The Briefing

The controversial Fast-Track Approvals Bill circumvents legal protections for the environment and threatens public health.

It’s coming up to a year since Cyclone Gabrielle struck Aotearoa New Zealand becoming the most costly weather-related disaster in the country’s history. The ongoing disruption to lives and livelihoods shows the need for more government investment in resilient infrastructure and support for managed retreat for those in vulnerable areas.

A just published modelling study by the BODE3 Team has reported that “home safety assessment and modification” (e.g., adding hand rails and removing tripping hazards in homes) appears to be a very cost-effective health sector intervention. But even more cost-effective was targeting this intervention to older people with previous injurious falls.