Covid Watch: Recent Episodes
Newstalk ZB
Covid Watch is the home of the latest Covid-19 news from New Zealand and around the world, with the conversations Newstalk ZB is having with all the newsmakers and experts to keep you informed.
The sugar hit many businesses received during the pandemic is starting to wear off.
Company liquidations are on the rise again as the Covid-related protections that once shielded businesses are subsiding.
Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association chair Kare Johnstone says the number of liquidations from the first quarter of 2023 is 265, up 29 percent from early 2022.
"While liquidations are on the increase, if we just have a look at that same period for pre-pandemic levels, we're actually still sitting at under the liquidations low at 31 percent."
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New Zealand's headed towards its fourth winter since the Covid-19 pandemic was introduced.
Mask mandates and lockdowns are a thing of the past, meaning the virus is more likely to spread through the wider community in 2023.
Most people recover within days or weeks, but what happens to the percentage of people who will suffer from long Covid?
Wellness expert Erin O'Hara says all the symptoms of long Covid are still unknown, especially since the effects vary from person to person.
Erin O'Hara recommends managing your energy levels, resting when you work from home, and keeping an eye on your nutrition.
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When I had Covid last year, I wouldn’t have known I had it if I hadn’t tested.
And the only reason I did a test was because my wife was crook and under the rules I had to test negative to keep going to work.
So, no symptoms at all, but still positive. So I was in Covid prison for seven days, as well.
And every day - in fact, sometimes several times a day - I would get the RATs out just to double check I did actually have it. Because I felt perfectly fine.
I had a whole pile of them with the two red lines. Felt fine, but I was actually crook.
And if I hadn’t tested the first time, I would’ve kept sailing around the place thinking I was Mr Healthy.
And if what happened last year at our place was to happen again today, I’d still end up in Covid prison for a week because, yesterday, the Government decided to stick with the Covid isolation rules for a bit longer.
Most reports I’ve seen over the past 24 hours have said the Government wants to keep them in place for a couple of months. Although one overseas media outlet is saying this morning that the isolation rules are here for the rest of the year.
Either way, if you get Covid anytime soon - you’ll be expected to isolate.
And I reckon the only reason the Government has done what it’s done, is because generally people are bozos and can’t be trusted to do the right thing.
When I say “the right thing”, it’s no different from what “the right thing” was before Covid was around. Which was simple: if you’re sick, stay home.
But we had outfits like Codral saying “soldier on”. Remember that? And ads on TV with people at bus stops looking miserable because they were full of a cold or man-flu. Feeling very sorry for themselves but “soldiering on” for the greater good.
And, because we’ve still got this stupid “soldier on” mentality, even after the whole Covid thing, the Government feels it’s got no choice but to keep the isolation rules going.
Remember early on in the pandemic when Sir Ashley Bloomfield stood up on TV and said “people aren’t the problem, the virus is the problem”. It was a nice line. Then. These days, though, I am in no doubt that people are the problem.
How many people have you looked sideways at because they’ve been sneezing and rasping and, somehow, they’re medical experts too and they've told you “oh, it’s not Covid. It’s just hayfever”. Even without testing, they know for sure it’s not Covid. Experts apparently!
Yeah, I’ve got another word to describe them. Bozos.
And it’s these bozos who have a whole of other people living in fear. It’s not the Government making people scared - it’s all these selfish idiots who just want to keep on soldiering on, even when they’re full of Covid.
People waiting for specialist health treatment. They’re terrified of the bozos, because if they get Covid their treatment could be off.
People with respiratory conditions. They’re terrified of the bozos because if they get Covid, it could be curtains for them.
Employers. Especially the ones in hospitality or retail. They’re terrified of the bozos because if Covid goes through the shop or the restaurant or the cafe, they can’t operate.
And despite Sir Ashley Bloomfield’s kind words back in the day when he said people weren’t the problem, the virus was the problem - despite all that, I’m in no doubt that people are the problem, because they just can’t be trusted to do the right thing.
The right thing being - if you’re sick, stay home.
And because people are the problem, we are stuck with these home isolation rules and for who knows how long - because I don't see people suddenly growing brain cells and suddenly becoming less selfish than they are right now.
Which is why I think the Government has done the right thing and the wrong thing.
By keeping the isolation rules, it’s done the right thing - because there are so many bozos out there who only think about number one.
But it’s done the wrong thing too, because, surely, we’ve reached a point where Covid has to be seen in the same light as influenza - and we don’t force people to stay home if they have the flu, despite the fact that they can a lot sicker with the flu than they’ll ever be with Covid.
So, I’m disappointed that the isolation rules haven’t been scrapped but, because people are so selfish, I don't think the Government had any choice.
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There has been disappointment New Zealand isn't looking to move away from mandated Covid-19 isolation.
The Government is not changing the seven-day isolation requirement for cases for at least two months.
It's also asked for more work on whether testing to return to work for mild or asymptomatic cases, would be safe.
First Retail Group Managing Director Chris Wilkinson told Roman Travers this will have an impact on retailers.
He believes the decision around whether to isolate or not, should be with employers.
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Tonight on The Huddle, Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute and David Farrar, Curia Pollster and Kiwiblog contributor joined in on a discussion about the following topics:
The Government has announced that they plan to keep the seven-day isolation requirement in place for the next two months. What do we think of this- will people stick to the isolation requirements?
The Greater Wellington Regional Council has proposed an 18 percent rate hike to boost bus driver wages- is this an acceptable amount to make people pay?
Auckland Transport has taken on a new CEO- who would be brave enough to take on this job? What do we want him to do for the public transport sector?
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The Health Minister says when countries move away from mandated Covid-19 isolation, it means more transmission.
The Government's keeping the seven day isolation requirement for people with Covid-19 for at least the next two months.
Cabinet's also asked for more work on whether testing to return to work for mild cases or asymptomatic people would be safe and effective.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says such a scheme can be used so if a person tests negative they'd be released earlier.
"Also in some places where they have this, you have to stay in isolation until you test negative, which may be longer than our current seven days."
Verrall says it depends on how the mandate is structured.
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Cabinet is seeking advice on whether a Covid "test to work" scheme would work.
Business NZ CEO Kirk Hope says that could allow some workers back sooner than seven days.
"Of course, you know your employer's going to say- only come in if you're capable of working, we don't want you here if you're still, in fact feeling quite sick."
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New Zealand's mandatory seven-day isolation period for Covid-19 isn't changing for at least the next two months.
Chris Hipkins says he expects we'll reach a point by the end of winter where Covid becomes normal and we're moving towards the virus being just another thing managed by the health system.
ZB's Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen says it seems that the remaining Covid-19 restrictions will be on the 'policy bonfire' come spring.
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You might have heard Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on the Newstalk ZB this morning saying the Government will be making a carefully balanced decision on whether to scrap the mandatory seven-day isolation period for people who test positive for Covid.
Cabinet will be reviewing Covid rules with an announcement expected sometime this in the near future.
They're going to be basing their decision on the latest public health advice and the state of the health system heading into winter. Well, we can tell them that it's buggered, isn't it? I mean, it's pretty much stuffed.
The Prime Minister told Tim Dower this morning it's a careful balancing act between the impact of people being unable to go to work and the impact of Covid spreading.
The public health professionals, who we all saw rather too much of throughout Covid, have been urging the Government over the weekend to keep the few remaining restrictions in place.
These being the seven-day isolation period and the wearing of masks in many spaces to protect against not only Covid, but the other dangerous respiratory illnesses doing the rounds including flu and whooping cough.
And all of them were preaching the abundance of caution message, which I suppose is their job. This is what they're trained to do. To warn people about infectious diseases and try to prevent any deaths at all. I get it.
I guess when it comes to the mandatory stand down period, what that did was give people who don't have flexibility or autonomy with their employers the ability to take time off. They had to. They had no choice in the matter.
So many people during those awful years rang me and said they would be going to work regardless of whether or not they tested positive, because they simply could not afford to stay home. So where do you stand on this one?
I imagine it will depend on whether you're an employee with a good boss and you'll say, yes, well, get rid of the mandatory period. You have somewhere where you can rest where you're not surrounded by ten other people. You've got the ability to get yourself better.
But if you're someone and your income is the difference between having a roof over your head or not, and you are told to stand down for seven days. You're not going to do it, are you?
You're going to drag yourself out of bed; no matter how sick you're feeling and go to work because that is what you have to do.
So what's right in your opinion?
Keep the mandatory stand down period for those who simply haven't got the luxury of taking time off, it has to be enforced before they can do it. Or rely on common sense?
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Chris Hipkins says the Government will be making a "carefully balanced decision" on whether to continue to scrap the mandatory seven-day isolation period for people who test for Covid.
Cabinet will review Covid rules today, with an announcement expected some time this week.
Ministers will be basing their decision on the latest public health advice, and the state of the health system heading into winter.
The Prime Minister told Tim Dower it's a careful balancing act between the impact of people being unable to go to work, and the impact of Covid spreading.
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Bad news for clothing and homewares retailer EziBuy.
The company has been put into administration by its Australian owners - which is likely to be the end of the line for the business.
Owner Mosaic Brands says EziBuy’s sales have fallen 51 percent year-on-year in the first half of the financial year.
Head of retail at Devon Funds, Greg Smith says the business had been starting to decline for some time.
He explained it was profitable during the pandemic for a time, but most businesses that did well through Covid-19 are starting to fall.
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There was a big, and welcome, Covid win for the unvaccinated carers who took the Government to court, with the court deciding the Government erred.
It's not the first time the Government has lost or has been found to err in court over Covid.
But this one seemed particularly egregious to me.
This, in a way, goes back to the Matt Hancock scandal in Britain where his astonishing series of WhatsApp messages, as well as email and text communications, during Covid showed just what a mess the whole Government approach was.
I asked at the time what sort of picture would be painted if we had the local versions available to us.
The court cases that have been taken, to a very small degree, give us an insight.
The family carers had their funding stopped and they were threatened with fines.
The judge has found that the mandate was invalid because it was not a decision that was available to the minister on the basis of the information that was before him at the time.
They hadn't originally been included in the mandates but the minister was advised to amend the order. The key was no public advice was given in the briefing to the minister as to why the amendments should be made.
There was not enough information before him to make the amendment - and yet he did.
Oh, by the way, the minister we refer to? Chris Hipkins.
It was clearly driven by the Government's one stop shop approach. They wanted a vaccinated work force and there was no room for exceptions or subtlety.
So, with a stroke of a pen the carers were out, the money was stopped and they were alienated for a year.
I'm not sure whether this victory puts it right for them. They want an apology, which I would have thought was a forgone conclusion, and the Government is looking to cough the money they stopped.
But it is another insight into what clearly was a frantic mess behind the scenes, where anything was accepted and they took a “we will explain later approach”.
There were two broad approaches that Governments could have taken to Covid. Either lead by example and clarity and take the people with you, or bludgeon them with fear and dictate.
They chose the 'Pulpit of Truth', it cost a Prime Minister her job - and they ended up in court and, on this example, lost.
With the benefit of hindsight, and SME legal action, it's becoming more and more clear they made the wrong choice.
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Tuesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast)Many Detours Ahead/Post-Covid Covid/Forgetting Ardern/Can't Let Go of Fossil Fuels/This Car is Hard to Believe
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Queen Consort Camilla has tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time.
The royal was forced to pull out of several scheduled royal engagements following the announcement.
Her conditions was previously described as a 'seasonal illness'.
UK Correspondent Enda Brady says a statement from Buckingham Palace confirms Camilla is in 'good spirits' as she recovers.
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Makers of a new vaccine say we shouldn't be complacent about Covid boosters.
Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand is working through the final stages of the pre-clinical development of VAANZ-201.
It's suggesting a long immunity against all variants, and unlike the Pfizer vaccine, can be stored at refrigerator temperatures.
Malaghan Institute Vaccine Alliance Executive Director Kjesten Wigg told Tim Dower vaccine protection tends to wane.
It could be two or three years, before the vaccine is available for patients' arms.
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Pre-loved clothing business Designer Wardrobe has had to revamp their strategy to renting and selling clothes to Kiwis.
Designer Wardrobe was forced to close all their physical locations by the end of 2021 due to Covid uncertainty, and the business has been operating completely online for over a year.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented a fair amount of challenges for the company, but consumers are still interested in buying and renting pre-used designer wear at a reduced prices, so the business was able to thrive.
Designer Wardrobe CEO Aidan Bartlett says the company had to make a lot of challenging calls during Covid, but they've come out stronger than ever.
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A public health expert says New Zealand should be more worried about visitors from the U.S, as a Covid-19 super-variant surges through that country.
Our Government has chosen not to follow the lead of other western nations in requiring pre-departure tests for people arriving from China. Instead, travellers are encouraged to be tested if they arrive here with symptoms.
Auckland University public health associate professor Sir Colin Tukuitonga says more focus should be on the new XBB.1.5 variant prevalent in the U.S.
He says it's fast-spreading and it's now causing three quarters of all cases in New Jersey, New York and New England.
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The French Government have stated that they will continue to screen air travellers coming out of China for Covid-19.
A French Government spokesperson has defended this decision to enforce testing requirements, as the wave of Covid cases coming out of China was a "legitimate concern" for the world and an epidemic is the last thing any country wants.
This statement was made shortly after a press conference hosted by the WHO, who also criticised China for their representation and under-reporting of Covid-19 deaths.
French correspondent Catherine Field confirms that the EU's Crisis Response group will work together to establish a coordinated response to testing and processing arrivals out of China, with more meetings set to proceed today.
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A change in China's Covid-19 policy has led to tighter travel restrictions in the US.
From January, people arriving from China will need to show a negative test within two days of arrival to the US.
It follows China ditching mandatory isolation for those infected with the virus.
US Correspondent Richard Arnold says cases are rising rapidly there.
He told Tim Beveridge that's translating to serious infection rates amongst travellers. Arnold says on a recent flight out of China half the passengers had the virus.
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The Far North has plenty to offer tourists as we head into the first summer with open borders.
The Far North is home to 90 Mile Beach, an area regarded as one of the best surf-casting beaches in the world. 90 Mile Beach is also right next to the Te Paki sand dunes, and boarding down the 150 metre dunes is a highlight of the region.
The Far North is also a short drive away from Cape Reinga and the Karikari Peninsula, two other regions that need the extra boost in tourism sales.
Far North mayor Moko Tepania says that he's looking forward to tourists coming back in, after two years of Covid-19 restrictions keeping figures down.
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I have to say that I’m really looking forward to the summer holiday and the Christmas period. So it was kind of sobering recently to read the figures around the new COVID infections, which tell us that over 42,000 new cases have been found in the community over the past seven days.
That’s about one in every 120 New Zealanders in the course of a week. Now I guess that there are probably more that more cases than that, because not everyone would report their positive cases.
And we can all make our own guess as to how many cases there really are, but what it does to serve to tell us is that COVID is still around at the moment and cases “continue to soar”.
But I guess while I wasn’t surprised, I was maybe a little disappointed at the reaction to our breakfast show talking with Dr Brian Betty about the number of cases and maybe some sensible cautions people could take.
One text even accused us of fear mongering. I just wanted to address that.
Get a grip.
We are living after almost three very difficult years in a time where we largely and thankfully have a choice as to what we do with information. Can you just imagine if we didn’t get the information and the theories that would abound?
But at the moment, what we have is information which actually is relevant to us all as New Zealanders looking forward to summer, who are being visited by relatives, who want to go on holiday, who might want to make sure that they don’t pass anything on to their elderly and cherished members of their family.
I can understand how people have an emotional reaction to this stuff because, frankly, we are all over it. I’m over it.
I had a family member in the last few days who hasn’t been very well and has displayed cold and flu symptoms. My wife and I rolled our eyes and thought “Oh goodness me, hope she hasn’t got Covid.”
But you know what? We ended up testing her, because we wanted to know we wanted the information so we could make our own decisions as to how to keep the people around us safe.
Thankfully it was negative, and it’s probably just a bad case of hay fever. But I just wanted to take the moment to just remind everyone that -thankfully- we have a choice as to how we respond to this information.
And isn’t that great? Because we’ve been through two or three years where we had a lot of the time, especially in Auckland, a period where we felt we had very little choice.
So embrace that choice, and embrace the fact that we live in a society where we actually do have good access to information that helps us make choices around how we run our lives, and look forward to a safe and enjoyable Christmas.
And again, make your own choices about how to keep yourselves and your families safe and happy this Christmas- fingers crossed.
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Health workers in holiday hotspots are preparing for increased demand as Covid cases steadily climb.
Some Covid-19 models show one in 20 people could catch the virus over the holidays.
Community case numbers have been steadily rising, with nearly 600 people in hospital right now.
NZ College of GPs Medical Director Bryan Betty says hospitals are stretched during holiday periods anyway.
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As we enter the holiday season, it's common for people to get sick once things start winding down.
This is linked to a phenomenon known as 'leisure sickness', where busy people get sick once they're out of a stressful situation or environment. Three percent of the population are prone to getting migraines, nausea, muscle pain and fatigue when they get time off.
Over-working and stress are also linked to weakened immune systems, which make people more vulnerable to catching viral conditions, such as coughs, colds, or Covid-19.
In order to protect our immune systems, naturopath, wellness expert, and Golden Yogi director Erin O'Hara recommends recognising your personal work-life balance and budgeting time so you aren't burning yourself out and putting your health at risk.
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Doctors in the US are concerned about the level of vaccine-fatigue across the country.
American households are once again able to order free at-home Covid-19 tests, as the government attempts to limit the spread of the virus this winter.
The test programme was paused in September, but restarted yesterday as cases start to spike again.
But, US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson says there seems to be some Covid-fatigue out there.
He says doctors were hoping 70 percent of the population would be vaccinated, but levels are far below that ... and only half the population has had a flu jab.
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2022 is nearly over, and it may give investors some lessons to take into the new year.
According to a Senior Portfolio Manager at Fisher Funds, we may have to get used to aftershocks from the Covid-19 pandemic for the next few years impacting the economy. The lockdowns generated highs and lows, and investments can turn on a dime.
It's also important for industries to listen to consumer demand, as can be observed from the Meta saga. Demand for products changes, and it's useful to take advantage of the markets and be adaptable. Being tone-deaf to costs can hurt companies.
Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds says that it's clear that gravity has come back to the stock market.
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The Chief Ombudsman has delivered a pretty critical report on the MIQ lottery.
Peter Boshier's report says officials didn't really think hard enough about the “very real impact” that the lobby system was going to have on people's lives.
Now, you'll remember it didn't come in right at the start. It was set up in September 2021, supposedly to improve on the chaos we had.
Tens of thousands trying to book a place in MIQ and match it with getting a flight home, them stuck over there, empty rooms over here.
The lottery was ostensibly intended to create a level playing field for everyone.
But it was only level really if you had internet access and could drop everything and log on at exactly the right moment, as each batch of rooms was released.
We replaced chaos, with random chaos.
New Zealanders overseas who'd missed out have talked about injustice, and the inhumanity and heartache of it all.
They want an apology.
I've admitted before that I did a complete 180 in my view on people who got stuck overseas as the whole farrago dragged on.
In the beginning my feeling was the writing was on the wall and it was obvious borders were going to close so if you want to move, now's the time.
And people who opted not to move, well, you made your bed.
As it dragged on though, and we set up MIQ, and it became clear just how inadequate and sloppy the whole thing was, I developed a real empathy for people locked out who couldn't see friends and family who were sick or dying, unable to come back to their rightful home.
So rather than a whole lot of recrimination and name calling, let's look on this time as an opportunity.
Let's really think about how we could do it better. And most obviously I think, do it bigger. Much, much bigger.
What we need to work on now is a better plan for next time.
We now have a pretty good idea of how many people we'll need to handle if we get another one of these and we've definitely learned what not to do.
We'll need something we can stand up quickly, operate much more cheaply and have away from the main centres.
The time to work on that is now, while the mistakes of the pandemic are still fresh in our minds.
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Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has been investigating hundreds of complaints made about the Government's approach to MIQ during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chief Ombudsman found the creation of a "lottery" system failed to emphasise individual circumstances, limiting fundamental human rights.
Peter Boshier says there was no evidence of evolving policy advice from MBIE to the Government, as the pandemic continued.
"Not everyone was in the same situation, we never are in life. And the best and most principled decisions and actions are taken in regard to people's circumstances. Here, it was effectively a lottery. You are either in or out depending on chance, not depending on merit."
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The nation's largest street festival is returning to Wellington after a two year Covid-19 hiatus.
CubaDupa is back on March 25th and 26th, with dance and music ensembles, interactive installations, and cultural experiences.
The festival's last outing attracted more than 150,000 people, and next year's run promises to be even bigger.
Director Drew James says 28 stages and creative zones will be set up around Cuba Street.
"It's going to be fantastic, we had a couple of years of cancellations in 2020 and 2021 was absolutely huge, we had great audiences and it was really well-received by people coming out of that Covid situation."
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A law professor says a High Court ruling over the guardianship of a six month old was unlikely to have gone any other way.
The judge has given doctors at Starship Hospital medical responsibility of the six-month-old, until he's recovered from an urgent heart operation.
His parents won't let doctors use donations from the Blood Service for the surgery - over claims it's all tainted by the Covid vaccine.
Auckland University's Mark Henaghan told Mike Hosking the evidence is pretty strong the usual blood products aren't going to cause harm.
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The speed and accessibility of the Covid-19 test and vaccine roll-out will be investigated in an independent review.
The Prime Minister has announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Government's Covid-19 response.
It will cover the period from February 2020 and October this year, and be chaired by Melbourne-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely.
Covid Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says the availability of RAT tests and jabs will be looked at, as well as the speed of the roll-out.
"We want a really broad review because we want to learn the lessons from the Covid-19 response to make sure we're better prepared for a pandemic in the future."
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The Government has recently announced that a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic will be taking place.
This Royal Commission of Inquiry will be used to prepare the nation for future pandemics, and evidence will be considered from February 1st, 2023.
Political editor Barry Soper has observed that this inquiry will conclude midway through 2024, and wonders if this decision is Labour betting on themselves for the upcoming election.
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Our National Party got themselves some coverage in Australia yesterday because three of their senior players are over there campaigning.
The group is led by Chris Bishop and it shows a couple of things:
1) There are a lot of Kiwis in that part of the world so the pickings are particularly rich.
2) National are clearly organised given the election is a year away.
3) It’s a fascinating experiment, where mood, actions and reactions lead to votes.
The main reason they are over there is MIQ and the inability of tens of thousands of expats to access this country for such a long period of time during Covid.
The question I suppose is - is that anger, all those threats, that dismay, that outpouring of grief going to convert to votes for the opposition?
If you bottled the mood at the time, the Government would have been toast.
The MIQ system was shockingly designed, fundamentally flawed and ended up in court with a loss for the Government.
It was a foray into repression and fury that was never really needed and a very good example of what this Government has become famous for - dreaming up a plan then cocking it up.
The famous got access to The Wiggles and Jacinda Ardern's favourite DJs while people were locked out and forced to watch loved ones die, loved ones get married via zoom and that mad lottery of getting up at all hours and watching as you yet again got a number that would not get you anywhere close to getting a room and into the country.
Charlotte Bellis, remember her? The pregnant journalist who bullied her way in by embarrassing Chris Hipkins into submission - the whole thing was a grotesque mess.
So, are they still angry you reckon? Or have they moved on? Is there still payback for an opposition to be mined or do we see it in a new light?
Dan Andrews in Victoria locked his people down as badly as us, if not longer, and he got re elected over the weekend.
Did people forget, or forgive, or were they not that bothered to start with?
Our Government will be praying time heals all ills - and retribution isn't a driving force.
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A court will today consider the fate of a four-month-old baby boy who needs life-saving heart surgery.
The child's parents are refusing blood donations from vaccinated people - wishing instead to use their own donors.
Health New Zealand will go to the High Court at Auckland today, seeking guardianship over the baby to allow the surgery to proceed.
Barrister Simon Judd told Mike Hosking while it's a rare situation, the law does cover situations like these.
He says the judge can appoint the court the guardian just for the purpose of the surgery, leaving the parents as guardians in every other respect.
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Wil Anderson is one of Australia’s most successful comedians, having worked as a television host, writer and podcaster.
His latest project is a new book, it is called I Am Not Fine, Thanks, it's part memoir and part manifesto and looks back on the last couple of years- because they've been tough on all of us.
Wil Anderson was inspired by his bad luck to focus on being a stand up comedian around the same time Covid-19 hit, and he called in from Australia to discuss.
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Hong Kong stocks have jumped more than 7 percent as China announced an ease in Covid restrictions.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is reporting the best month in over a decade, and this is linked to China cutting back on quarantine measures for citizens and inbound travellers.
Deborah Lambie from Milford Asset Management explained how China's easing of restrictions is affecting the economy, and what China opening up could mean for New Zealand.
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NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny has been reading over the Reserve Bank's response to the pandemic.
But it seems to have left her with more questions than answers, particularly concerning the housing market in late 2020/early 2021.
According to Jenee Tibshraeny, the Reserve Bank didn't put more weight on what the spike in house prices at the time meant for the resilience of the economy.
Jenee Tibshraeny also notes that it may be easy to factor in hindsight now, but the Reserve Bank could have been aware of this economic situation beforehand.
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Today on The Huddle: Neale Jones from PR firm Capital and Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transporting NZ talked about the following topics- and more!
A group of people chased down the Ellerslie robbers yesterday, and now police have come out and said please don't chase robbers and to leave that to the police. Is this a good idea, considering the public perception of the police?
More complaints are coming out about all the cruise ship passengers using public buses to get from A to B instead of expensive taxis / shuttles. How fair is this?
Do you think having to have at least two Maori representatives out of at least six representatives constitutes co-governance in the RMA replacement?
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The Reserve Bank has recently published a report about the last five financial years, in order to review the decisions they've made.
They've acknowledged these last five years have presented a unique challenge due to the pandemic, and said their Covid-19 response was both consistent with the data they had and avoided any worst case financial scenarios.
The Reserve Bank has also acknowledged in the report that they could have tightened monetary policy in order to “lessen inflation at the margins”.
Barry Soper, ZB's political editor explained further, and pointed out that it seemed convenient for them to share this report as the Adrian Orr fiasco unfolds and opposition parties call for an independent inquiry.
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Addington Raceway is humming as Christchurch punters continue to enjoy the return of Cup Day.
It's the first time in two years the venue can hold the annual event without Covid restrictions.
Racing industry manager Darrin Williams says despite general admission not being as high as they'd like, it's been an outstanding day.
He says it's just great to be able to have punters on course again.
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Which bit are we surprised about? Air New Zealand tells people to book early because fares are going up. Headlines scream how unhappy we are because fares are going up.
Be as unhappy as you want, things ain't changing.
We have a bit of experience around airfares at the moment. We have a family member looking to get home from Europe. The ability to get a seat, far less wince at the price, has been a problem for weeks.
We have another family member looking to get a partner here for Christmas. Unless they have $9000, it isn't happening. That, by the way, is America to New Zealand at Christmas.
What is happening is very simple and complaining about it solves nothing.
Christmas has always been a pricey time of year. Why we thought post -Covid might be different, I have no idea.
As regards Europe, we have sat on websites waiting for tickets to come up from cancellations. They do but they cost anywhere from $4000 to $12,000 and they are gone within minutes.
We booked a trip next year to the east coast of the United States. I won't tell you what it cost, but it's amazing.
But in that purchase is the key to all of this, very few people are forced to travel; most do it because they want to.
All we are dealing with here is a desire to do something and the psychological or emotional hurdle as to whether they can bear the cost.
Look up Alan Joyce's speech he gave last week about what is required to get a plane out of the desert. It's a lot of people, a lot of old equipment put on a scrap heap, with a lot of new equipment to replace it and a lot of hours of testing.
God knows what it costs, but it's months’ worth of work for one plane.
It's Economics 101, demand is outstripping supply. It's outstripping it by quite a lot. And if you believe Heathrow it will be several years before it's sorted.
Not a lot of people are actually flying. It's a year today since the borders opened for Australia. They are still 70 percent down on the number of trips they took pre-pandemic.
So, to be blunt, what you are hearing is complaining from people who have enough money to fly, but don’t like the fact it's no longer cheap.
Welcome to the new world order.
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More people are finding it too difficult to care for pets amidst the cost of living crisis.
Three Auckland animal shelters are chokka and unable to take on any more dogs, due to the influx of people not being able to meet the needs of their pet.
Auckland Animal Management Leader Shaun Murray says while one dog door closes, another opens.
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Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says a full review of how the bank responded to the pandemic will be released next month.
NZ Herald business editor Liam Dann talked us through the review and gave us an idea of what it might cover.
The Reserve Bank has come under fire for their pandemic stimulus delivery, which may have contributed to present inflation levels. Liam Dann warned us this may have unfortunate implications going forward.
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Five New Zealand regions have seen their population fall over the last year, including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Overall, the national population grew just 0.2 percent in the last year.
Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explained why people were leaving the country in droves. The combination of Covid-19 and the living costs have made people want to seek out other opportunities.
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Today on The Huddle- Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and former CEO for BusinessNZ and Ali Jones from Red PR joined us to talk about the following:
Another death at an E.D - this time a 4 year old boy, the way Grant Robertson says that it's sad and nothing more during today's post cabinet wasn't great. How do you feel when you keep hearing these stories?
Tesla owners are raking in the rebates! Does this annoy you?
Christchurch city council has heard absolutely nothing from the Government after voting down the housing intensification bill - what's the Government's plan here?
After the first round of cruise ships returned to the country with confirmed COVID-19 cases, do you plan on getting on a cruise anytime soon?
St. Bede's has had to put a stop to a themed dress up day which the kids were colloquially calling wife beater Wednesday - the school say they weren't told of the theme's name.
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An aim to do more than rid the health system of its patient backlog.
The Planned Care Taskforce has released 101 recommendations for improving equity, increasing access and reducing waiting times.
Chair Andrew Connolly says Covid's one of the main drivers for the expanding wait lists.
He says the recommendations are more long term than just fixing the current patient buildup.
Connolly says they're also designed to ultimately build a system that is far more resilient and can withstand these sort of problems, to keep delivering care in a more timely fashion.
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There's a consensus New Zealand came through the COVID-19 pandemic fairly well, but are there further consequences yet to come?
Compared to a lot of other countries our death rate was low.
Now we're open again and mostly back to work, and some interesting projections of what the post pandemic phase will look like are emerging.
The in-house actuary for insurance company Partners Life, Kate Dron, explained further.
"One of the issues we've still got now is that things are still revolving, and we've still got new variants coming through, and this is a whole different world for us opening up. It is still quite hard to get a grip of what's actually happening out there."
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Back to the Pfizer "scandal" and the "revelation" that Pfizer admitted it never tested its vaccine to work out whether it stopped transmission of Covid.
Like virtually all of these sorts of breathless revelations, the real story is not as simple as it seems. But in simple teams, what is claimed didn't happen. It is not the scandal those who think it is, want it to be.
In that is the key to this, like it is the key to so much of what swirls around our heads these days. Because of the astonishing level of disinformation, you can find a narrative that says pretty much anything you want it to say.
The trouble with that, if you don’t reference and cross reference it, you can end up down a rabbit hole. And the problem with rabbit holes is a lot of people like being down them. In other words, it's no longer about the facts or the truth, it's about you being able to say "look, look I was right, I told you so."
I tell you what; I have not seen anything like the vaccine reaction in my lifetime. Of all the things we have been exercised about, those that took the jab to heart lost their minds.
Making it more complicated or murky were the Government's propaganda attempts, and at times straight up and down lies when it came to roll out, approach, delivery, accessibility, and mandates. The whole Covid cluster.
It was at times a mess. Couple that with an angry mob mood and it was always going to be explosive.
But, at no point was it a conspiracy. Not that the conspiracy theorists will accept that. They will take their anger, fury, and newsfeeds to the grave with them. That is the saddest thing of all.
For some they have allowed this period to define them. Of all the things you could have fought for, lost your job for, and send a thousand emails to media outlets for, a jab seemed an odd choice.
There is no doubt the emotional and fear campaign promoted by this, and most governments, to get jabbed, to be a part of the team of five million, was designed solely to save their butts around a health system they didn’t get sorted in time.
There is no doubt in my mind the darkest of days with lockdowns, chasing women in Northland, and dobbing neighbours in that stood to close to each other was literally the definition of madness.
Most of us lost the plot and it was government driven from a so-called pulpit of truth.
But Clarke didn't have an ankle bracelet, the nanny isn't in Malaysia, Agenda 21 isn't what you think it is, BlackRock doesn’t own the whole world's media, and Pfizer hasn’t been busted.
If you don’t believe that, that’s cool you don’t have to. But the rest of us have moved on, and we are the better for it.
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After two years of COVID-19 restrictions and people readjusting to working from home, there is now a surge in people returning to office environments.
The number of vacant office buildings in New Zealand's three biggest cities is going down, highlighting that offices still hold an important role in workplace culture, despite concerns that the pandemic would eliminate them.
JLL's Head of Research, Gavin Read, explained further.
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Reassurance for the travel industry as the final pandemic travel requirement will be scrapped.
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration will no longer be needed to enter the country after the Government announced its winding down most of its Covid-19 powers - including rolling out lockdowns, MIQ and vaccine mandates.
Tourism Holdings Chief Executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking dropping the deceleration is healthy momentum for the travel industry.
He says overseas shareholders have expressed travellers concerns about the declaration, so he's glad its gone.
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National says the Government does not need powers to deal with Covid anymore.
Documents leaked to Newshub show it's now proposing retaining existing powers - due to expire in May - to 2025.
Latest official figures show case numbers are continuing to rise week-on-week.
But, National Leader Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking it's time to move on.
“Why do we actually need it? Is the big question.”
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A lot of people who are eligible for live-saving medication don't know enough about it.
Research shows the antiviral tablet Paxlovid reduces the risk of severe Covid infection by over 80 percent.
But the Ministry of Health has found people with a higher risk of Covid hospitalisation or death are relatively unaware of the benefits of antivirals.
College of GPs Medical Director Bryan Betty told Mike Hosking he wants to see the medicine used more.
“They are being used in a widespread way, but not quite as much we’d like probably due to lack of awareness about antivirals.”
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Voluntary administrators have been appointed to Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited, which will keep it trading while trying to figure out the best way forward.
The company runs Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas - currently employing 196 staff.
Covid-19 and poor weather has meant the fields have significant cash flow issues.
Ruapehu mayor-elect Weston Kirton is most worried about those who work there and he'll be doing everything he can to cater for them using the mayoral taskforce.
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Coaching guru Wayne Goldsmith joins Piney with an in-depth look at the world sporting landscape after the pandemic disruptions.
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Hopes studies into long Covid will better illuminate how it affects New Zealanders.
The Ministry of Health is funding a range of research into the condition, including a national register of people with symptoms.
Auckland University Health Economics Chair, Paula Lorgelly, says around 10 to 20 percent of people infected get long Covid.
She told Tim Dower that means at least 170,000 New Zealanders have long Covid.
Lorelly says we don't know how it manifests in New Zealand, a place with high vaccinations and no immunity from the first few waves of the pandemic.
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The Finance Minister is standing by decisions to borrow a lot of money to get through Covid, after the Government's books were opened.
Treasury has reported a budget deficit of $9.7 billion, almost half the Budget forecast.
Grant Robertson told Tim Dower relative to where we thought we'd be, and the rest of the world, we've done well.
He says every country had to find a way of dealing with this massive shock, and the accounts show we've come through it better than most.
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Canstar have released a survey of 700 small business owners, which shows many small business owners feel positive about their futures, having survived the struggles of recent years.
Along with feeling optimistic, more than a third of small businesses say their revenue has also increased in the past twelve months.
Jose George is the general manager of Canstar New Zealand, and he joined Roman Travers.
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More than a third of young people in the UK feel like their lives are spiralling out of control, according to new data.
The survey was conducted among 16 to 25 year olds, and it found that a majority of them were concerned about the future.
Between living through Covid-19 and an ongoing cost of living crisis, UK correspondent Gavin Grey has a clear explanation for why these people have such a pessimistic outlook.
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The number of school aged kids being home-educated has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, with an 80 per cent increase overall.
Figures from Stuff indicate that there are at least 11000 children currently being homeschooled.
President of NZ Principals' Federation, Cherie Taylor-Patel, is here now to put these numbers in context and explain why more parents have made this choice.
"There's always been a group of students that have had high health needs, or have been neurodiverse, or have needed the curriculum adapted. And one of the ways you can do that well is to go the homeschooling route."
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Now that the borders are open again, the option to travel is back after a two year hiatus.
But BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton has recently observed that plenty of people still aren't ready to get back out there yet.
There's fear around travel that has built up over the last couple of years, not helped by earlier stories surrounding lost luggage.
Tours offer an easy alternative, as they come with less worry, and they're back after a Covid-induced hiatus.
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Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Patrick McKibbin and Tommy's Real Estate sales director Nicki Cruickshank join Nick Mills on the Business Panel.
Together they discuss gender pay gaps, Ed Sheeran's cancelled concert, local body elections, Let's Get Wellington Moving, ram-raids, home loan interest rates tipped to push higher and the Covid-19 Protection Framework being scrapped.
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The good news for me this week around the relinquishing of the Covid rules, was not so much the masks, lights, or mandates, but the case numbers.
We will no longer publish the case numbers daily. Like all the other changes we have been ruinously slow to move on with life.
But the numbers were possibly the most insidious of the factors at play without us perhaps even realising.
The Prime Minister's line by the way, that we are "taking back control” must never be seen as anything other than more of her polytech marketing puffery.
We didn’t take anything back because we never gave anything away.
We had our lives and freedoms forcibly removed from us by a government driven by a mix of fear, panic, lack of experience, and to be fair a little bit of genuine leadership.
They had to do something. But in totality what they did proved to be over the top, with a slew of damage that resulted and results in what we are still living through and paying for to this day and many, many days to come.
But think back on those numbers, the obsession around them, the one o'clock announcements, and the invention of the pulpit of truth. Remember those bizarre sessions with a media that got so hopelessly exposed for their lack of rigour, knowledge, and ability to follow a non-answer with a proper question that might lead to any sort of accountability.
Psychologists and psychiatrists must still be having a field day looking and studying the way we behaved. The guessing of the case numbers, the trends, what they meant, the absurd placement of importance on every utterance that came from a Jackson, Baker, or Wiles.
Did the number mean freedom? A light change? A rule dropped?
Media would build up to the release of the numbers . Every day, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out we saw "today's numbers about to be released," "Ministry about to announce new update", "what are today's numbers?"
The psychological damage that must have done to us. The stress, the time wasted, and the energy burned. We detailed a virus like no other virus has been detailed.
Even now, that weekly update going forward is tragic. We are not listing cold or flu numbers, we aren't counting delayed operations, surgical waiting lists, access to doctors, or mental health help.
It is a fantastically interesting study into the power of fear and control. It was an experiment and we were all part of it whether we know it or not.
We cannot get it behind us fast enough, and move on.
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It is moderately encouraging we have two mutterings from the Government this week so far on the potential for a Covid inquiry.
Grant Robertson told us Monday on this show it was closer, and the Prime Minister is taking advice on what it should look like.
The reluctance to this point is fairly obvious. It's going to be ugly, and they know it.
Government's call inquiries for a couple of reasons. One, to get the subject off the front page. Two, to get a result they need or want. They do that by appointing the right people, so they can fairly confidently tell what's going to happen.
When you get the report, if you don’t like it, you review it, and release recommendations on a Friday after everyone is at the pub. If it tells you what you want, you stand at the pulpit of truth with a trumpet and enact everything.
The irony here is no one has called more inquiries and launched more working groups than this lot. Given that, just what advice is it they are seeking? Is there anyone left that isn't already involved in one?
I note also the Australians are well underway with their review into the Reserve Bank.
That's another little look this Government isn't really interested in. Once again because they know full well it's going to be ugly. But, as the Australians well understand and clearly, we don’t want to, these are large and live issues that continue to affect each and every one of us each and every day, and they will do for years.
There are gargantuan questions around the performance of both the Reserve Bank and the Government in Covid.
Lives have been up ended, learning has been interrupted, the surgery back log is a mile long, and economies have been dented severely. If that isn't worth looking into, what is?
The Australian Reserve Bank Governor, Phillip Lowe, has already said he won't quit, and indeed offered a level of defence for his actions, or lack of them.
That’s his right. The same way I assume Adrian Orr, and indeed our government, surely have an argument for doing things the way they did.
But these past couple of years, these 900 plus days are something most of us have never seen before and we pray never will again.
Was there a better and different way? You will never know until you dig and put a blowtorch on those who took our lives in their hands and asked us to trust them.
If that isn't worth a Royal Commission, nothing is.
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So the Government’s looking at potential scope for a Covid review, and “taking advice”.
That in and of itself should ring alarm bells given no government has ordered more reviews than this lot. They ordered reviews like a teenager ordering Uber Eats with their parents credit card. Reviews all round, bugger the expense. So now to pause, reflect, and take advice, seems out of character. It seems a stalling technique.
That aside, the taking advice bit is the other thing this Government’s record has been questionable on. They talked a big game – and often – about all the ‘advice’ they were taking – but then more times than not, didn’t take any of it.
Case and point being anything Treasury ever said to them.
It included advice from the business sector, real people, organisations, even their own review committees.
But one sector they did seem to take a lot of advice from during Covid was the domain of the scientist and the epidemiologist.
And fair enough, in the early days of confusion and uncertainty around a virus and a global pandemic, they were the experts they should hear from. But where and when to draw the line?
At what point did the ‘experts’ go beyond their remit? At what point do the scientists sit down and the epidemiologists accept there’s more to life than looking at everything from the lens of a lab.
Things like the fact there’s an economy to think about, a tourism industry, people’s mental health, livelihoods, businesses and so on.
Yes the science and the warnings about hygiene, masks, surfaces, germs and closed spaces were all vital at the time.. but two years on, with fewer than a thousand cases in the community. With even our ‘abundance of caution’ Government saying it‘s time to retire the restrictions, why are the epidemiologists still front page screaming that the sky will fall in?
The fear and the panic is over. Read the room. Yet still they have a platform to preach fear.
It’s not helpful to have the likes of Michael Baker and Rod Jackson saying we need to keep some masks, some controls, some restrictions.
Baker claims we should look at “whether we should have a vaccination requirement for travellers, whether we should use testing technology as part of the arrival process into New Zealand.”
He reckons we “shouldn't just abandon all controls at the borders." I tell you what we should abandon, the epidemiologists. Thank you for your service, thank you for your insight, thanks for the memories. Time to exit stage left.
We do not need this kind of advice running or trying to run our country. It’s beyond their remit, it’s beyond their scope, it only views things myopically from the comfort and luxury of a privileged position with no real connection to the real world. They’re not running a business, they’re not running a ski field or a bungy jump or a hotel or a café or a retail shop.
What we need now is normality, tourists, punters, and some basic freedoms back. We can’t live in fear of future pandemics forever. We can’t keep pinging guests to this country in a paranoid fervour of fear.
We’ve waved goodbye to the traffic lights, now let’s please wave goodbye to the epidemiologists.
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Today marks the first day of the Covid-19 Protection Framework being over, and Parliament had their first mask-free session in recent memory.
Political editor Barry Soper was in attendance and observed that people were still cautious and feeling the need to enforce distancing rules.
It was also observed that Jacinda Ardern was pleased that our nation's hard work had paid off, and that we could ease up on protection, for the moment.
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The traffic light system is gone, most of the mask requirements are gone and the vaccine mandates will be gone by September 26 - although employers will still be able to decide whether or not they want to stick with the mandates.
The only place the Government will require us to keep wearing masks is in places where health services are provided - so hospitals, GP practices etc.
I’m not going to lie - it doesn’t necessarily feel like a new day has dawned.
These changes have been about two-and-a-half years in the making - ever since the pandemic started, pretty much.
And you may have heard the bloke from the Nurses’ Society on Newstalk ZB today saying that we probably won’t see much change on the healthcare front because employers - health boards etc - were requiring staff to be vaccinated before the Government stepped in and mandated it.
He was saying employers have to provide safe working conditions so that makes sense from an HR perspective. But I don’t know whether this is just because I’ve had Covid recently, but I’ve certainly reached a point where I wouldn’t give two hoots whether a doctor or a nurse was vaccinated or not.
But as the Nurses’ Society is saying, it’s not just about me, or you, and vaccine mandates are probably going to continue in the health sector because it’s about protecting health staff from bugs carried by patients and hospital visitors and the like.
The Government has said there is no requirement for employers to take people back, nor is there any requirement for someone who lost their job because of the vaccination mandates to go back to their old job.
That second bit is irrelevant because do you really think the Government is going to start forcing people to go back to their old jobs? Of course not.
But what about the fact there is no obligation to take back people who were forced out of their jobs by the mandates, even though the rules have changed?
Aside from the practicalities and the likelihood that some of these people will have been replaced by other people happy to have the jab, don’t you think it is unfair that people are still on the outer if they used to work somewhere where there was a vaccine mandate, but there isn’t anymore?
Shouldn’t they automatically be offered their old job back?
I was thinking about all the other reasons people get sacked from their jobs.
And, generally, it’s to do with a loss of trust isn’t it?
Someone steals from their employer. A loss of trust. They’re out the door. Someone uses the company car when they shouldn’t. A loss of trust. Out the door. Break the law, out the door. Break company policy, out the door.
But if someone doesn’t agree that they should be vaccinated to keep their job, just because the Government says so, does that mean they can’t be trusted? Of course not. There’s no loss of trust there at all.
And so if the rules change - and the job they used to do is no longer Covid jab-dependent - such as teaching, for example - then why shouldn’t they automatically be given the opportunity to go back?
Chances are, some people who were forced out of their jobs because of the mandates will have such a bad taste in their mouths that they wouldn’t want to go back. But there is a principle here, isn’t there?
And the principle, in my mind, is one of fairness. Sure, people who got the jab and kept their jobs could understandably think that it’s unfair for the unvaccinated to be offered their jobs back.
Because there are many people who got vaccinated just to keep their job. And I can understand that they might be a bit peeved seeing someone who didn’t take one for the team, like they did, being welcomed back into the fold.
But we can’t look at it that way. I certainly thought that the no jab, no job approach was well and truly required at a certain point - back in the day when we didn’t have the vaccination rates we have today.
But that time has passed. And, come September 26, the mandates will generally be a thing of the past too. And I think anyone who lost their job because of the mandates, shouldn’t be punished any longer.
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Well, it was as expected.
Yesterday we heard that 927 days since the Covid pandemic triggered extraordinary defensive measures here and around the world, the Government has decided, as the Prime Minister put it, to turn the page.
No more mandates, no more requirements for masks, except in health care facilities and aged care environments, no more traffic light settings. I think I'm happiest about the traffic light settings. They just seemed absurd.
No more household contacts, having to isolate if a family member contracts Covid, although anyone who does test positive with Covid, will still have to isolate for seven days.
It makes sense for the majority of restrictions to be lifted. And it makes sense for those few that remain to stay.
I think what we've seen is a restoration of common sense and long may it prevail.
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Nurses' Society Director David Willis joined Mike Hosking to discuss the dropping of vaccine mandates for health workers and how it will affect the industry.
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What a relief and not before time that we’re waving goodbye to the traffic light system. Big raps to the Government for getting their heads around that.
We’ve moved on, and so should they. It was apparent yesterday when Grant Robertson said to Mike Hosking that they’ll ‘still take Covid seriously’ that they were laying the ground work for the naysayers, the panickers, those who’d freak out, that they were ‘still taking it seriously’, even though they were heaving the system out.
I don’t know if that reassured mask lovers or not. I do think it’s a crock they’ve kept the mask rule for pharmacies, that seems a waste of time, I was talking to a pharmacist yesterday whose sick to death of wearing a mask all day, seems unfair they’ve been captured by that rule.
The greatest irony of the whole spiel from the PM though had to be when she said, “we take back control.” Ironic when this entire exercise has been about them having control.
Then there’s the public holiday announcement. I really feel for small business here. Yesterday I got a message from a busy hairdressing salon.. hairdressers of course knocked for six during lockdowns and some barely just clawing their way back. This business owner wrote to me saying they’re finally back on their feet and booked 4 to 5 weeks ahead for hair appointments. She said they would lose at least $2,500 in revenue on a closed day.
She said Inland Revenue had put her on a payment plan this year to pay off her small business loan that she received during lockdown, and that she was under pressure to pay it all back.
She pointed out they had no choice during the lockdown and had to take the loan if they were going to keep the business going. This year , she says, they’ve dealt with not only paying back that small business loan, but have had an extra five days sick leave added, another public holiday added, minimum wage increased, staff off with ten and then seven days isolating and pay topped up.
It’s been a mission and punishing for small business owners, in fact for all business owners. She said when she heard the announcement of another day off , she burst into tears. She was ringing the IRD to ask them to stop the direct debits for her loan as this extra day off would kill her business she said.
So I really feel for people like her. Business NZ’s Kirk Hope said a day off should be voluntary but another public holiday shouldn’t be imposed on people.
Treasury estimate the cost of the extra public holiday will be $450 million, which some argue is unfair in a cost of living crisis.
But surely the biggest win, especially for those who protested against it, is the removal of mandates. All government mandates end in two weeks’ time, and not before time in my view. That’s been a brutal, and in many cases cruel, part of this process, and not something we should forget lightly. It destroyed people’s livelihoods and created immense division.
So I won’t miss the mandates, the masks, the drawn out orange light, the daily reporting of Covid cases, the lot.
I’m pleased to see it all go. Good riddance.
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The masks are gone for all but a few sectors, but where do they all go?
A new free recycling initiative is being launched by our biggest mask manufacturer to try and make sure our masks don't all end up in landfill.
It's being done by Meo and co-founder Kenneth Leong joined Mike Hosking.
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The Tourism Minister says any remaining restrictions won't keep people from visiting.
Vaccine requirements for international travellers and the need to wear a mask in most places are gone.
Despite the easing of restrictions, travellers still have to fill out a travel declaration form.
Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking it's not a big deal.
He says it's something which happens around the world and isn't too cumbersome.
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Praise for an easing of restrictions from our retail sector.
Covid-19 restrictions have been scrapped almost completely, with only aged care facilities and hospitals still requiring masks.
Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford says it takes away a lot of tension and confusion around exemptions that retail workers had to deal with.
He told Kate Hawkesby he doesn't expect many retailers to ask their customers to mask up.
Harford says many workers were on the receiving end of verbal abuse and even violence after asking people to mask up.
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So today is D-day on the traffic light system and whether it continues for us or not.
Let’s hope not. I’m optimistic – but the caveat is, this Government likes control.
This system was all about control, and to ditch it is to lose that.
Problem is, and part of the reason I think they’ll ditch it, is that we’ve all ditched it anyway.
Sick of masks and controls and traffic lights and restrictions, coupled with seeing
Covid in the community for what it really is these days, which is a non-event, we’ve voted with our feet, or our faces.
I was out and about at the weekend both in town and in the country, and you can count on one hand whose still wearing masks.
Those of us with school aged children who’ve been buying an endless supply of masks for our kids to wear to school are sick of buying them, the kids are sick of wearing them, and as summer approaches and the weather heats up, they’re actually finding it unbearable to wear them. Teachers too.
So we know most of us won’t miss them.
But will the Government miss the control? Big yes.
They’ll also.. if they’re still applying their ‘abundance of caution’ approach, perhaps want the system, or some version of it, in place should things go awry.
Once our vaccinations start waning, once colder weather swoops back round.
But I take heart from the fact that even their very own epidemiological stalwarts like Michael Baker have popped up and said the traffic light system is outdated and of no use anymore.
And, on top of that, a very reliable source from inside the Koru lounge last week informed me that not even former Covid Minister himself Chris Hipkins was wearing one. Packed Koru lounge, cheek by jowl as usual, no food in front of him, he wasn’t eating, just sitting there, maskless.
So if even the pin up politicians for mask use are not even bothering when they’re in Auckland Airport’s Koru lounge, then maybe that’s a sign that it’s over.
Potentially he may just have been swept up in the vibe of Aucklanders..which that is they’re over them. Perhaps he keeps it on when he’s in Wellington where there’s a more obedient vibe.
Either way, they’ll make a decision today that either gives us back our freedoms , that we so rightly deserve, or they’ll cling to control. It won’t be a decision made on what’s best for our health or the health system, they’ll have polled on it and it’ll be a political decision based on popularity.
And you’ll know it’s a political decision when they use the words, “this is not a political decision”.. because they’ll be looking to deflect that criticism.
But if they’re smart they’ll know the decision’s already been made for them.
We’re not doing it anymore, we’re sick of it, bar a handful of people still subscribed to the fear mantra. But most of us know what risk looks like and how to weigh it up, and less than a thousand cases a day is not a risk, it’s not an outbreak, and it’s not crashing the health system.
So the only right decision today is ditch the lights, ditch the masks. It’s time to move on.
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The Deputy Prime Minister is promising transparency around Covid-19 protocol.
The decision about whether to do away with our traffic light system will be announced at 4pm after a cabinet meeting.
Grant Robertson told Mike Hosking we will have complete clarity around the rules by the end of the day.
He says while the virus can be unpredictable, New Zealanders need to know what's expected of them.
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National says our Covid-19 traffic light system is no longer needed.
Jacinda Ardern will announce Cabinet's decision on whether to do away with it at 4pm.
National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says compliance with mask wearing is waning.
He told Kate Hawkesby he reckons the timing is right.
Bishop says now that cases are falling and we're past the winter peak, it's time to move on.
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Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker joined the Weekend Collective to discuss the potential changes to the traffic light framework, whether we should still be wearing masks and more.
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I asked a simple question of Megan Woods yesterday on the programme. Does this Government apologise for anything?
She went on to not apologise. She referenced Carmel Sepuloni, who also hadn't apologised. And by days end, no one seems to have apologised for the Northland cock up.
Not the Prime Minister, who referred questions to Chris Hipkins in yet another sign that she has basically checked out and essentially just lives for the overseas trips.
And Hipkins himself busily suggested that there was nothing new here, despite the fact most of us thought it was all new. He also said that when it came to an apology he didn’t want to get into the “ins and outs” of it.
Every time something like this happens it is further evidence, as if we needed it, that a full blown, no holds barred inquiry is needed to look at just what this country has been put through.
It appears increasingly as evidence presents itself that whether it's a lockdown that didn’t need to happen, a vaccinated person who died, a business that closed, a wage subsidy that wasn’t paid back, a traffic light system that made no sense, a Kiwi that was locked out, the kids that didn’t go to school or the mental health issues that pervade virtually every town and city in this country.
Added to the fact that economically we have been in recession and if not recession just a plain mess, that we might like to ask quite loudly, whether all of the obsession about the team of 5 million the lockdown mentality and the fear that was pedalled has served us at all well.
The inquiry, if in fact it's ever held, is now quite frightening. The papers that get released that tell increasingly scandalous stories of ineptitude and incompetence. Think about it, a whole region locked down and three days earlier, they knew the paperwork was wrong.
And even now, when the game is up, the mistake is made public. They don't want to get into the "ins and outs" of it.
Where is the humility? Where is the acceptance that everyone makes mistakes? And when you do make a mistake, the least you can do is say sorry.
What do you gain by trying to BS your way out of these things? What do you gain by not getting into the "ins and outs" of it? What do you grain by shunting off the questions to your Minister, because as a leader you take responsibility for nothing?
Woods see Sepuloni. Ardern see Hipkins. Sepuloni no apology and Hipkins doesn’t want to get into the "ins and outs" of it.
Open, honest, and transparent, eh? The biggest fraud of the decade.
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The green light could be given to get rid of the traffic light framework.
Our newsroom understands Cabinet will be deciding on a recommendation to scrap the framework altogether, rather than tweaking the settings or moving to green.
If it goes ahead, it will come into effect as soon as next Wednesday.
Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford told Mike Hosking he supports axing it, including getting rid of mask mandates.
He says nobody is enforcing the rule and it creates clash points with customers so the sooner they can move on, the better.
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A call for an inquiry over mistakes made during our Covid-19 response.
Northland was plunged into level three after two women travelled to the region and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
Officials originally said they had provided false information to get travel permits, but it's been revealed they were issued in error instead.
Former New Zealand First Northland MP Shane Jones told Kate Hawkesby their refusal to hold an inquiry is due to overconfidence.
He thinks the Government thinks it will win the election without having to care about the north.
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National is promising a Covid-19 inquiry if it's elected.
The Northland region was plunged into level three last year after women who travelled there returned positive Covid-19 results.
Now officials have admitted they issued travel permits in error.
National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says his party would have an inquiry started within the first 100 days of taking over.
He told Mike Hosking a variety of people would be on the panel.
Bishop says he'd like retired judges, economists and health professionals.
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New documents released under the Official Information Act have revealed the truth about the highly publicised case of three women who travelled from Auckland to Northland in October 2021 in the midst of a Delta outbreak, putting Northland into an alert level 3 lockdown.
The OIA papers show the women - who had earlier been blamed for using "false information" to get travel permits - had no links to gangs and weren't sex workers, as had been suggested, and their permit had been approved in error.
NZ Herald crime and justice senior journalist Anna Leask spoke to one of the women involved not long after the incident and joined Simon Barnett and James Daniels Afternoons.
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Before I join the calls from various people, organisations, and political parties for the Government to apologise for the unnecessary 11-day lockdown of Northland, I would like to apologise to the two women who were at the centre of this latest stuff up that's been revealed.
The two women who were accused of using illegal documents to travel across the Auckland border into Northland, and who it was insinuated, were sex workers working for the gangs.
The women were publicly vilified for crossing the border, with then Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins accusing them of using false information to travel. The case also saw reporters asking Ardern whether the women were prostitutes, and former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was forced to apologise for falsely claiming the pair were helped by Harry Tam, the Hawkes Bay based Mongrel Mob leader.
The police inquiry summary said the police investigation found no evidence to suggest the woman had any connection to Harry Tam, or the Mongrel Mob, or that they were involved in prostitution. I wasn't able to find my opener for the day that the news was revealed, the reason why we've gone into lockdown, but I have absolutely no doubt I would have gone and boots and all.
So for the unfair comments about the women’s character that I undoubtedly made, I do unreservedly apologise.
And the Government departments should be apologising too – MBIE and Social Development - on behalf of the nameless bureaucrat who knew three days before Northland was locked down that the women were not in fact gangster’s moles, that they had a legitimate business.
It just reinforces what I've said all along, if faceless bureaucrats cannot be held responsible for the decisions they made during that dreadful year around who could travel, who could not; if they cannot be held responsible for denying the father of a child the right to support his partner in hospital. For denying parents the right to be by the bedside of sick children. For denying children the right to be with their dying parents.
Then the respective heads of MBIE and the ministers responsible should be held accountable.
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National is calling on the Government to apologise over the 11-day Covid lockdown last October.
The Government blamed the lockdown on the two women using false travel documents to cross the Northland border and there had been suggestions the women were doing sex work for the gang scene.
But documents obtained by our newsroom reveal the women weren't sex workers, had no gang links, and had correct documentation which officials had issued in error.
National Whangaparāoa MP Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking what's happened is outrageous.
“They went up there quite legally, they were allowed to go up there.”
The Housing Minister says the Government is working hard to solve issues with Rotorua's emergency motel system.
Clients in the system have accused housing charity Visions of a Helping Hand of intimidation and abuse of power, and there are reports of violence and poor conditions within the motels.
Megan Woods says Rotorua has been rapidly growing and putting people in motels, is better than leaving people on the street.
She told Mike Hosking they haven't been lazy in trying to provide an alternative.
“We have been on a massive building programme for having state houses there, we have delivered 209, there’s another 300-odd under construction at the moment.”
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A Rotorua mayoral candidate says the city needs to urgently shift away from emergency housing motels.
National and Te Pati Maori are calling for an inquiry into the system after a TVNZ report exposed tenants in poor conditions.
Some residents housed under the charity Visions of a Helping Hand are accusing that group of intimidation and abuse of power by staff and security workers.
Rotorua District Council member and mayoral candidate Tania Tapsell says told Kate Hawkesby we need to focus on long term solutions.
She says we need to build social housing not rely on emergency housing.
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A Northland mayor isn't hiding his frustration, with the blunder that forced Northland into an 11-day Covid lockdown last October.
The Government accused the two women who sparked the lockdown of using false travel documents to get across the Northland border, allegedly to be sex workers within the gang scene.
But documents obtained by our newsroom show the women weren't sex workers, had no gang links, and had correct documentation, issued in error.
Speaking to Mike Hosking, outgoing Far North Mayor John Carter isn't hiding his feelings.
“It just pisses you off, it makes you angry. This is just typical of the invisible, arrogant Wellington bureaucracy.”
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Tough times for universities are forcing them to look at their balance sheet.
Around 230 staff face redundancy at AUT, despite the university having a $12 million surplus last year.
Universities New Zealand Executive Director Chris Whelan says inflation has hit the sector hard.
He told Mike Hosking the lack of international students is also causing dramas.
Whelan says it will take a while to return to pre-pandemic numbers, if we return there at all.
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Could it be they have finally got the message?
We are not just going to Green; it isn't even a thing. Because, it appears, the whole mad Traffic Light System is going altogether.
As always, it's a game of tease and wait, no comment, hints, and more no comments.
When they finally sit down to work out Covid settings, whenever that is, given they officially only say a "couple of weeks”, but they have been saying that for over a week. But when they finally work it out, I have no doubt they'll announce an announcement of an announcement or date sometime that isn't the time they are making the initial announcement.
If we can be free of all this by Christmas, psychologically the country will be helped immeasurably. The psychological damage done to us over the past couple of years is a crime.
I still see people daily walking around with masks on outside in the fresh air. Not because it makes any difference, but because they have been bullied into certain behaviour they have never been bullied into before. We didn’t wear masks before, but we wear them now for a caseload that has plummeted and doesn’t affect us anymore.
The psychology of the Government finally cutting us loose will be good for everyone. It'll also be good for the tangibles like tourism as we join the rest of the world in the new normal.
The fact is the Traffic Light System was a con anyway. We were in Red and Orange at stages, but when you looked at the official guidelines as to what was needed or required for us to be in those settings, we weren't.
Rules got made up on the fly and the health system was strained, or not strained, based on politics not health.
It's one of the many things that has undone the Government in terms of honesty and credibility. We looked at the so-called rules, looked at the reality, and too often they didn’t match.
The fact we are still in Orange today is nuts. The fact the rules aren't followed by many around masks is no surprise. The fact they are still advertising boosters is equally mad.
Covid is over. Not literally, literally, it may never be over. But in terms of the power of us all moving on, it's over.
And the sooner the power freaks who have set all these mad rules unlock the shackles, the better.
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I think the only feasible thing that can happen now with the mask mandate is that they get rid of it.
When even the Government’s favourite boffin (Michael Baker) says masks aren’t that essential anymore, you’ve got to wonder whose left supporting them. Add to that the fact they’re even up for discussion – the fact they’re now being talked about by the PM herself as something we may be able to review – and you can kiss the mandate goodbye. Because what happens when people in high places start questioning stuff, is that the general public get a whiff of it, and just go ahead and ditch them anyway.
Where we live rurally, masks have been a distant memory for a while now. Most of our local shops don’t bother, it’s rare to see people in them, I’m not sure if other rural parts of the country are the same but I think it’s largely a city thing these days. Wellington I hear, (unsurprisingly) is still hot on masks, Auckland is hit and miss, some parts of the city still do them, others don’t bother. You certainly don’t get told off anymore if you wander into a shop without one. In fact more often than not if it’s an owner operated store the staff aren’t wearing them either, it’s just the chains and franchises like supermarkets who’re still having to wear them.
But I was in a supermarket yesterday and the majority of shoppers were not in masks. And no one told them to put one on either. Schools are over it, both the teachers and the kids. The students are sick of wearing them, the teachers are sick of enforcing the wearing of them. I’m glad we’ve finally reached this point where losing the masks has gained momentum. I think it’s a lot to do with the borders opening and so many Kiwis getting out to travel and seeing for themselves that the rest of the world has moved on from Covid.
Travelling around without a mask and then coming back to New Zealand and suddenly everyone has them on, feels weird, and more people are now realising that. That’s before we get to the tourists who arrive and go – what the heck's happening here. It makes us look backward and what we now know is that it is a factor in putting international visitors off. In fact our whole orange light is. I argued a couple of weeks ago that we needed to go to a green light and someone texted me and rightly said – why a green light? There should be no light system at all. And that’s true. It’s no longer relevant. And it feels like the Government’s finally getting to that point too.
That coupled with the fact that all their polling will be telling them how over it people are. I think we, like Australia, will ditch the masks apart from places like maybe hospitals or rest homes and other high risk areas. But the decision won’t be because of health reasons or because Michael Baker said so, it’ll be because it’s politically advantageous to the Government to do so.
When you’ve had a few weeks like this government's having, and momentum is slipping away from you at the pace it currently is, ditching masks and traffic lights suddenly becomes very politically attractive. The country needs some much needed positivity.. and a boost in our freedoms may be just the tonic needed for the Government to claw back a wee bit of support.
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Masks- as we move closer to our current restrictions getting a review, will mask mandates be scrapped soon? Less people wear them out and about to public facing events nowadays, and whether or not they are still needed is facing debate.
BusinessDesk investments editor and host of the Cooking the Books podcast, Frances Cook and producer and commentator Irene Gardiner share their thoughts on the current necessity of masks, and how they still think they are useful in certain environments, such as public transport and supermarkets.
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It really feels like it’s time, doesn’t it. Time to ease mask requirements.
Not because every lucky traveller returning to New Zealand bores you with stories about how the rest of the world has moved on – forgetting where it hasn’t. Not because you’re sick of rummaging in your bag for a half decent mask, through the ones that should have been disposed of long ago or are in need of a wash. And not because spring is here - New Zealand had its highest Covid case numbers during the surge last summer.
It’s time because case numbers and hospitalisations have been dropping, less people are wearing masks in public places and, according to even the epidemiologists, mask wearing is less critical.
Reducing mandates for mask wearing is one of the major changes that will happen if New Zealand drops from the orange traffic light setting to the green traffic light setting – or possibly to a whole new Covid management system. At green, masks will still be encouraged indoors but no longer required at work places.
Advice is currently being sought on how to make the step towards dropping mask wearing requirements, while keeping vulnerable members of our communities safe. The disability sector should feel aggrieved they were given only 24 hours to provide feedback to the government – it sounds like lip service, but I do hope they’re heard.
It makes sense mask wearing will continuing in some areas – such as health services, aged care services and residential services for vulnerable people. I can’t see my GP clinic letting me into the building mask-free in the foreseeable future.
Like most people I don’t enjoy wearing a mask, but out of respect for others, I have worn one where required. I will at green still put a mask on in locations where there’s a valid reason for it and where I’m asked to. It’s just a mask.
But you only have to look around to see that fewer people are wearing masks. I was stunned a couple of months ago to turn up to a crowded cinema complex, which had been very diligent checking vaccine passes and masks on entry, to find hundreds of people attending a film screening without masks.
I felt I’d missed that memo. It was like masks had just gone overnight.
We’re seeing fewer masks in supermarkets, malls, retail, hospo and schools. I attended the Auckland Writers Festival Gala evening last week and there was no pressure to wear a mask and many didn’t.
The nation’s lagging enthusiasm or acceptance for wearing masks will no doubt be considered as the Government reviews the traffic light framework on September 12th. As we’ve seen from the Government this week, it can make surprisingly quick decisions on unpopular policy if it so chooses.
Moving to green means what are requirements in orange become suggestions. The Government may not be prepared to revert to ‘normal’ just yet, but it does seem likely a move will be made on masks. The timing feels right. Wear a mask, or not; it should be up to you.
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Almost a hundred police staff are taking a personal grievance over their treatment for refusing to get the Covid vaccine.
The vaccine mandate for Police was overturned in the High Court in February - and 91 people are now complaining about what's happened since they got back to work.
Employment lawyer Chris Scarrott told Heather du Plessis-Allan there needs to be good rationale for any vaccine policy - whether enforced by Government or the Police themselves.
He says it's about looking at each of the roles and assessing whether there are particular reasons to protect health and safety.
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Australia has announced an update to their Covid isolation requirements- people will now only be required to isolate for 5 days instead of 7. Australian correspondent shares the public reaction and mass confusion with Kate Hawkesby.
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Shipment delays to Oceania are on the rise and hitting New Zealand hard according to an international logistics company.
Project44 data comparing pre-Covid 2019 to the third quarter of 2022, shows shipment delays from china to new Zealand jumped a whopping 6764 percent.
Representative of the NZ Council of Cargo Owners Simon Beale tells Mike Hosking that lockdowns in China have contributed to the rise in shipping delays.
“We’ve had major issues here again with the lockdowns in Shanghai, where we had the first lot of products in and out of other ports- while they have lockdowns, there are a lot of containers that aren’t available to be used in other regions as well, your capacity gets restricted .”
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“All I do is cry” was the quote that broke my heart over the weekend.
The ODT had a story about the state of Queenstown at the moment, and it talked to café and restaurant owners who’re still in dire straits over lack of staff. They claim there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, and that this is worse than Covid was.
Hospitality NZ’s regional manager was quoted as saying that it’s such a pressure cooker situation that, ''It's becoming a luxury for our operators to open at the moment.'' Imagine that. A luxury to even open your doors.
As a business, that has to be soul destroying. They’re over worked, under staffed and burning out. And I feel for them. Because they’ve been promised time and time again that it will get fixed, and it just isn’t getting fixed. So much so, that some operators are leaving hospo altogether.
One café operator said that .. ''chefs don't want to be chefs anymore — [they’ll] go work as a labourer instead, and they get paid really, really well to do that.'' Even though this café owner argues she still pays top end.
Famous Queenstown establishment The Cow, it’s co-owner said the same thing, ..”there are no new people at all, you could put an ad out, '$100 an hour, they're not going to turn up… in 21 years ''I've never seen anything like this before..”
He’s apparently now having to close two nights a week. And that’s a familiar story for many operators, not just hospo.
I heard from friends returning from Queenstown the other day that they were shocked at how much was shut, how many cafes were closed, or operating at half steam still, how many shops had staff wanted signs in their windows, how down and out many of the business owners were.
The vibe had changed they said, it felt different and it felt desperate. And that’s because they are desperate. And they don’t see an end in sight.
One of the café owners said.. ''We've got people that want to come and work for us but they can't find anywhere to live, so they're now looking for jobs that have accommodation with them.''
She said it’s ‘more stressful than Covid 'because at least [with Covid] you knew when you were going to get out of it, but this, you just don't know.'' So they’re at breaking point many of them, without a way out.
They’re not the Government’s biggest fans, as you can imagine.
Lone Star’s owner slammed the Government for its ''lack of conviction to try and fix it''. And that’s got to sting because it’s not like they haven’t been banging on about how bad it is for a long time, it’s not like Ministers don’t know what’s happening in Queenstown.
‘Restricting the labour market to drive up wages’, as Lone Star’s owner accuses the Government of doing, isn’t working. As The Cow’s co-owner said, it’s not about how much you pay, it’s the fact there’s nobody there to pay it to. There’s just no workforce.
So how bad does it have to get, before the Government actually gets more people into this country?
Not just 'opening up opportunities’ for them to come, but actually getting them in.
Aged care, tourism and the health sector I'm sure would love to know the answer to that question too.
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In the wake of a couple of revealing surveys, I’m pleased to see businesses agitating for change a bit more. I’m talking about the traffic light system.
Two surveys recently showed how much we’re fed up with all this.
TV1 had a survey showing 65 percent of us want all Covid restrictions dropped, not surprising at all.
Then a survey the Government did showed them the reality of what’s going on – fewer of us are wearing masks, fewer of us are reporting RAT results, fewer of us are willing to isolate for seven days.
So given that, why are we still sitting in Orange with all these restrictions?
We’re over it. And so it turns out are international tourists. If we truly want to be an open country, ready for business and tourism and holiday makers, then we need to unshackle ourselves from all this ideology keeping us looking like a hermit kingdom.
“Global hotels and management operator Accor wants New Zealand to move to a green light setting as the industry works to bring international tourism back to pre-pandemic levels..” it was reported yesterday, they want to get the message out that we are indeed “fully completely open” for business.
Accor Pacific’s Chief Exec was reported as saying that ‘green is that signal.’
She also said that, “some tourists were cautious about travelling to New Zealand under the orange light status.”
And I’m not surprised, it’s out of kilter with where the rest of the world is at, it makes it look like we have a problem, which we don’t, it makes us look backward and introspective.
No one feels that more acutely than the Kiwis currently all returning from their overseas jaunts to Europe or warmer climes.
Having gallivanted around the world mask-less and without any news of Covid interrupting them, they come home only to be greeted by a bunch of people in masks handing them RATs.
One to do straight away and one to do in seven more days’ time and to self-report on.
How many do you reckon are doing that? My hunch is zero. Not even the acolytes are doing it.
But if we are trying to be truly competitive and get back to pre-pandemic levels with tourism and travel, then surely we have no choice but to remove all this bureaucracy and BS.
Accor for their part [were reported saying] that, we’re “competing with the rest of the world for international tourists and [we] needed to make it clear that it was easy for tourists to come and go.”
We’re not though. We’re flagging impediments like RATs on arrival and masking up and being in an Orange setting – and that’s before we get to the part where many people won’t have a clue what that is, all they’ll know is that it doesn’t sound fully open.
Two of our kids are travelling right now, one in the States, one in Europe, both say when people hear they’re Kiwis their first response is ‘oh you guys have been locked down for ages right?’.. They go on to ask why NZ is still closed, that’s their impression.
We used to be known internationally for the All Blacks or Lord of the Rings, but sadly now when people hear you’re a Kiwi the first thing they mention is Covid and being shut. Cool.
Great reputation that is for our little slice of what used to be paradise. It needs to change fast, and I just hope more businesses start to get more vocal with this Government on fixing it.
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I think what the protesters did yesterday was remind most of us that we’re not interested in going backwards, as a country. And it felt like that’s what yesterday’s protest was doing. Going backwards.
Banal pleas like locking up the PM, ‘when I say Cindy, you say jail time’ was one of the chants. And while I’m as sick of the Prime Minister as you are, this ain’t it.
This is not how you effect change, this is not how you get people on board. It’s certainly not how you get rid of a Prime Minister.
To be a great leader, or to even gather a credible movement, you need to have buy in from a large swathe of people, not just your cultist followers who’d go anywhere and chant anything for you. Which is what the rabble yesterday looked like.
It looked like a fringe event, filled with Destiny Church followers who would march anywhere if Bishop Brian was at the front.
The annoying thing is, for all the people who say – well you’re the media, you shouldn’t be covering it, why are you giving them airtime?’ The problem is, news likes good pics - and protests, banners, crowds and flags make good pics.
They also cause a lot of inconvenience which needs reporting too, like closed roads or diverted bus services. And the fact that it’s at Parliament – it all adds up to newsworthy and they know it. It gets the attention they want it to get, but does it get the results?
Will they really get the PM locked up? Of course not. Are they seriously thinking the Government will drop all mandates just because they say so? Again, no.
As for the ‘hands off our children’ placards, what hands are on whose children?
There’s a lack of clarity in the messaging, shouting ‘freedom’ and ‘enough is enough’.. freedom from what? Masks?
Look I agree with them on that front, we need to move on from the traffic light and the mask mandates, the rest of the world has, but I don’t think we have no freedom because of that.
And I don’t think this is the way to go about getting rid of them.
Other chants included, ‘Beehive bullies must go’… Government must go’.. Trevor Mallard must go too apparently – well he’s already off anyway to his cushy number in Ireland, but Brian Tamaki wants wife Hannah to have that job.
Not sure that’s going to take off, but like I said, a lot of messages.
They were calling for a snap election – they held a ‘people’s court’ to charge the Government with crimes against humanity.
Then Tamaki announced a new umbrella political party and they all dispersed relatively peacefully by mid-afternoon. So let’s hope that’s the end of it.
I didn’t appreciate them blocking the motorways in Auckland and cutting off traffic to busy shopping precinct Newmarket a couple of weeks ago, I’m sure Wellingtonians didn’t appreciate the disruption they endured either.
And that’s the nub of all this. It really doesn’t affect the politicians who just carried on about their business expelling Sharma, but it did affect commuters, students and local businesses.
All that 'people’s court' and trying to get the Prime Minister ‘locked up’ is not effective protesting, it's just a group of disgruntled people letting off steam.
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Actions, as it turns out, do speak louder than words.
Last week's poll around our view of Covid is backed up by; 1) another poll and 2) more importantly, real life.
Last week's poll had 65 percent of us wanting all restrictions gone. That's a fairly large majority.
This week's poll has fewer and fewer of us adhering to the so called rules.
Those willing to use a mask - down 11 points.
Those willing to isolate - down 12.
RAT use down three and reporting a rat result is down 27 percent.
People see this for what it is and are acting accordingly, but in the real world it's even starker.
I went to the mall and I hardly ever go to the mall. No one, and I mean no one, in the mall was wearing a mask and I felt reassured about that.
Polls and stats are one thing but the real world is another. In the shop itself inside the mall, the ratio went up. Now this is a bit of grandmother research but roughly it went up by about a third of people wearing a mask.
But you can easily say the majority weren't wearing one and this was a major department store.
All the staff had them on but very few of the customers which made me even more reassured.
Having started what was clearly a research project into mask wearing, I monitored use on the way home.
It seems we are in camps. Because once outside, hardly anyone was wearing a mask, but those who left the shop and left the mall kept their masks on - i.e. they wore them all the time.
And in wandering down the street you see them; a combination of the full mask wearer and the half mask wearer. You know, the one that still has it on despite the fact it has slipped down and doesn’t work.
Now, I am not anti-mask, if you want to wear a mask wear one.
But I am a realist and Covid is no longer a ‘thing’.
It’s a virus we might catch like a cold or the flu. We have at last, thank God, got to that point. It is clear the rules are no longer being followed; the surveys show it and the real world shows it even more.
The Government of course should have read all of this. We have left them behind and I assume at sometime between now and Christmas they’ll read their own survey and work this out.
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The country's largest home and community care provider is calling for an end to Covid vaccine mandates for health workers.
NZ Health Group estimates about 800 unvaccinated staff want to return to work.
CEO Josephine Gagan told Heather du Plessis-Allan the vaccine mandate has unfairly affected thousands of vulnerable Kiwis.
“A support worker will visit four or five individual people a day, so multiply that across the whole week. It’s a lot of people.’
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A year this week since Delta arrived. I hesitate to mention it, given I'm over Covid and have been for ages.
I note they still publish the numbers each day. Lord knows why, does anyone really care?
I also note in reading a bit about this year since Delta and yet more lockdowns arrived, that various people doing various studies about what we know and don’t know about the virus, still don’t seem to know a lot about it.
We don’t know where it came from, for example. A couple of recent reports seem to agree Covid came out of the market in Wuhan, but nothing really concrete.
Long Covid is an issue potentially to plague us for a while. Michael Baker still pops up far too often with his forecasts of yet more doom.
I also note we remain hopelessly behind the rest of the world because of fear. We have absurd rules around masks that never really made sense and make even less sense now and we are still seemingly forever in Orange.
The uptake of the booster was a joke. The second booster is an even bigger joke.
I sort of feel vindicated about my prediction that, ultimately, like most viruses, Covid would morph into something more innocuous. And so, it has proven to be.
But the biggest reaction I tend to have when I think of Covid is the ongoing damage. Not to our health, but to our country and economy.
The Reserve Bank yesterday upped interest rates because they too became so driven by fear and panic, they printed money in a way we have never seen and I pray will never see again. The Government ran us towards a fiscal position we won't even begin to pay off in our lifetime.
The fear to common sense ratio was off the scale. Here we are in a winter of discontent in a complete mess.
Tourism that hasn’t recovered, planes that are cancelled, migrants that aren't arriving, New Zealanders that are leaving, jobs that are unfilled, NCEA credits we are giving away because no one goes to school, and violence from kids who didn’t go to school so decided their future was driving cars through windows.
It's quite the list, isn't it?
Plus, we have a hospital system that was not and still isn't properly prepped for an outbreak.
A year on since Delta, not really a lot to be proud of. No wonder the Government are refusing a review.
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Relief from principals, about the Government's third year of changes to NCEA.
Students taking NCEA this year will receive an extra credit for every five earned through assessment, to support those affected by the Covid pandemic.
University Entrance will also been lowered to 14 credits in two approved subjects, and 12 credits in a third subject.
Canterbury and West Coast Principals' Association President Phil Holstein says told Kate Hawkesby it reflects the major disruptions students have been facing.
He says schools were particularly affected by Covid and other sickness during the latter part of Term Two.
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The principals have got what they wanted. A couple of weeks ago, they wrote to the Government about easing the NCEA requirements.
They claimed students were getting depressed and everyone was at breaking point. And the Government has come to the party.
46 merit or excellence credits instead of 50. For University Entrance, 12 credits from two approved subjects, instead of 14 from three. In simple terms they have made it easier.
It's not hard to make it easier, but to what end?
I'm torn, as a parent and as a person who sat all this stuff, I couldn't wait to leave school. I hated exams, I found large portions of the academic exercise completely fruitless and futile, and I knew what I wanted to do, how to do it, and school was holding me back. I have seen it in some of our kids as well.
My School Certificate and University Entrance qualifications have meant virtually nothing to me once I left school, other than a record that I turned up for a number of years and passed some exams.
So, make it as easy as you want, what does it really matter?
But then, it's critical isn't it? What is it we are teaching? How are we teaching? How do we compare? And how do we compete? School is the foundation of learning. It's the starting pack for life and participating in it.
The evidence shows as a country we aren't doing well. In those core subjects like science, maths, and literacy we are slipping and slipping badly. Where once we were at the top of the OECD, now we aren't and we aren't even close. And making stuff easy, like handing out free grades, doesn’t help.
Yes, Covid is tough and school life is tough. You can't get teachers and schools are social welfare agencies, but tough times are a test not a reason to acquiesce, to quit, give up, or ask for a free pass.
We are sadly running a lowest common denominator operation. I have three kids in education. They've all been disrupted, they’ve all been at home, but they haven't given up and they don’t want an easy ride.
Covid is an excuse, it's been used. And it continues to be used as too much of an excuse.
We can't do this, don’t do this, that’s stopped, and we aren't doing that anymore. Do many aspects of life that because of Covid, no longer happen.
It's “have an inch take a mile” mindset. You know how it goes, why is it delayed?
Because of Covid.
And now the schools, kids' education, and an investment for life are being given up because of a couple of years of disruption. If the subject was determination and mindset, on this decision we fail.
And when we fail, we fail our kids.
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Air New Zealand will cut its planned schedule and operate 1.5 per cent fewer seats than originally planned during the next six months.
The airline says it is taking proactive measures to protect customers' travel plans as sickness continues to cause disruption.
And in a move that will anger former crew hoping to get their jobs back, the airline is exploring expensive "wet leasing" aircraft with crew for the busy summer period.
The airline said most customers who experience a flight change will be transferred to another flight on the same day for domestic travel, and for international travel, on the same day or a day either side of their original booking.
Where customers cannot be accommodated within these timeframes, they may change their booking online, opt into credit or request a refund.
Those customers with changes will start to see them from today and will be automatically transferred to another flight. Those with further onward connections may also be disrupted and "we will work through these directly with impacted customers".
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said making these changes now gives customers advance notice and will help the airline provide a service that's more reliable during its rebuild.
"Like many airlines around the world, we've been ramping up our operation at a time when Covid and the flu continues to impact the aviation industry. Looking at the disruptions our customers and staff have faced over the past five weeks, we've made some adjustments to reduce short-notice cancellations in the months ahead."
Sickness has been three times normal levels and the airline is still in the process of bringing back its biggest planes, Boeing 777-300s.
"While we did factor sickness into our ramp up plan, we've seen the highest rates of crew sickness in over a decade. We see these challenges continuing not just for crew, but for our whole operation, and so we're making proactive changes to address them."
Air New Zealand has used charter operator Hi Fly previously to plug gaps. Photo / Supplied
Foran said reducing the number of flights means the airline will be able to have crew on standby to cover illness, which has not been possible lately.
The airline is "pulling out all the stops" to minimise disruption and provide surety for our customers over the next six months.
"We have rehired or brought on more than 2000 pilots, airport staff, cabin crew, contact centre and engineers, and we're going as fast as we can with recruitment and training."
The airline was also exploring options to lease a crewed widebody aircraft for the busy summer period.
"We know customers want the Air New Zealand experience, and that's what we want to deliver too. But at the moment we're stretched to capacity and making sure our customers are able to travel is our top priority. The lease of an additional crewed aircraft may help us achieve that."
In the summer of 2017-18 the airline wet leased aircraft from specialist Hi Fly from Portugal to plug gaps caused by the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners which needed engine repairs. T
Air New Zealand's domestic and international schedule will be operating at 90 per cent of pre-Covid capacity for the next six months.
Advice to travellers:
What should I do if my flight changes because of these schedule changes?
• If your domestic flight has changed and you have not been given a flight on the same day, then you will be able to request a change online under Manage my Booking, opt into credit or request a refund.
- If your international flight has changed and you have not been given a flight on the same day or on a day either side of your original booking, then you will be able to request a change online under Manage my booking, opt into credit or request a refund.
- If you have booked through a travel agent, you will need to contact them if changes are needed, or to request a refund if eligible.
When can you get a refund?
- For other controllable events like staff sickness, engineering or operational requirements, a refund may also be available when Air New Zealand is unable to provide an alternative flight within the timeframes stated above.
- For disruptions outside of the airline's control (e.g. weather), where the alternative flight offered is not suitable, customers can opt into credit or if they purchased a refundable ticket, they will be eligible for a refund or where a refund is required by applicable legislation.
- Grant Bradley, NZ Herald
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A tourism leader says things are looking up for the sector, after years of travel restrictions.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has unveiled a new plan to strengthen the tourism and hospitality workforce for the upcoming tourism boom.
It includes measures to improve training and working conditions.
Real NZ CEO Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking the sector is now in a good position to restart.
He says while it will take a while to get back to pre-pandemic levels of travel, the future is certainly certainly brighter than the last couple of years.
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Students will now be feeling more confidence heading into exam season.
The Government's announced changes to award one learning recognition credit for every five earned through assessment.
Students working towards Level One can get up to 10 extra credits - with eight for those at Levels Two and Three.
Greater Wellington Principals Association Chair Kevin Carter joined Heather du Plessis Allan Drive to discuss the changes to NCEA.
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Another wave of supply chain disruptions is predicted this coming summer, just as exports are due to peak.
Massey University’s mid-year risk outlook highlights a bunch of factors converging.
Ant Boyles chairs the New Zealand Council of Cargo Owners and joined Tim Dower.
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MPs Megan Woods and Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking to wrap the week's political news.
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I’m pleased midwives are asking for justification of the ongoing Covid vaccine mandate, surely we need to let it go by now.
Surely it’s not even relevant anymore, in a world where we are learning to live with Covid, where we are gaining herd immunity anyway, and where the evolution of the virus is such that keeping up with never ending variants and relevant vaccines is going to become impossible to patrol.
Let’s be honest, how many of us are going to keep up with all the new vaccines that may be available over time against all the new evolving variants?
How many of us are boosted and going to get re boosted and re boosted and how do you keep tabs on that and enforce that without becoming an all-controlling, micro managing, nanny state?
Surely we are at a point now with such desperation in our health workforce that we have to be more realistic?
And when it comes down to it, would you rather have babies delivered safely and new mothers cared for?
Or, stressed and alone because there just isn’t a midwife available?
It’s been reported that the College of Midwives has been asking for a review of the mandates for a while.
They apparently first wrote to Ministers back in May, asking for a ‘robust review’ into evidence supporting mandating midwives, "given the critical nature of the midwifery workforce shortages".
Their logic is sound and hard to argue with. If they’re daily RAT testing, and they’ve got PPE, then what’s the problem?
You weigh that up against the alternative; no midwives or a glaring lack of them, then it’s a no brainer surely.
Frustratingly, the Government replied to this plea in June with a standard ‘thanks for your letter’ type response, and just reiterating that they regularly review Covid response settings.
Do they though? Or is that just the ideology behind it?
Oh we should keep looking at this, when was the last time they looked at the traffic light system?
When did they think about a mask review? What’s their idea of ‘regular’ reviews really?
But I think when you’ve got even a vaccinologist on board, surely you’re onto something?
University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris even said "the conversation has definitely changed" and it was "very reasonable" to review evidence for having mandates.
So we either value quality maternity care or we don’t, I guess is what it boils down to.
And in a country struggling so desperately with no health workforce surely it behoves us to have all options on the table, including the option of an unvaxxed midwife.
What would you rather have? An unvaxxed midwife, or no midwife at all?
I think it’s naïve and backward thinking of the Government not to engage in this with midwives, but not just them, with many aspects of the health workforce.
Surely it’s time we had another look at how relevant mandates really are now, and surely other sectors of the health workforce put pressure on here too.
Because for a government that claims to be ‘regularly reviewing’ all this, it doesn’t really feel like it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do we need to follow in the footsteps of Australia when it comes to long Covid?
The Australian Government are developing a national plan to respond to the effects of long Covid as estimates show about 4 percent of patients experience long term symptoms.
Auckland University immunologist and long Covid researcher Anna Brooks joined Mike Hosking.
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I mentioned yesterday, with the return of cruise ships to our now fully open border, who’d be game enough to get on a cruise? The horror of those ships stuck like floating prisons when in the early days of Covid people got stuck on them unable to move. I thought that might put people off for life.
But, apparently not. I was inundated with messages from people already back out cruising, not only that, they’re loving it. And so far so good, touch wood. It’s been drama free.
I mean there was that cruise ship Coral Princess, last month in Brisbane, which got hit with a Covid outbreak. They had to offer up refunds to passengers after the ship was held in Sydney while the two thousand odd passengers had to choose whether to disembark, while positive cases had to isolate on board.
Cruise aborted. And surely after two years of a pandemic and no cruising, that’s just the worst luck ever.
I’m not sure any of those passengers would be back. But the people that are into it, love it, they’re devout about it.
I thought it was largely for old people, but then my cousin whose in her 40’s has just done one, she loved it.
My parents are hard core cruisers, the first thing they booked post-pandemic was a cruise. It didn’t bother them at all the thought of being tucked up at sea on a boat with thousands of other people, they weren’t remotely worried about Covid.
This surprised me, because I can’t think of anything worse than a cruise ship being the place you end up getting it.
So far so good though, touch wood again, they say temperatures are taken every morning, masks are worn on all forms of transport between destinations like tenders or buses, and no unvaxxed passengers are allowed on board. So far they’ve kept the cruise Covid-free.
But on top of that, no one’s talking about Covid overseas anymore, which hopefully we're getting to the place of here, where it’s just not front of mind anymore.
No one talks about Covid abroad because no one is thinking about Covid, in fact I was surprised they’re even bothering with masks, given most places overseas appeared to have ditched them.
Which makes me wonder what cruise passengers here must be thinking this month, when they start disembarking and coming back into mask land. They’re quite possibly going to be bemused by it but find themselves having to comply with it when and if retailers or tourist operators remind them of our ‘Orange light’ rules.
I wonder whether they find that cute and endearing, or just think we’re all nuts.
Here’s the other thing about new international tourists off cruise ships arriving into our city wharf; is Auckland city ready?
I’m just not sure a main street of for lease signs and homeless people is quite the welcome they’d be expecting? Boarded up shop fronts and graffiti? A lot of closed shops?
I’m hoping their impending arrival has focused the mind of Queen Street retailers to rev it up a notch and throw out the welcome mat. I’m hoping enough tourists pour up that street to breathe new life into it, likewise into the hospo venues in the viaduct. They deserve it, they desperately need it.
And I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed for big numbers that not only take the CBD off life support, but see it thriving again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A spring in the step of tourism businesses today, with New Zealand's border now fully open for the first time in more than two years.
All visa categories are open for travellers from anywhere -- and cruise ships can return.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief Rebecca Ingram says they're not expecting an immediate influx of visitors.
But she told Mike Hosking the buzz around the industry is positive.
Ingram says they're starting to see enquiries and bookings for the summer, but it'll be two to three years before we find a new normal.
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It’s felt like a long time coming, but from tonight New Zealand will again open its door to the rest of the world.
Our borders open to all visitors from 11.59 tonight.
It will come as a very welcome relief for our struggling tourism industry, but are we prepared?
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive, Rebecca Ingram joined the Sunday Session.
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National, the Greens, ACT and a former Reserve Bank chairman are calling for a public inquiry into the Reserve Bank's response to Covid.
It comes after Graeme Wheeler says central banks made serious errors in wake of the pandemic which now need to be acknowledged and corrected.
A research paper co-authored by Bryce Wilkinson for the New Zealand Initiative argues central banks were too confident about their monetary policy framework; were too confident about their models; were too confident they could control output and employment.
Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A regional visitor levy is back on the cards to cover the costs of tourism on small communities as borders fully re-open on Sunday.
The proposal was a common theme in new destination management plans written by regional tourism organisations following the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Many say they need more financial support to manage the effects of tourism.
Regional Tourism New Zealand chair David Perks joined Kate Hawkesby.
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The tourism sector is bracing for the long-awaited return of international cruise ships.The maritime border re-opens on Monday, with the Pacific Explorer set to be the first to arrive at Auckland's Queens Wharf from Brisbane on August 12.The official cruise season begins in October, with a full roster of arrivals locked in until mid-July next year.Cruise Association chief executive Kevin O'Sullivan says many operators involved in international tourism are gone, or have downsized.
He says operators still around are busy ramping up to take advantage of the return of international tourism and cruises, but it will take time to rebuild.
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Te Papa is collecting relics of our very recent past.
The national museum has been adding momentoes from the Covid-19 pandemic to its long-term collection.
Among them are concrete barriers, tennis balls thrown at journalists during the anti-mandate outside Parliament, face masks, and PPE.
Te Papa spokesperson Kate Camp told Kate Hawkesby she finds the posters from the early days of lockdown particularly interesting.
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Dr. Ashley Bloomfield is content with his handling of Covid-19.
He's finishing up as Director General of Health tomorrow, after leading New Zealand through its response to the pandemic.
In his final interview with Mike Hosking, Bloomfield says aspects of the response became highly politicised.
But he says he's always tried to act independently in the decisions he's made and the advice he's given the Government.
He says he can put his hand on his heart and say he served as a public servant, and in accordance with the public service values.
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Less than half of students are regularly attending school.
The latest truancy data shows regular attendance in term one dropped to just 46 percent.
It's down on 72.8 percent in 2019 - pre Covid - and 50.5 percent in 2020.
Post Primary Teachers' Association President Melanie Webber told Kate Hawkesby the numbers don't surprise her.
She says irregular attendance is having more than two days off school a month.
Webber says while that adds up and isn't ideal, there is huge variation in the data.
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Claims the outbreak of inflation in many economies is due to mistakes made by central banks.
It comes in the form of a new paper, co-authored by former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Graeme Wheeler, and the New Zealand Initiative's Dr. Bryce Wilkinson.
They say central banks overall were too confident about their monetary policy framework and thought they could control output and employment.
It also points out central banks were distracted by extraneous political objectives, like climate change.
Dr. Bryce Wilkinson joined Mike Hosking.
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Business leaders want an end to Covid-19 isolation rules for household contacts, to help ease staff shortages.
Instead, they want a test, pass, work protocol so people who aren't sick are able to carry on working.
The Employers and Manufacturers' Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking it would be helpful, but thinks it's unlikely the Government will agree anytime soon.
"Just with the pressure that's on the hospitals because of both the flu and the pandemic I just don't think the Government will go that way."
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The number of school students dropping completely off the radar has doubled over the pandemic.
Latest truancy data shows just 46 percent of students attended school regularly in term one, down from 65 percent in term four last year.
However, Te Ora Hou Otautahi data shows 766 Canterbury students are out of the system completely, up from 400 pre-pandemic.
Project Manager Simon Britten told Mike Hosking things are hard at the moment.
“That is a real worry, the numbers are significant and every child out of school is a concern.”
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Isolation rules are causing long Covid for businesses, according to the Auckland Business Chamber.
The Chamber says hotels are closed, flights can't depart and there are no busses to get to the ski-fields with so many workers isolating as household contacts.
Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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As the school gates reopen for another term, teachers are throwing their support behind new Covid-19 guidelines.
The Ministry of Education has written to schools asking them to enforce mask wearing policies.
Auckland Primary Principals Association President Wendy Kofoed told Mike Hosking mask-wearing is a small price to keep kids in the classroom.
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The Government has issued a strongly worded recommendation to schools to enforce mask-wearing for the first four weeks of Term 3.
But it's stopped short of making masks compulsory nationally, instead leaving it to each school to decide for itself.
Auckland Primary Principals Association President Wendy Kofoed told Heather du Plessis-Allan that in her experience parents are hugely supportive of students wearing masks.
“This is just part of our school culture. And it's one of the reasons I think we've been able to minimise student and staff infections in our school.”
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Adventure tourism operators could benefit by emphasising the wellbeing benefits of outdoor activities.
During the 2020 lockdown, Otago University spoke to people who regularly do adventure sports, but weren’t able to.
It found they coped quite well, as they'd built up skills like being able to embrace challenges and adapt to things outside their control.
Co-author of the study associate professor Susan Houge Mackenzie joined Tim Dower.
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The Taxpayers' Union claims they've been banned from the Local Government New Zealand Conference underway in Palmerston North.
The union says it was told late yesterday their registration has been revoked.
It's now about to get a bit harder to be an overseas investor here.
A stricter English language test is on the cards for prospective investors from overseas, which Stuart Nash admits will make it so much harder for wealthy migrants to come here.
Australians are possibly bringing mask mandates back.
It comes amid a new wave of Omicron hitting Australia.
An Australian journalist seems to think we're eating snails because of our cost of living crisis.
Nick Leggett and Hayden Munro joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Health experts are calling for a return to masks as Covid cases rise.
Concerns over a foot and mouth disease outbreak.
Three hospitals in Melbourne issue a trial form for labelling new mothers "birthing parents".
Australian correspondent Murray Olds joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Hairdressers are calling for a return of the Covid wage subsidy.
Client numbers are down by 30 to 40 percent, while Covid and the flu hit staff and clients.
It comes as Australia reinstates its $750 pandemic leave payments for workers without access to sick leave.
Hair and Barber New Zealand deputy co-chair Simone Jones joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Newstalk ZB Chief Political Reporter, Jason Walls, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss whether our businesses can expect any new help from the Government, the Prime Minister's photo with youth MPs in which just one person can be seen wearing and mask and Ardern's stand up with media today.
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We're going to talk Covid, which is probably a good thing that I'm here instead of Kerre, because you know how Kerre feels about Covid and the Covid debate – it broke her. I think this may be the final time I talk about Covid as well.
I actually said on the Drive show the other day, I declared Covid over because the Government had done everything it could to protect the population with vaccinations etc, and masks and advice and so many people were telling them wrong. And I said, well, OK, the Covid’s over, you’re on your own, do what you have to do. You have been educated. It has been two and a half years, you know what to do.
But no, Covid had one more sting in the tail and that sting in the tail yesterday was Doctor Ashley Bloomfield and possibly his last address to the nation at midday, he's leaving next week.
When Dr. Ashley came on and announced changes to the way we run monitoring of the Covid infection - it broke me.
Now, if you've listened to me, you'll know that I've been a broad supporter of the general idea of the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus infection over the last two and a half years. I have had problems with it. I've had problems with the implementation.
Some problems I excuse because it was an emergency, we've never been here before and the plans weren't great, and we made cockups. I understood that. But I was a broad supporter. I was a supporter of the first lockdown. No one was happier than I that it actually worked, and we ended up being one of the few countries free of the Covid-19 infection, which meant that our businesses powered ahead at great speed and we had a summer!
At the basis of the entire Covid battle was knowing just how much this virus our country had in its group. How many infections? How many hospitalisations? How many deaths? And you needed to know that information to help decide what you were going to do. And we had debates about that information.
Doctor Ashley Bloomfield in the Ministry of Health, supported by the Government, came out and towed the World Health Organisation line. If you died with Covid within 28 days of having a Covid infection that was a Covid death. Now we all round about.
That's not exactly correct, Ashley, because you can get the Covid but you could get over it in a week and then you go and get run over by a bus. Oh look he had Covid 16 days ago - that goes on to the Covid death total.
That's wrong, we all knew it was wrong. We railed about it.
The new way of counting deaths is going to say we have fewer deaths. Put it all together, the whole threat from Covid has greatly been diminished. Am I right or am I right?
I sat there on the Drive show last night, hearing this and going for God sake, sorry for taking the name of the Lord in vain, but for God’s sake, Ashley!
Here you are one week away from actually walking away from the job, and now you're doing the very thing that we ask you to do for two and a half years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Claims it's past time New Zealand begins recording Covid-19 deaths accurately.
The Health Ministry has announced it will begin now only report the deaths of people who died because of Covid or as a contributor.
Until now, anyone who died within 28 days of having an infection has been recorded as a Covid death, similar to other countries.
Act Party leader David Seymour told Andrew Dickens it will help build trust.
He says the Government has an obligation to collect accurate information and share it in real time, shutting down the fear factory.
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Fear Covid-19 antiviral medication could do more harm than good for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Access criteria has been extended for three drugs to include people aged 75 years and over, and those who have already been in intensive care because of the virus.
However, some GPs fear the antivirals' formula could interact poorly with other medicines or patients with co-morbidities.
General Practice Owners Association Deputy Chair Dr Angus Chambers told Tim Dower it could be a risky group to give the drugs to.
He says almost by definition you have to have health conditions to get access to these drugs, generally meaning you'll be on medication already as well.
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An Auckland restaurant owner says crime in the inner city could dash any hope of his business recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besos Latinos Restaurante's Luis Cabrera says one of his wait staff was mugged on her way home on Friday.
He's already facing staff shortages and other challenges due to Covid, and couldn't open yesterday after she became too scared to come to work.
Cabrera says his restaurant has been smashed into three times with liquor, a computer and till stolen.
He says just when you think things can't get any worse; something else happens that makes you wonder if you'll be able to survive.
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With the rise of covid cases in the community, experts are looking at ways we can protect ourselves. Professor Michael Baker believes that masks should be mandated in indoor settings to avoid a really grim winter and that the government has taken a personal responsibility approach for fear of a potential political backlash. Baker joined the weekend collective to discuss the recent covid resurgence and protections.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The first week of the holidays has been pretty quiet in our household as Covid popped in for a visit. We’d been hoping to get to the school holidays in good health, but as cold, flu and Covid-19 started taking people out left, right and centre we knew it was going to be touch and go.
Covid-19 and other winter viruses are back with a vengeance and creating all the frustration and disruption we’ve come to expect.
On Friday Air New Zealand claimed more than 20,000 people have cancelled flights these school holidays, with around 57,000 customers contacting the airline wanting to change plans. It’s not just customers wanting to change flights – Air New Zealand had a tough start to the holidays with bad weather and higher-than-usual employee sickness leading to cancelled flights as well.
Then there’s the well-documented impact Covid-19 and flu is having on an under-staffed health system.
It was no surprise then to see Dr Ayesha Verrall make her first major announcement as the new Covid-19 Minister this week. The government rolled out additional measures to help tackle this second wave of Omicron and the flu and ease pressure on the health system and workers.
Expanded eligibility and availability of antivirals, access to free RATs and masks, masks for children at school and more support to get schools ventilated, and second booster shots available to those over 50 are the headline new measures.
Interestingly, no mention of the traffic light alert system, which has passed its used by date but which no one seems brave enough to throw out. The government’s aware there’s no appetite for increased restrictions under the orange setting or a move to red. Instead, the government’s response is sensible; they’re doing what many have been asking, helping people to look after themselves.
We’ve seen it here at work this week. NZME cancelled its planned get-together on Thursday to celebrate the results from the latest radio survey, and the RBA decided that this week’s NZ Radio Awards will now be a virtual event. Both disappointing decisions, I’d even bought a dress, but as we head toward the peak of this second Omicron wave deciding not to have large group gatherings is the right call.
If people are given personal responsibility they’ll mostly do what’s right – even if it’s no fun!
Covid for me has been a head cold – a pretty nasty one – but no flu symptoms or symptoms particular to Covid. In pre-Covid times I may have been tempted to ‘keep going’, but actually, I’ve been happy to stay home, down tools, recover, and keep my crappy Covid cold to myself.
Like many, I’ve grown sick of wearing masks but after experiencing my first illness in two and a half years I’d prefer not to catch a cold or flu as well this winter, so will certainly be more proactive when it comes to wearing masks again.
So while we do our bit, let’s hope the Government is doing their bit to make sure we can handle this approach long-term. They knew in January this winter would be tough for our battered health system, and yet those on the front line tell us we’re not improved our ability to handle it.
There are no easy solutions but that doesn‘t mean we can’t do things to improve the current situation – immigration anyone?
In the longer term only time will tell if Minister Little’s new Health NZ could do a better job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anthony Albanese has bowed to pressure to hold an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday as Covid cases spike over winter.
News.com.au has confirmed that the Prime Minister has told state premiers he will reconvene the meeting on Monday morning.
It comes amid a furore over the government’s decision to axe pandemic payments and free RAT tests for concessions card holders.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stepped up her demands on Thusday for the Prime Minister to take action and hold a national cabinet when he returns from Fiji.
“All we want is an update from the chief health officer,’’ she told the Today Show.
“Because we’re just getting a bit of mixed messages at the moment. I think the country just wants to know how this wave is going.”
Asked about the decision to halt the $750 pandemic leave payments for casuals without sick leave, the Queensland Premier pointedly said this was a matter for the Albanese government.
“Look, I’m not going to get into that. That’s a Federal Government responsibility,’’ she said.
Calls to continue $750 pandemic payments
Health Minister Mark Butler has admitted that the decision to axe the $750 pandemic payment for casual workers to isolate if they don’t have sick leave was not based on health advice.
In the first major test for the Albanese Government, a split has emerged in Labor ranks over the decision to axe the payment as ministers offer conflicting justifications for the decision.
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells claimed on Thursday that current medical advice indicates funding should be funnelled into vaccinations and antiviral treatments.
Her remarks were in response to NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns breaking ranks to call for the payments to be reinstated.
“It is best to put the money where the money is best targeted,” Ms Wells said.
“The CMO says the best use of money is on vaccinations and antiviral treatments in aged care.”
But just hours later, when Health Minister Mark Butler was asked directly if he had received any advice from the Chief Medical Officer on Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, his replied “No”
“This is a decision put in place by the former government,’’ Mr Butler said.
Mr Butler said “at some point we need to recognise that it is not the financial capacity to continue emergency payments forever.”
A spokesman for acting Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the Health Minister and the Aged Care Minister clearly aren’t on the same page when it comes to the pandemic response.
“So the question is who is lying? What advice has the Government taken on pandemic support?,’’ he said.
“Or are they just not doing the work?.”As cases skyrocket over winter, the Albanese Government has axed the $750 payment in line with the previous government’s plan to phase it out.”
NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns has called on the Prime Minister to reconsider the payment and support casuals who may be tempted to lie about their virus status rather than isolate for seven days.
“The $750 isolation payment should be reinstated,’’ Mr Minns said. “For our health and economy.
“We need to make sure that people can meet their financial obligations, if someone’s going to be at home for seven days without any financial recourse or any income coming in to meet those obligations.”
In the first sign that he may be preparing to shift gears on the issue, the Prime Minister also told Sunrise he would hold talks on the issue when he returns from overseas.
“Look, there are real challenges there. And certainly, when I return to Australia, we’ll continue to address those issues. But we inherited those cut-offs across a range of decisions from the former Government,’’ Mr Albanese said.
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Covid: it's clear now that the Government's lost the room and the signs are that even Ministers, yes even government ministers now realise it.
Jacinda Ardern was asked the other day about the sky-rocketing case numbers, more people dying, and yet another doom variant spreading like wildfire.
But the PM rejected the notion of going to the Red Traffic Light Setting, does anyone even know what that means anymore?
12 months ago we'd have been in lockdown before you could say 'media conference from the podium of truth'.
Not this time. Even with hospital cases expected to hit 1200 by the end of the month, the health system groaning, old ladies waiting in the cold to be seen.
So why not, if it's about protecting New Zealanders' health?
Because Ardern knows people won't wear it, sure the majority would co-operate grudgingly, but we all know now there'd be significant flouting.
There'd be demonstrations, civil disobedience, another camp on Parliament's front lawn.
Bottom line, rightly or wrongly, people are over it. They’re done with vaccinations and booster shots and social distancing.
Dr Bloomfield is quite clearly frustrated. He made a pretty desperate plea to people who don't like wearing masks.
No doubt he's worried about where we're headed. Professor Baker says we could be looking at 5000 Covid deaths a year – 15 times the road toll.
So, where are we headed?
The population has got used to it, we are used to this. We make our own rules about what we feel comfortable with, I'll keep wearing my mask at the supermarket thank you very much.
But our leaders have realised blanket edicts are no longer serving their interests, so they'll make free tests and masks available, and anti-viral medicines.
Apart from that, it's pretty much every man, woman and child for themselves on our own terms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Te Tai Tokerau's Principal's Association is having to tell schools to not reduce staff levels, despite a drop in attendance numbers, saying that the kids will return to the classroom.
Pat Newman, president of Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association, joined Andrew Dickens.
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David Seymour's argument is you need the Royal Commission into Covid despite the fact it will cost tens of millions of dollars.
It will cost tens of millions to save tens of billions, he tells us. But you know what? I don’t think it will.
What I have learned out of Covid very broadly is that a lot of it was luck. That luck, or not, was in who was running your country at the time of the outbreak.
Further luck was involved when it came to the electoral cycle when there was a vote in the middle of it. In this country's case, we had Labour in a coalition, we had our first true MMP government, and we had the main opposition party in turmoil. You could not have dreamed up a bigger mess.
We also had a vote just after the outbreak had started. We didn't know what was what, we were freaking out, we had a government we weren't convinced had worked, so we panicked and gave Labour 50 percent of the vote.
The rest, as they say, is history. What ACT want to do is re-litigate history, and I can save them the money.
The lessons are simple. Beyond the luck aspect of who is running the place, you then look at delivery and you look at honesty. Any government would have been flying blind, but not all governments are driven by a blind ideology that the state can do it all.
Lesson one; let the private sector and the experts in the field in from day one. Trust the private sector and the experts.
Lesson two; don't lie and don't say stuff that simply isn't true. We were told there was plenty of PPE as the doctors and nurses told us there wasn’t, they weren't making it up. We were told there was no delay on vaccines. You've heard it all before and we have seen the reports.
Lesson three; learn as you go and fix stuff. The most glaring of which was healthcare. Our entire response was predicated on the health system not being overloaded. Yet they produced no more beds, hired no more nurses, and even now haven't come close to addressing the problem.
Lesson four; don't rely on hype, spin, and BS. The one o'clock pulpit of truth was anything but, and it was designed to give the Government ultimate power, or the facade of ultimate power. You couldn't breathe unless they said so.
A Royal Commission would produce thousands of pages worth of intricate detail, but it would all be finer points of the basic points. But the ultimate issue as to why a Royal Commission is a waste is lessons would only be learned if the right government were in power to learn them.
This one, Royal Commission or not, will never admit what a disaster these past two years have been. They would reject the premise of the Commission.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Health Minister says he isn't ignoring the concerns of health staff.
A letter sent to the Prime Minister from more than 900 doctors says the workforce is at risk of catastrophic collapse.
Andrew Little says the Government has added five and a half thousand medical staff since it came into office and more graduates are on their way.
He told Mike Hosking while he won't label it a crisis, he concedes the workforce is doing it tough.
Little says the conditions some people are working under are unacceptable.
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So if the rumours are true, I personally don’t think they are, today we go into a red light.
I first heard this rumour last Friday. A worried retailer told my husband he’d heard from ‘someone very reliable’ (isn’t it always?) that Monday was going to see an announcement of a red light. I was immediately suspicious. It reminded me of all those times over the past couple of years when rumours ran rife that we’d be going into a lockdown, because they’d heard it from ‘a reputable source’.
The source was always someone’s friend or partner who worked ‘deep inside the Beehive’, ‘so they knew’.
This also reminds me of all the rumours we got fed on high rotate about Clarke Gayford for a while there. That rumour cycle went for months, and it was always from ‘a reliable source’ or someone who knew someone who worked in the Police, or the Prison, or the Court. In fact, those rumours got so out of control the unusual step was taken by Police to shut them down by denying them. This was unusual because 101 of rumours is ignoring them and never addressing them because you only give them oxygen. But when they gain momentum, big momentum, it becomes impossible to ignore I guess.
So by Saturday I had contacts in the South Island messaging me saying they’d heard ‘from a really reliable source’ that we were going into a red light Monday.
By Sunday, more texts and messages rolled in. ‘Red light Monday’, they told me. This even got conflated by some people who had confused a red light with a lockdown. ‘Better get to the hairdresser before Monday,’ one text to me said.
Here’s the thing, the more I got messaged about it, the more I felt it was untrue. How was it possible that on Friday last week, a decision had been made to go into a red light. Three days later, and that decision had been leaked so far and wide that basically everyone was talking about it. Three days before it even got announced. Three days before they would have had current case numbers to work with.
Not possible.
Now I don’t doubt that if cases keep spiralling up and hospitals get more and more swamped with flu, and nurses and doctors off sick, then a red light may well come into play.
But I don’t think the first week of the school holidays is the time we’ll see it. Think about it logically. They’re looking for these holidays to be a circuit breaker, kids out of school, people taking a break. It would surely be premature to throw us into a red light when what you want is for everything to be open and pumping to help our struggling little economy.
Imagine the businesses, the events, the sports fixtures, and the clubs. All having to grind to a halt in terms of crowd sizes right on school holidays. I doubt it. Add to that a PM flittering around the international stage telling everyone we're open for business. There’s no way she's going to plunge us into a red light at that point, far less while she's not even in the country.
But those who’ve heard the rumour are adamant. It’s happening, they tell me. So today we’ll know for sure. We either go into a red light and I’m completely wrong. Or I'm right, and the 'reliable sources' are proven not all that reliable.
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A reminder of just how close to the surface the carnage of our Covid response is.
I am standing Friday in a retail outlet, when the owner comes to me and says look what I have just received. It's a text from his friend who is inside the government and tells him there is an announcement coming Monday, as in today, moving us back into the red traffic light setting.
He said he wanted to cry. In that moment, it all comes flooding back.
As much as we want to move on, as much as many of us have moved on and tried to return to a sense of normality, there are many who make a living out of confidence, out of people feeling good about themselves and about life. Any sort of news like that kills it, and when that goes so does your business.
It's hard to know what to say in circumstances like that, other than what I did, which was to tell him it wasn't happening, given the Government are desperate for the school holidays to be a case number breaker so therefore they are not announcing red on the first day of the holidays.
One of the most destructive aspects of the past two years has been the astonishing jungle drum obsession that has emerged. It's people who know people, people who are on the inside. The classic line "I heard a mate tell me and he knows a bloke." And so it goes.
Everyone has the scoop; everyone knows what's next, and how and why it's going to unfold. I am sure there are psychologists who could give us all an insight into what drives it and what sort of person revels in it.
But at least some of it is driven by fear and uncertainty. People like to be in control, they like a direction and instruction and they like clarity. What has been delivered with Covid, and clearly as this next wave takes hold continues to be delivered, is the exact opposite.
This Government has pedalled fear. Its toll is heart-breaking. We are a nation of second guessers, whisperers, and rumour peddlers. We are people on edge, worried, and scared not knowing.
The legacy of this Government will be one of control freaks who scared the bejesus out of the population for their own political advantage.
Make no mistake, the push back is now on and the anger is growing. But there remain too many who are still in a state of mind they should never have found themselves in.
It's a virus, not a bombing raid. It's health, not a war. And yet look at the outworkings and look at the power of fear.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Businesses are being pushed to the brink as staff sickness upsets workplace rosters.
Flu season is in full swing, combining with a spike in Covid-19 case numbers and hospitalisations.
Global modelling suggests up to 45 percent of new Covid cases could be re-infections, thanks to the virulent BA5 Omicron strain.
Employers and Manufacturers' Association Chief Executive Brett O'Riley told Kate Hawkesby 2022 is by far the most unpredictable year of the pandemic for businesses.
He says the economy is seeing more disruption than ever, making it a tough time for employers and their workers.
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Our Covid numbers are going back up and the experts are warning of a second wave.
Employers are being told to brace for another round of long periods of workers off with sick leave.
But with that come responsibilities for an employer, especially around getting someone who's out with Covid to still work - with that possibly leading to long Covid and potential claims.
Employment specialist Jennifer Mills of Jennifer Mills and Associates joined Mike Hosking.
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Residents of parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities, while tight restrictions remain in place in Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese cities.
Shanghai has only just emerged from a strict lockdown that confined most of its 24 million residents to their homes for weeks and the new requirements have stirred concerns of a return of such harsh measures.
The latest outbreak in China's largest city, a key international business center, has been linked to a karaoke parlor that reopened without authorization during lockdown and failed to enforce prevention measures among employees and customers, including the tracing of others they came into contact with, according to the city health commission. All such outlets have been ordered to temporarily suspend business, the city's department of culture and tourism said.
“The virus spreads quickly because such entertainment venues are mostly indoor and closed, with frequent movement of people, high concentrations of people and inadequate personal protection measures,” said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of Shanghai's municipal health commission.
Apartment blocks where cases are discovered continue to be isolated, while mass testing in the majority of the city's 16 districts has been ordered at least through Thursday. A negative test result obtained within the previous 48 hours is required to enter residential compounds and public venues under the “two tests within three days” program.
Entertainment businesses from water parks to chess clubs and internet cafes have been wanting to reopen but face an uncertain regulatory environment.
Those types of venues will “gradually open in an orderly and strict manner according to the situation of epidemic prevention and control in each district," said Jin Lei, deputy director of the city's culture and tourism department.
Shanghai's lockdown prompted unusual protests both in person and online against the government's harsh enforcement, which left many residents struggling to access food and medical services and sent thousands to quarantine centers.
Beijing has also seen a recent outbreak linked to a nightlife spot. It has been conducting regular testing for weeks and at least one residential compound in the suburb of Shunyi, where many foreign residents live, has been locked down with a steel fence installed over its entrance to prevent residents from leaving.
Enforcement in China's capital has been far milder than in Shanghai, although officials continue to require regular testing and prevention measures.
In the northern city of Xi’an, whose 13 million residents endured one of China’s strictest lockdowns over the winter, restaurants have been restricted to takeout only and public entertainment spots closed for a week starting Wednesday.
A notice on the city government's website said the measures were only temporary and intended to prevent a renewed outbreak. It said supermarkets, offices, public transport and other facilities are continuing to operate as normal, with routine screening including temperature checks and people being required to show an app proving they are free of infection.
The gambling hub of Macao has meanwhile locked down the famed Grand Lisboa Hotel after cases were discovered there. More than a dozen residential and commercial centers in the Chinese special autonomous region of about 650,000 people have been designated as “red zones," with access restricted almost exclusively to emergency workers.
Authorities have ordered most establishments to close with the exception of casinos, which are Macao’s main revenue generator and among the city’s largest employers.
City residents will have to undergo three citywide COVID-19 tests this week. The local outbreak is Macao's largest since the pandemic began, with more than 900 infections reported since mid-June.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
John MacDonald spoke to Labour's Megan Woods and National's Gerry Brownlee about the big topics of the week on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings.
MacDonald asked them what they felt the biggest issue facing Canterbury was in their opinion, whether the Prime Minister's trip is paying off, their reaction to recent Covid case numbers in New Zealand and Boris Johnson's resignation in the UK.
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A warning that we're in a constant game of catch-up, with new variants of Covid-19.
New Zealand has once again surpassed 10-thousand cases a day.
The new BA.5 sub-variant is expected to cause a further surge, and the new BA.2.75 variant has been detected in New Zealand for the first time.
Cambridge University virologist Chris Smith told Mike Hosking the virus is constantly evolving to get around vaccines, and vaccines need to be regularly updated to keep up.
