spokesperson Martin Newell endorsed the reports' findings, stating that the Government "failed to develop a system that took more account of personal circumstance, as a result of that the process of booking an MIQ spot caused a lot of heartache for a lot of individuals." Charlotte Bellis In late January 2022, former Al Jazeera journalist Charlotte Bellis unsuccessfully attempted to secure a place in the MIQ lottery after becoming pregnant with her partner Jim Huylebroek, a photographer and contributor to The New York Times. Due to Qatar's laws penalising extramarital pregnancy, Bellis had left Qatar. Since she was unable to stay on a long-term basis in Huylebroek's native Belgium, the couple had travelled to Afghanistan, where they had visas to live, and sought help from the Taliban. Bellis publicised her ordeal in an open letter published in The New Zealand Herald. Besides the New Zealand media, Bellis' case was covered by several international media including The Guardian, GB News, The Washington Post, ABC News, and the Sydney Morning Herald.> In response to media coverage, Chris Bunny, the head of the MIQ system, confirmed that staff had advised Bellis about making a second application that would meet the requirements for emergency travel. Bellis' situation was highlighted by ACT Party leader David Seymour, National Party COVID-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop, and GB News presenter Dan Wooton as an example of the perceived "cruelty" of the MIQ system. After COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins alleged that Bellis had spurned a Government offer for a place in emergency allocation, Bellis' lawyer Tudor Clee accused Hipkins of breaching her privacy. She also questioned the effectiveness of the emergency allocation system, citing the low success rate for pregnant women. According to The New Zealand Herald, only 29 of the emergency allocation applications involving a pregnancy that were submitted between 1 June 2021 and 1 February 2022 were approved. 65 applications were declined while 118 were cancelled by applicants or were not processed since they were incomplete. The Herald also reported that MIQ had approved 5,396 of the 8,863 emergency allocation applications submitted between 30 October 2020 and 23 January 2022. On 1 February 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson confirmed that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had offered Bellis and Huylebroek places in managed isolation. Bellis accepted the Government's offer but reiterated that she would continue to challenge the Government's MIQ system. In mid-June