No-fly order grounds Kiwi MPs days before election

WELLINGTON: New Zealand MPs were issued a no-fly order, just days before a general election, in a bid to minimise fallout from an industrial accident that has crippled the country’s largest airport.

With Auckland airport struggling to cope after a broken pipeline cut its jet fuel supplies by 70%, Prime Minister Bill English said his government had swung into action.

“We’re taking the issue very seriously ... we’re working to minimise disruption,” he told reporters.

A pipeline breach, apparently caused by an errant digger working on a rural property, has forced the cancellation of dozens of flights since Sunday, with knock-on effects across the country.

The refinery pipeline will not be fixed until next week, raising fears motorists could also face fuel shortages amid reports some Auckland service stations were already running out of petrol.

English said military trucks and a naval tanker had been assigned to transport fuel around the country and help ensure supplies for motorists were maintained.

And in a major embarrassment for the government, he ordered his MPs to avoid flying ahead of Saturday’s election to reduce stress on air transport services, with public servants receiving similar instructions.

English denied the ban would hamstring government MPs from campaigning effectively during the final days of the cliffhanger polls.

— AFP It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s ... : A customer reading a ‘Pakistan Girl’ comic near a life-sized cutout of the superhero at a book store in Islamabad. The comic series attempts to fill a shortage of female role models and superheroes in mainstream...