The Government has no plans to increase Covid restrictions, and will lift vaccine mandates for firefighters and some back-office health workers from tonight.
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Covid-19 cases have been climbing, with experts warning we're in a new wave of the pandemic.
Some experts say New Zealand should be considered.
Auckland University Covid modeller David Welch says cases are likely to keep rising, putting extra pressure on the health system.
He says he certainly wouldn't rule out going back into red within the next few weeks -- but he concedes it may not be politically feasible.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Red Traffic Lights restrictions aren't being considered.
She says there's a real question mark over whether gathering limits at red would make a marked difference.
Auckland University epidemiologist Rod Jackson says he's been noticing people have been getting slack with the measures.
He says we need to do orange properly before talking about other restrictions, and believes if we do that, we won't need to move levels.
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Cantabrians were furious yesterday with news that the Freedom and Rights Coalition group have had $50,000 worth of fines dropped by the Christchurch City Council. This followed their protests through streets of Christchurch and occupation of Cranmer Square earlier this year.
Destiny Church pastor and leader of the protests, Derek Tait, called Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings to defend the dropping of the fines. Claiming the protestors were rate payers so were not required to pay anything towards costs.
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Well for all those heading away next week for school holidays, could be great timing. It looks like we may end up in red light again at some point, if case numbers are anything to go by. The PM says she’s not looking at it yet, but is she looking at anything apart from the cameras on the international stage at the moment?
Bit tricky given she’s out of the country and perhaps a tad more out of touch than usual. And what triggers a red light anyway? The PM makes a captains call based on the vibe? Or, as new Covid Minister Ayesha Verrall would tell us, is it purely about case numbers and she’s been very honest in fessing up that number is 10,000 cases.
We are getting dangerously close to the 10,000 mark, and it was a 10,000 case rolling average that threw us into the red last time.
It’s not even really the case numbers that will be the problem.
I think in all reality it’s the state of our hospital system and its inability to cope right now. We’ve got experts saying a new wave is here, we’ve got flu viruses, high absenteeism with illness, we were up to 9,629 new community cases yesterday, and there were another 24 deaths. 11 in ICU, 493 people in hospital with Covid.
It’s not going anywhere, unfortunately.
So does that mean that soon neither will we be?
I can’t imagine the damage to an already flailing hospo sector if bars had to shut again, concerts and sports fixtures got cancelled, events were back on ice. Going back to masks everywhere indoors, I see even in Britain they’re bringing masks back in at hospitals as their case numbers rise.
In fact, case numbers are rising everywhere. I can’t help thinking though, that the public appetite for this would be close to none.
I think even the most law abiding lockdown fanatic would find it hard to stomach more restrictions coming back, just as we’ve worked so hard to shrug them off and find some normality. Compliance would be an issue, it already is an issue. Look how many people are mask-less these days in the supermarket or at the dairy, or in retail outlets.
And that’s before we get to the bad buzz factor and the ill wind it would blow towards an already out of favour government.
If we can take heart from one thing I guess though it’s the fact that case numbers on a Tuesday are always high due to coming off a weekend. So maybe today we’ll see them level off a wee bit.
Although the experts say many cases are going unreported anyway and it’s likely there are already more than just what the official figures are telling us. So a conundrum for the new Covid Minister as she tries to weigh up nasty winter bugs taking their toll, new Covid variants, increasing cases, and a strained hospital system.
Alongside an unwillingness from a brow-beaten public to go back into a red light, and the political toll it may take on the Government’s waning popularity.
So where does that leave us?
Hoping we stay in Orange. How sad is that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Schools are again dealing with staffing issues as Covid-19 cases increase.
Auckland's Carmel College has gone back to online learning until the end of the week, citing staffing issue.
Post Primary Teachers Association President Melanie Webber told Heather du Plessis-Allan anecdotally they're hearing a huge number of schools are having to modify timetables.
“It’s sort of a bit all or nothing in teaching. It’s not like you can go: ‘I’m going to take things a bit easier, I’m going to go in to work a bit later’ – that’s not how it works with teaching. People are back full in.”
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Monday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Less Worse Than Wests/Anyone Smell B.S.?/The Long Steer/Covid's Back, Baby!/Hosk's Virtual CycleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“Politicians have sucked the life out of young New Zealanders” this according to a very good opinion piece in the Herald yesterday by University Macro Economics professor Robert McCulloch.
He makes the point that even though students and staff returned to campus post lockdowns, “students are reluctant to physically attend class.” He says it’s because ‘they can’t see a future, their mojo and buzz are gone’, and that ‘despondency rules.’
How depressing is that? The thing is, he’s not wrong. He cites students who’ve told him they’ll leave as soon as they graduate for international jobs with higher pay and lower living costs, students who say they feel like their entire course has been done on Zoom.
McCulloch argues the Government took away their dreams by sucking the air out of them, they’re lonely – he cites a NZ study showing:
“Loneliness is highest among people aged 15-24. Teen suicide rates are among the worst in the OECD.
Cognitive skills at age 15 are in decline. Levels of school attendance are declining and particularly low among those in more deprived areas. We have the highest rate of bullying in the OECD.
“People aged under 25 are least likely to report life is worthwhile and less likely to vote than young people in other OECD countries".
As he says, “so much for the "well-being budgets".
He also points out how the Prime Minister, once a luvvie of the younger cohort, has lost the room. “National now polls better than Labour for voters under 40.”
McCulloch reckons it’s a variety of factors contributing to this.lockdowns to protect the elderly, and “the Reserve Bank’s money printing programme which favoured asset-rich”. But I think the best point he makes is that “rewards for achievement don't figure in our politics. Instead, it’s dominated by talk about the evils of inequality between the top 1 per cent and bottom 1 per cent, as if the 98 per cent don't exist.”
How true is that? So much time spent pandering to the fringes and the margins that the middle is forgotten and entirely over looked.
It’s almost as though if you dare to succeed in this country, you’ll be slapped back down before you even get started. McCulloch doesn’t think a National government will be any better by the way; his point is that youth are just so disillusioned they’ll no longer vote at all. They’re voting with their feet instead and bailing overseas.
We know this on a personal level too. I had a nephew home from studying in the States recently, he took one look at Auckland and said nope, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever live in New Zealand again. Out of our 5 kids, 4 of them are out of school and at University age, one bailed overseas straight away, unlikely to ever be back, two others are about to leave. That’s 3 out of 4 saying to NZ, no thanks.
So in locking our country up and shutting it down for two years, and only making life harder for people, what have we done to our young people, who by the way are the future. They’re despondent, disillusioned and wanting to bail, how's that good for NZ?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A top epidemiologist is urging flu patients to manage their illness the same way as with Covid-19.
Otago University's Michael Baker has raised concerns about the number of people going out and about with flu symptoms.
He says we need to promote an environment whereby people are supported not to go to work if they are sick.
Baker told Heather du Plessis-Allan people need to stay inside just the same as with Covid, but not for seven days.
“The advice at the moment is five days. That’s international advice, so there’s nothing new in this – it’s just we haven’t been emphasising it very much.”
Baker says the idea needs wide support.
“We do need all of us to be on the same page. Employers, the public sector and our regulators, everyone saying 'yes this is the right thing to do.'”
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You now no longer need to be vaccinated to visit someone in prison.
Corrections has changed its vaccine rules for jails.
It's also confirmed that most prison workers soon won't be forced to be vaccinated, but they will have to wait a bit longer for that rule to change.
Corrections Deputy National Commissioner Leigh Marsh joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Another All Black is out with Covid.
Will Jordan is the latest player to get hit with the virus, joining the three coaches and two players already out of the first test.
Captain Sam Cane says he might miss the second test as well with the 7-day isolation requirements.
Another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory for the Black Caps.
This time, England won by 7 wickets at Headingley in Leeds to win their test series 3-0.
Once again, the Black Caps found themselves in winning positions but were unable to capitalise.
Newstalk ZB Sports reporter Elliott Smith joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Just as the excitement was building for the first All Blacks test of the year - Covid has struck.
Ian Foster and his assistants John Plumtree and Scott McLeod are out of action with the virus.
Add to that midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue testing postive.
Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt is being brought in to help - but what does something like this do for preparations?
All Blacks assistant coach and the last coach standing Brad Mooar joined Mike Hosking.
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Covid had struck both the All Blacks and the Irish camps ahead of their first test this weekend.
So far, one Irish player, two All Blacks midfielders and three All Blacks coaches have had to isolate after testing positive.
As a result, former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been called in to help the All Blacks.
Former All Blacks coach John Hart joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Joe Schmidt has been called in to help coach the All Blacks in their first test against Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday after a Covid outbreak in camp.
Schmidt was not due to start his selector/analyst role with the All Blacks until the Rugby Championship but after head coach Ian Foster, forwards coach John Plumtree and defence coach Scott McLeod all caught Covid, he will now attend team trainings this week.
In further disruption for the All Blacks, Crusaders midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue have also been removed from the team due to Covid. Crusaders centre Braydon Ennor has joined the squad as cover.
Schmidt coached Ireland from 2013-19 – a period that included their first win and maiden home victories against the All Blacks – before returning home last year. Schmidt's intimate knowledge of Ireland's senior players and management (Irish head coach Andy Farrell was his assistant) is sure to prove valuable.
Losing their most experienced coaches causes significant disruption for the All Blacks, however.
Given the seven day isolation period assistant coaches Brad Mooar and scrum coach Greg Feek, alongside Schmidt, will largely assume the reins.
Ian Foster was among the few in All Blacks camp to test positive for Covid-19. Photo / Photosport
Havili was expected to start at second five-eighth alongside Rieko Ioane in the All Blacks midfield but Quinn Tupaea may now benefit from his and Goodhue's respective absences.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck also now looms as potential bench cover, although the All Blacks could prefer fellow test rookie Leicester Fainga'anuku.
In a statement from isolation, Foster said he is confident in the team's ability to carry on preparing for the first test.
"We've had a plan for this happening, and it's a great opportunity for the wider coaching group and the senior players, who will be highly motivated to step up.
"We have learned how to cope with the unexpected, like everyone has over the past couple of years. I will still be working alongside the coaches and team via Zoom and I have huge faith in the coaching group and the players.
"We have structures in place and everyone is working together."
🗞 SQUAD UPDATE | Head Coach Ian Foster and Assistant Coach John Plumtree have tested positive for Covid 19 and are isolating at home. David Havili and Jack Goodhue have also tested positive and are also not with the team in Auckland. Braydon Ennor has joined the team. pic.twitter.com/upp3GI6chg— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 26, 2022
- by Liam Napier, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You’ll be pleased to know you’re not about to hear another white middle-aged man pontificate about abortion.
But I will talk about the effect of the ruling.
That Christopher Luxon felt compelled to make a public statement on the future of this country’s laws based on a decision in another sovereignty with a completely different system shows the emotion and polarity behind the issue.
Now, the decision is not a surprise. Republicans have been working towards this outcome for years and when it comes to Supreme Court judges, we’re talking very long games.
The Democrats also play the game which is why there was so much pressure on Ruth Bader Ginsburg to resign during Obama’s tenure. She didn’t, but then died under Trump meaning he had the card to play in the game of “stack the Supreme Court”.
As an outsider I am always amazed at the political influence in choosing the Supreme Court in the United States. It flies in the face of the traditional pillars of democracy and society.
The four pillars are the judiciary, executive, legislative, and media. To work properly and to hold each other to account, they need to operate separately. But in allowing the legislative and executive wings to choose the judiciary that kind of all goes out the window, don’t you think?
Now one of the reasons it resonates in this country is because at the centre of the issue is a state’s power over an individual’s body.
This has been echoed here recently in our vaccination mandates.
Over the weekend I hosted an unvaccinated friend of my son’s and eventually the conversation turned to his motives and concerns. It was emotional and compelling and I was left feeling that he feels a second-class citizen in this country
He asked me, “How can a government tell us we have to have something injected into our bodies”.
It’s a valid question. My way of reasoning was it was a short term measure to get vax rates up.
The mandate was necessary to get to a minimum level of immune resilience to the virus. That resilience was needed to minimise transmission times and maximimise survival rates
To motivate all without a deep-rooted reservation against vaccination..
I thought it was going to be a temporary measure.
Once we reached over 90 per cent vaccination rates I thought that it was mission accomplished and the mandates could ease, which mostly they have.
Except for health workers. A sector suffering huge work force shortages.
I find it hard to reconcile the fact that all New Zealanders can enter the country unvaccinated but an unvaccinated doctor can’t work.
Some may argue it’s the Government’s desire for control. I don’t.
They’re not that organised. It’s a job that’s fallen through the crack and needs to be addressed today.
Lives and livelihoods were taken and they need to be returned right now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s so good to be back. I was a bit nervous about coming back because when you’ve been sick for three weeks unable to stay awake for long periods and feeling so crap, it’s hard to imagine how you’ll ever get up at 3am again. But as it turns out I was so nervous about being able to wake up at 3am, that my body never actually went to sleep, always the way isn't it.
So I'll be having a big Nana nap today.
I was feeling so terrible about being off work so long - I feel very deeply my obligation to my audience and it's a dreadful feeling to not feel well enough to show up for you.
They say the key to Covid and flu recovery is rest, rest, rest. My doctor kept saying rest, rest and then when you think you’ve rested enough, rest some more.
That’s because everyone who has bounced back too early has gone back to square one and I’ve been sent so many horror stories from you guys about Covid turning into Influenza A, like mine did, and how long it took to come back from that.
Some of you are still suffering even after a month. It’s the pits, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sick. It’s hard when you get Covid, and it's brutal when others – not naming names (my husband) get it and say, “oh it’s a non event!”
It’s a unique virus, we all suffer it differently and I am here to say to every single person struggling with it or the fallout from it, I hear you, I feel you. I feel your pain.
I of course went and got the triple whammy of Covid, plus flu, plus the Covid reactivated my glandular fever virus from when I was a teenager. Fun fact: that virus lies dormant after you’ve had it, but Covid can kick start it – and in fact it’s kick starting it for a lot of people – it’s a big issue at the moment according to the medical fraternity, so I unluckily enough, got smacked with the trifecta. Hence, such a long time sick.
Not that I want to go on about it, but honestly, so sick that even shower water against my skin hurt. Everything ached. That's inflammation for you.
But I’ve learned from my illness some good lessons. One, not to ask sick people every day if they’re feeling better yet, because it gets quite depressing when you’re not. Physically, I was a wreck, but mentally I began to go downhill too, because I just wasn’t getting better. Second thing I learned was don’t ask sick people “do you need anything?” The answer will always be no.
No one ever wants to bother anyone, so don’t ask, just do. Thirdly I thought I was an empathetic person already, but I have empathy in spades now for anyone suffering any kind of sickness, to feel so debilitated and discombobulated and unable to control your own health outcome. That is a terrifying and awful feeling. I also learned we’re not as invincible as we think we are.
So it’s good to be back, and I want to thank everyone who messaged me on my Instagram or emailed me and sent me well wishes or recovery tips and tricks, I so appreciated it. I have the best audience, and the best bosses in the biz too who were so supportive and kind, and for that I’m so grateful. And to Tim and Andrew who filled in for me. It takes a village, thank you.
So onwards and upwards from here, let’s hope I stay awake.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Act Party wants to see vaccination mandates for health workers scrapped.
Hospitals are facing severe staff shortages just as the flu hits and overseas evidence suggests another Covid surge is likely.
Act leader David Seymour joined Early Edition.
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MIQ.
You'll have heard calls from the Opposition for an apology to some of the New Zealanders who were locked out of the country at the height of the pandemic.
And especially pregnant women who couldn't get home to have their babies here.
Newstalk ZB is this morning was able to reveal that conversations were had way back in April 2020 about what to do with pregnant women, but nothing was done.
This doesn't affect a huge number of people; about 250 made emergency MIQ requests.
The bigger issue that MBIE is currently working through is how we operated managed isolation as a whole and how we'd do it again if, heaven forbid, we did have to do it again.
Just say there is another pandemic, something we don't know how to deal with in the next five to ten years or so.
Look, the response at the time was unquestionably the right thing to do.
We had to shut the border, even though it meant refusing entry to New Zealanders who morally and legally had an absolute right to be here if they wanted.
They were extraordinary circumstances for sure, but if we had to do it again, would we spend millions turning city centre hotels into holding pens?
And planting people who could and often were carrying a dangerous virus right in the middle of our population centres?
And then running a lottery for people who, as I said before, legally and morally have an absolute right to be here?
I think it is acceptable to require people who might be a health risk to the rest of us, to be kept away from the rest of us until they're safe.
But to prevent citizens exercising their right to be on New Zealand soil, I don't think we'll get away with that again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why are we still firing nurses over the Covid jab?
We have a shortage of 4000 nurses.
We have a report that a woman died in Middlemore emergency department of a brain bleed last Wednesday morning because there was an 8 hour wait to see a doctor.
We have surgeries being delayed another month in Wellington hospital because there aren’t enough nurses to cope.
Palmerston North Hospital is so short staffed it’s being described as unsafe.
Christchurch Hospital’s general team has never cared for so many people at once before.
We are paying south Auckland GPs $1400 an hour to take pressure of Middlemore.
And we’re still standing these nurses down form their work.
And by the way, we’re not talking about anti-vaxxers. We’re talking about nurses who’ve had two jabs but simply don’t want to get a third. So what? About a million Kiwis did exactly the same thing: got two jabs, skipped the third.
As I say, we have a shortage of 4000 nurses and we’ve stood down another 518 for the booster.
If you go into hospital tonight with a brain bleed, do you want a nurse? Or do you only want a nurse who’s been boosted?
If you say you only want a boosted nurse, are you then prepared to take a chance with your life and wait 8 hours so you can see a boosted nurse?
What I’m really surprised to hear is that the nurses’ union - the NZNO supports this.
Their members do not want to work alongside nurses who haven’t had the booster.
And yet look at how many medical staff haven’t had the flu jab: 46 percent.
This is so crazy that I can’t quite get my head around it: that we would rather delay operations and leave people living in pain without a hip replacement and we would rather make it even harder for our hospitals to cope right now than let nurses stay at work just because they wouldn’t get a third jab. Crazy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are suggestions we may have seen an economic revival of sorts in the month of May.
Despite rising costs, the latest BNZ - Business NZ Performance of Services Index shows a surge in sales and new orders for the month of May.
The PSI rose 3 points to 55.2, with anything above 50 pointing to expansion, and this is the highest above average income since Delta arrived back in August.
Bagrie Economics founder Cameron Bagrie joined Mike Hosking.
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Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Labour's Tracey McLellan and National's Gerry Brownlee on Politics Friday.
They discussed today's big news that the Christchurch Santa Parade will now be an indoor event, with a $15 ticket price. John asked if it's time we change our Covid isolation rules, given the widespread impact of influenza at the moment, and the GDP figures - what needs to be done to help New Zealanders now?
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Are you a Covid cavalier type of person or are you Covid cautious?
New research from AUT has found that about half of Kiwi workers are anxious to return to the office because of the risk of catching Covid - making them Covid cautious.
This could cause tension with the other half - Covid cavalier - who are a little bit more gung-ho.
AUT Business School Professor Jarrod Haar joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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When I got up this morning, I thought for a second that the old throat was feeling a bit scratchy. Nothing major, just that little feeling that makes you think there might be something brewing.
So I popped a couple of Vitamin Cs, it’s disappeared and I am good as gold.
I don’t know how many people I’ve spoken to recently who’ve said they’ve had the same thing happen to them. And, generally, we’ve all agreed that it’s probably because we’re on the lookout more because of the pandemic and, half the time, we’re probably imagining the aches and pains anyway.
But sometimes we do a rapid antigen test, just to be sure. The thing with the rapid testing, though - as many of us have found out - is that you can get a negative result, even if you’re positive. And even if you’re feeling as lousy as anything.
This is why people coming here from overseas have been forced to do the full PCR test before they jump on a plane. But, as we’re hearing today, that requirement is set to be scrapped from as early as next week.
So pretty soon, anyone coming here will be able to do so without paying for and tracking down a PCR test before they travel to New Zealand from another country.
Justin Watson from Christchurch International Airport was saying on Newstalk ZB this morning that, just by doing away with the pre-departure testing requirement, we are likely to see more people choosing to come to New Zealand.
He says that’s been the experience in other countries around the world - so there’s no reason to expect anything different here in New Zealand.
But when all these people get here, they are going to discover that while we’ve caught up with the rest of the world in terms of ditching the pre-departure testing, there’s still a way to go with the approach we take within New Zealand.
I’m not talking about the testing regime. I’m talking about the isolation rules that, I think, have reached the point where they are completely redundant.
Completely redundant because, now, we‘re not just dealing with Covid, we’re also dealing with seasonal influenza.
And what I’m seeing, is that the flu that’s doing the rounds at the moment is, generally, much worse than Omicron itself. Much, much worse. This is what people who have got it are telling me.
I know people who had Covid recently and who now have the flu, and they’re saying that Covid was a walk in the park compared to what they’re dealing with now.One of them was able to get up and shower and pot around and do stuff with Covid. A completely different story with the flu.
And, by the way, this is not me diminishing Covid and pulling out the old “it’s not much worse than the common cold” cliché. It’s me telling you what people are telling me about their experience with
Omicron versus their experience with the flu. They’re being bowled over by the flu, while Covid was nowhere near as bad.
And this is why I think we have reached the point here in New Zealand that the Covid isolation rules that are still in place here have become completely redundant, because they are a huge contradiction.
If you have Covid - even Covid with very mild symptoms - you still have to lock yourself away at home. But if you have this awful flu that so many people have at the moment, you may not feel capable of getting out of bed let alone doing anything else. But, if you want to, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want.
And if you live with someone with the flu, it’s full steam ahead, no isolation required. But, again, a completely different story if you live with someone with Covid.
A huge contradiction.
Which becomes even more of a contradiction when you think that the Government’s priority throughout this whole pandemic experience has been trying to prevent hospitals getting over-run with sick people.
And here we are forcing people with a mild dose of Covid to stay home but allowing people with the flu to decide for...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I miss the occasion of the national disgrace.
The time when, normally, a report or a revelation exposed some hopelessly inept behaviour or some governmental dishonesty.
It was a day that focused almost solely on the singular story and it was concluded at the end of the day that whoever the recipient was, government, council, MP, the Prime Minister, or public figure, they had had a hell of a day that would not be forgotten for a very long time.
The Government should have had one of those days this week with the release of the report into the Ministry of Health's abject failure around testing capacity for Covid.
The report says the Ministry had not sufficiently planned for the increased pressure lab services would be subjected to despite evidence from overseas. It says Ministers and officials were inadequately briefed. It's a damning piece of work and adds to the other damning pieces of work that have found Dr Ashley Bloomfield and his mates shockingly wanting.
But it seems we don't have days of national disgrace anymore. The media is so segregated these days. The desire for an endless diet of click bits and baits overrides a singular look at an event that affected us all, inconvenienced us all, and cost us all a fortune. A price we are only just starting to really pay now.
The real crime with the incompetency is not only were we all affected in terms of their inability to do their job properly, but the fact we had no choice.
The entire Covid response has been a top down exercise in dictatorship. Rules, regulations, and instructions we had no option but to follow.
In this specific case, the testing was a mess because they refused to recognise RATs, labs and private facilities were screaming out to help, to fill gaps, to provide products, and to solve problems. But no, the Ministry knew best. And yet, they didn’t.
It started at the start of Covid the lack of PPE, it rolled on through the lack of vaccine, the lack of testing, and the lack of beds.
Here is the egregious bit. Not only wasn’t there a day or two of national disgrace as this nonsense got exposed, Bloomfield kept getting lauded. And when he had to, he gave some sort of half-baked apology talking of the lack of play book. The media never corralled to the point of singular focus to hang this clown out to dry the way they should.
I'm sure he worked hard, I'm sure he tried hard, but he wasn't actually very good. Increasing numbers of reports now show that.
This report this week will be dismissed along with all the other reports that got dismissed. When one day we have the Royal Commission, it'll find all the same stuff, and that will be dismissed as well.
Where was the anger? Where were the demands to be better? Or do the majority these days just enjoy being shafted by incompetence, hence it's not really news?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As of next Tuesday, people travelling to New Zealand will no longer need a negative pre-departure test.
A Government source has confirmed the requirement will be dropped as of 11.59pm on Monday. An announcement by new Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall is scheduled for later today.
The current rule means people coming to New Zealand by air must get a negative PCR, RAT or Lamp test 72 hours before departing on the flight to New Zealand.
Pre-departure testing is one of the last border restrictions still in place. It is not the last however: even when pre-departure testing is gone, non-citizens and non-residents will still require proof of vaccination to travel here.
New Zealand is one of a diminishing number of countries to have pre-departure tests and tourism operators had voiced concerns that testing was putting travellers off.
The Government is also concerned it will become more difficult to get pre-departure tests as more and more countries drop them as requirements for travel. The United States dropped its pre-departure testing requirement on Sunday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had said the tests would be gone by July 31 at the latest, but the Government's increased confidence in the Covid outlook has meant this date could be brought forward.
"While we are still working through this transition, it's fair to say we are confident that pre-departure testing will be removed by the time we come to the final phase of our reopening in July," Ardern said earlier this year.
The timing will also allow the border to be more fully open for the ski season and Australia's coming school holidays.
The final phase of border reopening will occur on 11.59pm on July 31, when all vaccinated travellers and students will be able to enter New Zealand, provided they have a visa.
Pre-departure tests into New Zealand will soon be gone, a welcome move for travellers. Photo / Michael Craig
People who arrive in New Zealand are also given a pack of RATs to do after arrival. About 90 per cent of people are completing these tests and 2-3 per cent are reporting a positive result.
The Government does not see this changing significantly after the requirements are dropped.
National has been calling for pre-departure testing to go. Earlier this week, the party's Covid-19 response spokesman Chris Bishop said the tests should be dropped.
"The world is moving on, but New Zealand insists that anyone coming here must present a negative test before getting on a plane," Bishop said.
"Pre-departure tests made sense when we were pursuing elimination. But they make zero sense when we already have thousands of cases a day at home," he said.
Covid cases continue to level off after a peak earlier in the year. Another peak is expected later in the year, but the Government does not expect this to be impacted by changes at the border.
Hospitalisations with Covid-19 are also levelling off. The seven-day average of people in hospital with or due to the virus was 362 yesterday, down from over 900 during the peak earlier this year.
The Government does not believe dropping pre-departure testing will lead to a surge of domestic infection.
- Thomas Coughlan, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you cast your mind back a few months you might remember the case of the Murupara doctor who was suspended after asking public questions about the Pfizer jab.
It’s been revealed Bernard Conlon has now been given permission to go back to his practice.
And it made me really reflect on whether it was the right decision to suspend him in the first place.
It turns out that during the six months he was suspended, the community at one stage had no doctors – only a couple of nurses.
These are some very isolated and poor communities: Murupara, Minginui and Ruatahuna.
It turns out that while he might have some controversial views on the Covid jab, he is considered a good doctor.
The local school principal Pem Bird reckons the doctor visits people at their homes after work in his own time and he’s devoted to the community having worked there for 30 years.
So was it the right decision?
I don’t think it was.
I think we overreacted a lot during the pandemic when we booted midwives out of their jobs because they wouldn’t get the jab or fired firefighters because they wouldn’t get the jab.
When actually I’d be more frightened of a house fire or a complication during birth than I am of Covid.
Aren’t you?
What’s worse? A GP with dodgy vaccination advice, or an entire community of people with all the ailments they might have on a day to day basis in an isolated place like Murupara losing their doctor?
And in the end we’re all getting Covid anyway despite firing unvaccinated people from their jobs.
I think we overreacted. Don’t you?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Murupara doctor suspended for his anti-vax views has been allowed to return to work.
In the six months he was suspended, the community had no doctor, which leads to questions of a possible overreaction in the Covid-19 response.
It comes as New Zealand prepares to remove pre-departure testing for arrivals.
The decision could be moved up earlier as New Zealand becomes one of the last remaining countries to drop the process.
Paddy Gower's documentary on alcoholism aired last night.
The documentary has been criticised for not going too deep into issues like domestic violence and liver problems.
Gower has suggested an approach similar to Iceland to combat New Zealand's drinking problem.
Jack Tame and Tim Wilson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Zealand Herald Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell discusses Chris Bishop testing positive for Covid-19, the potential for electric trains in the lower North Island and how the Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway's opening is on a knife edge.
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Wednesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) How Hosk Sees It/Stop With the Cycleways/A Very Grand Opening Indeed/Why Weren't Hospitals Ready for This?/The Worst-Case Covid ScenarioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yesterday we talked to a Kiwi traveller who had his pre-departure test denied as it was taken a minute just before the 48 hour cutoff.
Since then, the Opposition has released a statement saying it’s time to drop the testing now instead of waiting until July 31.
The call is buoyed by the US dropping pre-departure tests altogether.
BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A review has found that the Ministry of Health failed to accurately estimate our lab capacity.
At the start of the year, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall claimed that we had the ability to surge to 70,000 PCR tests per day.
The claim turned out to be wildly inaccuarate.
New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science president Terry Taylor joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A damning review into the Ministry of Health’s PCR testing capacity.
It’s been revealed that when the Ministry promised impressive testing capacities at the start of the Omicron outbreak is nowhere near what it promised to deliver.
The Samoan Prime Minister has met with Jacinda Ardern, James Shaw and Nanaia Mahuta.
Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa's visit comes amid rising tensions of China’s increasing presence in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Mahuta’s Australian counterpart Penny Wong will visit New Zealand.
NZ Herald Senior Political Reporter Thomas Coughlan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Calls to scrap pre-departure tests are getting louder as the latest horror story emerges.
A Kiwi visiting Sydney for work had his pre-departure PCR test to get back into NZ denied because it was recorded one minute earlier than the 48 hour threshold.
He got Customs to review the decision, but customs rejected it.
Traveller in question Paul Beswick joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Covid seems to be doing the rounds again at the moment – and one thing I keep hearing from people, even if their symptoms where mild is how tired they still feel once recovered.
So, let's talk about how to cope with and recover from post-covid low mood and energy.
Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor of natural medicine.
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Shanghai will carry out Covid-19 testing on more than half of its 25 million residents this weekend, fueling fears of a return to more stringent restrictions just days after the financial hub emerged from two months of painful lockdown.
The mass testing announcements sparked fears of a return to stringent, prolonged lockdown among Shanghai residents, many of whom had been confined to their homes for two months or more since March.
Those fears have triggered panic buying. On Thursday, Shanghai residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food and other daily necessities, forming long lines at checkouts and leaving shelves empty, according to photos and videos that circulated on social media.
At least seven of the city's 16 districts, with a combined population of 15 million people, will roll out mass testing over the weekend, Zhao Dandan, deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said at a news conference Thursday. The districts include Shanghai's most populated areas and busy business hubs, such as Pudong and Xuhui.
Districts that have reported positive cases since Shanghai lifted its citywide lockdown on June 1 will be placed under "closed management" during the collection of test samples, Zhao said. She did not specify how long the sampling period will last.
In China's zero-Covid policy lexicon, "closed management" usually refers to restrictions that bar people from leaving their residential communities or workplaces.
But the mass testing campaign extends far beyond the seven districts named by the Shanghai health authorities.
On Thursday evening, Changning district, home to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and 700,000 residents, announced on its official social media account that it will carry out mass Covid testing on Saturday.
"During the sampling period, closed management will be enforced on residential communities, where (residents) can only enter but not leave," the statement said.
Earlier on Thursday, Songjiang district also said on social media that its 1.9 million residents are all required to undergo Covid testing over the weekend.
Abrupt U-turn
Chinese leaders have repeatedly vowed to stick to the zero-Covid policy, which aims to swiftly stamp out local outbreaks with mass testing, snap lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and quarantining.
Officials warn that a relaxation of the policy will lead to a surge in hospitalizations and deaths among the country's elderly population -- many of whom have yet to be fully vaccinated.
But the strategy is facing increasing challenge from the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and causing mounting discontent among residents whose life have been frequently disrupted.
In China, detection of a single positive case can send an entire building or community into government quarantine, and place several nearby neighborhoods into lockdown for two weeks.
Since the easing of restrictions on June 1, Shanghai has continued to report Covid cases, including among residents outside quarantined areas. As a result, an increasing number of neighborhoods have been placed back under stringent lockdown.
A video obtained by CNN shows high fences erected to cordon off a large section of the tree-lined former French Concession area in downtown Shanghai.
On Thursday, Shanghai authorities reported six new local Covid cases, three of which were traced to a downtown hair salon. State media had earlier reported that three employees at the salon tested positive, likely resulting in the quarantine of 13 other workers and 502 customers -- and their close contacts -- who visited the salon in the past week.
One Shanghai resident told CNN that more than 200 people living in two buildings in their neighborhood have been placed under lockdown, after two residents there were identified as close contacts of the hair salon cases.
Meanwhile in Beijing, the city's largest district...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sydney residents who want to stand up – still need to put the booze down.
The city's "vertical consumption" ban, making people sit to avoid mingling and spreading Covid, is under review.
The council says before it can be scrapped, they want to gauge locals' opinions.
Australian correspondent Murray Olds told Heather du Plessis-Allan its local government gone mad.
“The council says it’s not as simple as simply striking it down it has to be advertised for public comment, talk about the nanny state.”
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The rush to home school our children that happened during the pandemic seems to be running out of steam.
Applications peaked last November, now though; rural schools are seeing enrolment applications bounce back.
Principal at Tauriko School just outside Tauranga is Suzanne Billington who joined Kate Hawkesby.
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A headline this weekend caught my eye: “The office monsters are trying to claw their way back to 2019”.
The office monsters are apparently the corporate leaders trying to force people back into the office, back from working from home, like we used to do in 2019 before Covid.
What’s brought this on is the email from Elon Musk to his staff last week, telling them to get back into the office for at least 40 hours a week or lose their jobs, and also the comment from the JPMorgan CEO last month that working from home is not for people who want “to hustle”.
But the article argues that actually many people can be productive outside the office and quite a few are happier doing so
I’m with Elon and the JPMorgan CEO on this, I reckon widespread working from home is a fad that will pass.
I reckon we will just end up back in the office, because most workers need to be supervised and to be supervised you need to be in the office.
And I reckon whether you work from home or not will become a test of your ambition.
If you want to work in the office you'll be seen as ambitious, if you want to work from home you'll be seen as a malingerer.
There will be a few exceptions to that; we all know people in our offices who have earned the privilege of being allowed to work unsupervised because they are just so diligent.
But most people won’t earn that privilege.
Because we all know stories about someone who is taking the mickey, working from home but really out the back doing the garden or patching up the wall or watching Schitt's Creek.
Right now, obviously, bosses have to agree to it because labour is so tight that employees get to call the shots, but when that turns, and bosses get to be really picky about who they want to hire, I wouldn’t recommend being the new employee that demands the ability to work from home.
Enjoy it while it lasts, if Elon’s angry email is anything to go by, the mood is turning already.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our vaccination rate isn't quite as high as it's being promoted.
Stats NZ is reviewing Ministry of Health data which captured those who used the health system in 2020.
The 96 percent level claimed could be skewed as Maori have a much lower usage rate of the health system.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking the actual percentage will be much less than 90.
“I think, you’re looking at something like if you look at the booster rate of 52 percent, I think that drops to about 35 percent for Maori for example, so it makes quite a dramatic difference.”
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The Health Ministry is in the spotlight this morning, over the database it used to keep tabs on Covid vaccinations.
Apparently, the Ministry went with its usual 'we know best' approach.
At the time, the guys over at Stats NZ were saying, “here, use this database, it's much more up to date”.
Health of course said, “nah nah, we're good, we've got this one, we know best”.
End of the day, it looks like we've overstated the national Covid vaccination rate, although the Ministry says it's confident we'll still come out at more than 90 per cent.
Now I'll bet most people hearing this will be saying “well, so what does it really matter if we got to 95 per cent or 90 per cent?”
Didn't stop the virus getting in, didn't stop it spreading, and so far-reaching more than a million of us.
Anyway, now we've got Stats NZ telling the Health Ministry they've stuffed up the data.
Stats NZ of course being the government department that stuffed up the 2018 census so badly, the chief executive had to fall on her sword.
You know, the department that basically has one job once every five years and by its own admission, couldn't get that right.
But back to the Covid jabs.
Does it matter if we got 95 per cent, 90 per cent, or less than that?
I don't think it's that important.
What does matter is that anyone who wanted to get a jab could get a jab, there was ample opportunity to do so, and it cost the patient nothing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stats NZ will conduct a peer review of our vaccine numbers as questions are asked about their accuracy.
The vaccination rate for people aged over 12 is calculated on those who were that age prior to June 30 2020 and had accessed health services that year.
That means anyone any age might not have been counted in the early numbers if they didn't access the health system that year.
Maori Health Authority Chair Matthew Tukaki told Tim Dower we need to get a handle on what this means.
“What does our health system look like in terms of the collection of this data to make rapid-fire decisions?”
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High admission numbers to Christchurch Hospital have caused major surgeries to be deferred.
It comes as the Canterbury DHB has more than 170 staff off with Covid-19 - and 1200 new cases across the region.
College for Emergency Medicine immediate past president John Bonning told Mike Hosking it's a perfect combination of increased patient presentations in winter, and staff illnesses.
He says there needs to be more investment in acute patient care, and wonders why managers are surprised every time this happens.
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It seems all those Kiwis wanting to bail and go live and work overseas are having trouble even getting on flights.
A travel agency was reported yesterday saying flights are just so hard to get. “We have so many people wanting to leave the country to work abroad but there just aren't any seats on direct flights to the USA or to Australia until the end of July," the agent was reported saying. And we know this first hand, one of our kids is headed to the US but securing a flight is proving tricky - and expensive.
There are barely any seats, and what is there will cost you an arm and a leg. Not great for young people who’re already going to almost halve their savings when they convert their currency anyway. Leaving New Zealand is proving very costly.
Part of it is air capacity – we still don’t have enough. Many of the carriers who were here back in the good old pre-Covid days have not come back yet, and despite all Air New Zealand’s promises of putting on extra flights, there’s still a woeful lack of them.
So, young people are a bit hamstrung getting out right now. And that’s just the OE crowd; there are also the brain drainers – off to Australia or Canada or greener pastures elsewhere for bigger pay checks. And then there are the ex-pats who came home during the pandemic thinking they were coming back to the promised land, only to discover New Zealand is not quite the New Zealand they fondly remember.
We have developed, as one ex-pat put it, a ‘lockdown mentality’ and they find it all a bit oppressive. That is not surprising if you’ve been living and working in places with broader mindsets and more freedoms like the UK or the US, both of which are back travelling at pre Covid levels by the way for both leisure and business.
But we are the slowest to get international travel back up and running here in our hermit kingdom, mainly because we did lock down for so long, we were too slow to open back up, and our national carrier couldn’t gear up in time for reopening because our government was too slow to give them any certainty on dates.
Australia, by comparison, its government gave Qantas a heads up on opening in plenty of time – made it a priority, which it should be, and dealt with the whole thing more efficiently hence they got routes and flights humming way quicker.
We dropped the ball, and it’s still dropped.
It’s likely we won’t be in full swing until later in the year when other carriers return like American Airlines, Air Canada, Latin Air - and when the likes of Emirates and Singapore Airlines gear up more flights.
But for now, if you’re a Kiwi wanting to head off and get out, you need to either pay through the nose for whatever flight you can possibly get on over the next two months, or wait until the end of the year for competition to heat back up.
Let’s hope by about October, which seems a ridiculously long time to have to wait, but let's hope by then, we might just get some normality back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kiwis who came home at the beginning of the Covid outbreak are now taking a one-way ticket back overseas.
Some reasons are believed to be employers being closed off to the idea of global experience and recruiters not being able to translate people's specific skills to roles here.
Tribe Recruitment's Sarah White told Kate Hawkesby many people who came home when the pandemic struck weren't in a position to properly settle back into New Zealand.
“They can’t put their roots down like a lot of people have here, so it’s best to go back overseas, do a couple of years and come back with a bit more in the bank.”
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It's coming home to roost a bit, isn't it?
What we have learned this week, whether it be the construction company now in Britain looking to fill the jobs here that pay over $100,000, the university students that haven't come back despite the door being open, the manufacturers who told us the job queue is non-existent because reputation is an issue, or the apple orchards that have left over $100 million worth of fruit on the trees, there is a theme.
The theme is we stayed closed too long.
The line that the best economic response was our health response is now being shown to be the utterly dishonest nonsense it always was.
We had this weird belief that when we were full and ready, we could simply turn the switch and the whole world would deal with us the way they used to, almost as though no one else out there was getting on with it, and even if they were, they were inferior to us anyway. So, all those who longed and loved New Zealand would simply line up and be grateful to return to life the way it used to be.
Tourism, I think, we always accepted was going to be a slow burn. It may be even slower than we thought given the figures out this week show travel in many parts of the world is at pre-Covid levels, if not higher.
We can't say anywhere near the same thing. At least part of that is on us. We never hustled and never even wanted to hustle. We became the Hermit Kingdom. Whatever reputation we had built up over the years, at least in part, has been wrecked.
There is still a bit of time to put it right. Students, hopefully, will come back later this year looking for a new start. So, fingers crossed.
But the labour issue is a crisis. Our tax rates are too high, our pay rates are too low and Australia has been open for months and is beating us to the skills.
You notice we still don’t have a maritime border open yet?
All we seemed capable of doing was panicking, locking down, and bumbling around for two years while a lot of the world moved on.
We could be stuck in orange forever.
Our reputation, if not ruined, in need of some serious attention.
As an exercise in totality, it's a C-minus at best. Yes, we saved lives, let's toss that line in one more time, shall we?
But my word, what a stunning price it looks like we are paying.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hands up if you had no idea yesterday was a traffic light announcement day.
My hand is up. I was so oblivious, it was like stepping back in time, I thought the Herald had the wrong headline up when it ran front page news that Chris Hipkins had announced we were staying in an Orange light. Really? No kidding.
Didn’t even know the prospect of coming out of that was on the cards. That’s how brow-beaten we all are by now. We don’t even expect our full freedoms back do we?
But it seems we're staying in Orange not just due to Covid - but the flu too.
There seems to be a very nasty flu hitting Australia, we’ve had some of it here in Dunedin already, I know there're many families back to isolating and staying home with sickness. Auckland's seeing resurgence in Covid cases – up 75 percent. In fact both the shops I visited yesterday had signs up saying, ‘please be patient, we have many staff away due to Covid.’ So it appears we’re not out of the woods yet, and is worse yet to come in the form of flu?
And is it that this year's flu is expected to be really bad, hence we're staying in masks, or is that the norm now, that every winter we'll go to an Orange light and stay in masks?
Has Covid and the pandemic powers exerted by governments brought with it a change to life as we know it forever?
Will there be a time that we once again go maskless in winter? Or will they just be the bad old days?
Once the border fully opens in July and more Kiwis are travelling for school holidays and winter escapes, we will be back to circulating the usual bugs and viruses. And our immune systems will be unprepared having been locked down as a country for two years, and staying in our little bubbles.
But in terms of ever getting back to Green light life? I don’t see the return to freedom happening before Christmas.
But who amongst us would be brazen enough to predict anything these days? God forbid we start thinking we know what might happen or how it might unfold. Largely we just plan for the worst these days don’t we? Do we have collective PTSD from Covid? I mean Monkeypox reared its head with a handful of cases and the global panic looked to be back on immediately.
We are so scarred aren’t we?
I was in a lift yesterday and a woman came to hop in behind me and then she paused, neither of us were wearing masks, and she said, ‘do you mind me hopping in with you without a mask?’
It’s a fair question I guess, it’s the new normal, we are paranoid about tight spaces with each other, well not all of us, but many of us. She went on to tell me she’s not had Covid, we didn’t know how we’d both dodged it so far but no one wants to be smug about that anymore given it may still come for us.
The other thing I find people volunteering is their vaccination status. I was in close proximity with a stranger in a queue the other day and they turned to me and randomly volunteered, “Oh I’m double jabbed and boosted don’t worry.”
Assuming that everyone is worried!
It’s a wacky old world we’re living in these days, when chit chat with strangers turns into volunteering vaccination status. I guess come winter we'll just be adding in the new one .. 'don't worry I've had the flu jab.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Zealanders will be keeping masks on for a while yet.
The Government's announced the country will stay at the Orange level of the Traffic Light Setting, at least another month.
Gathering limits are long gone – but masks must still be worn in most indoor locations.
Our Covid Response Minister says new cold and flu strains will add to the workloads of already strained hospitals.
College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty told Heather du Plessis-Allan we're facing a complex few months ahead.
“There’s very little spare capacity in the system at this point and that capacity could be used up very, very quickly if things were to worsen over winter.”
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When 73-year-old Anne Guenole died, it was national news.
Every media outlet in the country did stories. Anne’s family remembered her as a quiet nana and great-grandmother who spent most of her time at home on the South Island’s beautiful West Coast. She’d been hospitalised with a suspected case of influenza.
Except it wasn’t influenza. Anne was the first New Zealander to die of Covid-19.
That was March, 2020. I was thinking about that moment this morning, as I reflected on how much our collective attitude have changed in the two years since.
Since Anne Guenole died, more than a thousand New Zealanders have died with Covid-19. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve died of Covid-19. I appreciate the distinction. But many of those deaths were untimely, and we continue to record ten or twenty deaths a day. Where once we gasped if the daily infection numbers were in the high teens or early twenties, now we barely pay attention to daily cases in the thousands.
Could you tell me to the closest thousand how many infections New Zealand recorded on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week?
It’s neither good or bad. It just says something about our psychology. It’s fascinating to me how quickly we’ve switched. Given access to vaccines and an end to lockdowns and restrictions, in a sense we’ve largely moved on. Even if the virus hasn’t.
It was reflected in the budget, this week. For all the budget nicknames – braindrain budget, backwards budget, climate budget – no one was calling it a Covid budget. The cost of living has overtaken the pandemic and is far-and-away the biggest concern for a majority New Zealanders. Grant Robertson’s plans were those of a finance minister and a government that feels vulnerable to criticism over their role in inflation.
It’s funny to think about how politicians frame these things. For two years, many people felt the government was prioritising lives over the economy. It’s a silly binary – if we’ve learnt anything from Covid-19, it’s that economy activity and the pandemic are closely linked.
But it is true that we used to take far greater steps in order to protect lives. We had a far lower tolerance for infections and death. If we’re playing the same silly binary game today, you couldn’t argue that New Zealand isn’t prioritising the economy over doing everything possible to save lives.
We’ve flipped. We’ve crossed the threshold. And I have a similar nagging feeling to that in the early stages of the pandemic. We can do what we can to soften the landing but it’s still going to hurt. Unfortunately, when you look at our economic position, inflation, growth, and interest rates, we’ve been delaying the inevitable.
This time it isn’t Covid cases. It’s economic pain. Unfortunately for New Zealand, the worst is still to come.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There's big drama on the set of Dancing with the Stars.
Eric Murray and Rhys Mathewson have both got Covid and have had to bow out of the competition paving the way for Alex Vaz and Newstalk ZB’s very own Kerre Woodham to return.
Kerre joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Grant Robertson and Nicola Willis face off on the eve of budget day.
Jacinda Ardern is back and working from home.
When are we going to see pre-departure testing scrapped?
Chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Assurances removing Covid testing requirements for travel won't put New Zealand at risk.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins says pre-departure testing is now a lot less important in our protection framework.
He's indicated the requirement will go earlier than August – as had been announced.
Auckland Airport's chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui told Heather du Plessis-Allan other barriers remain in place.
“Such as RATs on arrival or requirements in the system that prevent people with symptoms from getting on planes that don’t rely on pre-departure tests.”
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So, North Korea are in the middle a major Covid-19 outbreak.
With more than a million people now sick with what officials are calling a 'fever'.
Limiting testing capacity has meant that only a few cases have been confirmed as actual Covid.
Kim Jong-Un has also imposed a strict lockdown and more than 600,000 people receiving medical treatment.
Josh Smith, Reuters senior correspondent covering North Korea, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Doctors are warning urgent work needs to be done to understand the full impact of long Covid on people.
One in five Covid cases still have symptoms three months after they catch the virus... But there are no plans to support them.
Dr Rob Griffiths from the University of Otago joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Tuesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Lift Your Game, James/Where Everyone Gets a Supermarket/Aussie Campaign Wind-Up/Covid's Coming/Motorway HazardsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to budget week and welcome to the immediate aftermath of the Covid pandemic.
Is the pandemic over? No, far from it.
Temporary labour shortages as the virus works its way through the population means everything will be difficult for some time yet. Nearly half our music station staff were off last week after one company super spreader event. Productivity was knocked for 6. Who needs the Government to lock us down when we do it to ourselves.
Meanwhile, the post-pandemic hangover affects the whole world and it's having a political fall-out.
In Australia, Scott Morrison looks in doubt as Labour blames him for a cost-of-living crisis. In America, Biden is losing ground because he's blamed for a cost-of-living crisis. Boris Johnson will be lucky to survive as Labour hammers him for a cost-of-living crisis.
All the Governments that have steered the world through Covid are now being made to pay for it.
They're being blamed for the profligate spending that kept businesses afloat. But at the time they were blamed during lockdowns for not doing enough. There's no pleasing some people.
But as Liam Dann pointed out in the weekend, simplistic tribal politics is the driver of opinion and not reasoned economic debate.
So, on Thursday Grant Robertson will announce his government spending. $6 billion dollars' worth it's said. On health and climate change mostly.
Already many people are criticising the spending without knowing what it is.
National's Christopher Luxon criticises spending unless it's targeted.
And he's criticising the Government for not having spent more money on ICU beds. He says that's what he'd invest in.
So, I'm not sure he understands what that means. I'm not sure that we all do.
An ICU bed is nothing. It's a bed and some kit.
The problem is the staff for that bed.
It takes six nurses a shift to staff an ICU bed. That's 18 nurses a day.
But New Zealand is already 4,000 nurses short.
So, if you want more ICU beds first you need to find more nurses. Thousands and thousands more nurses. They don't grow on trees. And you have to pay them. Pay them well. Better than they are now. Because you will have to attract nurses from overseas. Plus, you'll have to train new ones. If you can find them.
Honestly. Fixing health problems is going to cost 10s of billions of dollars because of 40 years of underinvestment since Rogernomics.
So, is it right to criticise the Government for spending on something that we should have spent on before? Is waiting till better times truly prudent?
The question is, if not now, when?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ashley Bloomfield was back Friday to spook you again, just like the good old days. The trouble for the Government's fear campaign is it's over. It’s a bust.
It's the evolution, or the anatomy, of a campaign that for a while was highly successful. A lot of us believed the fear and the predictions. A lot of us hung on every word of the epidemiologists as they became household names and seemed to have some idea of how the future worked.
After a while reality dawned on an increasing number of us when we started asking how come little, if any, of what they said came to pass. The accuracy was astonishingly non-existent.
What it really was, was a whole bunch of worst-case scenarios. None of them actually had anything to do with you or me.
They had to do with a health system they had worked out wasn’t up to much and not only wasn’t it up to much, they hadn't done anything about fixing it. So they spooked us over death, disease, numbers, and bulging wards so they wouldn’t have the embarrassment of having to explain why they hadn't sorted out the hospitals the way they should have.
Essentially, we were doing them a massive favour.
The whole game was up come booster time. Omicron, for most, was a cold and a couple of days off. That’s why such a small number of us ended up getting a booster and to this day the percentage of the eligible population jabbed continues to slide backwards.
So, when Bloomfield fronted up Friday, he entered an entirely different arena. It’s the arena full of scepticism.
His warnings of flu and new variants won't fly. Not that there aren't new variants and flu, but it will be a miracle if the booster rate rises and it'll be fascinating to see whether the flu jab gets the uptake he needs.
Because, once again, it isn't about you or me. It's still about his inept, underfunded, and understaffed hospitals.
They don't want them full, they don’t want them overflowing, and they don’t want the hassle or the embarrassment.
What's changed, thank God, is this time we call the shots. We are making up our own minds, we have worked out in ever greater numbers for ourselves whether we are getting boosted or getting the flu shot. We have been spun one time too often to fall for it again.
Essentially in the dark old days, they overplayed their hand. Too much fear and spin has led to today, a sceptical public who aren't quite seeing the snake oil in the same light.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One vaccine expert isn't too concerned about Covid-19 heading into winter.
Ashley Bloomfield today warned there could be another peak - when flu and RSV will also hit.
Immunologist Graham Le Gros told Heather du Plessis Allan the latest variants haven't been very nasty and we are well-immunised.
“I think what the Government should be worried about and are worried about is the flu season. And they’re encouraging people to vaccinate. That’s not a bad piece of advice.”
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When you're working from home anyway, how sick do you have to be to actually call in sick?
The US and UK have seen record low sickness absences as people worked from home, meaning we're trying to power through instead of resting like we normally would.
Jason Ennor, CEO of My HR joined Mike Hosking.
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There are high hopes for the tourism sector ahead of looser border settings.
Our newsroom understands the Prime Minister will announce today an acceleration in opening the country up to all-comers.
It had been set for October, but that could now happen in July.
RealNZ Chief Executive Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking he's optimistic but there will be challenges.
He says the growth will largely be dependent on businesses' ability to keep up with demand.
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The Government is expected to open the door to more highly skilled workers, but not to unskilled hospitality workers.
Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive Julie White told Mike Hosking that means many hospitality businesses will never recover from two years of Covid restrictions.
“I’m hearing from our members more people are leaving than arriving, this is really going to put a handbrake on our ability to repay debts.”
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In another case of theory versus reality, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is telling us we’re open as a country, but tourism groups and others will tell you – we’re not really.
The thing holding us up? The Covid testing regime our government insists on keeping in place.
The problem with it is twofold.
One, we are one of the few countries left in the world still doing this, and two, it’s bureaucratically heavy and administratively cumbersome. Travel is logistically challenging enough, we don’t need additional barriers and hoops to jump through. I don’t know of anyone who has travelled recently whose come back and had a favourable word to say about it, in fact quite the opposite. They say it’s a nightmare and given that, we’re not really fully ‘open’ are we?
Open means door open, come on in, no barriers. This is more a case of – hey we’re open but if you could just get this supervised Covid test, download this result, add this app, load it in there, send it to the other app, keep a QR code handy, take these RAT’s for some more testing while you’re here, and yep.. come on in. Not quite how it works.
My brother has travelled three times internationally since the border opened, and he says New Zealand is by far the worst country to get into in terms of its complicated entry requirement system. He said he didn’t know how anyone over 50 years old could work it out it’s so convoluted, you virtually need a degree in IT to decipher it.
He also said the bureaucracy around it seems to be getting worse not better. As in, they haven’t streamlined it or responded to customer complaints to change it or simplify it.
There are also several forms needed to fill out before you even board your plane, all adding to your time and stress to just get in or out of the country. And that’s before we get to people who may be travelling long haul and find their expensive supervised negative test is no longer valid once they actually touch down in New Zealand. It makes no sense.
I interviewed Air NZ's Greg Foran the other day, he described our border entry requirements as a hassle and an impediment to travellers, and he hopes the Government gets rid of it soon. Unfortunately, though, the Government’s timeframe is never really in line with commercial imperatives, it moves at a somewhat glacial pace.. and though it says it will consider removing the barriers ‘at some point’, no one knows when that is.
The PM says it's ‘constantly under review’, but then she also said that about our never-ending lockdowns and traffic lights. David Seymour was not wrong when he said everything this Government does takes an ‘Ardernity’. So if you’re banking on this Government moving faster to help business and travellers, then you’re going to be disappointed.
In the meantime, if you were weighing up coming here, versus say Fiji or Australia where there’re no entry requirements, and you knew getting into New Zealand involved a strict and costly testing regime, within a strict timeframe, which would you choose?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A couple of good clues as to why we have such wastage of government spending and how the psychology behind it suggests it won't change under the current government.
We have had the revelations so far this week over the millions for consultants on Three Waters, it’s $20 million and counting.
The Zoom job fair that attracted next to no one yet cost a bit under a million to run with even the Minister acknowledging it didn’t take off the way they thought it would.
And now, a report into just how many jobs were supported by the wage subsidy scheme.
This, by the way, is a report from a ministry that along with every other ministry has more people working in it, given the Government has been on a hiring spree, with the broad belief, as outlined in the op-ed piece yesterday by Chris Hipkins, that more is always better.
Anyway, the report says 47 percent of jobs were supported by the wage subsidy. But more importantly than the statistic, is the inference. And the inference is that this a good thing and they get to say "look at all those jobs we helped save."
The reality is the number is false. It's false because 47 percent of jobs didn’t actually need the wage subsidy at all. They may have got it, but was the expenditure ever really required? In that part of the calculation, or lack of it, is the insight into the mentality.
What we know to be true, is that many companies employing many, many people didn’t need any sort of subsidy because they actually went gangbusters. Covid was good for business.
The key was the criteria. If you closed your door or were affected by lockdown you got the money. The fact you were online still doing business and the fact that in a lockdown you saw sales like you have never seen sales didn't seem to matter. The fact you went on to make record profits was never taken into account. The fact you went and paid dividends to your shareholders was never given any thought.
Why not? Because that’s not what this Government does. Their argument then, and as far as I know to this day, was the simple premise that they needed to get money out the door ASAP. In that quest they were successful. Billions upon billions flew out the door, but for what return? For what level of efficiency? No one knew because no one asked.
Here we are two years later clearly not having learned a single thing. Throwing money at stuff isn't hard; it's not a skill, especially when it's not your money.
But although 47 percent of jobs got it, 47 percent of jobs never needed it. But we will still need to pay it back.
Report doesn’t mention that part, funny that eh?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A third of the 120 family harm call outs a week in Rotorua are to emergency housing motels.
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni once again has acknowledged emergency housing is not ideal, but it's better than people sleeping in cars.
Mihi James, a Rotorua family lawyer and Waiariki Women's Refuge chair joined Mike Hosking.
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It has been revealed nearly fifty percent of our jobs were protected by the Government’s wage subsidies at some point last year.
This resulted in less people losing their jobs during the pandemic and less businesses going under.
But now, as wage subsidies are gone and businesses need to fend for themselves again, one economist says we could see a wave of "zombie" businesses closing.
Shamubeel Eaqub from Sense Partners joined Kate Hawkesby.
LISTEN ABOVE
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Some more details from the Deputy Prime Minister on the Government's plan to deal with ram raids.
National has backed the Government's emissions budget. How political was this?
Why is the PM isolating? Is she not an essential worker?
Chief political editor Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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China's top leader Xi Jinping has issued the strongest warning yet against anyone who questions the country's zero-Covid policy, as stringent, frequent lockdowns fuel public discontent and deal a devastating blow to the Chinese economy.
At a meeting chaired by Xi on Thursday, the ruling Communist Party's supreme Politburo Standing Committee vowed to "unswervingly adhere to the general policy of 'dynamic zero-Covid,' and resolutely fight against any words and acts that distort, doubt or deny our country's epidemic prevention policies."
This is the first time Xi, who according to state media made an "important speech" at the meeting, has made public remarks about China's battle against Covid since public furor erupted over the harsh lockdown in Shanghai.
"Our prevention and control strategy is determined by the party's nature and mission, our policies can stand the test of history, our measures are scientific and effective," the seven-member committee said, according to government news agency Xinhua.
"We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, and we will certainly be able to win the battle to defend Shanghai," it said.
The Standing Committee also demanded cadres to have a "profound, complete and comprehensive understanding" of the policies set by the party's central leadership.
"We should resolutely overcome the problems of inadequate awareness, inadequate preparation and insufficient work, and resolutely overcome contempt, indifference and self-righteousness in our thinking," it said.
To analysts who have long observed Chinese politics, the stern warning is a sign that there has been internal pushback against Xi's zero-Covid policy from within the party.
"This language should be read as a direct criticism of unspecified local CCP leaders who have questioned the policies at the center, or who have been insufficiently successful in applying them," wrote David Bandurski, co-director of the China Media Project.
"And it is difficult not to hear in this phrase about 'self-righteousness' condemnation of leaders in Shanghai in particular," Bandurski added.
Over the past five weeks, many Shanghai residents have taken to social media to call for help and vent their anger over severe food shortages and lack of access to medical care. Some protested from their windows, banging pots and pans and shouting in frustration, others even clashed with police and health workers in the streets -- a rare scene in a country where dissent is routinely suppressed.
The grave economic fallout has also drawn concerns from economists and business executives, especially given Shanghai's role as the country's leading financial center and a major manufacturing and shipping hub. In April, China's services sector, which accounts for more than half of the nation's GDP and over 40% of its employment, contracted at the second sharpest pace on record, while the manufacturing sector also shrunk.
And as Omicron spreads in other parts of China, more local governments are imposing swift lockdowns in response to just a handful of cases. In Beijing, where more than 500 cases have been reported since April 20, many fear for a Shanghai-style lockdown as authorities roll out increasingly restrictions.
But the latest statement from the country's top leaders has made it clear that the Chinese government is doubling down on its approach of relying on swift lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine to squash the highly transmissible Omicron variant for the foreseeable future.
Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing, said since April, the question over how the government should deal with the country's worst outbreak since Wuhan has evolved into a "path struggle" within the party.
"Firstly, it is a struggle over whether it should choose 'dynamic zero-Covid' or a more flexible approach to fight Covid; and secondly, it is also a struggle over whether to make Covid control or economic growth the priority," Wu...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Auditor-General's being commended for flagging issues with the transparency of the Government's Covid response fund.
John Ryan has written to Treasury, saying MPs and the general public haven't been getting enough information about how the $74 billion fund is being spent.
Treasury has now published details on how much funding has been set aside and how it has been allocated.
But Ryan says it's still unclear how much is being spent on some initiatives.
New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson, a former Treasury director, told Mike Hosking the Auditor-General is right to raise concerns.
He's very pleased to see John Ryan asking questions about the spending.
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Waikato nurses who put their hand up to help in MIQ, say they aren't able to get their old jobs back.
The nurses who previously worked at Waikato Hospital, understood they'd be able to return to their roles after their MIQ work was done.
While other DHBs redeployed their nurses on a secondment basis, those at Waikato DHB were given new permanent positions.
Nurses' Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter told Mike Hosking it's a shocking situation.
“I’d have thought, right across all the DHBs, they’d welcome these people back with open arms and pop them straight back on the roster.”
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Auckland Airport is welcoming back international travellers, although most of its food and retail stores are yet to open.
Vaccinated tourists can now come here from up to 60 visa-waiver countries.
Currently there are limited dining and shopping options for them to choose from at the international terminal.
Auckland Airport Chief Executive Carrie Hurihanganui told Mike Hosking about 30 percent of stores are open.
“For some of them, it’s a little bit of a standing start after being closed for two years and they are finding supply chain challenges to restock shelves but also recruitment in a market that’s got unemployment at 3 percent."
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If a politics wonk was to ever put the time and effort into ranking the best and worst of New Zealand parliamentary speakers, I am willing to lay good money on Trevor Mallard being cited as the worst speaker of the house in the country's history.
Now obviously I can't go back to the late 19th century and the early 20th century. But I'm still willing to be it. He would be the worst.
He's an unlikely speaker. In a 2000 press release by Independent MP Peter Dunne, Mallard was labelled parliament's worst behaved MP, based on the amount of times the MP had been expelled from the chamber or asked withdraw. He often violated the rules of the House while he was an MP, and now he's keeping them. Talk about poacher turned gamekeeper.
He has a professional reputation for being a bully, pugnacious petty, and utterly incapable of saying sorry.
Now in another petulant hissy fit, the Speaker has delivered trespass notices to some of the people who were at protests in Parliament grounds.
Some are deserved - no problem there. But to use the occasion to dish out a little bit of light revenge is an abuse of office.
It's a grim day when we have to choose between Mallard and Winston Peters. But on this occasion and on this day, I am reluctantly forced to be Team Peters, much as I think he should just push off out of public life, join a bowls club and retire with dignity.
I do not know how Mallard can hold that post any longer given his history, given his current behaviour, and given the fact that nobody has respect for this referee.
Helen Clark was able to just keep him in line. I mean fighting with Tau Henare in Parliament, brought it all back to me when I was going back through Mallard’s history. It was ugly. And it's just got uglier, using his position to score petty personal political points with his opponents as an abuse of the position.
Jacinda Ardern will not keep him in line, but somebody has to.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Labour says the change in the Government's Covid strategy is reflected in the latest Newshub Reid Research poll.
National has jumped 9.2 points to 40.5 percent support, surpassing Labour's 38.2 percent, falling 6.1 points.
Act and the Greens have both dropped, while the Māori Party has nudged half a point up.
Senior Cabinet Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking they have some work to do.
“The transition from an elimination strategy to Covid-19 into living with Covid in the community has been pretty bumpy, but the reality is that has had an impact on public sentiment."
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Winston Peters' parliamentary ban is heading into murky waters.
The Speaker of the House has trespassed Peters from Parliament for two years, - along with former National MP Matt King - after visiting the anti-mandate occupation in February.
Otago University Law Professor Andrew Geddis says while it's lawful, Peters could still bring legal action against the decision.
He says it could be argued that because Parliament is involved, it's being unused in an unreasonable manner.
Geddis says Peters will argue it's unreasonable, given his low involvement in the protest.
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It’s a rare day I find myself agreeing with Winston Peters, in fact I’d go so far as to say it’s never happened. But given the circumstances of yesterday, I’d have to agree with Winnie; Trevor Mallard has lost the plot.
I mean I have actually used those exact words about Trevor Mallard before. When he spent half a million taxpayer dollars on a playground slide at Parliament, when he played the protestors the Macarena and set sprinklers in them, when he made false rape allegations and then used taxpayer money to fund his legal defence.
Also when he kept leaping to Ardern’s defence when she was a newly appointed PM and he seemingly thought it was the 1800’s as he constantly spoke on her behalf, all the times he’s thrown people out of the House for no reason other than a pet peeve with them. I mean the list is endless.
This guy is well past his use by date and I have no idea how he still gets to be there at all, let alone in charge of anything. If anyone should be banned it should be him. So if you’re not up with Mallard’s latest losing of the plot, he’s banned Winston Peters from parliament. Just like he’s banned Matt King, and every other person who turned up to the protest. Banned them for two years. Winston Peters has labelled this move ‘dictatorial’ and in line with ‘a banana republic’. It’s hard to argue.
Peters also says New Zealanders should not put up with such "totalitarian behaviour". I find myself still agreeing with him.
He also points out the PM shouldn’t put up with it either, but as we know, she tends to put up with everything, sack no one, hold no one accountable and when it comes to Mallard in particular, manages to turn a blind eye. What's the deal with her and Mallard? Does he have something on her? She seems so powerless around him.
So Winston’s taking legal advice, and knowing how litigious he is, this may cause pause for thought on Mallard’s part. Has he been too hasty here? Is it going to cost him a fortune in a legal drama?
Whose money will he use to fight that drama if and when it does unfold? How much of a headache does that give the Government? How many bad headlines do they want?
Crucially, I think Mallard has to ask himself, why does he behave this way? Why is he so driven by anger? Is he spending too much time on Twitter? Because I can tell you from out here in the real world, his antics are going down like a cup of cold sick. And the one thing Winston is good at – and remember I’m no Winston fan – but the one thing he is good at, is zeroing in on stuff the public hates. He’s got a good sense of this stuff.
David Seymour’s called Mallard ‘petulant’ and says it’ll wind up in court, it’s petty and gets us nowhere (again). Luxon has been more diplomatic and said it’s a matter for the Speaker, in fact he echoed the PM who said the same thing.
Which brings me to my next question, why is Luxon being so soft? Opposition is where you land the big hits and be bold. “A matter for the Speaker” sounds like a pass on a really simple question. But then again the Nats don’t have a lot of love for Winston so they probably don’t care.
But power hungry, plot-losing Mallard is a worry.. and what’s also a worry, is that I’m now agreeing with Winston Peters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Complications in performing resuscitation while wearing Covid PPE, is being blamed for fewer people surviving cardiac arrests.
A two-percent decrease was seen from mid-2020 to mid-2021, with just 25 percent of those treated for Cardiac Arrest in the community surviving.
St John Clinical Director Dr Tony Smith told Mike Hosking it's a timely reminder that what people do at the scene - can save a life.
He says performing CPR and using the nearest defibrillator can drastically improve outcomes.
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So term goes back today for schools, and as we enter the winter months many seem nervous about colds and flu viruses and winter bugs. But I was hoping that sense would prevail at this point and most would realise that we are a highly vaccinated country, past the peak of the pandemic, and that life returning to normal is actually really important for everyone’s wellbeing and mental health.
So it was with disappointment I read an email from our school stating that for this term, they’ve decided to continue with masks.
Not even the Ministry of Education is pushing that barrow anymore – they’ve said it’s up to individual schools, essentially that’s the Ministry passing the buck so they don’t have to have any responsibility for it of course. But it’s left schools in the invidious position of 1, trying to please everyone, and 2, do their best for their school community.
So what is best? I would've argued at this point of young people’s lives, a return to normality would be a good start. To have fear messaging still being communicated is I think a shame. I mean of course, I get it, there’ll be some teachers still nervous about kids spreading germs, there’ll be children inevitably coming down with sniffles who’ll potentially come to school when they shouldn’t.
There’ll be questionable hygiene practices, there’ll be parents worried that those who haven’t caught Covid will catch it in the winter months. Plus I fully get their desire to keep school environments healthy and well, given all the disruption and upset of the past two years with lockdowns and remote learning. I know no one wants to go back to that again.
So I get all the projected anxiety around keeping Covid at bay, but I still found myself disappointed that the school said it was “concerned that students and staff be safe”. What is this obsession with the word ‘safe’ and that we’re all ‘unsafe’ if we’re not in a mask? I know of vaccinated people in masks who still got Covid, likewise, I know of masked people at crowded events where it later transpired Covid was present, who never got Covid. At this point, I’d argue it’s a crapshoot whether you’re going to get it or not.
But most of all, I’d argue we have to stop pushing this anxiety, draped in the word ‘concerned’ onto our young people. They’re already so scarred by all this fear-mongering and all the lockdowns. They’ve missed out on so much, had to do so much learning under trying conditions, and now they’re being told they have to keep their faces covered up for another whole term at least. Six and a half hours a day, 5 days a week, breathing in carbon dioxide, unable to see teachers' faces or make out words clearly, blocking their ability to learn unencumbered by the constant reminder that we should all be terrified of Covid.
Part of learning to live with it, and be normal again – which by the way even the PM has said we need to do – is surely moving past all the fear rhetoric and scaremongering of masks. Surely school needs to feel like a progressive place?
So I personally just don’t think throwing in another term of mask use is necessary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After more than two long years, international tourists are once again allowed into New Zealand.
From this morning visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries, like Australians already, can now travel here without isolation if they are vaccinated and do a pre-departure and arrival test for Covid-19.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said thousands of passengers were expected to arrive on about 25 flights at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch international airports in the next stage of the reopening plan.
"Today marks a milestone for visitors from our key northern hemisphere markets in the USA, UK, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and others, who can now jump on a plane to come here.
"Direct flights arrive today from places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, as well as airports closer to home in Australia, Nadi, and Rarotonga. Many will be connecting flights bringing people from further afield."
There were currently just over 30,000 people arriving into the country each week - a significant increase on the trickle throughout the pandemic, but still well down on pre-Covid levels. In January 2020 about 25,000 people were arriving each day.
Nash said today's changes would see a further increase in arrivals, and international flight searches to New Zealand were running 19 per cent higher than pre-Covid (March-April 2019).
Later this year major international airlines like Emirates, Air Canada, Malaysian Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, LATAM Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui are restarting routes.
Air NZ was also adding long haul routes from San Francisco, Honolulu, Houston, New York and Chicago.
The changes also applied to those with existing visitor visas, and join vaccinated Australian visitors, temporary work visa holders, and student visa holders who still meet their visa requirements, who are already able to come to New Zealand.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said up to 5000 international students were able to come here for the second semester of the academic year.
Over 6000 applications Working Holiday Visas had also been approved since March.
"They will not only have a great time on holiday here but can work to support our tourism, hospitality and horticultural sectors," Faafoi said.
On Sunday the Government announced new, more accurate Covid tests which return results in 30 minutes would be trialled at Auckland Airport.
Lamp (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) tests can be self-administered like a RAT (rapid antigen test), but are much more accurate.
Air NZ CEO Greg Foran said the airline would "ideally" like Covid-19 testing to be removed from travel.
"But this [test] is a good insurance policy should we suddenly find ourselves in a different situation in the near term."
Foran said the further border reopening was a "big day for us", noting it had been 767 days since New Zealand shut its border to anyone without residency or citizenship in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Foran said almost 1000 people will arrive on the first three flights, from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fiji.
He said he expected visitor numbers to start seriously increasing in July.
"I think it's still reasonably early in this. What we've got are a lot of people who are keen to reconnect with family and friends and relatives.
"We're increasingly seeing businesspeople starting to get out and wanting to reconnect. And my view is that when we get to July school holidays, I think we will see some pretty good travel not only domestically but internationally."
Air NZ had recalled about 800 pilots and cabin crew in anticipation of increased travel numbers.
"We've got quite a bit hiring spree going on at the moment."
- by Michael Neilson, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Moderna is seeking to be the first to offer COVID-19 vaccine for the youngest American children, as it asked the Food and Drug Administration Thursday to clear low-dose shots for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Frustrated families are waiting impatiently for a chance to protect the nation’s littlest kids as all around them people shed masks and other public health precautions -- even though highly contagious coronavirus mutants continue to spread. Already about three-quarters of children of all ages show signs they've been infected at some point during the pandemic.
Moderna submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration that it hopes will prove two low-dose shots can protect children younger than 6 -- although the effectiveness wasn't nearly as high in kids tested during the omicron surge as earlier in the pandemic.
“There is an important unmet medical need here with these youngest kids,” Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna's chief medical officer, told The Associated Press. Two kid-size shots “will safely protect them. I think it is likely that over time they will need additional doses. But we're working on that.”
Moderna said two kid doses were about 40% to 50% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, not a home run but for many parents, any protection would be better than none.
That effectiveness is “less than optimal. We were hoping for better efficacy but this is a first step,” said Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal of Cook County Health in Chicago. She’s anxiously awaiting vaccinations for her youngest patients and her own 3-year-old son who’s ready to enter preschool.
“It gives me such peace of mind to know that hopefully by fall I’ll get him in school and he’ll be fully vaccinated,” she said.
Now, only children ages 5 or older can be vaccinated in the U.S., using rival Pfizer’s vaccine, leaving 18 million younger tots unprotected.
Moderna's vaccine isn't the only one in the race. Pfizer is soon expected to announce if three of its even smaller-dose shots work for the littlest kids, months after the disappointing discovery that two doses weren’t quite strong enough.
Whether it’s one company’s shots or both, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the agency will “move quickly without sacrificing our standards” in deciding if tot-sized doses are safe and effective.
While questions are swirling about what's taking so long, Marks pointedly told lawmakers earlier this week that the FDA can't evaluate a product until a manufacturer completes its application. In a statement Thursday, the FDA said it will schedule a meeting to publicly debate Moderna's evidence with its independent scientific advisers but that the company still must submit some additional data. Moderna expects to do so next week.
“It’s critically important that we have the proper evaluation so that parents will have trust in any vaccines that we authorize,” Marks told a Senate committee.
If FDA clears vaccinations for the littlest, next the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to recommend who needs them -- all tots or just those at higher risk from COVID-19.
“It's very important to get the youngest children vaccinated” but “moving quickly doesn't mean moving sloppily,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and public health expert at Boston College. FDA must "see if it’s safe. They need to see if it’s effective. And they need to do so swiftly. But they won’t cut corners.”
Many parents are desperate for whichever vaccine gets to the scientific finish line first.
“We’ve been kind of left behind as everybody else moves on,” said Meagan Dunphy-Daly, a Duke University marine biologist whose 6-year-old daughter is vaccinated -- but whose 3-year-old and 18-month-old sons are part of Pfizer’s trial.
The family continues to mask and take other precautions until it’s clear if the boys got real vaccine or dummy shots. If it turns out they weren't protected in the Pfizer study and...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Covid is leaving a high level of truancy in its wake.
Glen Innes School Principal Jono Hendricks says attendance at his school was 90 percent before Covid but was 70 percent last term.
That's despite intense work to allay fears about safety in the classroom.
He told Mike Hosking some parents are still concerned about whether school is safe for their young ones.
Hendricks says others condone absenteeism, which is a group that's hard to engage.
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The global pandemic has made many people who are able to look elsewhere for the promised land; some cornucopia; a veritable Garden of Eden with grass that is a whole lot greener than here - commit to plans to export themselves.
The problem that's possibly going to confront them is the stark reality that the grass is possibly not that green, in fact, in some parts of the world there will be no grass.
Have a look at what’s happening in Australia just a couple of weeks out from their election. Financially things are not looking as rosy as they once did in their backyard.
Wednesday's inflation data was a shock to both the Australian government and their reserve bank. They were expecting a figure with a 4 at the front - but instead it’s 5.1 percent, another blow to the coalition campaign.
With interest rates rising and inflation figures creeping up on them, along with the possibility of more Scott Morrison, you'd have to be pretty sure that the promised land you’ve envisaged will be a great deal better than what you already have here.
I never take for granted what it is that I’m entitled to receive as a New Zealand citizen living in my own country. The temptation to look elsewhere for greener lawns is not something that appeals to me.
I sincerely hope that anyone looking for the Promised Land does their due diligence before packing up and leaving what must be one of the best places in the world to be, in these unstable and uncertain times.
That foreign grass may be more appealing, but it will still need mowing and the cost of doing so may well prove to be much the same.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I admire the Grounded Kiwis and I am thrilled for their win in the High Court.
But, and it’s a big but, what effect will this have? I note the previous win over vaccine mandates by the Police and Defence Force has led to nothing in the sense that Defence is continuing mandates.
You'll remember a Māori authority took the Ministry of Health to court over access to information and won. But then the Ministry still refused to let the information out.
At the start of the pandemic the Government also lost in the case that argued the first nine days of lockdown was unlawful. But once again, to what effect?
It is, of course, a reminder that a government is the ultimate court. They, if they have the numbers, can do whatever they like.
The only real hope out of the Grounded Kiwis' case is that it's a moral victory and perhaps something the voter and certainly every expat will remember come next year's election.
What the judge said, in essence, is what the vast majority of us already knew. There was always a better way to do what the Government were trying to do. The system they insisted on was cruel. It was a lottery when it didn't need to be.
The Government always pleaded innocence over alternatives. But that is one of their great governing weak points, they never admit mistakes, they never admit fault, and they never admit failures.
The travel industry pleaded to help, the very people whose bread and butter is booking, shuffling, and sorting stuff. They were never listened to.
No, you were never going to please everyone. But then they never tried to please more than they were. They were blind and deaf to the pleas for help, the cries of distress, the abject misery so many ex-pats were put through at some of the worst times of their lives.
The permanent stain on this Government and its reputation are the stories of illnesses and deaths in families that were deliberately kept apart because of a government that would not listen and certainly didn’t have a heart.
And as Charlotte Bellis showed us, when they didn’t have a heart, what you needed was PR and media help. This is yet another government failing, their poll driven obsession with oiling embarrassing squeaky wheels.
So well done to the Grounded Kiwis. It's a good and just win. Given it's retrospective, and nothing really happens now, I hope the fight and energy has been worth it.
You also might like to think that the Government might just hang their heads in a bit of shame, but don’t hold your breath.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Young people are being encouraged to take baby steps when socialising again.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation has found 14 to 24 year-olds doing its programmes are disengaging from their peers, education and society.
Victoria University clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland told Kate Hawkesby many people are used to interacting over Zoom, so jumping in at the deep end socially, can make them want to stay home more.
He suggests reconnecting with one or two people you know well, before going out into big groups.
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Young people are going to need help to get out and about again.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation has found a number of 14 to 24 year-olds are disengaging from their peers, education and society.
Many school students are in their rooms socialising online, leaving caregivers isolated and struggling to re-engage them.
The Foundation's research manager, Julie Moore, told Mike Hosking this has been a worldwide and New Zealand problem for some time, even before Covid.
“Covid, of course, is obviously going to exacerbate the problem so they’re not going to automatically re-engage and this is something young people need help to do.”
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Relief from advocates a High Court ruling has found the MIQ lottery system was unfair.
The decision also ruled the narrow criteria for an emergency voucher infringed on New Zealanders' rights to enter the country.
The challenge was put forward by Grounded Kiwis, which represented New Zealanders stuck overseas.
Their lawyer Paul Radich says told Mike Hosking they accepted from the outset that some form of MIQ was essential.
He says the judge found there were different ways the system could've been calibrated and operated.
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Hopes the Government will take some responsibility and acknowledge the issues within MIQ.
A High Court decision found the lottery system to get a spot was unfair, and the criteria for emergency vouchers, too narrow.
Journalist Charlotte Bellis made headlines when she initially couldn't get home from Afghanistan while pregnant.
She told Kate Hawkesby to hear the Government say it will do better, and not be defensive, would go a long way for a lot of people.
Bellis says no one expects people to be perfect, but the Government should appreciate there are always things to learn from emergency situations.
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I know many of you will have gone away for Easter holidays or school holidays, or perhaps be planning to go away soon given we are now finally free and able to travel. But I’m shocked at how expensive it is – and how under staffed many areas still are.
My sister took her kids to the Gold Coast – paid way too much money in my opinion for flights to Brisbane – more than 8 grand for 4 people, and she then paid way too much for some 4 star accommodation which when she got there, told her they weren’t servicing rooms because they had no staff to do that. So you pay a fortune to travel and support struggling sectors, but the reality is they’re still struggling themselves, and therefore many of the services you might expect at that level or at that expense, are gone.
So is that satisfactory if you’re parting with your hard earned money right now?
As the price of everything is rocketing up, should we expect lower prices and poorer service? And if so, for how long?
My sister said all the restaurants they went to were way up on pre Covid prices. Entrees 30 dollars and mains at 50 bucks.
And this is just for your standard bistro type bar restaurant. So it’s big, big dollars to travel right now.
I know of someone else who travelled and got to Auckland Airport only to find most of the shops, I think bar about two, were closed. Why? Can the airport not get their shops staffed either? My brother had a similar experience flying to the States, Air NZ air crew telling him they’ve come back to worse conditions and they’re still woefully under staffed, some said it was shambolic. He certainly experienced that at check in which took just shy of two hours standing in a queue waiting, only to be told there was only going to be one check in line for everyone that night.
I know of someone else who bought two glasses of wine and two sausage rolls at the Auckland airport bar and was charged 74 dollars for the pleasure. 25 dollars per glass of wine, 12 dollars per sausage roll.
Surely that’s taking the mickey?
So here’s the alternative. Instead of burning up your hard earned cash on expensive but unsatisfactory overseas experiences, how about staying local? My girlfriend based in Sydney came over to Queenstown for Easter, she could not speak highly enough of her experience there. She said everyone was just so grateful to have visitors; they just couldn’t do enough for them. They’d call to book a jet boat ride or to go quad biking and the response was invariably, “We can take you now? Would you like to go now?”
She said business owners were stepping in and doing long hours if they couldn’t find staff and just making it happen. In fact they had such a good time they’ve booked to go back again. She said the service was brilliant. I was so relieved to hear that, because a place so low on staff like Queenstown could easily have left a bad taste for guests, but tourist operators there are pushing through.
They’re going above and beyond, they’re pulling out all the stops, and I reckon that’s the sort of attitude that deserves our support.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The High Court has ruled in favour of Grounded Kiwis, finding that the MIQ system was in parts unjustified and operated unfairly. What will this mean for the government... and to voters?
David Parker's tax "investigation" – can we all agree they can't fool anyone and clearly want to introduce more taxes for the rich? Is this wise right now?
The government is introducing a card for people who are actually exempt from wearing a mask. This seems like a very 2020 thing to do.. do we still need this stuff?
A UK study found lunch breaks have reduced from one hour to an average of 29 minutes. Who still takes a lunch break?
Jack Tame and David Farrar joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on the Huddle.
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The National Party say today's High Court ruling proves that MIQ was state-sponsored cruelty.
The Grounded Kiwis have successfully proven MIQ didn't sufficiently allow individual circumstances to be prioritised where necessary.
Chris Bishop, the National Party spokesperson for the Covid-19 response, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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China is ramping up plans to test 20 million people living in Beijing in an effort to stamp out the Covid outbreak.
There are worries of a looming lockdown... After 33 new covid cases were reported yesterday.
David Mahon is a kiwi living and working in private equity investing in Beijing. He joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The tourism industry wants restrictions at the border lifted.
Tourism Export Council chief executive, Lynda Keene, says many countries have opened up, including Australia, the UK, Canada and Singapore, with no Covid-19 testing requirements.
She told Mike Hosking New Zealand is slower with our decision-making, which is frustrating for offshore travel partners.
Keene says Australia's rolling out the carpet and it's very clear it's open.
However, she says there's still confusion about this country, which puts our international tourism rebuild at risk.
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Kevin Milne chats to Jack Tame about a new empathy for people who have a cautious attitude towards Covid-19.
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It was always an inevitability.
The moment our borders opened. The moment Kiwis no longer had to play the MIQ lottery and could be relatively sure they could get home at short notice, if they needed. The moment most other countries dropped their Covid restrictions and started actively pursuing offshore talent, of course young New Zealanders were going to leave!
Wouldn’t you?! If you were a young Kiwi with itchy feet and you’d been stuck at home for two years, feeling as though your twenties or early thirties were slipping away, wouldn’t you want to make up for lost time? The pandemic has changed a lot of things, but it hasn’t changed our rangatahi’s desire to go and experience the World. That’s a good thing.
From a financial perspective it’s always been attractive for young Kiwis to go offshore. Before the pandemic, my sister spent a few years teaching in Perth, Western Australia. After just four years there, with performance incentives and the currency exchange, she was earning $40,000 more than what she earns for the same job in New Zealand. 40 grand! Whether you’re a nurse, a graphic designer, or even just managing a bar, there’s a very good chance you’re going to earn more overseas than in New Zealand.
But my sister still chose to move home. Perth had the cash but Aotearoa had something that Western Australia didn’t: family. And with the savings she’d earned from her job in Perth, six year sago she and her husband bought a little home and set up their lives in Nelson.
And this is where the Covid years have really changed the game. Finally, I worry, the balance has shifted. If you were a talented and resourceful young New Zealander living overseas right now, why would you choose to come home when you can’t afford to live here? If she were moving back today, it would take my sister years more to save up and afford a similar home. Honestly, she might never have got there. And so why wouldn’t she just stay in Perth?
Wages play a role but as always, the elephant in the room is housing. It occurs to me that many of those people moaning abut the impending brain drain are those who have benefitted most from the massive surge in asset prices. They oppose changes to housing density laws. They’d give themselves a hernia yelling at the radio if anyone dared to meaningfully reform tax settings.
One of my oldest friends is visiting from Toronto at the moment. She hasn’t been home in four years. The other day I drove her around a middle-class Auckland suburb and pointed at a random house.
‘How much do you think it’s worth?’ I asked.
We looked up the valuation. She was out by more than a million dollars.
She doesn’t want anything fancy. Something way-out would be fine. But she can’t afford anything. Again, why the hell should she come home?
We shouldn’t be grappling too much with how to stop the brain drain. It’s inevitable. The horse has bolted. But we should be asking ourselves what we need to do to make sure our young people return home in the future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hong Kong relaxed pandemic restrictions on Thursday, with Disneyland and museums reopening and nighttime restaurant dining resuming as the city's worst COVID-19 outbreak appears to be fading.
Enthusiastic visitors ran into Disneyland the moment the gates opened after a three-month closure.
Popular theme parks were ordered to close in January as Hong Kong's fifth wave of the coronavirus took hold. Nearly 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million were infected in less than four months, and nearly 9,000 have died.
“Since Christmas we haven’t been back here, my daughter’s really happy, she’s been waiting so long,” said Joyce Mak, 36, who brought her young daughter to Disneyland. “Last night she was so excited, she didn’t want to go to sleep.”
The city was caught off guard as the surge, driven by highly transmissible omicron variant, overwhelmed hospitals. At the peak of the outbreak, bodies were stored in refrigerated containers because mortuaries were overwhelmed.
The easing of restrictions came after officials acknowledged that people were getting frustrated with the measures, and that there must be a balance between fighting the epidemic and resumption of normal activities.
The relaxation of measures before Hong Kong has reached zero COVID-19 cases marks a shift from the city’s earlier strategy, which was aligned to mainland China’s zero-tolerance for any outbreaks. Previously, authorities were reluctant to ease measures until it was clear that outbreaks in the city were stamped out.
A 15-year-old student, Cynthia Cheung, said Disneyland was her ”happiest place.”
“It’s been such a long time since coming here, last time was in December,” she said. “I really missed it.”
Theme parks can now operate at 50% capacity, and visitors must show proof of vaccination. Disney employees held up signs reminding people to keep social distance.
In mainland China, the death toll rose to 25 in an outbreak in Shanghai that has all but shut down the country’s largest city. Health authorities said Thursday that eight more people had died in the previous day. The relatively low number of reported deaths highlights China's use of much narrower criteria than the rest of the world for its pandemic statistics.
Shanghai has eased the lockdown somewhat in areas that have not reported new cases in seven to 14 days, allowing residents out of their homes but still restricting them to their compounds or neighborhoods. Some said on social media that they dare not venture out anyway, wary of entering nearby areas that have had recent cases.
Officials said this week that 12.3 million people in the city of 25 million are now in “control” or “prevention” areas, which are less restrictive than lockdown zones in a three-tier system. That is 4 million more than 10 days ago, they said.
However, one of the city’s 16 districts announced Thursday that no residents would be allowed to leave their compounds. The Jing’an district in central Shanghai said that even those in prevention areas, the least restrictive zone, would no longer be able to venture into the surrounding neighborhood.
The city reported 18,495 new local cases on Thursday, including 15,861 without symptoms.
In eastern Shanghai, some residents were ordered to leave their homes while health workers carried out a large-scale disinfection following a spike in infections, according to news reports and social media posts.
It wasn’t clear how many people in Beicai town were affected. The area’s population is nearly 300,000. Phone calls to the municipal government weren’t answered. Photos published by The Paper, an online news outlet, showed workers in hooded, white protective suits spraying disinfectant in homes.
In Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese region, attractions such as Ocean Park and M+ museum reopened Thursday. Gyms, beauty salons and massage parlors were also allowed to resume business. Customers must have at...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
China is now one of the only countries still following a Covid Zero strategy, what are the latest developments we are seeing there?
If Covid Zero could negatively impact China’s growth, why are they sticking to Covid Zero?
Deborah Lambie from Milford Asset Management joined Andrew Dickens.
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Today I went to my little Japanese cafe in the suburbs for a Teppanyaki Beef Rice Bowl.
I've been going once a week ever since I started this gig 2 months ago.
When I first went, I was the only customer. I wore my mask, showed my vax passport and ate outside. It was delicious.
Today the place was buzzing. The street it was on was buzzing. Masks were sporadic. It was still delicious and still the same price.
It showed me how much had changed in a few short weeks.
It shows that barring a new variant, our war footing against the variant has passed.
Which brings me to the great MIQ memo debate.
The secret document that has mysteriously come to light.
It shows top health officials agreed in November last year that MIQ was "no longer justified" for most returnees.
It took another three-and-a-half months, almost 40,000 MIQ stays and seven voucher lotteries before most incoming travellers could enter freely.
The criticism of the government has been pointed.
ACT says the Prime Minister needs to apologise to the thousands of Kiwis who were cruelly stranded overseas after her Cabinet had been briefed that MIQ was pointless in November last year. They say they were the victims of a costly and cruel policy that wasn’t even doing any good.
The Government defends its position by saying the memo was rendered irrelevant by the Omicron variant which was detected a few days after the memo was issued.
Now I think both sides are right. The timeline of the memo and the Omicron outbreak makes sense. But it also makes sense that the government's self-professed abundance of caution has made it too slow in making decisions.
The politicisation of our Covid response has brought a fog of war over one of the most important public health crises of our generation.
It's too big an issue to have tribal political positions on our actions.
We are returning to a normal as I noticed at my lunchtime cafe. It's time to move on knowing what we did and didn't do right.
Which is why I believe we need an independent review and inquiry into every aspect of our response.
It needs to be completed before the election next year so we can more accurately make our choices. It's going to take a while so let's get cracking.
I think it's imperative because I no longer trust the government. They repeatedly refuse to admit any fault in their decision making.
And I no longer trust the opposition. They'll say and do anything to get back in power.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I don’t consider myself to have been affected at all by the MIQ system that has operated here in New Zealand for pretty much the last couple of years.
I’ve got a brother in London who possibly would have visited if MIQ wasn’t operating. But I don’t have a heartbreaking story, like many other people do, when it comes to the MIQ requirements keeping them separated from friends and families during tragic and stressful times in their lives.
And so maybe that’s why I’m not going to be jumping on the bandwagon and condemning the Government over the news that it may have kept the MIQ system running longer than it needed to. 15 weeks longer.
The Government’s getting a truckload of flak over the revelation that it was told in November last year that MIQ was no longer needed, but kept it going anyway for another three-and-a-half months.
And it’s a truckload of flak that I don’t think is justified.
In November last year, Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay told Cabinet that they thought the risk of getting Covid from someone coming here from overseas was no greater than the risk of getting it from someone already here.
Essentially, they were telling Cabinet that MIQ had served its purpose and they didn’t think it was needed any longer.
But the Government didn’t do anything, and kept the MIQ rules in place for another 15 weeks – and it was March before any changes finally happened
What that meant, was that there were about 40,000 more MIQ stays than there might have been if the Government had acted straight away when it got the advice in November. 40,000 stays and seven online lotteries which these people had to take part in to get their spot in MIQ.
A lot of stress, a lot of heartache – which, on the face of it, was totally unnecessary.
And they are the five key words here – “on the face of it”.
On the face of it, the Government ignored the advice – and that’s why people are jumping up and down.
But there’s more to it – much more to it – and I think the Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson explained it well when he spoke with Tim Dower this morning.
He said Cabinet was told on November 15 last year by Ashley Bloomfield and Caroline McElnay that they thought MIQ wasn’t needed because of the reason I mentioned earlier – that we had just as much a chance of getting Covid from someone already here, as we did of getting it from someone coming into New Zealand from overseas.
But he also said that Bloomfield and McElnay emphasised to Cabinet that any change would have to be carefully managed and that they themselves wanted their advice peer reviewed just to double check that they were on the right track.
As Grant Robertson said this morning – Ashley Bloomfield knew full well, that once they got rid of MIQ there’d be no going back.
So, Cabinet said “yes, get the peer review” and that’s what Ashley Bloomfield did. And the advice that came back from that was that if New Zealand was going to do away with MIQ it had to think carefully about the risk of more people coming through the borders, it needed to check that its testing processes were up to scratch, it needed to be sure that vulnerable people wouldn’t be put at unnecessary risk by MIQ shutting up shop. All common sense stuff.
And so, on the back of that, the Government decided it would do away with MIQ in January – but then Omicron arrived and it was pushed out another month.
As I say, this all makes perfect sense to me. But it doesn’t seem to be making perfect sense to everybody.
And that probably will be because some people suffered terribly because of MIQ. It will also be because some people just won’t believe anything the Government says – and I don’t necessarily blame them because, as we know, this current government isn’t as transparent and open as it says it is.
The fact that this information has...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Grant Robertson says we need to look at the full context to understand the Government's decision about ending MIQ, not just one piece of advice.
A memo shows Ashley Bloomfield and Caroline McElnay agreed in November last year MIQ was no longer justified for most returnees.
The Acting Prime Minister says that was peer reviewed and a careful transition was advised.
He told Tim Dower just over a week later, Cabinet announced MIQ would be dropped in January.
Robertson says as everyone knows, Omicron emerged as a much greater threat to New Zealand, and a decision was made to delay the removal of MIQ to February.
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It may end up unlikely that we'll need to get a Covid-19 vaccine each year.
Immunisation experts say we now know that six months after most of us were boosted, immunity is still looking good.
This comes as officials decide whether to start offering a fourth dose to our most vulnerable.
Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre joined Tim Dower.
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Inflation could spiral even higher.
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr admits to being caught on the back foot by supply chain woes, and the war in Ukraine.
The man who used to hold his job through the 90s, Don Brash, says Orr has a major inflation issue on his plate.
He told Tim Dower if the inflation number tomorrow is seven percent or above, it will be the highest since 1988.
Brash says the risk is, with reports of high inflation, people will start behaving accordingly, by demanding higher wages, which will make the problem worse.
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It's been revealed top health officials agreed last November MIQ was no longer justified.
A memo from the Director of Public Health to Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said the risk posed by international arrivals transmitting Covid-19, was no longer higher than the risk of domestic transmission.
MIQ was kept open for another three and a half months.
Travel technology consultant Mike Moore told Roman Travers he's not surprised.
He says it's an extension of what he calls the deception that's maintained the ongoing climate of fear and control for a terribly long time.
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Are facemasks the new cycle helmet?
If you’re of a certain age you’ll probably remember all the noise about cycle helmets not being cool, not being needed, PC gone mad…all that stuff. That was back in 1994.
Today, most people wear cycle helmets, don't they?
The only people who don’t wear helmets – and this is a bit of a generalisation – are people who nick bikes. They don’t tend to pack a helmet before they head out on their bike-nicking missions.
But generally, everyone wears a bike helmet these days. Because we all now understand that they are a good thing and they keep us safe – well, safer than if we didn’t wear one.
And I think the same can be said of face masks and it’s going to be interesting to see if, long-term, New Zealand becomes a ‘face mask nation’.
You think back to before the pandemic hit, the people we tended to see wearing face masks were from overseas.
But now, we’re all wearing them. Largely because the Government has said we have to wear them as part of the pandemic response. The question now is, are we going to keep wearing them?
The move overnight from the red to the orange traffic light setting means some of the mask requirements have been relaxed.
Although, we still have to wear them in taxis, on planes, on the Cook Strait ferries, buses, shops, libraries, museums, local and central government agencies – but not on the dancefloor.
It’s also no longer compulsory for kids to wear masks at school, which is copping a bit of flack.
Epidemiologist Siouxsie Wiles is one of the people not happy about that. She says just like supermarkets and libraries – where masks are still required to keep people safe – schools should also be places where masks are compulsory.
I was talking to a teacher at our school last night who said they’ll be keeping the mask rule in place today for the last day of term, and then easing things back after the holidays.
The thing is, school isn’t the only place where kids hang out is it?
Our teenagers have got a mate who tested positive yesterday – weeks after most of the other people in his family had COVID.
The thinking is, he may have picked it up at a party they were all at last Saturday night. No masks at parties. So, there’s an example where wearing a mask at school didn’t stop this guy from picking it up elsewhere.
The thing for me is, I haven’t had Covid and I’m not actually in any hurry to get it. I had a really bad flu a few years back – and yes, it was the real flu; not man flu – and I really struggled with that. Especially, the really high temperatures.
So, if I can avoid Covid as much as possible, that’s what I’ll do.
And that’ll probably mean keeping the mask in the pocket and whipping it out even when I’m in places where it’s no longer compulsory.
What I’m interested in, though, is whether more of us will still be up for wearing facemasks long term?
As I said before, before the pandemic – here in New Zealand anyway – facemasks were almost seen as a little bit unusual, weren’t they?
If you saw someone in the street wearing one you sort of thought ‘oh, I wonder what’s up with them?’. I did anyway. I probably unfairly judged them as being a bit on the paranoid side of things too.
But I think now we’ve all seen the value in facemasks and I think we are going to see a long-term change in attitudes. Just like we did with cycle helmets.
Here at work, for example, the rules have just changed and we no longer have to wear masks in the office.
I’m still wearing mine. But most of the other people here aren’t. And that’s great if they don’t want to.
But what’s also great, is the acceptance that I can wear mine if I want to. I’ve had no one here say ‘oooh, what’re you still wearing that thing for? Mr Paranoid. Ashley’s best mate’. They might’ve thought it – but no one’s said it.
I’ve got two in my pocket right now. They’re...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The move to Orange setting means we can now mingle at bars, nightclubs and restaurants mask free - with no capacity or distancing requirements.
It's welcome news for the hospitality industry.
Chand Sahrawat and her husband Sid run The French Cafe and Cassia restaurants in Auckland and Chand Sahrawat joined Kerre McIvor.
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This morning's move to Orange means an end to gathering limits for major indoor events like netball games.
Central Pulse Chief Executive Fran Scholey told Mike Hosking while demand for tickets is high, some fans will still be a bit hesitant.
“We’ll have that fear I think sometimes with people and we’ll also have the factor of they don’t have that income at the moment because of the cost of living.”
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Concerns have been raised about masks not needing to be worn at schools.
Now in Orange, masks are still compulsory at retail stores, public transport and planes or when visiting a public or healthcare facility.
But they're dropped for hospitality patrons and in schools.
Developmental paediatrician Jin Russell told Kate Hawkesby while it's not mandatory - it's still strongly recommended.
She says the pandemic's not over - there are still thousands of Omicron cases circulating in the community and some of those will pop up at schools.
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New Zealand is entering its first day in the new, more relaxed orange traffic light setting of the pandemic response.
The orange mode abolishes capacity limits and seating rules at restaurants and other venues, but face masks must still be used on public transport and in retail.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday said positive signs including a fall in new case numbers meant it was time to relax restrictions and depart from the red setting.
At the zaniest Covid press conference of 2022, Hipkins forgot what new mask rules were and was asked about allowing "pashing" in nightclubs but enforcing mask use in shops.
Many people are now expected to start returning to workplaces, in some cases after months working from home.
"There's definitely excitement from workplaces and businesses, with good reason," clinical psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland told the Herald.
But he said a return to the office for thousands of people could present major mental health challenges.
For many, working from home was now normalised and some might struggle with long commutes and other realities of working at the office, Sutherland said.
He said some staff would be eager to keep working from home at least part of the time.
"Research around it shows a few days at home are really good for people's wellbeing and productivity. From one to three or four days at home seems to be the sweet spot."
Companies should establish long-term plans to help employee mental health after the turmoil of lockdowns, Sutherland said.
"We have made an awful lot of adjustments."
Businesses were largely expected to welcome the move to orange after growing weary of restrictions the red setting imposed.
Ahead of the announcement, Auckland mayor Phil Goff and business leaders Michael Barnett and Viv Beck all told the Herald they were hoping for a move to orange.
But perceived anomalies of the new traffic light setting left a major retail group fuming.
Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said a lack of progress on mask-wearing rules was infuriating.
"While it is good news that the country is moving to orange, it is absurd that the Government is removing mask requirements in the hospitality and education sectors, but keeping them for retail."
He said it was ridiculous to suggest masks were needed more in socially-distanced retail settings than in crowded nightclubs, classrooms or cafés.
"Masks are a source of significant anger and aggression from members of the public," Harford added.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said the trouble Hipkins had articulating the latest mask advice showed the traffic light system was too complex.
"It underscores that it's got very, very confusing very, very quickly.
"Fundamentally it's a complication and confusion," he added. "I'm just looking forward to having a mask-free dinner with my wife."
"The traffic light system is redundant," Act leader David Seymour said. "The Government has dismantled their own system to the point it has no reason to exist."
He said the system was enacted to control crowd limits, encourage vaccination and for contact tracing - but none of those elements were relevant anymore.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said moving to orange was "fantastic" and would bring benefits today for the hospitality industry especially.
Ardern said people generally knew it was sensible to wear masks in supermarkets or other retail outlets.
"Generally, I encourage people to keep using them where it's practical," the PM added.
Hospitalisations were well down on previous weeks. In Auckland each of the three hospitals had fewer than 100 patients with Covid-19 for the first time since late February.
University of Otago epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker was confident Auckland had passed the Omicron peak, but other regions were still seeing high case numbers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A big change in the wind for Air New Zealand.
A move to Orange has meant from today domestic travellers will no longer have to be vaccinated or show a negative test to be able to fly.
From May, the same rules will apply to international travellers.
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran told Mike Hosking it's a step in the right direction for simplifying travel for customers.
He says they're seeing a good uptake in demand this month, with the school holidays and Easter underway.
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Hallelujah, praise the Lord, kudos to the Government today for coming to their senses, for ignoring the howls from the epidemiologists, and for finally putting us all where we need to be – into an orange light.
I’m thrilled for the tourists arriving, for the hospitality sector, for retailers, for the events business, for nightclubs and bars, for everyone who’s been hamstrung by a red light.
Not only that, there’s no big delay on it which I thought there would be. Into an orange light – boom, as of midnight last night, no mucking around, that’s what we like to see. Decisive bold action.
I couldn’t work out why the PM wasn’t there to deliver this resoundingly positive news in person. I mean surely, she’d want to be the face of such good news? But no, it was left to Chris Hipkins. Who, I have to say, turned up woefully under prepared which I also thought was unusual. Why did he not have the rules of Orange at his fingertips? How did he not know there’d be questions on that? Surely the most obvious part of it would be the mask rules.. and yet that was the very thing he seemingly knew nothing about.
Not only that, he took a wild guess and got it wrong. So wrong that he had to apologise for giving the wrong information. No.. at the pulpit of truth? A mistruth? How is this possible? He admitted to not having ‘refreshed himself’ with the guidance around mask use before he came to do the press conference. He apologized, admitted he should have been better prepared, but said that “there’s been a lot going on.”
Not really an excuse when you’re a senior Minister in Cabinet and your one job as Covid Minister is to actually know and be able to explain the rules you’ve invented around where and when to wear a mask. Which by the way is so confusing in Orange I won’t even try to explain, but you can look it up. Suffice to say it’s probably safest to keep a mask on you at all times just to be ready for the different circumstances they’re required.
He wasn’t the only senior minister caught short yesterday though. Megan Woods, Associate Finance Minister, didn’t even know what the official cash rate was until she googled it. Winston Peters said there was something dramatically wrong with that, he said “if you don’t know these things, then what exactly are you bringing to the Cabinet when you come to make decisions?”
I’m not sure how, in a week when the biggest story out of Australia was Albanese’s gaffe at not knowing the cash rate, how you don’t think to school up on that here? How you think you won’t get asked? Surely you must assume it’s likely and you should know it. And how do they not know this stuff anyway?
The details of their own portfolios should be apparent to them at all times surely? An Associate Finance Minister should know the cash rate, a Covid Minister should know the mask rules. Apologists will tell you they’re busy and tired, aren’t we all?
But sadly ‘having a lot on’ is not really an excuse that washes when you’re in government. Being in government by its very definition is to have a lot on. It’s a privilege.
But look, they got us to an orange light at long last, so for that today, I give them top marks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bye bye red light, the country is moving on and from midnight tonight we'll be in orange.
This means yes to a boogie on the dance floor and no more mask requirements at schools or at hospitality venues.
But Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins had trouble explaining why you still have to wear a mask at the shops.
Greg Harford, Chief Executive of Retail NZ, joined Andrew Dickens.
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Marketing efforts to draw Australians to our shores are being ramped up.
Fully vaccinated Aussies can now come here without needing to isolate, with the first flight touching down from Melbourne just after midnight.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive, Rene de Monchy, says the organisation has been lightly promoting New Zealand to keep people interested.
He told Kate Hawkesby with the border reopening, it's now activated a new campaign called Beyond Your Wildest Dreams.
De Monchy says they'll soon be launching a winter campaign because Australians are a crucial audience.
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As of this morning, Australians are welcome back to our shores. The long-awaited welcome mat gets laid out as the border creaks open.
It’s going to be interesting over the next few weeks in terms of how many take up the opportunity – will they come now? Or wait for the ski season? Will our red light put them off? Can they get decent priced flights? Can they get good hotel rooms in parts of the city that might be bustling, as opposed to shut or low on staff?
And what about Kiwis? How many of us are heading away? And I don't mean the exodus for the brain drain.. which is estimated to be now around 50,000 Kiwis who are going to up sticks and bail.. could even go as high as 125,000 they say.
But I don't mean them, I mean the holidaymakers.
I know my sister snapped up seats to cross the Tasman for the school holidays. It cost her a pretty penny though. She spent about two thousand dollars per person return, for her family to go away for a week. I asked her if she thought it was worth it to spend that much money on flights to Australia, but she said they’re just so desperate to travel, she figures it’ll be worth it. I hope so.
But what we want to know here is how many Aussies will come in, how long will they stay, and crucially, how much will they spend while they’re here?
Most CBD’s in this country are desperate for the return of tourists. Christchurch’s Central City Business Association chair Annabel Turley said recently [in one report] that tourists will be crucial for central businesses. She was reported as saying that "three years ago Australian visitors spent more than a million dollars in the city over just four days of Easter," and they’d gladly welcome that sort of spending back.
Further south, ski field operators seem to think it won’t be until winter that we see more Aussies arrive. Skiing being the obvious drawcard. And if you go as far as the glaciers, they say they’re waiting for summer to get busy.
I think most of the arrivals over the next few weeks will be family and friends reconnecting. We’ve got a family member coming home to visit after a long time locked away, and that’s very exciting, but family visitors are not really tourists are they. I mean they may go out and spend a few bucks on dinners out or a few drinks, but they’re not dropping tourist size bundles of cash, and they’re not partaking in touristy activities.
But for those who do arrive to see the sights and frequent the tourist hotspots, are those hotspots ready for them? I know in Queenstown the struggle for staff is real. My brother was down there the other day and said sadly so many shops were either shut due to lack of staff, or open for reduced hours only. He was concerned tourists arriving would not get the usual good service and treatment they were used to.
And that the knock-on effect could be that it puts them off. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and the last thing you want is for visitors to be told that although we say we’re open for business, we’re not really.
So I have my fingers and toes crossed that it goes gangbusters.. that we really do look and feel open for business, and that we welcome the Australians in with open arms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New emails show the Health Ministry asked Rapid Antigen Test suppliers to prioritise its orders over those of private businesses.
On January 22, staff flagged concerns they only had information on five percent of their January and February orders - just two percent were confirmed for delivery.
By month's end, businesses began reporting their orders were cancelled - because the Government had taken their stock.
Businessman Sir Ian Taylor told Mike Hosking these emails show a sense of panic.
He says it's the result of the Government realising after two years of banning RATS, they needed them.
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New Zealand's border has reopened to Australian citizens and permanent residents with thousands flying into the country today as New Zealanders await the Government's traffic light setting announcement later today.
There were 11,063 new Covid-19 community cases reported yesterday and 622 people in hospital, including 23 in intensive care.
New Zealanders will find out today whether the country is staying in the red traffic light setting or moving to orange, with the Government set to make an announcement at 1pm this afternoon.
The country has been in the red traffic light setting since January 23 when nine cases in the Nelson/Marlborough region were confirmed as the Omicron variant.
The Government's review of the traffic light setting today will be the second time in less than a fortnight with ministers assessing hospitalisation rates and the pressure on the health care system.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said the seven-day rolling average of overall community cases - the key figure health authorities focused on - had dipped below 10,000 cases for the first time in a while. Yesterday the average was 9731, while last Tuesday it was 12,785.
However, Bloomfield said, "the seriousness of Covid-19, even the Omicron outbreak, remains clear".
A further 16 Covid-related deaths were announced yesterday. All had been reported to the Ministry of Health in the last 24 hours.
One person was in their 30s, two were in their 50s, three were in their 70s, six were in their 80s and four were aged over 90.
Meanwhile, more than 3000 travellers from Australia are expected to arrive in Aotearoa today under the next stage of New Zealand's border reopening plan.
Australian citizens and permanent residents travelling from anywhere in the world can enter New Zealand from today without having to self-isolate.
Step three of the Government's border reopening plan also includes temporary work and student visa holders who still meet their visa requirements and up to 5000 international students.
Auckland Airport's aeronautical commercial general manager Scott Tasker said while more than 3000 travellers would arrive today - more than 10,000 were expected to arrive and depart on the first and last days of the Australian school holidays (April 15 and May 1, respectively).
While this would be only 30 per cent of pre-Covid demand, it would be the busiest the terminal had been since March 2020, Tasker said.
The Government closed the borders to all but New Zealand citizens and permanent residents on March 19, 2020, almost three weeks after the country recorded its first Covid-19 case.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last month closing the borders two years ago did the job that was needed but now that the population was highly vaccinated and predicted to be off the Omicron peak, it was safe to reopen.
"Reopening in time for the upcoming Australian school holidays will help spur our economic recovery in the short term and is good news for the winter ski season."
Tourism minister Stuart Nash said 275 experienced ski workers had been allowed to enter New Zealand to fill winter tourism workforce gaps ahead of the border reopening to Australian tourists.
Nash said exceptions had been made to the usual border rules so the ski industry could recruit much-needed snow sports instructors, ski patrol and safety specialists, snow grooming and snowmaking machinery operators, and ski lift and snow sport technicians.
"These are highly skilled roles that require professional qualifications, and where experience has been gained over several seasons on the global ski circuit in places like Europe and North America.
"Kiwis fill the majority of ski field and snow sports roles. However, there are not enough locals with the required skills, certification or experience to meet seasonal short-term needs."
On Monday, the 11 millionth Covid-19...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why should New Zealanders have to pay for the healthcare of tourists?
The debate's re-emerged today that instead of tourists coming under ACC, why not make travel insurance compulsory for all tourists instead?
The borders open up to Australians tomorrow, so it's all very timely.
Spokesperson for the Taxpayers Union, Louis Houlbrooke joined Andrew Dickens.
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So as we slide towards the Easter break this week there will be many in tourism and hospo keeping their fingers and toes crossed that this week sees the long-awaited move to the Orange Traffic Light.
Remember at the last announcement of a possible announcement we were told we’d get another update this week? Thursday the Pulpit of Truth will be returned to, for more conjecture on the state of our Covid situation. Which to be frank surely can’t be pumped up to be anything more than what it currently is – a declining trend – even the experts are saying we’ve passed the peak. We are seeing record low case numbers at the moment.
So given that, surely nothing but good news is coming our way? I’m not going to be as naively optimistic as I was last time; I made the classic mistake of overestimating the government and underestimating their abundance of caution routine. I thought they’d have a bit more heart, I thought they’d read the room, but no, I got that horribly wrong.
So the obvious thing to do this week of course is go to a now very long overdue orange light, but I’m not going to predict they do that.
I think what they will do, is sadly, make another announcement of an announcement. I know, it’s laughable that they could keep this up, but I think they will. They’ll signal an orange light – but not yet, they’ll make us wait for it and they’ll buy themselves another media moment at their beloved Pulpit. Which by the way no one’s watching anymore, to be frank, most of us have moved on and couldn’t care less what the Government says at these conferences, most of us are doing our own thing these days anyway.
The city feels almost back to normal, streets are busy, people are out and about, traffic’s back in full force, shops are full, normality is creeping back in despite the never-ending fear-mongering. But if they move us, it won’t be instant I don’t think.
And worst-case scenario – and we can’t rule this out – is that they will continue to keep us in Red – which would surely be political suicide at that point. Auckland Business groups have banded together and asked the government to fast track the decision and the announcement. They want it today, instead of having to wait for Thursday and you can’t blame them. There’s no reason to drag it out.
Likewise, tourist operators must surely be desperate to know. We do after all have the welcome mat out to Australians this week and there’ll be many hoping for a flood of those, as opposed to a trickle. But will the Aussies, like many businesses, also be waiting to see if we go into an Orange Light? How many Australians are stumping up the big bucks it costs at the moment to fly across the Tasman, just to come here and hang out in a Red Light?
So the Government’s under pressure to move us, and surely the lowering case numbers and hospitalisations make a compelling case. But we are heading into school holidays, Easter holidays, and with the Aussies coming in, lots of movement around the place.
So you can’t rule out the old abundance of caution may be back in action, and if that’s the case, we sadly won’t be seeing anything but red this week again too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Will Smith has been given a 10-year ban from the Oscars and Netflix has shelved plans for an upcoming project he was attached to. Are we going too far or is this justified?
There has been a new division created by Covid-19; those who have had it and those who haven’t.
What makes a good hot cross bun? Can the new varieties still be called hot cross buns?
Businessdesk investments editor, Frances Cook and lawyer and commentator, Liam Hehir joined Francesca Rudkin on The Panel.
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The creeping pink line still fills me with dread.
Every time I watch it, the viscous juice from the depths of my nasal cavity soaking up the paper, I feel a little panic as it passes the ‘T’.
Is that a line? Even just a faint one? I’ll catch my breath. The liquid would soak up a few more millimetres.
Kau. Karekau. Nope. No line. Nothing. Nada.
When the history of this pandemic is settled and sorted, and the virus has been comprehensively studied, examined, sequenced, plotted, I’m tempted to imagine scientists facing one last great mystery: How the hell did Jack Tame not catch Covid?
Honeslty, no one’s more suprised than me. Since the start of the Omicron wave in New Zealand, I have been on more than a dozen flights. I’ve travelled internationally. I’ve MC’d two funerals, which, despite Covid restrictions, are the sort of huggy-and-criey environments where people end up getting closer than they should if pandemic management is the only concern.
I’ve been in two workplaces. And although the people who sit literally right next to me in the office have caught Covid, I haven’t. I’ve done more than my share of eating in restaurants. I’ve had regular, close contact with young school children. I’ve been worn down and emotionally beat, but every morning I wake up, surprised to find myself fit and ready to fight another day.
It almost doesn’t seem real. I’ve done more than thirty RATs and so far, the results of every single test has been the same. One line. Not even a flirtation with a second. No Covid detected.
If you’re the same as me, you’ll probably know there are plenty of scientific reasons as to why we may have avoided the virus. I’m vaccinated and boosted; that helps. But maybe we’ve had it and just never experienced symptoms. Maybe our immune systems are better suited to fighting the virus. Maybe we’ve hit a genetic lottery. Maybe our mask wearing and hand washing is par excellence.
Speaking for myself, I have another theory. I think I’ve just been lucky. Although I wear an N-95 every single day, I still have clumsy moments.
The numbers are dropping. Restrictions are likely to be eased. And it’s tempting, right? It’s tempting to relax. Maybe it’s even tempting to feel a little smug. I won’t be doing that – especially with the Easter holiday just around the corner. Because surely nothing tempts fate or the Pandemic Gods like writing an nationwide editorial about not catching a highly-infectious virus.
According to the Ministry of Health, 672293 New Zealanders have tested now positive for Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. Of course, the true number of infections is likely to be much, much higher.
If you’re like me and you still haven’t seen the line next to the ‘T’, don’t drop your guard now. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Maybe we haven’t got Covid. Good for us! But we shouldn’t get complacent, either.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Residents of Shanghai are struggling to get meat, rice and other food supplies under anti-coronavirus controls that confine most of its 25 million people in their homes, fueling frustration as the government tries to contain a spreading outbreak.
People in China's business capital complain online grocers often are sold out. Some received government food packages of meat and vegetables for a few days. But with no word on when they will be allowed out, anxiety is rising.
Zhang Yu, 33, said her household of eight eats three meals a day but has cut back to noodles for lunch. They received no government supplies.
“It’s not easy to keep this up,” said Zhang, who starts shopping online at 7 a.m.
“We read on the news there is (food), but we just can’t buy it,” she said. “As soon as you go to the grocery shopping app, it says today’s orders are filled.”
The complaints are an embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party during a politically sensitive year when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as leader.
Shanghai highlights the soaring human and economic cost of China's “zero-COVID” strategy that aims to isolate every infected person.
On Thursday, the government reported 23,107 new cases nationwide, all but 1,323 of which had no symptoms. That included 19,989 in Shanghai, where only 329 had symptoms.
Complaints about food shortages began after Shanghai closed segments of the city on March 28.
Plans called for four-day closures of districts while residents were tested. That changed to an indefinite citywide shutdown after case numbers soared. Shoppers who got little warning stripped supermarket shelves.
City officials apologized publicly last week and promised to improve food supplies.
Officials say Shanghai, home of the world’s busiest port and China’s main stock exchange, has enough food. But a deputy mayor, Chen Tong, acknowledged Thursday getting it the “last 100 meters” to households is a challenge.
