400m IM, 200m free and 400m free, while Gasson is carrying a monster schedule that has the 100m back, 100m fly, 200m back, 200m breast, 50m back, 200m fly and 50m breast included.

It was at the last edition of the FINA World Championships where Clareburt wowed the world with a bronze medal finish in the mens 400m IM. He wound up finishing 7th in the 4IM in Tokyo, rendering him hungry for a Commonwealth Games and possible World Championships medal for this new calendar year.

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Clareburt, Gasson, Fairweather Ready for New Zealand Championships - SwimSwam

For a people represented by a unique flightless bird, Kiwis do a lot of flying. While globally, aviation emissions represented just under 3% of carbon dioxide emissions in 2019, for New Zealand the figure was 12%. New Zealand ranks sixth in per capita aviation emissions, at one tonne of carbon dioxide per person, about 10 times the world average. It ranks fourth for per capita emissions in domestic aviation just ahead of Canada, even though Canada is 40 times the size of New Zealand.

Perhaps this is not surprising. New Zealand is far away from most population centres. It has a large tourist industry and a population with globally dispersed families 27% of the population was born overseas, and an estimated one million Kiwis live overseas.

But it is a problem, for there is no easy way to replace fossil fuels for long-haul flying. As John Vidal, the Guardians former environment editor, points out, the only real option in the short- to medium-term is less flying. Vidal mentions passenger rail as an alternative in the UK and Europe. But it is not an alternative in New Zealand, because we have dismantled our long-distance passenger rail network, a process that has now entered a critical and possibly terminal phase.

The national rail service operator, KiwiRail, announced in late 2021 that it was suspending the Northern Explorer train. This linked the largest city, Auckland, with the capital, Wellington, along a corridor containing 60% of New Zealands population. Also gone is the train linking the ferry port of Picton with the South Islands largest city, Christchurch. Removing the Northern Explorer leaves New Zealand as the only advanced economy in the world without either a day or a night train linking its largest cities.

Now the only alternatives are driving, flying or catching a bus. But even though the latter is a low carbon form of travel, New Zealand stands out internationally for the poor quality of its long-distance coach services. While countries like the UK, Norway, the United States and Australia have long had buses with onboard toilets, New Zealand does not. Nor are there many good, accessible off-bus or roadside toilets. Weatherproof bus stops are few and far between.

The only political party that supports long-distance passenger rail is the Green party. But even they have been pretty much silent on the issue of train suspensions. A Rail Plan was released by the government in 2021, but it gives no support to long-distance passenger rail. The Climate Change Commission has been equally silent on the contribution that long-distance rail could make to decarbonise domestic travel.

It has primarily been non-governmental organisations and individuals that have argued for passenger rail. In 2017 the advocacy group Greater Auckland set out a plan for developing rapid rail within the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga. A Save our Trains campaign was launched in January 2022 to bring back long distance passenger rail. These campaigns recognise the benefits of rail in terms of lowering carbon emissions and connecting communities.

Meanwhile, the airline industry continues to promote growth. There are expansion plans for both Wellington and Auckland airports and a proposal, funded by ratepayer-owned Christchurch Airport, to build a large international airport in Otago. This also involves government funding.

So if the government sees the future of long-distance travel in New Zealand being almost solely dependent on planes, does it have a clear strategy for decarbonising domestic aviation? The draft Emissions Reduction Plan had few details, although it was acknowledged that for land transport, the Emissions Trading Scheme (which also covers domestic aviation) will be unable to deliver the complete transformation that is required.

Then, in November at Cop26 in Glasgow, New Zealand and 22 other nations joined the International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition, committing, among other things, to preparing up-to-date state action plans detailing ambitious and concrete national action to reduce aviation emissions.

What would such a plan look like? In a new report, I look at all the options. Global interest in net zero aviation by 2050 is rising, and New Zealand needs a bold national plan to begin the rapid decarbonisation of regional travel. Given the significant challenges of reducing emissions from flying, that plan should include trains.

Excerpt from:

Planes, trains and the climate crisis why New Zealand shouldnt be closing its railways - The Guardian

New Zealand will release more oil from its emergency stock to offset the global impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says a decision will be made next week on the size of the latest release. Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

Russia is the world's third-largest crude oil producer, and it has withheld supplies to Europe in response to sanctions over its war on Ukraine.

This morning, 31-member countries belonging to the International Energy Association (IEA) held a special meeting and decided to release more barrels of oil to offset the loss of Russian oil exports.

In a statement, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said New Zealand had already contributed 369,000 barrels last month as part of the IEA's commitment to release 60 million barrels.

A decision would be made next week on the size of the latest release, Woods said.

