Category Archives: New Zealand

new video loaded: New Zealand Announces Plan to Reopen Its Borders

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transcript

Today Im announcing that the fully vaccinated Kiwis and other currently eligible travelers from Australia will be able to travel to New Zealand from 11:59 p.m. Sunday 27 February. And instead of going into MIQ, will be able to self-isolate. In step two, just two weeks later, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other currently eligible travelers from the rest of the world will also be able to travel into New Zealand without going through MIQ. While we will no longer require people to enter managed isolation, at this stage travelers will be asked to follow broadly the same requirements we have in New Zealand for people who are deemed close contacts at the time of their travel. That means currently returning New Zealanders will need to self-isolate for 10 days. But as the isolation period drops for close contacts here in New Zealand, as it does in Phase 2 of our Omicron response, so too will returnees only need to isolate for seven days.

Recent episodes in Coronavirus Pandemic: Latest Updates

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Video: New Zealand Announces Plan to Reopen Its Borders - The New York Times

Aucklands Wynyard Quarter innovation precinct has welcomed one of the worlds leading strategy and management consultancies, following the launch of a permanent BCG office in New Zealand.

Boston Consulting Group has officially launched a new office in Auckland, with several senior leadership appointments already in place. The office will be led by BCG managing director and partner Phillip Benedetti, with support from Marco Ciobo, Richard Hobbs, Esm ONeill-Dean, and BCG stalwart and current New Zealand chair Andrew Clark.

The new location in Auckland joins regional BCG offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.Boston Consulting Group hasnt had a fixed office in New Zealand since 2010, and expects to grow its local headcount to 20 by years end.

BCG Australia and New Zealand managing partner Anthony Roediger said: We have had a presence in New Zealand for several decades and have supported some of the countrys leading companies as well as public sector and not-for-profit clients. [The new office] will us to provide greater support to New Zealand organisations.

The Auckland office is headed by Phillip Benedetti, who has been with BCG for the past ten years, and also serves as the consulting firms regional Head of Innovation and Corporate Strategy. Benedetti primarily works with financial institutions, insurance, and health care sector clients on growth and value creation, including during two secondment stints as a group strategy executive with ANZ. He is considered one of the firms global leaders in agile planning.

Industry veteran Marco Ciobo BCG as a partner in November following a one-and-a-half year stint as a senior advisor withBain & Company in Sydney. Prior to that, he served as a senior consulting partner and banking sector lead for digital and IT strategy at Deloitte in New Zealand, before which he held senior leadership positions at Accenture, Monitor Deloitte, Kearney, and Oliver Wyman. He returns to BCG after almost twenty years.

Also returning to the firm is Richard Hobbs, an energy and sustainability expert appointed principal, while performance coach Esm ONeill-Dean transfers back to New Zealand following stints with BCG in Sydney and New York. After first joining in 2015, Hobbs has spent the past two and half years as general manager for strategy and customer at Transpower New Zealand. ONeill-Dean joined in 2011, with a two-year break to attend Harvard Business School.

With Andrew, Marco, Richard, Esm and the rest of our talented team, were bringing together individuals with expertise and knowledge relevant to New Zealand organisations, commented Benedetti. Supported by our world-leading global network, Im excited to orchestrate the best of BCG to deliver value for New Zealand clients. And given BCGs breadth of capabilities, Im confident well create comprehensive, enduring impact.

Across Australia and New Zealand, Boston Consulting Group has around 700 staff, including 50+ managing directors and partners.

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Boston Consulting Group launches New Zealand office in Auckland - Consultancy.com.au

The Ora Good Cat is probably one of the best-looking vehicles to come out of China recently, even if it has a slightly weird name. Its built by Great Wall Motors (GWM), which opens up a potential pathway into New Zealand, but will we get it here?

Well, aside from the Great Wall link, theres more reason to think it will be sold here. GWM over in Australia has confirmed it will bring the Ora brand to those roads, but it hasnt said which models will be chosen for import.

The Good Cat is a good bet, as it turns out, as its a tad smaller than the Volkswagen Golf about between a Yaris and a Corolla but should be priced quite well for a fully electric car.

Supplied

The Ora Good Cat might have a weird name, but its undoubtedly good-looking.

Two battery options are available overseas, a 48kWh lithium-ion phosphate pack, and a larger 63kWh ternary lithium unit. Range is rated at 336km for the 48kWh battery or 420km for the 63kWh pack.

