However, putting people first has also boosted our economy. This week New Zealand’s credit rating moved up to an S & P Global Rating of AA+ rating with a stable outlook. It was the first upgrade for any economy since the outbreak, and the first for New Zealand for more than a decade. We were also the first economy to do so, after Covid. This speaks to our handling of the pandemic and the strength of our economic recovery. The earlier announcement of the lower-than-expected unemployment rate of 4.9 percent hinted that we might be defying the global trends – and that’s not by accident but by careful management.