“Shanghai’s battle against the epidemic has reached the most critical moment,” Chen said at a news conference, according to state media. He said officials “must go all out to get living supplies to the city’s 25 million people.”
At the same event, a vice president of Meituan, China's biggest food delivery platform, blamed a shortage of staff and vehicles, according to a transcript released by the company. The executive, Mao Fang, said Meituan has moved automated delivery vehicles and nearly 1,000 extra employees to Shanghai.
Another online grocer, Dingdong, said it shifted 500 employees in Shanghai from other posts to making deliveries.
Li Xiaoliang, an employee of a courier company, complained the government overlooks people living in hotels. He said he is sharing a room with two coworkers after positive cases were found near his rented house.
Li, 30, said they brought instant noodles but those ran out. Now, they eat one meal a day of 40 yuan ($6) lunch boxes ordered at the front desk, but the vendor sometimes doesn't deliver. On Thursday, Li said he had only water all day.
The local government office "clearly said that they didn’t care about those staying in the hotel and left us to find our own way," Li said. "What we need most now is supplies, food."
After residents of a Shanghai apartment complex stood on their balconies to sing this week in a possible protest, a drone flew overhead and broadcast the message: “Control the soul’s desire for freedom and do not open the window to sing. This behavior has the risk of spreading the epidemic.”
The government says it is trying to reduce the impact of its tactics, but authorities still are enforcing curbs that also block access to the industrial cities of Changchun and Jilin with millions of residents in the northeast.
While the Shanghai port's managers say operations are normal, the chair of the city's chapter of the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Researchers in the Dunedin Study say we need to take into account the childhoods of those opposed to the vaccine.
This world-famous study found that 13 per cent of their group were resistant to the Covid vaccination.
When they dug down deeper, the researchers found that many became distrustful of adults at a very early age and now believe that authority is only there to take advantage of them and therefore, they’re resistant of the Covid vaccine.
Dunedin Study director Richie Poulton joined Andrew Dickens.
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How many times have you heard someone say something like ‘if there weren’t people involved, it would all work perfectly’?
We’ve probably all said it at some point, haven’t we? Because people aren’t machines or computers. You can’t programme people to think the same way or do the same things. And, generally, what we think and what we do comes down to one thing: selfishness.
We are all selfish. It is a fact. I’m selfish. You’re selfish. We’re all selfish.
And the two most selfish groups of people in society are politicians and voters. Which means pretty much most people reading this are guilty as charged. If you’re over-18 - that’s you.
I had a bit of an epiphany about this earlier this morning when I was listening to Dr Ashley Bloomfield talking with Mike Hosking.
Amid all the chat about traffic light settings - and no change coming from the Prime Minister yesterday - what really struck me was, yet again, it’s the state of our hospital system that is holding us back.
There were two figures that rammed it home for me. We have a population of around 5 million, with about 700 people in hospital with Covid or because of Covid - about 0.014 percent.
That’s it. We have 0.014 percent of the population in hospital either with or because of Covid, and our hospitals can’t cope.
But as Ashley Bloomfield pointed out, Covid isn’t the only reason our hospitals aren’t coping.
Here’s what he told Hosking.
He said: “It’s not Covid and, in particular, Omicron that’s adding to that pressure. The system is under a lot of pressure even without an Omicron outbreak.”
I bet that was music to the ears of the doctors and the nurses who’ve been banging on for years about this. “The system is under a lot of pressure”.
That’s what Ashley Bloomfield said.
And do you know why it’s under pressure? Ashley Bloomfield says it’s not just because of Covid. I’ll tell you why it’s under pressure. It’s because you’re selfish, I’m selfish, and our politicians are selfish. This is the nub of it - I don’t know why it hasn’t occurred to me sooner. But it has now.
It’s not Covid’s fault that our hospitals are struggling. It’s our fault. All of us who are either voters or politicians.
It’s our fault because we only care about ourselves and what’s in it for us. And our politicians only care about themselves and what’s in it for them.
If they weren’t selfish, they wouldn’t rabbit on about a cost of living crisis or they wouldn’t tinker with fuel taxes just to make it a bit cheaper to fill up the tank.
They just care about getting re-elected. If they weren’t selfish, they’d stand up and say 'our hospitals are a disaster, we have failed the people of New Zealand for many years by not investing in our hospital system, and we are going to do something about it. But it’s going to mean spending a truckload of money and it’s going to take a very long time to fix'.
And as for us, if we weren’t selfish, we wouldn’t be demanding tax cuts and cheaper petrol and cheaper groceries.
Instead, we’d be thinking, ‘my God, what sort of hospital system is going to be around for our kids and grandkids in 20 years’ time? We need to invest in that, we need to vote in governments that are prepared to do that. We can’t be selfish about this'.
But do you think people will ever do that? Do you think politicians will ever do that?
Well, right now. I don’t have much faith that we, as a country, are prepared to take a long time view like that when it comes to our hospital system.
And when the next pandemic rolls around - we’ll be in the same boat. And, like Dr Ashley Bloomfield says, it won’t just be because of a pandemic, it’ll be because the hospital system is permanently under pressure.
As the Director-General of Health said this morning: “we are adapting as we go”. Which means flying the plane while we’re still building it.
And that is absolutely shameful. And we are all to...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When I checked the ZB website yesterday afternoon to check where we were with the level changes, I didn't feel anything at all when I saw we were going to be staying at red.
I think I'm just desensitized to it all now, but then I'm not somebody whose livelihood depends on indoor audiences or customers being inside. I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling.
I did suggest yesterday that the Prime Minister's characteristic abundance of caution might mean we would stay exactly where we are and that's what happened. According to the Director General of Health, it's because our health system is under stress.
Listening to Dr Ashley Bloomfield on the Mike Hosking Breakfast, Omicron isn't causing particular stress on the hospital system. The health system has always been under strain, and presumably will be under strain in perpetuity, forever more. As winter arrives, some flus and viruses, and sundry illnesses hit the population, the health system is going to be under stress. So what Dr Ashely's saying is that we have a pretty much a substandard health system that cannot cope with the strain on it, with or without Omicron. So does that mean Red forever?
I found that really interesting that Dr Ashley Bloomfield said it's not Omicron in particular, that's causing stress, so even without it, if we have to stay in red because the hospital system in the health system is under stress, we should have been locked up back in 1973 when the health system was first to fail. It's bizarre.
Can you ever seeing us getting out of it? Unless we can build brand spanking new state of the art hospitals right across the country, when's it going to end?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What on earth were you thinking? Shame on you. Orange? A sense of normality? What's the matter with you?
Oh, how ironic when I raised on the programme yesterday the idea that masks would be with us for the rest of the year, many of you thought I was mad. But look at who you are dealing with, you are dealing with a government that has duped us and a government that can't move forward if their lives depended on it.
Ironically, their political lives might well depend on it. When they lose next year decisions, or non-decisions like yesterday's, around red and orange are the sort of thing that will have ultimately undone them.
The Prime Minister pleaded for everyone to get boosted, yet again. I assume the irony of that plea has passed her by. The reason the booster rate has stalled so badly is we are over it. We're over the lecturing, the hectoring, and the fear mongering. We have left the room.
Yesterday's non-decision is based on the ultimate excuse, the hospital system. They can blame it forever because "it's under stress." Is it? What's stress? In that is the magic of the vagueness. There is no recipe and there are no specifics.
The entire traffic light system is a scam. It's based on the idea that the health system is struggling and vulnerable populations are vulnerable.
We, of course, went into red with the hospital system not remotely struggling. We barely had any cases, but we were anticipating the struggle. Now we are over the peak but they are still struggling. When your reference point is a word with a lot vagueness attached to it, you hold all the power.
You can't control the anger and frustration, of which there will be plenty. But when you refused to offer any sort of clarity, that lack of clarity can be milked for as long as you like.
So, once again, disappointment sweeps the land as the concerts, shows, plays, recitals get to go nowhere fast, and the pain carries on for the bars and restaurants that still have to shuffle space and numbers. The unknown sits heavily on the shoulders, and given the Government are still pedalling fear, the vulnerable that are susceptible to it will stay home and keep wallets shut.
I wish it was different, I wish we had a better leadership, I wish we had more hope and more optimism, and I wish we had people running this place that were just a little bit in touch with the real world.
And when you lack attributes like that that’s why you sit here this Tuesday morning in red and not another colour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Basketball New Zealand is optimistic they will fill the bleachers for their domestic season.
Indoor sports were dealt a further blow yesterday with the government opting to maintain crowd restrictions at 200 people under the red traffic light system.
Netball's ANZ Premiership has ploughed on, despite the hit in ticket sales.
National Basketball League general manager Huw Beynon told the Mike Hosking Breakfast they're in a more fortunate position with the season starting April 28.
“We made the decision to push our league by three weeks, which has proven to be the right one the longer we’ve gone on, so that next decision making in ten days still has a little glimmer of hope for us.”
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Looks like the Government’s back to listening to Rod Jackson.
I started the week so optimistically yesterday. I was so full of hope that we’d be going to an orange light, after all, we’re through the peak, especially in Auckland, we’re largely double vaxxed and boosted, we’re still in masks, we’ve done everything we’ve been asked to do.. but nope, we’re staying in red.
I just don’t know when this Government will be able to give up their Covid micro management and all the PR and media time it affords them. I can see it is getting increasingly difficult for them to let it go. I mean here we are again spending another week angsting and dissecting more Covid framework decisions that are drip fed to us in little increments of time from their beloved podium of truth.
Adding in another review period – before Easter and before the school holidays, just keeps us all on tenterhooks, keeps the Government in control and at its podium, keeps the media focused on their Covid response – and while we’re focusing on that we’re not looking at all the areas of failure of this Government. We're not looking at failure to deliver on housing, or poverty, or mental health, or crime, or the economy.
We are instead just sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for our next lecture, our next list of instructions, our next dressing down about how serious Omicron is and how important it is to get boosted. I mean I assume they’ve focus grouped this and worked out the politics of it favours what they’re doing. Because, as we know, this Government’s one and only calling card is Covid.
Event planners must be tearing their hair out. How do they even begin to plan anything? How do indoor events even grab any skerrick of hope? The PM talking up outdoor events as being without restriction is of no use to them. Her saying the Covid fund will address those who have to cancel events – come on. Who’s even planning an event based on this uncertainty?
No one will be eligible for cancellation compensation, because no one will be planning anything – they’re in limbo, that’s the problem, and that’s the part I’m not sure the PM gets. But she’s still trying to have two bob each way. In reminding us all of the doom and gloom, she also said people should feel safe and relaxed about going out. So on the one hand, it’s not safe enough to leave a red light setting, Omicron is not a mild illness it’s serious and we all need to take it seriously, but on the other hand, please head out and enjoy hospitality venues as usual. I mean which one is it?
People are rightly confused and fed up. The thing about this Government is that it feels like you’re permanently sitting in a waiting room. But you never get the call up, and you don’t know where in the queue you are. It’s just a drawn out charade of announcements of announcements of possible announcements, and just asking us all to stay tuned for their next appearance.
It’s so mind numbingly tedious, and I’m just so bummed that in 24 hours I went from being naively so full of hope.. to just disappointed again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The country's ski industry is grappling to fill 250 specialised roles before the Australians arrive.
With the border beginning to reopen next week - places such as Queenstown are bracing for what could be its biggest ski seasons on record.
But the industry wants a class exemption to get the needed workers into the country, and are waiting to hear from Immigration New Zealand.
Cardrona and Treble Cone Ski Fields general manager Laura Hedley told Kate Hawkesby they're anticipating good numbers this season.
She says they've had a good response from the Australians and are hoping they'll want to come back.
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New Zealand staying in red will help give the health system more breathing space.
The Government has decided not to change our traffic light settings, with hospitalisations not expected to peak in parts of the country until mid to late April.
Cabinet will reassess Thursday of next week.
College of Emergency Nurses member Sandy Richardson told Kate Hawkesby this'll give time to see whether what's happening in hospital is mirroring the community.
She says they'll be able to see whether the days patients spend in hospital are reducing, and the number of sick staff is reducing.
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Experts back the "cautious" call to stay in the red Covid setting at least until Easter as, while cases are declining, Auckland still leads the country in hospitalisations per capita.
Meanwhile, hospitality representatives say they are "gutted" and question why there has been no movement given low transmission rates at venues.
But with the health system near bursting point, experts warn everything possible needs to be done to avoid another "wave" of Omicron, as seen in other countries, with winter arriving and the border reopening likely to reintroduce a range of infectious diseases.
From today controversial vaccine passes will no longer be required, and Government-enforced vaccine mandates will be limited to the health and disability, aged-care, Corrections and border workforce sectors.
Ahead of Monday's traffic light decision had been hints of a further loosening of restrictions in a move to orange and removing indoor gathering limits, and at least for Auckland where cases were well past the peak.
The reasoning had been a steady decline in daily Omicron cases - down 36 per cent from two weeks ago - hospitalisations beginning to slow and high vaccination coverage coupled with natural immunity gained from infection.
But while case numbers in Auckland had slowed each of its three DHBs remained with the three highest hospitalisation rates per capita in the country, with Counties Manukau at the top with 134 patients.
Auckland made up close to half of the 734 current hospitalisations - a large drop from about 600 a few weeks ago, but still at the high end of pre-outbreak models.
"The trends are all in the right direction but with the hospitals still under pressure it makes sense to be cautious," Covid-19 modeller Michael Plank said.
"A move to orange might not cause a second wave in itself, but it could increase it a little or prolong that decline."
It comes as doctors and nurses have been raising concerns in recent weeks about the pressures on the stretched health system, with the added issue of staff contracting the virus themselves.
Plank said greater caution was also needed with the border reopening to more Kiwis from overseas, along with international visitors progressively from April 12, with potential for other infectious diseases.
A major tool remained the vaccine, he said, with still about a million eligible people yet to get their booster shot, which was highly effective at reducing severe illness from Omicron and pressure on the health system.
Public health expert Dr Collin Tukuitonga said that given international evidence of multiple waves of Omicron it made sense to stay at red a little longer.
"It is about how we can protect best the health system. Those hospital numbers are not as acute but even so, that is still a lot.
"The system is under stress, and hospitalisations are just one indicator. There are many cases treated by GPs, nurses in the community and through Māori and Pasifika providers."
Tukuitonga said the border reopening would likely see the reintroduction of "bugs from the past", such as influenza, adding extra pressure.
"The big problem would be if we got another wave coinciding with flu in the winter."
Meanwhile, many hospitality sector representatives have expressed disappointment at the ongoing gathering limits.
Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said she was at a loss as to how that decision had been made, given the Government had already admitted that hospitality venues were not considered vectors of the virus.
"The Prime Minister said two weeks ago that they now have the data that shows our venues aren't the vectors that are spreading it. It's down to around 6 per cent [of all transmission].
"We're at a loss as to why we're not moving."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Auckland's hospitalisations remained above highest modelled scenarios. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Concert promoters are crossing their fingers for a change in traffic light setting.
Cabinet meets this afternoon to decide if all, or regions, of New Zealand should ease Covid-19 restrictions.
A move to Orange would see an end to indoor gathering limits and the chance for larger concerts.
Live Nation New Zealand Managing Director Mark Kneebone joined Kerre Woodham.
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The events industry is holding out for the scrapping of indoor capacity limits.
Cabinet is reviewing whether the country, or parts of it, can move to the Orange Traffic Light setting.
Meanwhile, Auckland's Spark Arena has announced a new multi-sensory experience on surrealist painter Salvador Dali is coming to the venue in May.
Managing Director Mark Gosling told Mike Hosking they hope we won't have limits, but the exhibit's been designed to work for capped numbers too.
“Spark I think has done well over the last two years to try and actually find alternative content that can work even when there are restrictions.”
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Do you know what I’m loving at the moment? Normality.
At least as much normality as you can get with a mask still on.
But as of tonight mandates are gone, and vaccine passes are gone - more steps towards a more relaxed lifestyle.
Our local pub was excited - it posted on social media that it looks forward to welcoming everyone back into the pub and not having to scan vaccine passes, and exclude people It also said it’d love to see Covid dropped as the only conversation being had.
The pubs post said “let’s try to keep Covid chat to a minimum and find something more interesting to talk about”. Too right.
And how good is it to see crowds back at the Super Rugby? And good crowds too.
What a difference it makes to the atmosphere and the vibe of live sport to have people there enjoying it in person.
We are slowly getting back to the way it should be.
Not everyone’s on board of course. These changes have some concerned. The Herald had a story yesterday on the age divide over the reaction to mandates going. It said, “Research New Zealand, a privately owned social and business research organisation, found there were almost double the number of older respondents - aged 55 and above - unhappy with the decision, compared to younger respondents - those aged 18 to 34."
It goes without saying that the fear will be hard to shake – and for some more than others.
Fear is a very powerful messaging tool and there seems a natural propensity for humans to gravitate towards all the fear possibilities in every scenario. But as we push forward, hopefully more and more of us will see that life can indeed go back to some kind of normal.
A different normal obviously – I doubt it will ever be the way it was pre-Covid. There will always be that residual fear or reluctance to behave in the same way we did pre-Covid. For example, sharing drink bottles, I can't see anyone feeling good about that for a long time congregating in large crowds in small spaces, hugging and kissing strangers. Those things I think will take a long time to revert to pre-Covid ways.
But given our collective nervous systems have been through the ringer the last couple of years, I’m looking forward to a bit of calm in the coming months. Hopefully it’s not the calm before another storm. Hopefully there won’t be a stampede of sickness come winter.
But I guess what we have gotten good at is taking it all one day at a time. Or one week at a time. I’m hoping this week also sees us go to an orange traffic light. I mean it’s tragic to be “hoping” for a traffic light colour because there is an argument we shouldn’t even be in any traffic light system at all, but given we are, orange is our best hope. I doubt we will see green anytime soon.
So by the end of this week we will have mandates removed, vaccine passes gone, and if we are very lucky, we’ll be in an orange light. Well some of us at least may be anyway.
So I start the week optimistic today, that normality is knocking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A concert promoter has his fingers crossed for a switching of the traffic light soon.
Cabinet meets this afternoon to decide if all, or regions, of New Zealand should ease Covid-19 restrictions.
A move to Orange would see an end to indoor gathering limits.
Eccles Entertainment boss Brent Eccles told Mike Hosking he's hoping for some clarity of when indoor concerts can come back.
He says the lifting of outdoor limits is good, but not everyone can do that because of cost.
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A Wellington bar is catering to its customers still keen on vaccine passes.
From midnight tonight, it won't be mandatory for businesses to check passes.
Hashigo Zake is planning on still requiring them for the first half of the week, and not for the second half.
Owner Dominic Kelly told Kate Hawkesby some of his patrons are only comfortable going places checking for passes.
He says the arrangement probably won't be long-term.
“By the start of May, everyone’s vaccine passes are going to start expiring and unless there’s a flurry of activity from some in, I don’t know, Ministry of Health, they’re probably all going to stop working anyway.”
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A South Island tourist operator is furious over tourism cash going to big organisations but missing those in need.
The Auditor-General's found a $290 million fund announced in May 2020 lacked clarity and transparency.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, who didn't hold the job at the time, maintains there was great uncertainty and decisions had to be made quickly.
But Fiordland Jet co-owner Chris Adams told Andrew Dickens it's outrageous.
“It shows that it doesn’t pay to be honest. I was brought up to be honest, and a lot of these guys and companies and including the politicians that brought this out and signed the money off obviously weren’t brought up that way.”
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The National Party wants more investigation into the 23-day protest at Parliament.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority announced last week there will be an investigation, but the Government has no plans to do one of its own.
National Party Justice Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith told Andrew Dickens the IPCA is focused on the behaviour and handling of Police.
“But it’s a much wider issue, of course. We want to know what the Speaker got up to, what we’ve learnt in terms of Parliament security, how it all came about.”
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A new Covid-19 antiviral drug won't be a silver bullet.
Paxlovid, an oral drug, will be available from next week.
It's taken twice a day for five days, which stops the virus from replicating.
College of General Practitioners Dr Bryan Betty told Andrew Dickens it can only be used in certain circumstances.
“It has to be used within the first five days of Covid coming on, so it has to be used very early and it’s used initially for mild to moderate disease.”
Betty says it will be targeted towards people who are immunocompromised to prevent them from being hospitalised.
“So they might've been treated for cancer and they're on medications that depress their immune system. They might have a whole lot of comorbidities like diabetes, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.”
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The Government says it won't be left carrying the can when it comes to Air New Zealand.
Our national airline is doing a capital raise of $2.2 billion.
It's asking existing shareholders to buy $1.2 billion worth of extra shares, including the Government, which has a majority stake.
Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, told Mike Hosking he's confident people will see Air New Zealand as a good investment.
He says it's an airline with a good track record, which has the Government as a stable majority shareholder.
Robertson says we're also about to see tourists return to the country, which is a huge opportunity for Air New Zealand.
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Air New Zealand's $2.2 billion recapitalisation package is being seen as the only way forward.
It plans to use it to repay the Crown loan.
The Government will participate in the raise to retain its majority 51 per cent shareholding.
Aviation commentator Irene King told Kate Hawkesby Air New Zealand really doesn't have any option.
She says the fallback is for the Government to inject more money, and then it brings into question whether Air New Zealand shouldn't be nationalised.
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With most vaccine mandates being scrapped for workers soon, the Government have given some guidance for how private businesses should navigate the changes.
It says businesses should undertake their own risk assessment as to whether they should keep mandates.
But just because you lost your job due to being unvaxxed, doesn't mean you should expect an offer for your old job back.
CEO of Beyond Recruitment Liza Viz joined Kate Hawkesby.
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Air New Zealand has announced a major plan to recapitalise - after two years of economic turbulence.
The $2.2 billion package will enable the airline to repay its existing Crown loan and position the company for recovery post-pandemic.
The vast majority is made up of a $1.2 billion Rights Offer of new ordinary shares.
Chair Dame Therese Walsh says there will also be a $600 million issue of redeemable shares to the Crown.
She says finally, there will be a new $400 million Crown loan facility to replace the existing Crown loan facility.
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Northland are crying out for some tourism help that they say should be extended by the Government beyond the South Island.
Earlier this month, the mayor, Northland Inc. and tourism industry leader Riki Kinnaird met with Stuart Nash and Kelvin Davis, asking for the $49 million kick start fund to include all regions throughout the country.
Currently, it's only available for five South Island regions.
They say they are still waiting.
Duke of Marlborough owner Riki Kinnaird joined Mike Hosking.
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The brain drain appears to be well and truly underway.
A revised Kiwibank forecast suggests the number of people leaving the country will outnumber the number of people moving here by 20,000 this year.
The net emigration is expected to match levels seen during the Australian mining boom a decade ago.
Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr told Mike Hosking it's likely to be those who've been longing to get out of the country since before the pandemic.
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Nick Mills quizzes Labour's Kieran McAnulty and National's Nicola Willis on the America's Cup, Covid-19, Māori co-governance and even shoes.
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So tonight, the big Moana Pasifika game, just hours before the restrictions lift that could’ve seen bigger crowds attend. Seems crazy that they just miss out by a short timeframe, midnight Friday, when they surely could have let a bigger crowd gather at Mt Smart tonight. So, two of this weekend’s Super Rugby games can be held without restrictions on size, but tonight’s won’t be.
But are fans ready to embrace the crowd thing again? Who's actually going? Are people ready for crowds? Or will they still freak out? I mean Eden Park seats 50,000 but I doubt that’ll be a full house. Yes, there’ll be excitement to see games live again, but how many will commit to sitting shoulder to shoulder in a large setting?
I mean I hope it’s a good number. For the teams and players, to get the atmosphere back, to get the hype back, the sense of normality we’ve all been missing. Crowds back watching games – I mean let’s hope come July we are all back to packed tournaments and good well-supported games, winter bugs permitting. Super Rugby franchises that have been bleeding money the past two years certainly need it. I’m sure team morale could do with it, and for sport-mad families, the live game scene is a really important part of family traditions.
But we need some clarity back too. Being in a slightly skewed red light doesn’t help with the general understanding of what’s allowed and what’s not. There’s still a lot of confusion out there. And I notice yesterday, ironically standing at Eden Park, the PM gave another hint there may be a move to Orange sooner than we think.
Maybe they’re just delaying it so as not to upset the Rod Jackson, Siousixe Wiles crowd? But they must know that for hospo and events and sports, we need to get to Orange sooner rather than later.
The PM said what may happen is a regional shift. She said “the traffic light system had the capacity for regions to be at different levels without worrying about enforcing a hard border”.. so they’re going to ..“consider whether some regions are ready to move sooner than others.” However, the earliest they’ll consider that will be the first week of April. Still, that’s not far away.
But for tonight’s game at Mt Smart, crowd sizes are still limited and it’s actually something Moana Pasifika’s on board with. A spokesperson said they “remain committed to limiting the number of supporters to bubbles of 100, to a maximum of 900, in the interests of public safety..” because they’re.. “conscious of their Pasifika fan base in South Auckland and note that Covid is still rampant in their communities.”
So that’s tonight’s game, then tomorrow there are two matches, Highlanders against Blues in Dunedin and Chiefs against Crusaders in Hamilton. I can’t wait to see the crowds back at these, and I hope they do come out to support.
It’ll be good to get that crowd spirit back, which not only helps lift player morale, but also lift the franchise’s revenue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
So good news for sport lovers this weekend.
From midnight tonight, there will be no gathering limits on outdoor events.
This means for the Super Rugby season, they can finally have spectators at the games again.
One of this weekend's games is Blues vs Highlanders at Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin.
Business development manager at Dunedin Venues Kim Dodds joined Kate Hawkesby.
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As the door creaks ever so slightly open to normality and the world, the one thing the Prime Minister didn’t drop yesterday was fear.
That is now up to us. The pain suffered by far too many in this country is being driven by our fear.
It's not that you can't go out for dinner, it's that you have needed Ashley Bloomfield to tell you it's okay. The limits and numbers haven't actually been the issue, the issue has been us.
So hopefully in seeing mandates gone, passes gone, and crowd sizes in some areas increase, that is enough of a steer for the fearful to shake themselves off and get back out there into life.
The next problem, of course, is the recession that’s coming and the mood we are in stopping us from fully participating.
What we heard yesterday though was a government catching up with the bulk of its people. We weren't scanning in, we haven't been for months, and we have all seen what Omicron really is.
We have all seen the mandates for what they are. The only things that have tangibly held most of us back have been the bits we can't control, like the football we couldn’t go to or the event that was cancelled.
I feel bad for a sport like netball. Anything indoors is still an issue. What about the indoor events and stadia? How long do they have to hold out for? How much money can netball or basketball make in front of a couple of hundred?
We have half a million cases in total, less than 10 percent of us have got this thing that has so crippled the country, the economy and our outlooks.
The hospital system is busy, but not collapsing. We did our job and got jabbed. We have done all we can do and all we want is our lives back.
Those of us who can think for ourselves aren't idiots and never were. We didn’t need molly-coddling, didn’t need telling off, didn't need reprimanding, didn’t need an endless series of attention seeking, power affirming control freaks dictating our lives, thinking, and decision making.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A university researcher believes the country is not divided as restrictions begin to ease.
Vaccine passes will be scrapped from April 5, with vaccine mandates being removed for a number of workforces.
Gathering limit changes will also come into effect at midnight tomorrow.
Victoria University Institute for Governance and Policy Studies senior associate Max Rashbrooke told Mike Hosking he doubts we're irretrievably split down the middle.
He says it's not like things were during the Springbok tour.
Rashbrooke says the winding back of the passes will allow people to get on with life and allow wounds to heal.
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Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins has defended the country remaining in red under the Covid traffic-light system - as New Zealand is set to welcome new freedoms with the axing of vaccine passes, QR scans and many mandates.
Hipkins says the country remains under red - with no indication when that might change - because of the relative strain on hospitals, even as the Omicron peak passes in Auckland.
"[Hospitals] are relatively under strain. We've said right the way along, we want to avoid as many people getting Covid-19 as we can, particularly the people who might die from it. So that continues to be our objective," Hipkins told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking today.
Hosking quizzed Hipkins on the timeframe of lifting the new maximum indoor capacity of 200 people - given that that level was still constraining the likes of Netball New Zealand and indoor events such as orchestras and concerts.
Hosking: Can we say, once the whole country has peaked, we can start to look at an increase in numbers beyond 200 indoors?
Hipkins: Absolutely, yes, once we get through this peak we will be aiming to move back down the traffic lights - back to orange and eventually if we can get there, back to green again.
Hipkins admitted he wanted to see a higher overall rate of booster jabs - the country is sitting at about 72 per cent of the eligible population - but he said he was pleased to see higher percentages in vulnerable groups.
One factor, he said, was that many people will have had Covid, and not been able to get a booster shot in time.
Hipkins also defended the Prime Minister's press conference style.
Hosking: Why does the Prime Minister bang on and give us a condescending history lesson every time she speaks and not just get to the detail?
Hipkins: The context the Prime Minister provides to the announcement is important. It is important to remember the journey we have been on in the last two years.
Hosking: Is it? We've all been on it. Why do we need reminding all the time? And why do we need to be told how brilliant you guys are?
Hipkins: Well, I don't think it was about saying how brilliant the government is. I think New Zealanders can reflect with a good degree of pride on the overall response to Covid-19 over the last two years.
Restrictions ease - what you need to know
Experts are calling for a renewed focus on booster and child vaccinations along with increasing access to high-quality masks as the Government moves to relax Covid-19 protections.
Vaccine passes and most mandates will be dropped from April 4, the Prime Minister announced on Wednesday.
Changes to these policies, seen by some to be causing great division in society, will potentially see unvaccinated teachers back in the classroom, along with other professions, on Tuesday, April 5.
However, with ongoing public support for mandates and vaccine passes there are also many in the community nervous about the changes, particularly disabled and immunocompromised whānau.
Ardern also announced outdoor gathering limits would be scrapped and the number of people allowed to gather inside would increase from 100 to 200 from 11.59pm Friday, under the changes to the red light traffic setting.
The move means outdoor concerts, sports and other outdoor events would be able to resume under the red setting from this weekend.
QR scanning will no longer be required, while masks will continue to be used and be one of the key protections.
Vaccine passes will no longer be required to be used from 11.59pm on April 4, however businesses could continue to use them if they wanted.
With the vaccine requirements gone, the traffic light system would simply see gathering limits at red, masks at orange and "guidance" at green, Ardern said.
The system was still needed as a framework in case of future variants, Ardern said.
The Government was also ending the controversial...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I said yesterday that I thought the PM would use the opportunity to bang on about two years of Covid and our response and sure as eggs, she did. Is anyone still buying into this – as John Key rightly called it, ‘dog and pony show?’
Is anyone still subscribing to the PR spin and bollocks that’s spewing out of these press conferences? I mean I know dyed in the wool Jacinda lovers, like my mother, will forever – no matter what she does or says – applaud her every word, but seriously, it’s getting beyond a joke.
Yesterday we needed a specific piece of information. Media gathered, dutifully and diligently, to hear this information and pass it on.
Radio stations paused programming to live stream it, newspaper websites ran it live and what we wanted and needed was the info.
Two minutes worth of info. What we got instead, was a self-indulgent almost half hour monologue of the Labour party patting itself on the back. It’s taking the piss.
Since when do media tolerate this? Why do we acquiesce to it? This Government has taken so many liberties with the simple tradition of the press conference, they’ve turned it into a vehicle for electioneering and spin that’s frankly intolerable. Governments calling press conferences used to be for big announcements of national gravitas and they'd get straight to the point because people are busy, time is precious, and voters are not to be abused with advertising when the job is just to pass on information.
But this Government has turned it into a kindergarten session, a big sit down extended mat time of exaggerated expressions - sad face - happy face - and consoling words about how well we're all doing.
Puhllllease. We shouldn’t get sucked into it. What would happen if no media turned up, there was no live stream, no cameras, no microphones, they were just forced to put out a press release? That’d focus the mind a bit surely. But we’ve given them this platform, which they continue to abuse, and we just sit there and take it. Media, busy with other stories to get on with, sit for ages to endure a political lecture that has no place at a ‘news’ conference.
Just the news would be great, keep your spin and your hyperbole for the party conferences.
The upshot? They’ve ditched everything, basically. The mandates, the passes, the gathering size limits outside, the scanning in, the whole lot’s out the door. As much as the Rod Jacksons and the Michael Bakers will be beside themselves, it’s time to fold up the fear tent.
So, what I’m most interested in is – where to now? How many businesses will be slow on the uptake here and still ask you to scan in because they’re paranoid or don’t get the new rules? That’s going to be annoying. How many teachers mandated out of work will return? How many hairdressers? How many truck drivers? Will we see staff shortages in these areas get addressed – or have they already bailed off into other professions.. or worse, overseas?
I’m hoping that this ‘new beginning’ as the PM called it, will see a wee bit of normality, finally, start to creep back in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Women's Cricket World Cup CEO joined the show to discuss her reaction to the changes to the Traffic Light System, which will see the last few games played in front of a full crowd.
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Warriors CEO Cameron George joined the show to discuss the changes to the Traffic Light System, which has seen numbers lifted on outdoor gatherings and allows the Warriors to return home and play in front of a full crowd at Mt Smart Stadium towards the end of the season.
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Former Prime Minister John Key has criticised the Government's "dog and pony show", in the way it is drawing out critical announcements on the future of New Zealand's Covid response.
"Why do we have this dog and pony show where the Government basically wanders along and says I'm going to make an announcement to the announcement to the announcement," Key told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB today.
He described the Government's motives as trying to "get the maximum theatre" by announcing its Cabinet decisions two days later "as if it's like completely independent to the lives of New Zealanders".
He said there would be a small percentage of people who would want the likes of vaccine passes retained but the vast majority of New Zealanders were "over it".
"They want to re-engage with the rest of the world. Why do you have restrictions on anything - the answer is to keep people safe and change their behaviour. Well guess what? We changed their behaviour - 95 per cent of the country is vaccinated, good on them, I have been a 100 per cent supporter of any effort to get to that point, it keeps them and their family safe.
"But the 5 per cent who aren't vaccinated are never going to get vaccinated. And if we keep doing what we are doing, we will have to keep running the economy the way we are running it, which is on the national credit card. Grant Robertson says we don't need to make money anymore - we just borrow money."
Key said the simple bottom line was that most restrictions and rules needed to be lifted. "No one is checking in anymore [with QR codes], and even if you do check-in, I don't even know what they do with that information anymore."
Key said he was worried for New Zealand domestic tourism, in that many Kiwis would soon be heading overseas for a holiday after two years of pent-up demand. And young Kiwis would also be heading on their OEs.
"In my day as PM we had about plus-80,000 people coming in a year, which is great for the workforce and for the skills we needed for the economy. Well, we're bleeding people to the world now. And I think that will get worse unless the government actually changes the rules."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will this morning announce changes to vaccine pass and mandate settings, and the wider traffic light framework.
Cabinet made the decisions on Monday but Ardern said at the time more work was needed on them before they could be unveiled. She also said they would not take effect immediately.
The decisions, to be announced at 11am in Wellington, come as the Omicron wave starts to peak in Auckland, and slows across the rest of the country.
With high vaccination rates and many of the unvaccinated now having had Covid-19, Ardern has said the Government could look to safely scale back some of the requirements around vaccine passes and mandates and overall settings.
Act has been calling for the vaccine passes and mandates to be dropped immediately, while National wants them gone by the time Australian tourists can arrive: April 13.
The Greens, meanwhile, say Covid protection measures should only be relaxed once the Omicron peak was well past, and instead of a fixation on a date, the focus should be on better protecting vulnerable people.
Ardern has indicated the changes would likely not come into place until the Omicron peak had passed - in line with recommendations from experts.
There were 15 deaths, 1016 people in hospital and 20,907 community Covid cases reported on Tuesday.
Twenty-five people were in intensive-care units around the country.
These deaths took the total number of publicly reported Covid-related deaths to 199 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 10.
On Tuesday, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said it appeared the peak in daily case numbers had passed in Auckland and was starting to ease across the rest of the North Island. In the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I’m just wondering if, when the PM announces they’re dropping mandates and vaccine passes, they could also drop the scaremongering epidemiologists?
Seriously, can we please retire them?
The hysteria is over, the peak is passing, in the grand total of two years of this pandemic, fewer than ten percent of New Zealanders actually caught Covid, many more had their lives disrupted and damaged in ways some may never get over. We need to draw a line in the sand.
I’d love to know if the hysterical headlines are still getting the clicks. Is anyone even interested in reading or hearing from these guys anymore? Yesterday’s drama from Rod Jackson was that hospitals were overwhelmed, that it’s too soon to drop mandates.
Spoiler alert – the hospitals are not overwhelmed, a point even Jackson conceded, the health sector is actually coping, which is what other health professionals including Saint Ashley himself say too. They were probably under worse stress with RSV last year.
We had an employment lawyer on the show yesterday saying the same thing as Jackson though – that it’s too soon to drop mandates. The feedback on the text machine after that particular interview was largely unreadable given the number of swear words, suffice to say his views did not go down well.
But the epidemiologists screaming that the sky will fall in are sounding unhinged at this stage. Rod Jackson for example, doesn’t just want the mandates to stay – he wants all the public health measures to stay – the red light, the passes, the masks, the contact tracing, the pressure for boosters, the works. Where Jackson keeps letting himself down though, is he keeps quoting other countries..
We are not the UK, we are not Hong Kong. Our vaccination rates are high, we are a different country made up of different infrastructure and living styles, his argument we’re all going to die is losing credibility at pace.
Because we’re just not. Only half a million of us have even caught Covid. Yet he still wants the ‘team of 5 million’ to remain punished, fear-ridden, and holed up like hermits. I’m worried about the damage being done by all this fear mongering, you still see people scanning in, socially distancing, afraid and convinced they need to stay home and away from people. Many of our CBDs are ghost towns, it's like we’re in a lockdown, but it’s of people’s own making.
Is this really how we want to welcome tourists back into our country? Welcome to New Zealand. Sorry, everything’s shut and empty and no one wants to come near you, we are still trembling with fear. It’s actually tragic.
I know we have vulnerable, elderly, and immune compromised we need to protect, but that’s true of all illnesses that come our way. How long do we stop life for? When the winter ills and chills arrive, are we back into lockdown to protect those people again?
I think when the Government announces Wednesday that mandates are being phased out, and that we’re waving goodbye to passes, we also need to wave goodbye to the doomsayers too.
I, for one, won’t miss them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jacinda Ardern says it's most appropriate that the Police watchdog looks into the response to the Parliament protest.
Last week, Labour MPs used their majority to block a briefing from the police commissioner to the justice select committee.
The Government wants to see the IPCA's term of reference, before it makes a judgement.
But, former police negotiator Lance Burdett told Mike Hosking it has to be looked at holistically.
He recommends using a retired district court judge, because they're used to seeing people from both sides - including police officers and members of the public.
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What on Earth are we waiting for? Cabinet is to decide today on the future of the country. Covid-19 protection measures, the mandates, the vaccine passes and the like.
They've already had the concession of allowing unvaccinated New Zealanders back into the country that was done very quietly. And although we don't know what they have decided — we won't know that until Wednesday (why I don't know) — surely we have to move on.
If people don't want to mingle with the masses, fine, don't, stay home. Put the chicken soup on the stove and enjoy an item with Netflix. If people prefer to wear masks for themselves and for others fine.
We have to start living again. And if you don't want to, that's OK.
You don't have to. Nobody is forcing you out. Even if you can't afford to go out, nobody is going to make you spend your disposable at a restaurant and a mall where there are lots of people.
You don't have to go to a nightclub. You don't have to go to a big outdoor concert where you'll be cheek by sweaty jowl with others. If that doesn't make you feel comfortable, you stay home.
But let other people get on with living. We've had the most extraordinary restrictions placed upon us. It's time to remember that life is for living, not simply existing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Calls for the Government to drop all of New Zealand to the orange traffic light setting.
Cabinet will be discussing the Covid-19 protection framework today, along with vaccine passes and mandates.
But a decision isn't expected until Wednesday.
Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce CEO Leeann Watson told Mike Hosking the restrictions are becoming redundant.
“Red’s certainly having a massive impact on the CBD, and certainly the weekend numbers suggest that we are on the other side of the peak, certainly across the country.”
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The Government's review of our Covid restrictions is being described as a balancing act.
Cabinet will discuss the protection framework today along with vaccine passes and mandates.
But an announcement on any changes isn't expected until Wednesday.
Political commentator Peter Dunne told Mike Hosking the Government has difficult decisions to make, as public opinion on our Covid restrictions is divided.
“On the one hand, you see people telling pollsters they want things to be relaxed immediately. On the other, certainly in Wellington though I suspect in other cities too, you see people still behaving as though we’re in a Level 4 lockdown.”
Meanwhile, an announcement that unvaccinated New Zealanders can now enter the country without MIQ or self-isolation was posted on the MIQ website on Friday.
But the decision wasn't part of that day's 1 pm announcement.
Dunne says this shouldn't be happening.
“I think it’s a big move, but it sort of quietly suggests 1. That they've lost a bit of confidence in what they're doing and 2. That they just wanted to get this out of the way.”
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The Government's review of our Covid mandates is being described as a political tactic.
Cabinet meets today to discuss whether the current rules should be eased over the coming weeks.
Mandates, vaccine passes and the traffic light framework are all expected to be on the agenda.
Buddle Findlay Employment and Health Lawyer Sheridan Cook told Kate Hawkesby the timing is questionable, given our hospitalisation rate is still so high.
“I think it’s a response to the recent New Zealand Defence Force and Police High Court decision. When that decision came out which overturned mandates, my view is that the Government either needed to appeal that decision or it needed to abolish the other mandates.”
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she wishes the Government could have "brought more people with us" on its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an in-depth interview with Newstalk ZB this morning, Ardern looked back on two years of handling the pandemic and forecast New Zealand's potential path out of the pandemic.
Ardern spoke about what she believed New Zealand got right and wrong in its response to the pandemic so far.
She said given the Government was working with imperfect, ever-changing information, it was right to close its borders in March 2020 – against the advice of the World Health Organisation. That crucial decision gave New Zealanders relative freedom for a long period of time, she said.
"And it was very hard for everyone, but the alternative would have been Covid circulating without a vaccine."
Asked what she got wrong in the Covid response, Ardern said: "I do wish that we could have come through these latter stages … bringing more people with us.
"I don't know what the answer to that is, but … I would have preferred that we would have been able to do that. How, I haven't quite landed on, because again the flipside was probably more generic restrictions affecting more people rather than targeted ones that affected a few.
"But I'll probably think about that for a long time."
The Prime Minister said one of the benefits of the public's "close proximity" to MPs in New Zealand was that she always knew when people were disagreeing with her or her Government's policies.
"There will be times that we make a decision that people do not agree with. And the most important thing is that as long as we are doing it because we believe it's the right thing to do.
"I won't have always got it right, but at the time I've always made the decisions that I thought have been in the best interests."
Ardern was asked about how she personally dealt with the pain and heartache caused by some of the Government's Covid-19 measures: border restrictions, preventing family from attending funerals, and job losses caused by vaccine mandates.
"One of our critical advisers through this, who's from the science community, mentioned to me the other day that on their calculation, give or take possibly 5000 people have been saved by what we had done.
"So, in those moments I think of that. Now those 5000 people, they don't know who they are. They don't know that it was them that has been potentially protected by these measures. But I just keep that in my mind. It's been hard, but the flipside would have been even more painful."
Cabinet will this week discuss when vaccine mandates and other Covid measures could be wound down.
Ardern said with just 190,000 eligible people not vaccinated and many of them exposed to Covid already, New Zealand would be able to move away from mandates and "put them back in the toolbox".
She was asked whether New Zealand might revert to stricter measures again if there was another outbreak. She said another variant which the vaccine was not effective against, and caused people to be "gravely ill", would be a "game changer" for the whole world and not just New Zealand.
"At the point, everything's different for everybody. But for us, we're very much in line now with other countries' approaches."
She anticipated people would adjust to the major changes brought about by Covid as they had for another world-shaping event, the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Ardern was a student at Arizona State University in 2001.
"I still remember the different when I travelled to the US pre-9/11 and when I left. And it felt like nothing would be the same ever again.
"And yet over time that just became integrated into the way we did things. We barely would notice now that at airports we fundamentally have a different experience than we used to.
"And I think the same will be said for this pandemic. There will be parts of...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jacinda Ardern's signalling when a decision on lifting Covid-19 mandates will be made.
Vaccine mandates and passes continue to be a key part of the Government's Covid-19 response.
That's despite high case numbers and hospitalisations.
But the Prime Minister told Francesca Rudkin a decision on when they will be dropped isn't too far away.
“So, we’ll be making decisions over the next week and signalling when we believe we can put them back into the toolbox and on the shelf for now.”
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Malcolm Rands gives his tips on what we can do about the mounting waste from Covid.
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Companies in Shenzhen, a major Chinese business center, will be allowed to reopen while efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks progress, the government said Thursday, following a citywide shutdown that rattled financial markets.
Testing of everyone in the city of 17.5 million people is “progressing smoothly,” said a deputy mayor, Huang Qiang, at a news conference. He said 71 new cases were found in the 24 hours through midnight Wednesday.
China’s case numbers in its latest wave of outbreaks in areas throughout the country are relatively low. But authorities are enforcing a “zero tolerance” strategy that has temporarily shut down major cities to find isolate every infected person.
“We will organize enterprises to return to work,” Huang said, according to a transcript released by the government. He gave no timetable but said businesses are required to step up strengthen anti-disease measures and monitor employees for the virus’s telltale fever.
Chinese leaders appear to be trying to fine-tune their disease-control system to maintain their goal of zero cases while reducing economic and social disruption from stringent controls.
A meeting Thursday of leaders of the ruling Communist Party “stressed the need to maintain normal production” but said disease control work should be “carried out strictly,” state TV reported on its evening news.
“We should accelerate the reform of the disease control system,” the party leaders were cited as saying at the meeting. The report gave no details of possible changes under consideration.
Businesses in Shenzhen, a finance and technology hub, were ordered to close Monday, except those that supply food, fuel and other necessities. Bus and subway service shut down. Residents were told to stay home while authorities carried out three rounds of testing.
That prompted alarm about the possible impact on smartphone manufacturing and other industries that are centered on Shenzhen, which abuts Hong Kong. Economists said a potential threat to trade loomed if anti-virus controls spread to Shenzhen’s Yantian Port, one of the world’s business.
Elsewhere, the industrial center of Changchun in the northeast shut down and travel controls were imposed on its surrounding province of Jilin.
Volkswagen AG said production at its factory in Changchun would remain idle Friday. The German automaker said a factory in Shanghai, where anti-disease controls also were tightened, would operate.
Shenzhen is home to some of China's biggest companies including telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Ltd., Ping An Insurance Co. of China, electric vehicle maker BYD Auto and Tencent Holding, operator of the popular WeChat message system.
In Shenzhen, the "epidemic prevention and control situation is positive,” Huang said.
However, Huang warned Shenzhen still was suffering “sporadic outbreaks.” He said 71 confirmed infections were found in the 24 hours through midnight Wednesday.
“Epidemic prevention and control work cannot slacken at all,” Huang said.
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Here comes the normal, but what does the new normal look like?
This is the big question as the country prepares to open the borders and welcome back overseas tourists, starting with Australia next month.
Questions like how many tourists will come here in the short term and what will happen to the ideas of building a different kind of tourism have come up as well.
Business commentator Rod Oram joined Andrew Dickens.
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Covid-19 has had the last laugh on the International Comedy Festival.
The festival, which was supposed to take place in May, has been cancelled due to uncertainty about the Omicron variant.
It says it needs certainty so artists don't miss out on money if the event is cancelled.
General Manager Lauren Whitney told Andrew Dickens while it's aggravating to have to cancel, they are looking to the future.
“We’re gonna look at what we can deliver in later in the year. We’ve got the Best Foods Comedy Gala which is gonna be great and some other shows and organise with comedians about what we can help them put on.”
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Many changes are ahead for New Zealand’s Covid response.
Jacinda Ardern announced at a media standup in Queenstown that next week the traffic light and vaccine mandate settings will be reviewed.
However, National say the restrictions should be dropped immediately.
The forecourt of Parliament is being rededicated.
This has slipped under the radar, as it occurred at the same time as National’s rejections from the Justice Select Committee to question Police Commissioner Andrew Coster about the mandate protests.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Andrew Dickens.
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National wants Covid restrictions to loosen immediately and to fully do away with it by mid-April when the border reopens to Australia.
They want scanning and vaccine passes dropped for all but large indoor events and reduce the Covid isolation periods to five days.
By mid-April, the party wants to scrap the Traffic Light System altogether.
National Party leader Chris Luxon joined Andrew Dickens.
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THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Another Week of War/Another Week of Covid/Mark the Week/Remember that Protest?/Three Waters Looking Good/Coffee TimeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The strain supermarkets are under due to Covid could be starting to ease.
Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin says they're feeling like they're through the worst of it.
He told Mike Hosking since January 23 at peak they've had 1100 of their team unable to work due to Covid.
Quin says they're now down to under 500 in that position, and only 40 of those are from supply chain teams.
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With borders opening, there are concerns as to whether Immigration New Zealand can meet demand.
Apparently not, according to National's Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford.
Standford says the only reason the border reopening is being delayed for those that need visas to get into the country, is because Immigration NZ can't meet demand.
Principal immigration lawyer at NZ Immigration Law Aaron Martin joined Tim Dower.
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An MIQ hotel has promised workers the living wage once it goes back to hospitality.
Managed Isolation and Quarantine will be a four hotel operation by the end of June, but there's been concerns they'd be dropping back to a lower pay rate.
Rydges Auckland has confirmed it will pay workers the Living Wage of $22.75 permanently.
Unite Union National Secretary John Crocker told Tim Dower they're now trying to get the other hotels to follow suit.
He's optimistic about some, but not others.
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Do you feel it's like a jigsaw puzzle? Every time you think you are getting somewhere, the next piece is missing.
The borders will be open. Not a moment too soon and a lot later than they could have been or should have been. But, oh the irony, Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash was via zoom given he is a household contact.
And yet his announcement told anyone from offshore they can land with their negative RAT and off they go on holiday. Meantime, Nash with his negative RAT has to keep isolating. See what I mean? One step forward, but a couple of missing pieces.
Apparently, we are to stand by, yet again, while we wait yet again for another announcement on the mandates, vaccine passes, and traffic light system. All the stuff that essentially makes opening the border pointless unless they are all dropped.
So given that, why wasn’t it all packaged up together? Why wasn't the whole thing sorted in a one-stop-shop kind of fashion in order to put out a clean, clear, and positive message? It should've been that the country is open, rules gone, we're set to go, you're welcome, and have a great time because there are no restrictions.
Unless, there are to be restrictions. If there are to be restrictions, then we are stuffed. No tourist is coming here to be repressed with dumb rules when they can go all over the world and do what they like. Britain is allowing unvaccinated people to arrive now. There are no rules.
Meantime here, doors are closed, there are no crowds, and no big events. Events drive tourism so I hope someone, somewhere in that cluster of whiteboards in Wellington has joined those dots.
Next issue, will they come? Well, hopefully. We pray they do, we pray that our image hasn’t been badly damaged, we pray the staffing issues won't provide a sour taste, and we pray the word of mouth doesn't turn negative.
There is no question the tourism industry has shrunk with lay-offs and closures, so what do tourists come back to?
The test will be in the bottom line. Pre-Covid tourism and dairy were worth well in excess of $30 billion. Half that got blown up with the borders and hermit kingdom obsession.
I don’t mind if mass tourism doesn’t return, but my gut says it’s a long haul. The mentality has to be that we are truly open, we are normal, and Covid is behind us. If we can't do that, there is the whole world that already is, and that is where the planes will fly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Nurses Society says Auckland hospital staff are under an extreme burden as Covid ravages staffing numbers.
Nurses, midwives and other support staff at the three DHBs are being offered a $500 bonus for every night shift they work - to try to combat the shortages.
Director David Wills told Mike Hosking the added money shows how desperate the DHBs are for staff.
He says while it's not business as usual in any part of the health service it's been particularly difficult for the metro DHBs.
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A $50 million fund for South Island tourism operators goes live today, but won't help all businesses.
It comes ahead of the return of Australian tourists from April 13, and other travellers from May 2.
Grants of $10,000 - $50,000 will be given to businesses that have had a 50 percent drop in revenue.
Franz Josef Wildlife Centre director, Richard Benton, told Mike Hosking late April is the end of the tourist season for many businesses and the region gets very little benefit from the ski industry.
He says they're grateful for the grant, but aren't out of the woods yet.
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New Zealand will need to step up its marketing to Australia, ahead of our border opening to them.
Vaccinated Australians can come here from April 13 and those in other countries with relevant visas can come here from May 2.
Travel marketing consultant, Trish May, told Kate Hawkesby Tourism New Zealand has been keeping the name of New Zealand in the minds of the Australian consumer.
And she says a lot of Australians came to visit from April to July when the trans-Tasman bubble was open.
“So, we haven’t been completely off the radar with Australia, but certainly the opportunity is there now to get going and roll out the welcome mat.”
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Hospitals are under increasing pressure from the Omicron outbreak.
Another 24 Covid deaths were confirmed yesterday, including 16 previously unreported deaths from the past three weeks.
The high number of deaths is due to reporting changes at the Ministry of Health.
There are now 971 people in hospital with the virus, mostly in the Auckland region.
Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told Mike Hosking the health system is under incredible pressure.
“Go and chat with some of the folks who are working in the hospitals and you’ll get an idea of what it looks like when a health system is under stress.”
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Air New Zealand's glad it will soon be able to welcome Australians and travellers from the rest of the world.
Vaccinated Aussies can come here from April 13 while those in other countries with relevant visas, can visit from May 2.
Air New Zealand chief executive, Greg Foran, told Mike Hosking flights to and from Australia made up 15 to 20 percent of its business pre-Covid.
“To get the Tasman back gets us back on our feet and of course getting the rest of the countries up and running from May will make a big difference.”
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John MacDonald spoke to Professor Michael Baker about his views on the current Omicron situation in New Zealand and how we should move forward with the border announcement today. They also discussed if the use of vaccine passes was still relevant, and the traffic light settings
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Fully-vaccinated tourists will be allowed into the country sooner than expected.
Our newsroom understands travellers from Australia could be set to arrive - without the need for managed isolation - as early as next month.
Visitors from other countries which New Zealand has visa waver arrangements with, like the United Kingdom, will be able to come in the weeks after that, followed by all other countries.
So, is it a lifeline for our struggling tourism industry and will it make a difference for the Easter holidays and the ski season?
Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson Ann-Marie Johnson joined Kerre McIvor.
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The ski industry's overjoyed tourists will be able to return to this country sooner than expected.
Newstalk ZB newsroom understands fully vaccinated Australians will be able to arrive from April 12, without self-isolating.
Visitors from other countries New Zealand has visa waiver arrangements with, like the United Kingdom, will be able to come in the following weeks.
NZ Ski chief executive Paul Anderson told Mike Hosking it will give them a ski season.
“It's going to allow the Australians plenty of time to book their holidays and get here in time for their school holidays in July.”
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There are concerns around a surge in people struggling with long covid.
The term is used to describe cases of people who have symptoms that continue, or develop, more than 12 weeks after getting the virus.
An expert advisory group is being set up to provide GPs with advice on how to help people who suffer from the prolonged illness.
This includes advice around a rehabilitation framework.
Victoria University epidemiologist Dr Mona Jeffreys told Mike Hosking Long Covid could become a widespread health issue.
“There is no evidence to show that the worse you have Covid, the more likely you are to have Long Covid and so that's why we are really concerned about the huge number of people that have had relatively mild symptoms.”
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The bringing forward of entry dates for tourists is expected to help with the Australian market but not for the long-haul one.
It's understood fully vaccinated Australians will be able to arrive from April 12, without self-isolating.
Visitors from other countries New Zealand has visa waiver arrangements with, like the United Kingdom, will be able to come in the following weeks.
Nomad Safaris owner, David Gatward-Ferguson, told Kate Hawkesby it will help get Australians here for the ski season but says a year is needed to plan travel from further afield.
“We won’t see internationals long-haul until next year, which will be way, way too late.”
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It's hoped a new Long Covid advisory group focuses on developing treatments not just rehab.
Long covid is used to describe cases of people who have symptoms that continue or develop more than 12 weeks after getting the virus.
An expert advisory group is being set up to provide GPs with advice on how to help people who suffer from prolonged illness.
This includes advice around a rehabilitation framework.
Auckland University immunologist Anna Brooks told Kate Hawkesby the group also needs to be looking into the most up to date research into treatments.
“Really the urgency lies with needing to treat people.”
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It's hoped new border rules are a sign of change for the fruit growing industry.
Workers holding holiday visas can now fly into the country without having to isolate if they’re fully vaccinated.
Fruitgrowers Federation director Leon Stallard told Mike Hosking they’re optimistic the changes are a step in the right direction.
“I would hope to think so that we can get back to some normality. I mean, that’s what everybody’s pinning the future on, that’s for sure, that we can get some backpackers into the country to help us out at our critical time.”
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Taupo District Council is going against expert advice and scrapping vaccine passes.
From this morning, people will no longer need proof of vaccination to get into council offices, public pools, museums or public toilets.
Public health expert Michael Baker says it's far too early to scrap vaccine passes.
But Taupo Mayor David Trewavas told Mike Hosking he hopes other councils will follow their lead.
“Now we know what we’re dealing with, we know how we can handle it, and still under the Red Light system which is a bit of a pain. It’s time to get back to normal and get on with the job.”
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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Wednesday that reducing the skyrocketing number of deaths in the latest coronavirus surge is the city's priority, putting a plan to test the entire population on hold in the latest flip-flop in the government’s pandemic response.
Lam said there is “no specific time frame” for a citywide testing, two weeks after she announced it would happen this month. Her earlier announcement, coupled with rumors of an accompanying lockdown of the city, left store shelves bare as residents stockpiled daily necessities.
“Now the situation is that planning and preparation are still underway, but it is not a priority to do (mass testing). When to do it will be a collective decision, and will take into account the opinions of experts," said Lam.
"If we are going to do it properly, we have to tell people that until you’ve got a negative result, you can’t go out and about.”
The city of 7.4 million people is in the grip of a spiraling omicron outbreak that has swamped hospitals and morgues and reduced hours or shut restaurants and other shops in the normally bustling financial hub.
More than 500,000 infections and over 2,600 deaths have been recorded since the fifth wave began at the end of December, with many of the victims among the unvaccinated elderly.
The government is focusing on reducing the number of deaths and critical cases, as well as the rapid spread of the virus, Lam said at a news conference with other senior officials and the slogan “Combating the Epidemic with Staunch National Support” in the background.
Any citywide test would depend on the trend of the epidemic, she said. “If we are going to do it … we will certainly announce as early as possible so that the public can participate and can anticipate what’s going to happen during the period.”
To reduce the number of deaths, infected patients will be treated centrally, with the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital becoming a dedicated hospital for COVID-19, she said. Some 1,500 beds will be set aside.
Some general wards in other hospitals will also be converted into COVID-19 beds, and an emergency hospital will be built by mainland authorities for the city that will be supported by medical staff from elsewhere in China.
The city on Wednesday reported a total of 58,750 new infections, more than 32,000 of which were detected via rapid antigen tests. Hong Kong also reported 195 deaths, taking the total number since the pandemic began to 2,869.
Mainland China is also grappling with a surge in new cases, though much smaller than in Hong Kong. Another 233 cases of domestic transmission were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 899 since the daily count leaped back into the triple digits last Friday — the highest figures since 2020, soon after the original outbreak in the central city of Wuhan was detected.
The bulk of the most recent cases have been found in the northeastern province of Jilin, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) north of Hong Kong, along with the east coast province of Shandong. Beijing itself recorded six new cases.
China has instituted mass testing and lockdowns of specific neighborhoods, but there have been no reports that entire cities have been sealed off, which happened in the runup to the recently completed Winter Olympics in Beijing.
In Hong Kong, Lam called for the support and cooperation of private hospitals to assist with the volume of patients. She said some private hospitals had agreed to provide beds for COVID-19 patients.
The surge in cases over the past two months has put a strain on the health care system, with many of the public hospitals reaching capacity. Officials have deployed refrigerated containers to store bodies as public mortuaries ran out of space.
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Hundreds of entertainers including dozens of DJs were handed border exceptions last year, in what a lobby group says highlights the shambolic nature of MIQ.
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union said 316 foreign entertainers, including 64 DJs, were "fast-tracked" through managed isolation last year.
An Official Information Act response showed the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment granted the critical worker border exceptions.
"Techno performers like DJ Dimension and Dom Dolla hogged rooms in MIQ facilities while Kiwis were barred from seeing their families," taxpayers' union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said.
He added: "How can anyone defend dishing out exemptions to dubstep and hip-hop DJs while slamming the door shut on nurses that we desperately need?"
Houlbrooke said any claims the entertainers brought a wider benefit to the national or regional economy did not stack up.
"MIQ has wound down for Kiwis, but the Government's cruel and irrational zero-sum game remains in place for international visitors," he said.
Forty-six people were granted a critical purpose visa for summer festivals in December, January and February.
Of people invited to apply for visas over summer, 15 had been invited to apply for visas once before and two had been invited to apply for visas twice before.
DJ Dimension late last year said he was devastated to learn he had tested positive for Omicron while in New Zealand.
The DJ, real name Robert Etheridge, said he received hate and abuse after testing positive.
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Etheridge admitted to leaving self-isolation early without receiving the result of his day 9 test, which later returned a positive result.
The UK-based electronic music artist was due to perform at Rhythm & Alps near Wānaka before he abruptly pulled out not long before he was due to take the stage.
Before heading south he spent several hours in the community on Boxing Day - visiting places including a nightclub and bar, restaurants and a jewellery store.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins this week unveiled a timeline for the dismantling of most MIQ facilities.
Only four out of 32 staying in the network from the end of June.
The announcement upset some MIQ hotel workers, with Unite Union saying staff learned of the timeline through media, and would lose weekly MIQ allowances of about $80.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fieldays has been postponed until later this year.
It's the largest agriculture show in the Southern Hemisphere, that is usually held in June.
But due to Covid-19, concerns the event has had to be moved to between November 30 and December 3.
CEO Peter Nation told The Country exclusively they are confident the event will be able to go ahead successfully during the new dates.
“We think it’s so important to actually run the event which we’ve had huge support from the industry going ‘you’ve got to run.’”
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Political commentator Matthew Hooton has written a piece in the NZ Herald saying, "Grant Robertson's $60 billion spend-up and Adrian Orr's money printing have made New Zealand asset holders nearly $1 trillion better off, while the poor have fallen further into debt."
"Twenty-something Kiwis considering returning home report London property prices are below Auckland's, while salaries are three times as high. They also know that under 30s are doomed to have to pay back most of Robertson's $60b debt."
Matthew Hooton joined Kerre McIvor.
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An employment lawyer says the Ministry of Social Development's decision to start sacking unvaccinated staff is a risky move.
The ministry began sacking up to 220 unvaccinated staff this week.
That's despite advice from the Public Service Commission telling public agencies to pause the process.
Nearly two weeks ago the High Court ruled vaccine mandates for police and defence force were unlawful.
Lawyer Maddy Lister says the Ministry has received legal advice.
“I understand why they might be thinking things are different, but there is probably quite a lot of risk for them in proceeding.”
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More calls for pregnant women to get the Covid jab.
Thirty per cent of women giving birth at Middlemore Hospital have Covid-19.
They're being recommended to wear masks in labour.
Auckland University researcher Dr Michelle Wise told Kate Hawkesby the vaccinated and boosted rate for pregnant women is lower than for the general population.
“Every study that’s come out in the last couple of years, shows that the vaccine is safe in pregnancy.”
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The Auckland Business Chamber says isolation rules for household contacts are a waste of human capital.
From midnight Friday, Covid-19 cases and their household contacts will only need to isolate for seven days.
But Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett says he'd like businesses to be able to treat all workers as critical - let them test every day before going to work.
He told Mike Hosking having them sit at home while well is a pressure on families and their income that doesn't have to be there.
“It’s a pressure on businesses that’s likely to leave them under pressure for the next 12 months.”
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Employers may need to reevaluate their thinking around vaccine mandates.
The Public Service Commission is advising government departments and agencies to ‘pause’ the dismissals of unvaccinated staff.
Fonterra has now opted to scrap its vaccine mandate, as long as employees commit to a daily testing programme.
Employment law expert Alastair Espie told Mike Hosking businesses need to think about how 'the risk" may have changed even since last year.
“We didn’t know much about Omicron and we didn’t have rapid antigen tests available to the extent we do today.”
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Chris Hipkins will be among the first people affected by the latest shortening of Covid isolation periods.
The Covid Response Minister is isolating after one of his children tested positive overnight.
He received the news hours after he announced a shortening of the isolation period for Covid-19 cases and household contacts, from 10 days to seven, from midnight Friday.
Hipkins told Mike Hosking everyone in his family will be doing their best to prevent the virus spreading within the household.
“Our seven days of isolation now for us. I didn’t obviously know when we made that decision that I’d be one of the first first people to experience that.”
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A suggestion there's not too much of an appetite for an even shorter isolation period.
Covid cases and household contacts only have to isolate for seven days, from midnight Friday - with contacts testing on day three and seven.
EMA Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald told Kate Hawkesby while the business community would like it to be less, there's a large chunk of the population still worried about living with the virus.
“The other issue is I don’t think yet we've seen a peak through the health system and the Government has always taken a health approach, quite rightly, and I think until we see reach peak through the health system you’re not likely to see more change.”
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Thumbs up from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine to the new working arrangements for health staff with Covid.
After five days of isolation, staff can return to work as long as they return two negative tests and are working in non-Covid-19 areas.
Those who are working on Covid wards can continue, possibly without a stand-down period, as long as they’re asymptomatic.
College President John Bonning told Mike Hosking it makes sense.
“There are a lot of people that are very unwell, very briefly and then they’re really quite well and potentially a little bit frustrated that they can’t go back and help their colleagues.”
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The Nurses’ Organisation is unhappy with changes allowing staff with Covid to return to work.
The Ministry of Health is now allowing infected staff to return early if their absence means the service couldn't run.
It means healthcare workers can leave isolation on day six if they test negative twice.
If they still test positive, they can work on Covid wards.
Nurses Organisation President Kerri Nuku told Kate Hawkesby it puts everyone at risk.
“It puts patients and staff at risk because the risk is if you don’t have a well-staffed ward, the quality of care on patients is compromised.”
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It’s pretty quiet in Auckland at the moment, with what feels like everyone isolating. The roads are not as congested with traffic, the malls are quiet, cafes are either shut or operating at reduced hours, it's all a bit sad.
How many of those isolating actually have Covid though?
Because it seems like an awful lot of people are at home, and I just wonder how many of them actually need to be.
There’s definitely still confusion out there as to what the rules are. Who should isolate and for how long. To do a RAT or not, to register it or not. There are those still paralysed with fear, those still doggedly scanning in. What for? You’re not being contact traced. There is no point. And yet, two years of fear messaging has left people unable to think for themselves, apply logic, or just own their own lives.
It’s a tough reality for some to accept that the Government isn't that interested in a prescriptive day in day out Covid response anymore. Yet there are still some among us terrified of not being told what to do.
I do hope our sensibilities and ability to think rationally returns. I do hope we gain back a sense of independence and faith in ourselves. I also hope the peak is indeed over and we start getting out the other side of this thing.
I’m keen to see shops and cafes bustling again, people hugging, people less afraid of each other. But the key to making that happen does actually lie in the Government’s hands.
They need to reduce isolation time for positive cases from 10 to 7 days. 10 days is way too long. The CDC in America says 5, Australia says 7, we say 10. Why?
It’s a cold for most people lasting no more than 3 days. 10 days is over the top – and it’s holding up business, closing services, shutting things down. 10 days is also clearly too appealing to those who’re work shy. So much so did you know you can buy positive Covid tests to show your employer? That's fraud by the way, but doesn't stop people selling them.
Surely we can drop isolation to 7 days. It would be good to not only curb the absenteeism, but also get back to some semblance of functioning in a first world capacity again. Food on supermarket shelves, services running.
I tried to send a parcel by overnight courier yesterday. They told me I was dreaming. Nothing’s happening overnight they said, because everyone at the courier company’s isolating. They said their courier workforce had been hobbled by Covid and they’re virtually shut down - and to get a parcel out of Auckland overnight was impossible. I asked how long it would take for my package to reach its destination – they didn’t know. Depended on staff availability they said, of which there was barely any.
So, this third world vibe of no services working properly and empty shelves and no supply chain is something I’ll be happy to see the back of sooner rather than later. And I think reducing our iso time might be a good place to start.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the last two years, we've heard countless stories about businesses needing to do business travel.
When it comes to making deals and trades, doing it on Zoom with dodgy Wi-Fi often doesn't cut it.
But economists are forecasting that business travel will resume at barely half the rate they once were.
General manager of corporate brands at Flight Centre Keely Alton joined Kate Hawkesby.
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There are fears our current Covid regulations could tip our education sector over the edge.
With the current rules around isolating as a contact, especially within schools, principals are dealing with increased pressures and much larger workloads.
Last year we had many principals who walked away because they were burnt out - at a much younger age than retirement, which is unusual for the position.
That's now the concern already this year as well.
President of the NZ Principal's Federation Cherie Taylor-Patel joined Mike Hosking.
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Gisborne's Rhythm and Vines music festival has been cancelled after the annual New Years' Eve event was moved to Easter weekend following Covid-19 disruptions.
After weeks of speculation and angry fans demanding answers, Rhythm & Vines announced in early December that the annual New Year's Eve festival would be postponed to Easter Weekend 2022.
The new dates for the festival were set for Friday, April 15, 2022 to Sunday, April 17, 2022.
However, as the country battles the biggest Covid-19 outbreak to date, festival organisers have cancelled the Easter festival and are now looking towards December 2022.
Festival co-founder Hamish Pinkham said despite the cancellation, the focus now moves to celebrate the festival's 20th anniversary.
"It seems that our Easter event was not to be so our attention now moves to an incredible milestone in the festival's history, celebrating two decades of creating special moments," Pinkham said.
"Rhythm and Vines has always been a rite of passage for Kiwis and we can't wait to reflect on the amazing moments that have taken place and pull together the ultimate party this New Year to celebrate the 20th Anniversary."
The venue of Waiohika Estate remains the same and the festival will be held from Thursday, December 29 to Saturday, December 31 2022.
All Easter 2022 tickets remain valid for the new dates and refunds are available for those who can not make the new dates.
Vodafone customers will have access to presale tickets from Wednesday, March 16, followed by an exclusive Genoapay presale on March 21.
Two days later on March 23, presale tickets for Rhythm and Vines 2022 will go on sale for anyone who has registered for the R&V presale. The general public will then have access the day after at 1pm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this week’s The Panel, TVNZ's Sunday reporter Mark Crysell joined the Weekend Collective to discuss Shane Warne.
Everyone knows someone with Omicron and did the Wellington protest achieve anything?
Is NZ doing enough in regard to Ukraine/Russia?
The price of cauliflower ($16) and petrol ($3 a litre) have both skyrocketed.
How much cash do you have, if any?
And Aussie classic, Neighbours is finally heading off air, are we sad to see it go?
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I am over Rapid Antigen Tests – and we’ve only been able to buy them for a week!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the use of these tests. They alleviate the pressure on laboratories struggling to cope with testing numbers, and allow us to take responsibly for our own health as the contact tracing is overwhelmed. Most importantly, they allow people to keep earning a living, business and schools to stay open, and help critical services and supply chains to remain operational.
We’ve seen the role they have played overseas. We understand their purpose and their value.
I love em. But I’m already over the effort involved with trying to get one.
We have had all the time in the world to organise how they’re distributed; yet the feedback this week is that once again delivery has been haphazard, and frustrating for many. It’s a familiar refrain.
RAT’s are free for those with Covid symptoms or who are household contacts – so they should be. But some of these people are waiting in queues for hours to pick up their test or pre-order. Others are whipping through testing sites in no time at all. Some are being given packs of 5 tests even if there are only two people in the car.
The distribution kinks are still being ironed out as we go, but you can understand why some are thinking twice about putting themselves through it.
And if you’re being driven to buy your own RATS it’s been a frustrating experience as well. Stock has been slow to reach shelves and from what I’ve seen in chemists and supermarkets this week they’ve run out pretty quickly. Prices vary. It’s good to see some suppliers will be selling at cost, for those who aren’t I have less kind words.
Demand will be high. I can understand the ease of having a few RATS in your medical kit. Makes life easy when one of the kids claims to have a sore throat, but is clearly trying to avoid a maths test. It also makes sense to do a test before visiting an elderly family member or heading to a wedding or function.
But many do not have an extra $30 - $45 a week to throw a pack of RATs in the supermarket trolley.
And don’t even get me started the challenges businesses are having trying to do the right thing and source their own supply.
This week someone said, let’s not let RATS become the new toilet paper. And I couldn’t agree more. I’m resigned to the fact it will take at least the rest of this month to get our response working properly.
It might also give the government time to come to their sense and do at least what Australia did, and hand out ten free home test kits over a three month period for pensioners and those with community services cards. How about every household getting free RAT tests like they did in the UK?
The government has abdicated its responsibility for our health and handed it back to us as individuals, and I understand why, but this comes with an obligation to give us the tools we need to look after and manage ourselves. And for many it needs to be free. Who thought we’d be looking to the UK for best practice on anything to do with COVID, but with RATS they got it right.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What a strange week.
A week that has left me feeling quite ridiculously upbeat.
You could imagine I could be sitting here downcast, bemoaning the state of our country after what happened on Wednesday muttering about what a divided nation we have become, but that is not at all how I am feeling.
After this whole week, I think what I’m feeling is relief.
Relief that I think I can see the age of Covid hysteria finally coming to an end, and rapidly.
It’s been two years since our first Covid case. In two weeks' time, it’ll be two years since our first lockdown. Two years of hysteria, don’t you agree.
Hysteria at the fear of Covid. Hysteria at the fear of the people who are fearing Covid, the country doing to hell in a hand-basket, debt will never end hysteria.
Hysterical admiration of the Director-General of Health who was just doing his job, and is becoming obvious that he could've done it better.
Hysterical hatred of the Prime Minister, not least because she’s young and female.
Hysterical exaggerations of potential death tolls, matched by hysterical exaggerations of vax injuries.
So when the hysterical occupation of Parliament was broken on Wednesday and the hysterical complainants who’ve made a mountain out of molehills slunk off to Wainuiōmata Marae, and the Prime Minister made a hysterical and overwrought victory speech, I sat there and breathed a sigh of relief, hoping this was the last crazy and hysterical act of the last crazy, hysterical two years.
Our vaccination rate is sky high, tonight all Kiwis can come home so the hysterical moaning of MIQ can finally cease.
Last Friday, the High Court ruled that vaccine mandates have had their day.
Omicron changing the game. If you're mandated because of transmissibility, that doesn't work if you look at all the infected vaccinated.
And if you’re mandated for sustainability of service, that doesn't work either because everyone’s getting Omicron. That hysteria’s over.
Tourists are allowed back from October, but that makes no sense when New Zealand’s infection levels are nearing that of the US and the UK.
We’ve got nothing to be afraid of from overseas. They’ve got just as much right to be afraid of us.
So many can see a tourist opening before October.
It just felt at the end of this week that maybe finally the hysterical battle is waning and that over the last two years we bought time, got vaccinated, and now the goal is to survive this virus and move on.
So I’m viewing this weekend as the beginning of the end, just as long as we don't get another variant.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Normality is slowly returning to Parliament.
After weeks of hostility on the Parliament lawns, ultimately culminating on Wednesday's violence, the cleanup operation has begun.
But protestors have dispersed, with Wainuiōmata Marae a location of interest.
National leader Christopher Luxon will give a much-anticipated State of the Nation. on Sunday.
One of the big-ticket items on his to-do list is the cost of living.
The Government also hasn’t been keeping track of which landlords comply with rental warrants of fitness.
As it stands, landlords have free reign to do things by the book if they want to.
Newstalk ZB Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen joined Andrew Dickens.
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It was really interesting listening this morning to the lawyer who has written to the Prime Minister asking her to scrap the vaccine passes by today. And, if she doesn’t, he’s going to go to the High Court to try and make it happen. Matthew Hague is his name.
He’s the lawyer who went to court challenging the legality of the vaccine mandates for Defence and Police.
A week ago, the judge who heard the case ruled in his favour. So he’s on a bit of a roll and, today, it’s the vaccine pass that’s in his sights.
And I tell you what, if he does end up going to court over this - and I’m picking that’s what will happen - and if I was the judge considering the case, then based on what I heard this morning, I’d rule in his favour. I’d support his case for doing away with the vaccine passes.
I know a radio interview is nowhere near as detailed as a legal submission, but the gist of his argument is that the purpose of the vaccine pass system is to prevent the spread and transmission of Covid.
But, the vaccine itself has been found to be less effective against the transmission of Omicron. It still reduces the severity of symptoms, but it doesn’t stop you getting it.
So he’s saying that if the vaccine doesn’t stop you getting Omicron, then there is no need or justification for the vaccine pass - which only exists to try and stop the spread and transmission of Covid.
And he’s bang on there, isn’t he? Not to mention the fact that most of us who are eligible to be vaccinated, are vaccinated.
Another thing, which he didn’t mention when he was on with Mike Hosking this morning, is the truckloads of vaccinated people - myself included - who are more than happy to go to places like the shopping malls (Riccarton, Northlands, Hornby, Eastgate…you name them); we’re more than happy to go there even though it means being in the same place as unvaccinated people.
So if we’re happy to go to the mall without a vaccine pass to get in, that means we’re happy to go anywhere without a vaccine pass, doesn’t it?
You may have heard me say the other day that I’d been into a real estate office to pick up a key for someone, and when I walked in they wanted to see my vaccine pass. It took me by surprise to be honest and I just put it down to being another case of people interpreting the rules in their own way.
Because it’s become a sea of inconsistency out there with the vaccine passes, hasn’t it?
So if I take the legal argument that vaccine passes only exist to prevent the spread of Covid, but the vaccine itself doesn’t stop us getting Omicron, then I’m convinced and I think the vaccine pass has done its thing and it’s time to move on.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Omicron bites and more people are being forced to isolate for extended periods of time, the staff shortages in this country across just about every sector have become critical.
The aged care sector is an example - a broad coalition of residents, workers and facility operators has written to the Health Minister warning him that staffing shortages in the sector could become catastrophic if more workers go into isolation.
And it's not just the aged care sector that's suffering.
In the New Zealand Herald, Jane Phare, a business reporter, has done another story on the staffing shortages in this country. And across every sector. We're all going to have a problem with the worker shortage with or without Omicron isolation.
You might say it doesn't affect you, but it will soon with increased inflation, delays in infrastructure and building, poor service closures and everyday price rises. Fruit is going to stay unpicked. If there are no pickers, it will stay on the trees until it falls to the ground and rots and you will pay more for it.
You won't be able to get to the supermarket after work or when you usually did, because they are reducing the hours that they're open because they don't have the staff. You're not going to be able to get the car fixed because your workshops are closed and so on and so forth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.
The Global Reaction to Ukraine: 8/10
"In a fractured, disparate world this has been a week of real revelation, comradery, surprise, relief, and hope."
President Zelensky: 9/10
"If he makes it, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, surely."
The Wellington Protest: 2/10
"It achieved nothing. The mandates are still here.
It ended abysmally and, ultimately, won next to no friends."
The Government's Reaction to the Protest: 3/10
"No, I doubt by talking, much would have been resolved.
But leadership is about testing the possibilities. And there, as usual, was no leadership."
The Police's Handling of the Protest: 4/10
"I feel increasingly sorry for the good men and women who protect us.
They are being badly let down by a Commissioner who thinks policing and acquiescing are the same thing."
Our Dairy Sector: 9/10
"It's almost absurd. This week's dairy auction has more billions piling into the economy.
They are a lifeline."
Sleepyhead's Waikato Development: 9/10
"At last, the green light.
Those who oppose and waste time, energy, and resource should hang their heads in shame.
This country needs more ideas and progress like it."
Kate's Facebook Scam: 1/10
"Facebook really are bastards.
They refuse to accept, despite the fact we've told them that we aren't giving away money and there are no winners, that this is a scam.
Where are the rules and regulations that hold the cowboys to account? And why would you use or advertise on such a shabby platform?"
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Parliament Grounds remain closed, following this week's dramatic end to the three-week occupation.
A number of reviews are now set to be carried out, including a review of Parliament's security arrangements and response.
Former Speaker David Carter is highly critical of how his successor Trevor Mallard handled the protest.
He told Mike Hosking the protesters had to apply for permission to hold the protest, so the Speaker's Office had forewarning it was going to take place.
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A lawyer warns time is ticking for the Government to end vaccine certificates.
It comes after the High Court ruling a week ago, that the Police and Defence Force vaccine mandates were unlawful.
After winning the case, lawyer Matthew Hague wrote to the Prime Minister giving her until today to remove vaccine passes as well.
He told Mike Hosking if nothing changes, he will proceed with further legal action.
“Look, we had an acknowledgement from the Prime Minister’s office, but we haven’t had any substantive response, which is not surprising.”
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There has been some discussion this week about the Brain Drain, and how with the world opening up for Kiwis again, we could lose a lot of workers overseas.
Employers are having to think of ways to make sure they don't lose their workers going on OEs.
Randstad NZ thinks they have worked it out.
They are giving staff the choice to work anywhere around the world, for up to four weeks a year and not lose any of their pay or leave.
Randstad NZ's country director Katherine Swan joined Roman Travers.
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Auckland Airport is gearing up for a busy weekend - and this time it's the international terminal that should see a bit more action.
New Zealanders from anywhere across the globe will be able to return home without having to go into MIQ from midnight tonight.
Neither will they have to self-isolate - if they're Covid negative.
Auckland Airport's Corporate Services General Manager Mary-Liz Tuck told Roman Travers staff are preparing for the arrival gates being flung open.
“So we are expecting about 900 New Zealanders to come back through tomorrow and that’s the first time in two years we’ve been able to welcome Kiwis home from around the world.”
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Students say Victoria University is failing those of them isolating and who have Covid.
Thirty percent of hall of residence students have Covid.
Student Association President Ralph Zambrano told Andrew Dickens it’s a dire situation and students need more support.
He says they have to stay in their rooms, completely disconnected from the community.
“What we're seeing now because of this lack of support, we’re seeing that students, other students, are making up for them being absent, we’re seeing students go out of their way to volunteer and do the jobs that the university should be doing.”
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Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard believes a wall around Parliament may be needed after the anti-mandate protest turned into a violent yesterday as police cleared the grounds.
Deputy Prime Minister and local MP Grant Robert is not sold and says we need to look at safety but a balance needs to be struck as the grounds are a special part of the city.
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Yesterday it was Wellington. Today, it has to be Cranmer Square, in Christchurch.
Because just as the police were mopping things up outside Parliament last night, we had the spokesperson for the anti-mandate occupation at Cranmer Square saying some of the Wellington crew are going to be heading down here now.
“I think we are going to be bigger than Wellington”, is what Ashleigh Thian said to a reporter last night. Which, by the way, is possibly a whole lot of hot air - but whether some of the loons involved in that appalling occupation of Parliament’s Grounds are heading here or not, what happened yesterday is full justification for the police going down to Cranmer Square and shutting that thing down too.
Can I take you back a couple of weeks, to when Police Commissioner Andrew Coster was interviewed on TVNZ’s Q&A programme.
At that point, he was saying that if police wanted to shut down the occupation at Parliament, it would require a level of force that would be confronting and unacceptable to most New Zealanders.
He talked about “Policing by Consent”. Which means the police force working with the consent of the communities it serves - and balancing law enforcement with keeping the peace.
He said he thought two of the low points in New Zealand’s policing history were the Springbok Tour protests and the Bastion Point protest - and he didn’t think New Zealanders wanted to see the police go back to that style of law enforcement.
He said the way the police dealt with the Springbok Tour protests, for example, led to a long-term loss of trust and confidence in the police. And he said the same thing could happen if the police used force to shut down the Wellington occupation.
Well, as far as I’m concerned, what happened yesterday in Wellington had the opposite effect.
Seeing that sea of police officers stamping their authority - as they should’ve done when this whole thing started - actually enhanced my trust and confidence in the police. And seeing what some of those despicable people were doing: did you see that video of a car being reversed at speed towards a line of officers? And throwing rocks and stuff. It was just appalling.
I know some people yesterday were comparing it to 1981, but I see it completely differently. In 1981, the cops were at every protest, trying to shut them down from the start. With truncheons.
The occupiers at Parliament were tolerated for three weeks - an absurd amount of time. And they got away with a lot more than any Springbok Tour protester got away with.
So don’t give me this “dark day for New Zealand” talk that I heard a few people banging on about yesterday.
It wasn’t a dark day. It was a day of hope. It was a day that gave me a little bit more confidence that doing the right thing and following the rules is still worth it, is still recognised and that we do still have a Police “force”.
But it can’t stop in Wellington.
The Cranmer Square occupation needs to be shut down because, just like in Wellington, these occupiers are breaking the rules that most of us abide by, they are causing a huge amount of stress for the people living in the area, and now, they’re openly encouraging other people to come to Christchurch and join in.
“I think we are going to be bigger than Wellington now.” That’s what the Cranmer Square spokesperson said last night.
So, before there is even a chance of that happening, the police need to show that they’ve learnt from Wellington, and they need to move in and kick these people out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It was pretty ugly yesterday afternoon, wasn't it? What began with creches and concerts and herb gardens and Kumbaya ended in violence and arson.
The Wellington protesters believed they had right on their side. They believed they had all of New Zealand behind them. But ultimately, they believe that their rights superseded the rights of other New Zealanders to go about their business, to go to school, to commute, to work. Their rights don't supersede the rights of other New Zealanders.
Protest all you like; I take my hat off to you. If you feel strongly enough, compelled enough to get out of your comfort zone to go somewhere to raise your head above the parapet and say, I think this is wrong, good for you. But the moment you break the law, the moment you say your beliefs trump mine and I have to seed my right of way to you, you no longer have my support or sympathy.
Should the police have acted sooner? I really think it would have been ghastly if they'd moved in the first week. Even the second week. Once the peaceful protesters had upped sticks and gone, then that was the time to go - had they gone in earlier it would have been really ugly.
I don't want to see violence, but at the same time I do not want to see protesters think they have the right to supersede my rights.
They don't. You have your strong belief, you hold on to it. You protest, you protest lawfully, do not impinge on my rights. And once we start seeing walls around Parliament. That will really brass me off too.
Do we need to block off Parliament to the public in general? Or should we just cherry pick and close up the nutters carrying placards with death threats? I'd hate to see protests at Parliament ended because some people acted unlawfully. I think protests at Parliament can be powerful and they can be meaningful. This one wasn't.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pharmacists say they're not out to rip people off when it comes to Rapid Antigen Tests.
A Consumer New Zealand survey found the price varies from $6.40 to $19 dollars a test.
In Australia, it's illegal to sell them for more than a 20 percent mark-up.
Pharmacy Guild chief executive, Andrew Gaudin, told Mike Hosking competition laws mean it's up to independent retailers where they set their price point.
“We'd expect in this market, being a public good that most will set a fair and reasonable price and we think that the monitoring that’s being done is a good thing.”
People with symptoms or household contacts can also access free tests at testing stations or, from today, on the Ministry of Health RAT requester website.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says the way his officers dismantled the protest around Wellington yesterday was world-leading.
“I’m incredibly proud of our people and what they did. You won’t see a more professional, restrained, courageous resolution of a situation like that anywhere in the world, it was exceptional.”
Eighty-seven people have been arrested, further arrests are possible, and seven police officers are receiving hospital treatment for head, chest and leg injuries.
Coster told Mike Hosking he's confident police took the right course of action
“We worked with leaders to try and get the streets clear, that was simply not working and we were left with no option but to do what we did yesterday to restore the site.”
Parliament grounds are closed until further notice.
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Too little too late would be my assessment of yesterday's clear out of the protestors.
And when I say clear out - there's still a few there, but the most obvious question is why on earth it took so long to get to this point?
Surely what happened yesterday could’ve happened week one, before it grew, got infrastructure and spread around other cities.
To let it get entrenched to the point where riot police with shields and pepper spray had to be called in to clear it out, is to have left it far too long. I wonder if Coster, in his quiet moments (of which there appear to be far too many), ponders the merits of faster action.
By the time they’re plumbing showers into the city’s water mains, and setting up toilets and kitchens, it’s gone too far.
But that first week, when all the rabid nutjobs were there, that was the time to go in.
Nip it in the bud. It was an illegal protest so shut it down within 48 hours. Instead, they poured fuel on the fire - everything from Mallard's macarena and sprinklers, to Ardern's condemnation of them from her very high horse, to Coster's decision to stand back and do nothing- making Police look weak and ineffective.
The cops we were hearing from were fed up, sick of sitting on the sideline when they could've been more active.
The protest, fuelled by petty actions from politicians, and emboldened by Police's acceptance of their presence, not only grew but started to garner public sympathy - one poll showed 1 in 3 New Zealanders supported it. Mandates became a public debate the PM couldn't ignore, momentum kept building.
Are we at all surprised it ended the way it did?
Coster claimed he didn't want to turn the whole thing into a fight, but after all this time, how was it ever going to end any other way?
The protestors were rarked up, they'd had tips offs Police were coming, they were bristling - and by the time cops got there - it was all on.
In the end the fringe let the protest down, the crazies that joined in wrecking any chance of the peace and love brigade getting cut through.
And that’s where the more moderate protestors lost the room. Instead of attacking the media and police for not telling their story correctly, they should’ve been dealing with the nutjobs themselves, extinguishing their presence and voice at the occupation. Instead - it got feral. Protestors were given the chance to leave, but many decided to riot instead.
No common sense, law-abiding New Zealander, not even the ones mad about the mandates, would condone that sort of behaviour.
And so, the protest undid itself, proved the PM's summation correct when she called them deplorable - a badly handled mismanaged shambles of a protest.
A Police Commissioner too slow, too ponderous, too piece-meal. And a government who badly misread it and unwisely didn't follow their own favourite mantra of going hard and going early.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Retailers are defending the cost of Rapid Antigen Tests.
A Consumer New Zealand survey's found the price varies from $6.40 to $19 a test.
Retail NZ spokesperson Aimie Hines told Kate Hawkesby some pharmacists bought them at a high price so have to charge $19 but says that's not a sustainable price.
“I think what we will see across the board is between $6 to $12 max, that’s a pretty fair price, even with freight costs.”
Aimie Hines says retailers managed to land stock within a week, rather than the usual three.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Police have been maintaining a presence overnight, in case of further protests.
But Alistair Boyce, owner of the Backbencher Gastropub in Wellington, told Kate Hawkesby there are no signs of any protesters in the area right now.
“Can’t see any protesters, they’ll be lingering in the shadows if they’re anywhere. It was a pretty cold night in Wellington.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Well, yesterday we got an apology from the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, over delays in people receiving their Covid test results last week.
He said, as if it was some sort of revelation, that higher test positivity rates meant pooling or batch testing became unfeasible and thus processing tests took longer. There were also problems because they had vacancies in the labs that they couldn't fill and the labs were already down workers because many were in isolation because of the virus. Well, shock me. How is any of this news?
Even those of us without any kind of laboratory qualifications, any qualifications at all really, other than an ability to listen to the radio and to read the news, knew that this was going to be a problem, as Omicron spread as more and more people became positive as the R rate grew higher and higher.
I get angry that more people aren't angry about this. Give them the first six months. But since that time, they're making the same mistakes. They're not consulting with other people with far more relevant expertise than they have. They're not listening to the people on the ground saying we haven't got what we need to do the job. If they don't know, they'll just take a wild stab in the dark and in a way,
I feel sorry for some of the Government ministers, but right now the Government ministers should be putting the blowtorch on the feet of those public officials. You are letting us down as government ministers, we're parlaying wrong information.
You are letting the people of New Zealand down who are trying to do the best in the face of the most bewildering array of instructions, counter instructions and messaging.
You are leading down, I think most importantly those poor under siege, beleaguered public health workers who are doing their best and impossible conditions. It is simply not good enough, and if you get cross that I'm banging on and on about the failings of the Ministry of Health, I'm even more cross that you don't care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Health officials are being accused of not properly engaging with the lab workforce when it comes to testing capacity.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield has apologised after overestimating the number of Covid tests that labs could process during the Omicron outbreak.
It's led to delays of tens of thousands of swabs, with some having to be sent to Queensland.
Institute of Medical Laboratory Science President Terry Taylor told Mike Hosking this could've been avoided.
“Suddenly, when we’re needed most, one would have thought that this was the ideal time to call us. We understand how labs work, we understand the logistics.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chris Hipkins is vowing to get to the bottom of the Covid-19 testing debacle.
It comes after Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield apologised for overestimating the testing capacity of our labs.
It meant tens of thousands of swabs were left unprocessed for more than five days, with some even being sent to Queensland.
The Covid-19 Response Minister told Mike Hosking he'll be looking into it.
“The information we were given wasn’t an accurate portrayal of their testing capacity and we will certainly get to the bottom of that in due course.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hospital, community and outpatient services could be postponed for 24 hours if a planned strike by Allied Health workers goes ahead.
District Health Boards have asked the Employment Court to stop Friday’s strike, in which around 10-thousand PSA members are expected to participate.
The boards argue facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority is already set down for Monday and Tuesday.
Hawke's Bay DHB Chief Executive Keriana Brooking told Mike Hosking it’s vital staff continue working during these unprecedented times.
“I think with the acceleration of Omicron, particularly over the past week, we really need to stop and we’re asking PSA to rethink that action.”
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The protesters at Parliament are being given a choice - leave by your own volition or leave by force.
Police from around the country have descended on the area for a pre-planned operation.
Newstalk ZB's Jack Crossland says he can see more than a hundred police officers, and they mean business.
Newstalk ZB's Nick James says protesters are retreating, reluctantly.
“Police have essentially pushed protesters all the way back past St. Paul’s cathedral here, it remains a pretty tense situation.”
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
20 percent of Countdown staff are currently isolating - that's comes out to roughly 1000 workers.
The two Auckland distribution centres are down to 50 percent staff, leading to bare shelves across grocery stores.
Countdown says it's continuing to recruit temporary team members where it can.
Ben Peterson, First Union retail organiser joined Kate Hawkesby.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From this morning any Kiwis coming home from Aussie do not need to self-isolate and no MIQ.
But with the welcome mat opening for KIwis round the world, it also means we can leave New Zealand too.
ANZ economists are warning about 20,000 Kiwis will move to Australia alone.
With a large outflow of people, this is warned to increase our worker shortage and add demand to our labour market.
Infometrics Senior Economist Brad Olsen joined Kate Hawkesby.
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The Tourism Minister says he's working hard to rebuild brand New Zealand.
He says he should be able to make an announcement about the fate of overseas travellers from Australia and non-visa waiver countries in March .
Vaccinated Kiwis living around the world are able to return from Saturday with no isolation, those in Australia can head home isolation-free from Thursday.
Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking tourism won't be fixed overnight.
“Don’t expect tourism to look like it did pre-Covid, the boss at Heathrow said he’s expecting five years, Australia it’s still quiet over there, quieter than they thought it would be.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hopes the hotel industry can shake the MIQ stigma.
From Thursday, vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return home without isolating.
Kiwis from the rest of the world can come from Saturday under the same rules.
Sudima Hotels Chief Operating Officer Les Morgan told Mike Hosking while demand will be slow to return, hotels are raring to go.
“Hotels will be safe to occupy, they’ve got high hygiene standards, they’ve got great staff. There will be no overhang from a health perspective.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
My brother had Covid last week. Omicron struck him and his whole family, save for one child.
He was asymptomatic, bar a dry cough and a tickly throat. All of which he said under normal circumstances he would’ve gone to work with. It lasted 3 days, he said he wouldn’t even rank it in the top 10 of head colds. So, from where he sat, it wasn’t worth the fear and angst afforded it.
I’m sure there are those gravely affected by it – those unvaxxed, or with underlying health conditions, or immune-compromised, or elderly or young children. But for the majority, it’s so low key the CDC in America don’t recommend more than a 5-day isolation period is necessary. So my brother’s view is that it’s not worth the fear, the social dislocation, the decimation of tourism, hospo and international education.
He doesn’t see the need for the $80 billion debt blow out and human misery. The massive toll on mental health, and elective surgeries. He sees the condescending endless barrage of expensive overly researched slogans, made up graphics, and ever-changing frameworks and traffic lights as a waste of time.
This Government's big on marketing, advertising, social media. It’s a government steeped in comms and marketing, but light on actual substance. A lot of ads, posters and billboards, but not enough ICU beds, health workforce manpower, PCR testing capability, RAT kit procurement and distribution. No amount of teddies in windows and ‘be kind’ motorway signs can make up for the fact that as ‘feel good’ as they wanted our response to look, it fell flat in real hard data. The beds, the tests, the RATS, the PPE, the staff.
So now as we face the full brunt of our outbreak, what does the Government of this self-proclaimed world leading response do?
They abdicate. The day my brother tested positive he was told he’d be notified by Public Health on what to do next, 5 days later still nothing. In fact, the day they finally called him to ‘contact trace’ was also the day the announcement came that contact tracing was being abandoned.
So a late, and as it turns out wasted, phone call.
What should the Government be doing here? Well firstly, accept (like every other country in the world) that Omicron is mild to moderate and has overrun our response plan. In line with that they need to make positive result isolation periods 5 days not 10.
Remove all onerous scanning in requirements from businesses given there’s no contact tracing now anyway. Disband MIQ immediately, welcome back international visitors and attempt to rebuild our tourism, international education and hospitality sectors.
Then we might be able to address the real issues we’re facing like increased cost of living, our debt to GDP, our emaciated labour market, low productivity, a failing education system, our mental health crisis, housing, the creeping co-governance by stealth to name a few.
Oh and an added bonus – the protestors would go home. Surely that’s a win-win.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Starting friday 11:59pm, vaccinated Kiwis from anywhere in the world will now be able to return with no self-isolation requirements.
For those coming from Australia, that begins Wednesday 11:59pm.
RATs will be needed before and after arrival, and on day 5.
Cabinet is now looking at whether the remaining three steps of the five-step border reopening plan can also be bought forward.
Grounded Kiwis spokesperson Alexandra Birt joined Kate Hawkesby.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fully vaxxed Kiwi's coming back from overseas will no longer need to isolate from Thursday.
And step 2 – where all New Zealanders can arrive from anywhere – has been bought forward eight days, and will now start on Saturday.
All travellers must take a test before they leave, on arrival, and on day 5.
Cabinet will consider soon whether the rest of the border reopening plan should be brought forward... But whenever it may be, self-isolation is out.
Lynda Keene from the tourism export council, joined Andrew Dickens.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After the weekend I've come to the realisation that it's not freedom that we've lost. It's our collective common sense.
Saturday night I took the family to a restaurant to celebrate my oldest son's birthday. It was full.
So, saying that what I mean was that the entire outside terrace was full. There was one couple inside. The capacity outside is the same inside so the hospo owner says returns are the same as a good winter. But there is a fear that come the bad weather, receipts will be down.
But all the other nearby hospo sites were doing bustling business.
We weren't asked for a vax passport. After all, with 96% vaxxed and this far in the unvaxxed have got the message.
It all seemed like common sense and if felt free.
Meanwhile inside the rugby was on. A cracking match between the Blues and the Hurricanes in an enormous stadium with fresh air flow and not one spectator at all. What was that about? I'm sure someone could have figured out 100 person zones and we could have had 2000 people or more.
No common sense there.
The cricket played all weekend and they had zones. They could have had more people there but still, a bit of common sense on display.
On Sunday there was the local half marathon. An event that was almost cancelled a number of times, but someone figured out that runners could set out 100 at a time. Common sense prevailed and a great time was had by everyone.
Sunday saw Harbour Bridge protestors set up camp at Auckland's Domain. No problem. There's a bylaw against that. Kick em out. But the police failed to move. I would have thought after Wellington it would have been common sense to move quickly but no.
They're still there. No common sense
Sunday, I got a call from a friend whose daughter is in a set room at a Victoria Uni dorm. A set room is a room where you have to pass through someone else's room to gain access. Turns out the neighbouring student now has Covid so my friend’s daughter is now trapped in her room. Where was the common sense in having set rooms in a pandemic?
Turns out the dorm is still serviced by RAs. Basically, third years earning beer money. They don't have a clue how to handle a virus ravaged dorm. Why not a nurse for each floor? Where was the common sense in the university's management of their accommodation?
And then there's the government dropping the self-iso for returning New Zealanders on the day they start returning. Surely common sense says you should have done that a fortnight ago.
And then there's the sudden shift to rapid antigen testing despite the fact we don't have the RATs when we could have months ago. One of the greatest failures of common sense this whole pandemic long.
In the final wash up of these 2 years of Covid, I reckon we will find that one of the biggest impingers on our freedoms has been scaredy pant bureaucrats with no common sense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s two years today since Covid-19 was first detected in New Zealand. If only we knew then, what we know now.
For example, I had no idea then that – in a couple of years – I’d be standing in my kitchen on a Sunday night shoving a swab up my nose.
But that’s what happened last night. I did my first Rapid Antigen Test. It’s a bit of a fiddly process but I’m sure I’ll get better with practice.
Last week, the Government announced it was finally going to allow retailers to sell RAT tests – you may have heard Chris Quin from Foodstuffs North Island talking to Mike Hosking about it this morning. He’s hoping to have them on the shelves by next week.
They’re going to be selling them at cost price. But it still means customers are going to be paying about $32 for a pack of five. So, $6.60 per test.
Now I consider myself very lucky to be getting these provided by work, because so many people are going to pay for their own. In fact, most people if they want them, are going to have to buy their own.
And I think that’s going to be a real stumbling block in terms of getting a clear picture of just how much Omicron is out there over the next wee while.
I’m picking that a lot of people, if they don’t get RAT tests free from work, just won’t bother getting them. Because, let’s face it, most people are finding it tough enough to pay for the basics without adding another $32 to the grocery bill.
Which is why I think that – if you take the supply issues out of the equation – no one should have to pay for these things.
I understand that some people are seen to be more critical than others in terms of keeping things operating. You know, your medical people, truckies and supermarket workers.
But, in a pandemic, is it fair and reasonable to have some people shelling out money for RAT tests and others not?
I don’t think it is fair and reasonable. Particularly, when you consider that anyone turning up at a testing centre for a PCR test, gets tested for free.
That’s if they get past the gatekeepers, of course. As we’ve heard on the show, it seems some people are now being turned away because they’re not considered to be unwell enough to warrant a test.
One of our callers last week said she had a staff member who’d been really crook for a week with a sore throat and runny nose and had been turned away twice from a testing centre.
Another person called in and said they’d had the same experience. In fact, that person was calling us on her way home from the testing centre.
But, nevertheless, if you get past the gatekeepers at the testing centres and you get a PCR test, you don’t pay a thing. Yet, if you want a RAT test, chances are you’re going to have to pay.
Why is it, for example, considered ok for teachers to have to buy their own tests? They’re required, as per the mandates, to be vaccinated – but that’s not being recognised with free rapid antigen testing in exchange. It’s nuts.
Beneficiaries. Why should they have to pay for their own RAT tests? If you’re on a benefit, you won’t bother, will you? And if there isn’t a testing centre near you – you won’t bother with that either, will you?
So, what we’re going to get, is a large number of people being priced out of the testing process.
Which is appalling, isn’t it?
Not to mention the cost burden on critical businesses who have to buy them for their staff.
And that’s why I think the Government should be paying for all Rapid Antigen Tests. If you want them, you can get them, irrespective of what you do for a living – whether you’re a critical worker or not – and irrespective of your income level.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nursing has become a more attractive career path and despite the pandemic, more people want to get into the profession.
Figures released by the Ministry of Health through the NZ Nursing Council show almost 65,000 nurses hold practising certificates as of January 2022.
That's 8.2 per cent more than when the pandemic began in March 2020, and 12 per cent more than in 2019.
Figures released by the Ministry of Education show 1030 more nurses are enrolled in courses across the country, than in 2018.
Ara Institute of Canterbury Co-Head of Nursing Karen Edgecombe said nursing has always been an attractive career, but these days it’s viewed as a secure job to have.
“We are always going to need nurses in our health system, whether it’s in hospitals or out in the community”.
“There’s various aspects of nursing you can do, from general medical and surgical to mental health, working in the District Health Boards or working in General Practices”.
Ara saw a 26 per cent increase in applications for nursing since 2020.
Edgecombe said people look at what’s happening with the pandemic, and see it as their calling to join up and help in the fight.
She said New Zealanders have a ‘want to help’ attitude.
“A lot of personal statements [from applicants] are starting to include recognition of the communities in which they live in and wanting to help their Māori, Pasifika or international communities' '.
However, there are still staffing shortages in the profession across the country right now, despite the increase in people holding practising certificates and more people wanting to study nursing.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said this was due to border closures and Covid-19 activities that require a number of strategies to bolster and support the workforce.
A major independent report released this month also found nurses are overworked and exhausted because of consistent understaffing, and patients are not always getting full care.
The report reviewed the safe staffing programme, Care Capacity Demand Management Programme, put in place 15 years ago to measure the number of nurses working against the number needed.
It found not all District Health Boards had been following the programme properly.
The ministry spokesperson said significant work is underway to ease nursing shortages in New Zealand, including increasing the number of Critical Care nurses by encouraging more nurses to complete post-graduate training in critical care.
A joint Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education programme has also been set up to increase the number of people studying nursing.
This month, the Ministry of Health also launched a $1 million fund to help former nurses return to the healthcare sector, to focus on growing the workforce as pressures from COVID-19 continue.
A maximum of 200 nurses are eligible for the funding across two rounds of applications.
It covers up to $5000 of an applicant’s training courses, English language proficiency tests, administration fees and other individual costs.
The Ministry’s Chief Nursing Officer Lorraine Hetaraka said the fund helps nurses who are not currently practising to return to a nursing role, to meet increased demand, support safe staffing, and improve access to care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rapid Antigen Tests should be available to buy from some supermarkets by next week.
Foodstuffs, which runs New World, PAK'nSAVE and Four Square, has started sending tests to more than 250 stores for surveillance staff testing.
The RATs will then be made available to customers at some stores.
Foodstuffs North Island Chief Executive Chris Quin told Mike Hosking the company has made a commitment to sell the RATs at cost, with no mark up.
“Gonna come in a 5 pack for about $32.99, so that’s $6.60 a test.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
National's leader is labelling self-isolation rules under the first phase of the border re-opening as "totally nuts".
Fully jabbed New Zealanders and eligible travellers in Australia can now travel here, skip MIQ and self-isolate at home for seven days instead.
The first flight into Auckland Airport is due at 2:45 pm this afternoon while the first into Christchurch Airport is scheduled for 5:30 pm.
National Leader Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking it should be if you're positive you isolate, if you're negative you're free to go.
“That’s the frustration, and the Government’s saying they’ll continue to look at it. Why don't you just get it right once and do it right and get it done?”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The travel industry's imploring the Government to remove self-isolation requirements for returnees as the first phase of the border re-opening begins.
Fully-vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers from Australia can now skip MIQ and isolate at home for seven days instead.
The first flight into Auckland Airport is due at 2.45 pm this afternoon while the first into Christchurch Airport is scheduled for 5.30 pm.
House of Travel's Brent Thomas told Kate Hawkesby a limited number of New Zealanders will head over from here due to self-isolation.
“What we do need is for business travellers to be able to travel as well. They need to be able to go and see their suppliers, they need to go and be able to see their customers, and then coming back for a week and having to self-isolate just doesn't work.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor of natural medicine.
How to manage anxiety with COVID surge in the community:
With the covid numbers rising it can make us feel anxious. What causes anxiety and tips on how to approach uncertainty with clear-headedness?
Identify emotional triggers
Notice the physical signs of anxiety in your body
Change our actions to put ourselves in situations that are less worrisome.
How to manage racing thoughts, racing mind, and panic attacks
Tips – herbs and meditation/breathing techniques.
Erin O’Hara joined Francesca Rudkin.
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Well, it’s been quite a week, hasn’t it?
Covid numbers are up, as expected. We moved to Phase 3 of the Omicron outbreak. Russia invaded Ukraine, and Wellington protestors have taken to wearing tin foil hats.
In between trying to buy RAT tests for people struggling to get to testing sites, supporting friends heading into isolation due to a positive result, and answering my daughter’s query about whether World War III is about to kick off, I did, amazingly, find some things to be positive about. Even if I did have to force myself.
It’s March next week, and at some point in March the government will let us buy a RAT test from the pharmacy, which will be a huge relief for the majority of us who are happy to take responsibility for our own health and keeping others safe.
From 11.59pm tonight, New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return home and self-isolate, avoiding the MIQ experience.
From 13th March at 11.59pm, New Zealanders from anywhere in the world will be able to do the same. It’s about time the cruel MIQ system sunk without a trace.
Granted, even those entering the country having to self-isolate makes no sense when, like yesterday, we have over 13,000 new community cases and only 19 cases at the border. Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins has said this requirement is likely to change, so let’s hope the government does so quickly.
Moving into Phase 3 has brought relief to those in businesses and schools responsible for contact tracing and emailing Covid response updates to employees and parents – sometimes on a daily basis.
Simply put, life is more straight-forward now. If you are well, get on with life. If not, get tested and isolate along with your household contacts.
Of course, all these positives have been a long time coming, but when you take a look at what the world’s throwing at us at the moment it’s important to find some perspective and optimism.
While some protestors will continue to cry wolf on freedom and create havoc on our roads and in our public spaces, it will be once Omicron peaks over the coming 3 to 6 weeks that we’ll finally be in a position to talk about pressing issues such as vaccine mandates and passports.
For now though, it’s about looking after one another. Taking each day as it comes, and finding a way to get through the week without completely losing your sense of humour and hope.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Where are we at with the protest?
How long do the Police feel they can maintain this kind of presence? We’re seeing protests growing around the country – protesters walked over the Harbour Bridge yesterday, tents are going up in the Auckland Domain – is there a sense you can just do what you want these days.
NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan joined Francesca Rudkin.
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As if things weren’t already pretty intense in this world, here comes a court decision that will be greeted by the vax mandate protestors with rapturous glee and really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
The High Court has upheld a challenge to a vaccine mandate covering police and NZDF staff in a judgment released today at 2 pm.
Justice Cook has ruled that the mandates were not reasonable or justified in a free and democratic society.
Because a very small number of Police and NZDF staff were holding out on the vaccinations, it found that a mandate was not necessary to either aid vaccination rates or operational efficiencies.
They basically made a big heavy law for just 100 people at a workforces that had just over 10,000.
Justice Cook noted that the Police and Defence Forces instated vax policies which worked with the unvaccinated in a reasonable manner.
For example, the Defence Force had already negotiated with an unvaxxed staff member and decided he could continue to work, but of course, would do so from home.
But then the vax mandate law was introduced, and the Defence Force had no option but let this guy go, this guy was not a problem, they’d sorted the problem already, the law came in, he became a problem, he was gone.
In other words, the vaccine mandate in these two employment groups was a very big stick that wasn't needed in the opinion of the High Court and Justice Cook.
The Police and Defence Force had it covered and the Government didn't need to stick its big fat nose in.
This is obviously a big mistake by the Government by enshrining these mandates into a badly written law, the Government made them challengeable.
And guess what? Someone came out and challenged them.
That gives them the chance of losing, and guess what? They did lose.
And when you lose something like this you lose big time.
You lose face big time, you lose credibility big time.
According to the lawyers who took the action who I talked to today earlier, Minister Michael Wood knew that the mandate law was a big ugly stick and carried on with the mandate law because of some sort of ideologically-driven need to make the mandates a law rather than use the grownups involved in the police and defence forces the chance to use their common sense and negotiate reasonable outcomes between the unvaxxed and vaxxed, which they'd already done.
This is all an unnecessary problem for the Government.
And here’s the run: this decision is quite specific. It’s certainly not anti-vax in no way, shape or form, but it’s about the mandate laws written for Police and Defence Forces.
So teachers will be looking at this with a very, very interested eye. And will there be even more action?
Meanwhile, the Government has to decide whether they’re going to appeal it and throw good taxpayers’ money after bad written law.
And as we head into the weekend, the protestors at Government and all their buddies around the country will sit there and hear the words and all they’ll hear is “vaccine mandate unlawful” and they will feel vindicated, and their resolve is going to harden, and you can already imagine what their placards will say.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly annoyed with the administration’s insistence on sticking to China's “zero-COVID” strategy as the city posted another record number of cases Wednesday, bristling at ever-stricter regulations and a plan to test everyone for the virus.
Schools have already switched to online learning and summer holidays are being moved forward so that the buildings can be used as facilities for testing, isolation and vaccination. Hong Kong says it will go ahead with the plan to test every one of its 7.5 million residents three times in March.
Under the “zero-COVID-19" strategy, every person testing positive case must be quarantined in a hospital or other government facility for 14 days regardless of symptoms. It's in contrast with most countries, which are reducing restrictions and allowing people with mild or no symptoms to remain at home.
“The whole world knows we have to live with the virus, only the Hong Kong government does not know,” said taxi driver Chan Tai-man. “Actually it's not that they don't know, they only do what the Chinese government tells them to.”
With hospitals in Hong Kong already overwhelmed, construction crews from mainland China are being sent to build new isolation units and the city was moving to convert hotels, halls, indoor stadiums and other quarantine locations, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.
Chinese medical teams were also building mobile testing laboratories to help prepare Hong Kong for the launch of the mass testing.
“Everybody is now predicting that we will have a pretty sizeable percentage of people infected with COVID-19 in Hong Kong, so hopefully through comprehensive universal testing we will try to identify these infected cases and put them in isolation,” Lam told reporters Tuesday night.
“To ensure the success, we need a lot more isolation facilities.”
Leung Chun-kit, a kitchen worker, said he didn’t think the government was prepared for universal testing and dealing with the results.
“I think the government should consider increasing hospital manpower and facilities to better support the health workers,” he said.
In his presentation of the city budget on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced a series of measures to provide relief to residents and small businesses, as well as resources to fight the pandemic.
After keeping the coronavirus largely at bay with extremely strict regulations on international travel and internal restrictions, Hong Kong has seen record numbers of new cases fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.
Last week the daily figure climbed to more than 6,000 confirmed cases for the first time, then hit more than 7,000 earlier this week. On Wednesday, Hong Hong reported 8,674 cases.
The analysis of sewage samples suggest the real number could be far greater, with experts predicting that the citywide testing could catch some 300,000 cases.
“We probably have not seen the peak of this wave, so how we are going to manage the next two to three months will be extremely essential and critical to containing, but there is no guarantee whatsoever,” Lam said.
Currently 68% of Hong Kong's population is fully vaccinated and another 10% has had one shot, according to Our World in Data.
As part of its zero-tolerance strategy, China has locked down entire cities, keeping people sequestered in their homes and providing them with food and supplies during extensive testing and contact tracing.
Hong Kong, a former British colony and semi-autonomous region of China, lacks the resources for a complete lockdown but there is growing fear among residents that it is going in that direction. Smaller lockdowns of single buildings or city blocks have raised vehement criticism.
Hong Kong operates under the “one country, two systems” principle within China, but the mainland has been exerting ever-increasing authority.
Lam insisted “there is no...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s been a bad day for the Government regarding vaccine mandates.
Earlier today, it was announced that the High Court in Wellington ruled that the mandates for Police and NZDF weren't reasonable or justified in a free and democratic society.
But it isn't the only area with vaccine mandates they have problems with.
The Government has said their mandates would affect 40 per cent of the workforce, which isn’t right.
Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen joined Andrew Dickens.
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Unvaccinated children are now allowed to take part in school sports and other extracurricular activities.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins clarified the rules this morning.
NZR say that club sport should be included in these changes as well.
NZR General Manager Steve Lancaster joined Andrew Dickens.
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A win for those challenging vaccine mandates.
The High Court in Wellington has ruled a mandate for the Police and Defence Force was not reasonable or justified.
Police and the Defence Force are now considering the decision, and have stopped employment terminations in the meantime.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley took the case to the High Court told Andrew Dickens he's stoked about the decision.
“I think it just says a lot about that fact that everything is changing — the science, the need for mandates, across the board it’s just moved on from where we were six months to two years ago.”
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Doesn’t it blow you away how the anti-vaxxers can continue to reach new lows?
Did you see those appalling people on the TV news last night?
The anti-vaxxers who set themselves up at Tuahiwi School in North Canterbury yesterday when they got wind that the Prime Minister was visiting.
They yelled at her and called her a “murderer”. Can you believe it? These people standing at a school telling the Prime Minister she’s a murderer!
But they didn’t stop there. If you were watching the news last night you would’ve seen them getting into fisticuffs with a parent at the school when she realised one of the protesters was filming her kids. A TV reporter on the scene had to step in and break them apart.
And you know I wasn’t surprised to see it come to that. I’m not sure I’d be able to control myself if I turned up at school and found these despicable anti-vaxxers outside with their nastiness and conspiracy theories. Not to mention filming my kids on their phones.
And, from what I’ve read today, it seems these idiots weren’t even connected to the school. They just heard Jacinda Ardern was there, chucked their mickey mouse signs in the boot and shot down to the school.
Signs saying “This is Child Abuse” and “The shot kills and all the lab rats died”. And, of course, the old “freedom” sign was there too.
And that one is so laughable isn’t it? “Freedom” as long as you agree with their deranged thinking.
What about freedom to come and go from school without paranoid freaks with nothing better to do, shoving their vileness in your face?
And whatever you think of the Prime Minister - and I know some people have had enough of Jacinda Ardern - but yelling at her and calling her a murderer? That is way beyond the pale. It beggars belief, doesn’t it?
But she’s a grown-up and she’s a politician and she’ll be used to dealing with that sort of carry-on. Nevertheless, it is appalling.
But it’s the kids and the parents I’m standing up for today. And not just the kids and the parents at Tuahiwi School. I’m standing up for the kids and the parents at all the schools these clowns have been showing up at.
And the teachers too. Let’s not forget about them. And the principals - like the one who was yelled at and called a “paedophile” by an anti-vaxxer recently. That was outside a school here in Canterbury.
These people have just completely lost the plot. And they need to be stopped before something really terrible happens.
Because the way they’re carrying on, they are creating situations that are becoming more and more concerning and dangerous.
I was involved in a protest outside a school once. It was the primary school the kids were at and we held a protest to show support for the teachers who were having all sorts of problems with their pay because of the dickey Novopay payroll system.
That was peaceful. We weren’t intimidating. And we were showing solidarity with the school.
Unlike these awful, awful people peddling their conspiracy theories and making things extremely unpleasant for parents, teachers and the kids. They are despicable.
And I think the best thing that could happen would be a blanket ban on protests outside schools.
All protests - not just anti-vax, everything.
So how would that happen? I was thinking about it earlier and I think it would need to come from local councils because schools are generally in areas where roads and things are the responsibility of the council - not Waka Kotahi or NZTA.
And yes, it would mean protests like the one I was involved in over the Novopay shambles couldn’t happen. But so be it.
I think it’d be a price well worth paying, if it meant our school communities didn’t have to put up with what’s going on at the moment.
Can you imagine the outcry if outfits like McDonalds or Coca Cola, or tobacco companies, sent their promotional teams to hang outside schools? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As we move into phase three of the Government’s Covid plan and learn to live with Covid in the community, I would have to wonder whether this government can continue to justify locking thousands of New Zealanders out of their own country.
Yesterday we had 6137 community cases recorded of Omicron in the country. There would be many, many more than that. There were 338 cases detected at the border.
So, given that, how on Earth can the Government justify keeping up these facilities? Even excluding the humanitarian concerns, I am absolutely certain that defence personnel and the police and the numerous bureaucrats involved in running MIQ could be better deployed elsewhere.
Continuing with restrictions that simply don't make any sense will ultimately do more harm than the virus will ever do.
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There's a continual push to get the borders open before October.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced there will be a lot of changes in the next few weeks - including MIQ winding down.