READ MORE:* It's not all one-way traffic for China's EV makers* Toyota taps BYD for new battery tech* Great Wall's electric ute set to offer 450km of range

Figuring out the motor set-up is a bit more tricky, as the Chinese and Thai models get a 105kW/210 electric motor, while the European and top-rung Chinese models get a stronger 126kW/250Nm. We suspect Australia will want the more powerful option.

Supplied

Could this be the bargain small EV weve been waiting for?

Interestingly, it looks like it will be marketed as Good Cat, rather than using the Ora Cat 01 badge used in Europe.

Pricing will be another point to watch, as the Good Cat is quite the bargain over in China, with prices starting at 115,000 yuan for the entry model to 149,000 yuan for the flagship (about NZ$27,000 to about NZ$35,000).

Even if that price topped out at $45k in New Zealand, it would be the cheapest EV in the country by a fair bit, taking into account the $8.6k Clean Car rebate. Currently, that honour stays with the MG ZS EV, which costs $48,990 ($40,365 after rebate).

The Good Cats standard kit includes LED headlights, a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, and keyless entry, but the base Chinese model misses out on autonomous emergency braking, as well as any other active safety features.

Supplied

A minimal interior to go with the minimal exterior.

Australia will only take models that have AEB, but the more safety features the better.

Other versions get adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera, sunroof, leather steering wheel and upholstery, and optional heated seats and a better sound system.

Hopefully GWM New Zealand will manage to bring the Good Cat here, as it could be the bargain small EV many are waiting for.

Read more:

Will we get the Ora Good Cat in New Zealand? - Stuff.co.nz

Sport

7 Feb, 2022 04:14 AM3 minutes to read

Liberato Cacace of Empoli FC in action during the Serie A match between Bologna FC and Empoli FC at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Photo / Getty Images.

Liberato Cacace has capped a remarkable week with a debut appearance for Empoli in Serie A on Monday morning.

The All Whites' defender became the first New Zealander to play in the Italian top flight, which is currently rated by UEFA as the third best in Europe, only behind the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga.

His first bow was far from easy, coming off the bench in the 70th minute away to Bologna, helping his team hang on for a crucial 0-0 draw.

It's a remarkable milestone for the 21-year-old, who replaced left back Fabiano Parisi, who had picked up a yellow card.

His loan move to Serie A, from Belgian club Sint Truidense VV, was only confirmed last Tuesday and just a handful of training sessions later Cacace got to experience first team football.

It was an early show of faith from coach Aurelio Andreazzoli, given the match situation and especially since Empoli had only managed three points from their previous six games.

When asked about Cacace in the pre-match press conference, the 68-year-old Andreazzoli said he had been quick to impress in the team environment.

"I didn't know Cacace at all, but I had good feelings that have become certainties since he trains with us," said Andreazzoli "The boy has quality, strength and experience despite his young age. [Sporting director] Pietro Accardi has shown that he is good at finding the ideal".

Cacace had been on Empoli's radar and they decided to act when first choice left fullback Riccardo Marchizza picked up a serious knee injury.

"Within the squad we have flexible players who could still fill that role, but in the end we decided to take a pure full-back like Cacace," Accardi told Italian media last week.

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"The name is perhaps unknown to you but in football circles it is a well-known name. We have been following him for some time, we have seen that he has grown a lot in recent years."

It augurs well for Cacace. He will continue to have a steep learning curve but is in an ideal environment and has shown across his career an ability to step up to each new level, for club and country.

Wellington Phoenix defender Sam Sutton admitted it was amazing to see the continued rise of his former teammate.

"It's awesome, inspiring," said Sutton on Monday. "He's a good mate of mine and it's awesome to see him push on and do things like that."

"We all know about the quality he is and the sky is the limit for him, who knows how far he can go, that's up to him and everyone here at the club is really proud of him."

"Hopefully he can keep going and personally it is very inspiring to see a young New Zealand left back to do things like that and makes me want to push even harder."

Cacace made 60 appearances for the Phoenix between February 2018 and August 2020, before his move to Belgium.

His time at Sint Truidense VV was far from straightforward, with the exit of coach Kevin Muscat a few months after he arrived, followed by a intense relegation battle.

This season had also been challenging, with Cacace benched for five successive matches at one point late last year, which is testimony to his resilience, before his move to Italy.

