Former prime minister Helen Clark says she is “deeply saddened” by the death of Georgina Beyer, the world’s first transgender mayor and then transgender MP, who served in her caucus in the early 2000s after a five-year stint as mayor of Carterton.

“Georgina showed tremendous courage in stepping into public life,” said Clark in a statement, adding that Beyer had “a sharp wit which was a great asset in the parliamentary debating chamber.

“She was always a favourite in Labour’s fundraising debates, including in my electorate. Even though her wit on those occasions was somewhat risqué, her lines always brought the house down.

“In recent years, Georgina has suffered very poor health. Her death at 65 has taken her from us far too young. I convey my sincere condolences to Georgina’s wider family and friends at this very sad time.”

Finance minister and Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson, meanwhile, posted a tribute to “Georgie” on Instagram, acknowledging a “life of creativity, drama, activism and aroha”.

Robertson recalled facing opponents to the civil unions bill with Beyer in 2004. “I was with her on the steps of parliament when Brian Tamaki and his mob arrived to oppose civil unions,” he wrote. “And then followed her when she went to confront them.

“With a mixture of awe and genuine fear for her safety I saw the very best of Georgina that day.”

Georgina Beyer, the world’s first transgender mayor and MP, has passed away at the age of 65.

Beyer was born in Wellington in 1957 and lived in Australia for some time before moving back to New Zealand in the 1990s. She gained an interest in politics, and was elected as the mayor of Carterton in 1995 (becoming the world’s first transgender mayor), and then as MP for Labour in the Wairarapa in 1999 (becoming the world’s first transgender MP). She remains one of the few former sex workers to hold political office.

After resigning from politics in 2007, Beyer had been a prominent advocate for queer rights, speaking at conferences around the world, including at Oxford University and Cambridge University, and was awarded an MNZM in 2020. Her last prominent public appearance was as a contestant on The Masked Singer in 2022.

Speaking at parliament this afternoon, PM Chris Hipkins paid tribute to Beyer and said, while he did not know her well, she had made a lasting impression on parliament. “I think Georgina has blazed a trail that has made it much easier for others to follow,” he said.

In 2018, The Spinoff’s Alex Casey interviewed Beyer. Read that conversation here.

The government’s confirmed additional support to help communities worst impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

A $26 million boost has been given to existing support for farmers and growers and sits alongside the initial $4 million rural community recovery fund, taking primary sector support after the cyclone up to $55 million.

“The uptake of the grants has been strong with the number of applications surpassing 2,846 in less than a fortnight… and more than $17.4 million paid out,” finance and cyclone recovery minister Grant Robertson said.

“We knew there would be more need during the response phase as people took time to take stock and work through their clean-up from Cyclone Gabrielle. As with the response to Covid we need to be nimble, flexible and responsive to immediate needs.”

Prime minister Chris Hipkins is about to speak on this announcement – and more – at his weekly post-cabinet press conference.

The state of emergency declared in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle has been extended for another seven days in two of the worst hit regions.

Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will remain under the state of emergency until at least March 13, roughly a month after the cyclone first crashed through the North Island.

Emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty said extending the emergency response would allow for the ongoing recovery response. “We need to keep coordinating this response at a national level in these areas to ensure we are properly supporting the Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, and coordinating the personnel and equipment needed to transport essential supplies into the affected areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wairarapa will be added to the national transition period announced last week for a number of flood-hit regions. The states of national emergency were recently ended over the Northland, Auckland, and Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group areas and the Tararua District, and the minister implemented a national transition period over these areas.

A possible transport plan that would have seen the government’s road maintenance budget used to build new cycle and bus lanes is reportedly going back to the drawing board.

The Herald today reported on the transport briefing, released under the Official Information Act. It would have seen more street space allocated to public transport and bikes, and potentially have led to petrol taxes being hiked, in order to prioritise tackling climate change.

National was quick to dismiss it, with spokesperson Simeon Brown pledging to scrap it if the party gets elected in October.

But Newshub has now reported that, after Cyclone Gabrielle, the government is considering pivoting away from bus and bike lanes. It’s been claimed that there will now be a focus on rebuilding roads and making them more resilient following the recent severe weather.

There have been 18 more deaths added to the Covid-19 death toll over the past week, including a child under the age of 10.