He says they've always left open the possibility of reopening the border sooner than planned.
Tourism Holdings chief executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking all they want is a firm date on when international visitors can return.
“We've got winter and summer coming up when people want to travel and New Zealanders want to get overseas and be able to get back without self-isolation as well so we’ve got to get moving.”
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Health officials say they're not trying to scare people with the Omicron response.
It follows claims from Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran that people aren't flying because they're too scared.
He says schedules have been adjusted, with about a third of customers saying they don't want to travel at the moment.
Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told Mike Hosking he doesn't believe people are fearful - but they're rightly cautious.
“Omicron can be an unpleasant disease and people will still die from it, so it’s not without some impact.”
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The Explore Tāmaki Makaurau voucher programme has been a shot in the arm for struggling Auckland businesses.
It's a scheme where you sign up for a voucher to spend on Auckland activities, and registrations are closing today.
More than 220,000 Aucklanders have registered, with 53,000 vouchers used so far.
Auckland Unlimited investment and industry director Pam Ford told Kate Hawkesby three and a half million dollars' worth of vouchers have been spent, and more than a hundred businesses have benefited.
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So we’re into Phase 3 as of today – and not before time.
Problem is, nobody knows what any of it means. I was out all day yesterday driving around Auckland and what I can tell you is that there are still snaking queues everywhere for PCR tests. Why?
Why is no one getting the memo on that? Why are all these people still queuing for tests? Possibly because RATs, which we’re supposed to be doing, are so hard to find.
One of my trips yesterday involved a covert side of the road operation like a drug mule, picking up RATs I’d managed to source – at no small expense I might add – from an anonymous source who was transferring them to me from their car boot wrapped in a rubbish bag.
I kid you not. It’s like prohibition days – only the prohibited substance is something that should be readily available to everybody, like it is all over the rest of the world.
Why RATs aren’t in every Pharmacy up and down the country by now is beyond me.
But here at Hermit Central, we’re still waiting to be told when we can have stuff, where, and how. God forbid we try to adult.
I was tracking down RATs because I have a family member who was a contact, and their work required a negative test before they’d let them return. Unable to get a PCR, they managed to source a single RAT kit, did the test, sent the negative result to the employer, so far so good. Except for the fact the employer said they wanted a second test result done “just to be sure”.
Now here’s where it gets iffy. Employers who are unilaterally making up the rules as they go for employees make things tricky. Where were they supposed to get another RAT from? They’re like hens' teeth, still no access to PCRs, and let’s not forget that under the new rules, being a contact doesn’t even mean you have to isolate anymore anyway unless you’re in the same household as the positive case. Was the employer going to supply the RAT? No, they weren’t.
Many businesses are struggling to source them too, they’re having to jump through hoops and if they’re not critical, they’re usually falling flat on their faces. So long story short, I went into mafia mode and sourced some RATs which even if you waterboard me I’m not going to tell you where from, and I was able to supply this family member with one so they could do another test. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The infuriating thing is why is it all so desperate when we’ve had all this time to get ready for this?
The problem’s not just the RAT access and limited availability, but also the employers who’re freestyling the rules, the people who’re still confused about the new contact rules, those freaked out despite the Government relaxing the rules and still wanting to ’play it safe’ - and all the people just making it up as they go along.
Shambles? Yes, it is.
The Government’s clearly given up on this, but we're so acclimatised to rules and fear, we seemingly can’t let go.
If I can just say one thing to you today it’s this - it’s time to let it go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Businesses still expect to feel under pressure in phase three of the Omicron response.
Health officials will now primarily focus on managing high-risk contacts and locations of interest, like aged care homes.
Only cases and their household contacts must isolate for 10 days - with all other contacts expected to monitor for symptoms.
Canterbury Employers Chamber Chief Executive Leeann Watson told Kate Hawkesby the difference between phase 2 and 3 is minimal.
“We’re still going to see hundreds of thousands of people who will be self-isolating – only for ten days - and that will continue to have a significant impact on businesses' ability to actually operate.”
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Act Party leader, David Seymour joined Andrew Dickens to discuss their latest pandemic policy.
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To come to work this morning, I did my first Rapid Antigen Test or RAT as they’re commonly known. All frontline staff who have to come into work need to get tested every second day. We’ve been given a 2-week supply.
As a nation, I think we're finally realising how big a deal RATs are and how massively we failed.
When Sir Ian Taylor first talked about them in terms of home isolation for returning New Zealanders a lot of Kiwis just didn’t care because they were not affected.
What was badly sold was the use of RATs to keep workers at work when an outbreak rages.
So, yesterday I posted that I was starting a RAT regime. Folks got angry. Particularly parents of kids who are having to be homeschooled because of the number of teachers isolating after being classified as close contacts.
For most teachers, the way to get back to work is to just wait until you get it or put further stress on the PCR regime by getting a negative test. Whatever. It all means days off work. So, classes are suspended
Now one person asked how come a radio DJ gets RAT tests and teachers don’t?
Well, first of all, I prefer News and Current Affairs host.
But I’ll tell you why it’s because my employer decided it was worth the investment. It's hard work and it's expensive.
Now, who employs teachers. The government.
Did they supply RAT tests? No.
Our schools, our teachers, our kids were not worth the investment according to our government. Or they just didn't comprehend how important RATs are.
This week they’ve finally announced 200,000 will now be made available but only at last resort. Well, that’s a pathetic number when you consider the size of the workforce.
And still, the ridiculous hurdles exist including the mind-boggling 6 forms of ID to get the RATs.
I have struggled to understand the Ministry of Health’s hatred of RAT tests. I’ve decided it’s because they are so myopic, they think of RATs only in terms of test regimes and their efficiency levels and not in terms of what they really are.
A way of keeping our country, our society and our economy above water.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Auckland Airport is hoping this year will be a much better year than last
The company announced its third consecutive half year loss with the total number of passengers down 39%.
Carrie Hurihanganui, Auckland Airport’s chief executive joined Andrew Dickens.
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A warning case numbers could go big in the near future.
New Zealand recorded 6137 new community cases today, and one death.
205 people are now in hospital.
It's meant we're moving to Omicron Phase three from midnight.
It'll mean only confirmed cases and household contacts need to isolate, RATs become the primary test and there's greater self-management.
Covid Minister Chris Hipkins told Andrew Dickens the surge was slower than predicted ... with today's position expected a couple of weeks ago.
“We do know that the case numbers double every 3–4 days, it could happen faster than that, but we could be seeing some pretty big growth over the next week.”
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I don't know about you, but just about everyone who can work from home is working from home right now at this company, NZME. It's been pretty much that way since the first lockdown two years ago.
Apart from brief sort of bursts of normality and then it's back to being like the parrot on the Marie Celeste, wondering where everybody is gone. For some people who joined the company over the past 24 months, they've only ever known Zoom meetings and using their bedroom as an office. Which means for those working at home that when they need a coffee, they put the jug on. When they break for lunch, it's last night's leftovers or a quick sandwich, or if it's the day before the supermarket shop, quick run up to the Hot Buns bakery on the corner for a special treat.
That has had a huge impact on Central City and the many, many businesses the central city used to support.
It's prompted a plea from the chief of New Zealand's largest commercial landlord for businesses to please, please let their staff back into the city. Scott Pritchard, Chief Executive of Precinct Properties, says in Commercial Bay, for example, which is a gorgeous new shopping area in downtown Auckland, there might be at any time pre pandemic 8000 people populating the precinct at the moment. It's around three 3000 currently. 5000 people down. Scott Pritchard says the consequences of empty offices are dire.
The shops, the restaurants, the bars, the galleries cannot be mothballed for months on end until people feel safe again - and I really understand what he's saying. Some people have to work at home, for others who have the choice they prefer to be at home. They don't miss the commute. They don't miss the expense of parking. They don't miss the office politics. They like working from home.
And others who work for multinational companies must take their orders from their foreign masters. These CEOs have seen the havoc wreaked by the pandemic in Europe, the States and Australia and want to avoid that here, so their employees aren't given a choice. They must stay home.
So when Scott Pritchard says come back, it's not as simple as Oh, OK. And while I love the inner city and the vibrancy of so many people in a confined space having a great time, is it everybody's idea of a good time? Have people's idea of what a good time is changed since the start of the pandemic?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A clear picture of the impact Covid-19 is having on Air New Zealand.
The airline's just posted a statutory loss before taxation of $376 million for the six months to December 31.
Chief executive Greg Foran told Mike Hosking fear's been impacting bookings since the Omicron outbreak began.
He says schedules have been adjusted, with about a third of customers saying they don't want to travel at the moment.
And Auckland International Airport has announced its third consecutive half-year underlying loss.
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The private sector is offering a helping hand to the Government.
Rako Science says it's willing to provide extra tests for the Government to help healthcare and key supply chain workers.
RATs will now be the first port of call at testing sites in many parts of the country.
Chief Executive Leon Grice told Mike Hosking they can step in at any time.
“We’ve got the only published and peer-reviewed test in the country, we’ve been ready to go since we wrote to the Government in December 2020.”
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How is that love affair with Ashley Bloomfield going for you? Did you get the t-shirt or the apron?
For those who beatified him, idolised him, and told everyone how wonderful he was, just what were you specifically basing that on?
I saw through him at the start of the campaign when he kept telling us how there was no issue with the distribution of PPE, despite doctors and nurses, who of course are well known liars, telling us there was none.
It's been an ongoing charade. The flu jab rollout last year, the vaccine rollout that never happened when it should have because they didn’t order any in time, and the RAT roll out that still hasn’t happened because they stole them all when they woke up.
Don't forget the astonishing tale that lasted a year of the Ministry refusing various media outlets a simple answer around a graph they gave Chris Hipkins, who told us it was the result of careful work despite the graph showing second jabs started before first jabs. And when asked what data had gone into that material, a mad yearlong game of obfuscation ensued, until finally the Ministry relented and coughed the truth.
Those are but fleeting examples in a cacophony of BS, obstruction, incompetence, inefficiency, unprofessional behaviour, and just plain uselessness all led by Saint Ashley.
And now, as if this wasn’t always going to be the way, a testing regime that is nowhere near what they said it would be.
This year Ayesha Verrall, the same person who pre-MP days wrote that report about gold standard tracking and tracing, another shambles never properly delivered, she announced grandiosely that testing capability would be going from a max of 39,000 tests to 58,000.
We have a rolling average of about 29,000 and the system is broken. The five-day result claim is shot, tests aren't being processed, they are at capacity, and RATs are being handed out left, right, and centre. This is not what it said on the box, or anywhere close.
Further, the people processing the tests process all the country's tests for things like cancer, so guess what's happening to that testing.
This is what you get when you have an incompetent Ministry relied upon by an inexperienced and incompetent government, and from a government that insists it knows best, runs everything with a maddening series of rules, finger pointing, and holier than though condescension.
Businesses are closing left, right, and centre, because staff are at home. Most of them are perfectly well waiting on a test that isn't coming. The economy is grinding to a halt because of insane rules that imprison the well, just in case. Tests all backed up a system that they told us was one thing and yet again, is nothing of the sort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The testing thing is doing my head in.
The lack of preparedness, the lack of enough RATS, the queues, the delay on results, absolute cluster.
Then we’ve got the crazy isolation rules – so many people down and out having to isolate. I mean you know when Auckland’s iconic Ponsonby Road restaurant Prego has to close due to no staff that’s it’s end times. I mean that’s surely the final straw for many Aucklanders.
And it's not just them actually - a bunch of Auckland restaurants have been hit so hard they have to close the doors for now.
I’m not sure how bad it has to get for this Government to adapt, evolve, shift strategies and accept they could do this better?
They seem disconnected from all reality.
Here’s the absolute gut punch on all this. Students and workers are being told to isolate in their droves, and not come back until they can prove a negative test. Problem is, when and where are they getting that test? Queues for PCR’s go round the block and then some – you’re waiting hours – even if you manage to get one, which is unlikely, you’re then even more unlikely to actually get the result. There’s a 5 or more days lag on results coming back – the labs have confirmed they’re overwhelmed, they can’t do it, they’re at capacity, game over.
Some tests that are sitting there may never see a result. So, what’s your alternative? It's what we should have had months ago - RATs.
Can you get one of those? Again, unlikely. You’d have to be an essential or critical worker, or part of the health workforce to be automatically supplied one. If you’re just a regular nobody like most of us, you’re going to struggle. They’re not being handed out quite as generously as the Government would have you believe, it's not as simple as they say.
You’re either queuing for hours to get one from a testing station, or you’re buying one on the black market or illegally importing them because the Government's somehow against people taking responsibility for themselves.
In trying to be a responsible citizen and take care of my family, I tried to buy RATS. Felt like a criminal in doing so. It’s bordering on a covert operation, akin to importing nuclear weapons for goodness sake. Why? Why are we being treated like children – or worse – criminals – in this country, for trying to solve our own problems?
My extended family and friends are dropping like flies as close contacts or positive cases and I can tell you out of about 20 of them, just 2 have been contacted by the Ministry of Health to confirm test results and instructions.
You’re basically left to your own devices anyway so why not let us all have open access to RAT’s and be done with it? There's so much confusion out there, it’s like the Wild West. And that’s before we get to all the parents fed up with kids at home isolating as close contacts which means they’re off work too, all waiting to be able to show a test result they either can’t get a test for, or won’t get a result to.
We had so long to plan for this, so many months to watch it unfold elsewhere .. how are we still cocking this up?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Annoyance with the Government's constantly changing approach to dealing with Covid-19 in schools.
New rules will mean students will only be considered close contacts if they kiss, cough, share a vape or sing with an infected student.
Teachers are calling for more rapid antigen tests, as teachers and sometimes whole year groups are sent home.
Auckland Secondary Principals Association President Steve Hargreaves told Mike Hosking schools haven't been able to catch up for lost time.
“I’ve been looking at the strategic plan for the last couple of years and we’ve barely been able to touch it because we spend all time learning the rules for how to manage Covid.”
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RATs will be the norm at testing sites in Auckland.
PCR testing has been pushed to its limits causing long delays.
Covid Modelling Aotearoa Lead Researcher Emily Harvey says the tests still need to be prioritised for people who are close contacts or have symptoms.
She told Kate Hawkesby if you test positive with a RAT, you should trust it.
“Very highly likely a positive result, so well over 99%. The main thing you should be worried about is the false negative rate.”
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Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says the concerns of the protesters need to be listened to.
He told Mike Hosking it's unclear how long the protest will last, but the feelings behind the protest will last much longer.
“The issues are going to remain, whether the protesters remain or not, so we have to keep talking and listening. I think that’s really important.”
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Aucklanders turning up to testing sites for a Covid swab can now drive away with a RAT – which is the new test standard from today.
The rapid antigen tests – which return a result in just 20 minutes – are also being rolled out this week in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the South Island.
The Northern Region Health Coordination Centre says staff will offer instructions on home use of the kit.
But operations director Matt Hannant told Heather du Plessis-Allan some people may still need a PCR nasal swab.
“There might be a special set of clinical circumstances, perhaps for a vulnerable household or something where having that PCR result will just help with the onward management of the case.”
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Wellington's mayor has defended his decision to engage with Parliamentary protestors.
Andy Foster has met with "influencers" within the occupation, drawing criticism from fellow councillors.
Nicola Young has called the move an "embarrassment to the city".
But Foster told Nick Mills he's showing leadership by talking with the protestors.
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There's doubt looser self-isolation rules for healthcare workers would solve staff shortages.
Non-urgent surgeries have been canned for at least four weeks at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Hospital.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton told Mike Hosking the care of people who don't have Covid is already being delayed.
She says hospital staff having to isolate because of Omicron is making that difficult.
“I think we all agree we don’t want to turn hospitals into super-spreader sites.”
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Police are playing down any talk of deploying the Defence Force to deal with the protests outside Parliament.
Officers are focusing on containing and gradually shrinking the protest site.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says hundreds of the Police's 10,000 staff have had to be diverted from other duties to deal with the situation.
But he told Mike Hosking there are no plans to request Defence Force assistance at this stage.
“That’d be a very extreme situation, I don’t think any of us wants to see soldiers on our streets and that’s unlikely to land in a good place for us as a country, particularly in the longer term.”
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The Queenstown bubble for Super Rugby has popped.
All the New Zealand teams and Moana Pasifika were supposed to be in Queenstown for at least the first three rounds, however multiple cases of Omicron within the Moana Pasifika team and at least 15 isolating has swiftly changed things.
It means the Chiefs will head home today while the other teams will leave after this weekend's games.
Player services manager at the NZ Rugby Players’ Association James Parsons joined Mike Hosking.
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Police say genuine protesters are no longer in control of the behaviour in and around Parliament.
Veteran activist John Minto told Kate Hawkesby the protest leaders have tried - and failed - to get control of the situation.
“After two weeks, the group should have been able to sort this out to develop some clear guidelines, have some clear leadership and unfortunately I think with all the new people that have arrived that’s overwhelmed them.”
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Laboratories are working around the clock to keep up with the sheer onslaught of Covid tests.
There's huge demand for PCR tests – with long queues at stations meaning some wait up to eight hours.
About 30 thousand tests are being done daily, just half of what the Government said labs could handle.
Medical Laboratory Science Institute President, Terry Taylor, told Heather du Plessis Allan demand is far outstripping resources.
“All I can tell people is just have patience, we will come through the other side of it, the people who really need it will get the care that they need, and that’s really where our priorities need to be at the moment.”
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Dr Anthony Jordan is the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre’s clinical director and one of our leading immunologists.
As we continue to travel the Omicron road he offered us more advice including on side effects, possible future boosters and updating vaccine passports.
He joined Simon Barnett and James Daniels.
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National Party leader Christopher Luxon says Jacinda Ardern leads the most divisive government in recent memory. But then he would say that, wouldn’t he?
It’s not as if he was ever going to come out and say in that speech he gave yesterday that the team of five million is “tight as bro” and the Prime Minister is doing a fantastic job.
That was never going to happen. But has he gone too far saying the current government is the most divisive we’ve seen here in New Zealand in a long time? Think about it. Is it really THE most divisive? On the evidence presented by Christopher Luxon yesterday, I don’t think it is.
I do think the Government are a bunch of control freaks. That’s nothing new, I’ve said that before. But I’m not swallowing Luxon’s line that the current government is the most divisive we’ve had in a very long time.
There is no doubt that the country is divided on a lot of things. Always has been and always will be. For starters, we are a divided country the morning after every election.
Some of us get the government we want. Some of us don’t. That’s our doing - not the Government’s.
Then, once it’s in power, the government of the day does things that some of us like and some of us don’t. We get even more divided, because we all have opinions and the different things governments do affect us all differently.
But Christopher Luxon seems to think that the current government has taken things to the next level and, as a result, New Zealanders are being pitted against each other by Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet colleagues.
Some examples he gave yesterday of us being divided (because of the current government) are:
Renters versus landlords
Business owners versus workers, and
Farmers versus cities
Not terribly convincing, as far as I’m concerned.
Landlords and tenants have never had love-love relationships
Business owners and workers have always had disagreements and disputes, and
Farmers have always felt like us townies don’t appreciate them
And I don’t see these things changing any time soon. It’s always been like this.
Of course, no political speech these days can avoid Covid - and Luxon also said yesterday that the current Omicron response is further proof of the Government’s divisive nature.
This at the same time as new research is telling us that about 50 percent of New Zealanders think the current Red Covid restrictions are adequate - and a further 24 percent think they should be tighter.
If I was in the current Government, I’d take that as a vote of confidence. I wouldn’t see it as evidence of a divided nation.
Having said that, the people who want even tighter restrictions obviously don’t own businesses or haven’t lost their jobs or homes because of Covid. And that’s the key point, as far as I’m concerned: “because of Covid”. Not “because of the Government”.
Now you may disagree with me here. But any Covid response from any government (red, blue, green, yellow, pink - whatever colour) is going to be divisive.
But that doesn’t mean the government that just happens to be in charge at the time is “divisive” itself - let alone the most divisive ever.
About a week ago, I asked whether the protest at Parliament was a reflection of wider anger and frustration around the country.
And we were swamped with people telling us how angry they were. Some even found it difficult to speak because they were so angry and it was the first time some of them had even spoken about it.
It was really raw.
But the question in my head now is whether that level of anger was just because everyone is so over what’s been happening over the last couple of years - or whether that anger is targeted directly at the Government.
Christopher Luxon believes the anger is with the Government - because he thinks it is the most divisive government we’ve pretty much ever had...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Last Thursday we spent most of the morning talking to small and medium business owners who were really doing it tough. It was really hard hearing their stories.
Their stories of uncertainty, financial insecurity and fear of the future. They couldn't keep going, but they simply had to. They had employees whose livelihoods depended on them. They were in too deep. No one would buy their businesses and many of them had their family homes tied to their means of earning a living. It was really tough and listening to the reality of being one of the backbones of businesses in this country was pretty gruelling.
Now the Finance Minister has announced a new Omicron support payment for struggling businesses. The Omicron peak should be over in 6 to 8 weeks and then we'll see restrictions gradually loosen, allowing businesses that have scraped through to be able to breathe again. There are strict criteria around who can apply for the loan and Mike touched on that too when he was talking to Grant Robertson. If you're already down 50% and then you have to show a 40% drop in turnover, how do you do that?
Firms must show a 40% revenue drop in seven consecutive days since the country moved to phase two of the Omicron response, compared with seven days in the six weeks immediately before the move to phase two. So strict timelines.
Those that qualify will get $4000 per business plus $400 for each full-time employee up to a maximum of 50 staff, firms that meet the criteria could get a maximum payment of $24,000 each fortnight for the next six weeks, which is when they expect to see the Omicron peak.
The government is also topping up the loans available under the small business cash flow loan scheme and Inland Revenue is providing more flexibility on tax payments and terms.
So really the question is, has the government listened to the needs of small and medium businesses? Is this the lifeline you desperately need, as it can vaguely sense that the end is nigh?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Auckland University politics researcher Lara Greaves says the country isn't as divided as it might seem right now.
She told Mike Hosking the long-term trend suggests we aren't becoming any more polarised.
“We’re not really seeing that pulling apart, we’re not seeing that effect of polarisation that you’re seeing in other countries and quite a few studies have looked at this now and compared this internationally.”
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The Finance Minister is defending the comparison period for the Government's new business support package.
From Monday, some will be eligible for up to $24,000 over six weeks.
They have to prove a 40 percent drop in revenue over seven consecutive days within the six weeks before phase two of the Omicron response, compared to after.
Grant Robertson told Mike Hosking they've always done the payments this way.
“We run the risk, if we do a comparative period to a year ago, that we miss the 145,000 businesses that have been created in the last year.”
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Restaurants aren't completely sold on the new support dished up by the Government.
From Monday, a six-week payment will be available for Omicron-hit businesses that can prove a 40 percent revenue drop.
Auckland Restaurant Association president Krishna Botica told Mike Hosking it's unclear how much help that will actually provide businesses that are struggling to survive.
“The jury is out, we’re not quite sure where this is going to leave us at this point.”
The Government says firms must show a 40 percent drop in seven consecutive days within the six weeks prior to the shift to Phase 2 of the Omicron response on February 15, compared to seven days after that date.
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I know lots of people are over the protest, and I feel a bit that way too, and I know that’s easy to say if you're not sitting in the same city as it. Even those in Wellington, just not near the CBD, say they’re sick of it as well.
But then there are those at the epicentre who say it’s horrific, don’t underestimate the gruesome time we’re having. The students who can’t catch the bus, the law students who can’t get on campus, the local businesses being punished, the commuters held up.
But for those of us for whom it's out of sight, it's out of mind. If it doesn’t affect you, do you really care? And many don’t care.
But a lot still do.
I got texts yesterday from people analysing the politics in all this. Rating Seymour for at least having a view, and asking where the invisible PM's been and also, where the leader of the opposition's been too.
He finally came out of the woodwork yesterday, arguing that the Government needs to address three key issues.
He says a response from the Government is required, that they must have a plan for phasing out vaccine mandates – which Jacinda sort of did and didn't address yesterday - she alluded to it happening at some point, but I wouldn't set my watch by it.
Luxon also argued that the Government has to make Rapid Antigen Tests available to everybody, allow Kiwis to purchase them and to take responsibility for their own health. I said this yesterday too – it’s a travesty the Government hasn’t been organised on this front, they’ve had the benefit of seeing how this has unfolded overseas, and they just did not get ready – even with all the lead up time. Thirdly, Luxon argued the Government needs to say when it’s going to move from emergency restrictions to a risk management approach.
He points out it’s naïve – and I’d argue convenient - for the Government and its supporters to argue that ‘now’s not the time’ for these discussions. Since when has forward planning and thinking ahead not been valuable? Luxon points out too much of the debate is now characterized by fear and division – for or against us. And that’s top down too I reckon. The PM dismissing people and name calling or ‘punching down’ as she’s accused of, sets a tone. It speaks to a "them and us" camp - and for someone so hellbent on a 'team' narrative, that seems hypocritical of her.
I just don’t think it’s black and white anymore. Pushing the division narrative of those who buy into her strategy - good, those who don't - bad is about the most ‘unkind’ thing you can do - alongside their current Trump-inspired idea of building a wall.
But the tribalism on each side is so entrenched now, the same as the fear messaging promulgated by this Government, it’s really hard to turn that all around when you’ve taken such a defiant stance.
It shows a lack of willingness to evolve, to grow, to shift. This is why David Seymour gets points on the board, for at least showing a preparedness to move with the times, to flex, rather than just sticking heads in the sand and saying, “now’s not the time."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A hospo boss says new government help doesn't go far enough.
A targeted payment will help some businesses struggling with revenue loss due to Omicron. To be eligible, they must show a 40 percent drop in revenue, since moving to phase two.
Lone Star Chief Operating Officer Paul Steiner told Kate Hawkesby while it's great there's support, it doesn't address the problem of staffing.
“The bigger issue is the return to work for existing staff, the delays in testing, the inability to access rapid antigen tests et cetera.”
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Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace said, adding that she still plans to carry on working. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain’s political spectrum for the famously stoic 95-year-old.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a fixture in the life of the nation, the queen reached the milestone of 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6, the anniversary of the 1952 death of her father, King George VI. She will turn 96 on April 21.
The palace said the queen, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the palace said in a statement.
People in the U.K. who test positive for COVID-19 are now required to self-isolate for at least five days, although the British government says it plans to lift that requirement for England this week.
Both the queen’s eldest son Prince Charles, 73, and her 74-year-old daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. Charles has since returned to work. There are also thought to be several recent virus cases among staff at Windsor Castle, where the queen is staying.
Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, said the queen would likely be given one of several antiviral drugs that have been approved in the U.K. to treat COVID-19.
“If you do get them early enough, it does reduce the risk of severe disease developing, so I would imagine any doctor for a patient in their 90s would be considering giving these antivirals,” he said.
A host of senior British politicians sent get-well messages on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid wrote that he was “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a quick recovery,” while opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wished the queen “good health and a speedy recovery. Get well soon, Ma’am.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also sent well-wishes. “We wish her a full recovery and there are few more resilient people than Her Majesty. She has demonstrated that over a long lifetime,” Morrison said Monday, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Elizabeth has been in robust health for most of her reign and has been photographed riding a horse as recently as 2020. In the past year she has been seen using a walking stick, and in October she spent a night in a London hospital for unspecified tests.
The queen’s doctors ordered her to rest after that and she was forced to cancel appearances at several key events, including Remembrance Sunday services and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November.
This month she returned to public duties and has held audiences both virtually and in person with diplomats, politicians and senior military officers. During one exchange caught on camera last week, she walked slowly with a stick and said “as you can see, I can’t move” in apparent reference to her leg.
The queen delivered two televised messages to the nation early in the pandemic in 2020, and has sought to lead by example. She let it be known she had been vaccinated, and last year sat alone during the funeral of her husband of 72 years, Prince Philip, because of coronavirus restrictions.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said members of the royal family are probably more concerned than the queen about her situation.
“I would guess that she will be matter-of-fact about the diagnosis in a way perhaps that the people around her are less matter-of-fact,” he said.
The queen has a busy schedule over the next few months...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
An Australian infectious diseases expert has given his verdict on vaccine mandates.
The Prime Minister says restrictions such as vaccine passes and mandates can begin to ease once the Omicron wave has passed.
Peter Collignon told Heather du Plessis-Allan mandates help get vaccination rates from 80 percent to 95 – but there's about five percent you just can't reach.
“Mandating vaccines after you hit 95%, other than in specific places, you know, age care for instance, because for cafes and general community you’re probably going to get marginal extra benefits.”
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The Prime Minister has reiterated that the protesters have had their say and it's time to go home and again stressed she would not be meeting them because she says the pandemic is still top of mind.
The Council of Medical Colleges Chair John Bonning is calling for the isolation period to be reduced from the current 10 days for household contacts to just three days.
He says combined with high vaccination rates, Omicron was causing much less serious illness among vaccinated people and that meant some changes could be made. He said he was very clear that many public health measures needed to stay and the changes should be step by step.
But he said there was some sensible middle ground that could help to keep the country moving and prevent workplace’s having a quarter of their staff at home isolating, which is just brutal for business, is brutal for supply chains.
You've got people who know what they're talking about, saying for most people, it will be a mild to moderate illness. So, time to end the mandates? Yes - put a time frame on it because we can now.
Prime Minister Ardern told the Breakfast show this morning that her job is to think about the elderly, the immuno-compromised and other vulnerable Kiwis who will be hugely affected by an ongoing Omicron outbreak.
That's her job, and that's her front of mind. Is that really her job now and should that be front of mind? Do we not all have the information we need to look after ourselves?
Surely, with the best medical advice indicating that this variant is of the cold and flu variety and severity, can she not get on with looking at some of the many, many other issues that we have in New Zealand rather than micromanaging their health care of a small number of New Zealanders?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The first international tourists in two years have touched down in Sydney to be greeted by jubilant well-wishers waving Tim-Tams, jars of Vegemite and stuffed koalas.
Qantas is bringing in people from eight overseas destinations including Vancouver, Singapore, London, and Delhi.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday was an important day that all Australians had looked forward to.
It's a bitter pill to swallow for our own tourism industry though.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson Ann-Marie Johnson joined Kerre McIvor.
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Wellington Mornings Monday Political Panel with Labour MP for Wairarapa Kieran McAnulty and National's deputy leader Nicola Willis: Residents have had enough of the protest, which is in day 14. Police laid down concrete blocks this morning to stop it from growing but is that enough? Plus, is it time we engage with those we disagree with and how accessible are Rapid Antigen Tests?
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Schools are continuing to deal with staffing issues as Covid-19 cases emerge.
Last Thursday, there were 177 education facilities in Auckland dealing with active Covid-19 cases.
Secondary Principals' Association President Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking Rapid Antigen testing would probably help get staff back to school quicker.
“In Auckland at the moment, if you get your test on a Monday morning, you’re still waiting for it at sort of lunchtime Friday, possibly even Saturday morning. And that’s just about volume.”
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A vaccine expert says the justifications used for mandates now don't apply as much.
Act leader David Seymour wants to see a move away from mandates, claiming the only thing they're currently good for is creating division.
Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Peter McIntyre told Mike Hosking they were brought in to protect the health system and to reduce transmission of the virus.
“Both of those have changed with Omicron. We know the chances of severe disease have lessened, but still for the over-50s, they’re significant.”
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The Government needs to come down from its lofty pedestal.
That's the call from a political commentator as anti-mandate protesters wake to their third week at Parliament.
Former United Future leader Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby leaders need to engage with the crowds at some point.
“You can’t just carry on with the ‘we’re not talking, we’re not getting involved’ while the police are saying ‘we’re not doing anything either’. This is just an ongoing stalemate and the Government’s got to take a lead in its resolution.”
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A great deal of work will be undertaken to ensure Rapid Antigen Tests are used correctly.
RATs will become available at Auckland testing sites from this morning.
Those who meet the requirements will be offered one, in order to relieve pressure on PCR testing.
Northern Region Health Coordination Centre Operations Director Matt Hannant told Mike Hosking a lot will be done to ensure RATs are used accurately to prevent cases spiralling out of control.
“We’ve got videos, we’ve got sort of handouts, there’ll be people who can give you a bit of information on the site, we’ve also got the option if people aren’t that confident, we can take them down a different pathway and provide them with that PCR.”
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Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace said, adding that she still plans to carry on working. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain's political spectrum for the famously stoic 95-year-old.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a fixture in the life of the nation, the queen reached the milestone of 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6, the anniversary of the 1952 death of her father, King George VI. She will turn 96 on April 21.
The palace said the queen, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines," the palace said in a statement.
People in the U.K. who test positive for COVID-19 are now required to self-isolate for at least five days, although the British government says it plans to lift that requirement for England this week.
Both the queen's eldest son Prince Charles, 73, and her 74-year-old daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. Charles has since returned to work. There are also thought to be several recent virus cases among staff at Windsor Castle, where the queen is staying.
Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, said the queen would likely be given one of several antiviral drugs that have been approved in the U.K. to treat COVID-19.
“If you do get them early enough, it does reduce the risk of severe disease developing, so I would imagine any doctor for a patient in their 90s would be considering giving these antivirals,” he said.
A host of senior British politicians sent get-well messages on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid wrote that he was “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a quick recovery,” while opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wished the queen "good health and a speedy recovery. Get well soon, Ma’am.”
Elizabeth has been in robust health for most of her reign and has been photographed riding a horse as recently as 2020. In the past year she has been seen using a walking stick, and in October she spent a night in a London hospital for unspecified tests.
The queen's doctors ordered her to rest after that and she was forced to cancel appearances at several key events, including Remembrance Sunday services and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November.
This month she returned to public duties and has held audiences both virtually and in person with diplomats, politicians and senior military officers. During one exchange caught on camera last week, she walked slowly with a stick and said “as you can see I can’t move” in apparent reference to her leg.
The queen delivered two televised messages to the nation early in the pandemic in 2020, and has sought to lead by example. She let it be known she had been vaccinated, and last year sat alone during the funeral of her husband of 72 years, Prince Philip, because of coronavirus restrictions.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said members of the royal family are probably more concerned than the queen about her situation.
“I would guess that she will be matter-of-fact about the diagnosis in a way perhaps that the people around her are less matter-of-fact,” he said.
The queen has a busy schedule over the next few months of her Platinum Jubilee year, and is scheduled to attend in-person public engagements in the coming weeks, including a diplomatic reception at Windsor on March 2 and the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14.
On March 29, she has a remembrance service at Westminster Abbey...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A disappointing start for university students looking to kick off the year with a bang.
Orientation Week events are canned as Covid-19 puts a dampener on the student experience.
University of Canterbury Students' Association president Pierce Crowley told Kate Hawkesby it's unfortunate.
But he says they're still looking to put on some scaled down events.
“It’s going to be bound to prison kind of outdoor events, performances-type things. Everything will be Covid based. We’re doing what we can. We kind of want to provide students an opportunity to have an opportunity to socialise.”
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An innovative solution for the huge amounts of pandemic-generated waste has been developed at the University of Auckland.
Hot pressurised water and compressed air is applied to non-recyclable PPE gear – with water and acetic acid being the end-products
Doctor Saeid Baroutian says this could save tonnes of waste being dumped daily into landfills and oceans.
“Not only do you discard masks and other PPE clothes and healthcare, but they also have a short and long-term social, environmental impact.”
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I couldn’t believe it!
I finished up on my Saturday radio show, last week. Cycled home. Made some lunch. Refreshed the New Zealand Herald, and whaddaya know? It was like Trevor Mallard had been listening to us all morning.
The Speaker of the House was blasting protestors with Barry Manilow and the Macarena. Unbelievable. Apparently I didn’t make it clear enough in my editorial last week. I was JOKING when I suggested they hit protestors with silly music. I was joking. I never for a moment thought it would actually happen.
For me, that’s been one of the interesting little hypocrisies in this whole episode. On one hand, politicians wanted to take a moralistic high ground by refusing to meet with protestors. How dare anyone dignify them with a response?! Only the moralistic high ground apparently didn’t apply to the Speaker, his sprinklers, and his irritating playlist.
Trevor Mallard’s efforts can only have served to antagonise the protestors. And every bit of scorn and hate hurled upon them only reinforces their self-image. The Team of Five Million? Ha. This rabble, confused, misled, and deluded as they may be, felt well and truly left out of the Team of Five Million. They joined together to protest precisely because they felt like outsiders. They felt ostracised. Very little from the last ten days will have changed their minds.
Hindsight’s 20/20. I think politicians should have found a way to reach out to the protestors much sooner. It probably wouldn’t have done much to end the protest, but some of these people have been prepared to completely alienate themselves from friends and family and the majority of our society, to lose their jobs and livelihoods over their misguided beliefs. Refusing to meet them was hardly going to make them feel any worse.
Yes, there were terrible, hateful, threatening messages. As far as I’m concerned, anyone making death threats should have been arrested immediately. But in this morass of different grievances and complaints are some very reasonable and articulate concerns around extraordinary state mandates. Personally, I don’t know why any right-thinking person who was only protesting the mandates would choose to stay and be associated with someone making death threats. But the mandate issue is worthy of protest. I don’t agree with the protestors, but they do have a right to be heard.
I’m very aware that many of those who want to see the protestors rounded up and arrested, whatever it takes, are the same people who supported the Black Lives Matter protests during the Level 2 lockdowns. They were prepared to break Covid laws to protest Police brutality but are now advocating for a potentially brutal police response to a group breaking Covid laws.
They’re the same people who revelled in the ‘Team of Five Million’ and ‘Kindness’ messages, and the adoring international media coverage of New Zealand’s Covid-19 response. Have they actually looked at the crowd? I wonder what the headline in the New York Times would
be if a couple of kids were hurt in an almighty scuffle between Police and protestors on the steps of parliament.
I’m no tactician, but I wonder if the best way to manage the protest is to slowly pick away at it. Police should cordon all the nearby streets. They should stop all but authorised cars from entering the area. No one can bring in tents or sleeping bags. They should target the protest organisers and arrest them one-by-one. It may take days or weeks.
As with most of our Covid response, the rights and wellbeing of the majority should be prioritised. The protest should not have been allowed to grow to this size and should not be allowed to continue. Fundamentally though, when comparing an ongoing protest to the alternative, I am not convinced a potentially violent clash between protestors and Police is better for New Zealand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kevin Milne speaks to Jack Tame about how police are coping with the demonstrations at Parliament amidst claims they've "gone soft".
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Some businesses are still struggling to access Rapid Antigen Tests.
In Wellington there's only one pick up point for the tests for healthcare and critical workers.
Food and Grocery Council CEO Katherine Rich told Heather du Plessis Allan it's only open for two hours and the system is counterintuitive.
“It actually makes more sense for many to buy your own kit because accessing the free one costs the company more. Now that is next level bureaucracy.”
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Hong Kong's hospitals reached 90% capacity on Thursday and quarantine facilities were at their limit, authorities said, as the city struggles to snuff out a record number of new COVID-19 cases by adhering to China’s “zero tolerance” strategy.
To ease the strain on the city's healthcare system, officials said they will take a different approach to hospitalization and isolation policies and allow some patients to be discharged sooner. The move comes amid reports of patients being treated on beds outside a hospital in the city’s working-class neighborhood of Sham Shui Po.
Hong Kong reported 6,116 new coronavirus infections on Thursday. Any person in the city who is infected with COVID-19 must be admitted to a hospital or community isolation facility.
Under the new approach, people who are infected but present mild symptoms in hospitals and government-run isolation facilities will be allowed to leave after just seven days if they test negative on the seventh day and do not live with anyone in a high-risk group, such as senior citizens, pregnant women or immunosuppressed people.
Those who do not meet these criteria must complete the full 14-day isolation period or wait until they test negative, according to health officials.
Health experts from mainland China arrived in Hong Kong to help the city raise its testing capabilities and assist with medical resources and facilities. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam welcomed them at the land border with the city of Shenzhen.
“Fighting the pandemic is our paramount task," Lam said. "We will devote every resource and manpower we have. We will impose any measures that we should. The aim is to make sure Hong Kong people’s lives and health are protected and to uphold Hong Kong’s stability.”
Authorities reported 24 new deaths over the past week. The city has now confirmed a total of 16,600 infections, with 219 deaths.
“In the last few days, we have had a lot of emergency cases where we had to accommodate patients in tents,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, the head of Hong Kong’s Communicable Disease Branch, during a regular COVID-19 briefing Thursday.
“For these situations, our medical staff are very unhappy. We are worried about our patients' care,” she said.
The city’s Hospital Authority has appealed to medical professionals for assistance, asking doctors in private hospitals to help treat patients at quarantine facilities.
The public hospitals are in a “crisis situation," said Sara Ho of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority.
“If a large number of patients are waiting outdoors and if this continues, then no matter how hard our medical professionals work around the clock, there’s no way to solve this problem relying on our own efforts,” she said.
Officials have also appealed to the public, asking people to refrain from going out or taking part in private gatherings, saying that every effort helps as the city seeks to alleviate the burden on hospitals.
Separately, Hong Kong is moving infected prison inmates to an isolation facility after seven prisoners tested positive for COVID-19. The Correctional Services Department said Thursday that the Sha Tsui facility on Lantau Island was designated for quarantining infected prisoners, whose numbers are expected to grow.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier ordered the central government to provide Hong Kong with resources to stabilize the outbreak, including rapid antigen tests, medical expertise and supplies.
China has tamped down major outbreaks through its strict “zero tolerance” policy that involves quarantining incoming travelers, total lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and mass testing of millions of people.
Lam has stuck to the same strategy despite the city's greater population density, higher incomes and more service-oriented economy than in mainland China. Last week, the entire upscale Discovery Bay neighborhood in Hong Kong was ordered to undergo testing after authorities...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More and more protesters are flooding to parliament for the weekend, including some well-known New Zealanders.
Former sailor Sir Russell Coutts has said he'll join, Jason Kerrison from Opshop is in, and reality TV star Gilda Kirkpatrick is there too.
The Real Housewives of Auckland star has been vocal in her support for the protest and distrust of the Government.
Kirkpatrick joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A suggestion it might be time to take some of the heat out of our approach to Omicron.
Royal College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty says we've come out a period of two years of elimination and fear of Covid-19.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that was quite justifiable given Delta was a very dangerous disease but the situation has changed rapidly in the past couple of months.
“Start to think about how do we live with this and move through this. The other question I’ve got at the moment: are we doing more harm than good in some of the indicators we’ve got out there in terms of the other health issues that we have to deal with?”
New Zealand has 1929 community cases today with 73 people in hospital.
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Otago University's vice-chancellor says the vast majority of students are doing the right thing.
It comes after the Otago Daily Times reports Dunedin Police have slammed an out of control student party last night as "blatant stupidity".
More than 300 people were estimated to be in the backyard and there were no QR codes for people to scan.
It followed two parties in the Castle Street area being added to the locations of interest list yesterday.
Vice-Chancellor David Murdoch told Heather du Plessis-Allan high numbers of students are getting tested.
“And are self-isolating, following the rules for gatherings. I mean, certainly some could do better but the vast majority are doing the right thing.”
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Now I know that there are a lot of people who think that this Government has done and is doing a good job - look at the polls. I would ask them to explain this to me then, how is it that this Government can say that teachers are not critical workers?
Principals are astonished and furious that schools won't have access to rapid antigen tests to help protect their staff and keep classrooms open during the Omicron outbreak.
They want, everybody wants, parents want and the community wants teachers to be included in an exemption scheme that lets some critical workers bypass close contact isolation requirements if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests.
How was it that teachers are not included in that list? Chris Hipkins, the Covid-19 Minister and the Education Minister said at the start of the year he wanted stability and full attendance at schools to be the norm.
With disruptive measures like alternating days at school, only used on a local level in case of an outbreak, Hipkins said he was hoping that getting kids back into school would help remedy issues like the digital divide, which he said had been made worse by Covid.
And teachers whom he acknowledged were stressed and tired, had found hybrid learning was almost impossible. That was in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, so the Education Minister is very clear that getting children and teachers back together in classrooms is vitally important.
So how the hell can the Government explain why teachers aren't considered worthy of the basic protection? Right?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are two groups of people in New Zealand at the moment.
Oh really?
Yep. And what do you think they are?
Anti-mandate and pro-mandate? No.
Anti-protest and pro-protest? No.
So what are they then?
Well, the first group, are the ones who still want to do everything they possibly can to avoid getting Covid - even Omicron. Most likely because they’re of an age where Covid puts them at significant risk or they have an underlying health condition they don’t want Covid messing with.
The second group, are the people who are thinking ‘oh look, chances are I’m going to get it at some stage so I’d probably prefer to get it now, especially while the sun is still shining and we’re not in the middle of winter’.
Me, I’m in the second group. Because I’m coming around to the fact that this Omicron variant is going to get me at some stage. In fact, I may even have it already!
Our daughter is back in Dunedin for university - it’s Flo Week down there, when all the students move into their flats and party it up before the first-years’ start arriving this weekend. Flo Week is short for Flat Orientation Week, by the way, in case you were wondering.
And the kids down there have been going into isolation left, right and centre while they wait for Covid test results after going to flat parties since last weekend.
So, our daughter’s been telling us that she’s heard of people - not sure how many - who have tested positive without any symptoms. Which, from a purely selfish perspective, is probably the version you’d want isn’t it?
But it just shows, doesn’t it, how the official numbers we’re getting are most likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. It was Michael Baker who said the other day that the official numbers are probably only about a tenth of the actual number of cases out there.
So the horse has well-and-truly bolted.
And I think having someone in the thick of it down there in Dunedin has definitely had an influence on my view of things - and that’s why I’m putting myself in the group of New Zealanders that has come to accept that we’re probably going to get it and, if we are going to get it, we probably want to deal with it before winter.
Now this doesn’t mean my enthusiasm and support for vaccination has diminished. Not a bit. Knowing I’m triple-jabbed makes me feel even more confident that I’m ready to deal with Omicron when I do get it.
It also doesn’t mean that I’ve given up on wanting to protect the hospital system. Because that’s been a major driver in my support for the vaccination programme and my support for the vaccination mandates.
And it doesn’t mean I’ll be wearing my mask or scanning-in any less. Because I know there are vulnerable people who need to avoid getting Omicron at pretty much any cost and if wearing a mask and scanning helps them, that’s what I’ll do. Because they are the people more likely to need hospital care if they do get Covid.
So surely, the more of us who get Omicron sooner rather than later, the better the chances of the hospital system coping when winter arrives and we have the perfect storm of Omicron plus seasonal flu.
That’s why I’m in the group of people who are thinking ‘we’re going to get it. So let’s get on with it’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Time now to mark the week, the little piece of news and current events that’s almost as popular as tomatoes at under $6 a kilo.
The protest: 2/10
“There are no winners.”
The police and their handling of the protest: 2/10
“Too slow, too soft.”
The politicians handling of it: 2/10
“Pretending they were all mad as snakes and rabble - how did that go for you?”
Trevor Mallard's role: 1/10
“Idiot.”
Dairy: 10/10
“Redefining the term golden days. There seems to be no ceiling to what the farmer is earning for this place.”
Prince Andrew: 1/10
“Reprobate.”
Virginia Roberts: 3/10
For a person who couldn’t wait to get to court and fight for victims, isn't it amazing what money does for your credibility?”
Phil Goff: 4/10
He sort of personifies all that’s wrong with local body politics - a bit bland, didn’t do a lot, hung around too long and leaves with a bit of a whimper.”
War: 6/10
“Because I think, when it comes to Ukraine, it isn't going to happen. Which means oil will drop, petrol will get cheaper, markets will rise, super schemes will blossom and all will be well with the world.
Or have I joined one too many things together there?”
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A former Defence Minister says the Government needs to think twice before bringing in the military to deal with the protest at Parliament.
Police have requested support from the Defence Force to tow illegally parked vehicles.
It comes amid fears the protest could continue for several months.
Former National MP Jonathan Coleman told Mike Hosking bringing in New Zealand troops to deal with New Zealand citizens, could draw comparisons to Belfast in the 1970s.
“The Government’s now got this situation, a replay of Bastion Point on the other hand and then the alternative doesn’t look very pretty either. So, yeah, they could tow a few vehicles but they’d have to be very, very careful.”
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According to some experts, we should expect to see the protesters outside parliament for the long haul.
Chris Cahill from the Police Association says they'll still be there in three months.
Questions are being raised about the kids at the protest.
Newstalk ZB understands protesters have created a school or daycare amongst themselves, but how do we feel about kids being at the protest for three months?
Child psychologist Kathryn Berkett joined Kate Hawkesby.
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A “chaotic shambles” is how one reporter this week described the Government’s RAT kit rollout for critical workers - and that sums up the week really - if not the whole pandemic, let’s be honest.
We’ve got a cumbersome and clunky critical worker RAT kit rollout requiring businesses to register with six forms of ID.
Six.
Set up systems in their workplace to manage this, get hold of the RATs and be clear on the rules. Which, speaking of rules – they keep changing, you get a conflicting message every time you call – even the Ministry seems unclear on what exactly the rules are.
That’s if you can get hold of the Ministry. I know of someone who called the Covid line – they were 146th and then 94th in line, on two separate calls. That’s a system not coping – a chaotic shambles indeed.
I also know of someone whose child was unwell, she took him for a Covid test. Four days later there was still no result. He felt fine and wanted to return to school but she needed to check his test result. No answers, no one knew, conflicting advice from the Healthline, so after him, his parents and their 4 other children had all isolated, she decided in the absence of any answers or results, he could return to school.
When she followed up through her own contacts in the health sector where his test had gone and why no result, she was told he was positive - and she'd be officially notified by Public Health. She contacted the Ministry of Health, rang the Healthline multiple times asking for advice on isolation times, contacts, testing procedures, she was given four completely different and conflicting pieces of information.
She is still yet to be officially notified her son tested positive - Chaotic shambles.
She is not alone.
The disorganization of the Government not ordering RAT’s early enough means we don’t have enough of them for critical workers like schools to be able to use them. School students and teachers are now dropping like flies. It’s frustrating for them and for parents – and it beggars belief the Ministry still says – “we want kids in school” when their own incompetence appears to be preventing that from happening.
Then there’s the protest, an invisible PM, a government running for the hills, a Police force inept – full of threats they don’t deliver on – as we enter day 11 of this occupation, the crowd just continues to swell. Disturbingly, the Police Association Head said yesterday he reckons the protestors could still be occupying Parliament’s grounds in 3 months’ time.
Russell Coutts is joining them - the protestors seem more organised than both the Police and the Government.
Then there’s the College Sport fiasco with sports teams telling kids they can’t play unless they’re vaccinated – the Ministry saying that’s wrong, it’s not true, but the Ministry’s not prepared to do anything about it – they’re putting it back on parents to “contact their schools and tell them that’s not right”.
Are you kidding? That was Chris Hipkins' official advice.
Day 11 of the protest, year 3 of the pandemic, week one of our Omicron surge, and look at the state of us.
Chaotic Shambles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Health Minister accepts there has been confusing messaging on whether teachers should be able to access rapid antigen tests.
Officials say RATs will only be available to school staff if they're close contacts and must be back at school - and schools should have planned for scenarios where some teachers and students isolate at home.
But Andrew Little says under the rules, teachers should have access to tests.
He told Mike Hosking he accepts the issue is creating a lot of frustration and anxiety in schools.
“If the message isn’t getting through, then we’ve got to take responsibility for that, I’ve seen some of the correspondence from teachers and teachers’ organisations.”
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Calls for teachers to be included in the close contact exemption scheme for critical workers.
The system allows those workers to continue going to work when identified as close contacts, instead of isolating, subject to daily negative RATs.
Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association's Pat Newman told Heather du Plessis teachers realistically should be designated critical.
“If we have to shut schools because my staff are ill or can’t get back, then all the front-line workers out there are going have to stay home and look after the children.”
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Queenstown is the epicenter of Omicron in the South Island, with dozens of businesses and hospo venues having to shut their doors because of self-isolation and close contact rules.
Queenstown is a prime example of just how tough the tourism and hospitality sectors are doing, all businesses are doing it tough.
Frequently, the family home is holding up the family business, so any failure of a business has huge far-reaching ramifications that go way beyond the immediate family. Julie White, Hospitality NZ CEO says, with Omicron, the end is in sight. They just need a bit of support from the Government and the taxpayer to get them to the finish line.
If you're in hospo or tourism, are you still hanging in there? Can you keep going?
Do you bite the bullet now or should the support keep going?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did you hear Chris Cahill from the Police Association on Newstalk ZB this morning?
I couldn’t believe what I heard.
He was talking about the protest at Parliament and said he thinks the whole thing is a dog’s breakfast - which I don’t think anyone could argue with.
But the bit that got me was when he said “do you want the bad news?” And then went on to say that he thinks the protesters will still be there in three months' time.
I was blown away when I heard him say that. But then I thought about how things have played out so far, and I realised I’ve got no reason to doubt him. The Police Association has much more intel than we do. And, unless something is done, I think they will still be there in three months’ time.
Particularly when you consider what the Police Commissioner has been saying over the last couple of days.
But is that acceptable? I don’t think it is - not for a minute. For the simple reason that these protesters have broken all sorts of rules - just like the crowd camping out at Cranmer Square.
As I said yesterday, the ones here in Christchurch have to be moved on ASAP, because the council by-laws say you can’t camp at Cranmer Square. You break the rule - you get kicked out. Well, you should.
Just like the crowd camping at Parliament. A few people took me to task earlier in the week for saying that what they’re doing is against the rules - pointing out that everyone is entitled to protest outside Parliament.
Yes, you are allowed to do that - but the rules are very clear. Protesters have to stick to the walkways and not damage the lawns and flowerbeds, and structures such as tents aren’t allowed. So, guilty as charged.
It’s possible the only fly in the ointment there is Trevor Mallard contributing to some of the lawn damage himself when he turned the sprinklers on. What a stupid man. But the rain that went through Wellington on Friday night is probably just as much to blame on that front too.
Nevertheless, Parliament’s rules have been broken. Not to mention the chaos with all those cars still blocking the streets. More rules broken. So there are a gazillion good reasons for firmer action - but are we going to see it?
I thought we were last Thursday, but that came to nothing. They’re still there, brassing people off, and we’ve now got the sympathisers camped-out too at Picton, Dunedin and Cranmer Square here in Christchurch.
All of them saying they’re going nowhere until the vaccine mandates are scrapped. They are dreaming, of course. But I think if no one does anything, the crowd at Parliament will still be there in three months' time.
Just like Chris Cahill from the Police Association said this morning.
We got a reminder in the mail at home yesterday saying we’re overdue paying a parking ticket. I looked at it and thought ‘are you kidding me? You’re chasing me up for staying a bit longer than I should’ve in a car park, but you’re doing nothing about the misguided occupiers in Cranmer Square who are clearly breaking the rules’. And doing nothing about their mates in Wellington either.
It’s pathetic, isn’t it? But I suppose ‘Mr Play-by-the-Rules MacDonald’ is much easier to deal with than a bunch of self-entitled people who will jump up and down and get all aggro on social media if anyone dares to tell them what to do.
I think that’s what brasses me off most about these protesters around the country. It’s not like they’re fighting a cause on behalf of some downtrodden sector of society. Every single one of them is only there for themselves.
They’ll tell you they’re unified and doing it on behalf of everyone else. But they’re not. They’re self-interested, self-obsessed and self-entitled.
And that’s why the prospect of what’s happening at Parliament going on for another three months is so galling to me. And it can’t possibly be allowed to happen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are more calls for help from hospitality businesses every day.
Now a Hospitality NZ survey says more than 70 percent of cafes, bars and restaurants are looking to cut staff or reduce hours to survive.
We heard earlier this week what's happening in Queenstown and in Auckland's CBD.
Hospitality NZ CEO Julie White and Retail NZ CEO Greg Harford joined Mike Hosking.
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I don’t have a problem with David Seymour meeting with the protesters.
The Prime Minister does, obviously, but that's because he broke ranks of what up until now has been a pretty united front from all politicians. But Seymour decided dialogue might be a good thing - his justification being that "as protests change, so must the approach". And his view of it was that the extremists had gone, it was more peaceful now, and it was time for some responsible dialogue.
To backtrack how all this came about, we had on the show yesterday, Backbencher Pub owner Alistair Boyce, to talk about how the Police were going to start towing protesters cars - and what that might mean for local businesses like him.
Businesses who’d had to close due to the ruckus, and due to the fact regular punters weren’t pushing past protesters to show up, nor could they get a park because streets were blocked by protesters cars.
Not that any of the cars have been towed yet, because Police still haven’t managed to find a truck as far as I can gather, but anyway, Alistair told us that he’d been talking with some of the protest leadership and the mood had changed, the crowd had changed, it was more calm and peaceful and protesters had some semblance of leadership now.
They had an end goal, and they wanted to talk - and he said he’d brokered a deal with a senior member of Parliament to speak with them. I pushed him on who this might be, given that would be a big development if true, but he wouldn’t say other than the protest leadership and this mystery politician would be meeting by the end of the day.
When Mike had Megan Woods on his show later on, he put this to her – that someone was going to meet with the protesters - and she immediately shot that down saying categorically that absolutely no one from government would be meeting with them, that it was an unlawful protest, they were a dangerous and violent lot, and no government minister was going near them. She was adamant. She said there were people issuing death threats, there was a noose hanging in a tree, it was not safe.
This left us perplexed as to who this secret politician meeting them must be. We later find out of course, David Seymour.
He said it was time for ‘some mature conversation about de-escalation.’
Kudos to him for doing it. I'm not sure how entering a reasonable discussion and hearing each side of a story is ever a bad thing.
The protesters want to be heard, and ignoring them has so far only fanned the flames, it's not working. But the Government won't budge.
So good on Seymour for trying something different - but I’m not sure it resolves anything.
Unfortunately, what the protesters really want is a government minister, someone with some ability to give them some answers around an end to mandates.
But they’re not going to get it.
So where does this all end? And more importantly when? Because at this stage it's an ever-growing occupation set up like a small village, and as of this morning, still not a single car's been towed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Protesters at Parliament are disappointed no one from the Government's come down to talk to them yet.
It's the tenth day of the demonstrations and the lawn in front of Parliament is still filled with tents and the nearby streets are blocked with 450 vehicles.
Protester liaison, Leighton Baker, told Mike Hosking tens of thousands of businesses have been affected by the vaccine mandates, and they all want change.
“What’s most disappointing is that no one in the Government will actually come down and talk to people who pay their wages that they’re supposed to represent.”
Leighton Baker is the former leader of the New Conservatives and represents a raft of groups involved in the protest including The Freedom Alliance, New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science, Outdoors & Freedom Movement, The Freedom and Rights Coalition and Voices for Freedom.
LISTEN ABOVE
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The tents can stay but the vehicles around Parliament must move.
Protesters are still camping on the lawn in front of the Beehive, while 450 of their vehicles are jamming the surrounding streets.
Police Association President Chris Cahill reckons protesters will still be there in three months.
He told Mike Hosking a group of people sitting in tents won't change the world and can be left there.
“The vehicles that are blocking other businesses and stopping New Zealanders go about their business, that’s a different kettle of fish and police have to deal with that.”
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Even though the Prime Minister claims schools shouldn’t be mandating sports, there are still a lot of kids who are missing out because they’re not vaxxed.
David is a dad whose unvaccinated kids are facing de facto vaccine mandates.
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The protest at Parliament faces a challenge today as fed-up locals, university students, retailers and parliamentary staff have demanded that their right to freedom of movement, their right to attend lectures and their right to trade.
These rights actually trump that of a group of people with various grievances who've been camped outside parliament for the last week. Yes, they have a right to protest. They do not have a right to impede the rights of others.
As for the protesters demanding they will not leave until they've had contact with the Prime Minister or a member of the cabinet. According to New Zealand Herald political reporter Thomas Coughlin, prime ministers don't usually come out to respond to protests, even when it's something they agree with. He points out Jacinda Ardern didn't visit the climate strike protest despite climate change action being something she strongly supports. And he also points out there's the issue of the threats being made by some people, by an ugly element who do not represent all of the protesters.
But the threats to hang her from her heels, and you know the usual nonsense, gives her a very good reason for staying away.
Nobody wants to see violence and interestingly enough, it's mainly the two groups facing each other on either side of the fence that are both the groups who least want to see violence.
The protesters and the police. I think it's fair to say the protesters have made their point. That mandates are harming people that mandates must have an end point, as Omicron makes its way through the community, vaccinated and unvaccinated.
So, a week on, point made.
Isn't it time you packed up your tent and went home before everything turns nasty?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Who do you reckon is winning the PR war when it comes to this protest at parliament?
As another group sets up camp in Christchurch, you get the sense there is an element of momentum, and if not momentum, certainly a resolute determination to hold their ground.
The media seem all over the place. Some are acquiescing to the speaker's request not to interview people, while others ignore him. So, we are not sure whether the protestors are vermin and rabble or regular New Zealanders just wanting to have their voice heard.
I am getting a lot of text messages, so clearly there is an overt campaign going on. They're all good guys apparently and it's as clean as a whistle on the grounds, not a bad word is being said and the media are scum. By now you know the stuff.
But the media are also good with theory it seems.
They told us on Friday the weather apparently was going to send them home over the weekend. But clearly it didn’t
Yesterday they were reporting the sun was getting to the protestors.
It's an astonishing triple skill some of these journos have - as well as reporting they are good at meteorology and psychology as well.
We got reports of the abuse being handed out to those ticketing cars, we have the upset of the businesses that can't operate and we have the politicians seemingly in lockstep over the lack of chats.
Luxon has more security, presumably because he needs it.
Mallard has no real regrets about being a pillock and Jacinda has gone to her classic play book line of "its nothing to do with me".
So where are we at?
Like most things it's not as black and white as any one story or claim.
I have no doubt there are some half decent people there, the same way I have no doubt there are some buffoons and trouble makers.
I have no doubt there is a representation of a wider mood among many of us who see a lot of stuff that is going badly wrong in this country.
I am convinced that not talking to them is a political mistake.
I am convinced the police were asleep at the wheel and let the opportunity to sort it sooner slip.
Most importantly, I have no idea how it ends.
I do know that it won't change anything.
So it may be a standoff if the politicians keep ignoring them and those with little else to do hunker down with the long haul.
Like so many of life's complexities, there seem no winners.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As was inevitable, my daughter’s school had its first Omicron case this week and in came the email notifying parents that a student had tested positive. They immediately followed that up with the very calm assurance that this should have no impact on school attendance, that all students - unless you’d been notified as a close contact - were safe to return to school, that health and safety protocols as per the Ministry of Health were being followed.
This of course does not diminish the alarm that Omicron’s arrived on their doorstep.
Two years of fear-mongering and schools shutting for months on end will do that to you. So it took some persuading that all was fine, and it was business as usual. I’m not sure that email assured all parents and children though, as the next day another email came out reiterating the Ministry’s guidelines on returning to school, prioritizing learning, and the importance of carrying on.
I can only assume that email was sent out to hose down the number of parents and/or students who’d decided no thanks, we’ll stay away, hence the school needed to double down on its reassurances.
But it’s not just schools spooked by this. A survey this week by Research NZ revealed that the “country has divided itself into “roughly two equal sized camps”; those who’ve changed their behaviour to limit exposure to Omicron, and those who are carrying on like before.” The report said 53 percent of “the 1001 Kiwis who took part, had ‘significantly changed what they do or how often they do it’.
That’s disturbing because it smacks of just how powerful the fear messaging has been, how pervasive it’s been, and how suckered into it we all got. It’s not just sad for those who’re still afraid, but sad for the domino effect on all those negatively impacted. Cafes and restaurants sitting empty, supermarkets with smaller crowds, empty libraries, and schools with students too scared to attend. The shift in mindset we’re being required to make – is a large leap.
The epidemiologists, experts, modellers, Ministry of Health and government ministers all the way up to the PM, have relentlessly warned us of this deadly disease coming to ravage us all for two solid years. And now that we’re finally ramping up case numbers, they’re flipping all that and saying, actually, don’t worry – carry on about your business.
It’s a mental leap clearly not everyone's comfortable making.
If you’ve got friends and family overseas, you’ll be more relaxed about it – we’ve got a daughter in Melbourne who along with all her friends has had it, a nephew in the US who had it, along with all his mates, friends and family in Australia and London who’ve all had it – all of them say the same thing – they can’t believe the amount of fear in New Zealand around Covid. Maybe it’s because we really didn’t get it here in the big numbers as other countries did.
So I'm actually relieved a milder variant is hitting us now, so that once we’ve all had it, hopefully we’ll be less scared of it and put this climate of phobia and fear behind us once and for all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It is being suggested it would take a bold judge to side with a group that claims MIQ was unlawful or unreasonable.
A two-day judicial review of the system has wrapped up in the High Court - a case taken by Grounded Kiwis, arguing the right to enter New Zealand.
The court's decision has been reserved.
Auckland University law expert Jane Norton told Mike Hosking any judge that sides with the group would be pretty brave.
“At the time that’s being challenged, they were pursuing an elimination strategy, so the alternative that Grounded Kiwis are suggesting weren’t have been able to achieve elimination in New Zealand.”
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Police finally seem to be going harder on the protesters that are causing inconvenience to the people of Wellington.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has issued an ultimatum, move your cars off the streets, or they will be towed.
This comes as we are now in week two of the protesters causing havoc in the capital, and nearby businesses have had a gutsful.
Owner of the iconic Backbencher pub Alistair Boyce joined Kate Hawkesby.
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Members of some Auckland households are having to isolate in campervans.
There are also reports of households that have families of 10-plus, staying in isolation periods for up to 45 days.
In Phase Two, the self-isolation period for cases reduces from 14 days to 10 days, and for contacts from 10 days to seven.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking he acknowledges it could be quite difficult for bigger households.
“You’re going to have people potentially passing it from one person to the next and it could spread through that family.”
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Police continue to take a softly-softly approach to the protest at Parliament.
The lawn in front of the Beehive is covered in tents, straw, mud, leaking Portaloos, and rubbish bags.
The surrounding streets are full of cars, campervans and trucks, which are blocking businesses and Victoria University.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told Mike Hosking police won't be imposing a state of emergency, which could force tow truck companies to help, like in Canada.
“What we’ve seen overseas is that escalation adds to anger and resentment but doesn’t necessarily close out the underlying problems.”
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DHBs could offer employment to final year medical students, if Omicron puts too much pressure on our hospitals.
The number of Covid patients in hospitals have been rising daily, since last week.
The Resident Doctors Association says they're short across the board for doctors, critically so in emergency departments.
National secretary Deborah Powell says they've been planning for a surge, which includes sixth-year medical students taking on more responsibility.
“They won’t be registered medical practitioners but they’re still pretty well informed, they know how to assess a patient and then they can report back to the doctor on duty.”
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With anti-mandate protesters camped out on Parliament's lawn National's deputy leader has heavily criticised Trevor Mallard's actions against Parliament's illegal occupiers.
Mallard turned sprinklers on and blasted some of the world's most hated songs in a largely unsuccessful attempt to move protesters on.
Here is what MPs Nicola Willis and Kieran McAnulty told Nick Mills on Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings.
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If you ever want an example of how farcical our border situation is right now just talk to Paul Abbott.
Paul is leaving New Zealand after having arrived in the country for his new job as the head of Destination Queenstown.
The job lasted seven months and now he's off.
Why?
Because he can't get his family into the country.
So here we are, unable to get the labour and skills we need, and occasionally when we do, we clearly don’t have the follow through to make sure it works with things like family.
His family couldn’t get an MIQ spot and so what person in their right mind is sitting in one country when their family is in another?
He says his time in the job has been a mixed bag. The upside is that Queenstown is amazing and who would disagree with him?
The downside is that he's watched too many people have their lives tipped upside down.
So he's off - and in that is the sad story of this country and its attitude.
We are the “oh well“ country.
We can't get people and our sectors are wrecked. Oh well.
We've got a worker but the family couldn’t arrive so he's off. Oh well.
But don’t worry, we've got the lowest death rate in the OECD. We've also got a lot of bankruptcy, mental health issues, desperation, anger and economic troubles. But the death rate is good so - oh well.
So Paul returns to Australia, which as more and more evidence presents itself has clearly handled this whole thing way better than us, to reunite with his family and get on with his life
If all you ever aspired to was to tread water in a hermit kingdom, cut off from the world, with high prices and a shortage of everything, then these are the golden days.
But Paul sees it for what it is so he's gone and you have to fear, and worry, as to how many might be following him.
When the aspiration here is that low, how long can it be before the go getters get going?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday the country would be moving to Phase 2 of the Omicron plan. Phase 2 reduces isolation periods for contacts from 10 days to 7 and means the focus of contact tracing will shift to high-risk exposure events and, effectively, everyone must do their own contact tracing.
Phase 2 also places a greater reliance on rapid antigen tests (RATS) to reduce the burden on the health service and the economy. Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking this morning that if he was on the job RATs would be available. They're not on the shelves, so we have to rely on the Government to dole out the supplies to those they deem worthy and we just have to accept that.
There is good news; that is that the isolation period is being shortened and that of the five and a half thousand people with Covid in the community and at the border, there are just 37 in hospital none are in ICU.
So, can we all hold on to that fact? Even Jacinda Ardern managed to choke out the words that you know, you can manage this yourself. So yes, you may very well catch Omicron over the next few weeks and I'm sorry if there are people who are very frightened about that.
I'm sorry if you are still feeling very nervous after the constant bombardment of messages you've received over the past two years, but you are unlikely to need hospital treatment, far less intensive care nursing.
So please don't live an absolute terror of waiting for this virus to catch you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Christopher Luxon says he'd be making deals for Rapid Antigen Tests this morning if he was running the country.
From midnight tonight, the country heads into Phase Two, meaning shorter self-isolation periods for cases and contacts.
The Government says rapid tests will also be used more widely.
The National Party leader told Mike Hosking he'd approve the same 60 suppliers Australia has for RATs and ask three of his friends in the commercial world to procure them.
“If you don’t have Rapid Antigen Tests and it’s not available to everyone, you can’t test to work and we’re going to end up with very long isolation periods and people not actually going to get tested because the disincentive will be high.”
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Queenstown businesses are in crisis, with the Chamber of Commerce saying most expect to close within a week.
The carnage has been sparked by the number of Covid-19 cases and close contacts having to go into self-isolation.
The number of active cases in the Queenstown-Lakes region reached 41 as of yesterday - the highest anywhere in the South Island.
Queenstown Chamber of Commerce CEO Ruth Stokes told Kate Hawkesby things are dire.
She's suggesting workers might rort the system.
“This is people being able to ring up their mates and say ‘hey shall I call you as a close contact and we can stay at home?’ Labour shortages were acute before this and this chaos is coming to town near you.”
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With daily Covid cases coming within an inch of hitting that one thousand mark, more of us will be close contacts and have to isolate.
That could mean more stress for workers who're going to have to pick up the slack.
One expert predicts that a "tidal of wave of risk" is coming.
He warns some workers are at risk of being exploited and taken advantage of to fill the gaps.
Chris O'Reilly is CEO of AskYourTeam, which provide insights into workers wellbeing and he joined Kate Hawkesby.
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A warning the entire economy could collapse, if lawmakers don't come up with a new plan fast.
The local chamber of commerce is predicting most businesses in Queenstown will close in a week, as rising Covid-19 cases forces close contacts into self-isolation.
Republic Hospitality Group CEO Blair Impey told Mike Hosking it's a fast nightmare that comes on quick.
He says they have 51 staff self-isolating, with nine of his 11 venues already closed.
Impey says the current rules around Rapid Antigen Tests won't work, and need to be made readily available.
“I think that they’ve got it wrong, modellers have got it wrong and time to make a change to the rules straight away otherwise all New Zealanders are going to feel the pain of what we’re seeing at the start of the wave here.”
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The Grounded Kiwis legal battle kicks off this morning.
The group is taking the Government to the High Court in a Judicial Review over MIQ.
They claim the Government's acted unlawfully, unreasonably and in breach of the Bill of Rights Act that states every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand.
Martelli McKegg partner and litigation head Jacque Lethbridge told Mike Hosking it allows the court, in this case, to tell the Government the way it's been operating MIQ is unlawful and should be changed, but the Government doesn't have to listen.
“I think in real terms, the Government should listen to the court if the board is to find it's acted in an unlawful way.”
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A suggestion the Government has moved too slowly to stop anti-mandate protests.
It's the seventh day they have been camped out at Parliament.
Former Police negotiator Lance Burdett says a negotiator should have been deployed around day three.
He says police and the government aren't on the same page.
Burdett told Mike Hosking a different intervention is needed.
“Give us five of your representatives and we’ll meet offsite, and perhaps somebody who's in the Government, Andrew Little — somebody like that, that’s fairly senior could've met with them and heard what they had to say.”
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Trevor Mallard's predecessor is telling him to grow up.
David Carter, Parliament’s Speaker during the last National-led government, has lashed out at Mallard's handling of the Parliamentary protest.
Anti-mandate protestors are into the seventh day of their rally on the grounds of Parliament.
Mallard's had sprinklers on, and blasted them with some of the world's most hated songs in an attempt to move them on.
Police say they don't endorse the tactics.
Carter told Kate Hawkesby it doesn't do anything for New Zealand's reputation on the international stage.
“Which is in tatters frankly. We had the Charlotte Bellis incident three weeks ago, and now New Zealand’s in the international headlines because we have a Speaker acting in a boorish, childish way.”
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Trevor Mallard asked for the sprinklers to stay on all night.
The protestors are still there on the lawns of parliament. The convoy of angry and presumably damp people, with their tents and their muddled messages.
I walked by the fringes of the protest yesterday. One of the men recognised me as a journo and started screaming at me in the street. He looked desperate..
“There weren’t many arrests here!” He said.
“You know the truth!”
I pitied him.
It’s true the protest only constitutes a tiny minority of New Zealanders, but only a fool wouldn’t take some of those messages seriously. Politicians and media have been threatened with lynchings. ONE News reporter Kristin Hall was told she would be executed by a woman holding a sign saying ‘Love is the answer.’ All it takes is one crazy person.
Should the Police just arrest them all? It’s important to have consistency in Policing. It was a different stage of the pandemic and a different message, but Police didn’t rush in and arrest everyone at the Black Lives Matter protests. They didn’t arrest everyone who came to see Brian Tamaki in the domain. You can’t support the right to peaceful protest but only when the protestors are on your side.
That being said, this is different. The moment there are death threats, it isn’t a peaceful protest. We all now how quickly a mob of disillusioned people can whip themselves into something more serious. Speaking to politicians in the Beehive yesterday, the riot at the U.S Capitol is very much front of mind. Above all, Police have to show they have the capacity and strength to defend parliament itself.
This is probably the biggest test of New Zealand’s democracy since the beginning of the pandemic. Bigger than legality of public health measures and the border, the challenges over MIQ. Regardless of how it ends, the protestors will consider themselves martyrs. If they’ve lost their jobs through mandates, I suppose it’s not like they have anywhere better to be. This could go for weeks.
But for what it’s worth, I don’t think Police should crack skulls to force them out. Contain them, yes. Arrest anyone who openly threatens someone or rushes the parliament buildings? Sure. But for now, we need to stay with the non-violent options.
If the sprinklers didn’t work, maybe Trevor Mallard should bring in some speakers, and put the Crazy Frog song on repeat. Then, let’s cross our fingers for a good Southerly.
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Police say the protests outside Parliament isn't something they can arrest their way out of.
Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell told Heather du Plessis-Allan they tested that yesterday.
“That resulted in excess of 120 arrests, that’s simply not an option, it’s not an end state option.”
Parnell says moving the more than 100 vehicles, including trucks, campervans and cars clogging the roads has been a fundamental priority.
He says there's been resistance from tow truck companies to help, but not because they're sympathising with the protestors.
“They have received, sadly, threats throughout the day and also yesterday, and some of that has come from abroad.”
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The anti-mandate protest numbers have been growing all day, and the weather hasn't stopped them.
Many people had come in from around the North Island overnight, and there has been a carnival-like atmosphere growing.
Meanwhile, the minimum wage is set to increase from $20 to $21.20.
Businesses have argued that the rise couldn't have come at a worse time, given the rise in inflation and living costs.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Hong Kong residents lined up outside hair salons and snapped up fresh vegetables on Wednesday, a day before tightened coronavirus restrictions go into effect, as new daily cases in the city ballooned to more than 1,100.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced on Tuesday that places of worship and hair salons must close from Thursday until at least Feb. 24, when a “vaccine pass” will be rolled out that permits only vaccinated people to visit venues such as shopping malls and supermarkets.
In an unprecedented move, she also said private gatherings will be limited to no more than two households.
“It’s a pity that hair salons are told to close. Actually, salons have always adopted a lot of measures, such as mask wearing, since the pandemic began and it should be safe,” said Alan Fong, who was waiting outside a hair salon in the neighborhood of Wan Chai.
Hong Kong has aligned itself with mainland China’s “zero-COVID” policy, which aims to totally stamp out outbreaks, even as many other countries are shifting their approach to living with the virus.
The strategy means that authorities often take drastic measures such as locking down residential estates for mass testing when positive cases are detected, imposing strict quarantine requirements on travelers and ordering the shuttering of businesses.
An outbreak among truck drivers who transport vegetables from China to Hong Kong prompted authorities to impose strict testing measures and order some drivers into quarantine, causing prices of fresh produce to skyrocket.
“There is no supply. Even if there is, the import cost is high and then we have to sell at high prices,” said shopkeeper Choy Kam-hing.
Choy said the price of choy sum, a popular vegetable in Chinese cuisine, has doubled.
Officials have pleaded with residents to get vaccinated and avoid going out, while ramping up testing capacity and ordering tests of anyone deemed a close contact of the thousands of cases in the city.
“I think the whole testing thing is pointless. Everyone is very busy with their lives and there are so many untraceable cases, but we have to be repeatedly tested,” said Bosco Wong, a kitchen worker who was tested Wednesday after a colleague was found positive for the virus. “I think the whole thing is such a waste of time.”
The city’s decision to follow a “zero-COVID” approach has drawn criticism from businesses, expatriates and local residents, who complain that the harsh restrictions have impacted their lives.
“I have been troubled by the pandemic for a long time, and I feel that I can do nothing about it,” said Judy Lau, who was getting tested at a mobile testing station after a positive case was discovered in her building.
“I don’t understand the government policies. The pandemic waves just come and go and it has seriously been affecting my mental health.”
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Four days into the Parliamentary protest, businesses in the Wellington CBD say their lives are still being disrupted by protestors and they want them off the grounds.
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster told Heather du Plessis-Allan they want them cleared as quickly as possible.
“We’re working collaboratively with the police to see what we can do to support them and the action that they’re leading.”
Foster says he can’t put a timeline on when the police will be able to remove the protestors.
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The construction industry is fighting to make it onto the Government’s new critical worker list that was announced yesterday.
The Close Contact Exemption Scheme will allow workers who meet certain criteria to continue working provided they produce daily negative RAT tests.
While some construction workers will be able to meet these criteria, the building industry federation is arguing that the sector as a whole should be considered a critical service.
Building Industry Federation chief executive Julian Leys joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Did you see that woman on the TV news last night, saying she was leaving her husband because he’d been and got his booster shot?
She was angry. She was at Parliament, at the protest. And there’s a suggestion being made today that she’s not the only one. And that the other protesters at Parliament aren’t the only other ones either. And that a lot of people around the country are furious with the Government - but they’re just not turning up to protest.
And I think that’s true.
I was watching that woman who was brassed off with her husband for getting his booster shot with one of the teenagers last night - we had a great laugh. And, of course, it wasn’t long before someone had turned it into a Tik Tok video and away it went.
I don’t know why TV insists on putting nutbars like her in their news reports. Well, I do actually - they do it because it captures people’s attention.
But if you’ve got your head screwed on and you’re one of the people either protesting at Parliament or cheering them on from the sidelines who is genuinely opposed to the vaccine mandates, then it must be gutting to see all the clowns getting all the attention.
And I suspect, too, that a lot of genuine people who joined the convoy for part of the way but didn’t go all the way to Wellington will be gutted to see how it’s playing out.
And they’ll be horrified to see the extremists and the weirdos getting all the coverage and the politicians ignoring them completely.
But that’s how it’s always been and how it will continue to be. Especially in situations like this, where the people involved appear to be protesting against all sorts of different things.
Some of them peddling the same old conspiracy theories, which is never going to do anything on the credibility front, is it?
If it was genuinely a single-issue protest, and the people involved weren’t all the usual crowd who turn up to pretty much anything, then it would be quite different, wouldn’t it?
But there is a warning today that the Government shouldn’t kid itself that the crowd camping outside Parliament is on its own, and that there aren’t other people who are also incredibly angry with the Government.
This is coming from Matthew Hooton in a piece he’s written for the NZ Herald.
He makes the point that despite the fact that so many of us are vaccinated, the Government and the bureaucrats in Wellington shouldn’t kid themselves that - as he puts it - “only a deranged fringe is feeling enraged by the current situation”.
He says after two years of the pandemic, there is a seething anger towards the Government from what he calls a “much larger and more reasonable segment of the population”.
One of the things he puts this down to is the Prime Minister and her ministers talking to us as if we’re children and seemingly making the protection of Jacinda Ardern’s global brand as the “Covid vanquisher” their top priority.
He writes: "The Wellington bureaucracy is under so much pressure from its political masters to support the Beehive narrative, that it increasingly provides information that is radically incomplete, contradictory or just plain wrong”.
I think he is spot on.
And, as I’ve said before, I think the Prime Minister’s eagerness to be the face - front and centre - of New Zealand’s Covid response is going to come and bite her on the backside.
If there’s anything we’ve learned from the past, it’s that leaders who lead their people through crises get the blame for everything that goes wrong and they suffer the consequences.
Rudolph Giuliani - probably better known these days as Donald Trump’s right-hand man - was mayor of New York when the September 11 attacks happened. Everyone loved him, but then they turned on him.
Art Agnos - he was mayor of San Francisco when they had the big earthquake there in 1989 - loved and then loathed.
Jacinda Ardern - the same thing happening...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Friday Faceoff with Jo Coughlan, Managing Director of Silvereye, and Wellington City Councillor Sean Rush: Their thoughts on the protest, how it has been handled, vaccine mandates, Transmission Gully and the upcoming local body elections in Wellington.
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Chris Hipkins is rejecting suggestions the close contact exemption scheme is too admin heavy.
In phase two of our Omicron outbreak, critical business workers found to be close contacts won't need to isolate, if they return negative rapid antigen tests.
But businesses will still need to apply online, and meet criteria set out by the Government.
The Covid-19 Response Minister told Mike Hosking the system isn't convoluted.
“Yes, we’ve stepped out that process pretty clearly so that everyone knows exactly every step in the process. But, it won’t be a complex process, the businesses will be the ones that determine whether or not they are an essential business.”
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A butcher believes the new close contact exemption scheme raises more questions than answers.
Under the scheme, critical business workers won't have to isolate if they're identified as a close contact at phase two of the Omicron outbreak.
That's if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests.
Businesses can go online now and apply if they think they meet the criteria.
Westmere Butchery Owner Dave Rossiter told Mike Hosking the whole thing is confusing.
“I’m trying to submit the online forms, which is nearly impossible.”
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Hospitality businesses will continue to ask for government support, as more close their doors.
Latest figures from the Restaurant Association show businesses are reporting a 30 percent decrease in year-on-year revenues.
Eftpos data also shows a 30 percent decrease in transactions in January, with hospitality being one of the hardest hit sectors.
Auckland Restaurant Association President Krishna Botica told Mike Hosking targeted support is their only hope.
“We don’t know how we can turn the dial. We have safe venues, we are masked, we are vaccinated, we are sanitised and we are physically distanced and people still don’t come.”
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Small and medium-sized enterprises are feeling the pinch under the Covid-19 protection framework.
A new survey by MYOB shows more than half expect to see a negative impact on the financial health of their business, if the country stays in Red for more than a month.
Almost a quarter believe they will take a significant financial hit.
Head of Go to Market at MYOB Jo Tozer told Kate Hawkesby they've had a mix of feedback from their customers.
“Some are noticing a drop in customers through their doors, others a degree of caution but still enjoying a solid summer, but seeing the data now makes quite stark reading.”
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An absence of any central leadership is making things difficult for police, as they try to wrangle protesters at Parliament.
There were over 120 arrests yesterday, with many ordered to stay off the site for at least two years.
As well, two officers were injured and a throng of parking tickets issued to vehicles illegally parked nearby.
Auckland University political extremism researcher Chris Wilson told Mike Hosking it could take a long time to resolve the situation.
“The groups are so disparate and the calls are ranging from violence to removing mandates so there’s just too many groups, no real leadership and just really hard to negotiate with.”
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Prince Charles has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating.
A message on his official Twitter page said Charles tested positive on Thursday morning UK time and was "deeply disappointed" not to be able to attend a scheduled visit in the city of Winchester in southern England.
Charles, 73, met dozens of people during a large reception at London's British Museum on Wednesday evening. He was accompanied by his wife Camilla, and was in close contact with Britain's Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, among others.
Charles' office, Clarence House, confirmed that he is triple vaccinated. It was not immediately clear what his condition was.
Charles previously contracted the coronavirus in March 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic. Officials said he had mild Covid-19 symptoms then, and Charles said later that Charles and Camilla isolated in Scotland at the time.
Britain's Press Association news agency reported that Charles recently met with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, but the monarch was not displaying any symptoms.
The queen, 95, marked her Platinum Jubilee on Sunday by expressing her wish for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Charles becomes king.
Camilla carried on with her engagements as scheduled, visiting a sexual assault referral center in London.
Spain's King Felipe VI, 54, and Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, 81, also tested positive for the coronavirus this week.
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National says the Government's new close contact exemption scheme has too many barriers.
In phase two of our Omicron response, critical business workers found to be close contacts won't need to isolate, if they return negative rapid antigen tests.
But companies wishing to sign up, will still need to meet certain criteria.
National's Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop told Kate Hawkesby RATs should be available to everyone.
“It’s hard to imagine a more bureaucratically inept system that the Government could design, it’s classic Labour. I just don’t understand why we’re making it so difficult. Everyone acknowledges we need rapid antigen tests.”
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Sportstalk host, D'Arcy Waldegrave on the Blues' COVID scare and Israel Adesanya's lucrative new contract.
He joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Kiwis will have to take more responsibility for their own health – in the next step of our Covid response.
That's the message from Chris Hipkins – as the Government reveals a new close contact exemption scheme, designed to minimise supply chain disruption.
Critical business workers found to be close contacts won't need to isolate in phase two of an Omicron outbreak – subject to daily negative rapid antigen tests.
Covid Minister Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan businesses like health services and food production will self-assess against the criteria.
“They’ll get a letter that says you can test yourself against the criteria, you’re an essential business, and they they’ll make the decisions about whether they want someone from their workforce to come in even if they’re a close contact.”
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There's frustration from the events industry, and from the public wanting to have some fun, at the number of festivals and events that are being cancelled.
From the Wanaka A&P show to New Plymouth's Womad Festival to the Auckland Arts Festival cancelling all 51 of their live events.
There’s also fear our biggest and brightest music stars, frustrated by a lack of events at home, will venture overseas to perform – Six60 is a good example of that – they've been playing in the USA.
Brent Eccles from Eccles Entertainment joined Kerre McIvor.
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According to the One Choice Kiwi Education Repor, 3 in 10 Kiwi parents are very strongly concerned that their children have fallen behind at school due to COVID-19; 1 in 3 felt that COVID-19 lockdowns had a solely negative impact on their kids' education. To be frank, I would have thought the numbers would be higher than that.
I would have thought easily 5 in 10 Kiwi parents would feel that their children had fallen behind at school, but no according to the report 3 in 10.
I suppose that goes to show what a jolly good job, parents and teachers have done to shore up all of the failings that come from trying to do classrooms by Zoom. They've shored up the gaps in the kids' education and have kept them motivated and interested.
The experiences of home-schooling seem to differ between parents of private school and public school students. 29% of private school parents described their experience is excellent, which is pretty powerful. 12% of public school parents said the same. So, you get what you pay for. The survey showed, however, that eight and 10 parents don't feel they can afford to send their kids to private school of their choice. Half of the parents surveyed who'd like to send their kids to private schools say they can't afford it.
It is the young people that have been most massively impacted, I believe by this and, you know, we're going to see those results and years to come, either for the good or for the bad. I don't necessarily see it as being a wholey negative experience.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Critical business workers will no longer have to isolate if they are identified as a close contact.
That's if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests.
It's part of a new exemption scheme that aims to keep critical supply chains running through the Omicron outbreak.
Our Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls has been at the Critical workforce announcement with Ministers Chris Hipkins and Dr Ayesha Verrall.
Jason Walls joined Kerre McIvor.
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A new education report released this morning shows a lot of parents are worried about their child's learning.
One Choice have done another of their education reports, the Kiwi Education report, and found 57% of parents are worried their kid's learning has suffered during the pandemic and half say it's impacted their decision around school choice.
3 in 10 think there's no question their kids have fallen behind in school and two thirds think the Government haven't done enough to support them throughout all this.
Auckland University professor Peter O'Connor joined Mike Hosking.
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A concert promoter is frustrated at the lack of support for the sector.
Several events have already been cancelled this year due to the Omicron outbreak.
The latest includes Wellington's Homegrown Music Festival and New Plymouth's Womad.
Capital C Concerts Owner Phil Sprey told Mike Hosking it's devastating to see more concerts being pulled for another year.
“We’ve actually to the Government, to the Prime Minister’s office et cetera saying here’s a way from our industry perspective that we can keep some of these things alive. Did we get an answer? No.”
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It was a busy day in the capital yesterday as the convoy protesters continued their stay on the lawns of Parliament.
Three people were taken into custody after attempting to breach police lines, while an official trespassing notice was issued.
Chester Burrows is a former police officer and joined Kate Hawkesby.
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At 10am Hipkins and Verrall are setting out "the plan to support key businesses and supply chains" so businesses can make some money during phases two and three of our response.
What they really want to hear is what is going to happen with the Rapid Antigen Tests and how they will be distributed.
Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Brett O'Riley joined Mike Hosking.
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I’m feeling the itchy feet, the urge to travel is back.
Now that we can, it’s tantalising isn’t it? I’m worried that once everybody does start bouncing out the door, I’m going to get wicked FOMO.
But here’s the problem, with all this time locked up at home and locked down, I’ve become too attached to the dog and vice versa.
I’m serious. I don’t know how I leave her now. She didn’t cope well when my daughter finally went back to school, having had all these months of just having everyone home all the time, walking her, cuddling her, feeding her, playing with her. And now it’s like, well real life is knocking on the door again and the dog’s not coping.
She’s gotten used to us all at her every beck and call. And I’ve become so attached to her that I genuinely don’t know how I would up sticks and leave her to gallivant off somewhere. Only dog people will understand this of course. So, I’m not sure what I’m going to do here. I fear my family will probably just go regardless and leave me and the dog behind.
So how many of us are heading out back into the world? Flight Centre said in one report that ‘travel inquiries surged by 75 per cent the day border restrictions for vaccinated Kiwis were relaxed.”
Apparently, vaccination rates equal travel confidence. And there’s nothing like being locked up for two years to make one feel like they need to spread their wings.
So where are we all going? (Well, those of us who can leave their dogs that is.) Flight Centre says most popular destinations include London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as India.
And how many of us are actually going? Flight Centre research said in one report that of around 160,000 clients, 88 percent of them intended on travelling. But intending to, and actually making it out the door are two different things aren’t they.
We’re seeking luxury though apparently – people want to make the most of their holidays having missed out on them for two years, Flight Centre says. We want a trip to remember.
But you don’t want it to be memorable for having spent it in a mask or isolating. Or for catching some new variant, and that’s my other worry (apart from the dog). Imagine spending a fortune on some exotic far flung holiday and then some new variant crops up and everything grinds to a halt and you’re back isolating again or stuck somewhere.
I mean I think until the world feels truly back to normal and we’re not hearing the word “Covid’ in news reports anywhere, ever, then we may at that point start to feel fully relaxed about travel being normal again.
But I imagine at the moment it still involves a lot of testing, temperature checking, extra sanitising and queuing, which can bog down your travel plans and make it a bit admin heavy.
Won’t it be cool when the world’s 100 percent back to normal and we can just jump on planes again? No masks, no temperature checks, no tests.
Until then, I think I may just be sitting tight at home with the dog.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Protestors at Parliament are being told they need to pack up and go away.
Anti-mandate demonstrators are camped out on the grounds in central Wellington, for what would be a third day.
Mayor Andy Foster told Mike Hosking he wants people in Wellington to be able to get back to their normal business.
“So from my perspective, the protesters have made their point.”
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Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor has thrown a spanner in the works.
He has confirmed that farmers who catch covid may be allowed to skip isolation and keep working.
Nick Leggett, CEO for Transporting New Zealand and Dr Michael Baker, Epidemiologist from Otago University joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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People are questioning how and why health modellers were able to influence government policy to such an extraordinary extent. Remember the 50,000 cases predicted for New Zealand by Waitangi Day?
Around the world, people are questioning how and why health modellers were able to influence government policy to such an extraordinary extent when seriously, they are no more than modern-day augers. Slaughter a chicken, throw out its entrails, see how they fall and make your prediction from there. Even our own health minister, our sensible Health Minister, takes modelling predictions with a grain of salt.
For those who have underlying health conditions, who fear they might be at risk of grave illness as a result of any virus, do yourselves a favour.
Take advantage of the meds, and take advantage of the science. But otherwise, ignore the modellers. prepare for winter and much the same way as we always have, and let's get on with life.
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Another cheque has been thrown in the Government's Covid coffers.
This time Damien O'Connor is handing out $400,000, for farmers who might get the virus.
It's all part of a contingency plan and wrap around support for the sector should they get an outbreak.
Federated Farmers vice president Andrew Hoggard joined Mike Hosking.
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A group of anti-mandate protesters camped out on Parliament grounds are ignoring the call to move on.
Speaker Trevor Mallard has threatened to trespass the group, who have camped there overnight.
They're among thousands of people who descended on Parliament and the Wellington CBD yesterday, bringing the city centre to a standstill.
National MP Mark Mitchell and Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking they're still there at the moment.
Mark Mitchell and Stuart Nash joined Mike Hosking to discuss the week's politics news.
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The Health Minister won't put a date on when Covid restrictions might end and quarantine-free international travel might resume.
All of New Zealand remains at the Red Level of the traffic light setting.
The Government is moving to reopen the border to New Zealanders coming back from overseas, but with home isolation requirements in place.
Andrew Little told Mike Hosking the Government isn't making any guarantees, while it's dealing with a lot of unknowns.
“We still don’t know the trajectory of Covid, the new variants that might emerge and all that sort of stuff. We just don’t know. So, we do what we think we have to do to keep as many people safe as possible.”
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Sky high construction costs are taking a toll on builders' mental health.
CoreLogic Cordell Construction Cost Index for the last quarter of 2021 shows a 6.2 percent increase.
And there's a warning that figure could hit double digits.
It comes as a recent study from Mates in Construction has shown the impact it's having on builders' mental health.
Registered Master Builders' Association chief executive David Kelly told Mike Hosking it's all compounding.
“43 percent of people in construction that responded said that their mental health has got worse, simply with the worry about being able to build and managing the cost increases.”
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There is concern vaccine fatigue could be setting in.
The campaign for people to get their Covid-19 booster is ongoing, and now there's a push for them to get their seasonal flu jab, ahead of the country's border opening.
Auckland University public health expert Colin Tukuitonga told Kate Hawkesby both vaccinations are necessary, but people are tiring of having to have yet another jab.
He says the Ministry of Health's speaking about giving the jabs at the same time, which might help.
“Without a doubt, we’re going to have to be creative and think about how we communicate best.”
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As our Omicron daily case numbers started to trend down instead of the much promised up, I wondered if my theory last week is in fact more than just a theory.
People aren’t testing. They’re not scanning in, they’ve turned off their Bluetooth on the app, they’re not reporting symptoms, or maybe they’re just asymptomatic.
Either way, our Omicron surge that the doomsayers keep warning us about, that we are sitting in a red light because of, is still nowhere to be seen. And it may well be down to a variety of factors; some say it’s a slow burner, we haven’t ‘let it rip’ like other countries, so it’s just a slower start for us.
Others say we are getting a milder taste of what the rest of the world experienced because our vaccination numbers are high. Others say it’s because we’re in a red light, so we’re slowing it down with our restricted movement. But my theory, and one I don’t think you can discount given the way our case numbers are plateauing, is that people are over it, Covid fatigue has set in, and no one’s scanning or testing.
And why would you, if it’s a mild cold you may not even think to test. And if you did think to test, your very next thought would be – well how long am I having to isolate for now? And how many of my contacts are lumped into that same boat and now have to isolate because of me?
So, for that reason alone, I think people will be circumspect to test. Add to that the fact most people won’t get that sick with it, and you’ve probably got a lot of people just laying low.
Then there’s the scanning in, whose still doing that? My husband waited in the carpark outside the supermarket for me the other day and while he did, he counted 39 people go in. Of that 39 entering the supermarket, how many scanned in? Three. Three whole people.
That would indicate, just in that small experiment in a random supermarket, that people are indeed over it. If case numbers continue to drop and stay low then watch two things happen.
One, the modellers who cried wolf will be trying to walk it all back with a range of excuses. They already are to be honest. But in fact, the most honest thing they could do is just admit once and for all that it’s a big guessing game, that they really have no idea, and that it’s just been politically in the Government’s best interests if they predict doom at every turn and keep the fear tap turned on.
But two, don't be surprised if this self-congratulatory Government takes credit for ‘beating' Omicron. I mean that’s a stretch but I wouldn’t put it past them to grab some positive spin off it in the end.
The modelling is so far, way out – even Covid Minister Chris Hipkins said last week we can take it about as seriously as the weather forecast. So, the other thing that’s happened here is we have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, started to take control of our lives back. And that’s the good part.
We’ve gone from being micro-managed and controlled by the Government at every turn, to actually just getting about our business on our own. And that’s no bad thing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Construction costs are continuing to skyrocket and there are no signs of slowing down.
The CoreLogic Cordell Construction Cost Index for the last quarter of 2021 shows a 6.2 percent increase.
That's the highest in four years.
But experts are warning that figure could hit double digits.
CoreLogic chief economist Kelvin Davidson told Kate Hawkesby costs could easily rise to 10 per cent or more and stay that way.
“The builders, they’ve got such a big pipeline of work in front of them and Omicron, Covid I think there’s going to be supply disruptions for a while so I could imagine double digits for a little period of time.”
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that international tourists can enter the country from from Febraury 21st.
HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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An expert is downplaying fears our low testing rates mean we're missing Omicron infections.
Only about 13-thousand tests were administered on Sunday, a big fall from a daily test tally of around 20-thousand last week.
Auckland University modeller Dion O'Neale told Heather du Plessis-Allan the main reason to test is when people are symptomatic.
But he says people reporting through the flu-tracking survey are also relatively low on symptoms.
Dion O'Neale says daily test positivity has risen a little – but nothing like the rates seen in countries with uncontrolled spread.
“So they have gone up a little bit in the past week but they haven’t jumped to some huge level.”
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The reopening of Australia's border has come as unwelcome news for our tourism sector.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced double vaccinated international travellers will be welcome in the country from February 21st.
Under our own government's current plans international visitors’ may not be able to enter New Zealand until July, and they'd have to self-isolate for at least a week on arrival.
Lynda Keene, Chief Executive of the Tourism Export Council, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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We track down the NZ First leader who's, unsurprisingly, not keen to talk about polls, Chris Luxon or Jacinda Ardern.
He is, however, not short of an opinion when it comes to where the government's gone wrong around Covid.
Winston Peters joined Jamie Mackay on The Country.
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A noisy convoy of cars, trucks and motorbikes has arrived at Parliament, causing major backlogs on the main roads into Wellington.
They're protesting against the Government's ongoing Covid rules and restrictions.
Newstalk ZB reporter Jack Crossland told Nick Mills protestors had made it 'impossible to drive up Molesworth Street'
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Australia's tourism sector is all on board with a move to reopen the country's border later this month.
The Australian Government has confirmed it will lift border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers in two weeks on February 21st.
However, some state and territory quarantine requirements may remain in place.
South Australian Tourism Commission Chief Executive Rodney Harrex told Mike Hosking every operator and agency he's heard from is delighted.
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There is excitement in Australia following confirmation its border is reopening to the world.
International border restrictions will be lifted for anyone who's fully vaccinated in two weeks on February the 21st.
However, states and territories will be able to keep their own cap and quarantine requirements in place.
Australian correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby the news is being well received by tourism operators and the general public.
“Tourism bodies have been begging for this for quite a while now. QANTAS chief Alan Joyce says it means Australia is finally back open for business.”
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Well the latest Newshub Reid Research poll has the Labour / Green government still the most popular, yet if ever we needed confirmation of the spin and PR machine that this Government really is, we got it at the weekend from Sir Ian Taylor.
In a series of columns for the NZ Herald documenting his dealings with this Government, Taylor has become increasingly disillusioned. He admits he voted for them – that was probably his first mistake. Like many who voted for them, one wonders if he’ll make that mistake again. Like many who believed in this Government, he went in with good faith believing they would walk their talk. Sadly, they did not. Like many business people who’ve tried to help this Government, he’s been sidelined, rebuffed, muzzled, and shut out.
It should worry every New Zealander interested in democracy and progress, that this Government continues to shut out the private sector, ignore them, and then crap all over them. The Government seems to have, on top of this bewildering level of arrogance, a very short memory.
It was after all the private sector who helped them initially get their much-hailed Covid response off the ground in the first place. It was the Mowbray’s of Zuru Toys fame sourcing the PPE, it was other business leaders like them loudly advocating to shut the border back at the start of all this and to act swiftly. The Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming, and as usual, once it got there, loudly claimed all the credit for it and continues to.
It's strange that for a government so light on business experience itself, that they continue to believe they know best. Their bureaucrats have proven over the last three years, that that’s just not the case. As Sir Ian Taylor said, government bureaucrats tend to do the same old stuff they’ve always done; order various reviews, take too long considering them, miss crucial windows, then scramble at the end in a mad panic.
I’d hazard a guess they’ve probably burnt Ian Taylor now, they’ve burnt other business people who, as Business Editor Fran O’ Sullivan pointed out, are getting increasingly sick of Ardern. O’Sullivan said in a business column last week that “the mood shift within the business sector has been moving against Ardern since late last year and has since spread more broadly.” So many of them won’t be back.
We know offshore Kiwis who got the border slammed shut in their face won’t be back, the pensioners trapped overseas, the separated families, the businesses haemorrhaging without workers. It’s doubtful many of them are ticking a red box again.
So how has this Government, according to the latest poll, maintained its popularity?
Either voters remain hoodwinked by them and sucked into the spin, or they don't care and would vote for this Government regardless of what it does or, no one's paying enough attention yet. I'd pick the latter.
But for the Sir Ian Taylor's, who've dealt with them at the coal face, there's first-hand experience of how not open honest and transparent they actually are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
National has hit out at the requisitioning of Rapid Antigen Tests from businesses.
When news broke that the Ministry of Health was requisitioning the tests, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said they were from "forward orders" from overseas - not tests already in the country.
But the Ministry's now acknowledged it took the full February allocation from one manufacturer and it's stock on hand in the country.
National's Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking it's a debacle.
“Really what they’re trying to do is just cover up their own embarrassment and their incompetence at not ordering the rapid tests quickly enough or early enough for New Zealand.”
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Businesses are angry about the Ministry of Health requisitioning Rapid Antigen Tests for its own stocks.
When news broke that the Ministry was requisitioning the tests, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said they were from forward orders from overseas - not tests already in the country.
But the Ministry has backtracked - acknowledging it took the full February allocation from one manufacturer, along with its stock on hand in the country.
Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby the Ministry has misled people.
“We’re dealing with businesses all the time who have been struggling to get access to the Rapid Antigen Tests that they ordered. They’re getting angrier and angrier and it’s frankly unacceptable.”
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This week Denmark became the first country in the EU to drop all Covid-19 restrictions.
The Government deciding the virus is no longer a critical threat to society.
So, no more masks, no more vaccine passports, no more mandatory self-isolation.
Danish Professor Lone Simonsen joined Francesca Rudkin.
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For those of us who live in New Zealand, MIQ has been pretty bloody good.
Not perfect, no. But good enough to keep out the worst of the virus for the best part of two years. Of course, for New Zealanders based overseas who’ve wanted to get home, the experience has been pretty different. As New Zealand citizens, most of our opinions have been informed by our own individual experiences. If you’ve been separated from a loved one, or been denied precious moments with new or dying family members, the cruelty of the MIQ lottery system will stick in your throat. It’ll be a defining memory of the pandemic. But the truth is, MIQ is still running today because it’s popular. A majority of New Zealanders, most of whom are in the country, think the MIQ lottery is necessary for their own protection.
If nothing more, the Charlotte Bellis fiasco has probably hastened the end of MIQ for most people arriving in New Zealand.
But the end of the MIQ lottery is only one piece of the puzzle that needs to be sorted for New Zealand’s reconnection with the World. And for all the clarity around different dates for different travellers, the new Tourism New Zealand campaign that’s been launched overseas, and the end of MIQ, there is still one massive hurdle at the border.
New Zealand won’t be in a position to properly reconnect with the World until we no longer have a requirement for extended at-home isolation.
If you were a fully-vaccinated international arrival landing in Sydney this afternoon, you’d be expected to go home, self-isolate, and take a rapid antigen test. Once you’d received a negative result, you wouldn’t have to isolate any longer. You’d be good to go! For a week, you’d just have to avoid high risk places (rest homes, prisons, hospitals etc), before taking another rapid antigen test on day six.
I’m not saying we should be New South Wales... yet. Australia’s at least a couple of months ahead of us with Omicron. We’re still waiting for the big surge.
But the self-isolation requirements announced by the Government this week, where all new arrivals are treated as close contacts, will be a significant disincentive to people who want to travel to New Zealand.
So what?! You might argue. It keeps us safe! Perhaps.
But when we look back at 2022, something tells me Omicron isn’t the thing that will have caused the most pain. Especially if most of us have received our booster shots.
No, INFLATION will be the word of 2022.
And removing as many barriers at the border as possible for workers and tourists alike, is one of the few things we can do to try and slow it down.
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The tourism industry is hoping for a quick revival once the borders reopen to overseas travellers.
People from visa-waiver countries like Australia, the US and the EU are expected to arrive from July.
In October, people from over countries are allowed to come over.
Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Jacinda Ardern has been trying to sell New Zealand to overseas workers to combat job shortages, particularly in the health sector.
Before Covid, almost 43 per cent of doctors were from overseas, with many joining the exodus of skilled workers and some blaming delays over residency.
There has been a debate over the accuracy of Covid modellers, especially over the past few months.
Chris Hipkins commented on modelling, comparing them to a weather forecast earlier today.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Another weapon in our arsenal to fight Covid-19.
Medsafe has granted provisional approval for the Novavax vaccine Nuvaxovid.
It will join Pfizer and AstraZeneca to be the third vaccine approved by MedSafe.
Cabinet is yet to give final approval.
Novavax Vice-President Silvia Taylor told Heather du Plessis-Allan people trust their vaccine as it uses protein-based technology.
“We are finding that there is a sizeable part of the population around the world that is waiting for our vaccine, so we’re very excited about having it authorised in New Zealand.”
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An Australian-based Kiwi epidemiologist believes it's better to have more Omicron cases sooner rather than later.
We have 209 community cases of Covid-19 today and 64 at the border.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Tony Blakely told Heather du Plessis-Allan our risk-averse response means we are just stretching the timeline out of having to deal with it.
“The stamping out phase, which we’re in at the moment, that’s worth doing for at least another couple of weeks while we get more RAT tests and masks, but if you haven't seen Omicron taken off by then, you’d probably want to loosen off and let the thing wash through society.”
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Auckland Airport says airlines desperately need clarity on plans to reopen the border.
It says all ten airlines it's spoken to in the last 24 hours say they either need a date when self-isolation will go or at least know what will trigger it ending.
Auckland Airport's General Manager for aeronautical commercial Scott Tasker told Heather Du Plessis Allan they need certainty as self-isolation is a big issue for them.
“They do view that that will significantly impact the demand for travel to New Zealand and that doesn't give them the confidence to allocate their aircraft to fly here.”
Tasker says they want to come here, but they might choose not to.
“Self-isolation doesn’t provide the certainty that they need because their travellers, their customers, won’t want to fly here if they have to spend the first seven days of their holiday sitting in a hotel.”
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Won’t surprise you to know that there are – as we mentioned on the show yesterday – a fair few people not happy about yesterday’s border announcement.
And one of the things that seems to be upsetting them is the Government’s very relaxed attitude to people isolating at home.
As you know, from the end of this month, Kiwis can start coming home without going through MIQ.
But they will be required to do ten days self-isolation at home.
But is the Government checking on them to make sure they are staying home for the duration?
No.
By the sounds of things: no cellphone signal monitoring, no FaceTime calls, no door knocks, no random checks, it’s a high trust model.
The Government is relying on people to do the right thing.
And on this, I back them up.
Actually, it’s not the end of the world if a few of those people do end up seeding a bit more Omicron in the community.
Because, this will sound counter-intuitive if you’re terrified of Covid, but we actually need this outbreak to get on with it so we get through the peak before winter.
If this thing drags on like it has and we end up with the Covid peak in winter while we’re dealing with every other regular winter respiratory disease, that is not ideal at all.
Now, this isn’t to say people should go out and break the home iso rules.
If everyone suits themselves, the outbreak could end up getting away on health authorities.
But these high trust models generally rely on most people following the rules, and a few probably won’t.
It’s not the end of the world if they don’t.
There is no point investing God only knows how much money and resource into ensuring people stay home for ten days.
Come the end of this month, when Omicron is already in the community and much more widespread, we can use that resource much better elsewhere.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Covid-19 modeller says there is use in the calculations.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins this morning told Mike Hosking that he's sceptical about models but they're useful, comparing them to weather forecasts.
Te Punaha Matatini modeller Michael Plank told Heather du Plessis Allan modelling is like weather forecasts in that it's not perfect, but is useful.
“What models can do which weather forecasts can’t is that they cannot allow you to think about what an outbreak might look like in different scenarios.”
Plank says modelling can help answer questions like what an outbreak would look like if more people were boosted or children vaccinated.
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The anti-vaxxers are looking more and more desperate by the day.
And they’ve reached a new low this week, here in Canterbury anyway, setting up their pathetic protests outside some primary schools at drop-off and pick-up time.
I say pathetic for several reasons.
First, when you think about it, these clowns have fallen into the same trap they think those of us who have been vaccinated have fallen into.
They’ve been sucked-in by stupid conspiracy theories - just like they think we’ve been sucked-in by the Government and the pro-vaccination messages.
And second - how dare they stick their signs and nasty messages in the faces of children as young as five?
I’ve seen photos of some of the placards they were holding up outside one school in Rangiora yesterday.
Here’s what some of the signs said:
“Don't risk your kids”
“Risk your child's life, no way”
“Kids at risk from Covid jab”
Another sign said “Remember Thalidomide” - which was the drug given out in the late 1950s and early 1960s to help people sleep and deal with morning sickness. Which, as we now know, also caused harm to unborn children.
For me, that “thalidomide” sign is probably the most hysterical - but that’s what these types do. They create imaginary links between the thing they’re protesting against and some historical piece of nastiness.
The other one they love to trot out is saying the vaccine mandates are like Nazi Germany. They are just offensive these idiots and they’ve got no limits - and setting up camp outside schools in Canterbury this week is further proof.
And, as far as I’m concerned, calling them “idiots” is quite generous on my part - but you get the gist of how I feel about them.
Apparently, there were even police outside one school in North Canterbury yesterday - and we understand at least one school reported them to the police.
Now don’t think for a minute that I’m anti-protest. I’m not.
But I will never tolerate protest action that targets children, and makes them scared and upset. Because that’s what happened here.
A report I read this morning quoted a parent at one school who said the kids were scared walking past this lot.
Here’s what they told our newsroom: “It’s the lowest of the lows bringing kids into it, at their safe place.”
And I couldn’t agree more. It is the lowest of the low. It is despicable.
Especially at the start of the new school year, when we’re being told that Omicron is about to run rampant, and when we know there is already anxiety about the kids going back into the classrooms.
And when we also know that there are parents doing the drop-offs and pick-ups who will be dealing with vaccine conflict in their own families - and when we know kids will already be dealing with anti-vax messages in the playground and classrooms.
Someone I spoke to this morning said a child at one of the schools where these protesters have been this week has had other kids telling them that their parents are going to die because they’ve had the vaccine - and then they walk out the gate and see these turkeys.
Not to mention the parents themselves, some of whom will be struggling with the idea of their kids getting the jab. Because, as we know, making a decision for yourself is completely different than making a decision for someone else.
And when that someone else is your own child - well, the last thing you need is a bunch of conspiracy theorists with time on their hands making you feel like a bad parent.
I cannot see how any one of these people can think holding up these nasty signs outside schools in Canterbury this week is the right thing to do. The kids don’t deserve this, nor do their parents, nor do the schools - and they shouldn’t be there. Go back home and get back on the internet.
Put simply, what these people are doing makes my blood boil.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are fear airlines may start losing interest in coming to New Zealand.
A phased reopening of the border begins at the end of this month, without MIQ.
But Board of Airline Representatives executive director, Justin Tighe Umbers told Kate Hawkesby, airlines won't be able to fill planes, because of the self-isolation requirement.
He says airlines want to know by the end of the month if New Zealand will be open for business next summer.
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Chris Hipkins isn't sure what needs to happen before the country can drop self-isolation requirements.
A phased reopening of the border will begin from February 28, replacing MIQ with self-isolation.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking at the moment, it would be crystal ball gazing to decide when to allow completely free movement over the border.
“You can have models, but until you actually see the reality of what we’re going to face over the next few months it’s very difficult to make those decisions.”
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Thoughts and prayers this morning to all the panickers who wanted the border shut forever and all the hermits who were loving Hermit Kingdom. It’s over. Thank goodness.
Congrats to the Government for waking up to the fact that life actually does go on. That you can’t actually lock your citizens out forever, that you can’t keep Kiwis isolated from the rest of the world ad nauseum.
There’ll be some displeasure from those with Stockholm Syndrome who bought so fiercely into the Government’s rhetoric and fear mongering, their wheels will be spinning now as they imagine the end of the world’s coming. And that’s the problem when you sign up for so much brainwashing over so much time, you lose the ability to think rationally, and to think for yourself.
So, the Government’s got it right opening us back up, but what they’ve got wrong is the timeframe. July, another 6 months away, for international visitors who have visa waiver travel.
And then not until October for everyone else. October. And are they expecting tourists to still self isolate in October? How many tourists do you reckon are booking a trip down under if they know they potentially have to spend the first 7 to 10 days of it holed up somewhere isolating?
Here’s the irony of this ‘high trust model’ we’re bringing back in. For all the people arriving who’re off to self-isolate, how are they getting there? What’s the rule around public transport, taxis, trains, Ubers, buses and domestic flights if you’re self-isolating?
The PM, when asked this, clearly hadn’t thought about it and didn’t know. She did however launch into a presumptive answer that “most people get picked up.”
So welcome to New Zealand, here’s your Rapid Antigen Tests, go and self-isolate and oh by the way, I hope you’re getting picked up. We just assume you are because that’s what the PM thinks happens.
She was also asked how appetising we are as a country in a red light setting, to which she replied that it's business as usual in a red light and visitors can enjoy our nature and hospitality. Well, the empty bars may have a different view on that, but we won't let facts get in the way of some good spin.
Aviation groups aren’t happy. They say for as long as we have self-isolation, be it 10 or 7 days, we’ll be “off the radar for tourists, business travellers and airlines.”
Justin Tie-Umbers, who we spoke to earlier, from NZ’s Board of Airline Representatives, he says “self-isolation requirements need to be removed as soon as possible, or some airlines will cut New Zealand from their routes for a third summer in row.”
That’d be a death blow to the tourism industry and I don’t doubt the Government will be working hard to avoid that.
But they’ve created a rod for their own backs haven't they? With a sustained programme of fear over two years, the people who subscribed to that will be feeling jittery.
The real test now, is how effectively the Government walks all this back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sportstalk host, D'Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to talk about Novak Djokovic potentially changing his mind about the Covid-19 vaccine.
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New Zealand's border will begin to reopen from later this month.
Double-jabbed Kiwi travellers will be able to skip MIQ and return from Australia from February 28 – instead doing self-isolation.
Those further abroad will be able to do the same, two weeks later.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan he expects we will eventually get to the point where Covid becomes more 'normal'.
He says it's encouraging to know Omicron is milder than Delta.
“We could all hope that that’s the path the virus continues to go down, and that future mutations become, you know, even if more infectious, become less dangerous.”
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The Prime Minister has confirmed fully vaccinated Kiwis in Australia can travel home and self-isolate, rather than going into MIQ, from 11.59pm on February 27.
Two weeks later, fully jabbed New Zealanders coming from other parts of the world will also be able to travel here without MIQ.
Newstalk ZB Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls joined Nick Mills to break down the announcement.
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The theories from the Government as to why we were locked down and currently in the Red setting was to reduce the number of hospitalisations and deaths.
There is some new research that suggests it may not have been effective.
New research from the Washington Times on lockdowns in Europe and the US found lockdowns had little to no impact at reducing Covid 19 deaths during the early phase of the pandemic in 2020 - in fact it only reduced mortality by 0.2%.
It found no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings had any noticeable effect - but did have devastating effect on economic activity, unemployment, schooling, domestic violence, among many other social ills.
Report co-author Jonas Herby is a special advisor at the Centre for Political Studies in Copenhagen and joined Mike Hosking.
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Like a lot of people confined to NZ and unable to travel anywhere at the moment, we’re spending more time at home, and therefore spending more money on home.
Collectively, this little country is spending phenomenal amounts of money on boats, renovations or adding a pool to the backyard. Anything to make being confined to home more enjoyable.
We were stoked to not have a pool at our current place to be honest, we always found pools high maintenance costly experiences which never actually got used as much as you thought they would. Kids always promise to swim every day and then when you get a pool suddenly they’re too cold and don't want to.
My husband reckoned cost per swim was about ten grand.
He jokes, but they can sit empty and unused for many months, all the while you’re paying a fortune to maintain them. On top of that, many families travel during the summer school holidays so that’s lost time in the pool too. So we felt it wasn’t worth having one, especially when you live close to beaches.
But post 2020, the world’s changed, we can't travel and so suddenly that expensive high maintenance pool you thought you never needed, is back in the fray. Especially if, like us, you have a large family who descend with their friends over summer.
But guess when you can get a pool in, if you want one these days?
In a year’s time, if you’re lucky.
We got quotes from people already fully booked for this year, a couple of them thought they could possibly squeeze one in, but it was doubtful. I know of someone who was quoted 2024 before they got a shell with some water in their backyard.
But it’s not just pools Kiwis are apparently signing up for, it’s also boats.
A boat maker I know of said if you want a new boat built from scratch you’ll get that in 2025 at this stage.
And that’s before we get to all the people renovating or building. There’s nothing like extended periods of lockdown to make you look around your house and find things that need fixing up.
But here’s where things get really ugly: the supply chain.
Not only do we have supply issues and construction material shortages, we also have price hikes. A builder we know told us to do a renovation at the moment would cost twice – if not more – what it would normally cost – because of the price hikes. So you’re paying double or more if you want a renovation done right now - and it’ll take twice as long.
And there’s no sign of this abating, in fact it appears to be getting worse. I was reading that the lead time for Gib now is May or June. You’d think this would put a lot of people off, but if you’re already underway and the job starts to slow, what can you do?
So I feel for those having to build or renovate right now - and actually the building industry itself. Projects sitting empty while builders sit on their hands waiting for supplies is painful, but what's just as painful, is when the bill comes in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today's major border announcement from the Government will be too little, too late for many.
Newstalk ZB understands the Government will reopen the border to New Zealanders returning from Australia, on February 27th.
New Zealanders from other countries will be able come back from mid-March.