Read more:

All Whites' defender grabs another slice of NZ football history - New Zealand Herald

Sport

6 Feb, 2022 05:00 PM3 minutes to read

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has won New Zealand's first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal for snowboarding. Video / Sky Sport

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has already cemented her place in history.

In 2018, she became just the second New Zealander to claim a medal at the Winter Olympics when she earned a bronze in the snowboard big air. Now, she's New Zealand's first gold medallist at the Winter Games and the country's only multiple Winter Olympic medallist.

After topping the field in the slopestyle contest, Sadowski-Synnott added another medal to her fast-growing collection, following gold in both slopestyle and big air at the X Games in Aspen last month.

Still just 20 years old, Snow Sport New Zealand chief executive Nic Cavanagh said it was clear she had the world at her feet when she joined their elite programme.

"Zoi's really just lit up the world in the last two years with her snowboarding and she delivered on that potential and really fulfilled that by winning the gold medal," Cavanagh told Newstalk ZB.

"I might just refer to (free skier) Nico Porteous and his reference to Zoi - 'she's a weapon'. The ability for her to get out there and hit all those massive features and do it with such style and such ease, and really take snowboarding to the next level, hands down to her.

"She's the best snowboarding female, probably on the globe, there has ever been, so much credit to her."

Sadowski-Synnott had to work hard and feel the peak of Olympic pressure in Sunday's final. As the last athlete on the start list, her final run brought a close to the event and was always set up to decide where she would finish.

Needing to drop something higher than an 87.68 to surpass American Julia Marino, Sadowski-Synnott stepped up to the challenge and had the last say with a 92.88 to claim the gold.

Cavanagh credited the team working alongside Sadowski-Synnott for their part in helping her reach her potential, noting the three key ingredients in her development have been the fact she is clearly a world-class athlete, the input from her team (coaches, physio, nutritionist, doctor) and the local resorts such as Cardrona opening their doors to the local talent.

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Sadowski-Synnott's coach Sean Thompson said the plan going into the event was to post a formidable score on her first run so she had room to move in the second and third. Her first run score of 84.51 would have been good enough for the silver had she failed to top Marino on her final run.

"She nailed the plan, as she does," Thompson told Newstalk ZB.

"I knew she had it in her. I was quite confident in that one. It was a crazy moment. Definitely nervous but I was quietly confident that she had it in her to do that run. It's what she's been working super hard at over the last few years and I knew she could nail it. She totally did, and put some flair on it too."

Read the original here:

Beijing Winter Olympics 2022: The rise of Zoi Sadowski-Synnott - New Zealand Herald

Aotearoas new red light setting is up against the most transmissible variant of Covid-19 to date. Is it up to it? National Correspondent Katie Kenny reports.

The new Covid-19 protection framework, known as the traffic light system, was designed to slow the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Now, in the face of a new and more infectious variant, were sticking with it to see us into this phase of living with the virus.

As of January 23, following the detection of Omicron in the community, New Zealand is at the most restrictive red setting.

This isnt a lockdown. With vaccine passes, most parts of life can continue as usual. Domestic borders are open, workplaces and schools are open, you can visit cafs and bars, and go to the hairdresser and gym.

READ MORE:* Omicron NZ: Why the daily Covid-19 data will soon be a bit of a muddle* Covid-19 NZ: Is it really a good idea to call Omicron mild?* 'Vaxxed and done' or 'vaxxed and cautious': NZ's differing Omicron risk perceptions* The narrative of Omicron as a 'milder' variant is dangerous, given what we know about long Covid, experts warn

The main restrictions involve wearing masks on transport and at most public, indoor venues, and limiting gatherings to 100 people if everyone has a My Vaccine Pass.

These are the rules that will apply even when there are as many as tens of thousands of cases a day.

For a country that got through the initial period of the pandemic with the lowest Covid-19 mortality in the OECD, high levels of personal freedoms, and relatively good economic performance, the dramatic shift in strategy can be disconcerting.

Our approach is comparable to how many European countries have dealt with Omicron. So, will it make any difference?

Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank says while well still see cases go up rapidly, the public health measures in place during the red setting will help slow the spread of Omicron.

We know mask use makes a significant difference, as does limiting larger gatherings.

Hes reluctant to commit to numbers, but says these measures could reduce transmission by 20 per cent or even 30 per cent, compared to unmitigated spread.

Even relatively small changes in behaviour can make a big difference over time, because they reduce the rate of exponential growth.