"New Zealand's membership of the IEA requires it to hold stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil and imports.

"New Zealand buys emergency reserve stocks that are held offshore as part of this obligation and help to manage potential disruptions in the oil market."

She said New Zealand was ready to play its part to help stabilise world energy markets.

"There has been a great deal of volatility in global oil markets since the invasion and this further action, coupled with the United States' move to release 180 million barrels of oil over the next six months, will help to provide some certainty to the market," Woods said.

See more here:

New Zealand will release more oil to contribute to global stock - RNZ

PM Jacinda Ardern was 'disappointed' with the move of the America's Cup offshore while Auckland Mayor Phil Goff revealed more details about what will happen to the former team base locations. Video / NZ Herald / Getty Images

OPINION:

Now that the America's Cup is off to Barcelona, the Government has a pile of cash burning a hole in its pocket and an opportunity to re-think how it can use elite sport as a brand ambassador for New Zealand.

The decision by Team New Zealand to reject the $99m ($31m in cash, the rest in kind) offer to host the America's Cup in Auckland has paved the way for a fundamental reset on not only what sort of events public funding is thrown at, but also who should be used to promote New Zealand to a global audience and what kind of image the country wants to project to the rest of the world.

For the Government to get its chequebook out and underwrite major events the consideration as to whether it's a sound investment has to go beyond the likely financial return.

These days the real value in hosting events is not in the dollars they pump into the local economy, but the impact they have on a country's brand value. Perception is indeed everything.

Big sporting events have become geo-political amphitheatres opportunities to sell a particular version of a country's identity to a mass audience.

China has used the Olympics to try to present itself as a dynamic, technological haven where the entrepreneurial spirit can flourish, while Vladimir Putin used the 2018 Football World Cup to present a softer, outward-facing Russia.

South Africa used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to show the world it had forgiven and at least partly healed and collectively had bought into a new future as the Rainbow Nation.

Be they cynical vehicles to hide a multitude of human rights abuses, create a misleading sense of global connection, or project a genuine portrayal of the qualities and values that a country feels best defines it, these high-profile events are incredible PR opportunities.

Investment in Team New Zealand would clearly have been in the latter category a legitimate and strong promotion of the innovative, technological excellence the country believes it possesses.

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The team is built on a value system of hard work, resilience and perseverance, best personified by Grant Dalton, whose clarity of vision, belligerence and will to succeed are universally admired.

There is no doubt Team New Zealand have a marketable narrative, but the harder question is whether it is the right one for the public purse to promote.

Team New Zealand is exclusively male and predominantly European Kiwi. The diversity which defines modern New Zealand is not represented by the crew and while Dalton's doggedness embodies the pioneering spirit on which the country was built, he's a rich white guy battling to give mega-rich white guys a few weeks of entertainment.

It has always felt like the Government is taking from the poor to give to the rich by supporting the America's Cup and trying to sell itself to the world as an adventure playground for billionaires.

The justification to use public funds to support the America's Cup has long been based on the economic returns, with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment forecasting (pre-Covid) that the 2020 event would inject between $600m to $1billion into the national economy.

But an estimated $436m of that was going to come from servicing and re-fitting superyachts that would be drawn here by the event and New Zealanders have to ask whether they want their tax dollars to be used as bait to lure Russian oligarchs, robber barons and other shady figures to port so their vanity toys can be upgraded.

New Zealand already has a global reputation for being a safe investment haven for ill-gotten gains, its lax tax and trustee laws fingered in the Panama Papers as being attractive to those trying to conceal their wealth.

A Government willing to invest in an event that is essentially off-limits to women and those on lower incomes all in the hope it will lead to the super rich throwing some loose change about, sends a clear message that New Zealand is elitist and not fussy or particular about whom it does business.

The America's Cup, and by association Team New Zealand, have strong stories to back, but they are narrow, exclusive and privileged.

Investing in Team New Zealand would have been investing in division a win for the haves and yet another blow for the have-nots - and ultimately it would have presented the country as two-tiered.

Auckland not winning the America's Cup hosting rights is not an act of betrayal but a lucky escape and the Government now has the chance to redirect its $99m of earmarked sports event investment into a vehicle that will cast the country as the egalitarian, diverse, cosmopolitan centre of excellence so many believe it is.

And as fate would have it, there is a near perfect investment opportunity on the horizon.

At some point later this year, New Zealand Rugby will be looking to raise $100m from institutional investors and on every level it makes sense for the Government to buy-in and preferably do so on a scale that gives them a seat at the boardroom table where they can build a new, hands-on relationship with the sport.

Rugby has the egalitarian profile that better encapsulates the country. It's gender and ethnically diverse, pervades deeper into the New Zealand psyche and is a significantly more accessible participation sport than sailing because you need boots and a ball, rather than a boat and the means to get it to the ocean.