Rachel Das, a New Zealander in Australia, told Mike Hosking she's awaiting the announcement with cautious optimism.
“We’ll just wait and see, I mean, yes it’s amazing news but I’ve got to say I’m really sceptical at the same time.”
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Flight Centre Managing Director David Coombes says the Government's border announcement will be good news for those wanting to get home.
But he told Mike Hosking the Government needs to be looking at fully reopening the border, and removing isolation requirements.
“If you’re vaccinated and you’ve been tested and you’re coming into the country, you’re less of a risk than a whole bunch of Kiwis wandering around with Omicron that we’re probably not aware of right now.”
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The Government is reducing the wait time to get the Covid vaccination booster shot.
From Friday, people will be able to get their shot three months after getting their second.
Reducing the interval by one month means an extra one million people will now be eligible.
University of Auckland modeller Dr Dion O'Neale joined Kate Hawkesby.
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The tourism industry will be hoping for a clearer timeline on when New Zealand's border will fully reopen to everyone.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson Ann-Marie Johnson says it would be great for New Zealanders to be able to come back, and isolate at home.
But she told Kate Hawkesby the tourism recovery won't begin until all holidaymakers can come here, with no self-isolation or MIQ.
“Obviously you’re not going to want to spend the first week of your holiday, or the first ten days in self-isolation if you’re here for just a short time.”
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The Health Ministry's urging at-risk groups to take the chance to get Covid boosters sooner.
The interval between the second Pfizer vaccine and third dose is now three months, from Friday – instead of four months.
Evidence shows boosters reduce Omicron infections and severity.
Ministry science advisor Dr Ian Town told Heather du Plessis-Allan its important older people get boosted – because their antibody levels fall faster than young people's.
Town says Māori and Pasifika should also be coming forward as quickly as possible.
“The other thing, of course, that we want to be aware of is that we do have a number of people in the community with underlying medical conditions, they would also be a priority.”
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I haven’t had too much to say over the last few days about this Charlotte Bellis situation - but today I feel compelled to bring it up for discussion because I am appalled at the way it’s played out.
In particular, I’m appalled by what I see as her complete lack of gratitude for getting what she wanted in just a matter of days.
Charlotte is the TV journalist who used to work for Al Jazeera - she’s originally from Christchurch and worked for TVNZ before she headed overseas a number of years ago.
She got a bit of a profile last year through her coverage of the Taliban taking over the shop in Afghanistan after the US pulled out its troops.
And last weekend, she went public with the fact that she was pregnant, out of work, wanted to come home to have her baby but couldn’t get an emergency spot in MIQ.
Well, that’s all changed in just a few days and because of all the attention, the Government has dipped into its bag of tricks and now says she can have an emergency spot and it looks like she’ll be heading home to New Zealand early next month.
Now before I go any further - I just want to clarify something.
I’ve seen and heard people who aren’t happy that she’s got this emergency MIQ spot saying she “chose” to get pregnant. Well, she didn’t actually - my understanding is that she’d been told at some point she would never be able to get pregnant.
So, the fact she is pregnant - would’ve been quite a surprise. And a delight I imagine.
And I’m very happy for her, her partner and her wider family.
But I’m not happy with, is what I think (in my honest opinion) is her complete lack of gratitude for the Government giving in and getting her the emergency MIQ spot she wants, so she can come home to have her baby.
If there’s one thing that annoys me more than squeaky wheels getting special treatment ahead of those of us who just put up and shut up, it’s squeaky wheels who continue to whinge even after they’ve got what they wanted.
The thing that did it for me was hearing that, despite getting the MIQ booking, she’s considering legal action against the Government for breaching her privacy.
She was a bit coy when Mike Hosking asked her about that earlier this morning - all she said was that her lawyer probably wants her to press ahead with it. But the fact that it’s even on the table and up-for-discussion is galling - as far as I’m concerned.
She’s not happy that Chris Hipkins revealed information about what he says “she had and hadn’t done” to try and get into MIQ. But if you’re going to write an open letter for publication in the NZ Herald and do media interviews about it, what do you expect the Government to do? Of course it’s going to give its side of the story.
But she thinks the Government has been “incredibly disrespectful”.
The question that went through my head when I heard about her possibly taking legal action against the Government was, “whatever happened to gratitude?”
There is zero gratitude coming from Kabul, where Charlotte is at the moment.
And, you know what, if you can’t be grateful, at least be gracious. But that’s not coming through either.
But it’s not just Charlotte’s attitude that’s got me going today. It’s also the fact that the Government appears to have given in.
As Charlotte herself said this morning, other pregnant New Zealanders stuck overseas are saying to her “great for you, but what about me?” How must these women be feeling about the Government falling over itself just because someone with a profile, who - as I read in one report - has a PR friend here in New Zealand. How must they feel about this outcome?
It’s an appalling outcome. And, as I said earlier, the lack of gratitude coming from Charlotte Bellis is galling - but so too is the Government’s willingness to put the squeaky wheel ahead of anyone else in the same situation.
I’m not naive. I know this sort of thing happens...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mary Meachen, owner of Smith the Grocer, and Jonty Hendry Chief Executive of Bats Theatre talk about the impact of the Red Traffic light setting with Nick Mills. Meachen opened up about the trickle-down effects from a struggling sector.
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New Zealand Herald's Wellington Issues reporter Georgina Campbell believes young people have been ripped off by Covid-19 and it seems that a lot of the time no one really cares. Campbell also reports councillor Jill Day will not be running again in this year's local body election.
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A music group says the Government hasn't properly acknowledged calls to support the arts sector.
The Government has announced a $120 million boost for the arts.
It includes $70 million for the event support scheme, and $35.5 million for the Cultural Sector Emergency Relief fund.
Electric duo Sachi's Will Thomas told Mike Hosking the Government response to them hasn't been good enough.
Thomas says they started a petition for the Government to better support the arts industry and got 25,000 signatures in three days.
He says since then they haven't heard anything from the Government acknowledging their petition.
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The Government's being criticised again for its slowness in acquiring rapid antigen tests.
It's ordered another 36 million RATs, meaning the country will have access to 55 million over the next two months.
It's reckoned about nine million will be used every week, once Omicron peaks.
Rako Science executive director, Leon Grice, told Mike Hosking he's been talking to the Ministry of Health about RATs since August.
“Certainly, were stitching together something very rushed after Christmas and if we’d been doing it before Christmas, we’d be in a lot better shape.”
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Pregnant Kiwi journalist Charlotte Bellis will return to New Zealand at the end of this month after surviving the "circus" of her battle with the Government over an MIQ spot.
"It's definitely up there," she told Newstalk ZB today after being asked about the experience and her battle to get home from Afghanistan.
Stuart Nash and Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking to discuss this and the day's politics news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Invercargill and Queenstown appear to be the biggest benefactors to the inevitable changes for the 2022 Super Rugby season.
Rugby bosses have been meeting this week, and will continue those meetings this morning as they make last minute changes to fixtures.
Because of the scenario where teams would have to isolate for 10 days, one or two venues for all 24 NZ based games is the expected signoff.
Queenstown is likely to get all the day games while Invercargill will take the night games, with the five NZ teams and the new Moana Pasifika team living for more than a month in a Queenstown hub.
Involved in all the teams is Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge who joined Mike Hosking.
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Charlotte Bellis isn't sure her story has made much difference for other New Zealanders, stranded overseas.
The pregnant New Zealander has now been offered an emergency MIQ spot.
But it's based on the risks of Bellis and her partner being in Afghanistan - not the need for time-critical scheduled treatment.
Bellis told Mike Hosking it's great for her - but it hasn't moved the dial for other pregnant Kiwis abroad.
“There's a simmering feeling now amongst Kiwis abroad, just from what I’ve read in messages today, of anxiety and not knowing and - ok great for you, but what does that leave us with?”
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Time is running out to save the biggest harvest of the year from going to waste.
There's just a two-week window for the Government to allow 200 skilled machinery operators in for the autumn harvest, following a promise made in December.
Farmers say if the workers don't arrive soon, crops will go to waste.
Blue Glass Contracting director Brook Nettleton told Mike Hosking they've faced the same problem in previous years - and started the process again.
“And so we tried to do it under time-critical workers – and then we were told we’re not time-critical. I mean how unbelievable is that.”
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The push for pregnant women to get emergency places in managed isolation continues.
Journalist Charlotte Bellis has now accepted an emergency MIQ spot.
The offer was granted based on the risk factor of Bellis and her partner being in Afghanistan - rather than the need for time-critical scheduled treatment.
College of Midwives chief Alison Eddy told Kate Hawkesby pregnancy should be a condition prioritised for MIQ.
“It’s a very important and crucial time in your life and having the support that you need, your family around you, the right to be in your country to have all those things.”
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More government money for childcare is being pushed as a way to help New Zealand services which are struggling financially.
The New South Wales Government will be giving families a $500 voucher for each primary school child, to be spent on before and after school care.
It aims to ease the burden of childcare and give people more options as they return to work.
Out of School Care Network manager John Kennedy told Kate Hawkesby a similar policy would make a big difference to the industry here.
“The Australian Treasurer said that part of the reason for the support was, of course, for childcare services in Australia doing it tough and I would say that is echoed here.”
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So how awkward was the RAT kit announcement yesterday – that the Goverment’s bought up 29 million more RATs from private company Kudu Spectrum.
I mean great, don’t get me wrong, always great when much needed RATs are coming our way .. but super awkward when you’ve only got them because a private citizen (Sir Ian Taylor) hooked you up with the company who supplies them, and even then you waited two whole months to respond.
Kudu Spectrum were offering millions of tests, at way cheaper prices, two months ago. So, they’d be here by now, and at a better price. But as usual, the Government was too slow, too tardy, and now we’re waiting, when they could’ve already been here.
If only the private sector were taken seriously at the time, when they showed the wherewithal to be more organised than the Government. As I said yesterday, the private sector knows how to strategize, they’re smart, they’re awash with contacts and resources, why doesn’t this Government tap into them more often?
And speaking of embarrassment, there’s only so much bad international press this Government will stand. I mean they hate bad press in general, but especially on a global scale.
So no surprise to anyone that Charlotte Bellis has miraculously found herself not just an MIQ spot, but flight arrangements to go with it. It only took a very pervasive global social and mainstream media campaign, and threats of a lawsuit, to suddenly get the MIQ doors thrown open for her.
The lawsuit, if you missed this development, was threatened after Chris Hipkins rather defensively and stupidly tried to shut down Bellis’s claims by releasing personal details of hers, which she did not give consent for him to share. Bellis also claimed the details Hipkins shared were not even true. Oh dear.
So of course, she’s got a spot no worries.
As for all the other pregnant women who can’t get wall to wall media and social media coverage, sorry, no deal.
And that’s the tragedy of all this. Have a platform, make a song and dance, get a result. Surely the only message here is that unless you’re going to really publicly and internationally discredit and embarrass the Government, you’re not going to get a spot.
So an awkward week so far for the Government. Shamed into buying more RAT’s - and buying them two months later than they could and should have, shamed by a pregnant Kiwi journo in Afghanistan who stuck it right up them on the world stage and got the result she needed – a capitulation from the power mad bureaucrats at MIQ and a ticket home.
And tomorrow we potentially get the trifecta of shame, the announcement on reopening New Zealand.
If the announcement is anything other than they’re opening the border, then this will be a very sorry week indeed for the Government.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The big sick has begun.
Air New Zealand has had to cancel a flight between Wellington and Blenheim tomorrow because stand-down periods for close contacts mean they haven't got enough staff.
Air NZ hasn't confirmed how many flights have been affected nationwide, but Auckland Airport shows 10 regional departures have been cancelled while Wellington Airport is showing four departures cancelled.
To avoid this, Sounds Air has taken the proactive step of slimming down its schedule altogether.
Chief Executive Andrew Crawford joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The government is yet to decide which workers are classed as critical and will be given access to rats, to get out of isolation early.
We understand the issue was discussed in cabinet today, but Grant Robertson said he doesn't know when a list of workers would be released.
Kirk Hope, Chief Executive at Business NZ joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Employers might be asking their staff not to travel ... to protect their business's health.
Workers are reporting bosses strongly discouraged them travelling out of their region – because of the threat of Omicron.
People are permitted to travel around the country, for any reason, at all traffic light settings.
Employment Expert Max Whitehead told Heather du Plessis Allan employers have to have an eye to the future.
“Now that means planning, that means gathering information. That’s how some employers do very, very well because they’ve taken the time to analyse, work it out, see the gaps, move quickly before it actually happens.”
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Is it just me? Or are we surrounded by control freaks?
Don’t do this, don’t do that. You can’t do this, you can’t do that. That’s how it’s feeling to me with this ridiculous situation where some employers are telling their staff they can’t travel around the country, in case they catch Omicron.
This isn’t just work travel we’re talking about - which maybe you could understand, because employers have obligations to look after the health and safety of their staff.
No, it’s more than that. We’ve actually got bosses saying to their staff that they can’t take leave and they can’t go outside their home region for a holiday. Talk about panic stations!
In one case, a care facility has cancelled all leave during February and doesn’t want any of its people travelling around the country.
Auckland has apparently been pointed out as a hotspot - with one person working at this place saying she’s been told that if she goes there, there’s a high chance she’ll come back with Omicron. And so, her employer doesn’t want her going there.
As this person said: “We’re all double vaxxed at work, we’re going to get our boosters, we thought that’s what we needed to have some freedom and do more things.”
Well, that’s what we were told wasn’t it? But the control freaks are running roughshod over all that.
Unless the boss at this particular outfit is a world-leading authority on Omicron and knows more about Covid than the people running the health system. Which is probably unlikely.
And my message to them - and any employer who thinks they can start dictating things in this way - is that we’re not in lockdown and, the last time I checked, we can go wherever we want.
So why employers think they can start dictating what their staff do and don’t do in their own time in this way, I’ll never know.
Well, I do know, actually. They’re getting themselves well and truly caught up in this control freak environment that has been allowed to develop over the last couple of years.
And I think the time has come where people are well and truly sick of it - and employers are going to have to be very careful where they go with this.
Especially when it comes to making up their own Covid rules and expectations and telling people what they can and can’t do, and where they can and can’t go, in their own time.
Employers have no legal right to do this. It flies completely in the face of what the Government or legislation or the traffic light system says can happen - and they need to pull their heads in.
People hate being told what they can and can’t do, if they think the person telling them what they can and can’t do has no mandate or right to do it.
And if this continues, people will start to get very secretive about what they’re doing. And it won’t stop with where they might be going during the weekend or while they’re on holiday.
They’ll start getting secretive about a sore throat they might have - and to avoid having to go into isolation, they won’t get a Covid test and they’ll just soldier on.
They’ll rebel against the control freak state we’ve become - and then where will we be?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Supermarkets are continuing to make plans to deal with disruption, as the Omicron variant spreads.
Foodstuffs North Island says demand is relatively normal again, after a buying rush when the country moved into red last week.
It's holding about 29 percent more stock this summer than previous years.
CEO Chris Quin told Mike Hosking preparations are also being made in case a lot of workers have to isolate.
“You’ve got to plan around having 10, 20 or 30 percent of your staff unavailable for periods and what you would do during that period to keep the really essential and critical offer on shelves for New Zealanders.”
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Employers can ask their staff not to travel under the Red Traffic Light setting -- but they can't set it in stone.
Newstalk ZB has learned some employers are encouraging their staff to "lock down" and discouraging them from moving around the country.
That's despite the current restrictions having no limits on regional travel.
Lawyer Mai Chen says told Mike Hosking there's a big difference between a conversation and a rule.
“I think it’s good to have a conversation and say where you’re going and what you’re doing and how you’re managing these risks, conversations are fine, but I think prohibitions are pretty difficult to justify.”
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It's hoped Charlotte Bellis' story will bring a government u-turn on returnees self-isolating.
The pregnant journalist's story of trying to come home from Afghanistan has garnered international attention, and brought calls for border policy change.
Grounded Kiwis spokesperson Alexandra Birt told Mike Hosking many are in similar situations, and New Zealand is one of only a few countries still operating a hotel isolation system.
“When you look at the impact it’s having on people’s lives and how long it’s been going on for, we really do need to see change and see it quickly.”
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Pressure is mounting on the Government to alleviate stress in the entertainment industry, under the red traffic light settings.
The country's biggest one-day music festival - Electric Avenue - is off due to Covid-19.
Canterbury Employers' Chamber chief Leeann Watson told Kate Hawkesby they're advocating for subsidies to get the industry up and running.
She says the Arts and Culture Event Support Scheme doesn't cover losses for businesses further down the supply chain.
“I think if they Government are going to continue to focus on restrictions, it really reinforces the need for them to put in place that targeted financial support.”
Thousands have signed a petition demanding support payments for workers in the entertainment industry.
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I really wanted to start this year with some positives and talk about what an improved and developed plan we had with Covid given all our experience now, and all we’ve seen unfold from overseas.
But sadly, that’s not the case.
This whole thing has a Groundhog Day vibe about it.
I mean, how come we’re still, as we go into our third year of this pandemic, still being reactive and responding on the hoof.
It beggars belief that lessons have not been learned, plans have not been made, preparations have not gotten into full swing.
We are behind on RAT kits, way behind, it’s woeful, it’s the vaccine rollout all over again. We have no greater ICU capacity than when we started, in fact suggestions are we even have fewer ICU beds than when we started. We have not bolstered our health workforce, we have not advanced our tragic and cruel MIQ system, we have not boosted enough people or jabbed enough children, because again, we were too slow with our vaccine rollout.
It just all feels so repetitive, doesn’t it?
Why can’t they learn the lesson? Why is the Government so slow on the uptake? Why’d they take an elongated holiday when they should've been planning and sorting and preparing?
Why are they so allergic to the private sector and reticent to include them more? Are they afraid of the private sector? Or are they just so arrogant now they think they know best, better than any established business?
Most importantly, why are we still asking these questions? How can all the same mistakes still be made? If you hear from the Government, when they’ve bothered rolling back into the office from the beach, they’ll tell you they’re world leading.
They’re faultless, blameless, it’s all perfect, we should be so proud of them. The fact they’re still peddling this crap and still in self-congratulatory mode also worries me.
It’s delusional. They’re backwards focused.
“We shut the borders in 2020, we did so well..” it’s all backward thinking, it’s two-year-old news. We are living in the here and now. How many businesses look at KPI’s or performance reviews and go, “Oh well it’s a bit of a mess at the moment but two years ago was really good.”
No one does that, because it’s not real. It’s not relevant, it’s not honest. So why should we be expected to buy into that tosh from our government?
Our Rapid Antigen Testing situation is embarrassing, our MIQ lottery is embarrassing, our hermit mentality is embarrassing, our lack of vaccination coverage for children and booster coverage is embarrassing. Our Covid response looks antiquated and fear driven, and stale. But if you listen to this Government and it’s cheerleaders, we should be over the moon about it.
The disconnect here is actually beyond embarrassing, it’s tragic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Employees across the country say their workplaces are trying to ban them from inter-regional travel, due to the Red traffic light setting.
Of course, people can currently travel anywhere within New Zealand for any reason.
Brett O'Riley, from the Employers and Manufacturers Association joined Kate Hawkesby.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised after an inquiry found that Downing St parties while Britain was in lockdown represented a "serious failure" to observe the standards expected of government or to heed the sacrifices made by millions of people during the pandemic.
But Johnson brushed off calls to quit over the "Partygate" scandal, promising to reform the way his office is run and insisting that he and his government can be trusted.
"I get it, and I will fix it," he said in Parliament after senior civil servant Sue Gray published interim findings on several gatherings in 2020 and 2021.
Gray found that "failures of leadership and judgment" allowed events to occur that "should not have been allowed to take place."
"The hardship under which citizens across the country worked, lived and sadly even died while observing the government's regulations and guidance rigorously are known only too well," Gray wrote.
"Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify," she added.
Gray's glimpse inside a 10 Downing St marked by excessive alcohol consumption and staff afraid to speak out about workplace problems are a blow to Johnson, despite the fact that Gray's conclusions relate to just four of the 16 events she investigated.
Her findings on 12 other events have been withheld at the request of the police, who last week launched a criminal investigation into the most serious alleged breaches of coronavirus rules. The Metropolitan Police force said it had asked for Gray's report to omit the events being investigated by detectives "to avoid any prejudice to our investigation".
Among the events under police investigation are a June 2020 birthday party for Johnson in Downing St and two gatherings held on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 — a funeral at which the widowed Queen Elizabeth II had to sit alone.
The cuts to Gray's report have led opponents to accuse Johnson of a whitewash.
The allegations that the prime minister and his staff flouted restrictions imposed on the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus — holding "bring your own booze" office parties, birthday celebrations and "wine time Fridays" — have caused public anger, led some Conservative lawmakers to call for Johnson's resignation and triggered intense infighting inside the governing party.
Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the British public had made "heart-wrenching sacrifices" and endured "a collective trauma" during the pandemic.
"The prime minister took us all for fools," he said. "He held people's sacrifice in contempt. He showed himself unfit for office."
Starmer said many British people "think the prime minister should do the decent thing and resign. Of course, he won't. Because he is a man without shame."
Johnson can ignore opposition criticism, because the Conservatives have a large majority in Parliament. His fate rests on how Conservative lawmakers respond to his apology. Some previously said they would push for a no-confidence vote if Gray found Johnson was at serious fault or had misled Parliament.
Johnson urged his critics to wait for the conclusions of the police investigation.
But one Conservative legislator, Andrew Mitchell, said in the House of Commons that Johnson "no longer has my support."
Former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May also was unimpressed. She said that either Johnson and those around him "had not read the rules, or didn't understand what they meant ... Or they didn't think the rules applied to them. Which was it?"
Gray did not criticise the prime minister directly, but said "there is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government".
It's unclear whether Gray's...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Grant Robertson insists there are MIQ spots for those who urgently need it.
Pregnant Afghanistan-based Kiwi reporter Charlotte Bellis has been unable to secure MIQ.
The Government's encouraged her to bring forward her travel plans, to make her eligible for an emergency MIQ spot.
The Deputy Prime Minister told Heather du Plessis-Allan emergency spots have been created for situations like this.
“There are rules and regulations, and I know that can be frustrating for people, but they’re there because the officials, on our behalf, have to look at the applications from a range of different people with different circumstances.”
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Charlotte Bellis' lawyer argues she shouldn't have to reapply for MIQ.
The pregnant Afghanistan-based Kiwi reporter has been unable to secure an MIQ spot.
MIQ officials say she wasn't eligible for the dates she provided, but could apply to come in on the basis of serious risk to her safety.
Lawyer Tudor Clee told Heather du Plessis-Allan it would be a lie to apply for a spot under those criteria.
“There’s no reason for her to lie to the government when the basis of the application is that she is a pregnant New Zealand citizen, and, of course, that’s what the application is.”
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I'm embarrassed by this Charlotte Bellis situation.
It's got the attention of the world.
it’s all over the UK papers, the Australian papers, Asian papers, newswires like Reuters.
I got a text on Saturday from an Australian contact saying he was ‘disgusted’ by what he’d read.
We’ve now got another unnamed country offering asylum to Charlotte to help her out.
We’ve got kiwis writing columns overseas, drawing attention to the fact that there are ads in our local papers raging that only one country in the whole world still bans its citizens from returning freely. New Zealand.
Let’s understand why there is so much interest in our MIQ situation and Charlotte’s story.
It’s not because this is rational and something to celebrated.
People around the world are fascinated because this is weird. New Zealand is still acting like it’s March 2020 and the pandemic is new.
We should’ve moved on by now.
We are 93 percent double jabbed for goodness sake and Omicron is already the dominant variant in New Zealand.
There is no reason to keep the borders closed to our citizens anymore.
It’s not Jacinda Ardern that I’m embarrassed about in front of the world.
Because I expect decisions like this from her and her government.
And I understand that – as a politician – she’s motivated by a desire to win the next election, even if that means being unnecessarily cruel to kiwis stuck overseas.
She will do what we will tolerate.
But I am embarrassed that there are so many of us, normal voters, normal kiwis, who do tolerate this. In fact, more than that, there are kiwis who want this.
These are the people who will go the Herald’s comments section or on twitter, and have a crack at Charlotte Bellis for choosing to pursue a career overseas when she should’ve come home earlier, as if that justifies closing our borders to our own people.
Come on. What more protection do you need from Covid? You’re double jabbed. For most of us Omicron is mild. Even Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall admits that.
Can you really justify keeping those borders up now when it means there are Kiwis, like Charlotte, running out of time on their visas around the world, or facing the prospect of giving birth with only paracetamol as pain relief, or watching loved ones die over zoom, or still separated from partners after two years?
If you answer yes to that question, if you think you can justify it, you are the very reason the world is fascinated by us right now. They can’t understand how we can be so cruel as a group of people, or have lost our perspective so badly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
National says too many women have been in the same situation as Charlotte Bellis.
The pregnant New Zealand journalist is seeking asylum in Afghanistan – after a failed emergency MIQ bid had her turn to the Taliban for help.
National MP Erica Stanford says hundreds of women have faced the same ordeal in the past two years.
She says she wrote to Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins last October to add pregnancy to the list of emergency criteria, but nothing was done.
“People are overseas who are trapped in those situations and they need to be prioritised for MIQ spaces. That’s what we’ve been calling for, for months.”
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There are renewed calls for pregnant New Zealanders overseas to be given MIQ spots.
These calls come amid New Zealand-born journalist Charlotte Bellis’ attempts to come back to New Zealand from Afghanistan for her child’s birth.
National MP Erica Stanford raised this issue with Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins back in October.
Erica Stanford joined Kerre McIvor.
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Yet again, the cruel and unnatural Hunger Games-style MIQ lottery has been in the spotlight. This time because a high profile journalist has been denied permission to return home so she can have her baby.
Christchurch native and former journalist at Al Jazeera, Charlotte Bellis, has made headlines around the world after she revealed that the Taliban offered her asylum in Afghanistan - when New Zealand refused to allow her in.
You can just imagine the tabloids take on that. But her’s is just another example of the hurt, the frustration, the fury, the tragedy of an unnecessary system.
MIQ could be justified when Covid was an unknown. When there was no vaccine. When people didn't know what they were dealing with and when Covid wasn't in the community. It's here.
Both Delta and Omicron variants are doing the rounds in this country and there has finally been an acceptance - if not from the PM, at least from Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson - that we have to learn to live with Covid.
Contact tracing is a farce - the PM found out she was a close contact of an Air New Zealand flight attendant a week after she flew from Kerikeri to Auckland. A week's a long time in politics and during that time she was out and about doing what a PM should be doing.
As ACT leader David Seymour says if they can't trace the PM in a week, perhaps it's time to relax the isolation rules for everyone else. Quite right.
I had a friend on that flight and I was the one who had to tell her she too was a close contact. Nobody from the Ministry had been in touch - and yet there's a passenger manifest. She's hardly the Scarlet Pimpernel - she would have been quite easy to contact. But nope. Not a dicky bird.
We're a small country. We're a mobile country - when we're not locked down. Deem us all close contacts. Accept that it's inevitable that someone we know, sometime soon, will get Omicron.
Understand that that is not a death sentence - most people will barely know they have it. Get on with life - and let New Zealanders come home, pregnant, not pregnant, young, old. Let this unjustifiable farce finally end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Schools are facing hesitancy from parents, about sending their children back from the start of Term One.
Students at most schools will return today and tomorrow.
Under the Red Traffic Light restrictions, teachers and students Year Four and above must wear a mask indoors and teachers must be vaccinated.
Principal of Glen Innes School Jono Hendricks told Tim Dower a teacher aide will be speaking with and encouraging parents who are hesitant about bringing kids back to school, but at some point, it will become a truancy issue.
“In our Covid plan, or return to school plan, we do have an expression around what needs to be done in terms of parents opting to keep their children home vs children who need to be home.”
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The Government is being urged to talk less and do more to improve home isolation.
Under the current framework, introduced following two deaths in home isolation last year, a person should be contacted by a healthcare provider within 24 hours of testing positive for Covid.
But healthcare providers say families often have to wait for up to four days before being referred to them.
Pasifika Futures chief executive Debbie Sorensen told Tim Dower Zoom meetings with officials take up a large amount of time every day.
“It appears that lessons learnt over the last two years aren't being put into place very quickly, and I think there needs to be a bit more speed and a little less Zooming.”
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Anxiety about Omicron as schools prepare to welcome back students for the start of Term One.
Most students are returning this week under the Red Traffic Light setting.
Teachers and students in years four and up will need to wear masks indoors, and teachers must be vaccinated.
President of primary teachers' union NZEI Liam Rutherford told Roman Travers while school closures will be rare, it's unclear what school will look like when more people are identified as close contacts.
“Schools are bracing themselves for how you keep your school open when you’ve got a large chunk of your staff or a large chunk of your students all close contacts or with Covid.”
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It was a summer holiday on borrowed time.
You’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty remarkable we made it this far without Omicron sweeping through. New Zealand enjoyed Christmas without widespread community transmission. Despite DJ Dimension, we made it through the New Year and most of January. But I think we can all see the end is nigh. It’s quite feasible that by this time next week, our Omicron daily case numbers will be in the thousands.
Timing is everything in the Covid-19 response. In December, opposition MPs wanted the borders opened to people travelling from so-called low-risk countries, including Australia, so long as they’d had two vaccinations, tested negative before travelling, and were prepared to isolate at home. You can only imagine how much faster the new variant would have been circling here.
All up, the hesitance to relax border restrictions probably bought us six weeks. Time for summer holidays, sure, but time also for a lot of Kiwis to receive their booster jabs.
Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. Because I was in Group 4, even though I got my first and second vaccines as soon as I possibly could, I don’t qualify for a booster until after Waitangi Day. That means I won’t benefit from the full effect of the booster shot until the last week of February. Again, timing is everything! If the original vaccine rollout had come just a little bit sooner, me, and hundreds of thousands of other New Zealanders would have the chance to be much more protected against this variant before we hit thousands of daily cases.
I think the government deserves a serve for the Rapid Antigen Test debacle. I understand the theory behind wanting to control the limited stocks. They want to make sure everyone has access regardless of where they are in the country. Theoretically they can control the supply to different regions depending on where the outbreak is flaring up. All that stuff makes sense.
But a more prudent approach would have meant we could do both. We’d have enough public tests available for everyone who needed one, and businesses that wanted to be extra cautious could use their own private supplies for maintenance testing their staff. The government is effectively pushing in the queue and bullying out private orders. What’d I say? Timing. It wouldn’t have been necessary if the Ministry of Health had acquired more tests, earlier.
In the long run though these are probably not the things that will stick in our minds, or the things by which we will judge the Omicron response. In all likelihood, tens or hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders are about to contract the virus. It’ll be our biggest infection since start of the pandemic. Maybe our biggest ever. The most important measure will be how New Zealand manages the surge of cases. Can we keep the pot on a gentle simmer, protecting our healthcare services? Or will it boil and bubble and overflow?
There’s reason to be optimistic. We’re a highly-vaccinated society. The New York Times reported this week that people who’ve been double-vaccinated and boosted face a greater
risk by getting in a car than they do from Omicron. That doesn’t mean everyone is protected. But if we’re able to manage Omicron, provided there are no new strains... there can be few sensible arguments from stopping New Zealanders abroad from finally coming home. Dare we cross our fingers and hope this might be the beginning of the end?
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Young Kiwis are starting to find their wings again.
With more than 92 percent of those aged 18-30 double vaccinated, they're starting to look overseas.
Travel is becoming easier with many countries scrapping mandatory quarantine for vaccinated travellers.
House of Travel Chief Operating Officer Brent Thomas says the travel company is seeing an uplift in young people's enquiries.
“I think it’s fair to say that a number of the younger people have decided they’re going to have the OE they’re going to go and do the study overseas and they’re going to get on with it.”
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As concerns about Hamilton's Soundsplash music festival grow, some high schools aren't taking any chances.
At least one Omicron case has been confirmed at the three-day event, and many more are feared.
More than 100 students from Auckland Grammar went to the festival and have been ordered to isolate at home until they produce a negative test.
Other schools are advising their students to take the same precautions.
Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor told Tim Dower it's a no brainer.
“I’d rather have students off one or two days while they get a negative test result than having to shut down either an entire cohort or large groups.”
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Investors and fund managers have had a whirlwind of a start to the year with very shaky stock markets all over the world.
Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Prince Andrew wants a trial by jury.
Boris Johnson is clinging on, when is the report into the parties coming?
How many Brits are planning foreign holidays this year?
Sky News correspondent, Enda Brady joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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D'Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss Canterbury's win over Wellington in Super Smash Cricket and how losing the game helped Wellington protect itself from Omicron.
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It’s taken me quite some time to reach the point I’m at today. Some will probably say it’s taken me far too long.
Nevertheless, it has happened – and I’ll come straight out and tell you what it is.
I have lost confidence in the Government's ability to lead the COVID-19 response here in New Zealand.
I was about to say “manage” instead of “lead” – but it’s my confidence in the Government’s “leadership” that’s taken a beating. I’m sure it can “manage” things ok – but leadership is another thing altogether, isn’t it?.
And, on that front, the Government is failing big time as far as I’m concerned – and at a time when strong leadership is critical.
Here we are, two years since the pandemic began, and it still feels as if the Government is making it all up as it goes.
Look, I get that dealing with Omicron is way different than dealing with the first wave of the virus back in 2020. And yes, we have become one of the most vaccinated countries in the world since then. And when it comes down to it, that will probably be the thing that New Zealand can be most proud of when we compare our response to what’s gone on in other countries.
But what we saw from the Government yesterday and, more to the point, what we haven’t seen of it since December 19 last year – has been the tipping point for me.
The lack of progress over summer can easily be summed up in four words – “asleep at the wheel”.
And I know you’ll have your own thoughts on what you heard from the Government yesterday.
But, for me, there were three things in yesterday’s announcement that show the Government hasn’t just woken up from a nana-nap – it’s actually still trying to wake itself up from a full-on hibernation.
So what are they?
Number One: “Stamp it out”. I couldn’t believe it yesterday when the Associate Health Minister said “stamping out the virus” is what the current phase of the Omicron response is all about. Phase One. I didn’t quite know what to make of it. “Stamping it out” – all I can say on that one is they are dreaming!
Number Two: The Government is yet to determine who is and who isn’t a critical worker. And what is and what isn’t a critical business.
On that one alone how can anyone think this Government is all over Omicron and knows exactly what it’s doing. How on earth can it have no idea what and who is going to be critical when Omicron reaches full steam in New Zealand?
And Number Three: and this is the one that’s received the most attention. And that’s the appalling way the Government and the Ministry of Health have piggy-backed on those businesses that have got their A-into-G and ordered Rapid Antigen Tests (or RATS, as they’re becoming known as).
If I was the owner or boss of one of these businesses that had the foresight to order these tests, I would be furious that the Ministry and the Government has stepped-in at the last minute and told the suppliers not to send them to the companies which ordered them – and send them to the Ministry of Health instead.
That is just outrageous isn’t it? And, as we heard on the Breakfast show this morning, people are livid. And they have every right to be, as far as I’m concerned.
Ashley Bloomfield and the Government can say as many times as they like that they are just “consolidating” the orders – that’s one of the weasel words that came out yesterday but it is nothing short of control freak behaviour.
One outfit in the news this morning ordered hundreds of thousands of tests – and they’re saying it was two weeks ago when the Government and the Ministry started this “consolidating”.
Again, it’s outrageous!
And you may have also heard the head of Business New Zealand saying this morning that when the kits do start getting dished out by the Ministry of Health, they’ll only be available to test whether people who have had COVID are well enough to go back to work.
And they won’t be...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Finally, businesses receive approval to bring RATs into the country and they have been operating very well. Until, the ministry decides to play catch up and has consolidated orders into this country. They call it consolidate, others say, requisition.
Even if there was a problem, what in the name of all that is holy makes the Ministry of Health think it can rollout Rapid Antigen Tests? Show me the evidence that the ministry could in fact see a problem and solve it.
It has shown itself to be inept when it comes to the distribution of PPE, and worse than that, it refused to listen to the pleas from the people on the ground who are most at risk in that first wave of COVID, who said there isn't enough PPE. They utterly refused to listen to the people on the ground, so not just inept, but cruel.
The ministry is bunkered down and refusing to listen. It refuses to take advice even from the Government's own task force that has found time and time again that there are many failings - and refuses to acknowledge them.
It is incredibly slow to respond to emails and requests. Ask anybody who said any dealings with the Ministry of Health over anything. When it does, its responses and decisions are incredibly hard to rationalise and nobody will be accountable.
This is yet another egregious example of an incompetent, shambolic ministry that was in utter disarray for many years. They are showing that they are out of their depth and playing catch up yet again and sensible, proactive, nimble New Zealanders who have foresight and preparedness are the ones who pay the price.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The clock is ticking as schools race to prepare for a new school year.
Most schools start next week under the Red Light.
Principals have met with the Ministry of Education in an attempt to clarify guidelines and iron out any issues before students return.
Principals' Federation President Cherie Taylor-Patel told Tim Dower the guidelines in schools for Omicron, are a lot different to those for Delta.
“I think some people have already started planning for the school year and other schools didn’t think they were going to need to grapple with all the information quite so quickly.”
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It's expected to be very difficult to operate a business under Omicron, without access to rapid antigen tests.
Argument has broken out between businesses and the Ministry of Health, over whether the ministry has pushed in, taking RATs meant for businesses.
Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Tim Dower the horse has bolted, because the Government should've been approving suppliers of RATs way earlier.
He says now there aren't going to be enough of them, and companies can't use them for surveillance testing.
“You can only use them for return-to-work testing, so people can get back to work more quickly. Not good enough, frankly.”
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Officials continue to be accused of hoarding rapid antigen tests.
A number of businesses say their orders have been seconded by the Ministry of Health.
But the Ministry rejects those claims, and says it's only "consolidating" orders heading into the country.
Employers and Manufacturers Association Chief Executive Brett O'Riley says Roman Travers it's not fair.
“Because they’ve taken up a lot of the supply in the New Zealand market, that’s taken away orders that have been placed for business that now no longer can be filled.”
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Concerns for businesses that use rapid antigen testing regularly.
The Ministry of Health says it's consolidating incoming orders.
Inscience is a distributor of the tests in New Zealand, and says its orders will now be gobbled up by the ministry.
Director, Ann-Louise Anderson told Tim Dower she has many clients who need those tests regularly.
“They were destined for companies that have health and safety strong policies in place and have been doing surveillance testing since it was allowed to be done.”
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Seniors are being told it's a time to connect, rather than isolate.
Some experts think the elderly should hunker down, and put themselves into a lockdown because of how previous outbreaks have affected the elderly and rest homes.
Age Concern CEO, Stephanie Clare, Roman Travers, older people should get boosted and wear a mask when they leave the house.
She says the Government's not asking people to isolate themselves.
“Stay connected, if you have any questions about that, give someone a call. It’s not about looking after yourself, by yourself.”
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If you needed proof of how unprepared the government is for omicron look no further than the developing shambles that is the situation with rapid Covid tests.
It turns out, that in the last couple of weeks the government started effectively cancelling the existing orders that private businesses have for these tests and taking those supplies for themselves.
If you caught the end of our show yesterday, you’ll be across this already because we started getting a lot of texts from private businesses saying they had rapid tests on order, only to be told in the last week or so that their orders suddenly couldn't be met because the Ministry of Health was now seizing those supplies.
It’s apparently happened to hardware suppliers, retirement homes, freight companies, office-based work places and the list goes on.
This is deeply unfair on businesses because businesses are the very ones who have been properly preparing for omicron.
It was business that publicly shamed the government into lifting its ban on importing rapid antigen tests during Auckland’s lockdown last year.
It was business that started using the tests regularly on staff.
And it was business that had the foresight to start ordering those tests because they could see that they would be needed.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (the very people who wanted to keep banning rapid tests, and who didn’t have sufficient orders in, and who weren’t prepared) seem to have taken a long summer break, come back and realized they’ve got a problem and now have the gall to effectively cancel everyone else’s orders and take the stock for themselves.
Because the Ministry of Health dropped the ball, we now only have 4.6 million tests in the country, much of which the ministry has probably taken off private business.
That isn't even enough to give each of us one test when, realistically, each of us will burn through two or more of these tests a week, and businesses who did the right thing are now being punished.
This is the vaccine roll out all over again, isn’t it? The Ministry of Health and the government leaving things to the last minute and blaming global shortages when they get caught out.
That excuse works once – maybe – but I doubt it’s going to work again this time.
This time, we can see the shambles for what it is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The new mask mandates, the increased use of RATs and the continuing saga of MIQ .
People who are essential workers in vaccine-mandated jobs must wear medical-grade masks. This is where the Government is going to have to come to the party and pay for them as many of these workers are essential but low paid. They haven't got the money to be forking out on medical-grade masks, even if they could find them.
And when it comes to MIQ, surely to goodness we're going to have to give up on MIQ and as a means of keeping New Zealanders out of their own country. If you've got Omicron circulating in the community, where is the advantage of denying New Zealanders access to their home? I know there is still a significant group of people that think that we need to pull up the drawbridge and stay there for the next 10 years.
There are legal challenges underway against the Government saying you simply cannot keep shutting New Zealanders out of their home for whatever reason.
Double vaxxed, boosted and negative tests. And you've got Omicron in the community.
How on earth can you deny New Zealand does the right to come home?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Government is set to reveal how it will try to step up the fight against Omicron as the highly infectious Covid-19 variant spreads across the country, with predictions of up to 50,000 cases a day.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced further measures, including new mask mandates and increased use of rapid antigen tests (RATs).
Mark Mitchell and Stuart Nash joined Mike Yardley to discuss this and the week's politics news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Consumer New Zealand thinks Air New Zealand is being a bit tight with its credit rules.
Right now, you can receive a credit if your flight is cancelled because of traffic light changes.
But if you're booked to fly for an event, and you don't want to travel because that's been cancelled, then you’re out of luck.
Consumer New Zealand CEO Jon Duffy joined Tim Dower.
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Fears the pandemic is causing mental distress to escalate amongst teenagers.
Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey is calling for a mental health summit to take stock of the pressure the country's youth are under.
He told Tim Dower they're starting to see the early warning signs - and that should be triggering alarm bells nationwide.
“I think when you look at the restrictions our young people face, the inability to meet their friends and their peers or maybe go to school, I think what we’re seeing is it’s starting to tick up in areas like anxiety and depression.”
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And so, the Far North remains the under performer when it comes to getting vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Does anyone really have any firm grasp on why the uptake is so poor? Does anyone really want to see more funding poured into an area of the country that has access to all the forms of communication that we all enjoy – or tolerate – around the rest of the country?
Te Tai Tokerau is not served well by its leaders – or are they simply being ignored? You once again have Hone Harewera yesterday talking about further roadblocks for Northland vainly attempting to do the right thing for his people. But that’s one voice.
You have to ask just what on earth anyone can now do to ensure that The Far North inoculation rates get up there in the high 90s as they have elsewhere.
Currently, 89 percent of the region’s 12 year old plus population have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 86 per cent have received two doses. But for Māori here, the poor uptake is concerning: 85 per cent have one shot on board and only 79 percent two shots.
If you’re listening to me from The Far North and you’re not vaccinated for reasons of apathy, then get your skates on today. Rattle your dags and get vaccinated today. If there continues to be a vacuum of common sense from within the leadership you respect, then who is it you need to hear from in order to protect yourself and your loved ones?
You may no longer prove to be a handbrake on New Zealand’s economy, but you will undoubtedly be the reason why your already meagre health service will unnecessarily be under the pump.
Ask yourself if you’re happy to see the doctors and nurses that work tirelessly now – completely exhausted and exacerbated by your privileged, vague and baseless position.
You’ve been told what’s coming. You can see how stretched our system will become. If you can’t be bothered getting vaccinated for yourself – then do it for those who would rather not be treating you. Please.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A transport company says Rapid Antigen Tests are working well for colleagues over the Tasman.
Some essential workers will be able to end isolation sooner, once rapid antigen tests are available.
This will cover people in the supply chain, in particular, around food.
Mainfreight chief executive Don Braid told Tim Dower his colleagues in Australia use them daily in the carpark before starting work.
He acknowledges there are some questions over how good the RAT tests are.
“But it’s certainly giving our people some comfort and they are picking up those infections early.”
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Cloth masks may be quickly becoming a thing of the past.
The Government's new rules around mask wearing come into effect next Thursday.
Face coverings will have to be an actual mask as opposed to scarves, bandanas or T-shirts pulled up over the face.
They'll be required in all food and drink venues, close-proximity businesses, events and gatherings.
Any workers covered by a vaccine mandate will be required to wear a surgical-grade or N95 mask.
Auckland University aerosol chemist Joel Rindelaub told Tim Dower Omicron is making cloth masks redundant.
“A thin cloth mask isn’t really going to save you, so these new guidelines are just trying to keep everyone healthy and safe.”
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In the couple of days since New Zealand went to red, it has been a logistical nightmare for event organisers.
Numerous events have been cancelled around the country, due to size restrictions or it just being logistically too difficult.
But some events will be going ahead despite the extra challenges.
Sue Wilson is the Event Manager of the East Coast Farming Expo and she joined Roman Travers.
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A mask manufacturer thinks new rules around face coverings should go even further.
The Government's tightening rules around mask wearing.
From tomorrow week, they'll be required in all food and drink venues, close-proximity businesses, events and gatherings.
And face coverings must be an actual mask as opposed to scarves, bandannas or T-shirts pulled up over the face.
Any workers covered by a vaccine mandate will be required to wear a surgical-grade or N95 mask.
But Nick Davenport, founder of mask manufacturer Lanaco, told Roman Travers that should go for everyone.
“I think it’s a little informed decision and the information behind it and the science behind it differs from the policy that’s been offered.”
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Ex-truckies are being asked to come out of retirement or do part-time work in the event of permanent drivers catching Omicron.
There have been shortages of food in Australia, because truckies have fallen ill and haven't been able to transport goods around the country.
Transporting New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett says Roman Travers driving a large truck takes a lot of skill so it takes years to train people.
He says they're trying to build a list of relief drivers who could be called on in an emergency.
"Maybe doing another job, they maybe used to drive or are working another sector. They could lend themselves, just with a shift here and there.”
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrated his birthday with a gathering at his official residence in June 2020 while the United Kingdom was in its first Covid-19 lockdown, a spokesperson said Monday, marking the latest scandal for the country's leader.
In a statement, a Downing Street spokesperson said: "A group of staff working in No 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than ten minutes."
Under Covid-19 restrictions at the time, indoor gatherings were not allowed, with people permitted only to meet outside in groups of up to six people.
CNN affiliate ITV reported Monday there were two gatherings held to celebrate Johnson's birthday: one attended by as many as 30 people held at the cabinet office the afternoon of June 19, and another that evening that was hosted at Johnson's residence and attended by family friends.
According to ITV News, Johnson's wife, Carrie, organized the small gathering in the Cabinet Room. A source who worked in Downing Street at the time has independently confirmed to CNN that the gathering took place on that day and that it was arranged by Carrie, who led the singing of the happy birthday song.
CNN understands that the gathering was largely attended by what was deemed to be Johnson's inner circle at the time.
Downing Street has denied that any rules were breached by the evening gathering, with a spokesperson saying: "This is totally untrue. In line with the rules at the time the Prime Minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening."
Johnson has been under pressure for weeks over alleged summer garden parties and Christmas gatherings held in Downing Street when the rest of the country was under strict Covid restrictions.
A report into the allegations, set to be released this week, could be the final straw for Johnson's increasingly mutinous party.
Johnson's approval ratings are plunging and there appears to be a growing sense among some parts of his ruling Conservative Party that he is becoming a liability. Two polls in the past week suggested that as many as two-thirds of voters want him to resign.
The Prime Minister has given unconvincing answers when asked about the numerous parties. First, he said there were none. Once undeniable evidence emerged, he denied knowing about the gatherings. When a photo of him at one such event was published, he insisted he didn't realize the gathering was a party, saying he "believed implicitly that this was a work event."
Johnson was even forced to apologize to the Queen after it emerged that a party was held in Downing Street the night before the funeral of Prince Philip. It was noted at the time that because of Covid-19 restrictions, the Queen was forced to mourn her husband at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle while sitting alone.
CNN's Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Brian Tamaki's appeal against being remanded in custody is to be heard tomorrow.
Trevor Mallard enters into the political arena again after Ardern criticised internationally over Omicron response.
Political Editor, Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A Waikato couple's fairytale wedding was pulled together in just a few hours following yesterday's announcement that New Zealand was headed back into the red traffic light setting.
With just a few hours' of warning, Waikato couple Stef and Danyon Cuneen were married last night. Vows were written on the back of real estate leaflets, a hairdresser was summoned from her hangover, and a dress was procured.
Today Mel Brown spoke to the Herald in place of her newly-wed sister - who right after her nuptials was busy back at her job as a nurse. Brown says her sister and brother-in-law were determined to sneak in their ceremony at Lake Karapiro before the country moved back into the red traffic light setting.
"We were all watching the announcement at 11am, and my sister has had to reschedule her wedding twice," Brown explained of Cuneen's plans to get married in 2020 and another date she had to pull the plug on.
"I mean, she still could have got married in red, but it kind of takes away the party vibe of it. Because you have to be separated with your 100 people and stay seated.
"She's a nurse, so she's thinking of other people. But I think they were just tired of it all.
"So we have a family chat on Facebook and she just put in there 'F*** it, let's get married today.'"
As the eldest sister, Brown chimed in with a sense check.
"I said, 'Are you serious?' And she said, 'Yeah'. So were like, okay, we can do that."
The sisters banded together and pulled off the impressive feat in just six hours. Brown called her hairdresser who was able to do the make-up, luring her from her hangover with the promise of earning some cash.
There was one main dilemma, however: the dress.
The photographer, Clare Gordon, had a spare dress on hand.
But it didn't fit.
So one of Cuneen's bridesmaids came to the rescue and brought along a wedding dress that the bride ended up wearing for her special day.
And, of course, every great wedding needs a cake. A friend happened to have a spare one that was never picked up by the customer.
The wedding arch, pictured above, was found in someone's garden. Brown's husband picked it up with a trailer and hammered it into the ground.
The details were all set, including food from a local restaurant who heard about the couple's story and rallied together to feed the 50 guests able to attend.
Friends even trekked from as far as Waiheke Island when they heard the ceremony was happening.
"From a nurse's point of view, she just thought that if this is the start of the next Covid wave, then by April [their wedding date] we could be in a really bad place," Brown says.
"She made the choice and we just didn't go back."
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mᴇʟ Bʀᴏᴡɴ (@mel_brown___)
Brown says the ceremony was emotional for everyone involved.
The best moment was "100 per cent when her husband saw her.
"There's a beautiful photo of him having a good ol' cry. He's a bit of a softy.
"But getting to actually walk down the aisle and them saying their vows - which she actually wrote on the back of a real-estate pamphlet at my mum's house because she had no paper ... "
Brown says their mum was "very overwhelmed by the whole thing".
"There was a disappointment for her at first that it wasn't going to be the wedding that she thought she was going to have for her last daughter. But she spent the afternoon in the kitchen making the buttonholes for the boys."
As the couple settle into the first day of their married lives together, Brown says she knows her sister and new brother-in-law are made for each other and is really proud of everyone who helped pull their wedding together in just a few hours.
"I know that those two are meant to be and I'm just really proud that we pulled it off for her and she got the day that she wanted."
- Lydia...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's been extraordinary times absolutely, but especially for those who are trying to stay productive while looking after the children.
Young people are set to return to school next week. While some schools are going back January 31, latest February the 8th for others.
Chris Hipkins says he is painfully aware that Covid has meant children have missed out on months of face-to-face learning, and that the priority this year is getting children back into the classroom and an interview over the weekend. He said that a single case will not force a school closure and that we are going to have to get used to the idea that it's a virus.
We want less wholesale disruption this year. My message for families is to be prepared if someone in your household is sick and you'll need to isolate. He wants children back in the classroom. How are you feeling about heading back to school?
Is there a sense of unease or a sense of excitement, especially given that children as young as eight will have to wear masks at school if the red traffic light setting is still in place and it's highly likely it will be?
If people are nervous about their children going back to school, I can kind of understand it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As we head into this new unknown with Omicron - plenty of us are thinking about staying healthy.
Dr. Michael Mosley knows a thing or two about healthy living - he's behind the famed Fast 800 Diet and is a well-known TV presenter.
His new book the Fast 800 Keto is out now.
Dr. Michael Mosley joined Tim Dower from Britain.
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Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has been forced to apologise live on air after saying people “aren’t dying” from Covid-19, despite record breaking death statistics.
For much of the pandemic, Australia has been the envy of the rest of the world for how it kept Covid-19 at bay and fatalities low.
But, while NSW and Victoria are likely over the peak of their Omicron wave, both the United States and Europe have issued a stark warning to residents urging them not to travel to Australia.
When asked whether Australia could still say it was the “envy of the world” when by the European Council and the US Centre for Disease Control have both labelled the country as “danger zones”, Mr Joyce said Australia could still take pride in the way it had handled the pandemic.
“People aren’t dying,” Mr Joyce told RN Breakfast.
He was immediately picked up on the point by host Patricia Karvelas who said “people are dying. People are dying every day”.
Mr Joyce immediately sought to cover his tracks and apologised.
“Sorry, sorry sorry. Yes, you are correct, I shouldn’t have said that,” he said.
“But the number in which – the fatality rate is very low.
“Obviously that is a tragic thing for anybody … (to die) for any reason – for catching the flu. But the fatality rate of Omicron is remarkably low and Australia has done a remarkable job.”
Since January 1, 891 people have died with Covid-19.
Mr Joyce said for “most people” who were diagnosed with Covid-19 and double-vaccinated, they would get a “mild illness” like he had.
“For me, it was a couple days of something pretty mild. And I was pretty lucky. (I know) it’s not for everyone,” he said.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said people were in fact dying “in record numbers”.
Mr Joyce also came under fire for his comments about rapid antigen tests, suggesting Australians were hoarding the kits – prolonging the shortage as the concession scheme begins.
From Monday, 6.6 million Australians with a concession card are eligible for free rapid antigen tests from their chemist. These are capped at ten tests over three months, with a maximum of five in a month.
But, pharmacies are pleading with people to be patient with not enough testing kits available for circulation.
Mr Joyce said part of the problem was people buying more tests than they needed.
“People have been buying not what they require, but more than they need,” he told RN.
“We have 16 million tests turning up by the end of the months … We have 70 million on order.
“It is not as if the tests aren’t there. The problems that Australia is experiencing is being experienced around the world.”
Mr Albanese clapped back during his own interview, saying it was “extraordinary” for Mr Joyce to blame Australians for the unavailability of the tests.
“We all knew that once we opened up the increased number of infections, elimination tests would be an important part of the response to keep people safe, and the government simply didn’t do anything about it,” Mr Albanese said.
- By Ellen Ransley, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The tap's being turned down on cheap money, which is making markets nervous.
The New Zealand share market fell into correction territory yesterday morning, but recovered during the afternoon to close down 1.27 per cent.
US stocks are also down, with the S&P 500 index falling and the Dow tumbling more than 800 points.
Craigs Investment Partners analyst Mark Lister told Tim Dower that's expected to flow through to New Zealand, especially when it comes to house prices.
“We’ve just got to accept the reality that when the central banks take the punchbowl away, the party doesn’t necessarily stop completely but it certainly might slow down.”
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You know the saying… never wake a sleeping dragon? Well it appears that we have - and the sleeping inflation dragon is well and truly awake.
Later this week; we’ll get to see the latest update on the country’s financial data – and it’s expected to show inflation in 2021 ran at its highest level in over 30 years.
The Consumers Price Index is expected to rise by 1.3 percent for the December quarter, coupled with inflation that accelerated to 6.0 percent.
The highest inflation in more than 30 years? Many of us have never experienced this kind of leap in the cost of everything.
The only way to appease this waking inflation dragon would be for The Reserve Bank to take some pretty hefty and aggressive action. But will they?
Some economists have said that the country is in the midst of "a perfect storm" of inflation pressures, but that much of the CPI's increase will be a result of offshore factors.
It’s a huge concern just how dependent we are as a nation on the fluctuations of the vagaries of the overseas markets. But that’s the bed we’ve been making so well over the past three or four decades.
The Consumer Price Index is something we all need to keep an eye on. After peaking at close to 6.3 per cent in early this year, annual CPI inflation is then expected to cool, but remain above the 1 to 3 percent inflation target until late 2023.
The real message here is that none of us want to be caught with our shorts round our ankles and financial institutions – once keen to lend you whatever you wanted – will be the first to disown you faster than a flock of Facebook friends.
The writing is on the wall – and that wall is a very real roadblock to the future plans of many good, hard working New Zealanders… both the employers and the employees.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Health Minister says the health system has coped with previous Covid outbreaks - and will cope again.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists wants the Government to declare a health workforce emergency, due to new Omicron outbreak.
The Medical Association also says it's time to declare an emergency.
But Andrew Little told Tim Dower the system has proved time and time again, over the past two years, that it can cope under pressure.
“What it does tend to mean is, that if the numbers who end up going to hospital do grow significantly, then it is things like elective surgery procedures that end up being put off.”
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Online and open book exams are in store for Auckland University students this year - bar some exceptions.
It has started discussion around whether other universities should follow suit given Omicron is here and will start to spread.
Auckland University Students' Association president Andrew Lessells joined Tim Dower.
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Prices are expected to rise for consumers as Omicron spreads.
The latest Consumer Price Index is due out on Thursday morning.
ANZ economist, Finn Robinson, told Roman Travers he thinks inflation will be between 5.5 and 6.5 percent for the year to December.
He says Omicron will hit us in the pocket because a huge chunk of the workforce will probably have to isolate, like overseas.
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We're being urged to think of others - as we prepare our pantries and medicine cabinets for the months ahead.
Supermarkets report pressure on products like toilet paper, following the confirmation the Omicron outbreak on Sunday.
Food, groceries and medicines could also become harder to come by, as case numbers rise.
Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson told Roman Travers while consumers are stocking up, they should remember others who can't.
“I do understand families needing to go out and protect themselves from what might just happen. Many, many thousands of New Zealanders just don’t have that luxury.”
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The travel bubble between the Cook Islands and New Zealand will remain open despite our Omicron outbreak.
The Cook Islands held an emergency cabinet meeting last night.
There is a new restriction though - no unvaccinated people will be allowed entry from Thursday.
Robert Skews, the managing director of the Turama Pacific Travel Group told Roman Travers the news is a huge relief.
“70 percent of our revenue here in the Cooks is derived from tourism and so after two years we’re a little bit desperate.”
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Western Australia to stay locked off to the world indefinitely.
US and EU restrict travel from Australia.
PM’s account on a Chinese-owned social media app is hijacked to promote pro-Beijing propaganda.
Australian Correspondent Oliver Peterson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Thames-Coromandel's unvaccinated mayor will chair her first remote full council meeting tomorrow.
Sandra Goudie doesn't want to get the Pfizer jab.
It's now her council's policy to only allow double-vaccinated people entry onto its premises.
Goudie says she's happy to chair meetings from home.
“I’m certainly very comfortable with the position I’ve taken, and I don’t feel uncomfortable at all, I don’t feel that I’m doing my job any less.”
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The British Prime Minister has been under pressure for weeks over alleged summer garden parties and Christmas gatherings held in Downing Street when the rest of the country was under strict Covid-19 lockdowns. A report into the allegations, set to be released this week, could be the final straw for Johnson's increasingly mutinous party.
Johnson's approval ratings are plunging and there appears to be a growing sense among some parts of his ruling Conservative Party that he is becoming a liability. Two polls in the last week suggested that as many as two-thirds of voters want him to resign.
The parliamentary rebellion is growing. One Conservative MP defected to the opposition Labour Party last week and newspapers have reported rumours of more lawmakers demanding Johnson's exit.
The Prime Minister has given unconvincing answers when asked about the numerous parties. First, he said there were none. Once undeniable evidence emerged, he denied knowing about the gatherings. When a photo of him at one such event was published, he insisted he didn't realize the gathering was a party, claiming he "believed implicitly that this was a work event."
Johnson was even forced to apologize to the Queen after it emerged that a party was held in Downing Street the night before the funeral of Prince Philip. It was noted at the time that due to Covid-19 restrictions; the Queen was forced to mourn her husband at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle while sitting alone.
Adding fuel to the fire, Johnson's former senior adviser Dominic Cummings claimed this week he would swear under oath that the Prime Minister was warned about the true nature of one of the drinks parties. Johnson denied that vehemently, saying: "Nobody warned me that it was against the rules... because I would remember that."
As new "Partygate" allegations emerged, Johnson and his loyalists tried to dismiss them as a "distraction," steering the conversation away. Johnson has launched an inquiry into the gatherings, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, whose report is due to come out this week, according to media reports.
Downing Street said on Sunday it had no control over when the report would appear. "It's not for us to set out when it will be published. That is up to the investigation team," a spokesperson told CNN.
On Thursday, as more Conservative lawmakers openly criticized the PM about the parties, allegations emerged of blackmail and bullying by government officials.
Conservative MP William Wragg said Thursday that "a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the Prime Minister."
Wragg told the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that the reports he has been made aware of "would seem to constitute blackmail."
Johnson dismissed the reports of bullying, saying he has "seen no evidence" to support accusations of intimidation levelled at his government by a Conservative lawmaker.
Under Conservative party rules, if MPs want to get rid of their leader, they submit a confidential letter of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, a group of backbench MPs who do not hold government posts. The process is murky – the letters are kept secret and the chairman, Graham Brady, doesn't even reveal how many have been handed in.
When 15% of Conservative lawmakers have submitted letters, it triggers a vote of confidence among all Conservative lawmakers.
CNN's Luke McGee, Lauren Kent, Duarte Mendonca, Richard Allen Greene, Robert Iddiols and Sharon Braithwaite contributed to this report.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There were eight new omicron cases in the community today. All with connections to the current cluster.
The government decided to move the country to red yesterday but many issues such as rapid tests, isolation requirements, recommended masks and the border have not been addressed yet.
Fran O'Sullivan is NZME's Business Commentator joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Cabinet is on holiday.
A family managed to get back to NZ without an MIQ booking by simply using Auckland as a transit port.
Work and Income told a man living in emergency housing to carry a bat around the motel because he felt threatened by others living there.
Sandra Goudie will chair her Council from home this week because she's not vaccinated.
Trish Sherson and Matthew Tutaki discuss this and the rest of today’s news with Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The Employers and Manufacturers Association says we need tens of millions of rapid antigen tests.
Last week, the Prime Minister said we had 4.6 million rapid antigen tests.
EMA Chief Executive Brett O'Reilly told Heather du Plessis-Allan right now... there are none available.
“I’ve spent the day on the phone talking to business leaders, many of them from companies like Mainfreight and Air New Zealand have been using these tests for months, to keep their workforce and their customers safe, and now, there are no tests available in New Zealand.”
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ACT Party Leader David Seymour has slammed Cabinet for taking the day off.
Today is a long weekend in the capital, because of Wellington Anniversary weekend.
Cabinet members have observed the holiday – prompting criticism they should be instead working on their response to the community Omicron outbreak.
David Seymour told Heather du-Plessis Allan the Government isn't working hard enough.
“The extraordinary thing is today is Wellington Anniversary Day and they said ‘no worries, we’ll just take another day off’, I guess, in a way, when they’re this far behind it doesn’t really matter.”
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All University of Auckland exams will be at home this year, with limited exceptions such as practical exams.
That's regardless of traffic light settings.
All exams will be open book, and not recorded or observed.
Dr Bridget Kool, Pro Vice Chancellor of Education at the University of Auckland joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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An Australian-based Kiwi epidemiologist has outlined how many daily Omicron cases we're likely to see.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Tony Blakely says we'll probably see up to 150 thousand infections a day.
But he told Heather du Plessis-Allan with Omicron many infections are asymptomatic.
“So, you might see something like 20–35 thousand reported cases per day, at your peak, if your surveillance system can withhold and stand up to PCR queues being overloaded and that sort of thing.”
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Isn't it remarkable that we are starting the year with exactly the same problem that we had last year, and the year before, which is that we are not ready for an outbreak.
I’m not angry. You’re not going to hear me raging about this.
But I am going to lay it out for you so you also understand how unprepared the government is for these omicron cases.
Let’s start with ICU: not ready.
According to that leaked report last week from the upper levels of government, we had 108 ICU beds spare.
That’s 36% of capacity. It’s not nearly enough if we get the 10s of thousands of daily cases Chris Hipkins is predicting
I’ll just remind you that last year we harped on at the government about needing to let doctors and nurses through MIQ, and do everything necessary to stop us losing the ones we had and they dragged their heels. So don’t be surprised by this.
Then we have the medication situation.
We still don’t have the two treatments in this country that should help keep you out of hospital if you take them early enough in the infection.
Paxlovid and Molnupiravir.
They’ve been approved in Australia, the UK, and the US, but we’re still waiting on Medsafe to give the medication their approval for NZ, and current projections are that that won’t be until April.
When we might be past the peak of this outbreak already.
Then there are the rapid antigen tests. We have 4.6 million tests in this country, not even enough for one for each of us.
That’s because when businesses were trying to buy them, they were banned by the government until late last year.
And now the government is scrambling to buy them… but there’s a worldwide shortage.
And finally, you’re being told already that you might have to look after yourself at home, stock up on paracetamol and necessities and not even get tested if you get omicron.
That’s because the government is already acknowledging there’s a very good chance the testing system will collapse under demand at the height of the outbreak.
Not to mention the fact that government MPs are on holiday today, on the first day of the red setting for the entire country.
Here we are with businesses affected, a list of questions Kiwis want answered and a list of decisions that need to be taken by cabinet.
But they’re observing Wellington Anniversary Day.
As I say, not angry. But I am a little surprised that the summer break wasn’t used to get us ready to handle a variant we knew was coming at the end of last year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Well let’s start with the good news.
For all the griping about MIQ, I think we owe the system a debt of gratitude.
Without it there would have been no summer. Without it we would have rolled straight from a Delta surge into an Omicron tsunami.
MIQ bought us time. Which is what it's always designed to do. It was never created to keep Covid out forever because that really would be a hermit kingdom. In my eyes it’s all been about suppressing and mitigating the outbreaks so they fit within our meagre capacities. And that happened.
While the community went down to just a dozen cases in the community a day, in MIQ Omicron surged to over 500 cases. But the border held firm until now and that's a good thing
So, I’m glad that the people who were obsessed with opening up the border at the end of last year were not listened to.
So, let’s also hand it to summer. The good weather and the virtual absence of Covid meant money in the bank for struggling businesses.
The Mercury Bay Informer, published out of Whitianga, reported last week that the Coromandel had had the busiest December in the last 3 years. I spent 3 weeks on the Peninsula and I can tell you it was going off.
Contrast this with New South Wales last week who reported some of their worst economic data of the outbreak, and this was without a lockdown.
Omicron’s efficiency in making people too sick to work cleared out the town. Those who were still healthy kept away for fear of getting sick. It was like a voluntary lockdown and that’s the new part of the phenomenon of this pandemic.
When the Prime Minister yesterday said we were taking precautions to protect the vulnerable I thought she got that wrong.
Omicron is not so much about saving lives now that we have the vaccine. We have to work together to protect the entire economy which is again under threat
We must expect workforce shortages across the economy, but especially in frontline roles that can’t be done from home; healthcare workers, supermarket workers, truck drivers and other parts of the supply chain will all be affected.
Businesses are going to have to figure out how to cope with extreme levels of sick leave.
Meanwhile our health system is still woefully exposed after decades of under investment. On Thursday, 68.3 percent of ICU beds were occupied and 84.7 percent of general wards or hospital beds were full. That's in summer and with almost no Covid-19 in the community.
None of this can be solved with money or solved overnight.
There are only two things that we can deploy. The vaccine and personal responsibility combined with common sense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Te Puea Marae in South Auckland has been preparing for an Omicron outbreak.
They've been stocking up on supplies for whanau who need to isolate at home and creating a dedicated isolation facility on the marae grounds.
Te Puea Marae chair Hurimoana Dennis joined Kerre McIvor.
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Sports minister Grant Robertson has eased fears that the move to a red light alert level could impact the women's ODI Cricket World Cup later in the year.
New Zealand is set to host the event in March and April, which will see countries come from around the world to compete for the top title in the sport.
With the country moving to the red light setting at 11.59pm on Sunday after confirmation of Omicron Covid-19 cases in the community, it posed questions as to how sport would be impacted.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed outdoor and indoor events and gatherings for vaccinated people are reduced to 100 people, and if unvaccinated people attend "that further reduces to 25''.
Speaking at an unscheduled press conference on Sunday, Robertson said the cricket tournament was not expected to be affected.
"We don't know how long this will last,'' Robertson said.
"The Women's Cricket World Cup organisers have been planning for this tournament to take place in the red setting, and it can absolutely do that.
"Bear in mind, when we brought the red setting in it is possible to use the defined space rules to effectively have pods of 100 people as long as they keep separate from one and another and come into and out of the venue separately.
"I know the Cricket World Cup team have been thinking about that, if it is necessary.''
For other competitions set to get underway, it is yet to be seen how they will be affected given the uncertain timeframe of the red light level.
The Super Smash T20 cricket is set to continue, with matches being played behind closed doors. It is likely that Super Rugby follows a similar plan. The season is not due to start for a couple of weeks yet, with preseason matches in early February before the first game of the season on February 18. New Zealand Rugby is expected to comment on if and how the change will impact the competition further early in the week ahead.
Nothing is expected to change in terms of the confirmed Black Caps schedule for the summer. Having had to park their scheduled matches in Australia due to the Government freeze on MIQ spots, they are still due to host a two-test series against South Africa beginning on February 17, and an ODI series against the Netherlands starting in late March.
A proposed T20 series against Australia in March is dependent on border restrictions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
And so here we are; waking up in the glow of red lights across the whole country.
What does this mean for most of us? Well affectively nothing really has changed apart from the inability to gather in mobs of more than 100 which will serve good purpose in trying to prevent the stupidity of the Brian Tamaki followers across the country’s main centres and their messianistic treatment of a nobody and his attempt to be somebody.
Other than that the only thing that I’ve seen change in the last day is again the ridiculous propensity for people to go apoplectic in the supermarket even though we are told we don’t need to.
The real concern I have is that we may well see the current Government moving further away from the recommendations of the science community as demonstrated in the comments by certain epidemiologists who say that the red light system is not enough to reduce the spread of the Omicron strain.
The only great saviour for us all is the vaccination and the third shot, which at best is 75 per cent affective in the face of Omicron. It’s the only thing that will enable us to get back to some form of normality while we wait for other countries to get to the same level.
The other concern I have is the news we heard over the weekend that the Government’s Covid-19 fund does not have the finances to purchase a fourth vaccine if it’s required.
The Government have told us they will find the money for it if that eventuates, but is this a way of bracing us for a further reduction in spending in the many other areas of need demonstrable across the country?
Undoubtedly we can’t take our focus of the pandemic; but what about everything else that’s being overlooked in something of a convenient distraction for a government that seems bereft of ability to improve anything else other than our Covid response?
We have to prepare for the eventuality that as soon as travel becomes easier, we are set to lose a great deal of skilled people to our cousins across the ditch and further afield.
Getting anything done in New Zealand is about to get a whole lot harder.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has revealed the back-to-school plans for students, parents and teachers.
A key plank of the plan will be the use of rapid antigen tests for students and staff, to be taken twice a week, the premier told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.
Up to six million tests are being sent to 3000 public, Catholic and independent schools across NSW ahead of the start of term.
Once the tests are delivered to schools by Wednesday, parents will be able to arrange a time to pick up the kits once they are contacted by school staff.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell on Sunday revealed schools would no longer be closed once a positive case was identified, and contact-tracing would not be completed.
“If you are testing negative that’s great, come to school, but if you happen to get a positive test you need to let your principal know that you have tested positive to Covid,” Ms Mitchell said.
“You also need to let NSW Health know through the Services NSW app but we will no longer be closing schools when there is a positive Covid case in that community and we will not be conducting contact tracing anymore.”
“We are really moving schools in line with what we see in community settings, but parents and carers and family members will be notified if there is COVID in your school community.”
Schools will be required to carry out an improved cleaning regimen, while limited visitors will be allowed on school grounds.
Face masks will be made mandatory for all teachers and high school students, but not primary school children.
Air purifiers are being installed in “problem areas” and windows in older buildings are being repaired to ensure they can be opened and allow appropriate airflow.
School staff will have to be double-vaccinated, while music, school sport and assemblies have all been given the green-light to go ahead.
Overnight camps are also allowed with “risk planning” and parental consent.
The premier said he highly recommended students in Year 3 and above wear masks and said visits would be limited to schools to ensure the Covid-safe plans could be undertaken.
“We are incredibly confident that while there will be disruption, as we move through this period of time and as we know through this wave of the latest outbreak of COVID, there will be challenges that come our way,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We need to make sure that we have kids back in the classroom in a safe way, and I think the work that has occurred right here in our state with the Department of Education, it has been a significant effort.”
Mr Perrottet said he understood some parents may be “anxious” but said kids “do better” in the classroom.
Some children have already missed a quarter of their schooling, he said.
“It is what is best for mental health and social outcomes,” Mr Perrottet said.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said while she supported face-to-face learning, there was expected to be some infections in schools.
“We are calling upon all parents to ensure that any children with symptoms are not sent to school,” Dr Chant said.
“We are likely to see some transmission in schools, but the strategies that have been put in place by Education, in conjunction with Health, are strong.”
Dr Chant is urging parents to minimise their children’s activities in the first four weeks of schooling, such as sleepovers and “other activities that might drive infection” to preserve face-to-face time at schools.
The testing regimen will be in place for the first four weeks of term before being reviewed for the future.
Teachers and children at day care centres will also be offered RAT kits for testing twice-a-week.
- by Lauren Ferri, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists wants the Government to declare a health workforce emergency.
It comes amid concerns the Omicron outbreak could further impact an already under-pressure health system.
The union estimates the country needs 1500 more hospital specialists, 1400 GPs and 12,000 nurses to match Australia per capita.
Executive director Sarah Dalton told Tim Dower even before Covid-19 there were significant delays in the hospital care system.
“We do not have enough. The new normal is trying to juggle a job that is too big for the number of workers that we have.”
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It could be a crucial week for Boris Johnson in his battle to stay in power.
The British Prime Minister has been under pressure for weeks over alleged summer garden parties and Christmas gatherings held in Downing Street when the rest of the country was under strict Covid-19 lockdowns. A report into the allegations, set to be released this week, could be the final straw for Johnson's increasingly mutinous party.
Johnson's approval ratings are plunging and there appears to be a growing sense among some parts of his ruling Conservative Party that he is becoming a liability. Two polls in the last week suggested that as many as two-thirds of voters want him to resign.
The parliamentary rebellion is growing. One Conservative MP defected to the opposition Labour Party last week and newspapers have reported rumors of more lawmakers demanding Johnson's exit.
The Prime Minister has given unconvincing answers when asked about the numerous parties. First he said there were none. Once undeniable evidence emerged, he denied knowing about the gatherings. When a photo of him at one such event was published, he insisted he didn't realize the gathering was a party, claiming he "believed implicitly that this was a work event."
Johnson was even forced to apologize to the Queen after it emerged that a party was held in Downing Street the night before the funeral of Prince Philip. It was noted at the time that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Queen was forced to mourn her husband at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle while sitting alone.
Adding fuel to the fire, Johnson's former senior adviser Dominic Cummings claimed this week he would swear under oath that the Prime Minister was warned about the true nature of one of the drinks parties. Johnson denied that vehemently, saying: "Nobody warned me that it was against the rules... because I would remember that."
As new "Partygate" allegations emerged, Johnson and his loyalists tried to dismiss them as a "distraction," steering the conversation away. Johnson has launched an inquiry into the gatherings, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, whose report is due to come out this week, according to media reports.
Downing Street said on Sunday it had no control over when the report would appear. "It's not for us to set out when it will be published. That is up to the investigation team," a spokesperson told CNN.
On Thursday, as more Conservative lawmakers openly criticized the PM about the parties, allegations emerged of blackmail and bullying by government officials.
Conservative MP William Wragg said Thursday that "a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the Prime Minister."
Wragg told the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that the reports he has been made aware of "would seem to constitute blackmail."
Johnson dismissed the reports of bullying, saying he has "seen no evidence" to support accusations of intimidation leveled at his government by a Conservative lawmaker.
Under Conservative party rules, if MPs want to get rid of their leader, they submit a confidential letter of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, a group of backbench MPs who do not hold government posts. The process is murky -- the letters are kept secret and the chairman, Graham Brady, doesn't even reveal how many have been handed in.
When 15% of Conservative lawmakers have submitted letters, it triggers a vote of confidence among all Conservative lawmakers.
- by Ivana Kottasová, CNNSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chris Luxon says greater access to quicker Covid-19 tests and medicines that can treat the virus will be key to keeping goods flowing around the country.
Supply chain issues are thought to be inevitable because around 350,000 workers may be isolating at one time.
But the National Party leader says the Government needs to bring in more drugs that are effective against Covid-19.
He told Roman Travers officials need to chase down more rapid antigen and saliva tests.
“If I had a Rolls-Royce engine crisis at Air New Zealand or when the fuel pipeline got dug up and we’re trying to run the airline with 30 per cent of the fuel, you are on these issues like literally every six hours.”
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Employers are being told to be creative in filling the staff absences expected because of Omicron.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says there will inevitably be some disruption to supply chains.
Auckland University supply chain expert David Robb told Tim Dower the first issue will be staffing because up to a quarter of our workforce could be off.
He says businesses should ask staff to do a bit more overtime or cancel some leave.
“Possibly outsourcing some services, maybe even abroad and calling in retired staff and students. Maybe a platform for sharing workers.”
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The Covid-19 Response Minister expects daily Omicron case numbers could potentially reach the tens of thousands.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is calling for the Government to declare a health workforce emergency amid concerns an Omicron outbreak will exacerbate existing pressure.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Tim Dower while the Omicron hospitalisation rate is lower than other variants, no country has not experienced significant pressure on the health system.
“We do expect to experience pressure on the health system. The best thing that every New Zealander can do to ease that is to get their booster dose as soon as they're eligible.”
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Omicron's arrival in the Nelson region is sending shudders through the local business community.
The country has been plunged into Red after a Motueka family of nine tested positive for the variant.
An Air New Zealand crew member also has it and may have been infectious on five flights.
Nelson Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Ali Boswijk told Tim Dower larger businesses have been putting in dual teams as a precaution.
But she says for smaller businesses, it's much harder.
“The reality is for a lot of businesses in the Nelson Tasman Region which employ less than five people, it’s a bit of an impossible task.”
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The move to Red has sparked a string of event cancellations.
Both the New Zealand Masters Games in Dunedin and New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland have been cancelled.
Auckland's Splore Festival, Christchurch's Great Kiwi Beer Festival and Sculpture on the Peninsula, Dunedin's Craft Beer and Food Festival, and parts of Wellington's Lunar New Year Festival have also been called off.
Viv Beck, chief executive of Auckland's Heart of the City business association told Roman Travers it's not the news anyone wanted to hear.
“Events have been really a saviour last year, so it’s pretty devastating to see that all come apart now.”
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Jason Walls joined Francesca Rudkin to talk all things Omicron and the traffic light system.
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Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of filling in on Saturday Mornings with Jack Tame, and so left a short list of jobs for the family to complete. Nothing too taxing; get some washing on, pick up a pair of ballet shoes, and grab a few things at the supermarket.
When I got home after midday, everyone was exhausted. And it wasn’t the heat.
Turns out, quite a few people had taken Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard’s advice on Twitter and also headed to the supermarket to stock up a bit. At 10am Royal Oak Pak N Save was chock-a-bloc, queues had formed outside, there wasn’t a free trolley insight. It was like the old days, of 2020.
As the checkout queues began snaking their way down and around aisles, no doubt calls were being made to get more staff on board ASAP!
Now I don’t actually blame the Speaker of the House for the business unfolding in suburban Auckland on a Saturday morning. His tweet is just part of a changing narrative we’ve heard from the government over the last week.
The messages are pretty simple. Crudely summarised they go something like this. Omicron is coming, get the booster, stock up and be prepared to isolate at home, be prepared for a lack of staff, and by the way, the money is running out. Good luck!
If the supermarket was anything to go by this morning, people are on board with at least some of these messages.
Lockdowns are on the way out, and personal responsibility is on the way in. And that’s not a bad thing. The story naturally changes when you move from locking down mostly healthy people, to isolating people diagnosed with Covid and their close contacts. Suddenly access to supermarkets and pharmacies is not available to them, hence of course people are going to take the ‘get prepared’ messages more seriously this time around.
We will get over this impulse soon enough though, we always do.
But the government isn’t making it easy for businesses in particular to get organised. Grant Robertson has announced that at this stage wage subsidies and resurgence support payments will not be available for businesses in the event of an Omicron outbreak, they would need to rely on the leave support scheme.
I’ve spoken to several customer facing businesses over the last few weeks. Most say that with the limited information they have, all they can really do is split their workers into teams, take precautions and ramp up testing.
An optometrist I spoke to had taken government advice and purchased Rapid Antigen Tests for his staff, only to get a call back from his provider to say his order was now going to be 3 weeks late. The government had just come in and stripped their shelves. If the message is for businesses to get organised, then clearly, it’s time they were able to import the tests themselves.
More details are expected to be announced as to how the government will approach our impending Omicron outbreak in the coming weeks. This week was the warm up, a gentle prod to bring us back into the real world after a relaxing summer, and a prompt to fill the pantry and medical cabinets.
I wonder what will be next?
But what is clear though is that this is the year of personal responsibility. Last year, the government was in lockstep with us, they did everything they could do to stop us getting Covid, and we didn’t want to get Covid.
This year with Omicron they want to manage how many of us end up in hospital, and many still don’t want to get Covid. They’re not quite the same things anymore. So perversely, I’ll end by echoing Trevor Mallard – spend the next few weeks getting prepared.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Northland businesses are hoping it's not too late to profit off the summer period.
The region moved out of the Red Traffic Light setting this morning - joining the rest of the country at Orange.
It means businesses can now operate at capacity if they use vaccine passes.
Hospitality New Zealand Northland President John Maurice told Tim Dower he hopes businesses will be able to recover sooner, rather than later.
“Business has suffered greatly from the lack of the people we normally get here over the Christmas New Year period.”
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Christopher Luxon says the Government is being too slow in responding to the threat of Omicron.
Three cases of the more infectious strain have been identified in Auckland, and health officials have reported a possible case in Palmerston North.
The Prime Minister has confirmed the entire country will move to red within 48 hours, if there is an outbreak.
She says there are 4.6 million rapid antigen tests in the country and more are on order.
The National Leader says more tests should have already arrived, and should be readily available in supermarkets by now.
“We need tens of millions of them, not being ordered they need to be here now and we’ve had the advantage of time.”
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Northland tourism operators remain hopeful the region will move from Red to Orange, as part of this afternoon's announcement.
Riki Kinnaird - the co-owner of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in the Bay of Islands - told Tim Dower the current restrictions are hitting them hard.
“The Duke itself is about 35-40 percent down, and that’s partially down to the Red traffic light system and the optics of the borders.”
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The Prime Minister is preparing to unveil a new Covid plan - as fears grow of a potential Omicron community outbreak.
Jacinda Ardern is due to reveal the plan at the Labour's caucus retreat in New Plymouth this afternoon.
It will include an outline of what will happen when we have community spread, and an update on traffic light settings for Northland and the rest of the country.
Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls is at the retreat - and told Tim Dower it's been overshadowed by the Omicron threat.
“There are a number of very important details that cabinet has discussed yesterday – and the Prime Minister will be addressing today.”
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New Zealand Cricket remain cautious but optimistic that the postponement of their tour of Australia won't spoil the remaining summer fixtures.
There was no certainty the team could return home either through MIQ or home isolation.
Australia are due to return for three T20s in March.
NZC boss David White says MIQ arrangements have not been made for that series at this stage.
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A religious historian says newly-jailed controversial church leader Brian Tamaki now sees himself as a martyr.
The Destiny Church bishop was arrested yesterday after allegedly breaching bail conditions.
Police officers arrived at his rural east Auckland home as he and wife Hannah Tamaki were hosting a live Facebook video.
This morning, Massey University's Peter Lineham told Newstalk ZB's Tim Dower that Tamaki is comparing himself to other jailed religious leaders like Martin Luther King Junior.
Religious historian Peter Lineham thinks Brian Tamaki sees himself as a martyr. Photo / Michael Craig
"It just seems to me in a certain sense, he sees himself as a martyr for the cause of truth and righteousness and I wonder if that's actually going to help his proceedings," said Lineham.
Lineham, who wrote the 2013 book Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle, told Dower that Tamaki's arrest will increase publicity for the leader, and make him more sympathetic to his followers.
"Usually, martyrdom does have the affect of increasing people's following from the people who you want to impress," he said.
When arrested, Tamaki even had the hint of a smile as his wife planted a kiss on the lips before he was driven away in a police vehicle to Mt Eden prison.
His journey to the Mt Eden remand centre was livestreamed by his followers and on arrival, a vocal crowd of more than 50 blocked their entry into the centre to perform a haka.
Supporters held signs that said "Jacinda, no jabbing junior in January" and "free Tamaki" before clearing the road and allowing police to enter the prison without incident.
Brian Tamaki was taken away by police to the Mt Eden remand centre yesterday for breach of bail conditions. Photo / David Fisher
The 63-year-old has been charged three times over his attendance at Auckland Domain lockdown protests.
Yesterday's arrest is thought to be in relation to Tamaki's attendance at a rally in Christchurch earlier in January.
The rallies were held to protest against rules like vaccine mandates and lockdowns, which are meant to stop or control the spread of Covid-19.
Lineham says Tamaki is taking the punishment for him and his followers' collective refusal to follow Government instruction.
"I think they hope that it'll increase both the publicity and the awareness of that the church stands for something more than just religion, it stands for the strengthening of the rights of all New Zealanders," he said.
"I think in lots of ways this is going to be played out by Tamaki that he's paid a high price for the liberties of the citizens."
- by Caitlan JohnstonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ashley Bloomfield is defending the speed of the children's vaccine roll-out.
Parents around the country have been reporting difficulty in booking vaccines, or have faced long queues at vaccine sites.
Some pharmacies also claim they haven't received any information about the paediatric roll-out.
The Director General of Health told Tim Dower they're addressing the issues – but the 14-thousand children vaccinated yesterday is a good start.
“It’s great to see this high level of interest from both parents and children, I noticed reading the stories, there are a lot of kids who are really keen to have the vaccine.”
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Brian Tamaki has arrived at Mt Eden Prison, after being arrested for breaching his bail conditions.
The controversial Destiny Church leader was arrested at rural Papakura home – with his journey to prison being livestreamed online.
Dozens of supporters have gathered outside the prison to perform a haka – briefly blocking the unmarked police car he was being transported in.
New Zealand Herald senior writer David Fisher was with him and says the exact reason for his arrest still isn't known.
Tamaki has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to his attendance at anti-lockdown protests in Auckland last year, including allegations he violated the conditions of his bail.
Police have also been looking into his attendance at a rally in Christchurch earlier this month.
“Exactly what that’s in relation to is not known, although it is thought that it is likely the Christchurch event that may have triggered that.”
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No green light from Auckland, or the rest of the country – for the time being.
Health officials will provide advice to Cabinet this week on the current traffic light settings – following confirmation that a border worker has the Omicron strain.
However, Cabinet isn't expected to meet this week to review those settings, as originally planned.
Viv Beck – the Chief Executive of the Heart of the City business association – says she hasn't heard from the Government since November, and she's pretty disappointed.
“Businesses are facing staff and supply shortages, and helping them survive and keeping people employed, paying taxes, has got to be a benefit for the country too.”
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Uptake of the Covid-19 children's vaccine is expected to be high.
From this morning, almost half a million kids aged between five and 11 are now eligible for the children's Pfizer dose.
In preparation for the rollout, 120-thousand doses of the paediatric version of the vaccine have been delivered to 500 sites across the country.
Starship Hospital Developmental Paediatrician Dr Jin Russell told Tim Dower most parents appear to be on board.
Russell says some parents will take a bit longer to make their decision.
“I’m hearing from a lot of parents who are feeling positive about it because they’re keen to get their kids back into school and want to see as little disruption to schooling this year as possible.”
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Australia has said goodbye – and good riddance – to Novak Djokovic.
The world number one flew out of Melbourne overnight, after losing his latest legal battle over his visa cancellation.
His deportation came just hours before he was due to take the court at the Australian Open.
Australian correspondent Murray Olds, told Tim Dower the tennis star now faces a three-year ban from Australia, and the tournament.
Djokovic says he's extremely disappointed with the decision, but will cooperate with authorities.
“Overwhelmingly the polls in this country were saying; no vax, see ya mate. If you don’t want to abide by our rules, well bugger off, we don’t want you here.”
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The South Island continues to struggle with worker shortages.
Lincoln University researchers have found that by next year Canterbury will reach a peak in the work force population, if the borders remain closed.
Researcher David Dyason told Tim Dower the labour force is shrinking, which will lead to even more gaps in the market.
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The first tourist flight to the Cook Islands in five months has left Auckland this morning.
The two-way quarantine free travel bubble has resumed.
Travellers must be aged over 12, fully vaccinated and have negative pre-departure and on arrival Covid-19 tests.
Cook Islands Health Secretary Bob Williams told Tim Dower the country has high vaccination rates but has been preparing for positive Covid-19 cases.
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2021 was a pretty messy year for the events industry, but that's made the organisers of one festival all the more determined to steam ahead.
'That Weekend' is a two-day camping event, being held just outside of Tirau at the end of the month.
The Black Seeds, Summer Thieves, and even international DJ Netsky will be there.
James Bristow is one of the organisers of 'That Weekend' and he joined Tim Dower.
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A big blow to the music scene.
Northern Bass was cancelled yesterday - due to Northland's low vaccination rate and the threat of Omicron.
The event was first due to be take place at Mangawhai on New Year's Eve, but then postponed until January 28.
Organiser Gareth Popham says the event is too risky.
“What if we weren’t just a location of interest, what if we were a super-spreader event? What if we took Covid into Northland?”
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National's unimpressed with allegations the Prime Minister's fiance tried to acquire a rapid antigen test for mates.
Clarke Gayford allegedly told a Tauranga pharmacist the rules had changed - and he could sell the test to his friends.
It's understood a friend sought the test as he was potentially a close contact of UK-based DJ Dimension - who had Omicron.
Rapid Antigen Tests can currently only be sold to unvaccinated asymptomatic people needing to travel.
National's Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop told Tim Dower Gayford needs to know his place.
“He doesn’t have any role, he should have said look, that’s not for me thanks very much, not appropriate I get involved here, my wife’s the Prime Minister.”
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Covid-19 could be prompting some people to learn a new language.
The deaf community is reporting a dramatic rise in those wanting to learn sign language, after seeing interpreters at the 1pm televised press conferences.
But Deaf Aotearoa Chief Executive Bridget Ferguson told Tim Dower says many people don't realise it takes years to get the level seen in those briefings.
“We train at AUT in Auckland, and so, from there then it takes years of experience in the vast sectors of society, because you can one day be interpreting for the Prime Minister, next day interpreting in a GP consult.”
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Novak Djokovic is out of court, but is hoping he'll back on court by next week.
The world tennis number one was released from detention yesterday after a judge quashed the decision to cancel his Australian visa.
But, he's not in the clear yet, as the Australian Immigration Minister will decide today whether to use his discretionary power to deport Djokovic anyway.
Sunrise Reporter Nathan Currie told Tim Dower the Government will definitely be weighing up its options.
“So, from their point of view, I suppose, they’re thinking, do we need to cancel it all over again so we come out of this looking like the winners, or do we just accept that he’s here and let him play out?”
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Protestors are taking to the streets in parts of Europe amid a surge of the Omicron variant.
This comes as countries move to tighten restrictions and introduce more rules around vaccination.
Europe correspondent Catherine Field told Tim Dower there have been demonstrations in Paris, Vienna and Italy.
“In Vienna about 40,000 people turned out in the end, really to protest more about the fact that the jab is about to be made compulsory for citizens of Austria from next month.”
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A health expert says it's important there's continued checks and balances for doctors.
The medical council has taken action against a North Canterbury doctor, under investigation for allegedly issuing fake vaccine exemptions.
They've confirmed Dr Jonie Girouard won't be able to practise medicine at all in New Zealand.
Bryan Betty from the Royal College of GPs' supports the move.
“We need to have trust in the system, we need to have trust in the behaviour of doctors which are held to very high standards, and it is important that these issues are dealt with appropriately through the system.”
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A movement dubbed The Great Resignation is expected to grow.
Internationally, the number of workers wanting to leave their jobs has risen during the pandemic, and Labour shortages have made recruitment difficult in a number of industries.
Employment relations expert Max Whitehead told Tim Dower the word is that people are ready for change – but there's some risk involved in moving jobs.
“Will your new employer pay you during the lockdown? Flexible hours, can you have some flexible hours? Can you work from home? The 90-day-trial period might be in your contract.”
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There should have been more clarity around Novak Djokovic not being able to enter Australia without a Covid-19 vaccination.
Djokovic is in a Melbourne quarantine facility awaiting a Federal Court hearing on his deportation on Monday.
The tennis star was granted a medical exemption by the Victoria State Government, but when he landed - officials found a medical exemption wasn't permitted.
Sydney Morning Herald sports writer Peter Fitzsimons told Tim Dower Djokovic is the main culprit -- but the government should've made the vaccination requirement clear.
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The threat of Covid is far from over - and neither is the national vaccination roll-out.
Jacinda Ardern has made a plea to New Zealanders who were vaccinated at least four months ago to start receiving their booster shots.
She's encouraging people in Auckland to take advantage of walk-in centres, like the Auckland Airport Park and Ride facility on Verissimo Drive in Māngere.
Otago University clinical microbiologist and virologist Dr Anja Werno told Tim Dower it's also important parents get their children vaccinated when paediatric vaccinations begin later this month.
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Rhythm and Alps continues today with new acts stepping in.
Headliner DJ Dimension's pulled out after testing positive for Omicron – becoming New Zealand's first community case, after ending self-isolation before getting a last test result.
Performers DJ Friction, Lee Matthews and DJ Sin – have also had to cancel, as close contacts.
Rhythm and Alps Founder Alex Turnbull told Tim Dower they had picked up international acts from festivals that had to cancel here.
And he says most tickets for his festival were sold before those transferred overseas acts had even been announced.
“New Zealand parties are on fire, we’ve always supported New Zealand music and bands, and with you know, 3, 4, 5 acts pull out, that doesn’t change our product.”
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David Seymour is slamming the actions of the British DJ who has become our first Omicron case.
The Act Party Leader says Robert Etheridge, known as DJ Dimension, should be deported.
The musician had completed 10 days isolation, but didn't wait for the final test result before entering the community.
Seymour told Tim Dower the DJ's taken New Zealand for a ride, and should be issued with a deportation notice to make it hard for him to come back.
“If people think that’s harsh, just imagine being one of the thousands of New Zealanders stuck overseas, which is where he should be.”
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Dancing is back on the cards in Auckland nightclubs for New Year's Eve.
Nightclubs in the orange traffic light setting can re-open to capacity for vaccinated customers and there's no longer seated service requirements.
From today, everywhere is now in orange, except Northland, which remains in Red.
Sapphire Nightclub owner Aryan Soin told Tim Dower they're looking forward to tonight.
“I reckon it’s going to be one of the craziest New Year’s Eve Auckland has ever had, with there being no Rhythm and Vines, no Northern Bass, no Hidden Valley, no festivals that you can go to.”
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Australia has re-defined what Covid-19 close contacts are.
The National Cabinet met yesterday to agree on changes.
Australian correspondent Murray Olds told Tim Dower Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a close contact is someone in a household – or a work colleague with four or more hours spent together.
New Covid-19 cases in Australia topped 20-thousand yesterday.
“Plus, there’s a new rule for testing people for Covid, only those who meet the new definition of a close contact will be required to get a rapid antigen test.”
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Covid-19 case numbers are continuing to soar to new records in the United States.
US correspondent Richard Arnold told Tim Dower the latest daily tally is approaching 500-thousand.
He says it's causing cancellation havoc.
“The airline system’s still chaotic, there have been more than a thousand flight cancellations again today, events are being called off, one of the main film festivals leading up to the Academy Awards has just been cancelled.”
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What a time to be in charge of an airline.
We're about to reach two years of a near fully closed international border. If you don't count that short-lived bubble with the Aussies.
The saving grace, a good domestic summer rush – this time last week was the busiest day for flying, with 30 thousand of us taking to the skies.
Air NZ CEO Greg Foran joined Tim Dower.
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The community Omicron infection of UK DJ Dimension is spreading ripples across the entertainment industry.
He was set to play the Rhythm and Alps festival and spent time at Auckland CBD locations before his positive test was returned.
About 81 international music artists have been given a spot in MIQ, to come to New Zealand – to get a border exemption they have to get a certain visa.
NZ Promotions Association president Brent Eccles told Tim Dower it's the worst possible thing for the sector.
“The problem is that there were a number of other people that were with him and that caused a knock-on effect right across the country, in terms of entertainment.”
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The Omicron case, a UK DJ here for a festival, returned a positive day nine test after isolating for 10 days – but went into the community before getting the result.
He spent time in Auckland CBD while possible infectious – with locations of interest including a nightclub and bar.
Otago University's Lesley Gray told Tim Dower it's important red traffic light setting rules were followed at the locations of interest.
“If that was observed up to and if people were masking up when moving between areas, for example going to the bathroom, then the risk would be lower.”
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The Italian Government is mulling over whether to mandate vaccination for workers.
Nearly 100-thousand new Covid infections and 148 deaths were reported in Italy yesterday.
Correspondent Angela Giuffrida told Tim Dower it's prompted the Government to consider more measures.
She says there hasn't been a lot of reaction from the public yet.
“We should know tonight whether the government confirms that or not, I’m sure there will be some reaction to it afterwards, just waiting to see what happens.”
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High hopes visitors would flock to Queenstown over summer have been crushed ... so far.
Businesses believe Covid restrictions and uncertainty are making people fearful of travelling to the tourist town.
Around the Basin general manager, Steve Norton, told Tim Dower a third of businesses have shut up shop for good.
“And there’d be probably another third that are really struggling at the moment, so I’d say some businesses are probably operating on 15–20% of what they were doing in pre-Covid times, in 2019.”
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The UK has recorded a new record high daily Covid-19 case number – of more than 129-thousand.
Meanwhile, in the United States, self-isolation requirements have been halved for asymptomatic cases.
US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Tim Dower it comes as case numbers are on the rise – at nearly 250-thousand daily cases.
“The CDC, the Centre of Disease Control, have just changed the rules for those who test positive for Covid, they used to say isolate for 10 days, now they say 5 days, so long as you’re asymptomatic.”
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The French may be waiting with bated breath ahead of potentially more Covid-19 restrictions.
France recorded more than 104-thousand cases on Saturday, topping 100-thousand for the first time since the pandemic began.
Its government is moving to make vaccine passes only valid with a booster jab, and President Emmanuel Macron is weighing up other measures.
Correspondent Catherine Field told Tim Dower it's hard to know what other restrictions could be used.
“We’re all wondering what on earth could actually come about, because they’ve already stopped any festivities over the New Year, a lot of restaurants are going to have to close.”
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United Kingdom residents are wary of heading to the shops, with Omicron still spreading rapidly.
Britain recorded 98,515 new Covid-19 cases today, and 143 deaths.
The Government's ruled out any new Covid restrictions before the New Year.
UK correspondent Rod Liddle told Tim Dower Boxing Day sales were quiet for retailers.
“The suggestion therefore is that, you don’t really need these restrictions because people are self-restricting, they’re doing it themselves, and the pubs aren’t terribly full.”
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More businesses are expected to be caught failing to comply with the Covid-19 Protection Framework.
Worksafe has slapped Auckland martial arts gym, Oliver MMA, with a $12,000 fine for allowing unvaccinated staff to work.
Under the red traffic light setting, gyms can only open - with limits - if staff and customers are jabbed.
Head of General Inspectorate Simon Humphries told Tim Dower they've received more than a thousand concerns about businesses.
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Airlines are feeling the turbulence after recent border changes.
The start of non-MIQ travel has been delayed to late February, impacting tens of thousands of travellers.
And, anyone coming to New Zealand in the meantime will have to do 10 days isolation in MIQ instead of seven.
Director of the board of airline representatives Justin Tighe-Umbers told Tim Dower people won't want to come here even with seven days isolation.
“We need to see those markers put out front, and everyone understands, alright if a new variant comes along then you have to respond, but we’re just calling for that improved certainty in the meantime.”
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Covid booster shots will be available four months after a second dose, instead of six months.
The announcement is part of the government's response to the Omicron variant.
The government won't put anyone up today, so what do the doctors think?
GP Chair of the Medical Association, Vanessa Weenink, joined Tim Dower.
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Extreme disappointment for New Zealanders in Australia longing to fly home for summer.
They're out of luck, with the reopening of the border, pushed back until the end of February.
Australian newspapers are reporting Omicron cases could reach up to 200-thousand cases a day next year, without tougher restrictions.
Correspondent Murray Olds told Tim Dower many in New South Wales are questioning why wearing masks in shopping centres has been dropped.
“But the State Government in New South Wales under Dominic Perottet, and indeed in Victoria under Daniel Andrews is adamant that we’re not going back to those measures.”
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The Government isn't giving too much away when it comes to today's announcement on our moves against Omicron.
Cabinet met yesterday to get advice on bringing forward booster shots, and possibly changing the settings at the border.
There are people in Australia banking on the borders to open, without the need for MIQ, on January 17.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Tim Dower they don't want people restricted from returning, any longer than they have to.
Chris Hipkins will make an announcement at 2 this afternoon.
“We also have to be aware that circumstances with Covid-19 keep moving, the public ask us to be agile and nimble in the face of Covid, and therefore, we have to continually update our decision-making process.”
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New Zealanders stuck overseas are waiting to hear if they can come home next month or not.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins will make an announcement this afternoon on the Government's response to Omicron.
It's getting advice on bringing forward booster shots, and possibly changing the settings at the border.
As things stand, those in Australia can come home and skip MIQ from January 17.
Grounded Kiwis spokesperson Alexandra Birt told Tim Dower they've heard rumours a change will be made today.
“The people who were impacted by that, particularly the people who had booked to come back from Australia, the uncertainty is really difficult for them to deal with, many of these people have been waiting months and months, some of them are in very dire situations.”
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Restrictions on arrivals from UK into France and Germany.
Booster vaccinations ramping up in France.
Correspondent Catherine Field joined Tim Dower.
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What a weird year for any government.
An historic election win, but it all came crashing down in August when Delta arrived – Auckland has had more than 100 days in lockdown.
So, with the traffic lights now in place, the borders gone – how does the government feel the year went? And what does 2022 have in store?
We had a talk with Sir Ian Taylor yesterday, you'll likely know his thoughts on the MIQ process and such.
Here's what he said about what happens when business tries to pitch MIQ or Covid testing ideas to the Ministry of Health, what do you say to this?
“Everywhere you turn it’s the Ministry of Health that seems to block any discussion, and it is interesting that there are a number of business people I have talked to that have stepped up in support, there are a number of people working with government who have stepped up in support, but all of them feel threatened to speak out. Now that’s not a democracy.”
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A sense of impending doom is hanging over Britain in the build up to Christmas.
More than 12-thousand new Omicron cases are confirmed in the UK, as Covid numbers soar close to 83-thousand.
That's down from the record highs of the past couple of days, but up week on week.
The Government's Cobra emergency committee sat down about two hours ago.
UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Tim Dower there's a feeling Christmas has been cancelled.
“Where I am right now, just off Oxford Street, which is normally, on any given day, the busiest shopping street in Europe, well in the build-up to Christmas it’s absolutely carnage normally, and it is deathly quiet.”
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The Tai Tokerau Border Control is claiming success.
The fixed checkpoints run by police and iwi, which were set up near Waipu and Maungaturoto, have been dismantled - replaced with spot checkpoints and roving patrols.
Tai Tokerau Border Control Regional Co-ordinator Reuben Taipiri told Tim Dower their goal was to stop every car, but they're happy with how they did.
“Everybody came through double vaxxed, 99% came through double vaxxed or had their negative test, and that just says the campaign that we drove out there was a successful one.”
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People will still be checked as they head to Northland, despite the region's two fixed checkpoints being taken down this morning.
The checkpoints, which were set up near Waipu and Maungaturoto, are being replaced with spot checkpoints and roving patrols.
Far North Mayor John Carter told Tim Dower they still want to check people to ensure they're safe.
“And that’s why we’re just asking them to just abide by the rules, be vaccinated or do your 72-hour check, and you’re welcome to come on up and just be with us and we’ll enjoy having your company.”
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Jason Pine chats to Talksport football correspondent John Anderson about the Premier League's weekend of suspensions due to Covid-19. Only one out of six scheduled games went ahead this morning, including one game being suspended a couple of hours before kickoff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How to deal with Omicron?
Yesterday four more cases of the new variant were found in MIQ, bringing New Zealand’s total to 8 cases at the border.
It is spreading like lightening through cities around the globe.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely is about to publish his thoughts on how to react and deal with Omicron.
Tony Blakely joined Francesca Rudkin.
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How to deal with Omicron?
Yesterday four more cases of the new variant were found in MIQ, bringing New Zealand’s total to 8 cases at the border.
It is spreading like lightening through cities around the globe.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely is about to publish his thoughts on how to react and deal with Omicron.
Tony Blakely joined Francesca Rudkin.
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Fake vaccine passes seem really easy to get your hands on.
They're going for $20 online, and you end up with a vaccine pass that flashes green when they scan so it looks legit.
The only way to know is if it's fake is if the staff of where you go check your ID.
Centre of Informed Futures' Andrew Chen joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The Queen has reportedly cancelled the royal family Christmas party.
The news comes as the UK responds to the Omicron variant. The country has introduced new restrictions in response to record numbers of new Covid-19 cases.
Prior to the new variant drastically increasing Covid-19 case numbers, the Queen was looking forward to hosting a regular Christmas after the pandemic disrupted celebrations.
But The Sun reports the Queen is scaling back plans "with regret".
The monarch was due to dine with the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, plus approximately 50 members of the royal family at Windsor Castle. The occasion also marks her first Christmas without her husband Prince Philip.
The outlet reports the palace feels it is "the right thing to do" in response to the new variant.
The Queen ultimately made the decision as the family event would "put too many people's Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead."
Buckingham Palace did not elaborate further because they said it is a "private family event".
According to The Sun, a small group of family members are expected to still join the Queen at Sandringham but the ongoing rise in Covid-19 cases also puts this in doubt.
What's more, the Queen has had health concerns of her own in the second half of 2021.
Concerns over her health have grown after she cancelled several recent engagements, including the Remembrance Sunday service for the first time in over 20 years due to a back sprain, the Daily Mail reported earlier this month.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement that she'd made the decision not to attend with "great regret" and disappointment.
She earlier spent a night in hospital with an unconfirmed illness before being told by her doctors to rest at home.
In 2020, the Queen and Prince Philip had a quiet Christmas together due to pandemic restrictions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ministers have been getting together to discuss how to tackle the Omicron variant.
Ashley Bloomfield is providing the Government with advice on moving the Covid-19 vaccine booster programme forward from six months to three.
However, he hasn’t ruled out regional lockdowns should there be an outbreak.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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President Joe Biden on Thursday warned people who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 are looking at a very bleak and dangerous winter if they do not get their shots soon.
"I want to send a direct message to the American people: Due to the steps we've taken Omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would have otherwise done," Biden said in remarks at the White House following his Covid-19 briefing Thursday.
"But it's here now and it's spreading and it's gonna increase. ... We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated -- for themselves, their families and the hospitals they'll soon overwhelm. But there's good news: If you're vaccinated and you have your booster shot, you're protected from severe illness and death," the President added.
Biden also called on individuals to get vaccinated to protect the country's economic recovery.
"We're gonna protect our economic recovery. If we do this, we're gonna keep schools and businesses open ... and I want to see everyone around enjoy that. I want to see them enjoy the fact that they're able to be in school, that businesses are open and the holidays are coming," he continued.
Biden's warning comes as a chorus of public health officials are calling on Americans to get boosted to prevent serious illness.
As of Wednesday, only about 1 in 6 people in the US are fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19, leaving hundreds of millions at risk as the threat of the fast-transmitting Omicron variant looms.
The latest ensemble forecasts published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that new Covid-19 hospital admissions may reach record levels in the coming weeks, while new cases and deaths may reach levels last seen during last winter's surge.
The CDC's predicted increase in Covid-19 deaths would bring total deaths for the pandemic to 837,000 to 845,000 people by January 8.
An average of nearly 120,000 new cases are being diagnosed each day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University -- 50% more than a month ago. And more than 1,200 people are dying every day, on average.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he is certain Omicron will become the dominant coronavirus variant in the US relatively soon.
"It has what we call a doubling time of about three days. And if you do the math on that, if you have just a couple of percentage of the isolates being Omicron, very soon it's going to be the dominant variant," Fauci said, later adding, "We've seen that in South Africa, we're seeing it in the UK and I'm absolutely certain that's what we're going to be seeing here relatively soon."
Fauci also said this week that at this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster shot but that there will "no doubt" be breakthrough infections.
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An expert says New Zealand has time on its side when it comes to rolling out booster shots.
Government ministers are meeting today to discuss bringing the booster programme forward.
We currently have to wait six months between the second and third vaccine dose but Omicron may prompt that to be shortened.
Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Peter McIntyre told Heather du Plessis-Allan we aren't in the same situation in the UK so wouldn't have to reduce to three months.
“But I still think it would be prudent to be concentrating on the frontline health workers, border workers on the one hand, older and medically at risk population on the other.”
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I just wonder if we’re freaking out a bit too much about Omicron.
It’s pretty clear that some people are quite alarmed, including Michael Baker who wants us to “turn down the tap” on Kiwis coming in from places like the UK to keep it out.
There is no doubt if you look at the reports from overseas that Omicron is super infectious.
A University of Hong Kong study reckons it multiplies 70 times faster in the bronchial tubes than Delta, which might explain why it spreads faster.
And it’s definitely driving a spike of cases in the UK.
But at this stage, that’s about it.
It doesn’t look like it’s killing people or sending them to hospital at nearly the rate of the OG variants.
The UK reported nearly 90,000 cases yesterday, which is a record high, but they’ve only recorded one Omicron death and he was unvaccinated.
NSW has had recorded a huge of number of cases today. They think Omicron is in the mix there.
But again, hospitalisations are really low.
Today they recorded more than 2,200 cases; that’s a lot more than their previous peak of 1600 back on September 11.
But back then they had 1,164 cases in hospital. Today they have 192.
Back then they had 221 people in intensive care. Today they have 26.
Back then they had 94 on respirators. Today they have 8.
Granted these are early days so information and circumstances can and almost certainly will change.
But all I’m hoping to do is just inject a few facts into the hysteria.
The PM’s already hinting she might delay reopening the international border next month.
But ask yourself why? What is the point in keeping it closed?
We kept the border closed beforehand for a good reason: To get vaccinated.
And now we are vaccinated to 90 per cent across the country.
So what’s the reason now?
We can’t and we know we won’t keep Omicron out forever, so what would we buy time for?
Boosters? Well according to the Immunisation Advisory Centre the people who need to those boosters for Omicron are the elderly and vulnerable and they’re already eligible for boosters.
As I say, things might change in the next couple of weeks.
But right now, there doesn’t seem to be reason to be freaking out quite at the level some people are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield says we should expect more Covid Omicron cases arriving here.
New Zealand has its first case of the new variant, in MIQ in Christchurch.
Everyone on the same flight, and people who stayed on the same MIQ floor are being treated as close contacts.
The Director-General of Health told Mike Yardley it was only a matter of time, given the virus is spreading across the globe.
“We are expecting that most of our cases within a short period of time will be Omicron coming across the border and then we will deal with them and keep them at the border.”
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v says Omicron is a cause for concern but not panic.
New Zealand detected its first Omicron case yesterday, a case that travelled from Germany via Dubai and is now in MIQ in Christchurch.
Everyone on the same flight and people who stayed on the same MIQ floor are being treated as close contacts.
The Deputy Prime Minister told Mike Yardley MIQ has been set up to deal with transmissible variants.
“We have an MIQ that many other countries around the world don’t, this case has been caught via this system and while it’s not 100% perfect, it has served us very well.”
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An immunologist is calling on the Government to bring forward the Covid booster shot timeframe.
Ministers are set to meet today to discuss this exact issue, as New Zealand records its first case of the Omicron variant in MIQ in Christchurch.
A third shot is currently only available to those who last had their second shot, at least six months ago.
Malaghan Institute Director Dr Graham Le Gros, told Tim Dower with the new threat of Omicron, we should move the eligibility to five months.
“It won’t be quite as good as the six month period, but at least it will stop the infection that this Omicron actually hospitalising people or making people sick.”
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One of the big lessons that I’ve learnt during this pandemic – but especially this year – is that most of the pandemic predictions are too gloomy.
Look at the GDP numbers out today; a contraction of 3.7% in the economy.
Granted, that’s bad. That’s the second biggest we’ve ever experienced since records started.
But it’s not as bad as we were talking about a few weeks back or even yesterday. The Reserve Bank predicted a 7% drop, Treasury yesterday said 6% down.
It was only about half as bad.
Why? Because humans adapt. Business has learnt from last year's lockdowns and how to work around them.
They’ve taken themselves online, set up the home office and hit the zoom meetings, closed the front doors and set up click and collect.
For example, the transport secotr according to Kiwibank dropped nearly 27% in 2020’s lockdown. It only dropped 3.3% the first half of this lockdown. It’s learned how work within restrictions.
The same is true of health predictions. All those deaths never happened. Shaun Hendy said we’d see 7,000 deaths even if we had a 75% vaccination rate. We never got close to anything of the sort.
Obviously, this is not to say that the deaths we’ve experienced and the massive contraction in the economy are not bad. They are. But they’re not nearly as bad as the catastrophizing would've had us believe.
So, whichever way you lean – whether you're terrififed of economic carnage or terrified of rampant covid deaths – just remember, whatever you’re hearing predicted, it’s probably not going to be nearly as bad.
That’s certainly one of my big lessons from this pandemic, this year, this quarter and this data today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New South Wales has recorded an all-time record of 1,742 Covid-19 cases today.
The state's been warned it could see 25-thousand cases a day by the end of the month.
International Correspondent Murray Olds told Heather du Plessis Allan it's been a while since they've had more daily cases than Victoria.
“There’s a lot of concern about the case numbers, the actual raw numbers, but they’re urging us to look more closely at the ICU numbers.”
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Plans to begin re-opening our border from next month could be at risk.
New Zealand citizens and residents in Australia are set to be able to travel here and isolate at home from January 17, skipping MIQ.
Covid-19 modeller Rodney Jones told Heather du Plessis-Allan based on the sheer volume of omicron cases and the speed it moves, you have to worry it will scupper plans.
“If you look at South Africa where they’ve got lots of immunity from having had a lot of infections in the past, or these other countries that are highly vaccinated. It’s still just spreading so rapidly.”
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You'll remember at the start of November Linda called in, she was trying to cross the border, desperate to see her daughter who had two major surgeries with major complications.
She and her husband were fully vaccinated, both had negative covid tests and they had twice been denied travel exemptions. MP Simeon Brown was trying to help them to no avail.
I advised her to take her negative tests and head to the border, bugger them! Tell the police you're going through.
Linda was worried about the legal repercussions, but I offered to pay any fines or legal bills she might incur!
Linda joined me for an update.
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A leading light in our international tourism industry remarked to me the other day, Mike, our industry has officially sunk into a state of depression. I alluded to this yesterday, with the Air New Zealand chief.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has sunk the industry’s morale by signalling that they shouldn’t expect significant numbers of overseas visitors to starting returning to our shores for another twelve months.
While most of the world does its damndest to restimulate global tourism, we look like a Nervous Nigel, struck down with stage fright at the boarding gate. And we’re slipping off the travel world’s radar.
Even Western Australia is reopening in six weeks time. The most fortified Australian state is lowering the drawbridge to the world. We look like possums stuck in the headlights.
Risk aversion has been overcooked, we are steadily strangling to death a golden goose.
The Tourism Export Council estimates thirty percent of our tourism businesses have already been wiped out and more will follow.
As much as tourism operators warmly welcome the exodus of Aucklanders splashing their cash across the country, for many, it will not save their summer.
And there is nothing good on the horizon, they have nothing to shoot for.
Yes, overseas visitors can start crossing the border in May, but their first week must be served in self-iso. For an Aussie couple dreaming of enjoying a weekend in Queenstown, or a weekend on Waiheke, it’s a fantasy. Seven days self-iso is a total deal breaker. Self-iso must be done away with, as a first step for lower-risk countries.
And Omicron must not be used as an excuse to refortify our hermetically sealed posture. It’s highly transmissible, sure. But less severe than Delta. And there are ready, practical answers to beef up optimal protection. Fast-track the booster rollout.
Does this Government actually want to reignite international tourism and international education, or are they quietly happy for it to wither?
Their lack of vision, lack of vigour, lack of passion and customary lack of clarity is soul-destroying.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I come to the programme this morning with a feeling of hope after seeing something yesterday that I haven't seen in well over a year.
Backpackers.
A group of four of them, in their 20s, walking the Te Araroa trail together.
All three thousand kilometres of it.
Te Araroa should be on every young New Zealander's bucket list, it stretches all the way from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
And bit by bit, as we recognise the value of it, old tracks are being improved, new ones built and little gaps are being closed with new connections.
I crossed paths with the group as they were about 400ks into the journey, a beautiful day and they'd parked their stuff on the beach for a swim.
Before COVID, I'd run into people from all over the world walking Te Araroa, collecting great stories of New Zealand and New Zealanders they'd take home and share.
Word of mouth is your best form of advertising.
I always make a point of saying hello, partly because I'm nosy and I like to know where people are from, but also because I want to be welcoming.
Up until yesterday, the last person I saw on the track was a young woman from Auckland who decided she'd do it because she couldn't go to work and was going mad stuck at home.
Since then? No one, mainly because the camps and hostels have been closed, either short term, or in some cases permanently.
I came away from that unexpected encounter feeling so positive about where we're at.
And with a sense that people are over being fearful, done with fretting over every scare and determined to get on with living.
I came away with hope.
And it feels great.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A health expert says rural hospitals have been left off Andrew Little's Christmas list.
The Government is giving hospitals more than half a billion dollars for upgrades and to help them support more Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients.
The Rural GP Network says the provinces have been left out, with some rural hospitals not getting any funding at all.
Rural Health Clinical Director Dr Jeremy Webber told Tim Dower they're calling out for more resources.
“Staffing is huge issue in the rural across the board, so we’ve got a huge reliance on locals so it’s a real strain for our department and this is reflected across the country.”
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The Health Minister is pleading for patience when it comes to hospital funding.
Hospitals will receive more than half a billion dollars in extra funding from the Government.
This will add 75 standard inpatient beds and convert 355 beds into isolation or negative pressure environments.
Andrew Little says hospitals have been looking at their infrastructure and identifying which areas could be converted.
He says told Mike Yardley we can't expect it to happen overnight.
“It’ll take six months or so for this all to be put in place, but it does mean that hospitals treating Covid patients won’t have the care for non-Covid patients disrupted in the way we’ve seen in the last few outbreaks.”
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The borders are open and the first passengers arrived at Wellington Airport this morning. Newstalk ZB reporter Nick James was there as flights touched down and told Nick Mill about some of the emotional reunions.
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Air New Zealand is expecting a bumper summer.
The airline says 12 thousand people will travel in and out of Auckland on its flights today, with the city's borders now open.
Chief executive Greg Foran says they're operating nearly a third higher than normal until January 31.
And he says there'll be 15 to 20 percent more people travelling in the lead up to Christmas.
“Well over 300,000 people now are booked to fly between 15th and 31st which puts us well ahead of last year for that period.”