We know a flattened curve means New Zealands healthcare system has a better chance of coping with demand. It also reduces the number of infected people who have to take time off work to isolate.

In places like South Australia and Queensland, we saw daily case numbers grow from single digits to over a thousand in about two weeks. But in Aotearoa, nearly a fortnight on from those initial community cases, weve managed to delay the start of the exponential growth phase.

On the eve of Waitangi weekend, cases were climbing, but not with the speed weve seen overseas.

On January 23, the seven-day rolling average of community cases was 25. On February 4, it was 128.

James D. Morgan/Getty Images

A Covid-19 drive through testing clinic in Byron Bay, Australia. (File photo)

We have several advantages over even Australia. The main one, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly highlighted, is our ability to roll out booster shots ahead of widespread community transmission. (New South Wales, for example, was already grappling with Delta when Omicron arrived in December.)

Two doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine offers less protection against symptomatic Omicron than with Delta, according to data from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency. But double-vaccinated people are still well protected against hospitalisation and death.

A booster dose offers greater protection against transmitting Omicron to others and further reduces the chance of more serious infections.

As of Friday, February 4, more than 94 per cent of the eligible population over 12 were double vaccinated, and 36 per cent over 18 were boosted (boosters arent yet available for those younger than 18).

On top of restrictions and vaccinations, peoples behaviour will dictate the rate of Omicron spread, Plank says. But thats also the hardest thing to predict.

Restrictions are one thing, but its possible people will decide to avoid riskier activities or delay them or find alternatives.

New Zealand was notoriously compliant with lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. According to Google mobility reports, the countrys first level 4 lockdown saw a staggering drop in Kiwis accessing parks, shops, restaurants and workplaces even places deemed essential during the period. It was a similar story nationwide in August 2021.

Kathryn George/Stuff

New Zealanders have generally followed lockdown rules closely during the pandemic. Now, many continue to stay home, even when thats not required.

But would we still reduce our movements, even if we didnt have to?

Approaching Christmas, people in Britain lost their appetite for eating out as Omicron spread. The number of seated diners was at its lowest level since restaurants reopened indoors in May, after a winter lockdown.

Its possible we'll see similar or even more caution exercised in New Zealand as cases rise.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands is currently easing some of the toughest Covid-19 restrictions in Europe. This is despite rising case numbers but in response to waning public support for the measures.

In a blog post for Otago Universitys Department of Public Health, Professor Nick Wilson and others wrote: New Zealanders may also take an Omicron outbreak more seriously than the populations of other countries and hence be more vigilant than expected with mask use (including using higher quality masks, such as N95s), physical distancing and such measures as working from home.

As an early indication, Google reports to January 28 against a baseline of early 2020 show New Zealanders are going out for shorter amounts of time and visits to retail, recreation and workplaces are slightly down.

Unlike Australia, Aotearoa has had the opportunity to apply increased public health measures to lower the Re value of the outbreak, Melbourne-based New Zealand epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely says.

Remember the R number? Its the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to. The R0 is essentially the R number when theres nothing to stop the virus. And then theres the Re, the transmission rate once the virus is spreading in the community, but there are obstacles in place to slow it down.

Using a simple mathematical model for illustrative purposes, Blakely outlined two potential scenarios in a population the size of Victoria.

The first, depicting the virus being allowed to spread through the vaccinated population without additional public health measures, the second, with measures similar to New Zealands red setting being introduced at 50,000 daily new infections.

Keep in mind, infections include undiagnosed and asymptomatic cases.

The former scenario sees an Re value of 2.5. With additional public health measures (such as boosters, mask-wearing and limiting large gatherings), the Re is reduced to 1.5. The first wave is sharp, and steep. The second peaks lower and cases are spread over a longer time period.

To be clear, this is just to give us a sense of how turning up restrictions can flatten the curve, which in turn reduces the maximum load on health services. What happens in New Zealand may well be very different.

The sort of restrictions New Zealand already has in place, potentially capping the Re at 1.5 from the get-go, could nearly halve the peak of our wave, Blakely says. But the number of people infected by the waves end is not that much different.

While the idea of 50 per cent or more of the country getting Covid sounds scary, he says theres no need to panic. As long as you protect your vulnerable they can hunker down and get boosted you can allow it to wash through the young, fit and healthy in a managed way.

He adds public health measures mean were unlikely to see the number of Covid-19 cases in hospitals peak at 4000, as early estimates suggested.

