An anxious wait for news from Tonga
The first humanitarian aid is headed towards the country, however Tongans around the world await messages from family
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Tuesday, January 18, by Justin Giovannetti. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Omicron outbreak would mean move to red light; Tamaki arrested; world’s biggest potato getting a test; but first, Tonga’s plight.
A tsunami wave in Tonga after the eruption. (RNZ/Dr Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau)
Tongans around the world are still waiting to hear from families in Tonga. “The silence is deafening,” The Spinoff’s Sela Jane Hopgood writes about the wait since Saturday’s underwater volcanic eruption. Her messages to family have gone unanswered. It’s a situation many in New Zealand are currently living, checking to see if their texts are getting through. Initial reports still suggest there have been no mass casualties, but one death has been reported by Stuff. While electricity and the local phone system has been restored, the country’s main cable was broken by the violent eruption, cutting off communications with the rest of the world. Repairs could take weeks.
Some messages have started to get out, asking for water and food. A thick blanket of volcanic ash has contaminated local water supplies and heavy waves may have inundated water systems. A tsunami has also damaged local infrastructure, including homes, businesses and boats. The country’s cabinet met on Sunday night and asked for assistance, Reuters reports. The Red Cross has warned that the country is “cut off from the rest of the world” after the worst Pacific eruption in decades. There have also been a few messages that have gotten through, including one from someone on an outer Tongan island who told Stuff damage was more limited and they were able to hold regular church service on Sunday.
The first humanitarian supplies are on their way to Tonga. After a reconnaissance flight in the morning, a New Zealand air force transport plane with water and other supplies was ready to take off yesterday afternoon, according to One News. Because of possible damage to Tonga’s main airport, the supplies will likely be air dropped from the back of a C-130 Hercules. Because communications by satellite phone have been spotty, the government is waiting for a better sense of what’s needed before dispatching navy ships to the country. Australia has also sent an air force surveillance plane to Tonga and is readying a ship. Aid agencies met yesterday to coordinate their efforts, RNZ reports, with Oxfam confident it will be able to get a team over with desalination gear.
There are warnings of acid rain across the Pacific after the eruption. As the NZ Herald reports, a massive cloud of toxic gas is hovering over the Pacific and the Fijian government has asked people to stay inside when it rains. The sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere is currently being pulled east of New Zealand by cyclone Cody. Niwa has noted that while sulphur dioxide can act as a long-lasting aerosol that can reflect incoming sunlight and lower global temperatures, there’s probably not enough in the atmosphere to significantly cool global temperatures.
NZ would move to red light if omicron detected: Ardern. The prime minister says the government will unveil its plan for an omicron outbreak over “the coming weeks,” but as RNZ reports, an outbreak of the incredibly infectious variant would move the country to a red light setting. The way New Zealand tests, traces and isolates cases is expected to change because of omicron, which has overwhelmed health systems around the world. Boosters could also be added as a requirement to the vaccine pass.
A number of public health officials have put forward a list of steps the government could take to prepare for omicron, including limiting arrivals into the country, strengthening the traffic light system and moving to a mitigation strategy to “flatten the curve”—you can’t really control an omicron outbreak.
The Spinoff’s Covid data tracker has the latest figures.
Banks warned for three years that new credit rules would cause lending clampdown. They were meant to control predatory lending and high-interest loans, instead the new rules have meant a dive in mortgage approvals over the past month. While the government has announced an investigation, banks say they’ve warned for years that they’d cut back far more than the government intended, the NZ Herald reports. In 2019, banks warned that people with good incomes able to service mortgages would be shut out by rules they’d interpret as requiring a detailed investigation of a borrower’s finances. And that’s what has happened.
Brian Tamaki in custody for alleged breach of bail conditions. The Destiny Church leader will spend the next 10 days in police custody as he faces multiple charges of breaching Covid-19 health orders and repeatedly breaching his bail conditions. As Stuff reports, he’ll appear at a bail hearing next Thursday. The NZ Herald’s David Fisher was at Tamaki’s house on Monday morning when the police arrived to arrest the man. Fisher has written an arresting portrait of what happened and how things got to where they are.
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Doubts mean Dug the spud is headed for testing. A piece of what could be the world’s largest potato, a 7.9kg monster unearthed in Hamilton last year, is being sent to Scotland for DNA testing. Stuff reports that the Guinness World Records wants proof that Dug is actually a potato, requiring the test. The potato’s owners say they’ve been through waves of emotions since they found the big guy in their garden.
Wellington starts rebuild of iconic Frank Kitts Park. It started when a beloved but dangerous slide was removed from the waterfront park last September after a number of injuries. Council has now begun a $6 million project to remake the park and turn it into a destination again, Georgina Campbell writes in the NZ Herald. With a new nautical theme, the park will have a dual flying fox, five swings and a new lighthouse. The revamped playground is expected to open in October.
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Silver Ferns lose to England, missing Quad Series final. The team lost an eight-goal lead in London to drop a test and a spot in the final, the NZ Herald reports. The Silver Ferns will now face a winless South Africa, while England and Australia battle it out for the netball crown. The team’s focus is already shifting to six months in the future, where they’ll face similar squads at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and hope for a better finish.
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