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Mixed feelings for businesses on the re-opening of the Auckland border.
Those in the south are looking forward to seeing the influx of tourists they so desperately need.
Queenstown's Totally Tourism director Mark Quickfall told Mike Yardley they're ready to welcome Aucklanders back.
“We do certainly welcome this cashflow into our businesses and we will just try to hang on until international borders open again.”
But those in Northland, who want the same thing, are worried about the checkpoint effects.
Dive Tutukaka owner Jereon Jongejans says told Mike Yardley being in red could put people off.
“If you are in Auckland and you look where am I going to go and there’s a red area or there’s an orange area, most people will think it’s about time we hit an orange area.”
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Travellers are being advised to b patient if they want to leave Auckland.
The border is down, with people needing a vaccine pass or a recent negative Covid-19 test to leave the city.
The AA is asking people to slow down and take snacks and drink for the trip.
Safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen told Tim Dower motorists should expect delays.
“Think that it’s going to take longer than it normally does, don’t set time deadlines and put that pressure on yourself.”
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Auckland Airport has gone from zero to hero.
It's expecting to see a 4000 percent increase in domestic travellers today.
Operations general manager Anna Cassels-Brown told Tim Dower 600 people departed yesterday but there are 10,000 leaving today.
“But also, it may surprise you that we have not much shy of 10,000 people arriving into the domestic terminal as well, so it goes both ways.”
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People who break the rules at the Auckland/Northland checkpoints can expect to be slapped with a thousand dollar fine.
Fully vaccinated police and iwi are pulling every car over at Uretiti on State Highway 1 and Maungaturoto on State Highway 12, but that may change if it gets too busy.
Northland District Police commander, Tony Hill, told Mike Yardley only one person has turned up at the border without evidence of double vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test.
“If people turn up and are in blatant disregard of the rules and quite obviously don’t care about them, then they’ll get the thousand dollar fine coming their way.”
Tony Hill says most people in Northland are vaccinated but there's poor health and housing in the region so the spread of Covid would be very detrimental.
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Western Australia closed its borders in March 2020, almost 2 years later they have the go ahead to reopen.
Victoria is renaming its most ‘racist’ creek.
Australian correspondent, Murray Olds, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Police aim to check every Aucklander heading into Northland.
Tāmaki Makaurau's borders lift at midnight tonight, but two northbound checkpoints will be in place south of Whangarei.
Northland District Police Commander, Tony Hill, told Heather du Plessis-Allan, it's their intent to check every passenger vehicle from the SuperCity.
“Obviously, to be able to do that might be complex once we get operational, but if we can do that that would be ideal and we would like to.”
Hill couldn't provide a specific answer on how long queues would be.
“No, we’re not 100% certain how long it will be, but we ask people to be prepared to be delayed and we’ll try not to make those too unreasonable, but we really need to get started and see what traffic flow looks like.”
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Auckland is edging closer to its borders lifting at midnight.
Once the checkpoints lift, Police will do random spot checks at the north and south exits of Tāmaki Makaurau.
And two northbound checkpoints will be ready to go in Northland.
Kaipara Mayor Jason Smith told Heather du Plessis-Allan he understands the new Northland borders will move in a few days.
“So, the Maungaturoto and Uretiti checkpoint locations are going to be in those places for 4–5 days and then they will move to other places around Northland.”
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It seems freedom is also bringing more Covid-19 cases in Australia's New South Wales.
It has 804 cases today, and its seven-day rolling average continues to climb, with much of the transmission at large events.
The state has 84 Omicron cases, a number also expected to grow.
Australian Medical Association New South Wales Council Chair, Dr Michael Bonning told Heather du Plessis Allan it's not all bad news.
“We have really high vaccination rates here in New South Wales, we’re not seeing an increase in cases ending up in hospital yet.”
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17 more days in Red for Auckland and the other Red regions. Just doesn't seem to make any sense, and I think that must be my most oft quoted phrase of the year. I get why Northland is in red and has to stay in red. But I don't really understand why Auckland is staying in red.
Red Aucklanders can join Orange New Zealanders as of tomorrow. And indeed, they will be doing so when you look at the flight bookings from here in New Zealand and the travel plans of many Aucklanders. So Red Aucklanders can join Orange New Zealanders, and then they can come back to Red if they're coming back to Auckland before New Year's Eve.
The reason for being in the Red traffic light system is to protect vulnerable communities and our health system from Covid-19. That's the reason for being in Red, and that applies in Northland and Tairawhiti as well. Auckland, well, let's have a look at Auckland.
The population is more than 90% vaxed. Since the Delta outbreak began on August 18, the vaccination rate has risen from just 24.9% of Aucklanders over the age of 12 being fully vaccinated, to 92%. So, it's pretty good. If you had just 24.9% of Aucklanders vaccinated, you’d say ooh a bit of trouble there. But no, we’re now 92%, 95% of Aucklanders have had at least one dose. I think it's fair to say anyone who has wanted to be vaccinated is. There are no vulnerable communities to protect.
As for the health system, as of yesterday there were 61 people in hospital, 4 in intensive care. Auckland City Hospital has 1165 beds, 39 resourced ICU beds. Middlemore has 900 beds, 24 ICU beds. Waitemata DHB has 660 odd beds, 14 ICU beds. So that's more than 2600 beds. Roughly 77 ICU beds. And how many people again with Covid? 61 in hospital with Covid. Which leaves you 2540 beds. And we've got four in ICU! Which leaves 73 ICU beds, so how is the public health system under stress?
The reason for being in Red is to protect vulnerable communities - all good done that. And not put the health system under stress. Yep, all good there too.
So why are we still in Red? We have Aucklanders able to travel out of the Red region. We have a public health system coping with the Covid load. We have more than 92% of the Auckland region double dosed, and we're in Red. How? How? Somebody, please, a Jacinda fan boy or girl? Somebody who says oh look this all makes perfect sense Kerre, you're just being difficult and you don't like the Government. No wrong. I would love to know. I would really love to hear an explanation of how this can be.
17 days will make all the difference to many businesses and yet this Government seems in the thrall of their modelers who haven't got a single solitary prediction right since this whole pandemic started. Slaughter a chicken, throw its end trails over an operating table, which is lying spare because people aren't dying in their droves because of the galloping Covids, and draw the patterns from there.
When will Auckland go to Red oh mighty one? I don't know slaughter a chicken and see what pattern it falls in to. It makes absolutely no sense, which is said time and time and time again.
According to Jacinda Ardern the country has only been under the new traffic light system for 10 days, which is shorter than a full transmission cycle of 14 days. Therefore, Cabinet had come to the view that with an additional transmission cycle, there will be enough comfort for Auckland to move.Why not just four days then of a transmission cycle is 4 days, why not just 4 days in Red.
Chris Bishop, who is National’s Covid spokesman says hospitalisations are low, you betcha.
We've got very few people in ICU - check. The R rate is below one - that's the transmissibility rate. Daily case numbers are dropping on a weekly basis. The vaccination rate is now high. And the reality is, Auckland hospo businesses will go to the wall over the next two to three weeks.
Please, fangirl/fanboy ring...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
NZME business correspondent joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to break down the Government's decision to move parts of the country to orange on New Year's Eve.
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The Associate Health Minister is defending keeping most of the country in orange until December 30.
Everyone in the country will move to orange just before New Year's Eve, apart from Northland.
Northland's going to sit in red for the summer because not enough people are vaccinated.
Peeni Henare told Mike Yardley the Government wants to wait two cycles of Covid-19 before it moves most places to orange.
“And we’re confident that if we give it another cycle, which is why we announced what we did yesterday, we will give ourselves the best chance to have a really good summer break.”
Peeni Henare says the Government wants case numbers to drop and vaccination rates to lift.
He says Northland is nowhere near 90 percent vaccinated and it's not just Māori holding the region back.
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Dear Auckland,
I just wanted to say how glad I am that you're being allowed out again from tonight.
I've kept in contact as best I can with people close to me down there, but sometimes you haven't wanted to talk and I completely understand it.
Who wants to do Facetime of WhatsApp from their couch day after day...especially with someone in another part of the country where life's a lot more like normal.
What you've endured in the region I know has been mentally exhausting and absolutely frustrating.
I want to talk a little this morning about one personal friend who hasn't made it through the Auckland lockdown.
I knew he was struggling and he'd talked about it a bit, but he tried to be stoic, and at the end he kept just how bad it was all to himself.
When I first heard, part of me wanted to be cross with him about it.
Then came the self-recrimination, what if I'd phoned when I was telling myself we hadn't spoken in a week.
Sometimes we need to walk a mile in another person's shoes to really get it.
There but for the grace of God, or whatever it is you believe in.
Just yesterday we were talking about the societal disturbance we're seeing at the moment.
Everyone so angry and anxious, people attacking each other verbally left right and centre, physically sometimes and flying off the handle at the slightest thing.
What we don't know yet is how many people are going the other way.
My friend won't be the only one trying to put a brave face on things.
Not raising their heads over the parapet in anger, not lashing out, but keeping it all in.
I can't do anything for him now, but perhaps there's someone you know you can offer a little hope to.
You're almost there.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Some businesses are offering Christmas bonuses.
Waikato Regional Council bus drivers will each receive a $1000 bonus.
Recruitment agency director Katherine Swan told Mike Yardley people appreciate added bonuses whether it's money or a gift.
“Particularly over the last two years we’ve seen people go above and beyond, so I’m not surprised to see that organisations are really taking time.”
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SkyCity says hospitality's still challenging under a red light, but is grateful for some certainty.
Auckland will be given the orange light just before midnight on December 30.
Other regions in red will move to orange then too, apart from Northland.
SkyCity Entertainment Group CEO Michael Ahearne says told Mike Yardley the cap on numbers is tricky under red, but trade has picked up and restaurant bookings are strong.
“I think we can all look forward to certainly a great New Year's Eve, and we’re looking forward to next year now with a little bit more confidence,”
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There have been mixed emotions over the Government's traffic light announcement.
On the December 30 everywhere south of Northland will be in orange.
However, Northland will be staying in red till at least January 17.
Ricky Houghton is chief executive of Kaitaia housing project, He Korowai Trust.
He told Mike Yardley while the decision will impact the region, they're not currently ready for a major outbreak.
“I think that all the services are on overload, we’ve got 36 high-dependency beds between Northland and Auckland. When you see the news and four beds occupied, that leaves 32.”
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There's concern Auckland has to wait longer at the red light.
Tamaki Makaurau will move to orange under the Covid-19 Protection Framework at midnight on December 30.
So will every other region in red, except Northland.
Heart of the City CEO, Viv Beck, told Tim Dower going into orange at New Year's Eve will make a difference.
“It certainly will give more confidence to visitors, so that’s a positive thing. But I’m still really concerned about another two and a half weeks at red and the impact of that.”
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Grant Robertson's defending the decision to keep Auckland in red for another two weeks.
The region along with other red regions, except Northland, will move into orange at midnight on December 30.
The Deputy Prime Minister says [told Heather du Plessis-Allan] they are continuing their cautious approach.
“There is still thousands of active cases being managed in Auckland, and we just want to give a full two weeks cycles from when the traffic light came in and that takes you to the 30–31 December.”
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The majority of New Zealanders don't want to wait until 90% of Māori are vaccinated.
Horizon research found 59% of adults don't agree with restrictions to give Māori more time to get vax rates up, 32% do agree, and 9% are unsure.
Interestingly, Māori themselves think much the same. 54% don't agree with restrictions, 33% do, and 13% are not sure.
In Northland, just 21% agree on the need for restrictions.
Professor of Public Health at Auckland University, Chris Bullen, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
“People want to return to normal life, be able to move out of the Auckland region and they are prepared to take the risk.”
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Concerns for Northland businesses.
Because of low vaccination rates, the region will stay in "red" Covid settings until at least January 17.
Northland Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Steve Smith told Heather du Plessis-Allan he's worried it'll put off visitors.
“We really want to see those Aucklanders and other New Zealanders that have been coming here for decades for their summer holidays to get in the car and get up here.”
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What are the Australian borders doing?
The Australian Government has decided to only wait 5 months before getting the booster shot, why is this?
Australian correspondent, Oliver Petersen, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Has the Government made a monumental blunder over vaccine mandates and the accommodation sector? With the holiday season upon us, it seems completely barking that vaccine passes haven’t been made a pre-condition for booking accommodation.
For bedding down, whether it’s a hotel, motel, Airbnb or holiday park.
It’s mystifying really, particularly given the Beehive’s penchant for regulating your life.
And I’m yet to hear a plausible reason as to why accommodation hasn’t been treated through the same lens as hospitality.
The Government has seemingly made a weird distinction that lodging isn’t part of the hospitality industry.
So as it stands, accommodation providers have been given free rein to make the call themselves. Most hotels and motels are choosing to make vaccine passes mandatory.
But what about holiday parks and your happy campers? 18 per cent of this country’s guest nights are spent in holiday parks. Hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will be in one over summer.
If you ran a risk matrix across the accommodation sector, surely the lights would be flashing red on holiday parks and the unvaccinated. The issue is all of those communal spaces.
Yet as you may have seen over the week, about a third of holiday parks and camping grounds will not require vaccine passes.
Surely they are a sitting duck for an outbreak.
Campers en-masse gathering in the kitchen, sharing the communal facilities, showering, washing and toileting in the same shared stalls. With no vaccine mandate.
If that is not a sure-fire recipe for spread – slap me now.
The mass assembly of unvaxxed mixing and mingling in a holiday park sounds like a transmission hot zone in the making.
A human petri dish of holiday trouble. Aided and abetted by a government seemingly oblivious to the extra risky hotspot they have created. How was this missed?
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The Federal Government has cut back the time people need to wait before their Covid-19 booster shot, which means an extra 1.5 million Australians will be eligible for their third jab from Sunday.
Amid global concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has advised the government to slash the waiting time for booster shots for people over 18 years from six months to five months, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The change comes into effect immediately, meaning at least 1.5 million extra people will be able to get their booster shot from Sunday, and about two million more will be eligible by the end of the year.
ATAGI now recommends Moderna alongside Pfizer as the preferred vaccines for booster shots, regardless of which vaccine people received for their first two jabs.
More than 670,000 Australians have already had their third dose, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
The change means millions more will get theirs sooner than expected.
“Australia is well prepared to provide booster doses as approvals are provided by the medical experts,” Mr Hunt said, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
“Australia is a vaccination nation, with more than 40 million Covid-19 vaccines having been administered to date. Over 93 per cent of eligible Australians aged 16 and older have received a first dose and over 89 per cent have now received a second dose.”
ATAGI’s changed advice comes amid the likely continued transmission of Delta and the new Omicron variant.
Last week ATAGI said there was not enough evidence to support cutting waiting times between jabs, but new information about Omicron and its transmissibility has prompted new advice to slow its spread, the ABC reported.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said on Saturday night there was an “urgent need” for people to get extra protection from the virus.
“Thanks ATAGI,” he tweeted.
“There is an urgent need for third doses/boosters. Don’t delay if you’re due. I’ll now get mine before Christmas.”
NSW recorded another infections spike on Saturday with 560 new cases, including three Omicron infections, while Victoria recorded 1193 new cases and 13 deaths.
Queensland recorded one new Covid-19 case, with authorities warning they had been infectious in the Gold Coast community for five days.
- by Lauren McMah, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A call for New Zealand to have a serious talk about social cohesion.
A Koi Tu: The Centre for Informed Futures report says there are early signs of threats to social cohesion.
The independent think tank says Western countries have suffered with a lack of trust between communities and the Government.
Report co-author Sir Peter Gluckman told Mike Yardley the lack of trust has severe consequences.
“People who are low in trust in that sense are more susceptible to conspiracy theories.”
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Tumbling down. The downward curve in Covid cases has been strong and swift. Just 63 cases on Saturday, marking a two month low. And just 103 yesterday. The rolling average is in the double digits.
Some of the modellers who binge on hyperbole, with their shock and awe projections, like Michael Plank, are conceding that the sharp drop-off wasn’t projected. They’re surprised.
What’s the chances Cabinet might surprise us today with their check-in on the traffic lights?
Just imagine if they had the courage to change a few lights.
You don’t need me to relitigate how completely out of whack the Traffic Light settings and their core definitions are with the reality on the ground region by region.
If they stayed true to the factors that underpin those settings, nowhere in New Zealand would be at Red. And probably not at Orange. But given this government’s extreme obsession with risk averseness, no one’s going Green today.
Going Green would see the mask mandates given the flick everywhere, apart from flights. But with this crowd, we can only dream for that day to arrive.
Surely though, with case rates falling and vax rates surging and no pressure on hospitals, a whole swag of regions, currently stuck at Red, should turn Orange today.
The Auckland region for starters, with its double dose rate at 92 per cent.
What about the Whanganui region? They’ve got one case.
What about Gisborne, Tairawhiti? They’ve got no cases.
Yes, their fully vaxxed rates are still in the mid-eighties, but first dose rates are north of 90.
Orange is game-changing. The huge gain is the capacity caps for hospo, gatherings and events are zapped.
And as much as the hand-wringers fret about low Maori vaccination rates – let's not forget, the vast majority of Maori have stepped up. 75 per cent fully vaxxed.
The holdouts, the tuned out and the slackers have had ample opportunity to protect themselves. They’ve made their bed. They’ve made their choice. Why should they hold you hostage with a big Red light?
Let's go Orange, today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Cabinet is meeting today to review Aotearoa's traffic light settings.
Auckland, Northland and lower vaccinated areas in the central and east coast of the North Island are at the Red level.
The rest of the North Island and South Island is at Orange.
Otago University's Lesley Gray told Tim Dower while Auckland has a high vaccination rate, there's already change coming with the region's borders opening on Wednesday.
“Whether the Government feel that they want to bring Auckland to Orange as well as the boundary change, that might be a step too far given the numbers that we’re still seeing.”
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant, and he has announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it.
Johnson said in a televised statement that everyone age 18 and older will be offered a third shot of vaccine by the end of this month. The previous target was the end of January.
He said cases of the highly transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days and “there is a tidal wave of omicron coming.”
To combat it, he announced a “national mission” to deliver booster vaccines at with pop-up vaccination centers and 7-day-a-week clinics.
U.K. scientists believe existing vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though preliminary data show that effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third vaccine dose.
The British government raised the country’s official coronavirus threat level on Sunday, warning the rapid spread of the omicron variant had pushed the U.K. into risky territory.
The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the emergence of the highly transmissible new strain “adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services” at a time when COVID-19 is already widespread. They recommended raising the alert level from 3 to 4 on a 5-point scale. The top level, 5, indicates authorities think the health care system is about to be overwhelmed.
The doctors said early evidence shows omicron is spreading much faster than the currently dominant delta variant, and that vaccines offer less protection against it. British officials say omicron is likely to replace delta as the dominant strain in the U.K. within days.
“Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalizations from omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly,” they said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to make a televised statement about Britain’s coronavirus situation and the booster vaccination campaign on Sunday evening.
Concerns about the new variant led Johnson’s Conservative government to reintroduce restrictions that were lifted almost six months ago. Masks must be worn in most indoor settings, vaccine certificates must be shown to enter nightclubs and people are being urged to work from home if possible.
Many scientists say that’s unlikely to be enough, however, and are calling for tougher measures.
Johnson’s government is trying to avoid that, but aims to offer everyone 18 and over a booster shot by the end of January.
Scientists in South Africa, where omicron was first identified, say they see signs it may cause less severe disease than delta, but caution that it is too soon to be certain.
The U.K. Health Security Agency said Friday that both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though preliminary data show that effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third vaccine dose.
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Less than two weeks to Christmas and the summer holidays can't come soon enough.
New Zealand is tired, exhausted even, of Covid and frustrated at the huge ongoing sacrifices.
We are sick of doom, gloom and fear, so much so John Campbell fronted a show about this last night.
I only saw the beginning because it was past bedtime, but it featured front line workers talking about some of the things they've had to put up with.
The ambulance officer bitten and spat at, nurses copping abuse in emergency rooms, police attacked on the job, supermarket staff enduring racial slurs.
Now that show coincides with a new piece of research today, which comes out of an Auckland University offshoot called the Centre for Informed Futures.
Just for background, that's headed up by Sir Peter Gluckman, one of our most distinguished scientists and formerly chief science advisor to the Prime Minister.
Cutting to the chase, this report looks at relationships in the community, and trust in the State.
Sir Peter says we're starting to see exhaustion, fear and anger and a loss of trust in Government, science, and experts.
The glue that holds us together is coming unstuck, you’ll have seen it, some people's behaviour is rude, nasty, aggressive even.
I hope Cabinet takes heed of these signs today when it looks at the Traffic Light settings.
We need some relief, people need to get out, get back to work, get back to a more normal version of New Zealand, and take a break from social media rabbit holes.
If Auckland doesn't come out of Red for Christmas, Aucklanders won't forgive Labour for being the Grinch that stole Christmas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Auckland's Mayor wants the city to have an Orange Christmas.
Cabinet is meeting today to make a decision on the current traffic light settings.
Auckland is at Red alongside Northland and other low vaccinated areas in the Central and East Coast of the North Island, while the rest of the country sits at Orange.
Phil Goff says the downward trend in new cases and high vaccination rate are good reasons to put Red behind us.
He told Mike Yardley one group will be particularly keen to see it go.
“The main thing is really for the hospitality industry, it has taken a real hammering, and obviously it would welcome that.”
Goff says waiting until January will be too long for the hospitality industry, and ditching Red makes sense.
“The new Delta cases have certainly plateaued and are starting to trend down and we hope that continues.”
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A prediction two northbound checkpoints between Auckland and Northland will only last a matter of days.
They'll begin operating from Wednesday and be run by police and Te Tai Tokerau Border control.
46 recruits will be deployed for one week, followed by 46 staff who've just graduated Police College the week after.
National's Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell told The Weekend Collective there's going to be a massive gridlock even if they only stop every fifth or sixth vehicle.
"Look, in my view, it's gonna be a mess, it's irresponsible and it'll fail and fall over within days."
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A top health expert doesn't think any region can change colours in the Traffic Light System yet.
There were 103 community cases across the country today, up from 63 yesterday.
It comes ahead of the Government meeting to review New Zealand's traffic light settings tomorrow.
The decision will be based on factors including vaccination rates and case numbers.
Professor of Epidemiology at Auckland University Rod Jackson told The Weekend Collective it's too early to move.
“I’d say Auckland needs another week, we need to see what happened on Freedom Friday. The rest of the Red areas, they got to get up to 90 per cent vaccination.”
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Travel blogger Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss how to add your My Vaccine Pass to your Air NZ app.
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With Covid cases dropping in Auckland, there is cause for optimism for the city to move to the Orange setting of the Traffic Light System.
Yesterday saw 63 new cases recorded, with 53 in Auckland.
The Government will review the settings at Cabinet on Monday.
A new career path is being considered for the next generation.
A survey by Logitech NZ found that 75 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds saw careers in online streaming as a viable career option.
Who would live in a floating city?
Backed by the United Nations, work has begun for a flood-resistant ocean city off the coast of South Korea, spearheaded by Oceanix.
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On Friday I watched The First Wave on Disney+. It’s a National Geographic documentary that looks at the first four months of the Covid 19 outbreak in 2020 in New York City through the eyes of those on the front line, the hospital workers at Long Island Jewish Medical Centre.
It’s a harrowing watch. A glimpse of a grim reality we avoided here in New Zealand and an insight into what an overwhelmed public health system looks like.
There are a few things that strike you when you watch this film.
For a start, the number of doctors and nurses in a room when a patient is having difficulties is 10 – 12 at least. These numbers were early on in the outbreak, but it’s a visual that helps you understand what New Zealand medical professionals’ mean when they stated our hospitals could not have coped with an uncontrolled outbreak of Covid-19.
The film also captures the difficulties doctors had treating a virus they didn’t understand. Doctors need data to assess and treat patients, but working out what that data meant was impossible at first. Covid, and the way it affected people was totally unpredictable. In the film you watch doctors call family members to let them know their loved one is improving and doing well, only to have to call back hours later to say their condition took an unexpected turn and they’ve passed away.
And then there is the suffering. There is no way I want to run the risk of meeting Covid-19 while unvaccinated.
A couple of things were clear about Covid early on though, Hispanic and Black Americans were highly represented in hospitalisations, and underlying health issues such as obesity and diabetes impacted the severity of the virus.
Heading into 2022, I wonder whether we will begin to have conversations about our general health in relation to Covid-19. Vaccinations and boosters are our first vital line of defence and always will be, but I wonder whether living with Covid will encourage more people to address and improve their underlying health issues? Improved health outcomes could in time lead to less pressure on our health system. Now that would be a great by-product of Covid-19. Is it likely, or even possible - who knows?
If you want to reflect on Covid-19 in 2021 it can probably best be summed up as a frustrating year; we’ve experienced a lack of preparation for Delta, a slow vaccine rollout, the cruelty of MIQ, and a lengthy lockdown.
Watching The First Wave has briefly taken the edge off all this for me. I feel renewed relief and gratitude we avoided the hellish Covid experience New York and many other cities around the world went through, and it’s also a reminder of how far we’ve come.
As we head to the end of the year with almost 90% of the eligible population vaccinated, here’s to moving forward in leaps and bounds in 2022.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our resident doctor Bryan Betty chats to Jack Tame about the year of Covid and how successful we have been with the vaccination program.
He also talks about why there's the issue with Māori vaccination rates, Covid in the community and the emergence of Omicron.
Bryan Betty is a GP and medical director for the College of GPs. He’s also on the Covid-19 advisory committee.
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About 300 police officers are having to be pulled from around the country to man the Northland border.
Now trainee police officers are being pulled in to help out at these checkpoints.
They'll be sworn in as authorised officers under the law changes introduced in November.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's press chief gave out joke awards and made a thank you speech at a Downing Street party on December 18 last year while London was under strict lockdown, according to CNN affiliate ITV.
Jack Doyle, who was Johnson's deputy director of communications at the time, addressed a gathering of "up to 50 people," and handed out certificates to staff members of the communications team, ITV reported.
For the past week, Johnson has been buffeted by multiple claims that social events were held inside 10 Downing Street in the runup to Christmas 2020, when the United Kingdom was under stringent coronavirus regulations that outlawed such activities.
CNN contacted Downing Street and Doyle independently for comment on the latest reports. However, both replied saying "there is an ongoing review, and we won't be commenting further while that is the case."
The controversy deepened markedly on Tuesday with the emergence of a video broadcast by ITV News from the time that appears to show Number 10 officials joking about a party during a rehearsal for televised press briefings.
In the December 2020 video, Allegra Stratton, who was at the time Johnson's spokeswoman, refers to a Christmas party, at a time when the UK was under strict lockdown conditions that limited gatherings and effectively canceled Christmas.
On Wednesday Stratton resigned from her government position in a tearful statement.
Stratton, who later served as the Prime Minister's COP26 spokeswoman, said her comments had become a "distraction" in the fight against coronavirus, and offered her resignation on Wednesday afternoon. "I understand the anger and frustration that people feel," she said in a statement on camera.
"To all who lost loved ones, endured intolerable loneliness and struggled with your businesses -- I am sorry and this afternoon I offered my resignation to the Prime Minister."
Also, on Wednesday, Johnson announced to Parliament that his cabinet secretary would conduct an investigation, which will now look into at least three separate alleged gatherings.
The Prime Minister apologized "unreservedly for the offense" the leaked video had caused, but said he had been "repeatedly assured that there was no party and no rules were broken." Johnson said that if rules were broken "there will be disciplinary action for all those involved." He added that he was "furious" when he saw the video.
Downing Street's position, before and since the video was leaked, is this: "There was no Christmas party and coronavirus rules had been followed at all times."
After speaking to multiple officials, CNN has established that social gatherings were indeed held on the two days in question -- November 27 and December 18 -- and has confirmed a Daily Mirror report that Johnson himself gave an impromptu speech at the first one. Sources also confirmed reports that secret Santa gifts were exchanged on December 18.
The accusations are damaging for the government as it seeks to enforce tougher coronavirus restrictions. On Wednesday, Johnson announced England would be tightening restrictions -- to a set of rules called "Plan B" -- due to rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
From Friday, face coverings will again become mandatory in most public venues, including movie theaters. And from next week people will be advised to work from home and present a "Covid Pass" proving vaccination or recent recovery to enter nightclubs and other venues with large crowds.
- by Sharon Braithwaite and Allegra Goodwin, CNNSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Waitangi Tribunal is meeting this week to hear a long line of complaints from Māori health providers over their inability to do their job when it's come to getting Māori vaccinated.
The hearing has been called for under urgency. What it achieves I have no idea, given the tribunal don’t make law or can't enforce decisions. Part of the irony of the submitters, is that one of their complaints is that the Ministry of Health who have been taken to court and lost, don’t seem to listen to courts. So I'm not sure they will listen to the tribunal.
The bits we all agree on are a lot of money has been handed out to vaccinate Māori and that the Māori health agencies have broadly argued it’s a Māori problem that needs a Māori solution.
That, also broadly speaking, has failed.
So, is what we have here a genuine grievance in the breakdown of a system that should have been better run? Or a bunch of whingers, having complained in the first place about race and prejudice, are now butt covering because they simply haven't delivered despite the fact, they have been given what seems like extraordinary resources.
And the question I always like to ask in such matters, just where does self-responsibility lie when it comes to a mass exercise in finger pointing?
There seems no doubt the Ministry of Health are a shocking group of people to deal with.
The list of incompetent actions over the whole Covid period is now long and weighty. And their seeming defiance in the face of at least two court decisions against them would seem to back up the Māori providers in their claims of obfuscation.
But at a couple of hundred million dollars specifically for the vaccine roll out, one can quite fairly ask, just how is it the vaccination rate remains so low? Given that bit is irrefutable, could it also be argued that it was naive to say that only Māori can vaccinate Māori even if, as it turns out, Māori don’t actually want to get vaccinated.
In other words, were the Māori agencies blowing their trumpet just a bit loud, happy to take the money, and when results weren't as expected, they needed a scapegoat and the Ministry of Health is it?
And then we come to the Government, who I think will argue they spent a fortune and expected better. And a tribunal that could well point the finger them for fault is not going to be listened to far less acted on.
Somewhere in this industry of blame and inefficiency is the individual. I've never been convinced vaccination is about race.
If it was, the Pacifica and the Asian community would have similar figures and yet they don’t. Ask yourself why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A bit of both ways from the tourism sector.
It wants New Zealanders travelling this summer while at the same time, keeping safety front of mind.
Several organisations and businesses in Bay of Plenty's Ōpōtiki district are backing a call from the local iwi and council for people to stay away.
Businesses in some remote communities in the East Cape and Northland are supporting similar calls.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Chris Roberts told Mike Hosking tourism operators want their communities to be safe, but they still need people to travel.
“They’re anxious about some of the social license concerns, what some communities are saying about whether or not they want visitors coming through at all.”
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tighter restrictions Wednesday to stem the spread of the omicron variant, urging people in England to again work from home and mandating COVID-19 passes for entrance into nightclubs and large events.
Johnson said it was time to impose stricter measures to prevent a spike of hospitalizations and deaths as the new coronavirus variant spreads rapidly in the community.
“It has become increasingly clear that omicron is growing much faster than the previous delta variant and is spreading rapidly all around the world,” he said in a press conference. “Most worryingly, there is evidence that the doubling time of omicron could currently be between two and three days.”
Johnson said 568 cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed so far across the U.K., and “the true number is certain to be much higher.”
He said while there wasn’t yet comprehensive data on how dangerous omicron is, rising hospitalization rates in South Africa, where the variant was first detected, suggested it has the potential to cause harm.
Scientists at the U.K. Health Security Agency said they expected the omicron variant to become the dominant strain in Britain in the next two to four weeks. The agency said so far most cases were located in London and southeast England.
The tighter restrictions will buy the government time to put booster jabs into more arms. Officials have set the target of offering booster shots to all adults by the end of January.
Johnson said beginning next Monday, people should work from home if possible. Starting on Friday, the legal requirement to wear a face mask will be widened to most indoor public places in England, including cinemas. Next week, having a COVID-19 pass showing a person has had both vaccine doses will be mandatory to enter nightclubs and places with large crowds.
Live music venues and nightclubs, which have long resisted vaccine passports, called the news devastating for an industry that's just finding its feet again after prolonged periods of closure and restrictions. The blow is particularly hard ahead of the crucial Christmas and New Year period, they said.
The British government reported another 51,342 confirmed daily cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with 161 more people dying. Overall Britain has seen over 146,000 deaths in the pandemic, the second-worst death toll in Europe after Russia.
The announcement came as Johnson and his government faced increasing pressure to explain reports that Downing Street staff enjoyed a Christmas party that breached the country's coronavirus rules last winter, when cases of the delta variant soared and people were banned from holding most social gatherings. Johnson on Wednesday ordered an inquiry and said he was “furious” about the situation.
The revelations have angered many in Britain, with critics saying they heavily undermine the authority of Johnson's Conservative government in imposing virus restrictions.
- By Sylvia Hui, Associated PressSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Canterbury doctor Jonie Girouard has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A Newshub investigation revealed that she had been issuing fake vaccine exemption passes for the Pfizer vaccine.
The Government launched the SmokeFree 2025 Action Plan today.
The plan includes measures that by the end of next year people aged under 14-years-old will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.
East Coast iwi are looking at writing to Ashley Bloomfield to ask to set up checkpoints.
It comes after iwi checkpoints have been set up to protect iwi in Northland, another area with low vaccination rates.
Listen above as Hayden Munro & Tim Beveridge discuss this and the rest of the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan aboveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kaiapoi doctor Jonie Girouard has been making the news for all the wrong reasons.
A Newshub investigation last night revealed Girouard has been handing out fake medical exemptions for the Pfizer vaccine.
NZ Herald reporter Kurt Bayer tried approaching Dr Girouard and her husband for comment earlier today.
Bayer told Heather du Plessis-Allan he went to their home in north Canterbury after finding no life in their clinic.
“Just as I got out of the car to go knock on the door, her husband Michael Girouard came out quite aggressively to tell me that he was going to phone the police, that I was trespassing, and that I needed to leave immediately. She also popped her head out while we were at the property but had no comment to make and after being told to leave, we did.”
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Opotiki business owners are getting behind an iwi request to discourage visitors this summer.
District Council and Te Whanau-a-Apanui are jointly asking would-be holidaymakers to stay away.
The iwi says it's to stop Covid spreading into tribal territories with many vulnerable Maori.
Councillor and iwi leader Louis Rapihana told Heather du Plessis-Allan a number of campgrounds are proactively shutting.
“Te Kaha Holiday Park has been closed, Hawai Bay Park has been closed, Maraehako Bay Park has been closed by the individual owners.”
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Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said today he'd tested positive for Covid-19 while travelling in Washington DC.
Joyce, who is fully vaccinated, said in a Facebook post that he'd been experiencing mild symptoms and decided to get tested. He said he would remain in isolation while seeking further advice.
He said the remaining members of his travelling delegation had tested negative.
It wasn't immediately clear what variant of the virus Joyce had contracted. Before arriving in the US, he'd travelled to London and met with top officials there as part of a 10-day trip to discuss his government's plans for regulating social media.
Joyce told ABC Radio New England he was "very frustrated I'm going to be locked up in a room by myself for 10 days, but that's part of the process".
He joked that being alone in the room worried him more than his infection.
He told the radio station that part of his job involved travelling and meeting with counterparts.
"I really wanted to follow up on some of this online stuff, try to get better online protection laws and see where the United States are," he said. "But that's the way the cookie crumbles."
Australia has been a prominent voice in calling for international regulation of the internet.
It passed laws this year that oblige Google and Facebook to pay for journalism. Australia also defied the tech companies by creating a law that could imprison social media executives if their platforms stream violent images.
Australia has also announced plans to crack down on online advertisers targeting children by making social media platforms seek parental consent for users younger than 16 years old or face hefty fines.
- APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A cafe in Wellington, Elements, has decided to pivot from sit-in dining to takeaways under the Traffic Light System.
Under the new system, hospitality operators have to require customers to show their vaccine passports if they are going to have people inside their cafes.
Elements has decided not to do that and instead operate as takeaway only, while also running a small retail store.
But owner Angela Slaughter says it is not an 'anti-vax' decision but rather a moral and financial one.
"We have families where the parents are vaccinated and one of the children is 13 so isn't yet. That whole family is no longer able to come into our restaurant"
Slaughter did not want to shut the door on people and told Nick Mills it was also about staffing levels.
"I don't have an A and B team. If they are all off for seven days, how do we open without them around?"
Slaughter says financial certainty was a factor too.
"We looked at the long-term picture and thought it could be really rocky in terms of those practicalities as well."
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Covid-19 extensions to travel insurance are avaliable, but they don't cover everything.
That's the message from the Insurance Council ahead of next year.
It wants travellers to keep in mind that big government decisions like lockdowns or cancelled flights won't usually be covered.
Chief Executive Tim Grafton told Mike Hosking the extensions could still be helpful.
“Those will typically cover you personally if you get Covid-19 and you have to cancel your travel, or If you have Covid-19 and you have costs to return home.”
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Here is the con.
Just yesterday, in a 24-hour period, the Golden Shears are off. It was followed by the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival, which is also off.
Is this the summer we were promised? Is this us getting back to doing the things we love as the Government rhetoric and the endless advertising has promised?
All we had to do was get jabbed and life was back to normal, summer was on, and we were doing the things we loved. It's now fairly obvious that's not true.
They changed the rules on the 90 percent and they made it 90 percent for every DHB. That, at best, looks a long way off.
They made the light system, which we are now operating under, completely incomprehensible, given the advice they offer as to what drives what colour, makes no sense.
Red is when the hospital system is strained. The hospital system isn't strained anywhere. So why red? Because, they will argue, of vulnerable populations. Vulnerable populations will seemingly always be vulnerable, so does that mean red forever?
Don't get me started on Ashley Bloomfield's advice that has been ignored twice now.
The Golden Shears in Masterton. Is Covid rampant in Masterton? No. Has it ever been? No. Yet the Golden Shears is off. Marlborough, another hot bed of Covid? No. Hospital system strained? No. Should it be in green? Yes. Is it? No. Do we know why? No.
The Wine and Food Festival is one of the biggest events of the year, but it's gone.
Can the event organisers carry a bit of the can? Maybe. But between the muddled rules, the made-up, ever-changing views approaches, and orders, no one knows what's going on.
The mandates around apps and vaccines are all over the place. An environment has been created where the risk is too high, and the cancellations are the result.
Once again, they failed to deliver. If you want a Kiwi summer get jabbed, not so. If you want to get back to doing the things you love, get jabbed, not so. Toss in some Māori led road blocks for good measure.
Yet again the rhetoric hasn’t matched the reality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Richlister Murray Bolton has funded a successful MIQ exemption bid for an award-winning Kiwi stunt co-ordinator who needs to travel to Australia to work on a $168 million Mad Max film production.
It cleared the way for Hamilton-based Tim Wong - who has worked alongside Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence - to fly to Sydney for two weeks' rehearsals then self-isolate at his Papamoa beach house - sidestepping the mandatory seven-day stint in managed isolation.
Tim Wong joined Mike Hosking.
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Talking about travel insurance this morning got me thinking about going overseas again, and it's been a while.
It's crept up on us, but from the middle of next month we can start to look at Australia again.
Then, if it all goes to plan, we're into a staged opening of the borders, fully vaccinated people from overseas will be allowed in.
2022 is going to look very different to 2021.
But are you ready to get on a long-haul flight again to go see those rellies in Europe?
Look at the fares now, could you afford to get on a long-haul flight?
And those twelve hour burns really take it out of you, plus the likelihood of having to have a mask on from arriving at the airport. Mmm... it's all getting less appealing the more I think about it.
And if you did go up to Europe say, or the States, or Asia, as we know, the rules can change in a heartbeat.
You could set off from New Zealand under one regime and find yourself locked out or quarantining on the way back, or refused entry to this country or that.
Personally, I'm not up for the hassle.
And just yesterday I was with the dog on the beach for our walk and a swim.
Breathing in the fabulous view and the crystal clear water and thinking, wow, this is such a great place.
How long is it since I last went on a South Island road trip?
Too long.
So good luck and bon voyage if you do decide to go overseas but for me, for now, home is where my heart is.
And my holiday dollars too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chris Hipkins admits there is still work to do convincing parents their children should be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The vaccine roll-out for five to 11-year-olds is set to start next month, pending MedSafe approval.
But new Ministry of Health research shows a third of caregivers are against or unsure about their children under 12 being vaccinated.
The Covid-19 Response Minister told Mike Hosking providing good information should address a lot of that hesitancy.
“I’m a parent myself, I understand, parents are very careful with their kids, for very good reason.”
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It's unclear whether a North Canterbury doctor will open her rooms today, after being caught issuing fake exemptions to the Covid vaccine.
Dr Jonie Girouard who runs a weight loss clinic in Kaiapoi, has been secretly recorded by Newshub saying the Covid-19 vaccine is horrible medicine.
She's issuing medical certificate exemptions to the vaccine, to people who don't fit the exemptions criteria.
Medical Association Chair Alistair Humphrey told Mike Hosking only the Ministry of Health can issue a medical exemption.
“A GP can only make a recommendation to the Ministry that you are exempt from the vaccine, they cannot actually give you an exemption certificate.”
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Covid-19 has irreparably changed travel.
Government website SafeTravel says visiting every country except the Cook Islands will be risky and advises to avoid them.
Dunedin-based Vincent George Travel believes leisure travel will be a while off yet, while repatriation flights dominate.
Travel agent Rosann Connolly George told Tim Dower while there are Covid-19 provisions available in travel insurance, people need to read the small print.
“Nothing will cover a border restriction or a sudden lockdown, or if you are in a country and all of a sudden you are unable to leave.”
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A Dunedin City Councillor has been trespassed from the Council Building.
Lee Vandervis arrived at the building for a council meeting yesterday, but then didn’t produce his vaccine passport.
He was then asked to leave, declined and served a trespass notice.
Lee Vandervis joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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This revelation today that Auckland’s border should’ve come down five days ago is not surprising, but it is astounding.
It’s infuriating.
We’ve now learned that Ashley Bloomfield’s advice to the Government was that the Auckland border should’ve come down as soon as we moved into the Traffic Light System, which as we well know happened on Friday.
He told the Government it was no longer necessary to have the border up, it had “served its purpose” and “there will be no public health justification to maintain a border around Auckland.”
And yet the Government ignored him and they’ve decided to keep the border up until next Wednesday.
Now they will tell you he’s not the only person they're taking advice from, they're taking advice from other quarters.
Reading between the lines, I’m guessing they’re talking about the modellers.
The modellers haven't got a single projection right yet so I wouldn’t be taking advice from them.
Other than that, who’s going to tell them to keep the border up longer?
The economic advisors?
That’s a great idea, keep punishing the economy, keep the border up, I really doubt it.
The only thing you really need to take away from this is that Cabinet’s decisions are no longer logical.
They departed from science a while ago.
We’ve had so many examples of that now.
We have this example of the Auckland border that remains up for another week.
We have the example of Cabinet holding Auckland in Level 4 during this outbreak for about five days longer than they needed to because Ashley said it could go down to Level 3.
We had Cabinet keeping the country in Level 2 for, I think by recollection, three months longer than they needed to.
Again, Bloomfield had told them months earlier they could have taken the country, and I’m talking the South Island, down to Level 1.
And we had Cabinet inexplicably denying Kiwis in Australia the ability to come home before January 17, before Christmas.
Suddenly they're safe on January 17, but on December 15 they're not.
It doesn't make any sense.
I suspect the only way to explain this is that the Prime Minister has backed herself into a corner where she has to take an overly and unnecessarily hard and cautious approach because she cannot make logical decisions anymore because Kiwis cannot handle logical decisions because she freaked them out too badly over Covid.
All those times she said “don’t talk to your neighbour”, “treat everybody like they've got Covid”, “Covid kills”, it’s just freaked to many people out and they're irrational now, so she cannot be rational.
So she’s making decisions that suit her politically, even if it costs businesses up and down this country, even if it keeps family apart, she has to make those political decisions.
And that’s the only explanation for why you would hold a border around Auckland even when your super cautious health guy says you don't need to anymore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Early lab results from a small South African study suggest the Covid Omicron variant may be able to bypass some of the Pfizer vaccine's antibodies.
Researchers studied samples from 12 double-jabbed people and found a 41-fold drop in antibodies’ virus-blocking ability in some.
They say more research is needed to confirm the impact of booster shots.
College of GPs medical director, Bryan Betty told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's really unclear at this point.
“It seems there’s a less antibody reaction to a single dose, but there is still some reaction. We don’t know the effect of a booster or whether a booster’s needed.”
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The Covid Response Minister's defending keeping Auckland's border up.
Previously unreleased health advice reveals Cabinet was advised to lift the region's border when the country moved into the Traffic Light System.
It was contained in the Director-General of Health's affidavit to the Waitangi Tribunal, which is holding a hearing on the new Covid-19 framework.
Cabinet has instead held off on relaxing the border until next Wednesday.
Minister Chris Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan they want to give the rest of New Zealand a chance to hit 90 per cent vaccinations first.
“So that when cases do start to spread out of Auckland, which I think people acknowledge that they will when that boundary is removed, we’re in the best shape possible to not see a big spike in cases.”
Police announced they will maintain checkpoints to ensure travellers into the region are vaccinated or have a Covid-19 test.
Te Tai Tokerau, an iwi working to guard the border, says cops will be stopping every single car.
Hipkins says it's ultimately an operational decision for Police, who will determine the best approach with iwi.
He says he expects it will be similar to checkpoints for drink driving.
“In some cases, they'll stop every car, and in some cases, they'll randomly be stopping cars. Those are decisions the police make all of the time, they're very good at it, they keep the traffic flowing while they’re doing that.”
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How you feeling waking up this morning knowing that the Ministry of Health thought it was a good idea for Auckland boundary restrictions to be lifted and the whole country should have been in orange, bar Auckland and Northland.
Apparently, in the recommendations to the government, there was even a wild and crazy public servant who thought it would be a great idea to start some of the South Island in green, but then, of course, he or she was pulled back into line and reminded of vulnerable Maori and the Delta spread so official health advice was to put the whole country in orange bar Auckland and Northland and to lift the Auckland boundary restrictions.
Now, this is official health advice from a ministry not known for its cavalier hoots wahay, damn the torpedoes, attitude towards public health.
This was that the border, the much-loathed border keeping us from family and friends, should be lifted because there was no reason to have it still there once we move to the traffic light phase. But oh no, no, no, no, no, no Ms all abundance and caution herself put a number of regions in red, not just Auckland and Northland for at least two weeks. No regions in green and the border has to stay around Auckland until December 15.
She has, I suppose, the Prime Minister, being consistent in her cautious approach. She has pinned her colours to the Covid mast and does not want to see a single Covid death on her watch, and it must be really difficult juggling peoples morbid fear of the virus with common sense.
But when the Director-General of Health says there is no public health justification to maintain a boundary around Auckland, once we move to the traffic light system, when the boundary around Auckland has served its purpose as Ashley Bloomfield said, and greatly reducing the risk of the virus escaping Auckland, thus giving the rest of the country the opportunity to vaccinate. Why the hell are vital policemen and women still stuck on the borders? People still stuck in traffic waiting to get through the much-loathed borders and others stuck in the hell of waiting for official permission to cross the border that is not deemed to be necessary by the Director-General of Health to see sick and dying relatives?
And it's not really the end of the boundary even come December 15, because the northern border controls are going to be there. Border controls that iwi want to protect the vulnerable and their communities who haven't had the opportunity to get vaxxed yet. The police don't want to do them, they reckon up to 300 police officers around the country could have their work disrupted and Chris Cahill, the Police Association President, said it's a busy time for police anyway, there'd be far better off in their own districts, policing the higher demands they have at that time of year and all the things you mentioned, you've got the boozy parties over Christmas, you've got the family harm, the mental health, the crime that doesn't take a holiday over Christmas.
Shane Jones says the Government bowed to pressure from what he called self-appointed hapu leaders. He says the need for checkpoints has long gone and that the highway should be the freeway. should never ever have elevated iwi to the point of having enforcement powers at the borders.
Always good for a sound bite, Shane Jones isn't he, always good for a sound bite! So there is the tension in the North as well from those who were saying no stop wait give us time and that would be the Far North DHB chair, who also chairs Ngāti Kuri trust board, He says we just need time to get more of the people who live rurally, who are disengaged, who just need more time to talk to people they trust.
You know, time seriously? Come on now. Come on, Harry.
I understand the need to protect the vulnerable, but Shane’s right. Most of us are vaccinated. The vast majority of us are vaccinated. I mean, you'd have to be a pretty loathsome sort of person to...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shane Jones says Northland iwi have no right to demand covid checkpoints be kept in place over summer.
Police have confirmed they'll be working with local iwi to keep checkpoints in place on State Highway 1 at Uretiti near Waipu, and on State Highway 12 near Maungaturoto.
The Government says iwi have legitimate concerns about protecting vulnerable communities.
But Jones, a Northland-based former MP, told Mike Hosking they don't speak for ordinary Northlanders.
“People in Auckland are up to 90 percent, we desperately need money, creating borders and infusing it with Māori, is just a recipe for dissension but most importantly, it’s a sort of commercial vandal kind of action.”
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It's up to the public to decide if Sandra Goudie should stay or go.
The Thames-Coromandel mayor doesn't want Pfizer's Covid-19 jab and has recently spoken to an Australian anti-vaccination group.
A code of conduct complaint's been made against her, but the district council says the matter has been resolved informally.
Governance New Zealand vice president, Julie Hardaker told Mike Hosking the Local Government Minister could intervene if there were serious issues with the council as a whole, but not just the mayor.
“The role of councillors, they’re elected people, they govern for three years, the public decide who they want and so they continue in those roles until such time that the public decide that they don’t want them.”
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A war of words between Northland's best-known politicians, over the checkpoints being kept in place over summer.
Police have confirmed they'll work with local iwi to keep checkpoints in place on State Highway 1 at Uretiti near Waipu, and on State Highway 12 near Maungaturoto.
Commissioner Andrew Coster says 74 staff will work at the checkpoints each day, equating to about 300 officers over a weekly roster.
Cabinet Minster Kelvin Davis says criticising the iwi organisations involved is racist.
But New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters told Tim Dower, they should be open to criticism.
“People are making demands, and they’ve been making them for quite a long time without any authority in the Māori world, or the European world, or according to our law.”
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The Government has another legal battle on its hands.
Michael Witbrock is taking Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi and MBIE to court over his Chinese husband's Visa application being suspended, one they applied for in November 2019.
The Government has said any applications before the border was shut can now continue to be processed, but not decided on.
Lawyer Pooja Sundar told Mike Hosking the decision to suspend applications was unlawful.
“He failed to consider the international obligations that New Zealand has signed up to, so things like family unity, care of the child, the best interests of the child.”
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A Thames-Coromandel councillor wants to see his mayor ousted due to her Covid-19 vaccine stance.
Sandra Goudie doesn't want to get the Pfizer jab and has recently spoken to an Australian anti-vaccination group.
The council's chief executive will soon decide whether vaccine passes will be required to enter council facilities and offices.
Councillor Gary Gotlieb laid a conduct complaint about Goudie's behaviour which wasn't investigated.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan he doesn't have confidence in the mayor and hopes passes will be mandatory.
“You can’t reason with the lady. She just refuses to back down or refuses to say she’s wrong.”
Goudie has been contacted for comment.
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National's slamming plans for Covid-19 checkpoints in Northland once Auckland's borders open next week Wednesday.
Two checkpoints will be set up south of Whangarei - one on State Highway 1 at Uretiti and one near Maungaturoto on State Highway 12.
Roughly 300 cops will be rotated over several weeks.
Police Spokesperson Mark Mitchell told Heather du Plessis-Allan it leaves other parts of the country vulnerable.
“It’s a lot of police to be taking from around the country where the communities that they've been taken out of are gonna have a reduction in the services provided to them over the summer period to be put on checkpoints that are going to have no efficacy at all.”
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The more cops deployed to monitor Auckland's northern border, the fewer left to deal with crime around the country.
Our newsroom understands about 300 cops will be used to staff border checkpoints, during the surge of domestic travel expected after Auckland's border lifts.
They won't just be from Auckland and Northland, but will be deployed from around the country.
Hamish Piercy, former Deputy Director of Road Policing at Canterbury Police told Mike Hosking it's likely to put extra pressure on already stretched police teams.
“300 officers manning a border is a lot of resources to take off the streets and other duties, it’s not going to be a great position for police officers to be in.”
Police have opted to only do spot checks on people travelling across Auckland's southern border.
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Questions are being asked about why so many midwives are reluctant to get the Covid-19 jab.
About 10 percent of them won't reveal their vaccination status, forcing District Health Boards to hire locums to fill the gaps in the hardest hit areas, such as Thames and Taranaki.
College of Midwives chief executive, Alison Eddy, told Mike Hosking she's not sure why, but says they're not necessarily all full-time, or could be nearing retirement or on maternity leave.
Alison Eddy says the locum pool is just deep enough to pull things together over the Christmas break.
“We have lost midwives though, and that’s the real concern given our, you know, already critically short workforce.”
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I think we're overdue a bit of honesty and openness on what's going on with the Auckland border.
A bit of transparency.
At the moment, we still have a hard border and if you've been through it, you'll have seen it's obviously a police operation.
The actual checking as you go into and out of the contaminated zone could be done by a civilian with a little wand, I've also encountered uniformed soldiers.
But it's clear the police are running things, and taking the opportunity to pull a few cars and trucks over for regular road safety checks.
All very much in the interests of anyone on the roads.
Now, come December 15th, those hard checkpoints on the northern and southern boundaries were meant to be going.
A system based on trust we were told, with random police checks, like those you can expect anytime you're out on the roads.
Now it turns out the police are building up a roster of 300 staff to run checkpoints in Northland.
Grant Robertson trotted out the 'operational decision' line yesterday, but is that true?
If it was true, what was the point of making law so it's OK to have iwi-led road blocks, provided police are there?
How have police calculated they need 300 staff to support random checks? What have they been told about roadblock plans, that we don't know?
Who's really driving this?
Have the Government and police been pushed into maintaining checkpoints by the inference that, hey, if you don't do it, we will.
What's it really going to be like, come December 15th?
Who's really running the show?
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National says continuing to have Police officers on Auckland's northern border is a waste of resources.
It's understood about 300 cops from around the country will be used to monitor border checkpoints after Auckland's border lifts on Wednesday next week.
The Police Association says it's disappointing news.
National Police Spokesman Mark Mitchell told Tim Dower it's a waste of valuable policing resource that is also needed in other places.
“There are highly trained police officers, it takes a lot of money to train them. That’s just placing additional stress and workload on those officers that are there to fill the gap.”
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Belgian police used water cannon and tear gas Sunday to disperse some rowdy protesters in Brussels after most demonstrators marched peacefully to protest tightened COVID-19 restrictions that aim to counter a surge of coronavirus infections.
Thousands came to reject the new measures announced Friday, the third week in a row that the government has tightened its rules as an avalanche of new cases strains the country’s health services, depriving people with other life-threatening diseases of treatment.
Shouting “Freedom! Freedom!” and carrying banners that said, “United for our freedom, rights and our children,” protesters marched to the European Union headquarters. Some also carried signs critical of vaccines and against making vaccine shots mandatory.
The main crowd in Sunday's mostly peaceful march had already dispersed when about a 100 protesters ran into a riot police barricade cordoning off access to the European Commission. After a brief stand-off with police, protesters hurdled trash and other objects, including a bicycle, at police and set off firecrackers and flares. Police used water cannon and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Thousands in Brussels gathered to protest new Covid measures announced Friday as a surge of new cases strains the country’s health services https://t.co/i5kmulHMEx pic.twitter.com/xSR0gYQelM— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) December 5, 2021
On Friday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced that day care centers and primary schools will close for the holiday a week early, and children must now wear masks from the age of 6. Indoor events will only be allowed with a maximum of 200 people.
Previously, the government closed nightclubs, and ordered bars and restaurants to shut at 11 p.m. for three weeks. Speculation had been rife that closing times would be brought forward to 8 p.m. but the cabinet decided against it.
According to the latest coronavirus figures, the EU nation of 11 million appears to have reached a plateau.
On a weekly average, 17,862 new daily cases were reported in Belgium, a rise of 6% over the previous week. Hospital admissions rose 4%. More than 3,700 people are hospitalized with the virus, 821 of them in intensive care. More than 27,000 people with the virus have died in Belgium since the outbreak began last year.
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Disappointment police officers still have to man Auckland's northern border over summer.
It's understood about 300 cops will be redeployed from around New Zealand once Tamaki Makaurau's border lifts on Wednesday next week.
Police Association President Chris Cahill told Heather du Plessis-Allan it doesn't make sense.
“It just doesn't seem a great use of police resources. Police have been manning those checkpoints in Auckland since August. They were told they were going to be shutting down on the 15th of December.”
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The agonising wait for the Queensland border to reopen is finally over, with the state’s premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing the hard border will come down at 1am December 13.
Ms Palaszczuk declared during a press conference at 2pm local time that Australians will be able to enter the Sunshine State well before Christmas, but there will be several requirements upon entry.
“Fully vaccinated travellers from interstate hot spots can arrive by road or air,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“You must have a negative COVID test in the previous 72 hours. No quarantine is required if you are fully vaccinated. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must arrive by air only and hotel quarantine for 14 days.”
The welcome announcement comes more than a month after the state’s government previously projected a reopening of December 17.
The revised reopening comes as Queensland inches towards its goal of 80 per cent double dose vaccination.
Currently, more than 78 per cent of Queenslanders have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus with the state expected to tick over to 79 per cent double dose later today.
Ms Palaszczuk also announced that the timeframe for when someone is considered “fully vaccinated” had also been revised from December 13.
“You will no longer have to wait the two weeks after your second dose to be considered fully vaccinated,” the premier explained.
“The national guidelines say one week is enough.”
Ms Palaszczuk said that all arrivals from “domestic hot spots” — regardless of vaccination status — must get another Covid-19 test on Day 5 once in Queensland.
“There’ll be penalties applying if you don’t do that,” the premier said.
It’s good news for communities living on the NSW/Queensland border, with vaccinated border-zone residents able to move freely across the border for any reason from Monday.
“You will need a border pass, and the border pass will run for 14 days,” she explained.
“But you will not need a test. We know that it has been extremely difficult for our border communities, and we’re hoping to provide some greater flexibility and freedom of movement for those communities.”
Ms Palaszczuk unveiled the state’s roadmap to freedom back in October with health authorities estimating at the time that Queensland would hit 80 per cent double dose by mid-December.
Under the plan, when Queensland hits 80 per cent double dose, fully vaccinated Australians will be free to drive or fly into the state.
They will be required to apply for a Queensland entry pass and have proof they’ve tested negative to Covid, via a PCR test, within 72 hours of their entry to the state.
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision on opening up early was “ultimately” with the premier.
“The Doherty Institute scientific analysis that was done showed clearly once you get past 80 per cent, it is a game changer,” he said.
“We have seen that in New South Wales, in Victoria and in the ACT. These states are living confidently with the virus and that is why we can come together this Christmas because of the great work that Australians have done.”
Currently, under the 70 per cent double dose rules, interstate travellers from hotspots are able to fly into Queensland, provided they’ve returned a negative PCR test within 72 hours and they go into home quarantine for 14 days.
Greater Adelaide was added to Queensland’s hotspot list on Saturday after a high school reunion last week became the source of a cluster of Delta cases.
From 1.00am AEST Sun 05 Dec 2021:❌ Greater Adelaide will be declared a hotspot.Anyone who has been in the area since 1am on 28 November, arriving into QLD after 1am tomorrow, will be required to go into 14 days mandatory quarantine.Find out more:https://t.co/rhly3MLQDa pic.twitter.com/6be3wsqdKy— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) December 4, 2021
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Thousands of school students have chosen to skip their end of year exams this year.
Reports of as few as 15 per cent of students are turning up and taking the unexpected event grade they've been given.
Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he didn’t want students to turn up for exams as he thought exams in lockdown was a bridge too far with the Auckland lockdowns and wanted to do the work in advance.
"The sort of compromise to that was the unexpected event grade area was declared in Auckland and so students can get the grades that they want in advance with the work that they've done in class and the buildup, the flurry of activity that happened when schools were able to open, and then that takes away the pressure of cramming kids into a hall for a few hours."
Auckland Grammar School Headmaster Tim O'Connor says the unexpected events grade should be used as a fallback option and not a starting point.
"Why would we say take a UEG when you can actually go into an examination, actually test yourself and measure yourself about what you know so that you can be better and if necessary, fall back on the UEG grade."
O'Connor also reports a 95 plus per cent attendance for exams at Auckland Grammar.
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So how is this vaccine mandate thing going to unfold?
My experiences so far are varied. I had walking to the door, scanning the QR code, walking in getting my temperature taken, scanning my vax pass, and then putting on a surgical mask. I've also had to walking in the door, seeing no masks, no scanning, to no vax pass scanning or QR coding. There's also a couple of examples somewhere in between.
Then we get to the places that are welcoming unvaccinated people, the council facilities that don’t have scanning, and the developing debate over whether people who have paid for facilities through rates but are unvaccinated can realistically be banned from a facility.
Then we get to the developing stories around court and employment cases where, if no final decisions have been made, interim ones have been whereby procedure or process wasn’t followed properly.
Then we get the absurdity and growing upset from business owners who are having to pay their staff four weeks wages for not being vaccinated and on the verge of being sacked.
I think we can conclude at best, it's inconsistent, and worst, a mess.
While this persists, and there is no reason to believe it won't, there will come a point of collapse or implosion. New South Wales has actually organised it. At 95 percent vaccinated, all restrictions are off and the unvaccinated can do whatever they like.
We will end up doing the same thing. It is abundantly clear Māori are not going to be 90 percent jabbed in many parts of the country. That particular absurdity cannot be allowed to continue forever because there are places like Taupō who need visitors to survive.
Of course, we may well be revisiting all of this by winter if Europe is anything to go by. But as much as the Government might have thought that they could engineer this thing in a way that would work, what I am discovering is that the rollout of the myriad of rules is not militaristic or anything close to it.
And part of it is the resentment that has built up over two years. Rightly or wrongly whereby those expected to follow yet more rules are over it and have simply decided to get on with life.
It's the theory vs reality weakness this Government suffers so badly from. Life is not sorted on a white board and real life in the traffic light system is proof of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It might cost a bit more for a wine or a beer in the traffic light system.
Aucklanders were able to head back to bars and restaurants over the weekend in the red setting.
The whole of the South Island is in Orange, along with Wellington and several other parts of the North Island.
Wellington's Panhead Bar owner Matt McLaughlin told Mike Hosking prices have gone up a little bit.
He says Covid is playing a role, but it's reflective of prices going up across the board.
“For us, petrol is up, groceries are up we’ve got to adjust as well to keep our businesses viable.”
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There's hope -- but still no conclusive evidence -- that the new Omicron variant is more mild than other strains of Covid-19.
More cases are continuing to be recorded across Africa, Europe and North America -- including cases in 15 US states and a sharp rise in cases in Denmark.
The UK is re-introducing pre-departure testing for incoming travellers to contain the variant's spread.
Nigel French, the co-director of the One Health Aotearoa infectious diseases research centre, told Mike Hosking it's still too early to know the seriousness of the strain.
“We’re still lacking a lot of information outside of South Africa of course, and until we know more about the populations that it’s spreading in, it’s difficult to say whether it will be mild.”
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Auckland businesses are still missing out on a chunk of revenue - they're open, but stuck on the red.
The traffic light system has seen bars, cafes and restaurants open across the city for the first time in months.
People are required to use their vaccine passes for these places.
Hospitality New Zealand Auckland President Jamie Freeman told Tim Dower bars have to wrap things up around 11pm rather than three or four AM.
“We really need get back to orange or green. As I said before, that late night piece is such a large part of our revenue, being at orange we’re trading at low 40 percent.”
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Andrew Dickens and Brodie Kane joined Francesca Rudkin on the Sunday Panel.
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Rhythm and Vines organisers have announced they will be postponing the New Years event until the Easter weekend and Steve Newall, editor of flicks.co.nz joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss whether it is a good move or destined for disaster.
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After one hundred and seven days in lockdown, Auckland finally moved into the traffic light system on Friday.
Suddenly my life as an Uber driver kicked into high gear again, as my daughter was allowed back into her dance school – so nice not to have to rearrange the furniture anymore for zoom lessons – and end of school term celebrations with mates took place. It was great to see the kids hanging with their friends – a good way to end what has been a pretty … what’s the word, a pretty crap year.
As I drove around town, it was fabulous to see Auckland alive again – restaurants and pubs packed with people outside, clearly excited to be reconnecting, and businesses hugely relieved to be on the long road of recovery.
Friday I snuck off to the movies. The cinema offers the perfect retreat from sticky hot summery weather, and the big screen was just heaven.
There are always pros and cons of entering and leaving lockdowns – basically a simpler life versus a busier one – but it’s good to be busy and it’s good to be back.
While my whole family was out making the most of the traffic light system, my partner was stuck at home, continuing his week long quest to get a vaccine pass.
If you take our exceptionally small household sample, the My Vaccine Passport has a 75% success rate. Accessing my and the kid’s vax passports was a breeze. But when something goes wrong – like with my partner who has had three jabs and not one of them is recorded in the system by the Ministry of Health - it goes well and truly wrong.
Forms have been filled in, vaccine cards photographed as proof, phone calls have been made, a case has been actioned, a pharmacy and GP consulted, and yet. Nothing.
On Thursday evening we were thrilled to read the Ministry of Health’s group manager for national digital services, Michael Dreyer announce that the 70,000 or so people who need assistance with their vaccine passes would be emailed a temporary exemption that is valid until 11.59pm on December 14.
What Mr Dreyer might not have known, was that at pretty much the same time as I was reading that article, in which he stated they wouldn’t be able to get all issues resolved by the next day, Friday, Tim received an email from the MOH worker dealing with his situation telling him that due to the increasing backlog of cases being worked through, turnaround time may be around 4 weeks to resolve his issue.
So, no. The Ministry weren’t going to get this mistake corrected by Friday. Or possibly by the 15th December, or perhaps even by Christmas day.
Let me be clear – I have no issue whatsoever with those working the phones, those on the front line - whether it is the Health line, the Vax line. Every time I have had contact with the call centres people have been amazing.
But clearly, like we have seen with contact tracing and the Covid welfare line, there just aren’t enough of them. The service seems to be working out the kinks as it goes, dealing with the quirks of a system which once again feels as if it has been designed as a response, not a gold case standard. As one tech expert said about the My Vaccine Pass system – you get what you plan for.
Pushing go on developing the technology that underpins the pass app in October was clearly too late – I’m sure planning the vaccine pass system had been on someone’s list of things to do for a long time, but once again, there seems a lack of urgency to get things underway within this Government. The frustrating thing is we will probably never know the machinations that go on behind the scenes.
70,000 out of almost three million people applying for passes have issues might not sound like a big number if you turn it into a percentage, but when you think about solving 70,000 individual issues, well that’s a bit of work.
As a nation we’ve been understanding that dealing with a pandemic has been a brand new experience, and that aspects of it...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
107 days.
Maybe it’s Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe I’ve found a few more freedoms but lost my mind. I dunno. I never thought I would say this, but there actually a few things I’m going to miss about lockdown life.
I only considered it last weekend, on what it transpired was my last lockdown picnic. Saturday was a glorious, warm summer night in Auckland. A whisper of a cool evening breeze. It was the sort of temperature where it’s so perfect you don’t think about the temperature. It doesn’t cross your mind.
The park was chocka’. Everywhere, families and groups of mates had laid out their picnic mats to lounge and laugh and graze and sip wine in the fading light. The grass was soft. Kids were playing. Birds were squabbling in the twilight. It was bliss.
‘Why don’t we always do this?’ asked my mate.
I reckon. Picnics were one of the few great pleasures of lockdown. I know it wasn’t just me. Every evening I passed the park, it was close to standing room only. It actually reminded me of the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park. In a city where most people live in tiny apartments, it’s normal to organise an outdoor picnic with your mates. As we learnt in Auckland this year, people will use good public spaces.
I’m gonna miss riding my bike in lockdown. What a joy to race around the city with only half the usual traffic. Only half the usual reasons to be scared for your life. Apparently global bike sales have gone bananas during the pandemic. I looked at buying a bike from the U.K until I realised that because of demand, I’d be waiting almost a year for it to arrive. As I discovered in lockdown, there are a few simpler ways to deal with the stresses of the pandemic than by heading outside for a quick blat up Auckland’s volcanoes, the elements on your face.
What else will I miss about lockdown? I’ll miss the flexibility of working in my pyjamas. I’ll miss having an easy excuse not to hit the gym. I’ll miss feeling a tiny bit excited about a trip to the supermarket... Countdown?! Oh, what a treat!
The thing I hope I can sustain from lockdown is the way in which the restrictions make you reckon with the things that are important in life, but which we sometimes take for granted. Friends. Family. Job security. The local cafe that makes our neighbourhood just so. To slot back into pre-lockdown life, exactly as we were, would be a shame.
Yep, I’ll miss elements of lockdown, but I certainly won’t miss lockdown.
107 days. Good riddance to that.
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Unvaccinated people across Germany will soon be excluded from nonessential stores, restaurants and sports and cultural venues, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate as part of efforts to curb coronavirus infections.
Merkel announced the measures after a meeting with federal and state leaders, as the nation again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. She said the steps were necessary to address concerns that hospitals could become overloaded with patients suffering from COVID-19 infections, which are much more likely to be serious in people who have not been vaccinated.
“The situation in our country is serious,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measures an “act of national solidarity.”
She said officials also agreed on a nationwide requirement to wear masks, new limits on private meetings and a goal of 30 million vaccinations by the end of the year — an effort that will be boosted by allowing dentists and pharmacists to administer the shots.
Merkel said authorities plan to require staff in hospitals and nursing homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and she backed the even more contentious idea of imposing a general vaccine mandate. She said parliament would debate the proposal with input from the country's national ethics committee. The mandate could take effect as early as February.
“In light of this situation, I really think it's necessary to pass such a mandate,” Merkel said, adding that she would have voted for it if she were still a lawmaker.
Just months ago, Merkel suggested that a vaccine mandate would not be effective, but she did not rule out the possibility.
About 68.7% of the population in Germany is fully vaccinated, far below the government's minimum goal of 75%.
Austria, which recently imposed even stricter measures on unvaccinated people as part of a 20-day lockdown, also plans to have a vaccine mandate by February.
In Germany, unvaccinated people will still be able to meet in private settings, but only in very limited numbers. A household with an unvaccinated person over 14 can meet with only two people from another household; the limit does not apply when everyone is vaccinated.
There have been large protests against pandemic measures in the past in Germany, and the proposed vaccine mandate is likely to be opposed by some, though opinion polls show most Germans are in favor.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is expected to be elected chancellor by a center-left coalition next week, has also backed a general vaccine mandate, but he favors letting lawmakers vote on the issue according to their personal conscience rather than party lines.
“If we had a higher vaccination rate, we wouldn’t be discussing this now,” he said.
The rise in COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks and the arrival of the new omicron variant have prompted warnings from scientists and doctors that the country's medical services could become overstretched in the coming weeks unless drastic action is taken. Some hospitals in the south and east of the country have already transferred patients to other parts of Germany because of a shortage of intensive care beds.
Germany’s disease control agency reported 73,209 newly confirmed cases Thursday. The Robert Koch Institute also reported 388 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 102,178.
The discussion over new measures has been complicated by Germany's political structure, which leaves the 16 states responsible for many regulations, and the ongoing transition between the old and new governments at the federal level.
Scholz, whose Social Democrats narrowly beat Merkel's center-right Union bloc in September, defended the latest steps as a political compromise.
“We are reacting to the current situation with very far-reaching, very drastic but precise measures,” he told...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Japan says it has retracted a ban on new incoming international flight bookings to defend against the new variant of the coronavirus only a day after the policy was announced, following criticisms that it was an overreaction.
The transport ministry on Wednesday issued a request to international airlines to stop taking new reservations for flights coming into Japan until the end of December as an emergency precaution to defend against the new omicron variant.
The ministry said Thursday it has retracted the request after receiving criticisms that the ban was too strict and tantamount to abandoning its own people.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the quick reversal of the policy took into consideration Japanese nationals' traveling needs. Kishida has been pushing to take strong precautionary measures after his predecessor Yoshihide Suga virtually lost his leadership position amid public criticism that his virus measures were too limited and too slow.
“I have instructed the transport ministry to fully pay attention to the needs of Japanese citizens to return home,” Kishida said.
The request had aimed to reduce Japan's daily international arrivals to 3,500 from an earlier level of 5,000 to tighten border controls as the new variant spread around the world, officials said.
“The request, issued as an emergency precaution, triggered confusion,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Thursday. He said the transport ministry has retracted the request for a uniformed stoppage on new bookings.
But a limit remains in place because the daily cap of 3,500 arrivals is being maintained. New bookings can be made as long as there is room under this cap, said transport ministry official Hitoshi Inoue.
Japan has already banned entry of foreign nationals from around the world, except for spouses of Japanese nationals, those with permanent residency permits and others subject to special considerations.
Japan has reported two cases of the omicron variant, which was first reported in South Africa last week.
Japan had been easing social and economic restrictions after infections rapidly slowed since September.
The booking ban request was a disappointment for many people who were planning trips during the holiday season, including Japanese citizens living overseas hoping to return home for the New Year period.
Many on social media criticized the measure as too strict, and one user compared it to Japan’s feudal-era national isolation policy.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it makes people more seriously ill, and whether it can thwart the vaccine.
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A Northland businessman says the region's seeing booking cancellations due to checkpoints.
Police will keep Northland's borders in place with iwi support when Auckland's border opens.
In November the Government changed Covid laws to grant iwi organisations power to close roads and public places to stop vehicles.
Northland businessman Grant Harnish told Heather du Plessis Allan the law change is frustrating.
“It doesn't matter whether you’re in Auckland or anywhere between there and Invercargill, everybody is welcome in the north. You comply with the requirements, we want to see you up here.”
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Iwi will be able to stop cars travelling into Northland.
The Government changed Covid laws on November 20 to grant iwi organisations power to close roads and public places to stop vehicles.
Police will be maintaining checkpoints for cars travelling into Northland after Auckland's border reopens on December 15.
Act Party leader David Seymour told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a shady part of rushed lawmaking that's become almost normal.
“Democracy allows for people to scrutinise what the laws are. And that’s why in the long term, people actually follow the law because they think it’s been made in their name with their permission, so that is a big problem.”
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Pints are pouring and cocktails are being sipped on Auckland's waterfront.
Hospitality businesses dusted off tables and opened their doors this morning after 107 days in lockdown.
Venues have a 100 person cap under the Red Traffic Light Setting and patrons have to show their My Vaccine Pass.
HeadQuarters bar owner Leo Molloy told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a vibe on the Viaduct.
“Oh, you’d not believe how good it is out there. You just would not believe it. In your wildest expectations, there’s gotta be about 3, 4, 500 people here.”
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The Government passed a law on November 20 giving iwi organisations in Northland the right to stop vehicles travelling to the region.
The checkpoints will be under police supervision when the Auckland border opens on December 15.
New National leader Christopher Luxon has been up in Auckland visiting restaurants on the Auckland Viaduct.
He questioned why Auckland was in the Red setting on the first day of the Traffic Light System despite Auckland having the highest vaccination rates in the country.
Elsewhere, a new Roy Morgan poll has rated a National-Act-Maori coalition at 47 per cent, ahead of a Labour-Green coalition at 46.5 per cent.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Did it take anyone else by surprise to hear the Police Commissioner reveal the Government’s made it legal for iwi up north to stop your car?
Yeah, me too.
So I checked it out.
Turns out, they did change the law.
Two weeks ago, on November 20 — a Saturday — they inserted a new bit into the Covid-19 Health Response Act granting the power to “close roads and public places and stop vehicles” to members of iwi organisations.
It’s there in black and white.
This means you don’t have a choice anymore to ignore what you might consider a vigilante roadblock.
If you pull up to one of those iwi checkpoints up north, or anywhere really and Constable Hone Harawira pulls you over, leans in your window and demands to check your vaccination status, you don’t get to choose whether you comply or not.
You have to because it’s the law now.
The Government will spin this by telling you it’s still technically a police checkpoint because there must be a police officer there.
But I’m sorry, having an officer in your window asking you for your test results is very different to having Constable Harawira making demands while a single copper sits next to their trailer 20 metres away playing on their cellphone.
What I find particularly objectionable about this is that we’ve been talking about this for days and asking the Government for clarity on what’s going to happen and at no point did anyone in Government tell us they’d changed this law.
Not when the Prime Minister was asked on Tuesday.
And not when Chris Hipkins was asked on Wednesday.
And not in any other interview since last Saturday when this topic came up.
If you don’t volunteer it and it’s relevant you’re hiding it.
So much for the most transparent government, huh?
This is shady as all hell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.
The National Party.
7/10.
"No contested vote and a good start for a new team.
They end the week in better shape than they began it."
Christopher Luxon.
7/10.
"Said the right stuff and said it well.
Big job ahead, but if first impressions count, you'd be churlish to write him off."
Omicron.
3/10.
"No variant is good news.
Although if one variant could be good news as far as variants go, this might be the one."
Markets Reaction to Omicron.
4/10.
"On news of the variant they tank 900 points, the next day they're up, then they drop again when a case is found in the US, as though finding a virus in all of America was a surprise.
You'd like to think something more fundamental apart from madness drove markets."
Pronouncing Omicron.
2/10.
"The reason they called it Omicron is because they didn’t want to upset China by calling is Xi and they didn’t think we could handle Nu.
And yet Omicron has been so simple, hasn’t it?"
The Traffic Light System.
7/10.
"Because they are better than levels, unless you're not vaccinated."
Places like the Tarras Country Cafe.
3/10.
"They're closed because the owners and most of the staff aren't vaccinated.
So, one less business and unemployed people, you think that solves anything?"
Hiring Cabinet Ministers from Outside a Political Party.
8/10.
"Idea of the week, although not original.
The professors espousing it this week for this country are onto something.”
Bathurst.
9/10.
"A weekend's worth of petrol, speed, and New Zealand driving talent.
They don’t call it the great race for nothing."
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After months of being takeaway-only, Auckland cafes are finally reopening to dine-in customers.
Nigel Cottle, the manager of Morningside's Crave Cafe, told Mike Hosking he hopes things will get a little bit more normal.
“We are super pumped to be a place that people can connect together again.”
He said the new rules are likely to create a bit of controversy.
Cottle said the need to show proof of vaccination will make some people angry and confused, but will give others peace of mind.
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The new traffic light system puts more responsibilities on businesses to enforce vaccine mandates and rules around proof of vaccine passes.
Employsure Employment Relations Specialist Maddie McKenzie told Kate Hawkesby the feedback is mixed.
"Employers are concerned they're losing some of their best employees because of the vaccine mandates."
She said, even where vaccine mandates stand for certain industries, employers must still follow a fair and reasonable consultation process for those not wanting to get vaccinated.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A funding boost for intensive care facilities is being seen as a start.
The Government's earmarked 100 million dollars from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to accelerate ICU projects and another 544 million for operational funding, for costs like staffing.
Waitakere Hospital will also get 65 million dollars for a new intensive care unit, two negative pressure rooms and a ward.
Australia New Zealand Intensive Care Society spokesman, Andrew Stapleton, told Mike Hosking it's big news and is something the organisation's been campaigning for.
“We have been behind, internationally, for a long time and we’re pleased we’re now moving in the right direction.”
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On the dawn on the new Traffic Light System, comes new freedoms, especially for Aucklanders, who have been in lockdown for 107 days.
Waiheke island has been off-limits for visitors during lockdown, with non-residents banned.
But this morning, they're welcoming people back with open arms.
Waiheke local board chairperson Cath Handley told Kate Hawkesby they're ready for it.
"To have the island nice and quiet has been absolutely lovely but, the businesses definitely need it."
She said they're expecting a lot of people this weekend.
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Police are defending their decision to work alongside Northland iwi to maintain border checkpoints over summer.
They've announced they will keep Northland's checkpoints in place, with support from iwi, after Auckland's border reopens on December 15.
Travellers will need to be fully vaccinated with a Covid Pass, or provide proof of a negative Covid test.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster old Mike Hosking it's better to maintain legal checkpoints, than have iwi groups operate their own illegal checkpoints instead.
“Sitting alongside iwi, I’m confident we can avoid illegal activity, which could have realistically turned State Highway One into a carpark. This is about avoiding unlawfullness.”
The southern border into Waikato will be monitored with Police spot checks.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Has James Shaw just decided he doesn’t give a flying fig what voters of think of him anymore?
It turns out James hasn’t gone into MIQ after coming back from his trip to the climate conference in Glasgow. He got permission to isolate at home.
This is a surprise because the Prime Minister poured cold water on that idea when she was asked about it.
"I don't think it's likely at this stage," she said in September.
The fact that she deliberately played it down and then no one said anything about the change in plans until the Nats dug it up means James and Jacinda can be accused of trying to hide this.
And they would have good reason to do that, because it looks bad.
Logic tells you all kiwis stuck offshore should be allowed to do this too. They should also be allowed to come home in time for Christmas and should be allowed to do that by isolating at home if they’re double jabbed.
But not all kiwis can get government favours, can they?
So, it’s special treatment for James.
First, he gets a special exemption to go into MIQ which tens of thousands of expat kiwis are scrapping for.
And then when that’s really too inconvenient, he gets a special exemption to instead hang out at home presumably with his family.
The Greens really should be re-asking themselves whether James is the right guy to be their leader because his political judgement has been off a number of times lately.
Remember the $12m he hooked up for the green school just before the last election?
Then there was taking MIQ spots from desperate kiwis offshore.
Now they’re skipping MIQ altogether.
How do you think expats are going to react to that?
Often the expat kiwis vote so heavily for the greens it can end up giving the greens another seat after election day.
Do you those voters overseas are going to like James for having the privilege of cruising straight back home while they’re banned from doing the same until mid-January?
I wouldn't’ think so.
So you have to wonder, what is wrong with James Shaw lately?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This business of trying to guilt Aucklanders and other visitors into staying away from Northland or other low vaccinated regions this summer is absolute nonsense.
Yesterday, we heard that the iwi chairs up north and the Northland DHB chief executives wrote to the PM and Health Minister Andrew Little pleading with the government to back track on plans to let un-jabbed but tested visitors up north and saying they have "grave concerns" about the spread of covid in their regions.
What I find remarkable is that commentators and various other hand-wringers are taking this seriously instead of just shooting it down for the nonsense it is.
Of course, you can and should go on holiday wherever you want this summer.
Everyone has had long enough to get jabbed. This Covid outbreak has been in New Zealand for three and a half months.
You cannot seriously tell me people still don’t know that they need the jab if they want to avoid serious illness.
Now these guys up north are objecting particularly to the un-jabbed going on holiday.
Frankly, the un-jabbed could well be safer than the jabbed because they have to get a test to confirm they don’t have Covid.
We know even jabbed people can carry it and spread it
But we need to get real. Covid is not the only problem these regions face. You overlay a map of low jabbed regions in New Zealand with a map of low employment areas in New Zealand and you’ll find they often match.
So, if you choose to stay away from these places you are denying locals the chance to save their struggling businesses.
They’ve already done last summer without international tourists. Now you’re asking them to do this summer without even domestic tourists to protect people who don’t want the jab.
Come on. That’s not fair.
It’s not even reasonable.
Heads up. If someone by know still isn't’ jabbed, that’s their choice. Treat them like adults and stop trying to protect them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Northland Iwi says it's been left in the dark on plans for the region's Covid-19 border.
Police have confirmed they will maintain checkpoints for cars crossing into Northland, after Auckland's border opens on December 15.
Travellers will need to ensure they have a Covid Pass or proof of a negative test result if they want to get through.
Police say they are working closely with Iwi around these plans - and have made this decision with Iwi support.
But Ngati Whatua Chief Operations Officer Antony Thompson told Heather du Plessis-Allan they don't know what the plans are.
He said their main interactions are with Waitemata and Northland Policing Districts at an operation level.
Thompson said at a higher level, they've only ever had one conversation and it was short lived
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Upper Hutt Council-run facilities won't require vaccine passes and the Mayor is standing by that decision.
Wellington, Porirua and Hutt City councils are mandating passes in all their facilities.
The Upper Hutt and Bay of Plenty councils aren't.
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy says not mandating passes lets the facilities serve their true purpose.
He said public spaces need to be accessible to everyone.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Zealanders are being urged to think carefully about where they go this summer, even if they're double-jabbed.
Domestic travel is expected to pick up, once Aucklanders who're fully jabbed or have tested negative, are allowed to leave the region from December 15.
Rural GP Network Chief Executive Grant Davidson says the populations of some areas will increase by up to one-thousand percent.
He told Mike Hosking some of those areas won't have the health systems to cope with a large outbreak.
“This isn’t the only Christmas in the world, plan it carefully. Go to those areas that are not red zones in terms of remote rural. If you are sick, don’t go. If you get sick, go home.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Understanding for why schools are likely to be venues for Covid-19 vaccinations for 5 to 11-year-olds.
The Government's hoping to roll out the inoculation programme for that age group by the end of next month.
Ormiston Primary School principal, Heath McNeil, told Mike Hosking schools have always been part of the public health response, including hearing and vision testing.
And he says the vaccines will give schools the freedom to provide the best education for their communities' children again.
“Because it’s been limited over the last two years, so the more we can do to free up how we deliver education again is going to be great for our community and their children.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You can't hide from simple statistics, because they are the truth and the reality.
And this week's stats show there are fewer businesses opening in this country than closing.
That's not just bad news, it's an indictment on the economic governance of this country.
Yes, it's a pandemic, but the narrative is this country is doing well economically. It isn't doing well economically.
It's doing well in some parts. If you're a real estate agent, you've done well, or you should have. If you are a bank, you have done well as people have borrowed up a storm. If you have an online presence and sell homeware, life has been good.
But for the owners of 64,809 operations, life has provided an environment so poor you’ve closed the doors for good. It's important to remember that lots of businesses close every year. That’s the nature of start-ups, lots of them never get going. But in general terms, you will find more that open than close, and that is how you get growth.
We are a nation of small business. Most businesses in this country, the vast majority, employ only a handful of people. It is the New Zealand dream to start your own business, to be your own operator, and to chart your own course.
By the way, the critical detail in these new stats is that they are only up until February this year. The damage of the past four months is not included, and we can only imagine what the numbers will be when that detail fills out the whole picture.
What makes it so egregious is the Government's line over economic wellbeing. The Prime Minister rolled it out on Monday during the light system announcement. She always drops in something about our economic strength and success, and she is never challenged. She should be, because it simply isn't true.
The Reserve Bank thinks in the third quarter our GDP crashed seven percent. We went backwards. And the quarter we are now in, as we open up, will bounce but not enough to recover that damage. So, there is no growth. There is less than no growth.
And now we know for the first time in years, there are more closures than openings. For every one of those closures there is a story, some heartbreak, and some shattered dreams.
The ever-vanishing New Zealand economy is propped up by printed money, that's no plan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield says holiday hotspots are prepared for the pending surge of visitors over the summer break.
Domestic travel is expected to pick up significantly, once Aucklanders - who're fully jabbed or have tested negative - are allowed to leave the region from December 15.
Rural doctors and iwi groups have told Newstalk ZB some areas won't be able to cope with a summer Covid outbreak.
But the Director-General of Health told Mike Hosking all district health boards have prepared for the influx, like they do every summer.
“New Zealanders do travel out to the regions every year in summer, we did it last summer. We’ve been working with all the DHBs and indeed, I’ve spoken with the rural hospitals and rural doctors' network about what support they might need.”
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A Government support package which aims to revitalise Auckland by issuing families vouchers for local attractions and events has been panned by the hospitality sector, which says it's been "left to die".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that Aucklanders will be offered 100,000 vouchers this summer for a range of activities in a bid to "reactivate" the city as it shakes off the shackles of nearly four months in lockdown.
But restaurant, bars and businesses in the hospitality industry will not be included in the scheme.
MP for Auckand Central Chlöe Swarbrick joined Kate Hawkesby.
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The combined Government and Auckland Council voucher and discount programme is being described as nice idea, but not enough.
The $37.5 million fund includes 100-thousand vouchers for Aucklanders this summer, in a bid to reactivate the city
They can be used for a range of attractions and public facilities - but nothing for hospitality.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck told Mike Hosking the intention is good, but it's not going to touch the sides of what is needed.
“People are really worried, we’re in red, people are asking why we are in red. There is absolutely no certainty how long red’s going to last or how we’ll get out of it.”
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A warning to not put schools in the middle of the Covid-19 vaccine debate.
The Government's hoping to start rolling out the inoculation programme for five to 11-year-olds by the end of next month.
Principals' Federation president Perry Rush says most of the 14 principals on his executive support it, but some people in communities are concerned.
He says told Kate Hawkesby we shouldn't create conflict in schools.
“That’s really important, it certainly makes sense to use them as a venue, but there needs to be some careful discussion in local communities so that boards can take the temperature of their community and then make decisions accordingly.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Scott Morrison has raised hopes that a pause to the reopening of international borders could end earlier than expected as he urged the states not to be “spooked” into lockdowns.
The Prime Minister has told business leaders it’s possible the delay to the December 1 reopening of international borders as a result of the new variant Omicron could be resolved in under a fortnight.
The Morrison Government announced this week the planned December 1 reopening for vaccinated Australians returning from overseas without a travel exemption would be delayed.
Until now, Australians returning home could travel only if they sought a travel exemption.
A valid passport was no guarantee of being able to fly home. It’s a policy that left thousands stranded overseas.
“We’ve just pushed it back from the first of December until the 15th of December,” the Prime Minister said.
“It’s a temporary pause, and this is just simply to ensure we can gather information to better understand the Omicron variant, including the efficacy of vaccines and the range of illness which we can expect and the level of transmission.”
But the Prime Minister has told business leaders in a virtual address to the Australian Industry Group that he is hopeful that the reopening plan could be back on track swiftly.
“Now, my expectation is that in a fortnight’s time, perhaps sooner, but I would think in a fortnight’s time, we’ll be able to press on,” the Prime Minister said.
“But there is very much a no regrets policy, and ensuring we just move carefully so we, the whole point here is to ensure that we can remain safely open, and we don’t want to prejudice anything that might compromise that objective.
“The goal here is not no cases and low cases, the goal here is ensuring that our hospital system is able to cope with the pressure.”
Overnight, the Prime Minister emerged from a meeting of national cabinet where he urged state governments not to resort to lockdowns again now that the nation was close to fully vaccinated.
“We’re not going back to lockdowns, none of us want that,” he said.
“What we did last night was protecting against that by having a sensible pause.”
“We need to make calm decisions, not get spooked by this.”
Vaccinated international arrivals will need to quarantine for 72 hours after they arrive in Australia in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
However, people who have been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini or Malawi will be required to enter hotel quarantine for 14 days.
“We do know it’s transmissible. We don’t know still about the vaccine effectiveness. We don’t know about severity,” chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said.
“This is a temporary pause so we can get that information that we need.”
- by Samantha Maiden, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Global stocks and oil prices fell again Tuesday after a brief respite from the heavy sell-off triggered by the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Stocks in Asia Pacific and Europe slid, while Wall Street opened weaker. Oil prices fell about 3% as more countries reported cases of the variant and imposed new travel restrictions. The mood was also dampened by a warning from Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel that current vaccines will struggle with Omicron.
"There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level . . . we had with [the] Delta [variant]," Bancel said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Tuesday. "I think it's going to be a material drop. I just don't know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I've talked to ... are like, 'This is not going to be good'."
South Korea's Kospi led losses in Asia, falling 2.4%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.6%. The Shanghai Composite was flat. China's economy got some good news Tuesday as its big factories showed signs of a recovery.
European indexes opened about 1% lower before trimming those losses a little during the session.
There is still a lot that's unknown about the Omicron variant, but scientists are racing to determine its severity, transmissibility and whether it evades current vaccines.
Moderna's Bancel said in a statement last week that the mutations in the Omicron variant were "concerning," adding that the company has been "moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant."
The world has settled into a "choppy holding pattern, for clarity about just [how] worried, or not, we should be about the new Covid-19 Omicron variant," wrote Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda, in a Tuesday research note.
He pointed out that stocks fell in South Korea after the government there shelved plans to ease its Covid-19 restrictions, "highlighting once again, what is really driving markets right now."
Japan on Tuesday, meanwhile, confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant.
US stocks made a comeback on Monday after an Omicron-spurred selloff late last week. But they opened lower Tuesday, and then extended losses after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed could wind down its stimulus sooner than expected.
"At this point the economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high and it is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases ... perhaps a few months sooner," Powell testified before the Senate.
By 11.15 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down about 1.3%.
Oil prices are also sliding, after collapsing Friday on fears that the variant would hurt energy demand by eating into the amount of people driving and flying. Both Brent crude, the global benchmark, and West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, fell more than 3% to trade below $71 and $68 a barrel, respectively.
- by Jill Disis, CNNSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Some will wait longer than others to move into the Traffic Light System.
Those who were vaccinated overseas may have to wait up to 14 days before their application for a Vaccine Pass is approved.
It could mean they can only go to supermarkets, petrol stations and health services for a period before enjoying freedoms in the Traffic Light System.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking 14 days is the maximum time it takes.
“The ones that are coming from countries where the systems for verifying, the accuracy of those records aren't as good, they take a bit longer, but if you're coming from Australia, the US, the UK, those countries, we can generally verify reasonably quickly your vaccine certificates.”
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An Auckland video production company is facing a bit of bad luck with its name.
Omnicrom has been around since the 1980s. And not to be confused with the new Covid strain Omicrom.
Founder Ondrej Havas told Heather du Plessis-Allan they've had the name for 40 years.
"Fortunately, three years go, we changed our brand to Video Taxi."
He said they've mostly retired that name.
Havas said to change a company's name over something like this would be an over-reaction.
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tairawhiti iwi are calling for Rhythm and Vines to be cancelled.
Festivals can only go ahead in the orange traffic light setting and Tairawhiti is going to red this Friday.
A decision on the event hasn't been announced yet.
Toitu Tairawhiti spokesperson Amohaere Houkamau told Heather du Plessis-Allan they're struggling to get to 90 percent double-vaccination.
She said it's also about understanding the vulnerability and frailty of the region's health system.
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Community sport can start again for all regions in Orange.
There will be no limits if vaccine certificates are used.
However, if vaccine certificates are not being used, the limit will be 50 people.
Sports Minister Grant Robertson told Mike Hosking it will be up to organisers to police vaccine certificates.
“The example that we’ve been working through with some of the sporting organisations is that they would, when a team registered for an event, they would register as being a team that had vaccine certificates and were able to play.”
LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are we really blaming Africa for Omicron? Or are we simply not in a mood to take risks?
Everyone from the South African President down is lashing out at a world they see as treating the country unfairly, and yet even in their response, you can smell the politics at play.
Cyril Ramaphosa blames Britain for kicking off the travel restrictions. But was it Britain? Or Israel? They locked their entire border. Britain simply restricted flights and told people to wear a mask. That's a bit of a difference.
Scientists have come to Africa's rescue by pointing out this is what you get with vaccine inequity. But is it inequity or resistance? Is South Africa's poor rate because they can't get stock or because they don’t want it when it arrives?
And would we not be reacting this way no matter where it started?
This is a world that is over it. It's been locked down, re locked down, damaged, and battered for the best part of two years now, and there is genuine light at the end of the tunnel. The doors are open, the shopping is being done, business is being transacted, economies are climbing back out of their holes, families are being reunited, Christmas looks prosperous, and along comes Omicron.
I think it's fair to say it could have come out of Africa, England, New York, Paris, or Sydney, and we would all be reacting the same way.
In the reaction is a clue as well. We barely know anything of it, and yet look at us. There is a pool of doom over millions already. But it's entirely possible it could prove to be little if anything. or the vaccines have it covered.
That's how edgy we are.
We will, in fact, as far as I can see, be fine. The vaccine, at worst, will be tweaked. At best, they won't be changed at all.
The virus looks like it's a mild transmissible variant the likes of which you would expect to see. And it could be the same as Lambda or any of the others that have come and vanished because it couldn’t stump Delta.
The whiff of panic is a sad indictment on our mental state. The finger-pointing is a sad indictment on our desire to lay blame in the absence of fact.
While we wait for the vaccine makers to do their stuff, how about we check ourselves and grow up a bit?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I don’t know why we keep getting our hopes up for these announcements, they’re always such a letdown. I mean I guess we knew Auckland was starting in Red, and not just Auckland but a total of ten other districts around the country as well. That’s a lot of Red.
The rest of the North Island starts with Orange, the whole of the South Island Orange. No one’s in Green, because guess what?
They’re taking a “cautious approach”. Of course they are. The problem with this whole thing is the lack of definitive criteria for it. That does two things, one, gives the government all the power with little or no accountability, and two, leaves people in the dark.
Can festivals go ahead or not? Can people make holiday travel and accommodation plans around that or not? A review of the traffic lights comes on December 13th. Is that enough time for festival organisers to cancel or postpone their events which start a couple of days after Christmas? Is just over ten days enough time for contractors to get the yay or nay? For festival-goers to tweak plans? Book accommodation? Book travel? I doubt it.
It’s tough to play a game when you don’t know the rules, and this is the problem with the government not being transparent here and holding all the cards. I mean why is Auckland, as a region one of the most vaxxed areas of the country, starting on Red? The Government claims it’s because “it’s the epicentre of the outbreak.” But when is Auckland not going to be the epicentre of the outbreak?
For as long as MIQ is in Auckland, it's an epicentre.
The definitions also state that Red is about protecting the health system from being overwhelmed. Yet the health system’s not remotely overwhelmed, not even close to it, so again, why? Starting Auckland in Red literally makes no sense. And given that, how do you justify moving it out, what’s going to change between now and when it moves to Orange?
Nothing.
They say they’ll be looking at factors such as vaccination rates (high in Auckland), the state of the health system (again, in good shape), contact tracing and case management capacity.. well that part’s up to them, not us.
You can't punish us for something we have no control over. Surely holding Auckland back based on the government’s own ability or otherwise to do something is just plain cruel?
So we start this thing Friday, Aucklanders get to leave their boundary two weeks later, the whole thing gets reviewed again January 17th. But before we get our hopes up too much, we still don’t know what’s yet happening with Omicron. So we still don’t have a lot of surety about our lives, but then again, isn’t this just how we live now? Living in fortnightly bundles of hope tinged with anxiety.
The problem is, we’re so browbeaten by all of this, that despite still being dictated our lives in two weekly sermons, we somehow still feel grateful for every incy wincy bit of freedom they allow us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Australian federal government has "paused" its plan to ease border restrictions from Wednesday, December 1, delaying the move by a fortnight as the world grapples with the new Omicron Covid variant.
This means fully vaccinated visa holders will not be able to fly into Australia without an exemption.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Monday night after a meeting of the Cabinet's national security committee was briefed on the latest information about Omicron.
At this stage, the easing of border restrictions will be delayed until December 15.
"On the basis of medical advice provided by the Chief Medical Officer of Australia, Professor Paul Kelly, the National Security Committee has taken the necessary and temporary decision to pause the next step to safely reopen Australia to international skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders from 1 December until 15 December,'' a spokesman said.
"The reopening to travellers from Japan and the Republic of Korea will also be paused until 15 December.
"The temporary pause will ensure Australia can gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant, including the efficacy of the vaccine, the range of illness, including if it may generate more mild symptoms, and the level of transmission."
The standard rules, including that all arrivals to Australia require a negative PCR test and must complete traveller declaration forms detailing their vaccination status, will continue to apply.
Previous changes announced over the weekend include the reinstatement of home quarantine in some states that had dumped the requirement for international travellers.
Over the weekend Australia introduced temporary bans on travel to Australia from several African countries.
Anyone who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, or their immediate family including parents of citizens, and who have been in African countries where the Omicron variant has been detected and spread within the past 14 days, will not be able to enter Australia.
The countries are: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi and Mozambique.
Australian citizens and permanent residents arriving from these countries will need to go into immediate supervised quarantine for 14 days subject to jurisdictional arrangements.
In a statement, the Morrison government noted that the Australian Border Force retains discretion to allow people who are already in transit to enter, but these people will be subject to state based isolation requirements.
Under state public health orders, New South Wales and Victoria have already initiated testing and 72-hour isolation requirements for Australian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family members entering the country. In other states, 14 days of managed quarantine are required, and traveller cap arrangements are in place.
"Australia has a proven record of dealing with Covid, we have one of the lowest fatality rates, highest vaccination rates and strongest economies in the world," Morrison said.
"We will continue to take sensible and responsive evidence-based action, led by medical experts. This will ensure we can open safely, and stay safely open as we learn to live with the virus."
Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP says the federal government is "calmly and carefully' responding to the latest information about the new Omicron COVID-19 variant. pic.twitter.com/aXoYs9zVRn— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 28, 2021
"Of course [Omicron] is concerning and that's why we're getting all the information we possibly can," Morrison told Sunrise on Monday morning.
"We moved very quickly on Saturday, this moved from a variance under investigation to a variant of concern within a very short period of time and we immediately put those extra controls...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Understanding from Whakatane about why it's moving into Red under the traffic light system from Friday.
Most regions will start in Orange, apart from Auckland and places with low vaccination rates, including Northland, Gisborne and parts of Bay of Plenty.
Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner told Kate Hawkesby she isn't surprised because the area's still working on vaccination levels.
She says a large percentage of the population lives in isolated rural communities.
“To getting those services out there has been a challenge, but it is happening. We’ve got a couple of amazing providers who have just gone for broke.”
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There are 11 districts in the North Island that will start in the Red setting when the Traffic Light System kicks in on Friday.
However, a lot of the districts that are in Red are largely areas that haven’t got high enough vaccination rates, despite having little to no Covid cases.
The districts that will start in Red are Northland, Auckland, Taupō and Rotorua Lakes Districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki Districts, Gisborne District, Wairoa District, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu.
The remaining North Island districts and all of the South Island will move into Orange.
Meanwhile, no deal has been struck on the next National leader.
The frontrunners for party leadership are Christopher Luxon and Simon Bridges.
The new leader is set to be announced on Tuesday.
Prince Charles is revealed to have made the comment about the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby.
This was revealed in a soon-to-be-released book by American journalist Christopher Andersen.
Listen above as Neale Jones and Ben Thomas discuss this and the rest of the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan aboveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are lots of questions over the new red and orange lights that will divide the country on Friday.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan in the transitional phase, the Government wanted to start with Orange.
"We will look at it again in the New Year in terms of moving to Green, but not before Christmas, therefore we don't want to jump around."
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Public health teams having more background information could've made a difference in the deaths of two Covid patients.
An independent review panel found the deaths earlier this month were potentially preventable.
The first was a person living in Manukau and the second in Mount Eden.
Both were living alone at the time.
Northern Region Health Coordination Centre lead Margie Apa told Heather du Plessis-Allan the cases were delegated to teams outside the region and didn't have access to underlying health issues.
“So as public health units don’t have access to our regional clinical system, so they couldn't go in and have a look.”
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We need clear rules, logic, and clarity.
That's David Seymour's message - as he savages the Government's divvying up of regions in its new traffic light system.
The likes of Auckland, Gisborne, and Northland will start in the most restrictive 'red' setting from Friday - while the South Island, and parts of the North, are at orange.
ACT leader Seymour told Heather Du Plessis-Allan none of it makes sense.
“Now you’ve got districts that have no Covid and high vaccination rates, including most of the South Island, at Orange, why should they not be at Green?”
Meanwhile, there is cautious optimism summer festivals can still go ahead.
Northland and Gisborne will host New Year's festivals Northern Bass and Rhythm and Vines which can only go ahead at Orange.
Settings will be reviewed on December 13.
But Promoters Association president Brett Eccles told Heather du Plessis-Allan he's hopeful.
“I always thought the Government will go, ‘well, you know, we’ll look at these areas like Gisborne for example and go, there’s gonna be a big festival there, so how can we make it Orange around the festival time?’ That’s what I thought would happen, and probably the same for Northern Bass and Northland as well.”
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11 districts so far will go into the Red setting when the Traffic Light System begins on Friday.
Auckland, Northland, Taupō and Rotorua Lakes Districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki Districts, Gisborne District, Wairoa District, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu are the districts that will be in Red.
Cabinet will review the settings on a fortnightly basis.
Christopher Luxon is in contention for National Party leader.
The party will decide its leader tomorrow.
Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has vowed for the moment to stick with plans to further reopen the state in mid-December despite concerns over a new Covid variant.
Health officials confirmed Sunday afternoon via genomic sequencing that two international travellers from southern Africa who arrived at Sydney Airport on Saturday tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant which has sparked concerns around the globe.
NSW is set to ease restrictions on December 15 or when the state reaches 95 per cent double vaccination rates.
Mr Perrottet said earlier on Sunday that for “the moment” it was his plan to stick with the government’s road map, adding that NSW could not be a “a hermit kingdom on the other side of the world”.
“Ultimately, we not only need to learn to live alongside the virus, but live alongside the variants as well,” he said.
“This pandemic is not over. These variants will continue, cases will continue to rise and the best thing we can do to keep the community safe, keep your family safe is to go out and get vaccinated and get that booster shot when you can.”
The government said that on Saturday that 29 people across two flights arrived in Sydney from the nine south African nations of concern.
Under federal measures, travellers entering the country from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi, and the Seychelles in the last 14 days have been ordered into hotel quarantine.
Mr Perrottet said that is was inevitable that the Omicron variant would spread into other countries, with Italy, UK and Germany all recording cases of the variant.
“If you look at Delta … how quickly that come into countries around the world, the Prime Minister cancelled flights into here,” the Premier said.
“The reality is these variants are highly transmissible and that means it is almost certain it will get into countries around the world. That is the reality of the situation.
“We can’t look at the world as we want it to be, we need to look at the situation as it is.”
From December 15, NSW restrictions will ease for unvaccinated people while masks will only be required for public transport, on planes, at airports and for unvaccinated front-of-house hospitality staff.
As well, QR code check-ins will only be required for high-risk venues such as hospitals, aged care facilities, gyms, places or worship and bars.
Mr Perrottet did not rule out new restrictions if the Omicron variant fuelled another wave of cases however he said that it was the government’s intention to stick to its road map.
He pushed the importance of getting vaccinated as well as receiving a booster shot, which is available six months after a person receives their second dose.
“We have a road map and that’s clearly set out,” he said.
“There will be variants from time to time. We have said that from the outset. This pandemic is not over, challenges will continue to come our way.
“We have said if there are instances along the way where we need to put in certain restrictions at certain points in time in a targeted way we will, but we are not there.”
NSW on Sunday recorded 185 new Covid cases in the previous 24 hours.
To date, 92.4 per cent of the state is fully vaccinated while 94.5 per cent have received a first dose.
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It was halfway through last week, and I was having a conversation with a mate about whether MIQ for in-bound citizens was still relevant.
Both of us were noting that with over 2000 active cases in the country, compared to a handful in MIQ, you were more likely to catch Covid in New Zealand rather than from a recent returnee.
So he asked me, can you give me one good reason why we should retain MIQ?
There was only one reason I could think of, and that was the possibility of a new variant rising and us needing to prolong our defences as we ready ourselves for another viral invasion.
So imagine my surprise when over the weekend that exact scenario played out. Omicron was discovered. Nations immediately prevented flights from Southern Africa. Australia started the process of re-introducing hotel based MIQ.
The world went on war footing.
And here our slowness to dismantle quarantine measures suddenly looked like an inspired decision, rather than a decision born of fear and a love of being a hermit nation.
But make no mistake, this was not an inspired decision. This was yet another example of this country’s plain dumb luck.
When Covid first arrived, it was in our late summer so we were outside and infections never went ballistic the way they did in the housebound Northern hemisphere. Being an island nation and not a travel hub, it was easy to close the borders and keep the bug out.
The looming end of MIQ was much like the process that ended out in the Australian travel bubble.
Long term sustained vocal pressure from business and opinion writers and the opposition resulted in a slow relenting by the Government.
But with the benefit of hindsight, you could argue that the trans-Tasman travel bubble was vastly uneconomic or worthwhile. It so obvious that I’ve never seen a detailed Return on Investment study on it.
So, it may have been that the scrapping of MIQ could also have been a well-intentioned move, but ultimately a mistake.
We will wait and see whether we’re into round 3 of this scrap with Covid.
Here’s my hope. Omicron seems much more infectious but the symptoms seem milder. Big lethargy and tiredness with a headache but no respiratory effects.
If this turns out to be true, it may be this Covid is the bad Covid killer. It could become the dominant strain resulting in an infection that finally is really like the flu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Australia is waking with fresh fears over what the Omicron variant will mean for its immediate future as governments begin to grapple with a new Covid threat.
The confirmed arrival of the highly-transmissible strain on Australian shores on Sunday — after two passengers from southern Africa who landed in Sydney on Saturday night tested positive — has health authorities in a scramble.
Already two states have tightened their borders and Australia has slammed its national border shut to travellers from nine African nations, including South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.
Anyone who has been in those countries in the past 14 days must immediately quarantine, and all flights from those nations will be immediately suspended for a fortnight at least.
Aussie shares are also expected to fall sharply when markets open today.
But business leaders are calling on governments to hold their nerve and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has insisted his state’s reopening plan will continue without change.
“This clearly demonstrates the pandemic is not over,” Mr Perrottet told reporters on Sunday. “There are limits to what the state and federal government can do: These variants will get into the country. It is inevitable.”
NSW slams WHO over silence
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard slammed the World Health Organisation for taking so long to sound the alarm.
“It probably hasn’t been all that helpful that the World Health Organisation has really put out the announcements recently when they’ve known about it since about three weeks ago,” Mr Hazzard said.
The state had relaxed its entry questioning for international travellers, unaware there was a highly mutated variant emerging.
“The (passenger) information is not as precise as health authorities would like but it‘s understandable. Now we wish we had more information.”
The health minister also warned more cases were on their way to Australian shores, telling reporters on Sunday it was “safe” to assume the current list of banned nations would not be enough to stop the virus.
“It’s not practical to expect that shutting down flights from nine other countries is going to work,” he said.
Domestic borders closing already
Western Australia reacted swiftly to the situation on Saturday, forcing all arrivals from South Australia to begin isolating for 14 days because of its neighbour’s open border policy with NSW.
“There is a great deal of uncertainty about the recently emerged Omicron variant so it is important Western Australia has strong protections in place for states which have relaxed their international borders,” Mr McGowan said.
“With little known about the variant, it is important we act with an abundance of caution in dealing with potential spread into WA from overseas travellers arriving in other states.”
SA travellers with plans to head to WA in the coming days have been told their existing approval to enter the state has been cancelled.
South Australia made a change of its own, doubling the amount of days international arrivals have to spend in quarantine to 14.
NSW has also indicated the return of hotel quarantine — or home isolation — for overseas travellers is a possibility.
“We will take the necessary measures, including restarting quarantine if required, to protect our community and our economy,” Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres said.
Business leader: Over reaction could be devastating
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said any heavy-handed reaction to the Omicron threat could be devastating for business.
“While some caution is understandable, the response to any new and inevitable variant needs to be targeted, proportionate and take into account the nearly 90 per cent of us are vaccinated and tired of lockdowns and border closures,” Mr Willox told The Australian.
“We...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Here in New Zealand, the Government has introduced travel restrictions for several southern African countries, in defence against the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and expects to pick up any cases through routine border testing and managed isolation.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking we should be concerned, but not alarmed.
“I think we’re taking the appropriate cautious steps, but I don’t think there’s any reason to get ahead of ourselves.”
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As Aucklanders endured their last weekend of an alert level lockdown, waiting to move into our red traffic light this weekend, Covid reminded us that it’s in the driving seat, not us.
Relative freedoms just a handful of days away, inching towards some kind of normality, and then boom, news erupts over the weekend of this new variant Omicron.
With hope having been dashed to shreds over this past year, it’s hard to stay positive, especially when countries start restricting travel again, re-introducing self-isolation, and not ruling out a return to lockdowns. The familiar creep of dread washes over us.
We don’t know yet whether the vaccine’s effective against this variant, UK health officials say there’s a "reasonable chance" that vaccines could be less effective against it. Reports yesterday said, “early data suggests it could be several times more infectious than the original virus, and appears to be outcompeting Delta.”
Michael Baker says it’s a variant causing alarm because “it has a very large number of mutations," some of which affect the structure of the spike protein, which is what makes the vaccine effective. He says it has the potential to be “more infectious, more lethal and evade vaccine protection”.
It'll be a few weeks until we know the facts on that, so in the interim people rightly feel nervous about future lockdowns, border closures, and as Baker said, going down the elimination path again. Old mate elimination! Oh no!
The thought of more micro managing and restrictions from government on our movement and freedoms is enough to take the edge off any premature excitement for a freer festive season.
The nightmare of lockdowns potentially returning is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for Aucklanders sitting here on Day 104 of lockdown.
Grant Robertson said at the weekend that despite the new traffic light framework we’re moving to, they’re not ruling out lockdowns returning, the Government still has the legislation in place to impose them if need be.
Meanwhile, in a rant that resembled New Zealand’s own version of Greta Thunberg, Siouxsie Wiles blasted world leaders for not dealing with the pandemic properly. She told media the new variant “was inevitable, and that after two years of the pandemic, the world’s still not learning or responding appropriately.”
She clearly missed the PM's assurances that our Government’s prepared for this.
Ardern said New Zealand's “well prepared for the discovery of new Covid variants.” That'll come as a shock to pretty much everyone, given all the official reports talk about these days is how woefully underprepared New Zealand's been in every aspect of its pandemic response, particularly when you consider our natural advantage of time and distance.
So as Omicron spooks world markets, scares governments and threatens further impositions on our freedoms, it’ll be interesting to see just how prepared for this new mutation New Zealand really is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Low-vaccinated parts of the country are bracing for extra Covid restrictions, when the traffic light system takes effect on Friday.
Cabinet will meet this afternoon to determine which parts of the country will be at what level.
Auckland and any other areas with high case numbers or low vaccination rates will move to the Red Level, while other parts of the country will move to the Orange Level.
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Mike Hosking Tairāwhiti is set to move to Red, forcing the cancellation of events like Rhythm and Vines.
“We all want the summer we always have, so the fact that we will be moving into red today will bring some limitations.”
On the other side of the North Island, Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall told Mike Hosking he's expecting the same news.
"That’s the chatter that’s going around, and our vaccination rates tanked a little bit, so I feel we will start off as red.”
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Time may be on our side, when it comes to fending off the latest variant of Covid-19.
Many countries are now recording cases of the Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa.
In Australia, two cases have been picked up at the border.
Cambridge University virologist Dr Chris Smith says told Mike Hosking while the variant is concerning, the fact it was detected so early is very reassuring.
“It’s much better to be confronting the devil you do know, than one that creeps up and catches you with your trousers down, so we must salute the southern African scientist who spotted this.”
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So it's November 29, a date we've all been waiting for.
Originally the D-day for the announcement of all announcements, we already know on Friday we're heading to the traffic light system.
But today we find out what colour each region will be going in.
Sociology professor Paul Spoonley joined Early Edition.
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A new heavily mutated Covid variant has been identified named Omicron.
It's been rapidly labelled a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation, and is already spreading to other countries, including Australia.
Originating from South Africa, there's a shortage of real-world data, and no one really knows how big of a threat it poses.
Principal scientist at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research professor Mike Bunce joined Kate Hawkesby.
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Travel blogger Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin to give the lowdown on the prep you need to do before booking an overseas trip.
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Governments around the world are reacting to new Covid variant Omicron.
The variant, found in South Africa this week, has been labeled a one of concern by the World Health Organisation.
New Zealand has added nine southern African nations to the list of very high-risk countries, following the lead of the likes of the UK, US and Australia.
This morning UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tightened restrictions after two confirmed cases of Omicron were detected there.
To discuss what we know about Omicron, Professor Michael Baker joined Francesca Rudkin.
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A week out from the move into the new Covid Protection Framework, or traffic light system, and around the time an announcement was made about a new Covid 19 variant of concern found in South Africa - leading countries, like ours, to adjusting their border restrictions - a document dump revealed the contents of Sir Brian Roche’s report on the review of the Delta outbreak.
Sir Brian Roche is the Chair of the Covid-19 Independent Continuous Review, Improvement and Advice Group, and the report was delivered in September.
Sir Brian noted in the report there was a real need for “pace and urgency” to deal with the Delta outbreak. The group’s main concerns were around the lack of preparation in the health system to handle Delta given the low vaccination rate at the time, especially vaccination rates among Māori.
The report also said “coherent and fit-for-purpose” alternatives to the MIQ system at the border were needed, the use of saliva and rapid antigen testing needed to become widespread, the systems for interventions such as surveillance, testing, and contact tracing needed to be bolstered, and that lockdowns were no longer economically or socially sustainable.
Nothing shocking there, right?
Sir Brian Roche was absolutely spot on. These are all the issues we have been discussing here on Newstalk ZB over the last few months. Interestingly, the Government responded to the report by pointing out the significant progress made on these issues since the report was written.
Call me cynical, but I can’t help but wonder if the rush of announcements over the last week was the Government quickly ticking a few more recommendations off the list before the report was released on Friday.
We’ve had changes to MIQ, the introduction of rapid antigen testing, $1 billion for improving testing and contact tracing capacity, changes to the traffic light system, the passing of legislation for the traffic light system and mandatory vaccinations - which was expanded to include police and defence force staff - and the announcement of social service support for those infected with Covid. It was indeed a busy week.
Not every issue has been addressed successfully. Work continues to get Māori vaccination rates up, and the Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has agreed with the report, Sarah Dalton said that the significant issues facing the health system before Delta arrived aren’t going away and the new Covid 19 framework won’t fix crumbling hospital infrastructure and staff shortages.
David Seymour and Chris Bishop are doing their best to hold the government to account for their Covid 19 response, and hopefully National will in time piece itself together as a strong opposition. But this report is a reminder of the importance of the COVID-19 Independent Continuous Review, Improvement and Advice Group, despite a name which hardly rolls off the tongue, to keeping the government in check, and provide clarity and independent advice.
Dealing with a global pandemic is an exhausting, endless and thankless task. And with this new variant on the horizon - take the help when and wherever you can get it right? This Covid roller coaster is far from over.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A new Covid variant in South Africa has health experts concerned.
It's believed to be more transmissible and vaccine-resistant than Delta.
The UK has already shut their borders to six African countries which have detected the virus so far.
Auckland University virus mutation expert Dr David Welch told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's definitely something to monitor.
“Alpha and Delta both had increased transmissibility, some of the other ones had greater immune evasion, and this variant seems to combine those two things, and so could potentially make it quite dangerous.”
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The Police Commissioner doesn't expect to lose very many officers as a result of today's vaccine mandate.
Police and Defence Force staff have to get their first dose by January 17 and the second dose by March 1.
At the moment, up to 800 Police officers are unvaccinated.
Andrew Coster told Heather Du Plessis Allan they'll consider giving people leave without pay if they are still making their decision.
“Many of our people have served a long time in New Zealand Police, and they're vocationally engaged, so they're not going to want to walk away from that in a hurry.”
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National's Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop has hinted at throwing his hat in the ring for Party leader, revealing he's thinking about it.
Caucus will meet on Tuesday to decide Judith Collins' replacement after she lost a vote of no confidence yesterday.
Simon Bridges has declared he'll make a bid for the top spot and interim leader Shane Reti won't rule out making a move.
Christopher Luxon, Mark Mitchell and Nicola Willis are also on the table as possible contenders.
Bishop told Heather du Plessis-Allan his merits as a potential leader are for others to judge.
“You know, lead the charge on the biggest issue facing the country for the last year or so, and lead the charge on MIQ and some of the things like rapid antigen testing.”