More recent modelling for an Omicron variant outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation suggests hospital admissions could peak at 2790. But Blakely is more optimistic.

The peak in New South Wales saw 2800 people in hospital on any given day. Victoria peaked at 1200, he says. I suspect youll peak at 1000. Or, if you flatten the curve well, perhaps 500-700.

Its too difficult to say at what point cases will level off. As the expected, significant minority of people who worked from home and avoided crowds through the peak reappear, its possible theyll be oxygen to smouldering embers of the outbreak. This will prolong the wave, but at a more manageable level.

No one can really, totally remove themselves from society, Plank says. I think were likely to see a peak and then a rapid decline.

Some have asked: Would lockdowns make a difference?

Weve previously used lockdowns successfully to eliminate the virus, Plank says. We also used them in response to the Delta outbreak to give us time to get vaccination numbers up.

Were not in that situation any more. Yes, were in the middle of a booster roll out but within a month, the vast majority of adults will be eligible for theirs. So were within striking range of high booster coverage, too.

ANDY MACDONALD / STUFF

A Covid-19 pop-up testing station at the Tahuna Beach Holiday Park.

In coming weeks and months, we can also expect to see more border cases coming into the community.

The issue with a lockdown is: what would be the exit plan?

So, what does all of this mean in the long term?

The Atlantics James Hamblin in February 2020 posited that roughly 40 to 70 per cent of the world would get infected with the virus that causes Covid-19. In December 2021, as a tidal wave of Omicron swept across the US, Hamblin referred to his initial prediction as an understatement.

The prediction was based on a basic model of herd immunity thresholds for a respiratory virus but not one that managed to evolve and re-infect people as quickly as SARS-CoV-2 has, he wrote.

Hes quick to point out infection isnt the same as sickness, and not all sickness is the same. This disease can feel like nothing, or it can send you to the ICU for weeks, only to leave with permanent organ damage.

WARWICK SMITH/Stuff

A vaccination centre in Palmerston North.

Populations with high levels of vaccination will be less affected by Omicron. But in the US, for example, thousands of preventable deaths are occurring largely as the result of people declining vaccination.

Out of self-interest, I ask Plank: If I dont catch Covid-19 in the next three-to-six months, does that mean I could avoid it, forever?

I dont think Covid will go away, he says. I think well be dealing with it in the community for the foreseeable. The level of threat it poses has already diminished thanks to the vaccine. And it will continue to diminish as people have immunity from both vaccines and prior infections.

But that doesnt mean it wont be a public health issue, and that we can forget about it. This wont be the last variant well see.

Follow this link:

Covid-19: What does the red light setting actually do to combat the Omicron outbreak? - Stuff.co.nz

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed a New Zealand delegation "will attend the environment session and participate in the negotiation of the assembly's decisions".

The session will be based out of Nairobi, Kenya, with delegations able to attend online and in person.

A decision had not yet been made on how the New Zealand delegation would attend, the spokesperson said.

Aotearoa has recently chaired a working group on plastic pollution and it is hoped an internationally binding commitment to help combat plastic pollution can be made at this session.

New Zealand is a founding member of the programme and a national delegation has participated in every assembly meeting.

Since it began in 1972, Aotearoa has contributed over $9.7m to the programme.

"The success of UNEP's work highly depends on the contributions made by Member States...UNEP's work supports global action on environmental issues that have transboundary impacts, like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution," the spokesperson said.

"UNEP also conducts capacity-building work in developing countries, including in the Pacific, to improve environmental outcomes for our region...It produces world-leading reports on the state of the global environment too."

UNEP has universal membership from all member states in the United Nations.

RNZ

Link:

New Zealand to 'participate in negotiations' at United Nations environment assembly - Newshub

The research can inform how targeted cancer drugs are developed. Photo / Supplied

A new research programme in Auckland is investigating how rare cancers can be better diagnosed and treated.

The programme, for Auckland's Regional Cancer and Blood Service, is part of an Australian-based clinical trial called the Cancer Molecular Screening and Therapeutics (MoST), and is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Cancer patients who have exhausted other treatment options can have their specific cancer analysed using genomic profiling, to determine if other more targeted therapies are available.

Based at Auckland City Hospital, the programme is in collaboration with the University of Auckland and genomic profiling company Foundation Medicine, part of healthcare company Roche.

Genomic profiling is a diagnostic tool that interrogates a cancer sample at the genetic level, allowing oncologists to look into each person's cancer more deeply.