The All Blacks are arguably New Zealand's most respected and most loved brand both here and offshore.

They not only consistently win, but they do so with a quintessential Kiwiness: the big stars carrying a humility which speaks to the grounded nature of New Zealanders.

The Black Ferns, in their shorter history, have shown much the same qualities of excellence, innovation and determination, and the sense of fun and unity that the Sevens team is carving out for itself, is starting to resonate on the world stage.

Rugby better represents modern New Zealand and projects an image of unity and equality a country where background and upbringing are not barriers to success.

Even on a straight economic argument, a $100m investment in NZR's capital raise stacks as better business than pumping the same amount into the America's Cup.

A bet on rugby will provide annual multi-million dollar returns in perpetuity and it will be reputable money, no taint to it, no lingering whiff of Russia and dubiously acquired assets clinging to it.

If New Zealand wants to use sport to tell a story about itself to the rest of the world, then rugby feels like it has a better narrative than the America's Cup.

Continue reading here:

NZ's lucky escape: Why losing the America's Cup is a blessing in disguise - New Zealand Herald

Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand have confirmed that they will share theirFT60 race cars with W Series in the upcoming season. The junior formula categories will work together in getting 18 Toyota Racing Series cars to two of W Series FIA Formula 1 World Championshp supported Grand Prix weekends.

They will do this across two continents at the Circuit de Barcelona in Spain and the Suzuka Cicuit in Japan, to support the championships aim of sustainable racing.

During the Spanish and Japanese Grand Prix weekends, W Series will swap its F3 T318 chassis for FT60 cars, allowing more of W Series freight to be transported via sea during the 2022 season.

Toyota Gazoo Racing and W Series use the same Tatuus chassis, however the female single-seater championship uses an Autotecnica Motori engine whereas the New Zealand cars are powered by a Toyota engine. The 17 confirmed W Series racers will drive with the Toyota engine in Spain and Japan.

The FT60s will then be returned in November to be used for the open seater Castrol Toyota Racing season in 2023.

We actually started talking about our collaboration in early 2020, said Nicolas Caillol, TRS Category & Operations Manager.

With the pandemic cancelling W Series 2020 season and reducing the scale of the 2021 season, the arrangement was put on hold until now.

The main factors were freight logistics and costs for W Series and, with our cars not being used at that point of the year, it became apparent we would be able to help. We are currently in the process of having our 8AR Engine homologated by the FIA to enable our cars to compete in W Series.

We hope very much that it is a win-win for both championships. We are all in it together as junior formula series around the world and we are delighted to be able to help. Of course, wed love to see some of the drivers racing in W Series this year carry on their association with the FT60s and head down to NZ to compete in 2023!.

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Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand to Provide 18 Cars for Two W Series Races - The Checkered Flag

ACT party leader David Seymours demand that a referendum on Mori co-governance be a bottom line in any coalition agreement with the National Party was, if nothing else, well timed.

With the prime minister confirming public consultation on co-governance will begin this year, the place of te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) in the nations life is front and centre once more.

Specifically, Seymour says successive governments interpretations of the English language version of te Tiriti which differs in important ways from the Mori text negotiated at Waitangi in 1840 is creating an ethno-state. He was later reported as saying:

[The government] believes there are two types of New Zealanders. Tangata whenua, who are here by right, and Tangata Tiriti who are lucky to be here.

ACTs referendum would ask voters to agree that the Treaty means:

all citizens of New Zealand have the same political rights and duties

all political authority comes from the people by democratic means including universal suffrage, regular and free elections with a secret ballot

New Zealand is a multi-ethnic liberal democracy where discrimination based on ethnicity is illegal.

Government ministers, the Mori Party and others have argued Seymours policy is itself divisive, and National Party leader Christopher Luxon has ruled out a referendum if he forms a government. But away from the electoral front line, important work on how te Tiriti can be applied at a policy level is already going on.

In 2020, we developed a policy evaluation method called Critical Tiriti Analysis (CTA) to address the problem of policy failure by ensuring distinctive Mori voices are heard. We recently explained these ideas to over 300 people at a public seminar.

CTA could be used by co-governance entities, but it doesnt require them. It is especially relevant at the policy evaluation level, and is being used in government departments and elsewhere to help give Mori people and their values and expectations a fair chance of influencing policy decisions.

