Monthly Archives: February 2022

OPINION: Until now, it's more likely than not, you've never met anyone who's had Covid-19.

Our two-year elimination strategy has meant Kiwis with family and friends in far-off parts of the world have watched in agony as their loved ones became infected; but in this part of the world, it's been a rare thing.

That's about to change. For anyone with whnau in Australia, it probably already has. A few weeks ago our cousins to the west accepted they would, sooner or later, likely be infected with the Omicron variant and have an uncomfortable but survivable illness (provided they were vaccinated and boosted and not immunocompromised). Now, its about to be our turn.

It's not easy to hear the modellers' predictions without a twinge of anxiety; the goal here, right from the beginning of Covid, has been no cases. Its a massive shift to get your head around the idea of potentially millions of infections.

DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the border will start re-opening in phases, starting with self-isolation requirements for fully vaccinated citizens returning from Australia on February 27.

READ MORE:* Five questions about how self-isolation will work for travel* Student exchange programme goes virtual while Covid-19 border restrictions remain* Covid-19: Domestic violence victims could struggle to seek help in managed isolation

Set that alongside this week's announcements on a staged border-opening - which inherently accepts that Omicron is spreading here and will continue to spread - and the result is a counter-intuitive challenge. How do our brains, primed for caution for the past 24 months, put those two things together?

The numbers we'll see over the next few months will come as a shock no matter how well we've been advised and prepared. But prepared, we must be. While we were well across the rules in 2020 and 2021, there are new 'rules and they're not as prescriptive - which means using your noggin, and making sensible decisions.

Chris McKeen/Stuff

Eating out? Eat outside if you can.

For example, if you want to eat out, or gather with people other than those in your family bubble, it's sensible to do that outside. Masking up whenever you leave the house is a given, but aspects of the advice on masks have changed in the past days, too.

The fabric mask-as-fashion-statement is on the way out (bad news for those manufacturers who pivoted to mask-making earlier in the pandemic) and the humble surgical mask is now the recommended form of protection if you can't find, or afford, the even-more-effective KN95. They're not fashionable, and frankly sometimes they smell a bit weird (advice on how to tackle this abounds on the internet) but surgical masks are hardier and more versatile than we knew. You can wash them, for example, up to 10 times without compromising their effectiveness. According to New Zealand research, even after multiple washes they're better than a triple-layer cloth mask.

Choosing a mask, washing, deodorising, and heck, remembering a mask - all these micro-decisions are becoming embedded in our daily life.

RYAN ANDERSON/Stuff

Changes in advice around mask wearing is just one of the new decisions were facing every day.

Then there's the latest addition to the Covid lexicon - the "shadow lockdown" - where some are choosing to plot a more cautious course for themselves and their community than is officially required - by avoiding high-risk outings and activities. A self-imposed lockdown, if you like.

That's now your choice rather than a mandate. And soon your choices will broaden to include travel.

Ah, travel. Tourism. Remember it? No, me neither, hardly.

It will not be like it used to be, but if we need to leave New Zealand with plans to come back again, that will increasingly become possible from the end of this month. Just writing those words, feels extraordinary.

The five-stage plan for the border announced on Thursday will, eventually, see the end of an MIQ system that in some circles has become shorthand for misery. I don't think that reputation is entirely deserved - although there have been failures, high-profile missteps and yes, thousands of disappointed New Zealanders unable to secure a place, the MIQ system has worked without issue for hundreds of thousands of others since 2020.

I'm not discounting the pain experienced in those cases, but there's been more unreported plain sailing in MIQ than there has been pain. And sometimes you've had to wonder about the privilege and expectations of those who've done the complaining - I'm thinking of the woman who shut herself in the hotel bathroom and posted breathlessly on social media when she realised her two young children would have to share a double bed. That level of privilege drew understandable derision.

Glenn McConnell/Stuff

Ardern announces a five-stage reopening of the New Zealand border at a press conference on Thursday.

The best part of the prime minister's rather overblown speech announcing the border plan on Thursday, was the bit where she acknowledged and thanked the hundreds of MIQ staff who've done their best in very trying circumstances for the past two years.

That was something that genuinely needed to be said. Those workers deserve our thoughts and our thanks (and a living wage, which some may lose when the hotels pivot back to normal operations).

We'll all have different reactions to the idea of opening up to the world again. Most will be formed by personal circumstances - I, for example, am thrilled I'll be able to collect my kids together to celebrate my son's 21st birthday. There's no amount of jabs I wouldn't have and masks I wouldn't wear, to reunite my little family again. And we must not forget the people who haven't been able to breathe that sigh of relief knowing reuniting with their mum, dad, gran or koro is just weeks away. For those Kiwis who missed the chance to say goodbye before a loved one passed away, this week's announcement might feel like a dagger to the heart.

Whatever your own take on it, the change in entry restrictions means it's time to drop the sourpuss act we've seen directed at Kiwis stuck overseas. With Omicron in the community, those returnees are no longer any more dangerous to you, than the person filling up at the next petrol pump. If you're one of the venom-spitters, perhaps your behaviour was driven by fear? Get vaccinated, get boosted, and then drop that too; while your fears may have been understandable, there's no call to be stupid.

I know it's a word worn as thin as your gran's souvenir tea-towels, but what we need now, is a return to kindness.

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Time to drop the sourpuss act, New Zealand - and get used to the new rules - Stuff.co.nz

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

transcript

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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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