This then provides clues towards the cancer's specific genetic make-up, allowing clinicians to treat the cancer in a more targeted way, says genomic profiling lead for Roche in New Zealand Stuart Ryan.

"Cancer can be defined in terms of the genetic changes that make it grow and divide," he said.

"And if you can identify those genetic changes, it gives you the opportunity to be able to look at what treatments could be used to target that particular genetic change."

Studies using genomic profiling aim to identify genes that change in cancer, so drugs can be developed to target and suppress those changes, allowing patients to live better and longer.

"As this technology develops and we find more and more genetic changes in cancer, pharmaceutical companies like Roche are developing drugs that target these different genetic changes."

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"Those drugs are generally much more effective than a generic therapy like chemotherapy, as opposed to something that directly targets the genomic change in someone's cancer."

In one example, a New Zealand farmer underwent genomic profiling after two failed therapies for advanced lung cancer.

"In that particular case, the patient had exhausted all other available therapies and the test was able to identify a particular genetic change, and there was a targeted therapy available to treat that genetic change," Ryan said.

"That patient is now, after three years going on that drug, well and healthy and living life to the full."

The programme was the first step in researching how the technology worked in a New Zealand setting, he said.

"What we're here to do is support Auckland Hospital and the university to be able to achieve their goals, and look at how we can bring this technology to New Zealand quicker."

The research programme began last year with the first test result taken in October.

Auckland Hospital's principal investigator Dr Michelle Wilson, a medical oncologist and service clinical director for Cancer and Blood Research, says 17 patients have now consented to genomic testing of their cancers.

"We're aiming to do at least 200 in the next two years, but that's just our starting point," she said.

"We're mainly concentrating on rare cancers and that's where it started in Australia focusing on rare cancers, particularly where we don't have good treatment options."

"This is not going to cure people, but it's about trying to ensure people live longer and live better."

While genomic profiling is normally a self-paid test, there would be no cost to the patient through the clinical trial.

An important aspect of the study was also the insight gathered from interviewing patients, Wilson said.

"One of the exciting things about this project beyond just the genomic testing is that it has a lot of qualitative research it asks the patient a lot about what they want and what they expect," she said.

"That's going to give us really valuable information about how best to move genomic testing forward as well, because we have the patient voice which is so important."

Beginning in Syndey in 2016, MoST research is now underway in multiple sites across Australia. While Auckland City Hospital is the first New Zealand public hospital to take part in the research, Wilson hopes it will also grow throughout the country in the future.

"The aim is that with what we learn we will be able to make it a permanent part of what we can offer to people on a wider scale."

Auckland University professor in molecular medicine and pathology Cristin Print describes the programme as an "energetic partnership" between the university, Auckland DHB and Roche.

The programme was funded throughout its set-up phase with funding from each of the three parties and a grant from the university's Centre for Cancer Research.

Print said the programme was the fastest way to bring the benefits of genomic precision medicine to Auckland patients.

"By including ethically approved research at the centre of this trial, we learn more from every patient about the genetic re-wiring that drives tumours."

Go here to see the original:

New cancer research programme uses genomic profiling that can give patients a second chance - New Zealand Herald

7 February 2022

New Zealand has started consultations on a proposed income insurance scheme that would support workers made redundant, laid off or forced to step aside because of a health condition or disability.

The scheme has been designed by the Government, Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and would provide 80% of a persons usual salary for up to seven months, up to the current Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) cap.

Finance Minister Grant Morrison says the scheme is an enduring solution to protect people and the economy after job losses.

As New Zealand moves beyond the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, there are important lessons to be learned from the way we were able to support one another through an unprecedented series of challenges, he said.

During covid, the Wage Subsidy Scheme and Resurgence Support Payment was primarily focused on keeping people in their existing jobs and supporting businesses most directly affected by the pandemic.

Our proposed scheme provides economic security to individuals directly, and supports them to transition into a good, new job, as opposed to economic support packages which keep people in their existing job even if that role is no longer viable, Mr Robertson said.

The scheme would be administered by ACC and would be funded by levies on wages and salaries, with both workers and employers paying an estimated 1.39% each.

The consultation closes on April 26.

Read the rest here:

New Zealand consults on income insurance scheme - Regulatory & Government - Insurance News

The New Zealand Originals 1905-1906 tour squad, Bill Cunningham is in the back row, third from left. Photo / PA Images

All Black No 82 William 'Bill' Cunningham was born in the small Waip village of Rangiaowhia, about 4km east of Te Awamutu, on July 8, 1874.