Meanwhile, Bishop has dubbed the slow move to introduce Rapid Antigen testing as 'unfathomable'.
It comes after a report that finds New Zealand was ill-prepared for the Delta outbreak.
Advisor Sir Brian Roche warned the health system's infrastructure was fragile - and stressed the need for rapid antigen testing.
The tests will be made available for businesses to source from December 1, and can be bought from pharmacies from December 15.
National's Chris Bishop told Heather du Plessis-Allan the Government has had a blind spot for innovation.
“They thought that elimination would work against Delta, they assumed it would work. It didn’t. And then when it didn't work, we didn't have a backup plan and now we’re scrambling, right?”
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An advisory group says the Government was ill-prepared for the Delta outbreak.
In a report written in September, advisor Sir Brian Roche said the health system's infrastructure was fragile and urged the importance of rapid antigen testing.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan other nations’ responses could have been enlightening.
“We had the opportunity to learn from others and we didn’t take as much of that opportunity as we should have.”
Roche says the lack of staffing won't just hit Covid-19 patients.
“If you're going to be dedicated doing Covid, what are you giving up? We can't live in a world where the only thing we talk about or service is Covid. People are still getting cancer.”
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NSW residents will have to keep wearing face masks on public transport but density limits will be scrapped under changes to the government’s reopening plan.
The Perrottet government on Thursday unveiled some adjustments to the next batch of Covid rules after its pandemic subcommittee spent the afternoon debating them.
The next set of rules will come into force on December 15 or when 95 per cent of the population aged over 16 have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, whichever comes first.
As the rules now stand, masks will only be required from that date for people on public transport or on planes and in airports, as well as for indoor front-of house hospitality staff who are not fully vaccinated.
Previously all indoors front-of-house hospitality staff were required to wear masks even if they were vaccinated.
The government is strongly encouraging people to wear masks in places where they cannot social distance.
Density limits were due to remain at one person per 2 sqm, but these will no longer apply under the new rules.
Covid-safety plans will be optional for businesses, who will be supported by SafeWork NSW to implement them.
The Perrottet government on Thursday unveiled some adjustments to the next batch of Covid rules. Photo / NCA NewsWire
QR check-ins will only be required at what the government deems high-risk venues – a sweeping category that includes hospitals, aged and disability care facilities, gyms, places of worship, funerals or memorial services, personal services (e.g. hairdressers and beauty salons), limited hospitality settings (including pubs, small bars, registered clubs and nightclubs), and for indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people.
Proof of vaccination will no longer be required under the Public Health Orders, meaning the unvaccinated will enjoy the same freedoms as the rest of society.
Businesses will still be able to require proof at their own discretion and vaccine certificates will still be mandatory for indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people.
Health officials had reportedly been pushing for masks to remain mandatory in shops even after NSW hits the 95 per cent vaccination target.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that NSW Health bureaucrats fear Covid cases could surge during the festive season and want masks to be worn in indoor retail.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard told the newspaper that the concerns from health officials were “understandable”.
NSW residents will have to keep wearing face masks on public transport but density limits will be scrapped. Photo / NCA NewsWire
“At times like the mad retail rush we’ll see at Black Friday and Christmas it becomes pretty clear why Health will be likely to have continuing concerns,” he said.
The report sparked a flurry of media coverage and backlash from members of the public who accused the government of shifting the goalposts on a rule they consider to be annoying and inconvenient.
In response, Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Covid subcommittee would on Thursday consider the health advice around easing mask rules.
NSW Health will begin a Covid vaccine booster program at its clinics to individuals aged 18 and older who received their second shot six months or more ago.
NSW on Thursday reported 276 new cases of Covid-19 and no new deaths.
Thursday’s figures also show there are 191 people in hospital with 31 in intensive care.
Across the state, 94.4 per cent of the population aged over 16 have received their first dose of the vaccine while 92.1 per cent are double-vaccinated.
For those between the ages of 12 and 15, 81.1 per cent have had one dose while 75.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.
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The closure of Kiwi YHA hostels is a massive blow to tourism.
Due to financial difficulties, the eleven hostels will close from December 15.
Haka Tourism has used the YHA hostels for its multi-day tours for the last few years.
General Manager Eve Lawrence told Kerre McIvor the YHA had an amazing holding in New Zealand, knowing what clients want and need.
“In some of the regions, this is gonna be a huge blow to the tourism infrastructure. And some of these new hostels like Tekapo, Mt Cook, Franz Josef — they're actually pretty lovely hostels.”
Lawrence says the company could offer a seven-day isolation package to international travellers to help the industry.
“But the problem is offshore partners and airlines simply just will not sell New Zealand when the rest of the world is open if people have to isolate for seven days. They just won’t sell us.”
She says the industry will be lobbying the Government to get rid of the isolation as it will still prevent many tourists coming to New Zealand.
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The latest changes to Covid testing and home isolation may be a sign the virus is going to spread to more corners of the country.
Businesses can source rapid antigen tests from Wednesday, and people can buy their own from pharmacies from December 15.
The Government's also committing extra funding to managing and supporting more people in home isolation.
Health Minister Andrew Little told Mike Hosking the Government is preparing for Covid to spread far and wide, once the traffic light system starts, Auckland's border reopens, and summer travel starts.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got testing capacity right across the country.”
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This week's border announcements have spurred a surge of international travel bookings.
Air New Zealand's seen 25-thousand international flight bookings since Wednesday.
From January 17 vaccinated Kiwis travelling from Australia can skip MIQ, subject to a negative covid test.
They'll have to isolate at home.
From mid-February New Zealanders from other countries can do the same
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty told Mike Hosking the bookings are for a wide range of destinations.
She said people want to go across the Tasman, as well as places like Los Angeles and Rarotonga.
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A reminder to prepare for home isolation, in case you're struck by Covid.
The Student Volunteer Army is receiving over 350 referrals a day to gather supplies for families stuck in isolation with no other support.
It's working the Covid Welfare Support team in Auckland, and is seeking volunteers to pack and deliver 200 food boxes this weekend.
SVA Chief Executive Sam Johnson says people need to plan to have food in their house to last at least a week, if they catch Covid.
“A lot of the people we’re working with and all of the people in their immediate bubble, have Covid or to self-isolate so that's all your people who normally would help you.”
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Another tool is being rolled out in the fight against Delta.
Rapid antigen testing kits will be available in pharmacies from December 15, to be conducted under supervision.
It's part of the Government's $1 billion investment package for living with Covid in the community.
College of GPs Medical Director Bryan Betty says told Heather Du Plessis Allan he is delighted.
“I mean the rapid antigen test, you get results in fifteen minutes, rather than waiting 3-5 days with the present test, readily accessible and will be used in a variety of areas, so it’s a big step forward.”
Betty says antigen tests will be widely used for screening, with a PCR test needed to confirm a positive result.
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The Italian government on Wednesday decided to exclude unvaccinated people from certain leisure activities in a bid to contain rising coronavirus infections and stave off financially crippling lockdowns just as the economy is starting to grow again.
Starting Dec. 6, only people with proof of vaccination or of having recovered from COVID-19 can eat at indoor restaurants, and go to the movies or sporting events, excluding the ability to access such venues with just a negative test.
A new government decree also made vaccinations mandatory for law enforcement, military and all school employees, among others. Previously, vaccines were only required for health care workers and anyone who worked in eldercare homes.
Premier Mario Draghi said the measures were necessary to prevent the “slow but steady” increase in infections from growing while preserving the gains Italy has made in rebooting the European Union's third-largest economy, which shrank 8.9% last year.
The concern is particularly acute given the upcoming holiday tourism season and the winter wave of infections. Regional officials in the north, for example, are desperate for Italy’s ski industry, which in normal times generates 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in annual revenues and employs 5,000 permanent and 10,000 seasonal workers, to remain open after losing two seasons to COVID-19.
“We’ve begun to return to normality. We want to conserve this normality,” Draghi told a press conference after the Cabinet unanimously approved the measures.
Italy, where Europe’s outbreak began in February 2020, is seeing a rise in infections but to a more measured degree than other EU countries, recording around 10,000 new cases and fewer than 100 deaths a day.
It has fully vaccinated more than 84% of its over-12 population, but first-dose appointments have levelled off and 20 small towns in northern Italy where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the country went into semi-lockdown on Wednesday because infections there were rising fast.
The aim of the new measures is to prevent such blanket lockdowns — an 8 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew and closure of bars and restaurants at 6 p.m. — from returning across the board. The new decree would allow restaurants and other venues to remain open even when cases rise and hospitals fill up, but only to those with proof of vaccination or of having recovered from COVID-19.
Unlike other countries, Italy never relaxed many of its restrictions even as cases tanked with the vaccine: Indoor mask mandates remain in place and Italy last month became the first country in the West to require a health pass to access the workplace.
The so-called “Green Pass” contained proof of vaccination, of being cured of COVID-19 or a negative test. With the new decree, the government is introducing a “reinforced” Green Pass that excludes the ability to test into certain indoor activities.
Non-vaccinated people, for example, won’t be able to go to the movies or theatre or eat indoors from Dec. 6-Jan. 15, or beyond that date in regions where infection and hospital admission rates are rising.
The decree also added activities for which even a basic Green Pass is needed, including to check into a hotel or use regional or local public transport. Previously, a Green Pass was necessary only for long-distance public transport.
The decree calls on local authorities to devise beefed-up controls, and report weekly to the Interior Ministry on how they're going to enforce the new measures.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza acknowledged Italy was doing better than many of its neighbours, but said the country had learned that the key to fighting the pandemic was with preventive and proactive measures.
“Staying in front of the virus is fundamental if you want to keep the situation under control,” he said.
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The Government is taking a slow and steady approach to the changes to MIQ.
Fully vaccinated Kiwis will be able travel home from Australia without MIQ from January 16, and from all other countries from February 13.
All other fully vaccinated travellers will be able to come here from April 30.
Covid-19 response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking they're spreading any potential risks across these dates.
“We want to allow a pathway for New Zealanders to come home but we also want to make sure we’re not dumping a whole host of additional risk on New Zealanders to the point where we end up with a massive outbreak.”
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Jack Tame and Tim Beveridge joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle.
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Concerns New Zealand is still lagging behind on international travel.
Vaxxed Kiwis flying home from Australia can skip MIQ from January 17, and from Feburary 14, they can do the same from any country.
It will apply to fully vaccinated travellers from any country, from May.
But people must still self-isolate seven days.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Chris Roberts told Heather du Plessis-Allan the isolation period makes no sense.
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The plan to open our borders is about staggering the risk.
Fully vaccinated New Zealanders can fly home from Australia without MIQ from January 16.
They must self-isolate for seven days and undergo repeated testing.
Since August 23, no fully vaccinated Aussie travellers in MIQ have tested positive for Covid.
Covid Minister Chris Hipkins told Heather du Plessis Allan they don't want to shovel extra risk on New Zealand all at once.
“Countries that have done too much too soon, have often found that they end up dealing with quite significant case numbers, significant outbreaks and they end up having to go back and reimpose restrictions.”
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Fully vaccinated Kiwis and travellers will be able to bypass New Zealand's managed isolation at the border from early next year.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced a three-step approach that will allow fully-vaccinated people to travel more freely in and out of New Zealand from next year.
Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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In an interesting move from Rotorua's Red Stag Timber, the company will pay back the wage subsidy it received last year, but not to the taxpayer.
Instead, it will give every vaccinated employee $3000 for Christmas.
Marty Verry is the CEO at Red Stag, and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Is there no end to the absurdity of this Government's decisions?
They’ve today announced they will NOT free up MIQ in time for Christmas.
Instead, Kiwis stuck in Australia have to wait to January 17 to isolate at home.
Why do they have to wait?
No reason; other than Jacinda, Grant and Chris have decided to ruin Christmas for families.
Let’s be clear about this, double jabbed kiwis stuck in Australia are virtually no risk to us in New Zealand.
The chances of them brining in Covid are negligible.
In the last three months, not one single vaccinated Kiwi flying in from Australia has brought in Covid so this decision is unnecessarily cruel to families here and people stuck there.
But hey, this is life under Jacinda as we’ve come to know it.
And then, how absurd is it that we let double jabbed kiwis from Australia in from 17 January, but double jabbed Aussies in Australia can’t come in until 1 May.
Why? I don’t know.
They’re coming from the same place, so their risk is probably the same, which is negligible.
So, if you’re in the tourism industry, you just remember what Jacinda's Government's doing to you.
She’s refusing to let in tourists from one of your biggest international tourism markets this summer, for no reason.
It’s not like Covid is more rampant in Australia than it is here.
We had nearly as many cases in the upper North Island today as the entire state of NSW had, and they have one and a half times the population of our country.
We had 215 cases, they had 248.
We’re, per head of population, in Auckland a greater risk to each other.
And by the way, if you want to know how it should be done, and could be done, take a look at Australia, they're open to any of one of us who wants to go there.
As a double jabbed Kiwi, you can fly to Australia, walk straight off the plane and into a Sydney restaurant within hours if you want to.
You’ve been able to for three weeks.
Jacinda's Government has jumped the shark.
Their decisions are now so far removed from science and fact it’s hard to have any respect for the people making these calls, they are just keeping us closed off for the hell of it now.
The opposition are calling the PM the Grinch that stole Christmas.
Bang on.
Once again, so much for being kind.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Australia is reopening its border to vaccinated international arrivals on work and student visas, as well as working holiday makers, from December.
They'll join citizens, residents and their families who can come and go as they please, without having to go into isolation when they return.
So what's this going to do for Australia's economic rebound?
Paul Bloxham is HSBC’s chief economist and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Fresh calls from the opposition today to at least open the borders to Australia to allow Kiwi families to reunite for Christmas.
Chris Hipkins admitted in Question Time that of more than 2000 returning travellers from Australia since the bubble burst, just three had Covid, and none of them were vaccinated.
Last night, Air New Zealand announced they would cancel one thousand flights for December, because the border into New Zealand remains shut.
David Coombes is the managing director at Flight Centre New Zealand and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The lockdown was always going to leave a gaping hole for retailers, but how big was the question.
Now the verdict is in.
Retail spending volumes fell 8.1 percent in the September quarter, with food and beverage spending falling 19 percent.
Brad Olsen is Infometrics' principal economist and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Brian and Hannah Tamaki have appeared in court for breaching alert level restrictions, for attending an anti-vaccine rally over the weekend.
Brian Tamaki's also been charged with breaching bail conditions.
NZME reporter who was at there for that, Miriam Burrell, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The Government will release guidelines around vaccine mandates by mid-December that will help all businesses to figure out whether or not they can force staff to get jabbed.
They've come up with four criteria, and if businesses meet at least three, they're cleared for a mandate:
- Workers are in an area with less than 100m square indoor space
- Workers work less than 1m apart from other people
- Workers are routinely near others for more than 15 minutes
- That the workers provide services to people vulnerable to Covid-19
Michael Barnett from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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In the face of demonstrations across much of Europe protesting tough COVID-19 measures over the past days, authorities on Monday pleaded for patience, calm and a willingness to get a vaccine shot in the arm as infections spike upward again.
And for those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte just called them "idiots."
Protest marches from Zagreb to Rome and from Vienna to Brussels and Rotterdam, bringing tens of thousands out, all had one message from a coronavirus-weary crowd — we've had enough!
"Not able to work where you want work, to be where you want to be. That's not what we stand for, that's not freedom," said Eveline Denayer, who was at Sunday's march in Brussels, which drew a crowd of over 35,000.
"We live in Western Europe and we just want to be free, how we were before," she said.
Government leaders and European Union officials all made clear on Monday that a return to bygone days was still out of the question and that the violence at some of the marches was counterproductive.
Much of the discontent however is targeted at politicians who had promised that vaccinations would bring freedom. With the delta variant making sure contagion remains rampant, EU governments are being forced to reimpose constraints and — in some countries — slap tougher restrictions on the non-vaccinated.
"The rising numbers are unfortunately fueling vaccine hesitancy, and we all need to take a firm stand against this," said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. However, she said the spike is mainly to blame on those who refuse to have a shot.
"But now we are facing a pandemic mainly driven by the unvaccinated," Kyriakides said.
Breakthrough infections and deaths among the vaccinated happen, though at far lower rates, according to officials.
Rutte condemned rioters in Rotterdam and across the Netherlands after coronavirus protests there and in Brussels descended into violence amid simmering anger at lockdown measures being put into place in an attempt to rein in soaring rates of infection.
Late Friday, police in Rotterdam even used live fire to disperse rioters gone amok, and four people suffered gunshot wounds. Altogether in both countries almost 100 people were detained.
"I realize that there are a lot of tensions in society because we have been dealing with all the misery of coronavirus for so long," Rutte said. But he stressed the rioters were something completely different, producing "a pure explosion of violence directed against our police, against our firefighters, against ambulance drivers."
Scenes were ugly too at the end of the Brussels protest march, with rioters pelting police, who then used tear gas and water cannons to break up the crowds.
"Our goal today is to fight against the virus. Please, let us not get incited by a small group which would turn it into a fight against one another," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said.
The protests come as a fourth wave of infections is locking down Austrians and forcing renewed restraints in many European nations on anything from working in the office to drinking at bars.
The Dutch violence came a week into a new partial lockdown in the Netherlands and after an announcement that the government was banning fireworks on New Year's Eve in an effort to ease the strain on hospital emergency rooms. In riots across the country, youths threw fireworks at police officers.
The EU pointed out that scientific evidence shows that increased vaccinations would contain the crisis and avoid more deaths.
"You know the three words very well — vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate," said spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker.
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So, the winners and losers from yesterday's announcement - hairdressers can open as of Thursday, and spare a thought for the poor men and women behind the scissors. After more than 100 days in lockdown they will have at least 3 to 4 hundred heads to catch up on.
I can't even begin to imagine the bargaining, pleading and horse-trading going on trying to get an appointment in Auckland.
I enjoyed hearing the woman from Rodney Wayne on this morning; staff have been given pep talks on how to talk to clients about vaccinations and mask wearing, and a crash course in how to fix the damage from home dye jobs.
Beauticians miss out, as do those in hospitality. Deputy PM Grant Robertson says he doesn't know why, but the Government simply acted on advice from the Health Department.
Hairdressers are being used to trial the vaccine app that shows businesses you are in fact double vaxxed and therefore you have permission to enter the premises.
But not beauticians, restaurants, bars and cafes. They will have to wait until December 3.
So, hairdressers one, beauticians and hospo nil. The even bigger losers are those who had flights booked to Australia over Christmas. People who had managed to play the cruel lottery of MIQ and find a space, or who had made life plans to head to Oz for a new life across the Tasman. They have had their plans scuppered with Air NZ cancelling flights leaving thousands of would-be travellers in the lurch.
The problem is MIQ, and according to Air New Zealand, the continued uncertainty around that. Grant Robertson talking to Mike Hosking this morning was adamant we still need to stem the flow of travellers into this country.
It all sounds very reasonable. But you'd have to ask whether it's the vaccinated being held back yet again to protect the unvaccinated. Who doesn't want to be protected?
I’d love to hear some feedback on the traffic light system. Are business prepared and ready to open? How are salons and barbers shops coping with the demand for services? For those who were booked on Air New Zealand flights, how are you dealing with the news that your flights have been cancelled and do you buy the reasons for continued border controls?
And for those regions with poor vaccination rates, and those who have chosen not to be vaccinated, if you're currently enjoying Level 2 freedoms, it's going to be a bit grim going backwards.
No confirmation from Robertson, but certainly low-level vaccination rates make it likely you'll be going into the ‘red light district’. As one who's spent most of the last three and half months in that, you are NOT going to like it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A home grown Covid-19 vaccine is making progress.
New Zealand company Covid-19 Vaccine Corporation last year designed a vaccine to cover variants and recent lab results show they're on the right track.
CEO Robert Feldman said they need around $20-million to perform the first clinical trial, which could happen by the end of next year.
He said when it's available, he sees it being given at the same time as a booster.
Feldman told Hosking they’re wanting to make a good vaccine even better.
“We are trying to stimulate a different arm of the immune system...Really few [around the world] are working on the approach.”
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Monday will bring final decisions about what Covid restrictions apply where, over the Christmas and summer period.
The traffic light system will come into force nationwide from next Friday - December 3.
No part of the country will move to the Green Level, and Auckland will definitely move to the Red Level.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Mike Hosking the level in other regions will still primarily depend on how many people are double-jabbed.
“There are other factors, including the health system in each part of New Zealand and preparedness of each region, but the vaccination rate will be dominant factor in the decision that we make.”
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So Auckland waits for 4pm for an announcement that they will be rewarded for their stirling effort in achieving vaccination targets.
They’ve been good little hobbits. They’ve jabbed like their life depends on it. It’s what being locked down for 98 days will do to you.
The town is desperate for a haircut. They’re desperate for a sit-down meal.
They live in one of the most highly vaccinated cities in the world.
But I have bad news for Auckland, the chances of them being given that freedom are very low.
Not only has the Prime Minister’s office hinted at that over the weekend, but use your common sense
If the cafes opened on Wednesday under a Level 3.3 model, then one and all, vaxxed and unvaxxed could swan into a café and order a panini.
Then in a few short weeks, the traffic light system comes in and suddenly all the unvaxxed are refused permission to enter the cafes they’ve already been freely entering.
It just won’t work.
This means Auckland’s freedoms won’t be denied on vaccination levels but on the efficiency of their bureaucratic roll out.
This will be the cost of not having a vax passport system rolled out months ago and that is on the head of the Ministry of Health.
The procurement process which started in July was not contractually finalised until October. The process was the standard process but this is not standard times.
It’s been a tale that’s been repeated throughout this pandemic.
New Zealand began its vaccination programme only after Medsafe declared the vax authorised. Compare that with America who started vaxxing as soon as it was available.
FMA approval for the Pfizer jab only came through on August 23rd. If America had waited until then, then the death toll would have been far higher.
These are extraordinary times which demand extraordinary measures in emergency time frames.
But in New Zealand, our bureaucracy bumbles it’s way like a plodding sloth to unfortunate outcomes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Extra measures are in place to support students exams after a disrupted year.
NCEA and scholarship exams start today.
Auckland, Waikato and Northland students will get an Unexpected Event Grade if they don't attend their exam.
If they sit the exam, they'll get the better of the two grades.
Auckland students can also get extra Learning Recognition Credits and credit requirements for subjects and University Entrance are lower.
Christchurch Boys' High School Board Chair Leeann Watson told Mike Hosking NZQA understands the disruption.
“Regardless of whether or not NZQA does go through and actually make those adjustments, there is a requirement that students have done some work throughout the year.”
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Although it beggars' belief, it would seem, for reasons best known to themselves, the Government is going to forge ahead with MIQ until well into next year.
I assume you saw the story yesterday about the bloke from the Middle East who used Microsoft Paint to doctor his documents to get into the country. He couldn't believe he got away with it. He was desperate, and desperate people do desperate things. That is one of the many tragedies of the MIQ nightmare, the actions of some are not far removed from the refugee pictures we see out of Europe.
When you have no money, no job, no visa, you're trapped in a foreign country, and your own country won't let you back in, forgery seems a fairly obvious next step. True to reputation good old New Zealand is asleep at the wheel and lets the bloke in.
Anyway, the Prime Minister talks of MIQ being here until the first quarter of next year. That’s January, February, and March. She said that because it was assumed by many that it would be gone by Christmas. Why?
Because there are thousands with Covid in the community isolating at home and the people arriving in MIQ are jabbed and negative tested. So, it makes literally no sense. But common sense or logic is not what runs the Government's thinking on a lot of stuff, far less MIQ.
And then a letter from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to exporters, inviting them to apply for the 150 spots in that special business allocation of rooms set up a couple of months back. The letter invites applications for January, they’ll send out details about February shortly, but they indicate that March might not be needed.
So, join those two things together. A government agency suggesting MIQ gone by March, and a Prime Minister say we'll get rid of it in the first quarter. The clue being March given if it was earlier, she would have said something like, "we'll be getting rid of it shortly into the new year."
If she had said March last week, you could have heard the groans and complaints from Invercargill to Kaitaia. But there would now seem to be enough information out there to piece together their plan.
So, if you were thinking you could go offshore and maybe return to home isolation after Christmas or the new year, sorry. We'll have to look at the thousands upon thousands, upon thousands returning home to Australia for Christmas, and wonder what might have been.
If only we had had a government that's a little more assertive, a little better prepared, and a lot more open minded to freedom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I run the risk of making a massive dick of myself today – well to be honest, that’s a risk everyday, but today in particular, because of what I said last Friday.
Friday morning I was on the Mike Hosking Breakfast which has just a teeny tiny smidge of a larger audience than we do, just a smidge, and I said to that rather large audience, that today Cabinet would announce they’re going to open hairdressers and the beauty industry this week.
I said they’ll open them up earlier than expected, so to my mind the salon doors will swing open as of Wednesday morning, that was my prediction.
I was so confident in my prediction that I rang around various places like the desperate cooped up Aucklander I am, and started asking for appointment bookings.
Most of them responded with “what are you talking about, we have no expectation we’ll be open until December 1st,” at which point I would regale them with my prediction of early opening doors and how they should start taking bookings.
I’m not sure how much of this is me wishful thinking, how much of it is me going completely round the twist as we enter almost Day 100 of lockdown, or how much of it is real. We’ll know that by 4pm this afternoon.
Public health experts of course are against. But aren’t they always? They’re against everything, however so far, I see all of their predictions of overwhelming the health system have come to nothing, ICU being flooded has come to nothing, we’re down to 5 in ICU which is a non event. On top of that, none of the so called ‘super spreader’ events that were going to bring us to our knees have eventuated into super spreader events, so I’m figuring with so many of us vaccinated now, the game is up.
Hospo will be hoping there’s an early move for them too. But I see their worries around how they do that before a traffic light framework’s in place in terms of how they manage vaccine passes. Thing is of course, they won’t have to, until the traffic light comes in, but it’ll still confuse many none the less.
It’s a crime alfresco dining hasn’t been allowed, or outdoor food courts in malls given the malls are open, or hairdressers, when botox has been up and running. There’s absolutely no consistency but I think we gave up a while ago on any consistency from this Government.
So today we need to see cafes, restaurants, bars, hairdressers, and the beauty industry all allowed to open back up.
It’s been more than three long painful months, Auckland’s done as it is told, we’re vaccinated, we haven’t overwhelmed the health system, it’s time. It’s time for those who’ve sacrificed so much to be thrown a bone.
And also for me, so I don’t look like a dick for saying it'll happen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Act Party is quickly gaining support, but it's pointing fingers at public servants for Labour's major lead.
Newshub's latest Reid Research poll shows a record 4.9 percent increase for the Act Party to 16 percent overall.
National slumped to 26.9 percent, and Labour dropped slightly to 42.7 percent.
Act Party Leader David Seymour told Mike Hosking he blames the public sector for the majority of Labour's support.
“There’s people who have a job that’s inside, that’s taxpayer funded, that’s carried on. So, they’re saying ‘Oh well, we don’t have Covid.’”
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The Government's being accused of being out of touch, with its current Covid restrictions in Auckland.
Ministers will decide today whether to move the region to Step Three restrictions on Wednesday, allowing bars, restaurants and hairdressers to reopen with public health measures in place.
But the chances appear to be slim, with a spokesperson for the Prime Minister saying a change is unlikely.
Cook Brothers Hospitality Group Managing Director James Arnott told Mike Hosking authorities won't let law-abiding bars and restaurants open, but will let illegal house parties carry on night after night.
“They just have no idea about what’s actually happening on the ground. Having talked to anyone in Auckland, and the rules aren’t being followed, I don’t think I know anyone that’s actually following the rules by the word of the law.”
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Auckland businesses are pleading for the right to reopen this week.
Cabinet will decide today whether to move the region to Step Three restrictions on Wednesday -- allowing bars, restaurants and hairdressers to reopen with public health measures in place.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister has suggested such a move is unlikely.
But Hospitality New Zealand Auckland President Jamie Freeman told Kate Hawkesby he's trying to stay hopeful.
“We go to 3.3 and hit the traffic light system next week, we need to move as quickly as we can to orange and that’s when hospitality starts to make money and patron numbers are back.”
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NCEA and scholarship exams start today after a disrupted school year.
Students who have been affected by the ongoing level three lockdown are eligible for an Unexpected Event Grade.
If students don't sit the exam, they'll get that grade and if they do sit - they'll receive whichever grade is higher.
National Party education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith told Kate Hawkesby there'll be low numbers sitting exams in Auckland.
“The bit that worries me, is that is reveals a culture of achieving basic standards, then cruising, rather than striving for excellence.”
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Public health experts say letting Auckland's bars, cafes and hairdressers open next week wouldn't be wise but one thinks the Government may make the move anyway with cases and hospitalisations remaining steady.
Nearing 100 days in lockdown, Cabinet will re-evaluate Auckland's alert level setting tomorrow and consider whether a transition to alert level 3 step 3 would be viable.
The move would be welcome salvation for hospitality and close contact businesses like hairdressers, which haven't been able to operate fully or at all in previous settings.
Irene Gardiner and Ben Thomas joined Francesca Rudkin on the Sunday Panel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I spent yesterday afternoon with a couple of doctors from Papakura Marae, going door-to-door visiting whānau who have tested positive for Covid-19. They were testing vital signs and oxygen saturation.
The story will be on Q+A tomorrow. It was a good reminder of just how different our pandemic experiences are. My biggest day-to-day gripe is not being able to go to a restaurant. These doctors are working 12 or 13 hour days, risking their own health to try and help patients, many of whom are really seriously unwell.
The dye has now been set for reopening. In a fortnight we’ll be in the traffic light system. Covid-19 will be spreading everywhere. That’ll be it. And my experience spoke to the two groups of New Zealanders who I think have the greatest reasons to feel let down by New Zealand’s pandemic response. When all is said and done and we look back at Covid-19 in years to come, these are the two groups of Kiwis that won’t forget.
The first group is Māori. I’ve been harping on about this for months, but the early stages of the vaccine rollout left Māori behind and we’ve been playing catch up ever since. Despite all the millions of dollars pumped into community providers, the efforts to support remote communities, and the social media campaigns, the damage of those early failures cannot be undone. Māori health experts were ignored at the start of the vaccine rollout. Young Māori were left to Group 4. Community groups were sidelined. And when the Government made that pivotal decision to start relaxing the toughest restrictions in Auckland, Māori vaccination rates were more than 26% behind those of the general population.
When I confronted the Prime Minister about this last month, Jacinda Ardern responded sharply, which indicates just how sensitive the Government is to this criticism. It’s true that from a pragmatic perspective, she and her Cabinet colleagues simply cannot wait to relax restrictions until Māori vaccination rates are equal to those of the general population. The anger and antagonism would be damaging for Māori and politically devastating for the Government. Jacinda Ardern has to govern for the whole population. But there is no changing the facts. Māori will soon make up more than half of all the Delta infections ever recorded in Aotearoa. In the face of a deadly pandemic, despite warnings from Māori public health experts, this Government made the two most critical decisions – the shift down from Level 4 and the impending opening of Auckland’s borders – when Māori vaccination rates were miles behind those of the general population. Those two decisions alone have more or less guaranteed Te Pāti Māori another term in Government. I think there will be Treaty implications. Waitangi next year could be very interesting indeed.
The second group to feel an enduring sense of abandonment is New Zealanders overseas. Yesterday, Jacinda Ardern confirmed she won’t be changing MIQ until next year. But in going door-to-door, visiting positive cases, I was again reminded of the ongoing double-standards with our system. There is simply no scientific justification why a double-vaccinated person with a negative test, travelling from a comparable country, somehow presents more of a risk self-isolating at home than the thousands of people who are already self-isolating having tested positive the virus. Dr Michael Baker even says as much! Every week we are confronted with stories of Kiwis who want to visit dying loved ones and are being denied. I was recently in contact with a young doctor, double-jabbed, with multiple negative tests, who was granted an emergency MIQ spot, but then denied an exemption to leave and visit her dying grandad. He was the man who raised her. Every night, watching the news from MIQ, she would be reminded of the hundreds of positive cases who were isolating at home. She wasn’t granted the same level of trust. She wasn’t granted compassion. Her grandad died and was buried while she sat...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rural vaccination rates are lagging behind.
Otago University's Garry Nixon told Andrew Dickens rural rates are about eight per cent cities.
The Department of General Practice and Rural Health Associate Professor says that's a real worry.
“For a lot of people in rural areas who failed to get their first jab, Covid is gonna arrive in their communities before they're fully vaccinated.”
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It’s time for the Lost and Found file on Newstalk ZB.
Lost: Any government representative on just about anything this Friday.
The 1 pm press conference was cancelled today. So, as concern rises about the insidious spread of Covid’s tentacles, as people wonder why the Waikato has 30 cases and yet has just been given Level 2 freedom after 6 weeks of lockdown while Auckland enters its fourth month, and as confusion still reigns about the traffic light system and its lack of nuance, the government offered no-one to be held account for it all.
Why?
Grant Robertson was to have shown but he went to Auckland yesterday and found some difficulty in getting his PCR test done in time. Such irony. If only they had pulled their finger out and got saliva tests on the go, eh?
Meanwhile, where was Hipkins? Or Little or Ayesha Verrall? All gone and lost. It felt like it was a sunny Friday after a terrible fortnight and every man, woman and dog had run for the hills, put on the boardies, poured a big Chardonnay and tried to forget the horror exists.
Meanwhile, Lost: The Green Party.
As the slow-motion Covid car crash continues, I’m struck by how little we’ve heard from the Greens over the past 600 days. Granted they’re not a true opposition. More like Labour’s little sister prepared to lend a hand in an emergency.
But still, where the hell are they on the big issues like mandates and levels and passports and the financial strangulation of Auckland?
This is made even more glaringly obvious when you consider that Chlöe Swarbrick is Auckland Central’s darling and yet we don’t see her fighting for the CBD’s businesses.
Julie Anne Genter was their Covid-19 spokesperson until this week. She’s now stepped aside for maternity leave. She’s been replaced by Elizabeth Kerekere. A quick search shows Julie Anne Genter last spoke about the Covid response over a month ago.
In fact, a quick look over their website shows a party resolutely keeping away from the messy fights.
And yet while they maintain this silence their poll figures stay remarkable stable at a healthy 9 per cent or so.
At this stage that 9 per cent is crucial, the Greens are currently positioned to be the Queenmaker.
It’d be nice if they put a bit more effort in for their seats at the big table.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are 30 new community cases in the Waikato today as New Zealand records 198.
The total number of Delta cases in the region is now 214 — one is in hospital, while 115 are isolating at home.
Meanwhile, there are 152 new community cases in Auckland, six in Bay of Plenty, five in Northland, two in Lakes and one each in MidCentral, Wairarapa and Christchurch.
A weak positive in Wellington from a visiting Auckland essential worker is also under investigation.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker told Simon Barnett and James Daniels Waikato's shift down to Alert Level Two earlier this week increases the risk to the wider North Island.
“It will be important to watch what happens in the Waikato over the next few days, and particularly to see if we are seeing more unexpected cases.”
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Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Tracey McClellan and National's Gerry Brownlee.
Topics for discussion included the recent cancellations of events in Canterbury, and if Government's new Traffic Light System provided enough clarity for organisers.
They reflected on the Pike River tragedy 11 years, and discussed whether investigations should continue if they were to result in charges being laid.
The Groundswell protests will go ahead in parts of New Zealand on Sunday. McClellan and Brownlee reacted to the protests, and the comments made by Stuart Nash in Parliament yesterday.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is today visiting Christchurch, and spoke with Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings host, John MacDonald live on the show.
John asked the Prime Minister about the new 'Traffic Light System', and off the back of recent events being cancelled in Canterbury, whether the system provided enough information and clarity for event organisers to confidently plan going forward.
The Prime Minister also discussed the Three Waters Reform and why she feels it is essential to move forward with the changes, and domestic travel within New Zealand being open for both the vaccinated, and the unvaccinated."
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So, Northland's lagging behind in the vaccination stakes - second to last on the national league table.
But to be fair, it's not for a lack of effort.
Right now, there are campervans touring around offering vaccines, pop-up vaccination tents left right and centre.
At the weekend, the DHB staged an all-day event in Whangarei with music, dancers, free kai and vaccinations - must have cost thousands.
The result: 350 jabs.
Now, after 4 months of miserable lockdown, Aucklanders are itching to go north for a couple of weeks in the sun, spending up on accommodation and hospitality.
And Northland needs it. We've been blocked from the rest of the country, blocking us from that tourist money.
But the worry is, that Covid will depart from Auckland and arrive in Northland before Northland is ready to deal with it.
In theory, people can't leave Auckland without being double-vaxxed or having a negative test but the Government wants to run this on a trust model.
Like the drink-drive laws the Prime Minister said the other day...oh...righto.
Here's the thing. We have been pouring millions into this campaign to get people vaccinated.
But the daily increments have been getting smaller, much smaller.
We are very very close now to reaching everyone who wants to be reached.
I still believe it's absolutely a person's right to say no, even though the potential consequence falls on the rest of us as taxpayers.
But there has to come a time when we dial back on this insane profligacy, and quit making excuses for lazy people.
If you want a jab, go get a jab. If you don't, that's your privilege, and your look-out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's not just businesses trying to navigate the new traffic light system.
Catholic churches are planning to hold mass for people with vaccination passes, and a separate service with limited numbers for unvaccinated worshippers.
A date on when the country will move into the new framework will be decided on November 29.
The Anglican Bishop of Auckland Ross Bay told Tim Dower he's consulting with his community on what to do moving forward.
“We are committed to doing our best to continue ministering to all people.”
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Former Chef and Restaurateur Adam Dickson is unimpressed with the Government's treatment of the hospitality sector.
He's behind 'Hands up for Hospo'.
An initiative designed to help those struggling, stay afloat, by way of an online fundraising auction.
Dickson told Tim Dower this is designed to help business owners who are having to shell out for lots of hidden costs.
“A little from a lot of people will hopefully see us straight.”
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Christchurch has had two new Covid cases.
But the debate on whether the Covid anxiety in Christchurch is worse in Auckland has become more of a competition on social media.
Meanwhile, some Auckland schools have decided to make final year exams optional for students.
All Auckland, Northland and Waikato students are eligible for an unexpected event grade - an average grade based on work throughout the year.
As the vaccine mandates take hold around the country, 1300 health workers nationwide have lost their jobs over their refusal to take the vaccine.
Waikato DHB is the worst affected, with 154 health workers who lost their jobs based there.
Listen above as Ali Jones and Tim Wilson discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you’re a little bit worried that the part of the country that you’re heading to for summer might get thrown into the Red Light under the new Traffic Light System, I don’t think you need to worry about that terribly.
I would put money of it that none of the regions outside of Auckland, especially the summer hotspot regions, will get put into Red this summer.
Fair enough if it’s worrying you.
Red does mean a lot of bad things.
It means no festivals, it means smaller weddings, it means smaller crowds and bars and so on.
And in Red as we know, you’re only allowed 100 people, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, but as I say I don't think you’ve got anything to worried about.
Two reasons for that: Rhythm and Vines and a wedding.
Remember, the Prime Minister promised that we would have what she called a classic Kiwi summer and she would “find a way to make sure that we are able to have the events that make New Zealand summers”.
Now, for some reason, Rhythm and Vines has become the event that symbolises the classic Kiwi summer this summer.
So if it gets called off, it means that Jacinda Ardern has failed to protect summer like she promised.
I don't think she can let that happen after the tough four months that we’ve had.
And then the wedding.
There is her wedding in Gisborne as well.
The guest list is reportedly 150-170 people.
That’s a lot more than you’re allowed under Red.
So I’m betting that Tairawhiti — the DHB around Gisborne — has to go to Orange, whatever its vaccination rate is.
Right now, it’s currently sitting at 72 per cent single dose.
And if Tairawhiti goes into Orange in order to save the Prime Minister’s wedding and Rhythm and Vines, then I reckon every other DHB goes in as well because everyone else has a better vaccination rate than Tairawhiti.
The clue that this is actually something that they’re considering, is that the ministers all refuse to tell us what vaccination rate will put the DHBs into Red or Orange.
They refuse to give us that information, which means that they’re leaving that wriggle room available for themselves there.
And note also that the Rhythm and Vines organisers, in the last 24 hours, are really confident that they’re going to be able to go ahead, despite the fact that Tairawhiti is really lagging behind in the vaccination rate.
I reckon this business of putting them into Red if they don’t get high enough, that’s just an empty threat from the Prime Minister to drive up the vaccination rates because that’s what she’s trying to do.
So short of a big outbreak, wherever it is you’re going for holidays, I reckon it looks like you’ll be OK and you don’t need to stress out at the moment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Disagreement on Waiheke over whether Aucklanders should be allowed onto the Island.
Current restrictions currently stop the movement of non-residents to the island.
The Community Board is waiting on a public health assessment as to whether the border can open.
But Waiheke Restaurant Association chair Catherine Vosper says told Heather du Plessis-Allan it needs to open now.
“62 per cent of our customers are Aucklanders. Some of us are still able to open for takeaways and contactless deliveries and that sort of thing, and it’s just cut of our key market.”
Waiheke Island is currently sitting on 90 per cent first doses and 82 per cent second doses.
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A Wellington hospitality leader is trialling new Covid-19 technology.
The technology consists of a scanner that checks whether vaccine passports are valid.
Wellington Hospitality Leader Matt McLaughlin has been trialling the technology in his group of bars.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a bit slow and could cause some issues.
“For us to try and scan every single person that’s walking through the door, I’m scratching my head and just trying to work out how we’re going to manage it.”
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Waikato District Health Board has lost the most workers due to the Covid-19 vaccine mandate.
DHB workers are now required to have at least one dose of the jab or lose the job.
Overall, 1300 staff countrywide have been stood down, with 154 of those based in Waikato.
Rural GP Network chair and Whangamata Doctor Fiona Bolden told Heather du Plessis-Allan a number of them will be rural workers.
“Rural midwives for example, and we would be worried about how that will impact the care of the rural people in this area.”
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The vast majority of Victoria's Covid rules will be scrapped from Thursday night, as the state prepares to hit its 90 per cent full vaccinated target.
Premier Daniel Andrews made the announcement on Thursday, revealing the host of changes which will see "almost all" restrictions end.
"First and foremost, there are no more caps, there are no more rules in terms of how many people can be in different spaces," he said.
"All of these things, which we've missed and which are absolutely about getting that normality that we've all craved."
Density limits will be scrapped for hospitality, concerts and events with double-dosed attendees.
Indoor dance floors are set to be legal for the first time in six months — including at both weddings and nightclubs.
There will be no cap on the number of visitors Victorians can have at their homes.
Big changes are also coming to the state's isolation requirements with fully-vaccinated contacts.
From midnight, those who come into contact with a positive case will be required to get a PCR test and isolate only until they get a negative result.
Exposure sites will no longer be published online but the DHS will use an alert function in the Service Victoria app to notify patrons if they've visited a high-risk venue.
Weddings and funerals can go ahead without density limits for fully vaccinated people.
Vaccination requirements will remain for non-essential retail, events and hospitality across the state, and large events must have an approved Covid-safe plan.
- by Holly Hales, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
So the noose around Auckland is finally loosening, but don't get too excited.
We have nearly a month before we can head out to other parts of New Zealand to reconnect with family and friends and inject some much-needed Auckland disposable into the economy.
And given that a number of districts most visited by Aucklanders are well below the 90 per cent vaccination target, how is it all going to work? Well, thank you for asking, but amazingly, none of this is clear.
If you thought the unvaccinated wouldn't be able to travel, well, it appears they can.
Despite an implicit message from Ardern and Hipkins earlier this month that travel would be the privilege of the vaccinated, nope. You will need either to be double vaxxed OR to have had a negative test within 72 hours.
So, if you haven't been vaxxed you're free to leave.
I actually think the testing makes sense because as we know, even if you are vaxxed, there's a chance you could have Covid and pass it on.
So, before I head north, I will take a test - just to do a belt and braces job. And how will we know that everyone will comply? Again, thank you for asking. We won't know.
It's another high trust model. There will be no hard boundaries, no checkpoints heading south out of Auckland - just random spot checks from police, in much the same way as they do drink driving spot checks, WOF and rego checks.
It will apparently be a bit stricter at the northern border, given Northland's low vaccination rate, so police will be working with iwi - it will be interesting to see how that works.
And why aren't we loosening that border right away, given Auckland has achieved 90 per cent 1st vaccination? It's because, yet again, we're pandering to the minority.
Nine per cent of the country has yet to be vaccinated. Based on the percentages, the public health system should be able to cope that number.
It makes me very, very grumpy that I have to wait, my friends have to wait, to see family because the Government has decided that people who don't want protection, need protection and are being given one last final chance to get it.
I suppose it's something to look forward to but after this long, gruelling, punishing lockdown, joy and optimism is a lot harder to find than it used to be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's still unclear where the Government will draw the line on what restrictions to apply, and where, this Christmas.
The whole country will move to the traffic light system about the end of the month.
Auckland's border will then open from December 15, to anyone who is fully vaccinated or has a negative Covid test.
Areas with a high vaccination rate and low case numbers will move to the Orange Level, with masks and vaccine certificates still required.
Transport Minister Michael Wood told Mike Hosking higher-risk areas like Auckland will move to Red Level, with gathering limits and social distancing rules in place.
“Those will be decisions that are made by Cabinet, in the same way we have made decisions about Alert Levels and other things that we bring in place over the last year or so that have kept New Zealanders safe. We’ll base that on the public health advice that we receive.”
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It feels weird to stop and think what’s become of our lives these days and how basic things like leaving your city or walking into a café, now require passes, proof and a QR code. It’s like a futuristic movie, but sadly without the hovercraft. Hovercraft would come in handy right now come to think of it, if it meant getting across borders without checkpoints.
But here we are. Regimented, archived, coded, scannable. Yesterday I spent the endless time refreshing the My Covid Record site to log on to request my vaccine pass, to then download it to my phone to then upload it to my Apple wallet and then print off a hard copy just in case.
That will only of course get us into venues domestically and will only be valid for 6 months, whereby we’ll need a booster shot and a new pass. If we want to travel internationally, we need to apply for a separate vaccine certificate.
Why they can’t be simpler and the same thing is beyond me. We also of course have our vaccine cards, which you would’ve got when you got jabbed, and I had my very first experience with having to show that yesterday.
I took my dog to the vet, my daughter came too, and the vet asked us both for proof of vaccination before we came in, so I was able to present our vaccine cards. They took them and wrote down the details to ‘log us’, and as they did I thought, this is the future, this is the new normal. Being scrutinized, judged, checked, and ‘logged’.
It’s a wacky old world. Do you reckon though that we are now so brow-beaten by being so heavily regulated with our movements, that we still just feel grateful to be allowed to move?
And speaking of movement, those of us who might want to travel in or out of Auckland have to wait almost another month to do so. And when we do, a soft border with random spot checks will be waiting; either you’re double vaxxed, can prove a negative test, or you face a one thousand dollar fine.
But here’s where I see potential trouble brewing, and look, call me cynical, but that’s a journalist’s job, look for where trouble might brew.
One, the tests have to be back within 72 hours of travel – imagine the bottleneck on testing capacity and turnaround times when you still have a hundred thousand Aucklanders unvaccinated.
You can just see that being the story – all the tests that didn’t come back in time. Does that then become another block for the unvaxxed to actually do anything? So it looks kind in theory, but in reality, they’re still screwed.
And if so, is it just a ploy to hike up vax rates? And who pays for these tests? Taxpayers?
And two, the Northland border.
The PM said, ‘being mindful of such low vaccine rates in Northland means Police will be working with local iwi on those checkpoints – so that’s going to be your choke point.
The other issue is timeframe proximity to Christmas; everyone travelling just 10 days out from Christmas day, are you kidding me?
We’ve got our pass and the ability to move, how much freedom is it really though?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Good news for some parts of the country, and bad news for others.
The Government has revealed the whole country will move to the traffic light system when Auckland does in early December.
Auckland's border will then open to anyone who's fully vaccinated or has returned a negative test, from December 15.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult told Mike Hosking it's great news for his tourism-dependent district, which reached the 90 percent vaccination milestone yesterday.
“We were hoping they’d signal a date, they have, because that enables businesses to get geared up employers to find folk et cetera. Our economy certainly needs a shot in the arm.”
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The move from a hard border to a soft border around Auckland is being welcomed by trucking operators.
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett told Kate Hawkesby it would have made a chaotic summer period even worse.
“Kiwirail is going to have its network out, it’s peak season. You’ve got to get food, gifts, everything else on the back of the truck. Added to that, we’ve got a shortage of drivers because the borders aren’t open internationally.”
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Many of us are aware now of how brutal the MIQ system has been in restricting people coming home, and separating families and friends from each other.
But this story is particularly tragic.
Shelley Grierson is currently stuck in MIQ and is desperately trying to get a compassionate exemption to self-isolate at home.
Her sister has terminal leukaemia and has been given days to live.
Despite her sister's health, a doctor’s letter to support this, and multiple negative tests, she keeps being declined.
Shelley joined Kate Hawkesby.
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The mood in Auckland will have lifted a notch, not hard when it was coming from a pretty low base.
At least its citizens have finally got some dates to work with when they will be able to travel north and south of the border to get together with their loved ones for Christmas.
In reality, the Government had no choice, and even though it may point to the health officials pulling the strings, it was the political reality that took over in the end.
There's nothing like waning popularity in the opinion polls to make them sit up and take notice, especially when their ticket to ride Jacinda Ardern's taking a hit. That will have driven the decision to get on with the job and breach the borders. Some would say poll driven fruit cakes, coined by the last widely popular Labour Prime Minister David Lange, won the day.
But the fact is they couldn't possibly lock down the country's economic powerhouse for any longer.
As it is, they have to wait for the best part of a month before they can get in their cars and hit the highways.
Why wait until December the 15th?
Well, Ardern virtually admitted the rest of the lower vaccinated country was holding the city to ransom.
She said, by the time we see Aucklanders hitting the road with a vaccine certificate or a test, it will allow them to get the rest of the country to a higher vaccine rate which, she says, will give us all an extra layer of protection.
Ardern's said it long enough, Auckland is carrying the load for the rest of the country and this simply proves it.
So, if the city folk can travel around the country with their double jabs and their tests if they are unvaccinated, then why shouldn't the same rules apply to the thousands of kiwis desperate to get home for the festive season, especially if they come from lower risk countries like Australia?
The PM's offering some encouragement, saying they have now just halved the time returning kiwis have to stay in managed isolation from 14 to seven days before they can go home to isolate for a few more days. That will free up more spaces in the managed hotels, but it's back into the ballot, they will still have to take pot luck.
Imagine the psychological effect on you if you have done your OE and want to come home, only to find the country of your birth closing the door on you until you win the key to open it in a raffle. As one who did my OE many years ago, it would have been beyond my comprehension that a lottery would decide when I could return home and not me.
I have a son in that situation whose raffle tickets have come close, 18 ahead of him at one point, only to see the door closed. Thousands of others are in the same boat. Mention of it on air though, and it sent the anonymous morons on twitter into a frenzy, accusing me of looking for favours.
It was simply used as a bit of inside knowledge to indicate the level of frustration of those locked out of their country when they've done everything they can on the health front and would pose little, if any risk, when they return to their country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Auckland border has a freedom date but, there's still no saying when the region will leave lockdown.
From December 15, people will be able to leave or enter the region, if they're fully-vaccinated or have a negative Covid test within 72 hours before travel.
The rest of the country will join Auckland in moving to the traffic-light system soon after November 29, subject to Cabinet.
But the Government is still refusing to let Auckland know when it'll move.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan Cabinet hasn't made a firm commitment yet.
“I acknowledge that people want certainty. We don’t have certainty at this point around all of the relevant information to we use when we make these kinds of decisions.”
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A warning there could be hold-ups as people try to download My Vaccine Pass, which will prove they've been vaccinated against the virus.
It will be a QR code that can be shown digitally or printed out.
Once the traffic light system is in place, the pass will give double-jabbed people access to places like churches, restaurants, gyms, bars and sporting events.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking 200 vaccine certificates can be produced per second.
“Which is pretty good, by industry standards, so I’m told. But if everybody tries to do it at the same time, there may be a few delays, there could be up to 3 million people trying to do it all at the same time.”
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There are safeguards in place in My Vaccine Pass to prevent fraud.
People can log in or call My Covid Record to request their pass, which will be in the form of a QR code, from later this morning.
Once the traffic light system's in place, the pass will give double-jabbed people access to all sorts of things such as gyms, bars and sporting events.
AUT computer science expert Ken Johnson told Kate Hawkesby it will have the person's name, date of birth, and the expiry date of the pass.
“Venues can ask to cross-reference that information with an official ID like your license and passport, so that’s an important message to reduce the pass forgery.”
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Auckland's Mayor says there's no way the Government is keeping a hard border around the region this summer.
The Government will make an announcement today about the plan for Covid borders.
Our newsroom understands Aucklanders will be locked in by the borders for the next month, before travel restrictions are eased in time for Christmas.
Mayor Phil Goff told Kate Hawkesby a hard border, with checks on every traveller, simply wouldn't work.
“I can’t see that they can have a hard border, you imagine Boxing Day, 60,000 people travelling south from Auckland, you just couldn’t do it.”
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With only five weeks left until Christmas, retailers and hospitality businesses are hoping for a spending spree before they call it a year.
Jarden's Economist John Carran told Heather du Plessis-Allan he expects people to spend plenty this Christmas season because of the pent-up urges through lockdown.
“There will be a bounce back but it could be a bit more challenging next year.”
He said one of the reasons behind this is increased interest rates.
Carran said people might also be a little more cautious about physically going out and spending due to Covid.
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More and more property developers seem to be using sunset clauses to back out of contracts and sell new builds for a higher price to someone else.
Sometimes home buyers get an opportunity to pay a new, higher price and sometimes they lose their almost-home altogether.
Auckland Property lawyer Joanna Pidgeon told Heather du Plessis-Allan this is being used increasingly.
“Times are tough for developers at the moment. Sometimes they’re seeking to recapture some of their losses by cancelling and on selling for more.”
She said this isn’t what the sunset clause was designed for.
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It's being suggested that Kiwis start thinking about their Christmas shopping a bit earlier than usual.
That's because gifts might be a bit harder to find and more expensive this year.
Infometrics' Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Heather du Plessis-Allan we’re going to have a big challenge this Christmas with the increased cost of goods, along with disruptions to shipping.
“Getting ahead of the curb this Christmas is going to be critical for households.”
He said shipping is the main factor behind increased costs.
Olsen said container prices are ten times more expensive than they were pre-pandemic.
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The NPC Rugby Championship Final can be played in Hamilton this Saturday, thanks to the region's move to level two.
The Waikato squad have had to spend six weeks away from home so it'll be a special homecoming for them against Tasman Mako.
Waikato Rugby Union CEO Carl Moon told Heather du Plessis-Allan they’re pretty chuffed.
He says there are still restrictions on how many people can actually attend.
“We’ve been hanging off every announcement for the last six weeks. We’ve been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride.”
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It seems Aucklanders are eager to attend restaurants and bars again.
Hospitality businesses in the region are already seeing an increase in bookings for private tables and entire venues next month.
Restaurateur Krishna Botica told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's good to see demand.
“You can see how many people are actually trying to make up for three months' worth of lost time with family and loved ones.”
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GPs are calling for a greater role in clinical care, for people self-isolating with Covid-19.
Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell is seeking an urgent response from health officials, to concerns about people not getting the clinical care they need when self-isolating.
ProCare Clinical Advisor Dr Allan Moffitt says evidence from Canada shows at-home isolation can be done safely.
He told Mike Hosking people should be getting regular check-ups from their GP or another medical professional, and should raise the alarm if they get particularly short of breath.
“People often deteriorate quite quickly between days eight to ten, that’s the period we need to watch out for. With the proper monitoring we should be able to predict that.”
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The great mystery for me of the vaccine mandate is, just what is it about the vaccine that would lead you to voluntarily want to quit your job?
I get it if you're 22, your job sucks, you're on minimum wage, you don’t really know what you want to do in life, and the benefit still offers an element of appeal. But the mandates around teaching and healthcare are different, aren't they?
Firstly, you are qualified and you studied. To study you had to dedicate yourself, you clearly wanted to do this. And yet a jab is the difference between you following your dream and being unemployed? You are not going on welfare, it's a world away from where you were financially.
So, what is it about the vaccine that is so all consuming you'd run yourself into financial difficulty to avoid it?
There, I assume, remain the two groups. The flat out anti-vaxxer and the ones who are yet to be convinced.
How is it in a place like New South Wales, a place not dissimilar to us, has gone from a resistance level of about 29 percent down to 4 percent? They're closing in 95 percent first doses, that's not a lot of resistance left. Yet here we seem stuck at about twice that.
Is the mandate being overplayed? Is it possible that by the end of this week we will actually find out the numbers of teachers, nurses, and midwives quitting isn't actually that big at all? Will there be a few last-minute hold outs that, when push came to shove, acquiesced?
For those who are in the "I don't like getting told what to do “ camp, I fully get it. But in life there all sorts of judgement calls you make.
There are lots of things we don’t like to do. A lot of us don't like change, a government, or new rules, but we put up with it. We accept that picking your fights is a skill. We give things the weight they deserve.
Sometimes we'll quit work, but it's mainly when we have options, an out, or an alternative.
What alternative do the unvaccinated have? What was the point of years of training for a job you’ve just quit so you can be unemployed and unvaccinated in a world that, rightly or wrongly, has decided your view is wrong?
How many restaurants do you want to be banned from? How many flights do you want to miss? How many shops do want to banned from? How many jobs won't you have?
That's a hell of a hassle for a point of view.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There's relief for doctors at news they'll be able to get a booster shot from the end of this month.
Anyone over 18 who's been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for six months will be able to get a third jab.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director, Sarah Dalton, told Kate Hawkesby she heard from a lot of members who were concerned it wouldn't be until next year.
“Certainly, some of our members, particularly working in EDs who are seeing Covid-positive people every day were talking about getting the third shot privately.”
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National says an incompetent MIQ system's led to $36 million worth of isolation invoices not being issued.
Newstalk ZB can reveal close to 14-thousand 400 people never received their bill, due to incomplete or inaccurate MIQ data.
The Government says it's fixed the problem.
But National's Chris Bishop says the numbers show the Government can't run a functional invoicing system.
“It’s really just an example of a system that was not well designed from the start, and we did not make the improvements quickly enough to start collecting the money from people that owe the taxpayer.”
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A lesson from the United Kingdom to not open up before enough people are vaccinated against Covid-19.
Here in New Zealand, anyone over 18 who's been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for six months, will be able to get a third jab after November 29.
In the UK, not enough people are receiving their boosters on time.
Less than 69 percent of the population is double-vaxed.
Leeds University virologist Dr Stephen Griffin told Mike Hosking the virus is spreading, especially in young people, but people are complacent.
“The reason we need boosters is because we’ve allowed the virus to run, unchecked. Until we had our sufficient vaccine coverage to ensure that that could be done safely.”
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It's unclear how Austria will enforce its new lockdown for unvaccinated people.
The European country has banned unvaccinated people from leaving their home for 10 days, except for limited reasons like attending work or buying food.
But Reuters Correspondent Francois Murphy told Mike Hosking it will only be enforced with spot checks.
“It’s very hard for police officer who stops an unvaccinated person to tell whether this person really is on their way to work or from some other activity that’s allowed under this lockdown.”
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Cabinet had been deciding today what to do about the Auckland boundary over summer, with an announcement expected later this week.
But according to the Herald, Cabinet ministers had been discussing putting hard borders around low-vaccinated areas, such as Tairawhiti, Northland and Lakes.
Taupo mayor David Trewavas told Heather du Plessis-Allan Taupo’s connectivity will make it pretty hard to maintain a hard border.
“It’s gonna be pretty hard and the boys are pretty stretched out with the judiciaries. It’s gonna be interesting, you come from north, south, east and west into Taupo, so it’ll be very, very interesting if they try to put a hard border up, that’s for sure.”
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Let’s deal first with this idea that’s popped up this morning of dropping the border around Auckland this summer and instead putting up protective borders around the DHBs with the lowest vaccination rates.
This is being reported by the Herald’s political editor as one of the ideas that Cabinet was considering today.
The fact it’s being reported by the Herald’s political editor means you should take it seriously.
The idea, however, should be killed off immediately because it is not going to work.
Think about this: the police are struggling to cope without the staff at the moment that they have who are manning the Auckland border.
It’s really putting a lot of stress on them.
They’ve got 300 officers manning the Auckland border alone.
It’s now putting so much strain on them that they've had to call in 75 officers from around the country just to help Auckland with its policing.
That is one border.
It’s one region and actually, it’s a relatively small land border when you think about it.
If that is unsustainable, how can they possibly spare the staff over summer to man five massive borders?
Because that’s what we’re talking about.
There are five DHBs with first jabs 85 per cent or under.
Northland, Lakes — which is essentially Taupo, Tairawhiti — which is Gisborne, Whanganui and West Coast.
Have you seen the size of those borders?
And the number of roads going in and out in each of those areas. It is not possible to do that properly.
One of those areas, as I mentioned, is Taupo.
Are we seriously considering stopping all the cars going north and south through Taupo over summer?
Come on. That is not feasible.
I’m not entirely sure why Cabinet is considering a ridiculous idea like this.
I’m not entirely sure why a ridiculous idea like this has made it into the public domain for us to talk about.
Maybe it’s possible that they're just putting it out there in order to get some chat around it so people who listen start to get it through their heads, get used to the idea that the Auckland border will come down before Christmas.
Maybe that’s the plan behind it.
But all that is doing is reinforcing that these guys in Cabinet have no blinking idea what to do right now and they're on the panic hop, aren’t they?
If I was them, I wouldn’t even admit that I’d wasted time considering an idea this dumb and this unworkable.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A suggestion vaccine certificates and booster jabs should be linked.
Former National MP Parmjeet Parmar, who has a PhD in Biological Sciences, says if you've had your second Covid-19 jab and it's been longer than six months then you should have your booster before you get your vaccine certificate.
Parmar told Heather du Plessis-Allan if the passport is issued, there should be some terms around its validity.
“So people, if they get the vaccine passport, it is within six months, then after six months, whatever the document is, digital or physical, that should become invalid.”
The Government says booster doses are not currently required for the public to get a vaccine certificate.
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Newstalk ZB political editor, Barry Soper, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the decisions made at Cabinet with booster vaccines and Waikato confirmed to be moving to Level 2 on Tuesday, and also discussed the latest Colmar Brunton poll, which saw Labour's popularity dropping.
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Welcome to the first day of vaccine mandate. Today was the deadline for teachers and health workers to have had at least one shot of the Covid vaccination.
We all know this has caused some consternation amongst members of those professions who have an antipathy towards the vaccine, and amongst those people against government compulsion.
In fact, there has been a cacophony of calls suggesting that this issue is splitting the nation. Headlines, commentators and talkback callers claim that this is the most divisive issue in our history.
But is it really?
To be divisive, you really need to be split 50/50 on an issue, yet in vaccinations we are already pushing 80 percent double vaccinated. That is a very large majority of the country.
What we have is a very loud minority who are prepared to shout division at the top of their lungs.
It is interesting how many of our politicians are pro-vaccination but anti-mandates. Even the Prime Minister was reticent. Today, David Seymour calls the mandates divisive and mean-spirited, even though as the personal choice party he should also be supporting the businesses who make a personal choice to employ who they want.
It’s important to realise that these mandates proposed by the Government are mostly for their employees. The doctors, nurses, teachers and firefighters which covers 40 percent of the population.
It should also be noted that private companies are doing the exact same thing. Whether it’s Spark or The Warehouse or Air New Zealand or my very own company.
The non-vaxxed will not be let into our studio doors and negotiations with non-vaxxed staff will hinge around them staying at home.
So, whether it’s government order or just the domination of the wishes of the vast majority, there will one rule for the vaxxed and another for the non-vaxxed. It’s your personal choice
The mandates are a fact of life. They’re not hear to oppress you but to preserve your health and the health of others around you.
They are compulsion. Just like the compulsion that was conscription and compulsory military service which led servicemen to die in defence of your freedoms in the first placeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The new vaccine mandate for healthcare workers could create a shortage of midwives in some parts of the country.
The High Court has rejected a legal challenge from four midwives who didn't want to be jabbed.
Christchurch's St George's Maternity Hospital is facing a midwife shortage, and several of Taranaki's midwives are threatening to quit.
College of Midwives Chief Executive Alison Eddy told Mike Hosking for some people, hesitancy becomes resistance when they're told what to do.
“We know we’ve got vaccine hesitant population across the board; I think when you put a compliance around something, that pushes people into a corner and they become resistant.”
The mandate applies to a range of health and disability workers, and the colleagues they work with.
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Confirmation from Grant Robertson that some parts of the country could still be cut off from others this Christmas.
Cabinet ministers will discuss today when and how Auckland boundaries will reopen, ahead of an expected Government announcement on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minster Grant Robertson says Aucklanders will be able to enter and leave the region over summer.
He told Mike Hosking establishing new boundaries around low-vaccinated regions like Northland and Gisborne could be one way to do that.
“We’re looking at a range of options and clearly that’s one of them. We’ve had some discussions pretty fiercely about the practicalities of what to do at the Auckland boundary.”
Today's cabinet meeting will also include a review of Waikato's alert level, and a decision about booster shots.
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Absolute downbuzz on Freedom Day plans from Andrew Little this weekend.
He called our much anticipated ‘Freedom Day’ “nothing of the sort.”
Just when we thought escape to a red traffic light was coming November 29th, Little told Newshub, “You might have misunderstood what the Prime Minister has been saying, the Prime Minister said on the 29th of November Cabinet will do a significant check-in on the state of the system…" but.. “It won't be introduced from the 29th of November - that is the point at which a decision should be expected to be made, but it won't be introduced straight away."
He claims they’ll want to wait longer to get our vaccination coverage up, “particularly for lagging groups like Māori.”
So, if not the end of this month, then when?
Little claims it’ll be by Christmas, but that doesn’t give much hope to those of us languishing in day 90 of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. I mean come on. Surely enough is enough. By November 29th, Aucklanders will have spent more than a hundred days locked down. But, “It won't be on the 29th of November,” Little said.
So how much longer after that can we expect freedom? A day? A week?
I can’t work out if this guy is the only one in the Cabinet telling the truth, while the others just let us believe in false hope, or whether he’s the one out of touch.
The upshot is there’s still so much unknown and un-announced, that Aucklanders are still living in a quagmire of uncertainty.
And that’s not good for anyone, not good for mental health, not good for planning purposes, not good for families torn apart, not good for businesses struggling to work out when they may get their doors back open.
Having a cabinet swinging all over the place in terms of who says what – doesn’t help.
Remember when Hipkins casually suggested allocated timeslots for Auckland border travel, only to have Robertson shoot it down, only to have Hipkins reignite it? Then we had Little saying the Ministry of Health wasn’t coping with numbers on home isolation, only to have Hipkins and Bloomfield poo poo that too and say oh no, all is well. (Standard government line when trouble's brewing).
Then Little announced he’d be talking to Bloomfield about the release of Māori health information for vaccination purposes, only to have Bloomfield essentially indicate Little can’t tell him what to do, and the information remains private.
So given the shonky circus act currently running the country, it’s perhaps not surprising that Andrew Little is suddenly claiming no Freedom Day for November 29. Maybe it’s just a ruse to dull our expectations so that the PM can look like a hero if and when the doors are flung open that week?
I mean at this point anything is possible, but all I know, is that come the end of this month, if there aren't freedoms fast beckoning, then Aucklanders are going to lose the plot.
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Principals are being urged to do all they can to encourage unvaccinated staff members to get the Covid-jab.
All education workers who have contact with students must have their first jab by the end of today.
Those who don't comply will be barred from entering school grounds.
Auckland University's Head of Initial Teacher Education Paul Heyward, told Kate Hawkesby school leaders shouldn't be giving up on their unvaccinated staff members just yet.
“Let's begin the conversation, rather than seeing all anti-vax teaches as a kind of lunatic fringe, which they’re not. We could lose some very talented teachers.”
Staff must be fully vaccinated by January 1st.
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New Zealand's rental car sector is another industry with their head just above water due to Covid.
It's estimated the rental fleet is about 30,000 vehicles down, due to the shutting out of international tourists.
There's also fears there won't be enough stock for when our borders do reopen.
Rental Vehicles Association CEO Ben McFadgen joined Mike Hosking.
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Fears our schools will be under-resourced if many unvaccinated teachers end up leaving their jobs.
All education staff in contact with children must have their first Covid jab by the end of today.
If they don't, unvaccinated staff will be barred from school grounds.
Principals' Federation President Perry Rush told Mike Hosking with staff also expected to be fully vaxed by January 1st, there are concerns many will end up leaving the profession.
“We don’t know whether we have sufficient teaching resource out there to back the absence of these teachers in face-to-face context.”
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Lorna Subritzky and Liam Hehir joined Francesca Rudkin on the Sunday Panel.
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Austria's chancellor on Thursday stepped up threats of lockdown measures for unvaccinated people, as new coronavirus cases in the Alpine nation are soaring. The country's worst-affected province said it plans to take that step next week.
Austria has taken a series of measures in recent weeks in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 and encourage more people to get vaccinated. On Monday, new rules took effect barring unvaccinated people who haven't recovered from an infection from restaurants, hotels, hairdressing salons and large public events.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said late last month that unvaccinated people in Austria could face new lockdown restrictions if infection numbers continue to rise — which they have. On Thursday, official figures showed 760.6 reported new cases per 100,000 residents over the previous seven days — a rate three times that of neighboring Germany, where record numbers also are causing alarm.
During a visit Thursday to Bregenz in western Austria, Schallenberg said that a lockdown for the unvaccinated is “probably unavoidable” and that the unvaccinated face an “uncomfortable” winter and Christmas, the Austria Press Agency reported.
“I don’t see why two-thirds should lose their freedom because one-third is dithering,” Schallenberg said. “For me, it is clear that there should be no lockdown for the vaccinated out of solidarity for the unvaccinated.”
Upper Austria province, the country's worst-affected region with nearly 1,200 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, said later Thursday that it plans to take the lead.
Officials there “plan a lockdown for unvaccinated people from Monday, provided that there is a legal green light from the federal government, or rather that the federal government creates the legal basis,” governor Thomas Stelzer said.
Schallenberg said authorities would consider a vaccine mandate for some professional groups. He added that the country's vaccination rate is “shamefully low.” About 65% of the population is fully inoculated.
The chancellor insisted that “we can break this wave together.”
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Questions about what happens to Auckland's boundary if the entire country moves to the traffic light system at the same time.
Jacinda Ardern told Newsroom she isn't ruling out shifting everyone to the new system after November 29, something that contradicts her earlier reluctance for a 'national freedom day'.
College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty told Heather du Plessis-Allan Aucklanders will welcome the likely loosening of restrictions, but we'll see Covid-19 start to spread.
“The question is how much starts to spread outside of the border? And if there is a move to bring the border down over Christmas, we will definitely start to see Covid spread throughout the country.”
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Support for schools being able to call the police if unvaccinated staff turn up next week.
All early learning and school teachers must have had their first jab by Monday.
In a notice in the Ministry of Education gazette yesterday, school leaders have been advised if an unvaccinated staff member turns up from Monday, they'll be committing an offence.
Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association President Pat Newman told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a good move.
“But I suspect in some schools, you’ll find that those that are doing it for dramatic political reason. In my own school, I haven’t got anyone that fits that bill.”
Newman says it would be a selfish move if unvaxxed staffers showed up next week.
“If they're doing that, then they shouldn't be teaching. I can understand teachers having a belief about not vaccinating, but to deliberately walk onto the grounds on Tuesday if they're not vaccinated, they're doing it for political effect.”
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Annastacia Palaszczuk has threatened to reinstate restrictions on the Gold Coast after an Uber driver was revealed as a new unlinked local infection.
The driver is one of two new local cases recorded in Queensland on Thursday, prompting health authorities to urgently begin tracing the driver’s passengers.
The Uber driver, a man in his 50s, was vaccinated but the Queensland Premier expressed concern for community transmission given the driver’s access to a wide number of residents while infectious for three days.
“If we see more unlinked community transmission on the Gold Coast in the next 24 to 48 hours, we may have to put in some further restrictions,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Thursday morning.
Residents on the Gold Coast are urged to monitor for Covid symptoms. Photo / NCA NewsWire
“People should consider wearing a mask on public transport on the Gold Coast but also if they are in crowded situations.
“We want to protect people on the Gold Coast but we do have two more unlinked cases there.”
Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken said authorities were “really concerned” by the city’s second unlinked infection this week.
“We do need to watch this really closely,” he said.
The Premier said the high vaccination rate on the Gold Coast meant her team had not enforced a lockdown yet but authorities would monitor how the outbreak progresses.
“Not (a lockdown) at the moment, but let’s see how it goes. Let’s see how the next 24-48 hours go,” she said.
“The good news here is the Uber driver was fully vaccinated.
“We are not at 10 per cent or 20 per cent, the Gold Coast is nearly at 80 per cent but we just need to see what the transmission is like in the next 24-48 hours.”
But despite the high vaccination rate in the southeast Queensland city, Ms Palaszczuk said there was still a relatively high number of those who were vulnerable because they were yet to receive their jab.
“I do have concerns and that’s why I’m saying very clearly today we really need to see Gold Coast residents get vaccinated and get tested,” she said.
“And I will be looking at the testing rates on the Gold Coast.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was concerned about the new cases. Photo / John Gass
The other new case reported on Thursday was a Beaudesert teenage girl who is linked to the Moree cluster revealed on Wednesday.
This cluster emerged from an unvaccinated person from Warwick who attended an event in the northern NSW town of Moree, and who has been in the community for 10 days.
The Warwick RSL club and Condamine Sports Club were listed as exposure sites.
The other mystery case reported on Wednesday on the Gold Coast was a 32-year-old man from Pacific Pines who had received one dose of the vaccine and was in the community for up to six days.
The threat of new restrictions comes less than 24 hours after Queensland eased the mandatory mask-wearing rule when the state passed the 80 per cent threshold for those who had received their first Covid vaccine.
Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded 1313 new locally acquired Covid-19 infections on Thursday and four more deaths.
There are 457 Victorians in hospital — 79 of those in intensive care and 48 on a ventilator.
A total of 76,105 tests were processed on Wednesday.
About 85 per cent of Victorians aged older than 12 are fully vaccinated and 92.7 per cent have received their first jab.
A 90 per cent double-dose vaccination rate was predicted to be achieved about November 24.
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One part of the country is waking up with a potential Covid outbreak.
Six positive Covid cases has been confirmed in Taranaki's Stratford District overnight.
Health officials say cases are linked and are all members of the same family.
One is in hospital and most are isolating, but anyone in Taranaki with Covid-19 symptoms should get tested.
Stratford Mayor Neil Volzke told Mike Hosking it's too early to say if there will be a lockdown.
“To my knowledge there hasn’t been any discussion around those types of controls at this point.”
Meanwhile, the Far North has moved back to Level Two this morning despite further community cases of Covid-19.
Waikato is recording high case numbers, ahead of a review of restrictions on Monday.
Auckland now has 84 people in hospital, including 10 in ICU.
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The stoush continues between the Ministry of Health and Māori health providers.
Whanau Ora is heading back to court for an urgent judicial review of Ashley Bloomfield's refusal to give them personal health data to reach unvaccinated Māori.
The ethnic group is lagging 21 percent behind the overall vaccination rate.
Chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait told Heather du Plessis-Allan all they want to do is protect Māori before it's too late.
“Without the data, it’s going to be so time-consuming and we just do not have the time, and to be honest, who the hell wants to go back to court?”
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This is the one time where Chris Hipkins' many portfolios are perfectly aligned - Covid Response Minister and Education Minster.
He's made a tough call. Was it the right decision?
I can't help feel that it was the only decision the Government could really make.
As a parent, I can see the impact on my children who haven't been able to see their friends.
The zoom meetings just aren't cutting it.
Tim Beveridge on the Government's decision for school's to return from November 17.
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A small group of New Zealanders will soon be able to get the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab.
Officials announced yesterday the vaccine will become available for a small number of people.
National Immunisation Advisory Centre Director Nikki Turner told Mike Hosking it could be used by a couple of groups.
She said that's those who can't tolerate an mRNA vaccine, who might have a severe allergy to it or people who had a bad reaction to their first jab and aren't confident about getting the second.
Turner said there's another group of people who would get vaccinated but don't like the mRNA technology.
“Here’s another internationally well-used product.”
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Auckland Airport's departing CEO is calling for an end to MIQ and clear re-opening dates.
Adrian Littlewood says with high vaccination rates things have changed and it's time to get Kiwis home before Christmas.
He told Mike Hosking the industry needs clarity.
Littlewood said international airlines are making their calls globally and without that certainty it's very hard for them to allocate fleets to New Zealand - which is a risk for our country.
“I think it’s time for MIQ to move on and get those Kiwis home before Christmas.”
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Principals of schools returning next week are being told to ask for help from the Ministry of Education, if they need it.
Papatoetoe North School principal, Stan Tiatia, says the process for returning to school is a dog's breakfast, adding he can't believe principals are responsible for sorting out the health and safety of their students.
Associate Education Minister Jan Tinnetti told Mike Hosking Tiatia needs to talk with the Ministry of Education, which will work closely with him.
“If principals need support they can go to their local regional offices for that support and our local regional directors are really looking forward to and welcoming that.”
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Some Central Otago orchards are warning that they may struggle to find enough staff for the upcoming harvest season.
While the Government has allowed quarantine-free travel for some RSE workers, the border remains closed to foreign backpackers so potential fruit-pickers are still in short supply
Simon Webb is the owner of Webb's Fruit, he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Fantastic news for kids and parents today, with the announcement that Year One to Ten students will be allowed to return to the classroom from next Wednesday.
Kids from Year Four up will have to wear masks, and schools will organise a part-time return for Year One to Eights to limit the number of students on site.
Education and Covid Response Minister joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited a total of two places during her Auckland visit today.
She went to a vaccination event in Māngere, and then she visited one business, JMP Engineering in Avondale.
Managing director there is Michael Thornton and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A Kiwi family is facing two weeks in Auckland's Jet Park MIQ on top of a month in isolation.
The family of four tested positive for Covid before flying home from Australia, and isolated for 14 days.
On arrival here, it was straight into MIQ for another 14 days.
Now - the wife has returned a weak positive - meaning the entire family may have to quarantine.
Alice Pickford told Heather du Plessis-Allan authorities won't listen to reason.
“We’re just asking them to use logic”
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Winston Churchill used to visit to bombed areas of London in a gesture of solidarity. He wasn't hunkered down.
What's our Prime Minister done? She's been down in Wellington.
She's said she knows the plight of Aucklanders. Nonsense.
She has no idea.
Tim Beveridge speaks ahead of Jacinda Ardern's first visit to Auckland in three months.
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Under pressure from rising infections and worried health experts, the British government on Wednesday urged millions of people to get booster vaccine shots but resisted calls to reimpose coronavirus restrictions such as mandatory mask-wearing.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government would “stay vigilant, preparing for all eventualities,” but would not trigger its “Plan B” of bringing back restrictions on daily life.
Britain is relying heavily on vaccines to keep the virus at bay during the fall and winter months. Almost 80% of people 12 and over in the U.K. have received two vaccine doses and millions are being offered a booster shot, including everyone over 50.
But critics say the booster campaign is moving more slowly than the virus. The U.K. recorded 49,139 new infections on Wednesday, by far the highest total in Europe, and cases are averaging more than 45,000 a day, up 17% from a week earlier. Hospitalizations and deaths are also rising, though both remain far lower than before vaccination was widespread.
Javid said cases “could go as high as 100,000 a day,” but insisted it was not yet time to reverse course.
“None of us want to go backwards now," he said at a televised news conference, adding that the government did not think the health system was under “unsustainable” pressure.
But Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the health care group the NHS Confederation, said Britain's health service risked being overwhelmed unless more measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 were introduced.
“It is time for the government to enact Plan B of its strategy without delay, because without pre-emptive action, we risk stumbling into a winter crisis,” he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government lifted domestic coronavirus restrictions in July, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing. Nightclubs and other crowded venues were allowed to open at full capacity and people were no longer advised to work from home.
Infections remained stubbornly high after the reopening and recently have begun to increase — especially among children, who largely remain unvaccinated.
Hospitalizations and deaths are gradually rising, with deaths averaging 136 a day over the past week. Britain has recorded more than 138,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest total in Europe after Russia.
Against that backdrop, some feel that Britons have been too quick to return to pre-pandemic behaviour. Masks and social distancing have all but vanished in most settings in England, although Scotland and other parts of the U.K. remain stricter. Even in shops, where masks are recommended, and on the London transit network, where they are mandatory, adherence is patchy.
A plan to require proof of vaccination to attend nightclubs, concerts and other mass events in England was dropped amid opposition from lawmakers, though Scotland introduced a vaccine pass program this month.
Critics say the vaccination program — among the world’s speediest earlier this year — is moving too slowly. More than 4 million people in Britain have had a booster, although about half of those eligible have yet to receive their shot.
The U.K. also waited longer than the U.S. and other European nations to vaccinate children from 12-15, and only about 15% in that age group in England have had a shot.
The government says it will act to boost vaccination rates, with a new ad campaign and more sites where kids can receive their shots.
“We’ve got plenty of vaccines and we just need people to come forward and play their part," Javid said.
He also said the government had bought two antiviral drugs to prevent coronavirus infections or lesson the severity of disease — one by Pfizer and the other by Merck Sharp & Dohme. Neither has yet been approved by Britain’s medicines regulator, but Javid said he hoped they would be in use by the winter.
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Primary schools are hoping for a staged return to reopening, rather than a flinging open of their gates.
More details will be revealed today, on a plan to get Auckland kids back to school.
Auckland Primary Principals' Association President Stephen Lethbridge told Mike Hosking schools want their pupils back, but there's some trepidation because 5 to 11-year-olds can't yet be vaccinated against Covid-19.
He said it's a big day for kids, teachers, parents, and principals in Auckland and parts of Waikato and the upper Far North.
“As of today, school bubbles will have increased because retail is starting back, so we need to have some limits on the number of students back at school.”
Schools are already open for essential workers.
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If the line outside Sylvia Park is anything to go by, retailers should be in for a bit of a bounce back when they open their doors tomorrow.
And they need it too, with just six weeks of pre-Christmas trading to make up for 12 weeks of lockdown.
Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Some security for those organising our summer festivals.
The Government will pay 90 percent of unrecoverable costs for paid, ticketed events of more than 5,000 people, if organisers have to postpone or cancel due to covid restrictions.
If it sounds familiar, ACT's David Seymour has been calling for an underwrite scheme for events with 500 people or more for a long time.
Minister for Economic and Regional Development as well as Tourism Minister, Stuart Nash, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Newstalk ZB political editor, Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan with some detail about the anti-lockdown protest outside Parliament today.
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By John Gerritsen of RNZ
A small King Country school expects all of its staff will be banned from its classrooms when the Government's vaccine mandate takes effect next week.
Matiere School is one of several rural schools warning they won't be able to replace teachers and other workers who refuse to get their first injection by the Monday deadline.
Principal Vanessa Gotz told RNZ her school had three teachers, three support staff and a relief teacher and none were vaccinated.
She said none of her staff intended to get vaccinated by the Monday, November 15, deadline so they would not be allowed at work on Tuesday.
"Some of it is because actually medically they are unable to have it, and the other reason is really we're being forced. We're feeling like we're forced out here, that here we are on the 15th not vaccinated, 16th - hang on a minute you can't be in front of a class, you can't take students."
Gotz said none of the school's board of trustees was vaccinated either.
She said she was not opposed to getting the vaccination herself, but as the only fully registered teacher she had not been able to take time off to get her shot.
Gotz said even if she was vaccinated, she could not open the school on her own and the school would have to revert to remote or online learning from Tuesday.
She said she doubted anything would persuade her staff to get the injections and she wanted the ministry to waive the vaccination mandate and instead require weekly testing.
The Central King Country Principals' Association estimated about a third of the staff in the region's 16 schools were refusing the Covid vaccination.
Association chair Maria Gillard said individual schools would lose between 15 and 75 per cent of their staff next week and it was creating headaches.
"The situation that faces Taumarunui is that we only have one reliever in the whole town. Come next week that one reliever won't be able to fill all the spots that we're going to be facing, we're just going to be doubling up classrooms at this stage or we have to find an alternative but we don't know what the alternative is."
She said schools in the area had a lot of trouble hiring teachers at the best of times and they were very worried about replacing staff who refused to be fully vaccinated before the start of next year.
Gillard said a support group had tried to work with those who did not want to be vaccinated, but convincing them to change their minds was tough.
She agreed the situation was making school staffrooms a bit tense.
"It's really tough and you've got to talk about it, you can't avoid it," she said.
New Zealand Principals' Federation president Perry Rush said King Country schools were not alone.
"We're seeing an increasing number of smaller principals' associations raise concerns about the absence of staff after the 15th who are not vaccinated. In some instances in small schools that can be very influential in that it can be most of the staff," he said.
"We're certainly not looking at large numbers I think in the large urban settings, it's our small and rural and remote communities that have the biggest challenges because they simply do not have the staffing resource to backfill any loss of teachers from the frontline."
Rush said there had been a lot of effort to give school staff high-quality information about the vaccine.
Schools now needed clearer guidance about what to do with staff who refused the vaccination.
The Education Ministry also needed to take stock of the situation so it was clear how many schools faced serious staffing problems and it should also provide support to those schools, Rush said.
The ministry's hautū, Education Workforce, Anna Welanyk, said the overwhelming majority of employees and organisations in the education sector supported the vaccination effort.
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A New Zealand Trotting Cup Day like no other in history.
Cup Week got underway at Addington raceway today, but without the usual 20,000 punters.
Due to pandemic restrictions, there's no crowd other than a few bubbles of racing industry insiders.
One of those lucky enough to be allowed inside is Newstalk ZB Sport reporter Nick Bewley, who joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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Thousands of protesters descended on parliament today, to protest lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
The march to Parliament was led by a group of motorbikes.
Inside Parliament, Jacinda Ardern said those people gathered out in front of parliament are in the minority.
In the midst of the protest was Newstalk ZB reporter Jack Crossland and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan with the latest.
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People in Auckland are already lining up outside at least one major shopping mall - nearly 24 hours before its stores are due to open.
A long queue is snaking down the side of the Sylvia Park shopping complex in Mt Wellington this morning, despite the mall not due to open until 9am tomorrow.
The country's largest city will officially move to alert level 3 step 2 just before midnight - signalling the end of a strict lockdown that has shut up shops around the city since mid-August.
Linda Trainer, part of the group that owns Sylvia Park, Kiwiproperty, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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I like how pragmatic Air NZ’s been today with their new rules for domestic flights.
From 14 December, every passenger on a flight in NZ will need to be jabbed.
Not a huge surprise. We’re used to these vaccine rules by now.
But we’re probably not used to the next bit, which is that Air NZ says if passengers aren’t jabbed, they need to get a test within three days of their flight.
That’s smart. It’s a clever way to get around vaccine resistance but still keep the planes as Covid-free as possible
I would encourage the Government to be as pragmatic as this too.
Few of us object to the vaccine mandates for teachers and nurses and doctors, but you’d be an idiot not to see the potential problems that could to create with staff shortages
Because, we are hearing more and more stories of people who would rather quit than get the jab
Today, there’s a story of a King Country school where literally none of the staff plan to get the jab before Monday’s deadline, so presumably the only option is that the school has to close
We’re hearing of pregnant women losing their midwives. 16% of the registered midwives in Taranaki alone are threatening to leave.
At last count, thousands of DHB staff don’t have the jab
Nurses and doctors and teachers are using court action to try to overrule the vaccine mandate.
And the trouble for us is, we already have shortages in most of those job areas: doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers.
If I had to choose, I’d rather have an unjabbed midwife than no midwife during labour.
Testing isn’t a terrible Plan B.
Especially if you get the staff tested as often as twice a week like they do with schools in the UK using rapid tests, and especially when you consider that being double jabbed is not fail safe: you can still carry Covid.
So, if it gets to a point where we’re in real trouble with staffing shortages, I’d encourage the Government to take a leaf out of Air NZ’s book and use the testing option as a back up.
And good on Air NZ for showing the way on this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rebel Wilson is one of Australia's most successful acting exports.
She broke into fame in the Pitch Perfect film series and quickly became a Hollywood staple.
That included a starring role in Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit.
Off-screen, Rebel’s love of fashion inspired her to launch Rebel Wilson X Angels, a plus-sized clothing line designed to celebrate the figure, not hide it.
Now, she's turned her attention to books, with her debut kids' book “Bella the Brave” coming to bookstores soon.
It’s an empowering picture book about finding your voice.
The 41-year-old told Mike Hosking that acting is a lot of hard work but she’s proud of her journey.
“Nobody thought I would be a professional actress.”
Talking about her book, Wilson said she is Bella.
Wilson described a moment from her childhood where her mother had driven her to a community centre, to take part in a choir, but being incredibly shy, she hung onto the car door while her mother tried to rip her off.
She joked that it was quite traumatic at the time but now, thanks her mother because the choir is where she found her voice.
“My mother could see that my shyness was holding me back from what I wanted to do.”
Even now, Wilson says, she can be quite shy.
Over the past 18 months, Wilson made headlines for her very public weight loss journey; and revealed that her desire to have children was the main catalyst behind it.
She told Hosking that the shutdown of the entertainment industry last year, due to Covid, gave her the chance to really focus on her ‘year of health’ in which she lost about 35kgs.
“I’m very proud that I’ve changed my life for the better – the main thing was the emotional side.”
But, she said, she can still find herself eating when she’s stressed.
“Sugar is my definite vice.”
Part of Wilson's research for writing her book “Bella the Brave” involved scoping out her 5-year-old niece’s bedroom to see what she liked to read.
Most of her experience in writing had been for adults and she said she wanted to put her positive childhood experiences into a children’s book; things she said she wished she had known as a kid.
Wilson said, to generate more ideas for story ideas, she reminisces with her sister- which is good fun.
She said she feels she now needs to streamline so will be focusing on movies and producing them.
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A funny old comparison has been made over COP26. It looks, by the way, like a bust.
I get the very real sense that for the first time, of all the COPs and all the mad promises, this time it just happens to have coincided with some good tangible examples of why what they are after isn't actually doable in any real sense.
The fact China doesn’t have enough power to run their factories is all the evidence you need that right here, right now that the idea of renewables is fine, but we just don’t have enough of them.
We can't do what we want to do, economically, if renewables are all we use. The demand for renewables is increasing but at a greater rate than they can be supplied. What can be supplied is fossil fuel, and that’s what's driving the global economies coming out of a pandemic.
The comparison was made between Glasgow and Copenhagen. The comparison was made by Asad Rehman who is with the COP26 coalition. Copenhagen was, he says, deemed a bust. Nothing got sorted. Glasgow, he says, looks to be the same.
Here's an irony. Rehman says Copenhagen was billed, over a decade ago, as humanity's last chance to prevent the worst of the climate change. You see that’s their ongoing mistake. It's always the last chance, until it isn't.
Prince Phillip was an environmentalist. I watched a clip of him in the 1950s saying how we had to act urgently and now it was our last chance. That’s a lot of decades of last chances.
Rehman also argues that this COP has been ludicrously expensive, you can't get a room, and too many people have been locked out.
I get the sense that this time around, reality has smacked them in the face. The push back has been stronger. Once we, at the very least, all agreed, verbally anyway, that there was an issue and wouldn't it be awesome if we did something about it.
Then the promises were made that were never kept. Then the pandemic came along and climate change was no longer the most pressing thing about the place. Then the reality of fossil fuels and their indisputable contribution got laid bare by China and India. Then because too many were simply worn out by the world's worries, places like China, Russia, and co. no longer even turned up.
Hence, Glasgow looks like Copenhagen. Climate change looks like an expensive exercise in keeping a lot of NGOs in business and people like Greta Thunberg permanently disappointed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Air New Zealand is making Covid-19 vaccination or testing compulsory for domestic flights.
From mid-December you'll need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours before checking in.
The airline has already announced international flyers will need to be fully vaccinated from February.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran told Mike Hosking he expects some people with disagree with the decision.
“Overwhelmingly, the majority of our customers that we surveyed – about 85% - said please get on and do this.”
He said they're working with the company creating the My Vaccine Pass to integrate vaccine data into their travel app.
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Aucklanders have a path towards freedom and being reunited with the rest of the country.
The region will move to Step Two restrictions at midnight, and is set to move to the red level of the traffic light system at the end of the month.
It come as a Covid case is reported on Waiheke Island, and Mount Albert Grammar School returns to online classes due to another student testing positive.
College of GPs Medical Director Bryan Betty told Kate Hawkesby the Government is trying to chart a middle ground.
“The situation in Auckland has obviously reached a point where there has to be an end to this, we have to move on and through it but, it really does put an emphasis on really keeping the vaccination program going.”
He says getting vaccination rates higher and hospitalisation rates lower remains the priority in Auckland.
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A nurse has been arrested and charged with falsely giving a teenager the Covid-19 vaccine.
The 51-year-old from Western Australia went into her workplace at a Perth medical centre on Sunday.
She obtained permission to administer the vaccine to the teenager of someone she knew.
Police allege the nurse inserted the needle into their arm but failed to insert any liquid.
It’s claimed she then disposed of the vaccine but then falsely claimed in medical records that the teenager had received the vaccine.
The woman is also accused of claiming another employee had administered the dose.
The nurse, from Byford, was arrested at her house on Sunday after her employer reported the incident to police.
She is expected to front court on Monday charged with one count of gaining benefit by fraud.
By - Shae McDonald, news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Prime Minister has all but put an official date on a freedom day for Auckland.
All Auckland DHBs have hit 90 per cent for first dose vaccinations and are expected to move into the new traffic light system on November 29.
The region will move to Level 3.2 on Tuesday night, which will see retail open up and gatherings increase to 25.
Jacinda Ardern will visit Auckland for the first time since the start of the lockdown on Wednesday.
The Christchurch mosque shooter has said he pleaded guilty under duress.
RNZ reported that he is considering appealing his life sentence, saying through his lawyer he suffered 'inhumane and degrading' treatment in remand.
Listen above as Neale Jones and Trish Sherson discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Research by the University of Auckland has found the answer to one of the cuisine world’s burning questions.
The “Covid Kai survey” asked almost 3000 people how they decided what to cook for dinner each night in lockdown, and unsurprisingly comfort food was found to be quite popular.
Another finding was that the single person, organisation or brand with the most influence over which recipes people chose to make was celebrity chef and dietitian Nadia Lim.
She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that with people at home more often, they're taking much longer to prepare and cook food.
“When you get home from work and you’ve been sitting in traffic for an hour, you’re so rushed to get dinner on the table, so everyone who’s in lockdown: make the most of it.”
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The Deputy Prime Minister says Aucklanders should be "very confident" about moving to the new traffic light system soon.
All three of the region's DHBs have met the 90 percent first dose vaccination rate.
Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan there's a strong expectation Auckland will move to the new framework around November 29.
He says that gives three weeks for people to get their second dose.
“We really do want people to be getting ready and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve been clear that as soon as it clicks over to the 90 per cent we can do that. We set the 29th as a check-in because we wanted to make sure that we weren’t holding anyone up unnecessarily.”
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Public health experts are joining calls for changes to MIQ.
An article by Otago University academics says requirements for returnees have become inconsistent and arbitrary.
They argue they pose less risk than Aucklanders in the community.
Otago University's Dr Lucy Telfar-Bernard told Heather du Plessis-Allan quarantine should continue for the unvaccinated and arrivals from some higher-risk countries.
“There is still a need for MIQ, but we just don’t have the settings currently reflecting the real risk.”
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The Prime Minister has all but set a freedom date for Auckland.
All Auckland DHBs have hit 90 per cent of the eligible population having one dose.
The city is on track to being 90 per cent double-jabbed by the end of this month meaning a move into the traffic light system.
ACT Party Leader David Seymour has been calling for a freedom date for weeks.
He told Heather Du Plessis Allan they could have set it a while ago.
“They’ve sensed that people want it, so they're going to give it. And secondly, they must be confident that they’re actually going to get their vaccine mandate law passed and get the app up and going. That’s the things that they’ve been waiting for.”
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So once again, we await another announcement about our gradual stumble towards something someone might laughably call freedom
At 4pm, the Government should confirm their in-principle agreement to lower Auckland to Level 3 Step 2. Otherwise known as a bit of a shop and up to 25 people outdoors, otherwise just as you were, please.
The whole thing is dependent on vaccination rates and hospital beds. The Government has specified 90 percent double jabbed for freedom, but that could all be reversed if a surge depletes our hospital capacities.
So, everything is based on vaccinations.
Which is why the conversation needs to be re-framed. It’s not about taking Auckland out of lockdown and allowing them to travel. Auckland has beds and will break the 90 percent barrier in just over a week.
It’s about closing down the areas with the lowest vaccination rates and least hospital beds. Which is why Christmas holidays are still under threat. The places with the best beaches have the worst vax rates.
Gisborne, Coromandel, Whangamata, Northland and even glitzy Matakana.
It’s time for the tourism entities and local DHBs to step up and demand an effort. The sort of effort Auckland has already done
Meanwhile the vexed vaxxed issue continues to be Māori rates.
They continue to lag.
Jack Tame yesterday on Q and A said Māori disparity the biggest failure of Covid response.
But who’s failure?
I asked the question on Twitter yesterday. Based on their experience and the carnage of the 1918 Spanish flu then I would have thought that Māori would crawl over broken glass to get the jab. What do you call this hesitancy and it’s motives
In response, a Māori intellectual, who only got double jabbed this week, wrote me this.
“I'd call it post-colonisational trauma, mistrust of abusive authority, loss of rangatiratanga, reactionary expression of cultural suppression, defensive response to perceived threat based on historic experience, ingrained lack of self-value arising from generational state abuses”
That, to me, is an over intellectualisation and considering it comes from leaders it’s concerning.
If you don’t want a repeat of your great grandparents slaughter, get to a pharmacy now guys. It’s sounding like martyrdom if you don’t.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It seems to matter less and less what’s said at these post-cabinet announcements because people are so over it, they’re just getting on with it anyway. The sun came out this weekend in Auckland and the balmy weather saw pretty much everyone head for the beaches, the parks, the backyard BBQ’s. It’s almost like Aucklanders took themselves to Level 2.
Likewise, there's a flourishing black market of hair, nails and beauty treatments being done. More and more restaurants are opening up – on the brink of giving up, and just serving anything they can in a takeaway container from their front door.
Groups are gathering in larger sizes, it’s as though Aucklanders have made a collective decision not to live in fear anymore.
Having such a high double vaxxed rate helps of course. But when I see the fear in the regions where Covid turns up in the wastewater and everyone panics, it seems so foreign to Aucklanders, who’ve been wandering around with more than a hundred cases in the community for ages. Aucklanders are very much living with the virus, and the bulk of us have done everything right to get to this point.
You can only push people so far for so long. And you can only police so much. In fact, it’s the lack of policing, or selective policing, that’s gotten under the skin of most law-abiding Aucklanders. Watching gang members cruise through border checkpoints only infuriates the rule abiders who laboriously apply for exemptions.
I know people being forced to sell their homes, businesses going belly up, families torn apart, kids having huge anxiety issues, elderly people feeling alone and depressed, teenagers at their wits end. When you push people this long, with no plan, and no structure, and no end in sight, you’re going to break them.
This weekend felt like a marker – Aucklanders have absolutely had a gutsful.
So, the shops will open Wednesday, there’s no way they can back down on that now, they must be cognizant of how much compliance has gone, the traffic light system must surely come into play soon, the vaccine target abandoned, and the Auckland border scrapped.
These archaic and strict measures don’t work when people stop believing in them.
It may’ve looked good in theory on a spreadsheet inside the Beehive from their cosy Level 2 perspective, but out here in the real world with actual human beings, I can tell you it’s more unrealistic by the day. When the ‘let them eat cake’ leadership becomes this inane, the peasants revolt.
So, we will be open for business December 1st, I guarantee it, the border will go because it’ll be too hard to police, and the messaging will shift to “living with the virus”. If we’re lucky, we may even start to hear a bit of that at post-Cab today.
If we don't, then the control freaks running the place still have their blinkers on.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shops around the Auckland region have been preparing to reopen.
Newmarket Business Association Chief Executive Mark Knoff-Thomas told Mike Hosking they're raring to go.
“They cannot not confirm, they’ve got no choice it’s got to happen. People are champing at the bit to get going, so we are looking forward to a surge from Wednesday onwards.”
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A crucial milestone has been reached, hours before a crucial decision needs to be made.
The Government has confirmed all three of Auckland's DHBs have reached the 90-percent milestone for first doses.
It comes as Cabinet considers this afternoon whether to move Auckland to Step Two restrictions -- allowing shops and public facilities to reopen, and up to 25 people to meet outdoors.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Tony Blakely told Mike Hosking Auckland is now in a good position to start easing a range of restrictions.
“Most people going out to the pub or a restaurant are recently vaccinated and therefore less likely to transmit, so probably reasonably safe for a vaccinated economy.”
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The Government is still deciding how it will manage people entering and leaving the Auckland region over summer.
Eve Lawrence, general manager of Haka Tourism Group told Mike Hosking the lack of a clear plan has been unsettling.
“The mere idea of trying to give Aucklanders time slots to leave the city, I think it’s become quite clear they can’t organise much, so that would be a living hell.”
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Covid-19 may be causing a rise in family violence.
Almost five thousand protection order offences are going through the courts each year.
Police safety orders have jumped 460 to more than two thousand per year ... just in the last decade.
Auckland barrister Sheila McCabe told Mike Hosking the pandemic is partly to blame.
"The pressure that everybody’s on with families at home, trying to work with economic problems and just being cooped up has led to an increase in family violence.”
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Could New Zealand adopt New South Wales' Covid-19 roadmap?
The Australian state is fast tracking new freedoms for fully vaccinated residents from Monday.
It includes removing limit on house gatherings, opening sports stadiums and cinemas, and even allowing dancing in nightclubs.
The unvaccinated people must wait until December 15, or until the state reaches a 95-percent vax rate.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman, says it's good plan, that could work here.
“People need encouragement, people need some sort of reward and the best way to reward people is for behaviour that actually keeps them safe.”
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Once upon a time, at this time of the year primary school principals would be worried about things like staff retention and the thankless task of student placements for the following year. Teachers would be focused on finishing reports, and getting to the final day of school without losing their minds.
This week, principals are still dealing with staff retention, and they’ll be wishing it was as challenging as previous years. This year, they also need to deal with the implications of a government mandate requiring teachers to be double vaccinated by January 1st if they’re to return to face to face teaching next year.
Many principals have already asked the question and know what they’re dealing with. Others are not sure how many of their teachers will or will not have had their first jab by November 15.
In a job market that was already incredible tight, even if a small percentage of teachers decide not to get vaccinated, the impact on schools will be significant. Many schools stand to lose much loved and appreciated members of their communities, it’s enough to ruin a principal’s summer holiday.
Primary principals have another complex, but more immediate, issue on their plate right now. How they get their pupils, a cohort which is not yet vaccinated, back to school in a safe and practical way.
This week, the Auckland Primary Principals Association have been meeting to work out how to do this. The Association’s recommendations have been passed to the Minister of Education Chris Hipkins, who is expected to take them to cabinet Monday or Tuesday – with an announcement hopefully Tuesday.
One thing I think we can assume is not all pupils in year 1 – 10 will be heading back to school on the provisional return date of November 15th. If anything, I think you will see a staggered return to across year groups. Some of the younger ones may not make it back at all.
When it comes to high school, it makes sense to wait until seniors are on study leave before welcoming back years 9 to 10 – many of whom are vaccinated.
The other thing I’d say is I that I think it should be up to individual schools as to when and how year 9 and 10 students return - depending on resources and community preference.
I’m at the point where I don’t even care if students do school work. My year 10 son needs to see his mates and play some sport. I’d be happy if his school just let him play footy and basketball all day.
It gets trickier for those under 12 who aren’t vaccinated, and I feel for parents making the decision whether to send their children back to school this year if they get a chance.
The government needs to give parents a timeline for how quickly Medsafe may approve the Pfizer vaccine for 5 – 11 year olds. And do it this week, when they announce their plans for schools re-opening.
But whatever the timing, the fact this cohort is unvaccinated is one of the main concerns when it comes to re-opening Auckland’s primary schools, and the reality is that 5 – 11 years olds won’t get fully vaccinated this year.
So that’s something the Government is going to take into consideration when making their decision, as will parents. There are pros and cons for each choice of whether to send kids back to school or not. With only three to four weeks of the school year to go, parents should simply do what’s right for them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and Gold AM Breakfast host Andrew Dickens debate the best way to go about letting Aucklanders leave the city for Christmas.
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With a tentative re-opening date for schools just a week away, it’s the topic top of mind for every Auckland parent.
This week, the Auckland Primary Principals Association have been meeting to work out how we can safely re-open the city's schools.
APPA president, Stephen Lethbridge joined Francesca Rudkin.
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The 40,000 Kiwis who had their first jab on Super Saturday will be due for their second tomorrow.
In light of that, those who get their first or second jab at Eden Park this weekend will get quite the reception.
Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner told Heather du Plessis-Allan getting vaccinated on the hallowed turf is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“Eden Park is a fortress for our national teams and we want to be part of making New Zealand the fortress to Covid-19.”
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Entrepreneur Murray Bolton will be allowed to fly to the US and back on his private jet and then isolate at home after a backflip from MBIE.
It comes after MBIE said no, so he took it to the High Court, who told MBIE to reconsider Bolton’s application.
In his judgment, Justice Venning was scathing of the MIQ process.
Bolton told Heather du Plessis-Allan he’s more delighted for other Kiwis trying to get home.
“The door is being opened for a lot of other New Zealanders to challenge this ridiculous MIQ system that we’re faced with in this country.”
Bolton challenged Hipkins’ assessment of him, saying that although he’s fortunate, he had no desire to use his wealth to get to the front of the MIQ queue.
“I just wanted to know that my application had been properly assessed, and that is not happening and they're assessing it only on medical grounds, and you don't know who's doing it and there’s no recourse if you don’t like the answer.”
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A staunch claim home isolation isn't broken.
The Ministry of Health is reviewing the model after a second person died of Covid-19 while isolating at home.
The person discharged themselves from hospital on Wednesday and was found dead at their address this morning.
Two days ago another person was found dead at their South Auckland apartment.
ProCare Chief Executive Bindi Norwell told Heather du Plessis-Allan says the system is hedged with safeguards.
She says health workers are doing all they can to ensure the system is working well.
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The Biden administration announced Thursday that its vaccine rules applying to private businesses with 100 or more employees, certain health care workers and federal contractors will take effect January 4.
The rules stipulate that employees that fall into those groups will need to have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated, either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, by January 4.
Biden touted new vaccine requirements rules released in a statement, calling on employers to act going forward.
"Vaccination is the single best pathway out of this pandemic. And while I would have much preferred that requirements not become necessary, too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic for good. So I instituted requirements -- and they are working," Biden said in a statement.
Seeking to tamp down anti-vaccination talking points, Biden noted that there "have been no 'mass firings' and worker shortages because of vaccine requirements.
"I'm calling on employers to act. Businesses have more power than ever before to accelerate our path out of this pandemic, save lives, and protect our economic recovery," he said.
Eighty-four million employees working at large employers and 17 million health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid will be covered by the rules implemented by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
"Together the OSHA and CMS rules, along with the other policies the administration has previously implemented means that over two thirds of all workers in the United States are now covered by vaccination policies," a senior administration official said, discussing the new rules.
"Higher vaccination rates protect our workers, reduce hospitalizations and deaths. It's good for workers and importantly, this is good for the economy," the official continued.
The January 4 deadline also means that the deadline for the federal contractor vaccine requirement is getting pushed back. It had previously been scheduled to take effect on December 8.
The administration had been facing calls from some business groups to delay or be flexible with that deadline, as it could have put even more stress on supply chain issues ahead of the holidays. Officials, however, insisted that the new date was chosen in order to streamline implementation and make it easier for business and employees to comply with the requirements.
"In order to make it easier for businesses to comply and workers to comply, we've decided to align the contractor deadline with the deadlines for both CMS and OSHA," the official said.
The announcement also makes clear that the vaccine rules will preempt any state or local laws aimed at banning vaccine mandates or other measures to limit the spread of Covid-19. Texas and Florida have been among the states that have been attempting to pass their own laws to restrict such mandates.
"Both OSHA and CMS are making clear that their new rules preempt any inconsistent state or local laws, including laws that ban or limit an employer's authority to require vaccination, masks, or testing," a fact sheet outlining the rule said in part.
A second senior administration official, discussing the rules legal authority, said that "the OSH Act gives OSHA the authority to act quickly in an emergency where the agency finds that workers are projected to a grave danger and a new standard is necessary to protect them."
"A virus that has killed more than 745,000 Americans, with more than 70,000 new cases per day currently, is clearly a health hazard that poses a grave danger to workers. The new emergency temporary standard is well within OSHA's authority under the law and consistent with OSHA's requirements to protect workers from health and safety hazards, including infectious diseases," the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Murray Bolton. How good has he been today?
As you know, last week he won his legal case against the officials running MIQ.
He has to go to the States for work, but he doesn’t want to go through the lottery of human misery that is MIQ.
He’s double jabbed, he can easily isolate at home in Auckland, there’s no reason why he can’t, given how much Covid there is in Auckland, so he took officials to the High Court and won.
He’s just had the news today that officials have backed down and he can now isolate at home.
But here’s the best bit: Murray is going to help other Kiwis do the same.
He’s offered to share his legal research with the guys at Grounded Kiwis who are representing all the overseas New Zealanders trying to get back through MIQ.
And better yet, he’s prepared to help fund cases if his lawyer reckons there’s a chance of them winning.
What a top thing to do.
Because he’s proving Chris Hipkins wrong, isn’t he?
Hipkins tried to paint Murray Bolton as a rich guy trying to buy his way “to the front of the queue”.
No, he’s not. He’s trying to dismantle a queue we don’t need any more.
And even without helping people out case by case, just by taking the officials to the Court, he’s done a lot to start that process.
Because officials are on notice now.
Legal academic Andrew Geddis read the Bolton High Court ruling and the next day wrote an opinion piece saying the basis for the MIQ system will get “more and more difficult to justify”.
Because as the Court pointed out here, Kiwis have a right to travel by law. Officials need to consider that, and also consider how much Covid risk these Kiwis actually pose to the community if they isolate at home rather than MIQ.
Especially – you could add – when we have 163 cases today.
So it’s not just a victory for Murray Bolton. It’s a victory for all Kiwis stuck overseas trying to get back through MIQ.
And just as a fun aside, Murray Bolton’s message to Chris Hipkins today was “go to hell”.
Incidentally, that’s where I’d like to send MIQ.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Another voice in what's turning in to a chorus for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Government's Covid-19 response.
Auckland Airport Chief Executive Adrian Littlewood told Mike Hosking it's been messy.
He says the airport has been dealing with it all along, but once Delta hit, New Zealanders have had to deal with it in different ways.
“It needs the whole country to look at the issues and solve the problems we've been dealing with - not just Government.”
He says it's been difficult for the country socially, mentally and financially - and we owe it to our grand kids to write it down and make sure they don't have to deal with the same thing.
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Speaking from Los Angeles, Sir Ian Taylor told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB that he felt more comfortable over there than in Auckland.
"It's been really great, an eyeopener. Just to start off, I have actually felt safer in terms of LA and San Francisco than I did passing through Auckland.
"One of things that's really standing out for me now that I look back to where we are in NZ, the whole thing seems to be surrounded by a sense of fear. Up here they have kind of accepted that you have to move on. Now that you know that Covid is around, you wear your mask, you wash your hands. I'm doing more of that now than i did back in New Zealand."
Tomorrow he is due to have a meeting with a leading American graphics company, but to get in he has to show a negative Covid test.
When he went to Fox Studies this week he also had to show a negative test and wear a mask the whole time if sitting inside.
"When I went to Fox, you had to have a mask, show a negative test and if you didn't have one you got tested at the gate before you went in and inside wear masks the whole time so we sat outside and had our meeting outside.
"I came here thinking this place was reckless, but they are more careful than we are."
He said the big focus in the United States appeared to be on self-responsibility.
"I think the big focus up here is self-responsibility. They have a vaccination rate of 60 per cent. What I found is that if you want to have a test..I just had an antigen test in my hotel room half an hour ago, and I'm negative.
"You're doing these things all the time, it's just a different approach."
And Auckland University Law Professor Bill Hodge also spoke to Mike Hosking this morning.
On a High Court decision for the Government to reconsider a decision to decline Auckland rich lister Murray Bolton's request to isolate at home on his return from the US - where he plans to fly in his private jet - Hodge said it was a tremendously significant decision.
"So far, the courts have generally been upholding the Government's approach," he said.
"But this is the weak link in the Government's struggle with Covid - I think MIQ, many people thought of it as broken from the beginning."
Hodge said Bolton's taking on MBIE was doing the rest of us a great service.
Hodge said if the Government came back and declined Bolton again, it would be a loss for the rest of the public also.
He acknowledged that Bolton had provided a great case and had presented a special case. Bolton was also double vaccinated.
"Remember, he's going to travel in a private jet," he laughed.
"I don't think most of us are going to hop over to Sydney on a private jet."
Asked what might worry the Government more - Bolton's case or a petition?
"I think both things are happening. I think the public have had enough of MIQ and I think MIQ is very close to being broken."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You can always tell when a topic has hit a nerve... The text machine blows up with texts, people email me before, during and after the show has gone to air.
And this was the case yesterday over the latest crazy suggestion from the Government – that Aucklanders could face being set allotted time slots to travel this summer. It was such a stupid idea that no sooner had Chris Hipkins uttered it out loud than Grant Robertson was shooting it down.
And therein lies a lot of the problems with this Government’s response to this pandemic.
It’s chaotic, all over the show, and smacks of knee jerk reactions.
I’m not sure why they say stuff out loud when it hasn’t been given the sniff test but, having Ministers on the hop make stuff up, is sure to backfire. And so it did.
And the problem is, this wasn’t just any Minister, this was the Covid-19 Response Minister. It is literally his job to manage this stuff.
And sure enough, not long after Chris had said it and Grant had poo-pooed it, Chris was putting it back on the table again.
Do they even talk to each other?
The more shambolic and knee jerk this thing looks, the less we have any faith in them.
It also reeks of control freaky-like arrogance around what they can and can’t tell us to do, and no one's more fed up with being told what they can and can’t do than Aucklanders.
There's a limit to how much we will put up with, and Aucklanders made it loud and clear; that a roster on who can travel where and when for summer, is a bridge too far.
Collins called it 'raving mad', Chris Bishop called it 'immoral' and 'ludicrous'. Aucklanders felt it was the final straw.
The bruhaha led Hipkins to issue a hasty press release yesterday saying that while 'committed to ensuring Aucklanders are able to leave Auckland for Christmas and the summer holidays. At the same time, we need to do what we can for the rest of the country to try and ensure its people, and not the virus, that moves beyond the Auckland boundary.'
He goes on to point out they’re “looking at tools like vaccine certificates”. I’d hope they’re doing a hell of a lot more right now than just looking at that. I mean those need to be up and running sooner rather than later. In fact, they really should've been up and running by now. We literally can’t go anywhere if they don’t have that sorted, that should be priority number one.
So I’m not sure we are any more the wiser this morning, or any more reassured today than we were yesterday.
For those trying to plan their summer holidays outside of an Auckland boundary, there's not a lot we can bank on at the moment, other than the fact we'll be log jammed in way more traffic than usual, either way.
Even if we are allowed to travel in our own chosen time slot.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
To describe it as a mess, would be an understatement.
That from the Opposition's Covid-19 spokesman, as the Government ponders how to make the Auckland boundary work over summer.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins has backtracked on saying Aucklanders could be given time slots to leave the city.
Today, he emphasised no decision's been made.
National's Chris Bishop told Heather du Plessis-Allan we need to get the country to 85 percent fully vaccinated and drop the border.
“It’s just going to be way too hard, completely impractical and, frankly, immoral to keep Aucklanders imprisoned over Christmas.”
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Freedoms for vaccinated New South Wales residents have been brought forward.
From Monday, vaccinated people can have unlimited visitors in their home and density limits on venues will ease.
Restrictions ease for unvaccinated people when the state hits 95 percent vaccinated or by December 15.
New South Wales is just about 88 percent double dosed now.
Australasian Medical Association New South Wales Council chairman Michael Bonning told Mike Hosking the anti-vax reaction has been pretty muted.
“Since we have opened up there has been a real return to normal. I think people are really enjoying the freedoms that they have”
Protests have been escalating on this side of the Tasman.
Five-thousand people protested in Auckland on Saturday, and 250 turned out in Whanganui yesterday.
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Some alarm bells but also cause for optimism in how we're seen by our trading partners.
Research done by government agency New Zealand Story has found Australia, China and the US still see us as inclusive.
However, Germany, Japan and the United Arab Emirates see this country as isolated, unfamiliar, unprepared and closed.
Chief executive David Downs told Mike Hosking we have to go back to our core values as a nation to deal with those dips.
“Like who do we want to be known as, in explaining our vaccine response, explaining our Covid response making sure people realise that caring for people is a big part of who we are as a nation.”
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Testing capacity may have to be improved to ensure people can get in and out of Auckland easily, this Christmas.
A boundary is likely to remain in place around the region with people being required to book a travel time, prove their vaccination status, and provide a negative Covid test.
But the Government is still working out how the system would work, and how the testing system would cope with the increased demand.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told Mike Hosking while almost a third of test results aren't back within 24 hours, it's a constant work in progress.
“That’s something we’re constantly working on and it’s a daily conversation about how we can speed up the turnaround time.”
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A sociologist says we can expect more protests.
The Prime Minister yesterday abandoned a scheduled press conference in Whanganui after about 250 protesters gathered outside a vaccination centre she planned to visit.
The day before, Ardern had moved a Northland press conference indoors after being heckled by activists.
On Saturday about five-thousand people gathered at the Auckland Domain and marched through the streets of Newmarket.
Massey University sociology professor Paul Spoonley told Kate Hawkesby as we head towards 90 percent vaccination, protests are becoming more public.
“They’re also going to disrupt others to make their point so yes, I think it will escalate.”
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If you want to get in and out of Auckland this Christmas you may have to book in advance, and be prepared to wait.
The boundary between Auckland and the rest of the country is likely to remain in place -- with people prevented from travelling if they aren't fully vaccinated, and don't have a negative Covid test.
Covid Minister Chris Hipkins says people could be given an allocated time, but it's still likely to be a "time-consuming process".
Tech commentator Paul Spain says told Kate Hawkesby the Government will be trying to iron out a system that works and is fair to everyone.
“We have seen other areas where the Government has struggled on technology and that’s partly because it takes time to get these systems up and operating.”
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Police are going to start trialling a new tactical response model in a bid to keep officers safe at work.
Teams will remain generally unarmed, but will have immediate access to firearms if the situation requires it.
The trial will run in various parts of the North Island - including Auckland, Northland and Waikato.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told Heather du Plessis-Allan the scheme has had positive feedback.
“We’ve done a lot of engagement with our own people and across the wider community and we’ve had pretty wide-ranging support for the model.”
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$23 million from the Government's $120 million Māori Communities Covid fund has been dished out.
Māori are accounting for 40 to 50 percent of delta cases in recent weeks, and have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the population.
Peeni Henare, the Associate Minister of Health, with a focus on Māori health, joined Mike Hosking.
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Could all universities introduce compulsory vaccines?
Auckland University has announced all students, staff and visitors will have to be Covid-19 vaccinated by early January to be on campus.
Wellington's Victoria University has already made it clear vaccination will be mandatory for halls of residence.
Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan told Mike Hosking it's a decision all universities are grappling with.
He says they're keen to make sure that heading into 2022, they can offer all students something close to a normal learning experience, which is heading towards a vaccine mandate.
