8. Question No. 8—Foreign AffairsINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri) to the Minister of Foreign AffairsQuestion No. 8—Foreign Affairs8. INGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: How many people have been supported by Operation Whakahokinga Mai to get from Afghanistan to New Zealand since September last year?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year the Government has successfully assisted more than 1500 people to return to New Zealand. This total includes the nearly 400 individuals in the initial evacuation phase in August and the 1182 so far that have been able to arrive safely to New Zealand. Operation Whakahokinga Mai was established after initial evacuation efforts were halted to help those in-scope that remained in Afghanistan to travel to New Zealand in such circumstances has been a real achievement and marks one of the largest humanitarian efforts undertaken by any New Zealand Government in recent decades. Many of these people faced grave risks under the Taliban. They have demonstrated great courage and resilience through this ordeal and we welcome them here to Aotearoa. With nearly 90 percent of those we set out to assist now in New Zealand winding down the operation is timely.Ingrid Leary: What did Operation Whakahokinga Mai do to assist people to travel to New Zealand?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: Operation Whakahokinga Mai at times numbered more than 100 public servants from several agencies and in several countries. As part of Operation Whakahokinga Mai the Afghanistan Departure Task force within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) played a key role in facilitating travel documentation accommodation and flights for those eligible for assistance. Managed isolation and quarantine access and resettlement services were organised by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and were activated upon arrival to New Zealand. This was an intense operation for all those who were involved. The success of the operation was also made possible by the cooperation and hard work of many community advocates who engaged with the taskforce on a regular basis. I'm also grateful for the support from our partner countries who played an important role in helping us to get our people safely from Afghanistan to Aotearoa. Due to the difficult circumstances in Afghanistan and the lack of commercial flights the approach taken to support eligible people under Operation Whakahokinga Mai was unprecedented. This included extensive support for issuing visas documentation transit and paying for flights and accommodation that went above and beyond regular consular support provided to New Zealanders overseas.Ingrid Leary: How many eligible people are remaining in Afghanistan and what support are you giving them?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: In the six months since Operation Whakahokinga Mai was established we've managed to bring nearly 90 percent of those we set out to assist. This leaves less than 200 eligible people in Afghanistan. Of those still remaining in Afghanistan some face difficulties in obtaining suitable documentation for travel while for others it is not clear if they intend to take up the support to travel to New Zealand for a variety of personal reasons. By the end of April we expect around that 97 percent of eligible people will have arrived in New Zealand. That's why I'm signalling now the intent to wind down this operation because on 29 April the Afghanistan Departure Taskforce will close and assistance including payment for flights accommodation and third-country visas will instead be provided through relevant MFAT divisions. From 30 July onward assistance will be provided on a case by case basis to those with exceptional circumstances preventing them travelling before this date.