Cunningham was born into a rather famous family tree with grandfather Thomas being a New Zealand whaler, trader and founding father; aunty Kate Wyllie (nee. Halbert) was a New Zealand tribal leader; uncle Otene Pitau was a New Zealand Mori leader; uncle Wi Pere was a Mori Member of Parliament; sister Reremoana Hakiwai was a New Zealand cook and community leader, among many other relatives from future generations like author Witi Ihimaera, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's curator Arapata Hakiwai and former All Black Tu Wyllie.

One of 'The Originals' in 1905-1906 that toured Britain, Cunningham moved to Waihi at a young age.

He played his rugby for Waihi West who were then under the boundary of the Auckland Rugby Football Union.

Cunningham moved to Auckland in 1902 and represented the City (Auckland) and Ponsonby clubs.

He played for Auckland from 1899 until 1913.

Cunningham was a lock, considered to be a "powerhouse scrummager", although he was just 180cm tall and 92kg a big man for the time.

He made his debut for New Zealand against Wellington in 1901 at age 27 but his international debut wouldn't come for another four years, against Scotland at Edinburgh.

Cunningham wasn't selected for New Zealand in 1904 but continued to appear for Auckland.

This was the year of the first Ranfurly Shield match.

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Due to Auckland's unmatched provincial record at the time they were given the shield.

The first shield challenge was against Wellington, and although Auckland had not lost at home in six years, Wellington defeated them 6-3, forfeiting the shield.

The same season, Cunningham and Auckland defeated the British Isles 130, with Cunningham scoring a try.

As "The Originals" were formed in 1905, Cunningham was recalled to the New Zealand squad.

They set off on-board the Rimutaka, for a six-week voyage to the British Isles.

"The Originals'" played 35 games on their tour and lost only one. Cunningham took the field in 23 of these.

New Zealand scored 976 points and conceded 59, still today known as one of the greatest ever All Blacks sides.

Cunningham played 39 All Blacks matches (1901-1908) which included nine tests, playing prop in one and lock in the other eight, scoring one try.

His total of 22 All Blacks points (matches and tests) consisted of two tries and eight conversions.

A goal kicking lock, something that Wallaby John Eales normalised almost a century later, Cunningham also represented the New Zealand Mori side between 1910 and 1912.

It was said by plenty of other players that "there was none like Cunningham".

In Lindsay Knight's biography of Cunningham for the New Zealand Rugby Museum it said:"With his 45 games for Auckland, 39 including nine internationals for his country and matches for North Island (1902 and 1908) and for New Zealand Mori Cunningham finished with the rare feat for a player of his times of more than a century (103) of first class games.

"Cunningham was noted for his cheerfulness and his determined optimism.

"Once when he had given chase to a noted sprinter in a vain attempt to stop a try he was asked by his teammates as the conversion was being taken why he had bothered when his task was so hopeless. 'Because,' replied Cunningham, 'he might have dropped dead'."

George Gillett, a former New Zealand rugby and rugby league player, also from the Waihi area, had stated that Cunningham was a tough player.

"Our old friend Bill Cunningham, and a number of other old players I could mention, would scorn the idea of any medical attention on the field of play and would pass caustic remarks to others who availed themselves of such attention."

In 1907, during his international career, Cunningham had married Ethel Minnie Dance of Waihi and the same year, their only child William Henry Cunningham was born. Sadly, he passed away at 1-day-old.

Cunningham wasn't just a rugby player; he had also been an axeman, a miner and a freezing works labourer all which would have pushed his case as a strong scrummager.

On September 3, 1927, Cunningham passed away from acute meningitis. At the time he was working at an Auckland freezing works.

Members of the New Zealand, Auckland, New South Wales and Thames Rugby Unions attended Cunningham's wake while 1890s New Zealand representative Fred Murray, and fellow 'Originals' Gillett, George Tyler and George Nicholson were the pallbearers for their fallen friend.

Cunningham was laid to rest at Hillsborough Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Auckland, which overlooks the Manukau Harbour. He was 52 years old.

An Auckland rugby jersey was thrown on top of his casket, a representation of his service and commitment to the jersey and region buried with his colours.

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Rugby: Bill Cunningham one of New Zealand's 'Originals' - New Zealand Herald