Read more: The Crown is Mori too - citizenship, sovereignty and the Treaty of Waitangi

CTA uses five indicators to evaluate policy against te Tiritis main elements: the preamble, three written articles and the oral commitment to protect wairuatanga (an expression of custom, spirituality and psychological well-being):

The preamble creates an expectation of good government, so CTA asks how policy has been informed by substantive Mori values and expectations, and seeks evidence that Mori are equal or lead parties in the policy process

Article 1 granted the British Crown kwanatanga over non-Mori people in Aotearoa. CTA requires the demonstration of equitable Mori engagement or leadership in prioritising, resourcing, implementing and evaluating policy

Tino rangatiratanga was promised in Article 2, so CTA requires evidence of meaningful and expert Mori involvement in policy drafting, and measures the influence and authority of Mori values in the policy process

Article 3 of te Tiriti confers the right of Mori to actively engage in and influence policy development, implementation and evaluation. CTA involves evidence of Mori exercising their citizenship as Mori in policy development

And finally, in terms of wairuatanga, CTA seeks policy acknowledgement of the importance of wairua, rongo and wellness.

Read more: From Parihaka to He Puapua: its time Pkeh New Zealanders faced their personal connections to the past

In 2020 we used CTA to review the New Zealand Primary Healthcare Strategy. It has since been used to evaluate government policies and practices including cancer control plans and disability strategies.

In 2019, Cabinet published a Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi Guidance which set out questions policy advisers should consider in their advice to ministers. Our CTA review of the guidance suggested te Tiriti might also require asking the following questions:

what contributions have Mori people and ideas made to the drafting of this advice?

what do Mori say are the issues to consider and their interests in this issue?

what evidence is there that this policy preserves Mori authority, peace and good order?

could this policy disadvantage Mori in ways that it does not disadvantage others?

why is the government (or local government) presuming to make this decision?

why does the decision not, in part or whole, belong to the sphere of tino rangatiratanga?

Ultimately, CTA could strengthen the pillars of liberal democracy, which developed precisely because people bring different values, experiences and aspirations to public life. Societies need to find fair and orderly ways of managing those differences. Suppressing them is not liberal and its not democratic.

When the ACT party formed a confidence and supply agreement to support a National minority government in 2010, the government agreed that New Zealand would accept the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Read more: Two inquiries find unfair treatment and healthcare for Mori. This is how we fix it

The declaration says treaties such as te Tiriti (the Mori text) should be honoured and that Indigenous democratic rights are no less important than anybody elses. It explains how culture, language and resource rights have implications for what freedom and equality actually mean.

However, democracy doesnt always meet these ideals. Mori have long been excluded from policy-making, leading to poor outcomes in areas like health.

CTA is intended as a mana-enhancing process based on the intent and actual wording of te Tiriti. This focus can help ensure government policies reflect Mori understandings, expectations and aspirations. Because if policy making doesnt reflect these things, Mori are not politically equal and thats not liberal or democratic.

Read more: Indigenous recognition is more than a Voice to Government - it's a matter of political equality

These are first steps. Further development of CTA would consider how policy processes could be strengthened and how examples of effective policy making may be replicated.

We particularly want to see an active presence of Mori and Mori values in policy processes. This reflects our belief that effective public policy requires robust, critically and culturally informed engagement with the diversity of Mori policy thought and aspirations.

The CTA rationale involves meaningful Mori input throughout but also calls for a final word from Mori in the overall policy evaluation process, which should carry considerable weight.

At the same time, CTA does not diminish anyone elses right to be well served by government policy. It doesnt interpret te Tiriti to make anyone else feel lucky to be here. But it does provide protections against some people using policy to cause harm to others.

Read the original post:

Putting te Tiriti at the centre of Aotearoa New Zealands public policy can strengthen democracy here's how - The Conversation

COLOMBO (News 1st); The High Commission of New Zealand in Sri Lanka has issued a notice with regard to the current economic situation.

Accordingly, the News Zealand High Commission has pointed out that as the economic situation continues to deteriorate, leading to shortages of basic necessities such as fuel and some food products, rationing of electricity has also resulted in lengthy power outages, which will likely continue for some time.

There have been a number of recent protests relating to the economic situation. A protest in Colombo yesterday resulted in a curfew being imposed. Further protests and demonstrations are anticipated in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka, including on Sunday (3).

Kiwis in Sri Lanka are advised to avoid protest sites and demonstrations, as even those intended to be peaceful have the potential to turn violent. NZers are also advised to monitor local media for developments and comply with instructions, including curfews, issued by local authorities, the High Commission said in a statement.

Moreover,New Zealanders in Sri Lanka have been encouraged to register at http://safetravel.govt.nz, and if consular assistance is needed, they have been urged to contact +94112174717 or email [emailprotected]

For emergency consular assistance please contact the 24/7 New Zealand consular assistance line on +6499202020, it added.

Read more from the original source:

New Zealand HC issues notice with regard to economic situation - Newsfirst.lk