A new survey has revealed a significant number of Kiwis want the Government to prepare for catastrophic events that could bring about the end of the world.

New University of Otago research shows two-thirds of respondents believe the Government should draft action plans for threats such as a nuclear war, bioweapons or mass famine and supply chain collapse.

Professor Nick Wilson, senior researcher at the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Public Health, says New Zealand's well-placed to weather out a nuclear winter - but there's plenty the nation's not prepared for.

"Although we're a great producer of food, all that food production relies on diesel, which is imported. So we haven't got a single biofuel refinery that could keep our agricultural machinery going, for example." 

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