The Ministry of Health has reported the overall pandemic death toll now sits at 2,548.

Over the past seven days, another 11,453 cases have been confirmed. That’s a rolling average of about 1,632 a day.

There are now 177 people in hospital with the virus and just one in intensive care.

You may have read last week that the country was suffering a nationwide drought of feather boas (which we should really add to this comprehensive list of “shortages” from earlier in the year).

It’s ahead of tomorrow night’s Harry Styles concert, which is expected to be a wondrously (faux) feather-y affair. The Stuff piece carried the extraordinary headline of: “Harry Styles fans cause feather boa constriction in New Zealand.”

But here’s the big news. Boas are back in stock, at least at Look Sharp. The outlet’s even paid for a sponsored post on Facebook to make sure the word gets out.

I actually visited my local Look Sharp over the weekend and picked up a snazzy blue one that is totally going to work with my overall ensemble. Happy shopping, Harry fans.

In case you have somehow forgotten, it’s the census tomorrow – and a million of you out there have already filled it in.

That’s according to figures from Stats NZ that said that it was great to see so many people getting in early. “Stats NZ recognises the public interest in the progress of the 2023 census. Completed census forms have been flowing in since late February, with many people choosing to complete their forms early,” said spokesperson Simon Mason.

“Completing your census forms on time means fewer non-responding households will need to be visited after census day,” said Mason.

I’m looking at you, Harry Styles.

An independent review ordered into the emergency response during the Auckland floods has been delayed.

A brief statement from the office of Auckland mayor Wayne Brown said the review’s findings were due today, but will now be released in mid-March.

“The review team was forced to stand-down during Cyclone Gabrielle and the emergency response, and requires additional time,” the statement said.

Brown was heavily criticised in the wake of the January 27 flooding for poor communication and a delayed state of emergency. He was initially defensive but later said he had “dropped the ball” during the first hours of the disaster.

When reviewing your budget to account for home loan interest rate increases, you can get a head start on what your new home loan repayments could be with ANZ’s repayment calculator. This can help you reset your budget and plan ahead so you’re more prepared to manage future financial impacts. You can also use ANZ’s home loan calculator to plan what your repayments might be at a higher interest rate, to help plan your budget. 

Find out how ANZ can help with managing your home loan.

Speaking to the crowd at the Wellington School Strike 4 Climate on Friday, Green party co-leader James Shaw said that if Labour was in a position to form a government after the election, it would need to commit to greater climate action if it wanted the party’s support. Shaw also spoke to Q&A on Sunday, telling host Jack Tame that despite being despite being disappointed with overall progress on climate change policy, he intended to continue in the job.

When presented with emissions-increasing policies pursued by the government, Shaw said: “I don’t just sit there Jack, and if you think that resigning is going to cause more change than continuing to battle it out – the way I see it is a reason to double down, not give up.”

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The Herald has reported that fuel tax hikes are on the table – and not just a return to levels before the cost of living crisis-induced cuts last year.

A briefing released to reporter Thomas Coughlan under the Official Information Act has revealed sweeping plans to place climate change at the top of the government’s transport agenda.

The document, which details priorities for a forthcoming government policy statement on land transport, reveals that further taxes could be added on top of the regular 25% petrol excise.

And, in a potentially controversial decision, more street space currently allocated for carparks could be transformed into bus or cycle lanes. That would be funded through using road maintenance cash typically set aside for, as one example, fixing pot holes.

Transport minister Michael Wood told the Herald that emissions reduction was the number one priority, followed by safety, integrated freight, sustainable urban development, maintenance, and resilience.

“What comes out of the events of the past month has been that we have to bring forward even more strongly the focus on climate change and that is both sides of it,” he said. “Firstly, the need to be building a resilient system that is better placed to manage more extreme weather events of the kind that we’ve experienced recently. And the second is the need to increase our efforts to reduce our emissions so that we’re not contributing to that problem and making it worse.”

On the possibility of seeing car parks swapped out in favour of bus lanes, Wood provided the example of a stretch of road that required maintenance in a fast-growing region. “Well, instead of just going in and doing the maintenance and replacing the road as it is, the approach that we’re outlining is we talk to the council and would say, doesn’t it make sense at the same time as we’re doing that maintenance to put in place capacity for a bus lane?” he said.

The new transport plan will go out for consultation later in the year.