Tuesday's Dawn Chorus: 'Flush your pipes'

TLDR: An official report into the discovery of traces of lead in drinking water in three communities near Dunedin has recommended everyone in Aotearoa flush their pipes every morning to remove any traces of lead from old pipes and fittings.

The recommendation to flush a cup of water through taps before drinking water or using it for cooking reinforces the wider concerns about under-investment in Aotearoa’s water infrastructure over the last 30 years, which the Government has pointed to in its arguments for the Three Waters reforms.

Corroding lead plumbing fixtures could be exposing more people to the risk of lead poisoning. Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash

Elsewhere in the news this morning here and overseas:

• Chinese stocks slumped by their most since the GFC after President Xi Jinping stacked his key leadership group with his own supporters;

• Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s first Asian Prime Minister;

• Business activity surveys showed the UK, US and European economies are slowing rapidly;

• NATO is worried Russia is about to set off a ‘dirty bomb’ false flag attack;

• The NZ Herald is reporting fresh conflict of interest allegations against Nanaia Mahuta; and,

• Newshub is reporting $33m in clean car rebate subsidies were paid to Tesla buyers and the Government is now reviewing the scheme.

Paying subscribers can see and hear more detail and analysis below the paywall fold and in the podcast above.