The Star: February 22, 2024

The Star Thursday February 22 2024
16
NEWS
Mosquito warning issued
after warmer weather
gives boost to breeding
• By Dylan Smits
DANGEROUS exotic
mosquitoes’ ability to breed in
Lyttelton is increasing due to
climate change.
After a hot summer, residents
are being urged to check their
properties for potential mosquito
breeding habitats due to the close
proximity of homes to the port.
“If exotic mosquitoes were to
sneak through, breed, and infect
people, the results could be disastrous.
The diseases they carry
cause severe illness and can be
fatal,” said Dr Matt Reid, medical
officer of health for the National
Public Health Service.
Health protection officers monitor
the area around the port for
evidence of foreign mosquitoes,
particularly those which could
threaten public health.
Serious diseases like malaria,
dengue fever, and Ross River
fever can be carried into New
Zealand by tropical mosquito
types like aedes and anopheles,”
said Reid.
“With climate change potentially
making our environment
more comfortable for these
mosquitoes, an outbreak could
have significant cost implications
for the health system, and
eradication campaigns can cost
millions.”
PREVENTION: All Lyttelton
residents are being asked
to empty collections of
stagnant water on their
property to prevent exotic
mosquito breeding.
All Lyttelton residents are being
asked by the NPHS to check
their property for collections
of stagnant water which can be
attractive breeding grounds for
mosquitoes.
“Mosquitoes struggle in the
cold but with the recent warm
weather, areas of stagnant and
pooled water can be perfect
breeding grounds.”
Reid said residents should
empty out any plant pots,
buckets, tins, jars and other items
that may hold water.
Boats, dinghies, and kayaks
should also be turned upside
down regularly to prevent pooling
water.
Reid said this notice is based
around prevention as he is not
aware of any exotic mosquitoes
being discovered at the port.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Cheaper transport trial
made dollars go further
CHEAPER PUBLIC transport in
Christchurch meant more people
on lower incomes had more
money for everyday essentials,
including food, a new study
shows.
Researchers at the city’s Otago
University campus surveyed
more than 370 people, comprising
of public housing tenants
and senior residents, all of whom
faced “transport difficulty”.
Half price bus fares ran for 14
months in Christchurch before
ending in June 2023.
The scheme reduced an adult
single fare zone in Christchurch
to $1.30 with a MetroCard, or
$2.10 cash.
Other centres around the
country phased out half price
fares last year, including in both
Auckland and Wellington where
it was wrapped up in July and
September, respectively.
The study found almost half of
participants were able to afford
additional trips, with more than
a third able to spend money on
food and other essentials as a
result.
Dr Angela Curl, a senior
lecturer at Otago’s department
of population health, said research
found those experiencing
“transport poverty” benefited in
terms of accessibility and easing
financial stress.
“We know that public housing
residents, including those in our
study, experience transport difficulties
related to affordability
and accessibility, with Statistics
New Zealand figures showing the
lowest income households spend
more than a quarter of their incomes
on transport,” she said.
“Our findings show that for
many who live in public housing,
access to reduced fares on public
transport reduces their financial
stress, gives them the ability to
get to places they need, removes
anxiety, and improves their wellbeing
and social contact.”
Participants were asked about
awareness, use and impact of half
price bus fares.
An earlier Waka Kotahi report,
Impact of Half-Price Public
Transport Fares - A Research
PHOTO: ECAN
Note, published in February
2022, showed bus patronage in
Christchurch and Wellington
matched 2019 rates, but largely
remained below pre-Covid-19
levels even since the introduction
of half-price fares.
But the report said people who
already relied on public transport
were benefiting from cheaper
fares by saving money and
choosing to travel more often.
In the Otago University study,
45 per cent of public housing respondents
stated half price fares
had allowed them to make a trip
they would otherwise have been
unable to take, compared to 16
per cent of other respondents.
Thirty-six per cent said they
had been able to spend money on
other things such as food due to
cheaper fares, compared to 8 per
cent of other participants.
– RNZ
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