Covid-19

The late Sir Michael Cullen was blessed with a sharp intellect and quick wit overlaid with his occasional trademark sarcasm. At the Herald’s 2005 Mood of the Boardroom election breakfast, Cullen painstakingly laid out the strategies he had employed over six years to underpin economic growth as he teased then-opponent Sir John Key on the merits of a $3.9 billion …

The Prime Minister has spoken: Failing to adapt to climate change is not an option for her Labour Government; neither is it an option for business. In the Herald’s 2021 Sustainable Business report, Jacinda Ardern presents climate action s an economic opportunity that New Zealand must seize. Ardern shares her Government’s thinking as it prepares its formal response to the Climate …

The pandemic caused digital adoption across all industries to surge and agribusiness is no exception. We look at some of the technological advancements that are shaping the industry to maximise volume, drive economic progress and provide sustainable and productive solutions. The image of giant robots bestriding fields with a drone circling overhead is futuristic. But it foreshadows a future where …

John Blaxland, Australian National University Talk of war has become louder in recent days, but the “drumbeat” has been heard for some time now as China’s military capabilities have grown. China does not want war, at least not yet. It’s playing the long game and its evident intentions have become more unnerving. Scholars like Brendan Taylor have identified four flash …

A new analysis by the Democracy Project of Nanaia Mahuta’s public statements and tweets over the past six months reveals some intriguing initial insights into her foreign policy agenda. By the end of Wednesday this week, Nanaia Mahuta had made 31 formal statements or speeches on foreign affairs in her time as minister. On Twitter, she had published 85 original tweets (i.e. excluding retweets …

Tim McCready Professor Sir Peter Gluckman told attendees at this morning’s ‘Kickstarting the New Zealand Economy’ session from the Trans-Tasman Business Circle that we won’t go back to ‘business as usual’ following the pandemic: “New Zealand needs to grow its R&D strategy, which is still designed for the 1980s and not for the 21st century.” He said our two biggest …

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury; Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, and Siouxsie Wiles, University of Auckland New Zealand’s latest community cases, the first to be infected with the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, have a plausible link to the border through one person’s workplace at LSG Sky Chefs, a business that deals with laundry and catering from international flights. …

Richard Meade, Auckland University of Technology Faced with a COVID-19 pandemic of unknown severity and duration, governments around the world are looking for effective and sustainable ways to maintain economic confidence and employment. Even New Zealand, where lockdowns have been few and short-lived, is confronting the reality of repeated lockdowns, especially since the United Kingdom variant has now been detected …

David Welch, University of Auckland; Jemma Geoghegan, University of Otago; Joep de Ligt, ESR, and Nigel French, Massey University New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have now evaded New Zealand’s border protections twice to spread into the community. In the most recent outbreak, which placed Auckland into an alert level 3 lockdown, there are three active community cases of the more infectious …

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury and Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland Relaxing border restrictions for travellers from low COVID-19 risk countries would increase the risk of community cases in New Zealand by around 25%, says an article published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal. This might not sound like a big increase in risk, but it means breaches like …