This news was released late on Friday, as the media were dutifully distracted by their paymaster’s instructions to describe the granting of privileges by our tyrannical government as “Freedom Day”.
Counties Manukau DHB initially declined to accept a Covid-positive patient from Fiji, and director general of health Ashley Bloomfield questioned why Australia was not asked to take the woman.
Documents released to RNZ Checkpoint under the Official Information Act shed more light on the mad scramble between health officials and DHBs in July to make special arrangements for the United Nations employee to travel from Suva to Auckland for critical treatment.
Texts, emails and other correspondence show the DHB did a u-turn after Ministry of Health officials and then the UN itself became involved.
The documents reveal the ministry thoroughly questioned the DHB about its decision to decline the medevac, asking if it had exhausted all options. Ministry officials also told the DHB it must treat the official like any other official, whether they are from New Zealand or the UN.
The Fijian woman, who works for the World Health Organisation – part of the UN – was released from Middlemore last month after 76 days in hospital.
She arrived in late July and was immediately admitted to Middlemore Hospital’s ICU.
Notes show asymptomatic surveillance testing was planned to “begin weekly with those that care for her and we aim for only vaccinated staff to care for her”.
“CMDHB has advised that this individual is eligible for assessment and needs treatment for … and may require ventilator support that is not available in Suva Fiji,” one official noted.In response to Bloomfield asking why Australia was not asked to take the woman, one ministry official wrote: “In short, it appears the UN had a clear preference to approach NZ first and foremost.”
The trove of emails and texts also give further clues about the role played by former prime minister and ex-UNDP boss Helen Clark.
Clark did not advise New Zealand take the patient, but she did update officials on the situation. Her involvement included calls to Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
NZ Herald
And there we have it, corruption, nepotism and coverups.
Nanaia Mahuta also clearly lied when she was questioned about this back in August.
The Foreign Affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta says she spoke to former Prime Minister Helen Clark about the evacuation of a United Nations official infected with Covid-19 from Fiji to New Zealand.
But she’s insisting that conversation did not influence the decision to bring the patient to New Zealand, which she says was made at a ministry level.
Radio NZ
Even Blind Freddy knows that this woman would not have been flown here but for the interference and lobbying of Helen Clark. Why else would Clark have involved herself if not to influence decision making?
This woman is retired from politics and holds no position of authority, yet was able to lobby and speak with the minister.
I call bullshit on the claim that Clark’s lobbying didn’t influence the final decision.
This is nothing short of scandalous and it shows that with friends in the right places, you can bypass our health protections at the border because of the influence of those friends.
Of course, it should be noted that mere days later Delta was found in New Zealand and was blamed on some hapless travellers from Australia as media and their government handlers sought to minimise the role of this UN worker from Fiji in importing Delta to New Zealand.
You can be very sure that the OIA release to Radio NZ was deliberately timed to be hidden in everyone celebrating being allowed to eat out and go to bars by Ardern’s regime.
Sir Walter Scott was dead right when he said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”
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