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Chris Hipkins insists the Government is getting the balance right with the latest Covid restrictions in Northland, Waikato and Auckland.
The top of the Far North has moved to Alert Level Three at least until Monday.
It follows confirmation of two Covid cases in Taipa in Doubtless Bay, with no known link to the wider Delta outbreak.
The Covid-19 Response Minister told Mike Hosking vaccination rates in the area is still far too low, to take the risk of avoiding a lockdown.
He says a low vaccination rate would lead to a high hospitalisation rate for any outbreak.
At the same time, Hipkins is defending moving Waikato to Step Two this morning, and Auckland to Step Two next week, before the roll-out of vaccination certificates.
He says the rate of vaccination in Auckland is high, and only the lowest-risk activities are being opened up.
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Doctors are calling for better regulation of health supplements, as demand surges during the Covid pandemic.
Sales in New Zealand supermarkets reached 130-million dollars this year by September.
However, some say they're expensive, we don't need them, and they can be dangerous.
Medical Association chairman, Dr Alistair Humphrey, told Kate Hawkesby people are wasting their money taking supplements.
“They haven’t been tested and so we have no idea whether they work or not, potentially they can be harmful. Their claims are quite extreme.”
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Hopes for a silver lining in Northland's third lockdown in as many months.
The top of the Far North has moved to Alert Level Three at least until Monday after two Covid cases were found in Taipa in Doubtless Bay, with no known link to the wider Delta outbreak.
The boundary slices through the Hokianga Harbour across to the Mangamuka Junction, to Kaeo and out to East Bay, east of Whangaroa Harbour.
Far North mayor John Carter told Kate Hawkesby community, iwi and business leaders are using the developments to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
“We’re all now working together united and the levels of vaccination and testing has gone up, and I think we’ll find we’ll end up with a good rate out of it.”
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Winston Peters is slamming the Government's decision to move Northland's Far North back into Alert Level Three.
That part of the region will move into the restrictions from midnight until at least Monday.
The move comes as two Taipa cases remain unlinked to any other case, or location of interest.
The New Zealand First Leader told Heather du Plessis-Allan Alert Level restrictions worked last year, but not anymore.
“I know too many people whose lives have just been turned from great success to utterly wrecked.”
He also called for Jacinda Ardern to visit Auckland and see pain lockdown is causing.
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Signs the vaccination debate is getting even more polarising.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was forced to abandon an outdoor press conference in Northland after being heckled by protestors.
Massey University Sociology Professor Paul Spoonley told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's concerning behaviour.
He says anti-vaxxers are feeling more excluded and more cornered.
“The protests and violence continue to ramp up.”
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Today was the first Tuesday in weeks that we’ve had no 1pm press conference and the first day of the PM no longer fronting them anymore.
Obviously, at least, part of the reason she’s pulling out of these media conferences is because the media is getting increasingly hostile.
But, regardless, I think it’s a good thing they’re cutting right back on these one o’clockers.
We need to stop obsessing over Covid
These media conferences and the daily habit they’ve become for us punters have meant that we’re fixated on Covid to the exclusion of most other news in the country and the world.
And it’s given journos the easy option of filling their bulletins and newspapers with covid regurgitation from the one o’clockers, instead of telling us about that other news in the country and the world.
We need to stop obsessing over how many cases there are daily and how many of them are unlinked.
That has got to be feeding the completely irrational fear that too many kiwis still have of Covid (even when they’re jabbed).
That fear is the reason that Auckland retailers can’t open this week because, clearly, they should be able to.
If they can open next week, they can open this week but, the Prime Minister admitted herself she’s trying to balance that reopening against the fact that lots of people think she’s moving too fast because they’re scared.
I mean, if you had the PM telling you the exact numbers of people injured and killed in road deaths every day, where they died, and what car they drove in – if that was the update we got every day at 1 pm – you’d probably be irrationally afraid of cars too.
Clearly there will be days where the PM has to front up at 1 o’clock because the news is big or unusual - that’s appropriate.
But the rest of the time, we just need to accept Covid is here in New Zealand and spreading and start ignoring it a bit.
So, whatever her real motivations are for calling these pressers off, on balance, the PM’s made a good call.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
National wants a Royal Commission into Covid.
Well, more specifically, the Government’s lack of preparedness for Delta.
Britian has had a review of the process. In a nutshell they started slow, finished well, the early days were a disaster but the vaccine roll out was world class.
The Swedish are currently having a look at their response. Once again, thus far they’ve concluded they started slow but things got better.
They are looking at their unique, no lockdown approach separately, but the current thinking is it might not have been world’s best practice.
So, what would we find?
The answer is easy. We were a bit slow on the lock down, but not alarmingly slow.
So that’s a good start. The rest, sadly, has been a mess.
From PPE gear, to testing kits, to vaccine roll outs, to MIQ, to decisions that weren’t made, borders that got breached, to the current shambles we find ourselves in.
It’s been a trail of haphazard unprofessionalism and needless economic and social damage.
For a brief period, we shone globally, and the Government basked in it, and that was a crime in itself. Their own arrogance led them to become dangerously complacent.
So - a Royal Commission. Well, what for?
To show they’re hopeless? And score points politically?
To hope a similar series of mistakes wouldn’t happen again?
That would be futile. In this pandemic how many reports have already been written imploring them to take action and yet no action was taken?
We’ve still barely rolled out saliva tests yet they were urgent, allegedly, in a report released over a year ago.
So would a Royal Commission change anything at all?
You can see it all now. “Mistakes were made”, the line that there was no play book for Covid.
A few more lines like “we were world leading, we followed the science”.
It strikes me as a waste of time and a waste of money.
The real Royal Commission will be in September of 2023.
We call it an election.
The only hope this Government has, of course, is memory fade. If Covid is in the rear-view mirror by the end of next year all may be forgiven.
But as we sit here today if a government can be voted in, in record numbers, based on Covid and the fear that surrounded it a year ago, surely their ensuing handling of the following two years will be a judgement that if executed today, they would be deeply fearful of.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are concerns for New Zealand's international student market.
The Auckland International College is shutting as the pandemic response causes uncertainty.
Both domestic and international students attend - but the roll has halved to 136 as travel restrictions and lockdown continues.
It will close in 2023 so current year 12 and 13 students can finish their studies.
College Council chairman Nigel Burton told Mike Hosking other countries have beaten New Zealand to it.
“The pool and availability to get back into the New Zealand prospect has been reduced and the competition that we’re facing as a country has heightened.”
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As Auckland enters week 12 of lockdown, there must be a small sigh of relief for businesses.
I mean another whole week, but at least a date is set to open.
Which is just as well, because had they not given businesses a green light to open, I would’ve suggested they just stop waiting for permission and get on with it anyway. Leo Molloy it. Ian Tayor it. Set a date, make some rules, band together in a cohesive body and just make it happen. I think some business associations were already looking at that.
But a reprieve of sorts yesterday – an ‘in principle’ decision for next Wednesday morning for retailers to throw open the doors. Lucky Aucklanders, Christmas shopping can be done in person, the couriers can get some respite, the online bingeing can be replaced by the bricks and mortar experience. Waikato of course gets better news, doors can open as of tomorrow morning, thrilling for them.
So why not now for Auckland? Well according to the PM she wants to allow an extra week to let the school changes ‘bed in’, whatever that means, and to let extra vaccinations occur.
Let’s call it for what it was - political pressure, and buckets of it. It was just all getting a little too unsavoury for them to continue with their head in the sand approach to Auckland.
The irony of this won’t be lost on anyone. Record case numbers, yet only 3 in ICU. Our vaccination rates are high, 81 percent of Auckland is fully vaxxed, 75 percent of the whole country is double jabbed. So, our rates are at higher levels than when most other countries threw open the doors for more freedoms. In other words, we are very late to this party.
I feel for the sectors who’re still playing the waiting game. No date, no surety, and no consistency. I mean how is it a physio and a chiropractor can open but a masseuse can’t? A dentist and a botox operator can open, but a hairdresser can’t.
Many of those closed businesses are of course already operating. Just covertly, with cash, and behind closed doors. They’re not waiting for permission, and they’re prepared to take the risk of a fine because they’re that desperate. It’s not about breaking rules or trying to be renegade, it’s about literally surviving. Many of them have mouths to feed and you can’t take loans out on the basis of never knowing when you can pay it back.
So, a political decision from the Government yesterday based on two things; compliance in Auckland lost, and political heat being felt. Health considerations are now taking a back seat, and there's more of that to come. Watch this whole thing unravel real quick from here - and the pivot on the fear messaging is going to be sharp, so buckle up.
It's a shame Auckland retailers are being used as pawns in a political game to appease the fearful, by buying another pointless week, but it bodes well long term for restrictions being eased faster then we think.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Frustration from retailers and restaurants at the latest extension of Auckland's lockdown restrictions.
Waikato will move to Step Two of Alert Level Three at midnight tonight -- meaning shops can open, but bars, restaurants and hairdressers cannot.
But Auckland won't follow suit for at least another week.
Dallas Pendergrast, owner of Auckland's Glenfield Mall told Mike Hosking the decision is disappointing to businesses that are prepared to operate safely.
“We’ve got our signage up, we’ve got our distancing rules in place, we’ve got sanitisers, we’ve got QR codes, we’ve got everything ready to go and have done for a long time.”
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Parliament's Speaker is reconsidering his rule for MPs travelling to Wellington from a level three area.
Any returning MP or Parliamentary staffer must do five days of isolation, and get a negative test.
Jacinda Ardern says it's the main reason she hasn't been to Auckland since the outbreak began.
Act leader David Seymour is in isolation after a trip to the city, and says told Mike Hosking it's not too late for Ardern to visit.
“She’s been exposed to far too much thinking from Wellington civil servants who get paid every fortnight without fail by the taxpayer. She needs to see some people who actually have to have their shops open.”
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There seems to be bit of a grey area when it comes to whether we should make young children wear masks.
While parents and officials want to protect kids against Covid, they also don't want to get in the way of a child's development.
Each country is doing it differently, countries like France and Italy are masking kids six and over, but in the US, they want kids as young as two masked up.
Developmental psychologist at University of Toronto Dr Kang Lee joined Kate Hawkesby from Beijing.
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More disappointment among Aucklanders after yet another announcement of an announcement from Jacinda Ardern today.
The Prime Minister said while case numbers have been rising, hospitalisations and ICU numbers have really happily stayed quite low, and still, Auckland has to wait another week before retailers can reopen their doors and meet in groups of 25.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan they’ve got to make sure they’ve got the balance right.
“Vaccination rates are increasing all the time and this gives us another week to pursue that. It also means that we can move forward with the further considerations around the impacts of what we’ve done with schools reopening and make sure that’s gone well.”
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Waikato is set to move to Step Two of Alert Level 3 on Tuesday night, but Auckland will have to wait another week.
At Step Two, retail can reopen and people can meet in groups of 25.
The Prime Minister has also ruled out going to Auckland.
She says she had considered it, but the five-day isolation on her return to Wellington would take her out of returning to Parliament and her accountability before the debating chamber and media.
Let's Get Wellington Moving announced four options for overhauling the city's transportation infrastructure.
They will be consulting with the public before making a final decision.
Listen above as Josie Pagani and Tim Wilson discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan aboveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There is a real divide between those who think the Government is moving too slowly and those that are moving too fast given the number of cases.
NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan told Heather du Plessis Allan during the elimination strategy which was successful initially, we got used to the notion we could be safe, stay at home and save lives.
"I think what we're seeing though however, is loosening up with higher vaccination rates and if we do get to over 90 per cent, I think Kiwis, being the kind of Kiwis they are, they won't all necessarily embrace freedom, they’ll want to be safer."
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A Waikato mayor is making the case for his district to move to Alert Level Two.
Waikato is moving to Step Two of Alert Level Three from midnight tonight while Auckland is set to follow suit in a week.
Waitomo Mayor John Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan they haven't had a Covid-19 case since April last year - but they've been lumped in with the other Waikato districts.
“We’ve got a big slice of the Tasman Sea. We then border with Taranaki, with New Plymouth, with Ruapehu District, with Taupo, and they’re all at Level 2. We’ve just in the north, got this line between us and the Otorahonga Council.”
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Auckland having to wait another week for a slight easing of restrictions is being described as a kick in the guts to businesses.
From 11:59pm next Tuesday, the region will move to Step Two of Alert Level 3.
It means retail and public facilities will open and outdoor gatherings can increase to 25, with no household limit.
Heart of the City Chief Executive Viv Beck told Heather du Plessis-Allan says she was expecting restrictions to be eased much sooner.
“I think given the ICU and the vaccination rates going up, I actually thought they’d go to Two. And I thought they had got the message about really balancing health and economic impact.”
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School is back for Years 11-13 and the list of rules for going back is eyewatering.
It's not a criticism for the schools, it's just the new reality.
There's a tremendous amount of angst around all of this and like so many times of life and community, the schools are at the forefront of this particular change.
The sadness I can tell you is acute for the Year 13s.
Basically, everything is off. It's cancelled.
The stuff that you do in Year 13 that the students love and remember about school, the farewell dinner, the prize giving, the socialising, the events surrounding you leaving school forever. It's gone.
Done.
It will not be part of their lives and they will never be able to experience it.
And that is a shame. It joins the myriad of other aspects of life that young people are having to chart through at the moment.
One of our kids finished their medical exams on Friday. They were online, most of the year was online. What was the quality of learning I wondered to myself.
Is it as good as it was? Is it as robust? I doubt it, how can it possibly be?
Many subjects are hands on, they require contact, lab work. None of that is being done, it's all zoom and books and theory.
Our 14-year-old fortunately won't miss out, but our older two daughters had their Year 13 experience a couple of years ago and it's a very, very big deal.
Is it as important as not going to hospital and not dying of covid? Of course, it's not.
But it's part of a massive list of inconvenience and missed moments and gaps in growth in life and learning.
For businesses, for students, for workplaces the new normal isn't always a good normal. A lot of it sucks.
And for a lot of it, you'll never get it back. You do Year 13 once. The parties, the farewell is done once, you do your university exams once.
There's a lot of focus, and quite rightly, on a lot of people who can't get into the country and the businesses who are bleeding and not knowing if their doors will open again.
But the kids count as well. Their development isn't what it should be. It's not as rounded, as colourful, as special as it should be.
And one of the big-ticket items in terms of the sacrifice made, is with the young people.
They are missing a bunch of stuff that they will never know.
We are robbing them of their youth, and of course, the magic of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Another day with so much going on submerged under the tsunami of reckons that is Covid.
4pm today we find out the next phase. It really is six of one and half a dozen of the other.
Pure health theory would be to wait until the magical 90 percent is reached. But political reality is that compliance is waning. Unless you bring out the water cannons and the rubber bullets there will be an erosion of standards tomorrow whichever way the decision goes.
Fun fact. Wales. Population 3.2 million people had a 7-day average Covid case number of 2700 this past week. 10 people died. 6140 have died in the pandemic and they have 71% double jabbed. Yet 70,000 screaming Welsh fans without masks gathered in the Principality Stadium and then flooded downtown Cardiff. As a matter of comparison NZ is currently 75 per cent double jabbed and Auckland is 80% and yet shut down.
Meanwhile other stories are pushed aside. NZ this weekend made a pledge to cut Carbon emissions in half by 2030. Just 8 years. But it’s a game of smoke and mirrors. The Government thinks that spending $1.5 billion of borrowed money to plant forests in Asia is called cutting emissions. No, it’s not. It’s called offsetting emissions. It is of minimal help to the planet.
The whole thing has become an artifice where governments struggle to look like they’re doing something when they’re not. That’s not a problem, except it’s all so freaking expensive. A freaking expensive nothing.
Three Waters staggers on. A government determined to centralise and give honourary seats on the board to iwi. The thing about Three Waters is that authorities with good water systems don’t want it and don’t need it. To drag them into dysfunctional regions is classic socialism. Dragging all down to a lower overall level.
What was needed was investment in poorly performed regions, while not fixing places that weren't broken.
My suggestion was always to set up an Infrastructure Bank to lend the capital to the places that are under invested because they had too few ratepayers, or they had ratepayers who hated paying fair rates.
And finally, the Assisted Dying regime comes into effect this weekend. Despite the fact we don’t have any nurses because of Covid and we haven’t had training because of Covid. In New South Wales they have the same problem and they have postponed the rollout. Why haven’t we? It’s reckless.
Three issues alone that could dominate talkback.
Yet all we get is Covid, Covid, Covid. It is the most corrosive diseaseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the corporate world, they call it avoiding death by a thousand cuts. It’s a smart marketing strategy and one I think the Government's currently employing. Get all your bad news out at once - more crudely referred to in some sectors as “flushing all the turds in one go”.
When Steven Joyce wrote at the weekend about the wheels coming off this Government, he wasn’t wrong.
Ramming through Three Waters, announcing a fanciful $15 billion light rail project, keeping Auckland locked down, butchering the MIQ messaging and changes. The wheels are well and truly off.
And you’ll note, fronting all that bad news was Chris or Grant - anyone but Jacinda.
That’s the other strategy of course - keep your most popular player away from bad news.
Save her for the good stuff.
And here’s where the play is smart. The good stuff is coming. Matthew Hooton was the latest of many cynics to forecast a loosening of restrictions and an opening up - albeit an abandonment of the ambitious vaccine target - by November 29.
He said we could mark December 1st as our “Freedom Day” they won’t call it that, nor will they admit they’re abandoning targets, but that’s what’ll happen. Kiwis will get home for Xmas, MIQ will be abandoned, targets will be gone.
When my husband suggested this to me a week ago, I told him he was over estimating this “abundance of caution” Government and it wouldn’t happen. But I forgot about the obvious bit staring us all in the face. This Government hates bad press. And what they’re currently getting is bad press, and lots of it. The usual cheerleaders have turned. I’m told even the PM’s social media pages which are usually awash with sycophants has turned ugly.
Labour won’t tolerate this much love lost and so watch December come like the great redeemer. Jacinda will be back out front for the good news.
We will open up, the chicken littles like Wiles and Baker sidelined once and for all, there‘ll be good news aplenty and they’ll be banking on everyone - particularly Aucklanders - forgetting this period of discontent and riding the wave of open shops, domestic tourism and salon haircuts. There’ll be a celebrity wedding for the PM - a summer to enjoy, and the key bit - the spin.
The spin will be, that we are in fact, world leading. That we opened up with a higher vaccination rate than other countries, that we have our freedoms back and that we earned it with fewer deaths and no hospital overload. Part of our small size and stature globally is that we puff our chest at any chance - and Labour will capitalize on that to claim we’re top of the pops. And by inference that Jacinda is top of the pops. There will be many who fall for it.
But there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and September 2023, question is, can they keep swimming?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Cabinet ministers will be pouring over data, modelling and advice when it reviews covid restrictions this afternoon.
Ministers will review the current restrictions in both Auckland and Waikato.
Jacinda Ardern says ministers will factor in the city's high vaccination rate, as well as considering the latest Covid modelling, which shows Auckland could reach 200 cases per day this month.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman says told Mike Hosking the whole focus needs to be on protecting the health system.
“If that’s true, then the only two bits of data that matter are how many people are there in hospital, how many people are there in ICU. Everything else, with all due respect, is almost sort of superfluous.”
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Across the Tasman, Australia has reported its first case of "Delta Plus" in a New South Wales quarantine hotel.
Imperial College London Professor of Immunology Danny Altman told Mike Hosking it's another sign of how the virus continues to evolve.
“Original strain to Alpha was an increment for us, Delta was a big increment. This is another small, but increasing increment after Delta.”
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So it seems the vocal minority of anti-vaxers and anti-lockdown protesters, otherwise known as 'freedom fighters' has got louder over the weekend.
At least 5000 people gathered in Auckland domain on Saturday for the third major protest in six weeks.
Protesters also targeted Dominion road yesterday grinding it a halt, and vandalised a vaccination centre in Panmure.
So how do we deal with these people? How do we get through to these people?
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky is a world-renowned cognitive scientist currently based in Bristol and he joined Kate Hawkesby.
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This week I’ve been reading Jane Goodall’s new book called The Book of Hope. It’s the kind of book you reach for when you hit week 11 in a slow-moving lockdown.
In the book Goodall talks about the nature of hope, why she remains hopeful, and how we can stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless.
Jane Goodall calls hope a survival trait. Hope, she says, “is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so.”
This is something the Government should keep in mind as we count down to Christmas - to keep on hoping we need to see some reward for our hard work. Announcements about announcements doesn’t cut it any longer.
There’s no end of actions that could keep our hopes up - vaccination certificates ready to go, the MIQ system refined so double-vaxxed, negative testing returnees from low-risk areas can self-isolate at home, a date to open hair salons and internal borders, and Medsafe begin the process of approving vaccination for 5 to 12 year olds.
For many of us, Christmas is where we’re now focused.
Many of us are looking forward to travelling the country, see family and friends, and rejuvenate after a hellish year.
For others the priority may be hoping Christmas gifts get to our loved ones in time.
Yesterday, NZ Post Chief customer officer Brian Dobson said it was the busiest they’d ever been.
In response, they’ve hired 800 extra staff and leased 400 additional vans. Even this is not enough to process and deliver the 2 million parcels in circulation at present - around 4 parcels per second.
So we’re still spending, and that’s something. Aucklanders spent more than $700 million online over the last three months - $122 million more than the same quarter last year.
So if your greatest hope, right now, is to make sure your pressies arrive before Christmas, it’s time to take action. That’s something we can do ourselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
US health regulator, the FDA, has authorised use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years old. This makes it the first Covid-19 vaccine available to young children in America.
Malaghan Institute Director, Immunologist Graham Le Gros joined Francesca Rudkin.
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From 14 November 2021, the managed isolation period for international arrivals into New Zealand will reduce from 14 days to 7 days, followed by isolation at home until the result of a day 9 test has been received.
One of the biggest criticisms is we have people with Covid in the community quarantining at home, while double vaccinated, negative test returnees still have to MIQ and self isolate.
Thomas Coughlan, NZ Herald political reporter joined Francesca Rudkin.
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It’s no vax, not play and no stay for SkyCity patrons going forward.
To meet obligations under health and safety laws, SkyCity says it will introduce vaccine mandates for all visitors and workers across its sites around the country.
SkyCity Chief Operating Officer Callum Mallett told Heather du Plessis-Allan the definition for mandates for both hotels and casinos captured under hospitality.
“We looked through that framework and absolutely decided that bring in CVC for entry to our total properties, including casinos, Sky Tower, etc. was the right thing to do for the health and safety of our staff and customers.”
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Capacity has been the main issue in our MIQ system.
So it’s hard to fathom that last week, there was just one person who stayed at a Wellington MIQ facility.
101 rooms at the Grand Mercure were sitting empty whilst up to 50 staff at the facility were looking after the one person.
National Covid Response Spokesperson Chris Bishop told Heather du Plessis-Allan it’s like Fawlty Towers, except it’s not funny, it’s ridiculous.
“You got tens of thousands of people offshore, Kiwis wanting to come home for family emergencies, for funerals, for births, deaths, weddings and can’t get in because they've got to play the MIQ lottery.”
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A former anti-vaxxer now suffering through a Covid infection says he wishes he had taken the vaccine.
John Koutsimanis says he was put off getting the jab after reading misinformation about the vaccine's safety on social media.
Koutsimanis believed Covid was like the flu - but has changed his mind since catching the Delta strain almost two weeks ago.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan every time he felt he was about to get better - he would get worse.
“Just very dark long days and nights and with pain and feeling hot and cold and then more pain and thinking you’re sweating it out and then it just doesn't go away.”
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A loophole in the troubled MIQ has been identified after an email was sent out by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise three days ago.
The door's being opened for up to a dozen people to come back to New Zealand and stay in managed isolation if they book for lunch or dinner at the New Zealand Pavilion at the Dubai Expo.
They don't have to begin their journey in New Zealand, they can travel from other countries to Dubai, they don't even need to be engaged in the Expo nor too they need to have any commercial activity in Dubai.
They have to be an export customer which most of us are likely to be.
They have to return to New Zealand on an Emirates flight leaving on November the 21st.
That's led to at least one business leader who has been trying to get back into New Zealand from a place other than Dubai, to commit to fly to Dubai for lunch. Fortunately for him, he managed to get a slot in the ballot and didn't need the lunch offer after all.
The Government has already ring-fenced 400 spots in managed isolation for businesspeople, Government staff and performers to attend the expo which opened earlier this month.
A total of 401 rooms will be filled by returnees from Expo 2020 Dubai between this month and March next year.
The dozen rooms being made available for the flight from Dubai comes at a time when tens of thousands of desperate Kiwis are in the lobbies waiting to strike the ballot for available MIQ rooms.
And other Kiwis have spoken out at their fury and upset about not being able to secure a room to be home in time for Christmas, or to visit terminally ill relatives.
National's Economic Development spokesperson Todd McClay says it's ridiculous and makes us look like a laughing stock.
"There are business people desperate to get overseas to save their businesses from ruin but can't because the MIQ system's a dismal failure.
"If you can't afford to book a lunch in Dubai the Government doesn't care about you, is there any wonder why Kiwis see this as a joke?" he asks.
At the time the rooms were made available to Expo travellers in early August, Act Party leader David Seymour likened the move to Government favouritism, which disadvantaged average New Zealanders.
"There's no way you can explain that it's fair the needs of someone going to Expo 2020 are more than the needs of someone who hasn't seen their kid in a year," he said.
"Why should they not have the same level of importance?"
Expo 2020 Dubai has been designated as a major event by the Government after it provided $62 million for attending the event including building a new pavilion.
About 600 representatives from private sponsors including Fonterra, NZ Trade and Enterprise staff and performers and entertainers will be in Dubai as part of the New Zealand representation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Truckies have dismissed claims the Government is "bending over" for the industry.
There are growing calls for people to be fully vaccinated if they want to leave Auckland.
Otago University epidemiologist Nick Wilson claims getting this mandated is being made difficult by the trucking industry.
Transporting New Zealand CEO Nick Leggett told Heather du Plessis-Allan they've been complying with testing at the Auckland border.
“This idea, I think, that truck drivers are putting the rest of the country in danger is an appalling attack on really important vital workers who keep New Zealand fed and clothed.”
Leggett says requiring truck drivers to be fully vaccinated before leaving the region would cause issues.
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By now, you might’ve caught up on the video that’s doing the rounds on social media and the online newspapers of one of those hikoi protestors bragging about having got through the Auckland border.
This is Tammy Watson, videoing herself while driving.
What appears to have happened here is that Tammy left the official Mercer checkpoint yesterday where the rest of her protestor mates are.
Today, she tried a back-route crossing at Pukekawa.
She told the cops she was on that road because she wanted to avoid the congestion on the motorway.
And they waved her through.
Now, the cops say they’re not going to investigate this any further.
Because she had the paperwork to go through showing an exemption to move from Kapiti Mana to Kerikeri.
And she didn’t need a test because she was relocating from a Level 2 area to a Level 2 area.
Is paperwork proof of honesty?
The two alleged sex workers who went to Northland had paperwork too showing they were essential social services workers.
And Tammy doesn’t make it sound like she was moving to Kerikeri. She made it sound very much like she’s really joining the hikoi.
It might be that Tammy is actually moving home and this is all bluster, but I’d like to know.
I’m getting a little tired I’m getting a bit tired of this hands-off, education first, policing by consent approach that they’ve taken thus far.
If you cast your mind back, it feels a lot like they only charge the alleged rule-breakers AFTER the public fury forces them to act.
For example the Wanaka couple. Cops didn’t charge them for nearly two weeks. When that started winding people up, they were charged.
Brian Tamaki. Not charged until after public outcry over his first protest.
The North Shore party. Which the cops went to at 4am while it was underway. No one was fined until after public outcry.
Compare that to the Aussies who are constantly being updated by the cops on how many fines they’re handing out to rule breakers.
I’m not into getting people in trouble for no good reason.
But I am aware that this stuff is undermining the compliance in Auckland.
It’s very hard to want to follow the rules when you see people bragging about flouting the rules and getting away with it.
Like Tammy is suggesting she’s done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Labour's Poto Williams and National's Gerry Brownlee today joined Canterbury Mornings to discuss what has been a turbulent week for the Canterbury region.
John MacDonald asked if enough had been done by the Government to protect the South Island from Covid and whether the Government had dropped the ball in preparing for the arrival of the Delta variant in New Zealand.
He also questioned why the Government was so intent on pushing ahead with the Three Waters Reform when it was clear from Councils around New Zealand that they were not in favour of handing over their water assets.
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Hawkes Bay's water park Splash Planet is closing over summer for the first time since opening in 1998.
Although Hawkes Bay isn’t reporting any Covid cases, there are concerns around low vaccination rates and how they would manage social distancing.
Nigel Bickle, Hastings’ District Council CEO - who are in charge of Splash Planet – told Kate Hawkesby it’s become too complicated to open the park.
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Kudos to Murray Bolton and Russell Coutts this week for making their mark, their contribution, to what I have no doubt is a growing resistance to the absurdity that is the running of this country.
The danger and dishonesty of the Government and the realisation that the regime of fear and chaos has got to come to an end.
Coutts of course, is no different to the myriad of other people who have spoken out now for months on end.
There is now an industry of op-ed pieces and Facebook blasts from the well-known and not, many making cogent, intelligent arguments as to the madness under which we continue to operate, or as the case may be, not operate.
And in that is the Murray Bolton case.
But Coutts is rarely heard from. He's an international citizen, he carries kudos and credibility, he's a businessman who deals with a world that is leaving us behind.
He puts his voice to the chorus of people who are hamstrung, angry, confused, defeated, bust and bewildered. At a regime whose sole argument, if not obsession, appears to keep hospital beds empty at all costs, while refusing to bolster the number of hospital beds.
But back to Bolton. If you missed it, he's a businessman who employs a lot of people, he needs to be at a board meeting in Boston. Zoom won't cut it, he argues; our interests will be disadvantaged if he isn't there.
He is, of course, jabbed and what separates him out, is he's taking a private jet and wants to isolate at home because he can't get an MIQ spot.
The judge, short of a fuller explanation today, has ordered MBIE to look at the case again.
Looking isn't solving the problem - but for now, it’s a win.
His lawyer, in one of the week’s better lines, says unless you're living down a rabbit hole in Wellington you know that Auckland's economy is under significant stress.
And that’s the danger. We are being governed from the rabbit's hole. Hell, the Prime Minister hasn’t even set foot in the place for close to three months.
Add to these examples Radius Care, God bless them for being human. People in aged care need family. To be prevented in your final years from being with your loved ones sums this Government up.
They're cold, heartless, uncaring and robotic.
Even ol' Leo Molloy is opening his restaurant December 1st come what may. No idea how he's going to do it but good luck to him.
It’s a sign this is coming to an end. It's a sign the trust has been lost, the will power is gone, the patience is up and the frustration now heavily outweighs the logic.
The Government have blown it. They pushed too hard, too far, for too long
And combine it with the lack of common sense, of a plan of any real detail, of the endless announcements about announcements - and whatever good grace there was, has been abused to the point of no return.
You only govern with the good will of the people.
Good will is in shorter supply than magnesium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Small businesses are on their knees, that's the verdict from Xero's Small Business Index for September.
On average, Auckland firms are waiting 29.6 days to be paid, four and a half days more than in August.
Craig Hudson is Xero's managing director in New Zealand and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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The Covid-19 Response Minister has defended not letting international arrivals in Auckland self-isolate at home.
From November 14, MIQ stays for returnees are halving to seven days, followed by about three days of home isolation.
There have been calls to let those staying in Auckland solely home quarantine, because of the community outbreak.
Chris Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's too hard to work out at the border, where people are headed.
“Establishing a system to work all of that out, itself would be a quite a significant logistical challenge and by the time we figure that out, we might not need to use it.”
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It's not sustainable.
That's the message Act leader David Seymour says he's had from dozens of Auckland businesses he's visited in the city today.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan the main thing they want is some certainty and about when and how it ends.
“They don’t understand the traffic light system, they don’t have faith in the transition to it and they’re putting on a brave face behind the masks.”
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Relief and anger were the dominant emotions in Christchurch today.
Relief because the city hasn't been plunged back into lockdown after two new Covid cases were revealed this morning.
Locations of interest were only revealed just before three this afternoon, and spread across the city including supermarkets, petrol stations and takeaway shops.
But anger because it took until three o'clock this afternoon to find out about any potential locations of interest.
Sam MacDonald is a Christchurch City councillor and he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan along with Dr Apisalome Talemaitoga who is a GP in Manukau, Auckland and shares the councillors frustrations at the lack of information being provided.
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I wish that I could praise the Government today for delivering wonderful news regarding the MIQ changes and for making rational, science-based, grounded in reality decisions, but I can’t.
Yes, credit to them for finally reducing the length of MIQ stays from 14 days to 7 days, followed by 3 days home isolation.
That’s welcome. it’ll free up some space in MIQ.
But why did they stop there?
Why are they still requiring anyone flying into Auckland, which is where the vast majority of people fly into, to do any MIQ at all?
These people are not a risk to Auckland any more.
Chris Hipkins pointed out only 2-3 out of every 1000 arrivals are Covid positive.
We had 664 covid cases in the last week. We’re not going to notice another 2 or three. They’re no real risk to us anymore.
And why wait two and a half weeks to implement this?
It’s not complicated. You basically just let someone out a week earlier.
But no, we wait to 14 November. So, someone flying in from 14 November gets a shorter stay of 7 days, but everyone flying in the day before, 13 November, still has to do two weeks. That’s crazy.
And then to top it off, we’re told Kiwis coming home have to wait until the end of March before they can expect to do home isolation. Australians are doing this on Monday. So, by the time we get to do it, the Aussies will have been in and out of their country with NO ISOLATION WHATSOEVER for 5 months.
So, while I’m happy that we’re taking steps in the right direction, and credit to the Government for that, I can’t hide my disappointment that they are taking baby steps when they can go faster; they just don't want to.
They need to speed this up.
The Government is now deliberately holding a handbrake on our economic recovery and reconnection for no good, scientific reason.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A call to get tested in Christchurch after two confirmed Covid cases in the city.
Two unvaccinated members of one household have tested positive almost two weeks after one returned from Auckland, for authorised travel for a child.
The extent of the spread remains unclear - but Epidemiologist Michael Baker told Newstalk ZB's John MacDonald there are simple things everyone can do while they wait for more information.
“Firstly, if you have any symptoms at all, come forward and get tested, the second thing of course is continue to follow the rules and the third thing, of course, is getting vaccinated.”
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It was only a matter of time.
In fact, Chris Hipkins said that yesterday - it would only be a matter of time before Covid reached the South Island and it’s arrived; via two members of the same household who had recently returned to Christchurch from Auckland.
There is very little information at this stage - we will be bringing places of interest to you as they come to hand - but the Covid 19 Response Minister CH updated the Mike Hosking Breakfast with what information they DID have.
The Minister said it's too soon to say whether Christchurch or the South Island would be moving up an alert level - remember Auckland was put into a lockdown 70 odd long, long days ago on the basis of one case.
But here's hoping the South Island dodges a bullet.
Remember the Australian traveller to Wellington - he had the most splendid time visiting all sorts of hip locations and he also had Covid but mercifully no-one else got it. The Coromandel - nobody else got it there either.
So, fingers crossed for our brothers and sisters in the South, although - and here's a thought - do you WANT to go up a level?
If you're sitting in Auckland or Waikato, most of us can't imagine anything worse than being under any kind of restrictions, whether you're vaccinated or unvaccinated. People in those regions have pretty much made their choices and are ready to go.
But if you're in the South Island, you haven't seen a case of Covid in a year. There was the Blenheim case, but that seems to have been contained. And that was only recently. Vaccination rates in the South Island are pretty good - bar the West Coast.
This revelation of Covid reaching Canterbury must surely give those who have just been sitting the on the fence the push they need to get to their nearest vaccination clinic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I joked this time yesterday that I hoped the big day of announcements we were awaiting wouldn’t just be announcements of announcements. I mean I thought we were past that. Hence, I joked about it.
Sadly, clearly, we’re not past it.
This Government is still taking the piss at 1 o’clock. How much leeway do they actually want? How much rope? Are they joking? Yesterday’s press conference was one of the greater damp squibs of all time. They literally could not announce anything.
We were expecting MIQ changes, an update on school for Years 0-10, and the Waikato level change. What did we get? A delay on the MIQ announcement – they’re not ready, don’t know, haven’t got it together, they’re still ‘having conversations’.
Why? What about? They’ve had weeks and weeks to do this, is it that there’s disagreement? Is it that they literally can’t make a decision? Is it that they just don’t know? What is it?
Likewise with schools. Weeks to prepare for this – still no clue. Primary students might be back by November 15th, then again, they might not. They may go back on a rostered system, they may go back for outdoor classes only, they may not go back at all.
Years 9 and 10, which are junior high school students, don’t look like they’re going back anytime soon either. At best, I’d say when and if the seniors leave daily classes to sit external exams, juniors may get a look in, but again, who would know?
The government certainly doesn’t.
Then we got to the poor old Waikato. Languishing in Level 3, they got the big news they can move to picnics and golf. What I want to know is, why are they staying in Level 3 with only 6 cases in the community, all in Hamilton, and all linked? Well apparently, it’s because, as Hipkins put it, “it’s a difficult group to contact trace.” When pressed on this, he simply repeated ‘they’re a difficult group to contact trace’ - which of course tells us nothing and everything all at the same time.
History tells us the group the government tends to protect the privacy of the most is? Gangs.
Who are these ‘difficult’ people? Are they not co-operating? Are they being difficult for a reason? Why are the difficulties not being addressed? Why hold Waikato to ransom for a small group of ‘difficult’ people? And how do you define difficult for goodness' sake? They should know by now that in the absence of information, all that will do is stir rumour and upset.
The other strange thing about the approach to Waikato is the Government’s words that they’re looking to ‘stamp it out’ there. Why? That’s elimination and I thought we ditched that? Why is the Waikato having a unique approach taken when the rest of us are all being told we have to learn to live with the virus?
So, another frustrating press conference of absolutely no use or merit, which left us with more questions than answers.
This government is doing my head in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Health officials are still assessing the risk from two positive cases of Covid-19 in Christchurch.
The cases are two unvaccinated members of the same household.
Members of another household have been identified as close contacts, but other close contacts, exposure events, and locations of interest are yet to be identified.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking one of the cases returned to Christchurch from Auckland about a week ago.
He says it's still far too early to be talking about a lockdown for Christchurch.
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Clothing company Designer Wardrobe is closing its stores in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
The buy-sell-rent-businesses Chair is blaming the Government's so-called "unclear" pandemic timeline for the decision.
Simon Moutter says if there was certainty stores could reopen in December - they would have kept their physical stores.
Moutter told Heather du Plessis-Allan the Government doesn't understand the cash-burn caused by lockdown.
“Access to capital is very fragile for a small-medium business and therefore, without certainty you simply can't access it."
Designer Wardrobe will still operate its online store.
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An Auckland businessman and mayoral hopeful has set his own freedom date from lockdown.
Leo Molloy says he will re-open his viaduct bar 'HeadQuarters' on December 1, and claims someone must lead the way.
The Government has given no firm indication for when Auckland outlets can resume operating.
Molloy says under his rules -- patrons will need to show proof of vaccination and would be served by fully-vaccinated staff.
Molloy told Heather du Plessis-Allan two out of three of Auckland's DHBs are well on track to hit their jab target.
"I'm allowing for 20 or 30 days to get the 9,000 remaining first jabs, and get them jabbed the second time as well so we all qualify. Then I can't see how there's any further obstruction."
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A hair salon in the Manuwatu is raising money and donating some of its profits to Auckland hair salons.
Levin's Patricia Farrow hairdressing and beauty is currently donating 50 percent of every voucher purchased to Auckland salons.
And next Saturday, 30 percent of the salon's earnings will go to the cause.
Owner, Paula Wyatt joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.
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A primary principal is sceptical over Government's hopes for a staged re-entry for younger students.
November 15's been pencilled in as a tentative date.
The Ministry of Education's now working with the sector on how to make it happen, including possible outdoor learning and a combined in-class and at-home model.
South Auckland Primary School principal, Karl Vasau told Heather du Plessis-Allan he has no faith in a staged approach.
“It will work in maybe Year 9 and 10, which are very different, but not in the primary school sector I just cannot see that working at all.”
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"Incredibly disappointed" police have blasted the behaviour of anti-lockdown hīkoi members who blocked a state highway, risking public safety.
A strong police contingent is continuing to monitor a hīkoi involving members of the Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth (SHOT) movement at the Southern Auckland checkpoint border after a police line had to be used to move the protesters off the highway in the early hours of this morning.
"Police are incredibly disappointed that this group of protesters have chosen to take this action," they said in a statement.
"By carrying out non-essential travel they are putting themselves, our staff and the wider community at risk, while additional Police resources have had to be redeployed in order to monitor the movements of this group at the checkpoints."
The group claim to be heading to Waitangi - but have been told they are not welcome there by local Māori leaders.
Tai Tokerau Border Control founder Hone Harawira has described the hīkoi as "a scam" organised by Pākehā anti-vaxxers.
"There is no invitation from Waitangi Marae, no invitation from the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, no invitation from Ngāti Kawa or Ngāti Rahiri, and no invitation from Ngāpuhi," the former Tai Tokerau MP said.
The convoy of around 50 vehicles carrying about 100 people arrived at the Southern checkpoint border in Mercer just before midnight.
Two protest vehicles, including a bus, remain parked on State Highway 1 in the northern lanes with the drivers refusing to move them. Traffic is being diverted around them and police are attempting to get the drivers to move them off the road.
Police negotiators and iwi liaison officers were called in to help after some of the protesters "surged forward" on foot from Orams Rd blocking the southern lane of SH1, but when this failed a police line was used, a police media statement said.
"The group was directed by police to a gravel area on Orams Rd, to move away from blocking the road and disrupting traffic travelling through the checkpoint."
The group is trying to get to Waitangi in Northland where leader of the Outdoors Party and prominent anti-vaccine and anti-5G activist Sue Grey will be speaking.
Grey flew to Kerikeri on a private plane yesterday and then travelled to Waitangi yesterday.
Speaking on a Facebook livestream, Grey wanted to set the record straight and confirmed the Waitangi event was going ahead, but the "really, really bad news" was the hīkoi had been blocked at Auckland's southern border.
Police had put a big truck across the road and laid down spikes, she said. However, this had been strongly denied by police.
Grey said her co-leader Alan Simmons had told her that Hone Harawira seemed to have single-handedly convinced police that the event had been cancelled so a whole group of people were not being allowed through the checkpoint to attend.
Grey, speaking on a second livestreamed video, said people stopped at Auckland's southern border were "pretty unhappy and frustrated" at the way they had been treated and urged people to go and support them.
"It seems to me the people who need support are the people that are blocked at the border down in the south of Auckland wanting to come here that have been stopped. It would be helpful for people to give them some support because there are some pretty unhappy people there who are pretty frustrated with the way they've been treated and the information we have that it all came down to one person telling the police that everything is and that's why they weren't allowed to come through."
She said it seemed so unfair that if you could afford to fly on a plane from Wellington you could get there, but there was no route for those who wanted to drive from level 2 into another level 2 area.
Her advice to those who were being stopped was that it "if was good enough for police to block the people then it was good enough for the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New Zealanders stranded overseas will be all ears as the Government makes a major announcement about the MIQ system today.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins has hinted at shorter stays for returnees, home quarantine, and possibly no quarantine from safe countries.
Tekla Kridle is stuck in Western Australia with her family, and hasn't managed to get an MIQ spot to match a flight.
She told Mike Hosking double-vaxxed, Covid-free people should be able to self-isolate at home.
“We’d gladly pay a bond, wear an ankle bracelet – whatever – MIQ rooms are that few and far between and are really needed by people who are ill.”
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You'll be pleased to know the Prime Minister doesn’t have to be in Auckland to understand the lockdown
Kudos to Barry Soper for being one of the last remaining press gallery operators who actually knows how to ask a proper question and insist on following it up. If you saw it yesterday, the Prime Minister has lost the ability to handle it.
She's so used to the soft soap acquiescence of the rest of the gallery who are either asleep, spineless or apparatchiks. She was well and truly taken aback when old father-to-be Soper rocks up with a few nerve inducing questions around why she hadn't been to her hometown in months. And why she hadn't visited the very electorate that sent her to Parliament to represent them.
Most embarrassingly of all, a couple of questions on just how is it she has time to go to Europe when she doesn’t have time to go to Auckland. Europe isn't official yet, and that's because they have yet again been caught out, and by being embarrassed by being caught out, they don’t know what to say.
She did offer the issue of quarantine. Bit hard to go to Auckland when she would need to isolate. But clearly not so hard to go to Europe and, one would assume, self-isolate under their new business plan trial which involves an embarrassingly infinitesimal number of spots.
To be clear, I'm not against the Prime Minister leaving the country to mix with the world, mainly because I'm not against any of us leaving the country to mix with the world. But that’s the rub, we can't leave because we can't come back, and we can't come back because we are all going to die.
We can't leave Auckland, far less New Zealand, unless you are the Prime Minister. She no longer needs to be a local MP because she gets all there is to get, by being hundreds of kilometres away. It’s a special, magic power.
If you voted for this, I hope it's giving you pause for thought. This is Helen Clark 2005 through 2008, except it's gone to Jacinda Ardern's head at lightning speed. She's lost touch in record time. Clark lost the country in the third term, Ardern has lost it in her second.
The reason she went all pursed lipped at Barry is because they know we are onto it, they know they are in trouble, and they know this looks like a sick joke.
But the only trick they have left is to bully their way through it, ignore the tough questions, and hope the rest of the media remains enamoured enough to make the ride smooth enough to get out the other side.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A prominent restaurateur is welcoming the Government's move to mandate vaccines for restaurant workers.
Under the traffic light system, staff will have to be vaccinated at any business that requires vaccine certificates, including hospitality businesses, gyms and hairdressers.
It means about 40-percent of the workforce will have to be jabbed.
Celebrity chef Peter Gordon -- the owner of Auckland's Homeland Restaurant told Mike Hosking it takes the onus off businesses to navigate the legal minefield of mandates.
“We don’t want to be a business that is suddenly in the courts, fighting with an employee, because of an unclear mandate and I think this is really helpful for us.”
A four-week notice period will apply for anyone refusing a required jab.
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A grieving father is not only hurting for the loss of his 6-year-old son but heartbroken after unsuccessfully trying to bring his Blenheim-based sister to the Auckland funeral.
William Stuart lost his battle with leukaemia last week after six years of treatment, including Car-T cell therapy in Melbourne two years ago.
After years of stress and a determined fundraising effort, in January last year the family were excited to announce on their Givealittle page that it had worked.
"We are delighted to share that the Car-T cell therapy has been successful and we are now home with all his medical attachments out."
But 21 months later, William succumbed to his cancer and died last week.
While the fight to save William had come to an end, they had since been embroiled in a new fight - to get William's aunty, Nicole Seymour, to Auckland to attend his funeral.
She has had her travel exemption application declined twice by the Ministry of Health as the online form only allowed for immediate family to get through.
William's father, Marcus, told Mike Hosking that it had been "ridiculous" dealing with the Ministry of Health's online forms getting exemptions for family to attend his funeral.
Marcus said they had been denied twice and there was nowhere on the ministry's online form where people could click for extended family.
As for what he will do today, Marcus said "cry".
Everyone was vaccinated and had negative Covid tests.
They'd all been following the rules and William had been sick for six years so they were keen to make sure they were doing things right.
He was gutted that the form wasn't set up for a child dying or a child being sick, he said.
National's Whangaparāoa MP Mark Mitchell told Hosking it was "a tragic, horrible case that highlights how broken the MIQ system is".
Mitchell said it was unfortunate as the ministry appeared to have not given the people involved in the service the appropriate training to help make decisions.
"I've had several cases like this and we have lost the human side, for whatever reason, in terms of how we're dealing with these cases. The cases that I've dealt with, the risks are so low, they're minimal, and yet they seem to be just employing a blanket approach to it and forgetting about the human side to it, the emotional toll.
"As we emerge out of this, there's a massive human toll that could have been avoided if we had a much more sensitive approach to how we're dealing with these cases."
Regional Development and Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said he didn't know about the case so couldn't comment.
"It's a real tragedy and my heart goes out to the family," he said on Newstalk ZB. "I can't comment on this because I don't know the processes the father's gone through."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I’m not sure the return to school yesterday for seniors in level three will be the super spreader event people like Rod Jackson were ‘freaking out’ about. I guess time will tell on that one.
But what I do know from talking to some students who went back yesterday, was that it was stressful for all concerned.
I’m not sure what’s more stressful at this point: online at-home-learning, or heading back into school after so long.
There are parents in both camps as well as students of course; some nervous they’ve gone back, some grateful.
What I did learn yesterday from returning students, is that there’s a lot of stress from feeling so behind on school work – and worry about how to catch that up in time for exams.
The big talking point at school of course is Covid, and the stress around what that means for them, whether their exams will happen or not, how they might happen, and what the rest of the term looks like.
That’s something we can all identify with, really. No one really knows what the rest of our year looks like.
I’m not sure at this point that even the Government does.
Teachers, I heard, were very negative about the return - most of them saying at one school that they didn’t want to be there.
They’re worried they’ll catch Covid and potentially pass it on to younger children of their own at home. That’s a valid concern.
Students, while happy to be back with their friends, were of course finding the social distancing tough.
And by tough, I mean, non-existent. Masks, though mandatory, I hear were hard to keep on all day as it was so muggy and humid in Auckland yesterday that most found it too hard and hot to breathe. So, masks were off a lot, and that’s what I hear from many level two schools that are back as well in other parts of the country; the mask thing is non-existent. It’s classic theory versus reality.
So, what’s more stressful for teachers and students right now? Being at school with strict rules which are being loosely interpreted and, in some cases, not followed at all?
Running the gauntlet of a large-scale environment with some vaxxed, some not?
Or staying home doing sub-par learning in an online environment?
We know that 15 percent of Auckland schools said no thanks to heading back into class yesterday and it’ll be interesting to see how long they keep up that stance. It’s a tough call and one the Government's making right now for younger students.
And based on the concerns so far around seniors going back, I can only imagine even stronger reactions are on the cards, when it’s the turn of juniors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A glimmer of hope for Kiwis stranded overseas because they can't get a spot in managed isolation.
The Government's making a major announcement about changes to the MIQ system today.
Shorter MIQ stays for returnees, home quarantine, and possibly no quarantine from safe countries could be in the mix.
Travel technology consultant Mike Moore told Kate Hawkesby home quarantine has been used successfully in countries like Taiwan, by using things like apps and phone calls.
He said reducing MIQ from 14 to seven days is one of the things mooted.
“That actually only increases the number of people you let into the country from 350 to 700 a day so that’s still massively massively short of demand.”
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UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid is "leaning towards" requiring staff in the National Health Service (NHS) to be vaccinated against Covid-19, he said Monday.
"Those fantastic people working in the NHS, they are naturally more vulnerable to being exposed to diseases and viruses, and of course that includes Covid," Javid told British broadcaster Sky News.
"But, also, the people that they are looking after so well are naturally vulnerable. That is why they are at hospital, and it's about giving them the protection they deserve too."
A similar mandate already exists for workers in the care sector, said Javid. As of November 11 all care workers in England are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, he said, unless they are exempt under the regulations.
"There is the requirement in care system at the moment that you are vaccinated. And the vast, vast majority of people I speak to in the care sector, that is exactly what they want, because they know that it's not just good for them but - most importantly - it's important for the people that they are looking after so well," said Javid.
"In the NHS we are thinking of doing the same thing. We've been very clear about this."
A final decision is yet to be made, said Javid, who added that 93-94% of NHS workers are already vaccinated.
"What we saw with the care sector is that when we announced the policy, and then we set it in law -- November 11th is the sort of cut-off date -- then we saw many more people come forward and do the right thing and get vaccinated," he said.
"And that's what I hope that, if we do the same thing with the NHS, we will see."
UK authorities are also encouraging those eligible to get booster vaccines against Covid-19.
The NHS has already given four million booster doses and will contact eligible people to offer them a booster dose, according to a statement from the prime minister's office at 10 Downing Street published Saturday.
Everyone over 50 or at high risk from Covid-19 will be invited for a booster shot six months after their second dose.
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A New Zealand economist says vaccinated people should get hospital priority.
New Zealand Initiative Economist Eric Crampton told Heather du Plessis Allan New Zealand only has 183 ICU beds, so cases will be dealt with based on urgent need.
He says the default means people who have elective surgeries planned will be pushed out.
“The only option for rationing something that’s this scarce, that also reduces the need, as best I can tell, is a vaccination mandate.”
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday announced a sweeping vaccine mandate in businesses in the hospitality sector, and others including gyms, barbers, and hairdressers where customers are expected to have vaccine certificates.
Listen above as Ben Thomas and Hayden Munro discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle
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Vaccine mandates are coming in a big way.
The Government has announced vaccine mandates for workers at any business that requires a vaccine certificate.
That includes such high-risk settings as hospitality and gyms and close-proximity places like hairdressers, and barbers.
For all other employers who want to introduce their own vaccine mandates, the Government will introduce a new law to help them decide whether they can do so.
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood told Heather du Plessis-Allan the policy is to ensure consistency.
“You go in using your Covid vaccine certificate, we think it’s important that you’ve also got the confidence that the staff who might be serving you are also vaccinated.”
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We were right.
Why launch something as significant as the future of your so-called post Covid country on the Friday before a long weekend? Unless you knew it would go down like a cup of cold sick?
The traffic light thing was a non-event. Green, red, colours, levels, name them after birds if you like, but names mean nothing. It’s the decisions that count and given the thing isn't in place until the end of next month, let's worry about it closer to the time.
The killer, the kicker, the insult, the infuriation, and they knew it, was this mad insistence on 90 percent double jabbed for everyone, everywhere. The sheer unfairness was seen by every single one of us that had bothered to make an effort, try to do our best, and do our part to get on with this.
For that, there is a great, big, fat middle finger. We were sucked in good. This is a government that loves the lazy, hopeless, recalcitrant, and the wayward. This is a government that can't hold the successful back enough.
The thing they don't get about businesses and business people is they don’t go into it to be on welfare, which is all that Grant Robertson announced. Was it more? Yes, it was. More welfare and more debt. Might it save a few? I hope so, but what business wants is graft and success.
You can't graft if you can't open. It will be in excess of three months by the end of this mess. A quarter of a year shot to pieces propped up by welfare.
What else? Yet more money for Māori authorities to do God knows what to get the jab rate up.
Waiting for recalcitrant DHBs, the very same DHBs the government's getting rid of because half of them are so useless. But just before they dump them, let's wait for the very last hopeless one to drag itself across the 90 percent line.
All because they don’t trust their own health system and they never got the vaccine here in time before delta shut us down and made fools of them as they still pedalled their elimination delusion.
As a result, they’ve blown the whole year to bits. This is a divided country, it is a an angry, let down country full of those who want better. They are facing a government that is mesmerised by control, power, and aligning themselves with the dead weights, tin hat wearers, and the incompetent.
I've seen and dealt with them all from Muldoon on. There have been some ropey days and ropey players, but this lot are setting records for being useless and worse, being dangerous.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One Auckland Council member says we need to keep holding diverse vaccination events to keep hard to reach people interested.
Josephine Bartley, the councillor who suggested KFC carparks could be used for vaccination centres, says she's positive we can hit the 90 percent rate if we keep trying.
She's supported events organised for everyone from school mums to Black Power members.
Bartley told Mike Hosking it's a winning strategy.
She says she's seen people first hand get the jab because of these types of events.
“It actually does work. I’ve seen people on the fence go and get vaccinated because somebody in the gang or someone in the school mums suggested that they do it.”
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Concern from one epidemiologist about a drop in vaccinations around the country over the long weekend.
Eight of Auckland's 16 vaccination centres and six of Waikato's seven vaccination centres were closed, including the vaccination centre in Te Awamutu - the new epicentre of Waikato's cases.
Only a quarter of the testing and vaccination sites listed on the Healthpoint directory, were open through Labour Weekend.
Auckland University's Rod Jackson told Mike Hosking it's concerning, if demand for vaccination is slipping, and people are becoming complacent.
“We’re just not trying hard enough.”
The Ministry of Health says DHBs understand their communities, and have been providing vaccinations and testing when and where it's needed.
Jackson says we need carrots for the vaccinated and sticks for the unvaccinated.
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It’s hard not to feel disillusioned this week - struggling to understand this new traffic light system. It feels like we’re being asked to reach an unrealistic goal by an ambitious PM who wants to score some points.
And in achieving that goal, what do we get for it? A red light.
As we’ve been told many times by this government, Delta didn’t come with a roadmap.
That’s actually not true in our case. The roadmap was rolling out in front of us.
We had months to watch it unfold in other parts of the world. And in that time, we should’ve readied our healthcare system, our ICU, our nursing capacity, our testing and tracing abilities. But we didn’t. We bragged about Six 60 concerts and how we didn't need to rush the vaccine rollout instead.
We put millions into designing a now cancelled bike bridge, money for school lunches, University buildings; stuff that wasn’t as important as money to ready ourselves for the inevitable.
And then when Delta did arrive, instead of asking for roadside assistance or seeking help from the private sector - who by the way desperately wanted to help, the government only got more entrenched in its own Wellington based echo chamber. It still won’t acknowledge or admit it got anything wrong. It still won’t justify how, with its hell-bent elimination strategy, we got locked down at level 4, then 3, only to have now over a thousand cases in the community.
The collateral damage of being guinea pigs for an ideologically driven government wanting to pursue “world beating” outcomes, has been well canvassed. But aside from giving the PM some impetus in her eventual path to the UN or whatever international badges she’s pursuing, it’s leaving those of us they purport to represent, with a scarred, debt laden economy, broken businesses, a mental health epidemic far greater than the one they inherited and allegedly so badly wanted to fix.
The greatest irony of course is there is no equity here in this approach they’re labelling the ‘most equitable’. Equitable for who?
For the Aucklanders who did as they asked and got vaccinated, stayed home and abided the rules?
It's disingenuous to hide behind a cloak of equitability while holding underwater businesses, elderly, the alone, the dying, the desperate to return home, the teenagers, the young parents, and just the Joe-average Aucklander who's tuned in daily, paid attention, taken heed, complied with restrictions, made sacrifices, swallowed vaccine doubts and done what’s been asked?
This is not equitable.
It’s unjust to the majority. It’s handing the power to the few. The one percent who won’t, can’t, or don’t want to vaccinate.
It’s handing our freedoms to them. Putting it in their hands, to absolve the government of any blame.
So, the unvaxxed get to decide when we, the obedient majority, get our freedoms back.
How is that fair?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Grant Robertson says it's too early to talk about the chances of moving to the traffic light system before the country has reached its vaccination targets.
The system is set to be rolled out once 90-percent of the eligible population in each DHB has received both Covid jabs.
Auckland could move to the system earlier, once all three of its DHBs have reached the 90-percent target.
The Deputy Prime Minister told Mike Hosking while the targets will be reviewed in five weeks, the target is a target for a reason.
He says the 90-percent targets are achievable.
“We can do it. I’m confident we’ll get there.”
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The Government is keeping a close eye on vaccination rates in every DHB, as it prepares to transition the country to a new "traffic light" system of covid restrictions.
Auckland will move to the new system once all three of its DHBs have hit the 90-percent vaccination target.
The rest of the country is also set to move to the system, once 90-percent of the eligible population in each DHB area has received both of their Covid jabs.
But Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare told Kate Hawkesby everything will be up for review at Cabinet every week leading up to a major review in late November.
“We’re pushing our hardest for getting the highest vaccination rate.”
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The Government's new Traffic Light System appears to be watertight from a legal point of view.
Under the new system announced on Friday, people who are unvaccinated could miss out on going to restaurants, festivals and gyms.
It will kick in once DHBs meet vaccination targets.
Auckland University Law Professor Bill Hodge told Tim Dower the orders are justifiable interferences with the Bill of Rights Act.
“New Zealand has obligations under the World Health Organization, under various international conventions that say ‘you got a duty to keep people safe from endemics and pandemics.’”
Hodge says the Government is using a combination of carrot and stick to encourage vaccination.
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A Maori health expert has serious concerns about the Government's new Traffic Light System.
Hauora Coalition Clinical Director Rawiri Jansen told Tim Dower a separate vaccination rate for Maori is needed, and the 90 per cent vaccination rate is too low.
"If you get 90 per cent vaccinated, that's about 140,000 Aucklanders not vaccinated."
The system will be rolled out once DHBs reached 90 per cent vaccination targets.
Jansen says the reopening of the economy is being prioritised over the health of the people.
“It’s a lot of people pushing really hard to, I don’t know, get out and have their lattes or have their holiday.”
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Victorians are close to reaching two major vaccination milestones and will see a raft of restrictions ease as soon as next weekend, it was announced on Sunday.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced two sets of rules - one was for when the state hit 90 per cent double-dose vaccination on November 24.
The other set of rules would be triggered on Friday at 6pm, when the state was expected to have fully vaccinated 80 per cent of its population.
Ninety per cent of Victoria’s population above 16 will be fully vaccinated. Photo / NCA NewsWire
All the rules changing at 90 per cent
By November 24, 90 per cent of Victorians above the age of 16 should be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The fast uptick of vaccines will trigger a new round of extra freedoms, Mr Andrews said on Sunday morning.
“(Once the vaccination rate reaches 90 per cent), there will be a fundamental change, a massive change in many respects, to the rules that we have all been living under,” he said.
“There will be no (capacity) caps anywhere. There will be no density limits anywhere.
“Masks will only be required in high-risk indoor settings, such as public transport, prisons, hospitals, and aged care.
“We will retain the vaccinated economy, all those requirements, all those settings, where you can only get in if you are double vaccinated.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces a new round of freedoms. Photo / NCA NewsWire
All the rules changing at 80 per cent:
Travel from Melbourne to regional Victoria will be allowed.
Most indoor settings, including restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to a 1-person per four square metres limit - all staff and patrons must be fully vaccinated.
Most outdoor settings will remain at 1-person per two square metres limit (up to 500 people) - where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated.
Caps of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown.
Entertainment venues will reopen. For indoor seated venues including cinemas and theatres, there will be a 75 per cent capacity of up to 1000 people, and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues, there will be a 1-person per four square metres limit with no patron cap.
There will be no caps in hospitality beyond November 24. Photo / NCA NewsWire
Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions will be open with a limit of 5000 people where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Events – such as music festivals – will be able to host up to 5000 attendees - The chief health Ooficer may also grant an approval for larger crowds for significant events and venues.
Masks will remain mandatory indoors but no longer required outdoors. It is highly recommended you continue to wear a mask outdoors where you cannot physically distance.
It comes as the state recorded 1935 new locally acquired Covid-19 infections on Sunday as the virus spreads among the state’s younger population.
Eleven more Victorians also died from the virus in the past 24 hours, the Department of Health also confirmed.
About 90.3 per cent of Victorians above the age of 16 had received one jab of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73 per cent were completely inoculated.
Earlier, it was confirmed one group of Victorians was experiencing more infections with the virus than anyone else.
Twenty-nine per cent of all of Saturday’s new cases on Saturday were in Victorians under the age of 19.
That day, there were 1750 infections.
Victoria Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said Covid-19 is infecting the young. Photo / NCA NewsWire
Children aged under 12 remain...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Health and safety will be paramount when Auckland and Waikato schools reopen to select students tomorrow morning.
Schools in Level Three areas will reopen tomorrow for Years 11, 12 and 13.
Ventilation, mask-wearing and social distancing will be used to keep students safe.
Grant McMillan, the Principal of Manurewa's James Cook High School told Tim Dower he won't be taking any risks.
“If at any time I’m concerned, if I believe that things are no longer safe, I’ll go straight to our board of trustees and ask to close.”
McMillan says he’s made a roadmap for every student at his school.
“So we are going to use those maps with our students and get them where they need to be before the 10th or 17th of December.”
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Tennis correspondent Graeme Agars joined Jason Pine to discuss the vaccination rate in tennis players in wake of Australian Open organisers declaring all players must be fully vaccinated and how they’ll handle this situation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Calls for Northland to move to Level 3.
This is despite Northland having one new case today, after four yesterday.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Smith told the Weekend Collective there are some sense in moving to Level 3.
"There is some sense perhaps in just making sure we can broaden testing, things of that sort, and just see just if there has been any spread. There may be, there may not have been."
But on the other hand, Smith recognises that the business community is not in robust health after seeing the economic reports.
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Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has revealed just what freedoms the state can expect once it hits a major milestone.
Case numbers in Victoria have experienced a drop as fully vaccinated residents enter their first weekend of freedom. The state reported 1935 new infections – a slight increase from Saturday's 1750 cases – and 11 deaths.
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 296 new cases and four deaths, with cases expected to rise over the coming days due to the state's eased restrictions.
Queensland has recorded no new local cases despite being on high alert after a rideshare driver was infectious in the community for 10 days.
Authorities said the man is "so sick" he can barely speak with contact tracers.
Victoria is expected to reach its 90 per cent double dose milestone on November 24 - and it will mean "very few rules" for the vaccinated.
"There will be no caps anywhere," Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said.
"There will be no density questions anywhere. Masks will only be required in high-risk indoor settings, such as public transport, prisons, hospitals, aged care, to give you some examples."
Vaccinated economy 'here to stay' in Victoria
Andrews stressed that many of these freedoms will only be available to the "vaccinated economy", which is "here to stay".
"We will retain the vaccinated economy, all those requirements, although settings, where you only get in if you are double vaccinated, and you can tap and verify that for everybody," he said.
"But the vaccinated economy is here to stay. It will not be being folded up moments after it gets too full peak.
"In fact, we will add to the vaccinated economy by asking and mandating that all non-essential retail will have to be vaccinated as well, both to go in, and also to work on those settings."
But as the state opened up, Andrews said Victorians could expect two rules in place through next year.
"Some masks in some settings, principally indoors, where there is a greater risk, and the economy being open to you only if you have had to shots, only if you are fully vaccinated," he said.
"They are two rules that be enduring. They are the two rules that will be with us right throughout 2022."
Victoria
Victoria has recorded 1935 new Covid-19 infections as the virus sweeps through a large cohort of unvaccinated people.
Eleven more Victorians also died from the virus in the past 24 hours, the Department of Health also confirmed.
About 90.3 per cent of Victorians above the age of 16 had received one jab of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73 per cent were completely inoculated.
Earlier, it was confirmed one group of Victorians was experiencing more infections with the virus than anyone else.
Twenty-nine per cent of all of Saturday's new cases were in Victorians under the age of 19.
That day, there were 1750 infections.
Victoria Police Special Operation Group are seen during an anti-vaccine protest in Melbourne during lockdown in September. Photo / Getty Images
Children aged under 12 remain ineligible for any Covid-19 vaccine available in Australia.
In Victoria's Metro areas, two-thirds of all positive cases were now under 40.
In regional areas, three-quarters of cases were under 40.
"I call out to the young Victorians among us that you are particularly vulnerable at this point in time," Victorian Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said earlier.
"You're running into friends and associates who are Covid-positive so take every care to make sure you don't become one of those statistics."
Victorians were granted a raft of new freedoms this weekend after the state hit its 70 per cent double-dose vaccination target on Thursday.
From 11.59 pm on Thursday, restrictions to leave home, as well as the curfew, were scrapped.
There was no travel limit within metropolitan Melbourne, but travel authorisation was still required to enter regional Victoria.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Opposition's rubbishing the Government's new Covid traffic light system.
The new regime will kick in when every DHB in the country hits a 90 per cent vaccination rate.
Auckland could move sooner if all its DHBs reach the mark.
National leader Judith Collins told the Weekend Collective it's not good enough.
“Coming up again with another system to replace the system that people are still getting their heads around.”
Collins wants to open up New Zealand as normal when the country gets to 85 per cent vaccination.
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10 weeks into lockdown and no end in sight just yet for Auckland.
The Government has announced a traffic light system as New Zealand transitions out of the elimination strategy and alert levels, but Friday's announcement didn’t present as many certainties as people would’ve hoped for.
There is also a debate on whether the traffic light system will cause more division among anti-vaxxers and double vaccinated.
One of the announcements from Friday was that the traffic light system will take effect when DHBs hit 90 per cent double vaccinated.
But the issue of getting those remaining people to get to 90 per cent vaccinated is holding back the traffic light system and could potentially create more division.
And then there is the issue with Christmas.
Although Jacinda Ardern told Stuff that Aucklanders should be able to travel for Christmas, the issue of policing that with vaccine certificates is another issue entriely.
Listen above as Brodie Kane and Ben Thomas discuss the week's news with Francesca Rudkin on The Sunday PanelSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our resident relationship expert Steven Dromgool speaks to Jack Tame about strategies to deal with the vaccine sceptic in your life.
He says to approach the vaccine-sceptics in your life with an open mind.
"You don't have to lose your relationship with them."
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The Government is providing up to $940 million per fortnight to support businesses through the challenging Delta outbreak, particularly those in Auckland.Enable Me's Hannah McQueen told Jack Tame the Government's announcement yesterday was a dogs breakfast.
"There is a misunderstanding around what small businesses need at the moment."
She said the business support package is "too little too late".
Hannah McQueen is available at www.enable.me LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Vaccine certificates are about to become a big part of our lives.
In much the same way we use the Covid-19 Tracer App to scan-in at different premises, we’ll be scanning the QR codes on our vaccine certificates almost everywhere we go. Under the government’s new traffic light plan, hospitality and retail businesses have massive incentives to demand proof of vaccination from all of their customers.
Personally, the certificates make a lot of sense. They’ll make it safer for people to gather in groups and they’ll incentivise some vaccine hesitant people to go and get the jab.
But when will they actually be ready?
A month ago, when Grant Robertson first confirmed the government was planning to use certificates, he said they’d aim to introduce them at the start of November.
Two weeks later, Dr Ashley Bloomfield had a different date in mind. The vaccine certificates, he said, should be ready in ‘late November.’
Yesterday, the timeline appeared to change again.
‘From mid-December, everyone in New Zealand should be able to access a digital vaccination certificate,’ said the official Covid-19 website.
After the discrepancy in dates was questioned, the wording on the Covid-19 website was promptly changed.
‘From later this year, everyone in New Zealand should be able to access a digital vaccination certificate,’ it said.
Then, late last night the website changed again, this time to ‘the end of November.’
So, is it mid-November, late-November, or mid-December that vaccine certificates in New Zealand will be downloadable and fully-functional, where an individual’s QR code can be scanned and cross-checked against a national database while protecting their private medical information?
I might be accused of splitting hairs except for a couple of reasons.
If we take the latest of those different dates and vaccine certificates aren’t fully functional until mid-December, there’s a chance Auckland’s DHBs will reach the golden 90% vaccination threshold before the certificates are ready to go.
But fundamentally, if you think I shouldn’t be quibbling over four or six weeks, you’re right!
It’s astonishing New Zealand doesn’t have a fully-functional vaccine passport system already developed and tested. Almost every developed country has a system in place. Israel launched its vaccine passport system in February. New York introduced vaccine passports in March. As National’s Chris Bishop pointed out yesterday, Cuba has a vaccine passport system. Burkina Faso has a vaccine passport system!
But as recently as the start of August, in an interview with The Herald’s Claire Trevett,
Jacinda Ardern ruled out using vaccine passports in New Zealand. This was at a time when New South Wales was already recording hundreds of new infections a day.
Naivety or hubris? Why wouldn’t New Zealand need vaccine passports when everyone else did? What makes us so special?
At the very least, the delay points to complacency. The development of a domestic vaccine passport system should have been a priority from the moment we placed our order with Pfizer, even if it later proved New Zealand never needed to use it.
That vaccine certificates aren’t already functional tells us officials did not sufficiently prepare for a scenario in which New Zealand couldn’t eliminate the virus.
We’ve been caught flat-footed with vaccine certificates because we thought we were different to everyone else. We thought we were better.
We were wrong.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association's calling for clarity around enforcing vaccine mandates for staff.
New Zealand is preparing to switch to a traffic light system of Covid restrictions once all DHBs hit a 90 per cent vaccination target.
Many businesses are requiring staff get the jab which often means employing expensive counsel to work through the legal issues.
EMA's Head of legal Matthew Dearing told Andrew Dickens it's a complex situation with a substantial grey area.
“WorkSafe say that an employer can require certain work to be undertaken by only a vaccinated person. Employers are going to have to do a deep dive into particular roles to assess the area of risk.”
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A bit of a tease for Auckland.
The region's being told it could see easing of Covid-19 restrictions before it reaches its 90 per cent vaccination target.
Under the Government's new traffic light system, businesses will be able to open under all three colours, including red.
But people will need vaccination certificates to go to hospitality settings, gyms and hairdressers.
It'll kick into gear once district health boards reach the 90 per cent vaccination target.
And Auckland can move to the "red" setting when its three DHBs get there which could be early December.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Andrew Dickens that doesn't mean Auckland's restrictions will remain as they are until then.
“We’ll keep things under review and where there are additional changes we can make that make life a bit easier for people in Auckland, we’ll do that.”
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Retail stores operating under Level Three are still pushing Government for a firm date to reopen.
New Zealand will switch to a new traffic light system to suppress Covid when all DHBs reach a 90 per cent vaccination rate.
Businesses will be able to operate at any level — but with increased health and safety measures in the orange and red zone.
But Retail New Zealand's CEO Greg Harford told Andrew Dickens we also need a date for when the population must hit the vaccine target.
“Setting that date will create a sense of urgency. People who are sitting there and thinking ‘I’m not so sure if I need to rush into this’, the reality is we do. Businesses are under pressure, families are under pressure.”
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Concern following the confirmation of two Covid-19 cases in Northland.
The pair, understood to be a mother and daughter, are contacts of a recently diagnosed Auckland case.
They were permitted to travel from Auckland to Kaikohe and are now in isolation there.
A limited number of close contacts have been identified and are being tested.
Ngati Hine Health Trust chief executive Geoff Milner told Andrew Dickens he's worried for the community.
“The location where the two whanau members live are rurally somewhere between Kaikohe and Kaitaia, are in areas of a highly unvaccinated population, high Maori population.”
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Disappointment there were no vaccination targets set for Maori and Pasifika in the new Covid-19 framework.
Moving to the new traffic light system requires DHBs to hit a 90 per cent full-vaccination target.
Auckland University Public Health Associate Professor Collin Tukuitonga told Andrew Dickens Maori and Pasifika may slip further behind other ethnic groups when it comes to vaccine uptake.
“Maori, if you look at the figures, are the lowest in all of New Zealand. In other words, it’s going to take a whole lot more effort and a whole lot more time to get them even close to 90 per cent.”
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I didn’t hear the 10am announcements. I was walking the dog. I knew it would be underwhelming. I wasn’t prepared for how underwhelming it was.
This wasn’t a straw, it was more like a giant telephone pole that broke the nation’s back.
Auckland won’t even get close to leaving lockdown until the first week of December, if, and it’s a big if, the whole city hits 90% fully vaccinated. That’s 6 more weeks before they get to a red light let alone an orange or green.
Meanwhile, the South Island has also been told to wait for the magic 90% rate. Considering their vaccination rates are even worse than Auckland’s then your move towards normalcy will be even later. That’s a hard pill to swallow for the island with no Covid for nearly the best part of a year.
Everyone who had been praying for a date for relief were enormously disappointed but anyone who truly believed that this Government would be so bold have not been listening.
They’ve never mentioned dates and never will. They’re too scared of failing.
They’ve always mentioned vaccination rates but never confirmed the rate until today. Even then it appears like all they’ve done is followed the Herald’s aspirational promotion. They’ve plucked a number out of the air.
And here’s what is truly scary. This is the year of vaccination as they said. Targets like 90% should have communicated as the expected normal from Day 1 of their vaccination plan. Or at least the earliest that they could. Not October 22. Freedom at 90 for the team of 5 million has a ring to it. It’s the 8th month since the first vaccination.
Here’s another scary aspect. Grant Robertson casually mentions that they’re looking into the legal ramifications of vaccination mandates. Surely this is also work that should have started on Day 1 of the vaccination programme 8 long months ago.
Then they start talking about punishing workplaces by reducing their emergency funding if they serve the unvaccinated. But the only way to screen the unvaccinated from the vaccinated is with a passport or certificate which presently we do not have. Surely certification is also work that should have started back in February.
I had hoped that all this would have been presented as a fait accomplit. That passports and enforcement and mandates and vaccination plans would be ready to roll. That the final push was ready to go. It’s not.
Instead, this plan had all the intellectual rigour of a reckon that a talkback caller might have rustled up in a 15 minute reckon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Radius Care founder and chairman Brien Cree joined Simon Barnett and James Daniels on why he's decided to go against Ministry of Health guidelines and allow visitors into rest homes for residents' mental health.
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Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker joined Simon Barnett and James Daniels to discuss the Government's press conference from this morning and the traffic light system.
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An enhanced business support package has been unveiled as the country transitions to the new Covid-19 protection framework.
It was announced alongside that New Zealand will move to a new "traffic light" system when District Health Boards have 90 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated.
When each DHB hit this target, the new framework would come into effect. The traffic light system makes use of vaccine certificates.
Businesses will be able to continue to operate at each of the risk levels, and each setting can be used in a highly targeted and localised way, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
In a suite of announcements that establish a pathway out of restrictions, the Government is also providing up to $940 million per fortnight to support businesses through the challenging period, particularly those in Auckland. A new $120m fund has also been established to help lift Māori vaccination rates.
Finance Miniter Grant Robertson said the resurgence support payment will be doubled, up to $43,000.
The first applications will open on November 12 and be paid fortnightly rather than every three weeks.
He said the decision was made to use this payment because it was flexible and could be implemented quickly.
The wage subsidy was still available using the current criteria.
The cost of both schemes is estimated to be $940 million per fortnight.
There will also be a $60m package for the Regional Business Partner Programme and mental health support.
Businesses will be able to apply for up to $3000 worth of advice and planning support, and then receive up to $4000 to implement that advice through the established Regional Business Partners programme.
As part of the package, $10m is available for mental health and wellbeing support through a programme to be designed with the Employers and Manufacturers' Association and Auckland Business Chamber of Commerce.
Robertson said more support will also be available for low income workers from November 1.
Cabinet will also discuss more support for those most vulnerable.
There would also be a transition grant for Auckland businesses when they move into the new traffic light framework.
It will target the most affected businesses, but Robertson warned that businesses that chose not to use vaccine certificates might not be eligible.
Other support might be available for businesses in the event of local lockdowns.
"Please get vaccinated," Robertson said.
- by Derek Cheng, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Now, this morning's announcement from the Prime Minister.
We had a bit of a debate yesterday afternoon about whether to take this live or not — the last thing we all want to listen to is a party political broadcast and a whole lot of flannel about how well the Government's done in rolling out vaccinations and kia kaha Auckland — great mahi coming off the motu.
We thought we might just edit it so you got the actual news rather than the self-congratulation and self-justifications.
But so many people's livelihoods — hell, their lives — depend on what kind of plan this government has come up with that we'll take the PM and Grant Robertson live from Parliament once they get there — and cut it off when they get to Jessica, then Tova.
I'm already getting a lot of emails and texts from people who are desperate — who are seeing this announcement as their last hope and by crikey, I hope she delivers.
She simply has to in terms of an end date and in terms of support for businesses that have been brought to their knees by this extended lockdown.
I don't have much hope honestly — I've been locked down into a kind of insensate torpor.
But I would love to be pleasantly surprised. We won't do the reckons beforehand — let's just wait and see what if anything the government comes up with and react to that — so for the first hour, I'd love to talk about the decision made by Radius Care a retirement village chain.
They have made the most excellent decision to allow visitors back for the mental health of their residents, despite Ministry of Health guidelines recommending against visitors in Level 3.
It's funny — on Tuesday, I asked Helen to ring around a few retirement villages to see if they would be willing to go against the advice of the Ministry given the level of hurt so many people were feeling.
She tried a couple and then went to the Retirement Village Association and they said they would not go against guidelines and blow me down — the next day founder and Chairman of Radius Brien Cree announced the decision.
As long as people are double vaccinated and can show they've had a negative test people will be allowed in. Brien Cree says Covid is here and we're just going to have to learn to live with it.
I cannot applaud this man more. He knows his business, he knows his people, he knows he can take a calculated risk and he knows the cure can't be worse than the disease.
Double-vaxxed residents are getting shingles from the stress of being kept apart from their double-vaxxed loved ones.
They can manage visitors and they perhaps more than any other sector understand quality of life trumps existing. I fervently hope more people follow suit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Melbourne has erupted with cheers as the world's longest lockdown was officially lifted overnight.
Victoria's sixth coronavirus lockdown was finally lifted at 11.59pm on Thursday after 262 days of harsh Covid-19 measures since the pandemic hit.
The CBD erupted and cheers and applause could be heard echoing through the city as the clock struck midnight, with residents clapping from balconies and shouting "freedom".
"They can hear yelling from surrounding balconies like it was New Years," ABC reporter Amy Gray noted.
I think Southbank #Melbourne says it all!!! Freedom 👌 pic.twitter.com/gZYxIMhNCS— Tim Verrall (@timverrall) October 21, 2021
Daniel Andrews has previously outlined the easing of restrictions for when the state hit its 70 per cent double-vaccination target.
On Wednesday, about 69.3 per cent of Victorians above the age of 16 were fully vaccinated, and 89.2 per cent had received one dose. It reached its 70 per cent vaccination milestone five days earlier than predicted on Thursday morning as well as 90 per cent first dose.
And we are finally out of lockdown Melbourne! #lockdownmelbourne #lockdown pic.twitter.com/7JdOJSsqAH— Ray (@survivorray08) October 21, 2021
Deputy Premier James Merlino boasted the state was "on track to become one of the most highly vaccinated jurisdictions in the world".
Victorian Opposition leader Michael O'Brien took to social media before the end of lockdown to vent his frustrations over the "petty and useless curfew".
the whole city has gone mad here 🥳😂😂 cheering and shouting all over at 12 am 🤣🥳 freedom finally 🥳🥳 #melbournelockdown #melbourne— uday. (@Control_Udayy) October 21, 2021
But others were more grateful, wishing residents good luck as a nervous city, still struck by high numbers of Covid, reopens. Others urged each other to be safe — and kind — as businesses and hospitality reopens.
Covid numbers surged on Thursday with 2232 new locally acquired cases with concerns for another spike on Friday.
We’re now in that twilight zone where I can’t leave home and break curfew - because science/COVID - but in 40 minutes I can travel anywhere in all of Melbourne - because science/COVID.May this stupid, mean, petty and useless curfew never again be inflicted upon us ever again. pic.twitter.com/wY48Lvr2Bz— Michael O'Brien (@michaelobrienmp) October 21, 2021
Despite the numbers, the state has revealed new freedoms for residents. These are the new rules:
Social gatherings
People will be allowed to have 10 visitors to their home each day, including their dependants. Previously, people were not allowed to have anyone over.
Gatherings outside will change from five fully-vaccinated people to 15.
Travel
The 10km travel limit in metropolitan Melbourne will be scrapped, but travel to regional areas is still barred.
The 9pm to 5am curfew or limit on reasons to leave the home will also be scrapped.
Melbourne CBD right now pic.twitter.com/RSqCb5ej5j— Hayden (@haydenww) October 21, 2021
Retail
General retail will be open for outdoor service, as well as click and collect. Retail was only previously open for click and collect during lockdown.
Victoria Police Special Operation Group are seen during an anti vaccine protest in Melbourne during lockdown in September. Photo / Getty Images
Hairdressers – after being forced to shut when the latest lockdown was enforced – will now be able to open for five fully vaccinated people.
Schools
A staggered return to school will start on Friday. Grades 3 and 4 will resume onsite learning on Tuesdays and Wednesday and grades 5 and 6 on Thursdays and Fridays.
Year 7s will return to classrooms Monday to Friday, Year 8s and 9s on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Year 10s on Thursday and Friday and Year 11s Monday to Friday.
Hospitality
Venues...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Calls for rapid antigen testing to be implemented in the aged care industry.
The tests are commonly used overseas and can be done at home and deliver a result in as little as 15 minutes.
Radius Residential Care will allow vaccinated and tested visitors into their Level 3 facilities next week, despite the Ministry of Health advising family and non-essential visitors they aren't allowed in aged residential care facilities.
Aged Care Association Chief Executive Simon Wallace told Mike Hosking, alongside vaccination, it would help visiting be managed safely.
“The Government’s not coming to the party on rapid antigen testing for the sector- It's only available to a very narrow set of big businesses.”
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At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.
Drip Feeding Covid Announcements.
2/10.
"What a shocking week this has been and what a crappy way to treat a population.
An announcement on Monday of more announcements.
An announcement on Tuesday, an announcement on Wednesday involving the announcement of more announcements, and announcements on Friday.
We are being played like fiddles and treated like children."
Schools Re-Opening.
6/10.
"Getting kids back to normality is critical, especially in the serious years.
I'm glad the government bit the bullet."
Christchurch Cup Week with No Crowds.
3/10.
"A reminder that Level 2 ain't that flash."
Queensland.
7/10.
"They acquiesced, adopted the national Covid plan, and are open for Christmas."
New South Wales.
8/10.
"Leading the way and open already."
Victoria.
6/10.
"Dragged kicking and screaming.
But more open today than yesterday."
NZ-UK Free Trade Deal.
9/10.
"The deal looks exceptional. It actually looks like free trade."
The IRD's Wealth Project.
2/10.
"It's just research because David Parker is passionate about wealth distribution and all the information is going to be put in the bin.
Whatever."
Squid Game.
6/10.
"Because it’s a hit, cost nothing to make, and added a fortune to Netflix."
Succession.
7/10.
"Because unlike Squid Game, it's actually a good watch."
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Disappointment, but no surprise, for Waikato residents facing an extended lockdown.
Parts of Waikato will stay at Alert Level Three for the next six days subject to a further review on Wednesday.
It includes the Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, Waipa, Hamilton and Waikato districts including: Te Kuiti, Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Raglan, Ngāruawāhia, Huntly and Te Kauwhata.
Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson told Mike Hosking he’s expecting to see some serious carnage in the small business sector.
“Unfortunately for us, like Auckland, it’s circulating around in a particular sector of our community.”
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The Government's being urged to set clear and realistic targets for its new Covid restrictions.
Their set to announce a tiered framework of restrictions this morning, to replace the existing alert level system.
It's likely to see us getting more freedoms, as we reach certain vaccination targets.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking fully vaccinated people should also get more freedoms in the meantime.
He says that would happen under the plans put forward by National and Act, and it should happen under the Government's plan as well.
“Put some tension in the system otherwise they’re just going to drift endlessly on trying to convince the last small groups for hold-outs to go get vaccinated.”
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We got a strong sense yesterday of the reaction to school going back for seniors currently languishing in Level 3, and how it’s gone down with teachers.
The PPTA, as we know, was furious - they didn’t mince their words.
They said the government had abandoned it’s ‘abundance of caution’ approach and moved to a “reckless disregard for consequences in the blink of an eyelid.”
Teachers themselves had mixed reactions – some worried about having to teach students both online and in person – the increased workload associated with that, increased risk of exposure to Covid from any unvaccinated students. Could it be some kind of super spreader event, some wondered.
Parents were in the same camp. Some relieved, some anxious. Students, likewise, were split – some thrilled to go back, others saying it’s too soon.
And sure enough, yesterday we learn not all schools are going to follow the Ministry's instructions and open back up.
Some are opting to just keep exams online for seniors, as was already in train.
I can't work out if that's because teachers said ‘nope, not happening’, or schools just literally weren't prepared; given the government didn't consult with them on it - or whether it's because parents complained, or that schools just feel with more than a hundred cases in the community, it's too soon.
I have sympathy for them to the extent that it would've been a bit of an experiment.
With unknown vaccination levels inside schools still, who'd want to inadvertently end up a super-spreader event?
While the National Party will tell you it’s imperative everyone gets back into the classroom quick sticks for learning, for many students, it's about so much more than that, isn’t it?
School is community. It’s their friendship group, their mentors, their peer support, for some it’s even their regular food supply as we heard yesterday from a South Auckland Principal.
But for all those arguing that kids need to get back to class for socialisation and learning, is that honestly what they’re going to get in this climate, at Level 3?
Last time they went back to school after lockdown, they got paranoid teachers desperate to play catch up, phobic about germs and rules and sanitising and keeping kids distanced from their classmates. This constant patrolling made teachers stressed and grumpy.
There’s also the theory versus reality part of it.
In theory, everyone will be wearing a mask but, the reality from other schools around the country who’re already back, is that mask wearing got ditched fairly early on and enforcement is nigh on impossible without teachers having eyes in the back of their head. Friends told to stay apart just found other places to hang out together away from teachers.
So given the amount of angst, stress and pressure on teachers and students to go back to school in a Level Three environment, I can see why some have said, no thanks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hopes today's announcement on the Covid protection framework will signal when the South Island can move out of Level Two.
Canterbury Chamber of Commerce CEO Leanne Watson told Kate Hawkesby the south may have no cases of Covid - but that doesn't mean it's not struggling.
She says businesses and people in general are frustrated that there’s just no recognition.
“Businesses just want clarity. It will provide that sense of hope and will be a real incentive to people, particularly those who are not vaccinated yet.”
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The Tamaki’s are once again defending their right to protest.
Bishop Brian Tamaki appeared in court this week for failing to comply with a Level Three order and breaching his bail conditions.
He has attended and helped organise two lockdown protests and violated his bail conditions by attending another protest on October 16.
Wife Hannah Tamaki told Kate Hawkesby he fully understands he could go to jail.
“I don’t think he deliberately wants to break the law but, he’s gonna tip-toe up to the line and shout over to the other side: People, make the choices that are right for you.”
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A record day for the Covid outbreak ahead of the Government's press conference on Friday.
102 positive cases were reported and a record for hospitalisations as well with 46 now in hospital.
Schools got the go-ahead to go back next Tuesday.
Senior students in Years 11 to 13 will be going back for exams, but some schools like Takapuna Grammar won't be going back.
New Zealand now has a free trade deal with the UK.
One of the aspects of the deal is protecting the haka from cultural misappropriation.
Listen above as Matthew Tukaki and Tim Beveridge discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
An Auckland Business Chamber survey has shown that 90 per cent of Auckland businesses have experienced significant erosion in equity.
Almost 50 per cent say they’ve lost in excess of $100,000 and 20 per cent don’t think their business will survive.
It all comes as Grant Robertson is set to announce a business package.
NZ Herald Business Editor Liam Dann told Andrew Dickens the survey got 1000 responses fairly quickly and the Business Chamber is fairly optimistic that those 80 per cent of businesses doing it tough will make it through.
"Let's hope they’re in a low patch now and more than that do make it through and let's hope that Grant Robertson has got something for them."
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A big call from an NZX-listed retirement village chain in Auckland.
Radius Care has decided that nine weeks in lockdown is more than enough and decided to allow visitors back for the mental health of their residents, despite Ministry of Health guidelines.
Founder and chairman Brien Cree told Andrew Dickens the decision stems from the inevitability of living with Covid.
“If we’re going to start living with it from our point of view as a company, we have the most vulnerable people but they also are in the twilight years of their life. So we decided we can’t keep keeping these families apart, it’s just not right. It’s not why all of us are in aged care.”
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National's pushing to reopen Auckland on the day new Covid-19 cases have hit triple digits.
There were 102 community infections recorded today — 94 in Auckland and eight in the Waikato.
But the Opposition says fully-vaccinated Aucklanders should be able to frequent cafes, bars and gyms.
Leader Judith Collins told Andrew Dickens it's not the region's fault the Government hasn't delivered vaccine passports.
“Ten weeks of lockdown in Auckland with no end in sight — peoples’ mental health is being extraordinarily badly affected.”
Collins also said vaccine history should be on the Covid Tracer App.
"Other countries have been able to do it, I have no idea why the Government hasn't moved faster."
The Government has indicated vaccine passports will roll out next month.
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So yesterday’s special announcement sees senior school students being told to go back to school after Labour Weekend.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says this will allow them to sit exams and finish NCEA assessments, something that has been worrying the many thousands of teenagers in Auckland and Waikato who've been locked out of their classrooms and attempting to study online.
All senior students will have to wear masks at school and teachers and staff must get a negative test before returning.
But the Post Primary Teachers Association says it has been blindsided by the decision — PPTA president Melanie Weber says the government seems to have gone from acting out of an abundance of caution to a reckless disregard for consequences in the blink of any eye.
She told Mike Hosking on the Mike Hosking Breakfast that there are myriad issues to work through to get kids back to school safely.
But these are issues that could have and should have been worked on by Education Ministry officials and teaching organisations.
They must have known the schools would open again ONE day — I don't know why I expected there to be a plan given nobody else in any government department seems to have a plan — but I really did think that the issues of how to actually teach in a Covid environment would have been worked out before the announcement was made to go back to school.
Not in a mad rush in the days after the announcement.
Schools have reopened around the world — were there not learnings that could have been taken from other countries?
Has being locked down robbed us all of any kind of impetus and initiative?
Or just the government department and government officials?
I can understand some teachers and students being reluctant to return — when the messaging has been to stay home and save lives, when NZ's largest city has been shut down to save lives, when people's emotions have been used cynically to make them obey draconian rules, then of course there is going to be hesitation from some people about skipping back into the classroom.
How are you feeling about going back if you are one of the young people affected?
If you're in front of the class, are you ready to go back?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are you finding these days that your patience is wearing thin?
When it comes to morons, mine is.
When I read yesterday that people were gathering and chanting outside the Henderson Police Station wearing "Freedom NZ" masks, and revving their motorbikes after Brian Tamaki’s arrest, it felt like the world had officially gone mad.
Worse yet, Tamaki’s wife Hannah was live streaming the whole thing to Facebook. And as the crowd chants - God only knows what they were chanting - she allegedly says, “I hope my hunny comes home tonight".
Give me strength.
How have I not taken alcohol back up? Are you serious?
“Hunny” unfortunately broke his bail conditions by attending a second Freedom Rally protest.
Hunny also claimed he’d gotten off his first arrest and avoided charges.
Hunny appears to think he’s above the law, certainly above the Public Health Act Order.
Hunny seems to generate a crowd.
Not to sound too alarmist Hannah, but Delta’s on babes. This is Level 3, and these are blatant breaches of the rules.
And are we not just getting a bit sick and tired of people breaching the rules? Do we not all want our freedom and normality back?
But newsflash – we’re not going to get it by chanting, gathering in crowds and protesting in parks.
I mean, I feel for their plight, I really do. They’ve been reported as anti-vaxxers when I think they’re just pro-choice 'freedom crusaders' and look, we all want freedom. But our ticket out of this is actually just to vaccinate, and stay away from others and big groups.
You can actually dislike the government, not like the way this response is being handled, be bummed that we all have to go and stick needles in our arms, and yet still get vaccinated. You can actually think and do all of those things at the same time. Trust me, I have.
None of this is fun, none of this is – excuse the irony – a picnic, but it’s the best we have. It’s the only way, as evidenced everywhere else in the world.
I get that ‘hunny’ might be missing the limelight and that Bishop status is a top dog vibe that has to be constantly reinforced by seeming to look powerful. But this ain’t it.
There are more helpful ways the preaching could be going down these days. Especially to those key demographics among Destiny Church like young people and Maori. I mean, this could be a powerful opportunity to lead by example on responsible behaviours that show compassion and care for your fellow man.
But that probably wouldn’t garner as much media attention.
So when Hannah said she wanted 'hunny' home tonight, she spoke for all of us.
We’d like him home too Hannah, and preferably to just stay there.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let me give you one of my working theories at the moment. We have, as an example, a couple of debates or scraps that, depending on who you listen to, depends on what you might think is happening.
One, ICU capacity in our hospitals. Two, saliva testing in the public sector as opposed to the private.
I wonder how much of what Ministers say in public is given to them as opposed to them truly understanding what's going on.
Andrew Little is not bothered by our ICU capacity. He argues we have decent numbers and we've funded more beds. People in hospitals say that's not true. So, who's right?
Rako Science swears black and blue they have done little more than talk with the Ministry of Health over saliva testing. The Ministry of Health says Rako is doing some testing for them. So, who's right?
This, of course, is where the media, in part, comes in. The tragedy of the state of the media these days is not enough hard questions are asked any more. And too many journalists are too young because the pay is ordinary and the prospects aren't flash, so they don’t have either the gonads to go hard or the institutional knowledge to truly dig in and get detail. Not all, of course, but too much of it.
So, essentially a lot of the politicians and the faceless bureaucrats behind them get away with it and they know they can. Spin a line or two, and within the 24-hour news cycle we will have all moved on.
To be fair to a government, there is an opposing army, the ones who want you to believe that things are worse than they are. The lobby groups and the unions line up endlessly with tales of woe and misery.
As regards the ICU capacity, like many complex issues, the truth is in the middle. As for Rako Science, I am yet to get to the bottom of it properly.
But here is the point, we are in lockdown. A needless destruction of the economy, mental health, life, lifestyles and freedoms because of these sorts of issues. We are in lockdown because of fear around hospital capacity. We are in lockdown because we were slow on the vaccine and didn’t use tools like saliva testing when we should have.
These issues are critical and therefore the truth is imperative. If the truth is so easily muddied, hard to access, and if we are led by spinners, what hope do we have?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Concerns about the number of students returning next week.
From next Tuesday, years 11 to 13 students under Alert Level Three are able to go back to school ... with the Government considering options for years 1 to 10.
PPTA President Melanie Webber says told Mike Hosking some schools will have up to two thousand students back in the classroom.
She says there seems to be a lack of understanding as to how secondary schools work.
“You’ll have students moving around, you’ll have over a hundred close contacts in a day with students and teachers.”
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Senior students in level three regions get to go back to school from Tuesday, but for years one to 10, no such luck.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says those students might not return to school until 2022.
And if they do, Hipkins says some options being considered to make it work are rostered attendance, and learning outdoors in the warmer months.
Principal of Rowandale Primary School in Manurewa, Karl Vasau said it’s not as simple as just getting kids back in the classroom.
“Sometimes we think, goodness me, let’s get them back to school, let’s make it safe, but sometimes Kate, getting them back to school just won’t work.”
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Vaccinations are likely to be saving many lives in Britain's latest surge in Covid case numbers.
The country has recorded another 179 deaths today, on its eighth consecutive day of more than 40-thousand cases.
Brits are now facing the possibility of more restrictions in the coming months, with officials bracing for up to 100,000 cases a day over the winter season.
But Francois Balloux the chair of the University College London Genetics Institute told Mike Hosking there is some good news.
“It’s obviously far too high, but given the number of cases and the numbers of deaths are comparatively lower, so the vaccine does it’s job.”
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The Health Minister is confident the health system will cope with the coming rise in Covid-19 cases.
New Zealand recorded 60 new community cases yesterday, but much higher case numbers are possible in the coming days.
People with symptoms or exposure in Auckland's New Lynn and the North Shore's Rosedale, Redvale, and Bayswater are being told to get tested.
Andrew Little says told Mike Hosking hospitals are ready for what comes next.
“Right now, we have 38 people in hospital and four of those are in ICU. So, we’re keeping the numbers pretty low, I’m confident we can absorb that once we reduce the restrictions.”
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One in five New Zealanders don’t believe in human-created climate change in a survey by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
It also found four in 10 people believe they could do more to help cut emissions.
Students in Years 11 to 13 in Level 3 areas are allowed to go back to school from next Tuesday.
Chris Hipkins made the announcement during Wednesday's press conference as senior school students prepare for their end of year exams.
Hipkins also said there is no requirement for students to be vaccinated, but provisions will be made to make sure students have the accessibility to vaccinations.
Meanwhile, the MIQ system has come under some criticism.
With more Kiwis isolating for Covid at home and vaccinated people entering the country having to go through MIQ, it doesn’t bode well for the upcoming review by the Ombudsman.
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Chris Hipkins says schools will be making sure students have access to the Covid vaccine.
The Education Minister today announced senior students in Level 3 areas will return next Tuesday and NCEA exams will go ahead.
The Covid-19 Response Minister told Andrew Dickens being vaccinated is not a requirement for returning, but there will be opportunities for students to get vaxxed.
“Their vaccination rates are lower. We’ll be making sure that they’ve got vaccination available either on site or nearby to the school site so that we can encourage as high an uptake as possible.”
Students will not need to be Covid tested.
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The Chief Ombudsman says the MIQ booking system is one of the things he's received the most complaints about.
Peter Boshier's launched an investigation into it, after about 200 complaints from people around the world.
They claim the system is unlawful, unfit for purpose, unfair and poorly managed.
Boshier told Andrew Dickens in order to deal with them all, he has to group the cases together.
“I don’t normally get anywhere near this number of requests on a single aspect of New Zealand life, so this is a really big one for us.”
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Welcome to New Zealand. A country split in 2 with 2 very different lives. 2 very different attitudes and 2 very different desires.
My son phoned from Wellington the other day, obviously from a busy and bustling café. He told us about the new James Bond film, the new Marvel film and a forthcoming trip to Greytown.
In Auckland, there's no cafes, no movies and a hard border. My son’s New Zealand sounds like another country.
And in that country, there is no Covid.
But in Auckland yesterday they casually accepted there was 94 new cases of Covid that had been wandering around without a sense of hysteria that would have been present a year ago.
If 94 cases had suddenly been announced yesterday in Level 2 New Zealand there would have been conniptions. Like there was on Waiheke Island, a part of Auckland that refuses to accept it’s part of Auckland. They got their first case and there was sudden consternation.
I believe there is a changing of attitude in Auckland which the Government terms transition. A realisation that Delta is here, will not be eradicated and needs to be lived with.
A growing acceptance that vaccination, face masks and various forms of social distancing will keep the virus under sufficient control and that lockdowns are for emergencies only. That the way we live in the future has changed but it no longer needs to be the way we’re living right now.
The double jabbed, masked up Aucklander is no longer fearful. They’ve learnt to be cautious and financially they need relief because the cracks are now chasms.
And slowly we are becoming less worried about Covid arriving from overseas. Between 1 May 2021 and 18 October 2021, there were 45,367 returnees and 431 Covid cases. There have been over 2000 cases in the Auckland community in the past 2 months.
There’s more Covid in Auckland than in MIQ.
It is definitely time on Friday, for the government to abandon their abundance of caution and replace it with a modicum of caution and a degree of freedom.
I think we’ve all got to the point where we realise there is not going to be any better time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Students have mixed feelings about returning to school.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today senior students in Level 3 areas will return from next Tuesday to complete NCEA exams.
Papatoetoe High School head boy Flo Akauola told Andrew Dickens the change is overwhelming.
He says some students are looking forward to seeing their peers and having face-to-face learning, but others aren't so sure.
“On the other hand, there’s also people who feel that these are happening quite fast because it was quite unexpected, and also just worries about the rest of the transmission within the community.”
Akauola says the unexpected events grade, which students in Auckland, Waikato and Northland will receive can't attend exams, is helpful.
Where students do attend the exams, they'll receive the better of their exam or unexpected event grade.
"There's quite a few worries about whether exams can even go forward and how that will look like, but I think it definitely just helps to take off some of that pressure."
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Judith Collins is calling on the Government to adopt her party’s Covid policy.
National's plan includes cutting taxes for small businesses and workers and giving every vaccinated Kiwi a $100 hospitality or tourism voucher.
Collins told Kerre McIvor the Government needs to outline a plan, as its do-nothing approach is hurting hundreds of thousands of people.
She says National's plan provides immediate support to businesses which have had to suffer through more than 21 weeks of lockdown.
“Spending to support these businesses today will pay off for the economy tomorrow but, beyond that, the best thing we can do is to help businesses survive the next 12 months.”
Collins also outlined a policy that would introduce a two-year small-business tax rate of 17.5 per cent.
Most are currently taxed at 28 per cent.
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Tennis players who haven't received a COVID-19 vaccination are unlikely to get a visa to enter the country for the Australian Open in Melbourne in January, according to the political leader of the state which hosts the season-opening major.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has already introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes competing in domestic sports leagues and people working in some industries including health. On Tuesday, he increased the pressure on tennis players traveling from abroad.
"I don't think any unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country," Andrews said. "If they did get a visa, they'd probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks when no other players will have to.
"Professional sport is part of that authorized worker list and they have to be double-dose vaccinated."
Australia is preparing to re-open its international borders for the first time in more than 18 months, but it'll be a gradual, state-by-state process starting next month and will depend on vaccination rates across the country. Fully vaccinated people will have fewer restrictions in Australia than those who are not.
The vaccination debate has been ongoing in tennis since international competition started re-emerging following a global shutdown last year.
Some players, including men's No. 1 Novak Djokovic, have advocated that the decision to get the vaccine should be a personal choice. Others, including Andy Murray, have said it should be mandated for the good of the majority.
At the U.S. Open, which ended Sept. 12, spectators had to show proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to attend matches, although players weren't required to get a shot.
Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and three-time runner-up at the U.S. Open, thought that sent a mixed message. She reached the U.S. Open final in 2020, when there were no fans allowed.
"To me that's a bit bizarre that fans have to be vaccinated and players are not," Azarenka said. "So I think that in my opinion, it's inevitable that it will be mandated at some point, like other leagues are doing."
Both the men's and the women's tours are recommending all players get vaccinated but so far have not enforced it. Just before the U.S. Open, roughly half of the elite male and female players were vaccinated.
Ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year, all players had to quarantine for two weeks and be regularly tested under Australia's strict regulations on COVID-19 measures.
Most were allowed a limited time to practice, but any who tested positive or we deemed to be close contacts of a positive case — which in some cases meant simply being on the same charter flight — had to do a hard lockdown. Those players weren't allowed to leave their hotel rooms.
Melbourne, which hosts season-opening Formula One Grand Prix races, the richest horse race in the southern hemisphere and the biggest football crowd in Australia, has either barred crowds or shifted sports events interstate during months of lockdown in recent months.
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Prison staff have been taken by surprise by the Government’s move to include them in mandatory vaccination.
All staff working in New Zealand prisons now need to get their first dose by October 30 and both doses by December 1.
Corrections Association Acting President Floyd du Plessis told Kate Hawkesby the news has come as a shock to members.
He says they understand it was decided by Cabinet on Monday, but they're disappointed it wasn't announced sooner to help get things rolling.
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Life has returned to normal for millions in Britain since coronavirus restrictions were lifted over the summer. But while the rules have vanished, the virus hasn't.
Many scientists are now calling on the government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe's highest, rise still further.
The UK recorded 43,738 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, slightly down from the 49,156 reported Monday, which was the largest number since mid-July. New infections have averaged more than 44,000 a day over the past week, a 16 per cent increase on the week before.
Last week, the Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 people in England had the virus, one of the highest levels seen in Britain during the pandemic.
A man wears a face mask as he walks in Piccadilly Circus, in London. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP
In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government lifted all the legal restrictions that had been imposed more than a year earlier to slow the spread of the virus, including face coverings indoors and social distancing rules. Nightclubs and other crowded venues were allowed to open at full capacity, and people were no longer advised to work from home if they could.
Some modellers feared a big spike in cases after the opening-up. That didn't occur, but infections remained high, and recently have begun to increase — especially among children, who largely remain unvaccinated.
Also rising are hospitalisations and deaths, which have averaged 130 a day over the past week, with 223 reported Tuesday alone. That is far lower than when cases were last this high, before much of the population was vaccinated, but still too high, critics of the government say. Britain has recorded more than 138,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest total in Europe after Russia.
People sit at the bottom of a column in the area of Covent Garden. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP
Against that backdrop, some feel Britons have been too quick to return to pre-pandemic behaviour. Masks and social distancing have all but vanished in most settings in England, including schools, though Scotland and other parts of the UK remain a bit more strict. Even in shops, where masks are recommended, and on the London transit network, where they are mandatory, adherence is patchy.
A plan to require proof of vaccination to attend nightclubs, concerts and other mass events in England was dropped by the Conservative government amid opposition from lawmakers, though Scotland introduced a vaccine pass programme this month.
Some scientists say a bigger factor is waning immunity. Britain's vaccination programme got off to a quick start, with shots given to the elderly and vulnerable beginning in December 2020, and so far almost 80 per cent of eligible people have received two doses. The early start means millions of people have been vaccinated for more than six months, and studies have suggested vaccines' protection gradually wanes over time.
Millions of people in Britain are being offered booster shots, but critics say the programme is moving too slowly, at about 180,000 doses a day. More than half of the people eligible for a booster dose haven't yet received one.
The UK also waited longer than the US and many European nations to vaccinate children ages 12-15, and only about 15 per cent in that age group in England have had a shot since they became eligible last month.
"It's critical we accelerate the booster programme," said epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
Ferguson said one factor influencing the UK's high case numbers was that it has relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine, "and, while that protects very well against very severe outcomes of Covid, it protects slightly less well than Pfizer against infection and transmission, particularly in the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Auckland primary schools are calling for clarity around what measures they need to put in place when children go back to school.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins is expected to announce a plan today to get Auckland students back into the classroom.
Auckland Primary Principals' Association president, Stephen Lethbridge, told Mike Hosking schools want clear sign posts about the conditions they need to put in place to reopen safely, such as air quality.
“You know, there’s a whole lot of other things like any additional measures around, spacing, distancing, masking, any of those things. Things that have changed since the last time.”
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Today could be another record-breaking day for Covid case numbers in Auckland and Waikato.
New Zealand recorded 94 new community cases yesterday -- our highest daily case number since the pandemic began.
Covid Minister Chris Hipkins says case numbers could reach about 100 today
He told Mike Hosking the good news is vaccination is reducing the spread of the virus, and the number of people ending up in hospital.
“At this point, the real questions is whether or not those cases are still contained within Auckland. But we’ve got to start looking at some of those other metrics, degree of hospitalisation, for example.”
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National is calling on the Government to move faster, to scrap the MIQ system and end lockdowns.
The Government is due to announce its own vaccination targets on Friday, and stepped changes to managed isolation in the coming week.
National says it would do so once 85 to 90 percent of the country is double-vaccinated and had hit certain milestones, or at the start of December if those targets aren't reached by then.
Covid spokesperson, Chris Bishop, told Mike Hosking most people coming into the country aren't likely to be bringing Covid with them.
“97 percent of people in MIQ right now are partly or fully vaccinated, 90 percent of them are fully vaccinated, it’s quite astonishing. And most of those people are with Pfizer.”
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Financial hardship thanks to lockdown means more people are trying to get their Kiwisaver funds out earlier.
Budgeting advisers say there's been a 25 to 40 per cent increase in the number of payouts being approved.
That means an increase in rejected applications that they don't quite meet the hardship standard - and this is proving tough for some to hear.
Financial Services Complaints CEO, Susan Taylor told Kate Hawkesby they have noticed increased demand for their services.
"We’ve had about a five to ten percent increase, just in the last few months, which we see as a bit of a trend happening.”
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National and Labour have teamed up on a bipartisan deal on housing density.
As many as 105,500 new homes are to be built in less than a decade under the new Housing Supply Bill, which is done by allowing up to three homes of up to three storeys to be built on most sites without the need for resource consent.
Frustration is seeping in towards the Government's plan for reopening.
Along with criticism for the exclusion of opposition MPs at the weekend's Vaxathon, yesterday’s 4 pm post-Cabinet press conference was announcements of announcements with no clarity on Auckland's reopening until Friday.
A property development company is coming under fire for its use of Google reviews.
Staff members have been posting positive reviews about the company on Google, which makes up a quarter of the companies' reviews.
Listen above as Josie Pagani and Ben Thomas discuss the day's news with Andrew Dickens on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For the first time in its 117 year history, Addington Cup Week won't be open to the public.
Addington Raceway announced that since the South Island is still at Level 2 for the foreseeable future, there's no longer time to make all the arrangements required for a full crowd.
The races are going ahead as scheduled in November, but only racing industry participants will be able to attend in person.
Racing Industry Manager at Addington Darrin Williams told Andrew Dickens it's frustrating that with no Covid outbreak they're still at Level 2, but it's understandable.
"It is frustrating. For us, we would've needed that ability to host people in a safe environment."
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An immigration lawyer is offering up ways to boost vaccination among migrants.
Pacific Legal's Richard Small told Andrew Dickens we should only give visas to double-vaxxed people and offer an amnesty to any fully vaccinated overstayers.
He says it would boost immunity in hard to reach communities, particularly with 165,000 new residents expected next year.
“PM says, and Dr Bloomfield, we can’t leave any stone unturned. Well here’s a stone that hasn’t been turned.”
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There were 94 new community cases of Covid-19 today.
Seven cases were in Waikato and the remaining 87 were in Auckland, and Waiheke Island has got one of those new cases.
Local board chair Cath Handley told Andrew Dickens it's the first locally transmitted case on the island since Covid began.
"Last year, we might've got a couple of people over visiting who had Covid but didn’t fortunately transmit it, but this is local."
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For a government that prides itself in its communication skills and saying the right things at the right time the wheels really have come off.
Yesterday’s announcements about lockdown levels was largely predictable.
What the electorate really needed was some more complicated detail.
Monday was supposed to be the first week of term. Students were excitedly awaiting news of their return to see mates and to get last-minute preparation for exams that are less than a month away.
Instead, we got an announcement of an announcement and that announcement’s not until Wednesday.
Last night every student up and down the land was actively asking their parents the most pressing questions. What is happening, Mum? When is it happening, Dad? Wasn’t something supposed to happen today?
Parents couldn’t answer because they knew their government couldn’t answer, even though this problem has been brewing since lockdowns started 9 weeks ago.
Parents who joined the stampede to Labour a year ago were hearing their kids complaining about the information vacuum from a government they elected. That can’t be good politically.
If the Government’s political advisors haven’t told them that their habit of announcing that something might be announced in the future is a major complaint about their administration, then perhaps they need some new advice.
So, on Friday we don’t need another announcement of an announcement. We don’t need to know what might happen next year. We don’t need to know when the overseas borders may open. We need to be told when the double jabbed of Auckland will be free to restart the engine room of the New Zealand economy.
By the way yesterday, in the middle of this dithering, it was the anniversary of the landslide election of Labour a year ago. An election where they were rewarded for their decisiveness. How things have changed.
A year ago they were caviar on toast. Now they’re just toast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Disappointment for small and medium businesses in Auckland saddled with debt.
The region is staying under its current Alert Level 3 settings for a further two weeks with settings to be reviewed November 1.
National leader Judith Collins says small business owners are on their knees in Auckland and around the country.
Heart of the City Chief Executive Liv Beck told Kerre McIvor they need to see a substantial package that will stimulate recovery.
"We need to see something that is going to actually support the businesses that are really struggling right now and that is going to stimulate the economy and get us moving again."
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OK, so this morning.
I have a plan for the way the next three hours will go, and what I'll do is tell you a bit about how the first hour will go on Wednesday morning and then if you stay listening, I'll let you know what the show will look like on Friday. K....?
Seriously. I wasn't expecting much from the press conference yesterday but the government plumbed new lows.
Announcing that there'll be an announcement on Friday - that is plain cruel.
Two more weeks for Auckland living under lockdown restrictions, at least one more week for Waikato, Northland, you're free to leave detention, and the South Island - well, it would appear this government doesn't know it exists.
And I know Grant Robertson sounds all lovely and reasonable and rational, but it's just not on to have 15 per cent of the population — well, it's even less than that — because there are some people who want the vaccination but can't take it — let's say 12 per cent of the population to hold everybody else to ransom.
There need to be more carrots for those who ARE doing the right thing and have been doing the right thing for the last 18 months.
I'm sick and tired of the time and money being spent on those who for whatever reason don't want to and aren't going to.
1000 operations cancelled every week at Middlemore because 28 people are in hospital with Covid.
And because 28 people have died of covid since the pandemic reached these shores. It doesn't make any sort of sense.
And it's all well and good the Finance Minister banging on about support for businesses — a) they're not getting the support they need to stay in business, they are simply getting some money to pay part of their employees wages and b) they would rather be working.
They didn't go into business to get a benefit. They didn't work every hour god sends and put their house on the line to stay at home and receive a pittance from the government. I despair for the well-being of those good people.
For the lovely elderly couples who only have so much time left and want to be able to spend it with each other but they can't because of these cruel rules.
For the school kids who have missed a big chunk of their youth, having fun, hanging out, travelling to sports events, going to concerts, getting all gorgeous for the school balls, getting the help they need to be the best they can be come exam time.
And those poor poor children for whom school is the only safe place they know. So many people are hurting.
Because the government has set an arbitrary vaccination target — finally — that is unrealistic and simply won't be reached among the people they want to target.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The manipulative nonsense and the endless make it up as you go along dressed up as some sort of plan from the Government needs to stop.
Auckland is not going to Level 4 for a circuit breaker because it wouldn’t work. Wouldn't it? So why then were we ever in Level 4 for Delta? Why did they tell us Level 3 is still about elimination? Do they actually have any clue at all?
Another two weeks for Auckland, and as a result, the entire country held up from getting on with life because of it.
The upside is we are at last going to get a vaccine target.
The question is why does this stuff take so long? Why do we collectively have to sit here and scream for action before they actually do anything? Why can't they think of any of this stuff for themselves? Yesterday, when the Prime Minister was falling over herself acknowledging the pain for Auckland because she forgot about it last week, why did she forget about it? Why, having at last woken up to the damage she is doing, are we waiting until Friday for the enhanced business support package?
What have they been doing for the past nine weeks? What remarkable revelation will Grant Robertson have for us on Friday that magically has been drummed up in the crucial days between yesterday and Friday?
Why are we waiting for Chris Hipkins on Wednesday to tell us about schools? Why is this all drip fed in a highly choreographed, manipulative fashion? How angry does it make you that we continue to be played this way?
Next major scrap is going to be the vaccine target. It'll be over 90 percent. We won't make it this side of Christmas, so the mind games are on. Get vaxxed or you're not free. Evidence suggests from places like New South Wales threats work, or incentives work.
But even New South Wales isn't at 95 percent single dose.
So, if it's above 90 percent, and I think we've heard enough from Ashley Bloomfield and Co to think it will be, buckle in for a long ride.
Well, an even longer ride. Buckle in for economic carnage in Auckland and buckle in for the panic from the Government when Level 3 falls apart, the polling tanks, and they realise you can only push people so far with haphazard ideology before the whole thing implodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You knew when the PM started selling the idea that we should be so grateful not to be going into level 4, that the mind games were on, and she was going to make Level 3 sound like a picnic.
And picnics as it turns out, is all we got. Two more weeks of them.
I could not have called this more wrong. Yesterday, I optimistically said they’d definitely free up some restrictions. I thought a zoo or a museum or the odd library may get thrown a bone.
How wrong I was. Two more weeks at Level 3 for Auckland, and the announcement that a slew of announcements will be dripfed over the coming week. If we thought we were living week by week on dripfed news by the Government, it just got worse. It’s now day by day. We are being dictated our terms, and our lives, in 24-hour cycles.
Here in Auckland, we’ve been locked down for 63 days now. Ten weeks. We are 89 percent vaccinated single dose, 71 percent double dose. The bulk of us, bar Destiny Church and the odd North Shore party goer, are abiding the rules.
This is infuriating. It smacks of a PM who is so disconnected from her own electorate; she hasn’t been in Auckland for months, her platitudes from the cosy level 2 Beehive in Wellington thanking Aucklanders are falling on deaf and increasingly annoyed ears.
The PM’s giggling at questions with the Wellington-centric press gallery who sound equally out of touch with Auckland, is increasingly nauseating. It alienates every single person she’s asking to do the hard graft.
The response seriously lacks an Auckland connection yet Aucklanders are the ones bearing the brunt of this nightmare. Apart from the glib ‘hey thanks Auckland’ the Government shows no sign whatsoever of understanding what this is truly like.
I can tell you as an Aucklander sitting watching this unfold, into week 10 of home schooling and watching businesses fall over all around us, it’s not remotely funny. None of it’s amusing. If ever the PM needed to check her tone, it’s now. The once Queen of Communication – as declared by the Left – is whirling and sinking in a communication mudpool.
Also, there's a disingenuousness now around these announcements about announcements.
It's just plain cruel. Do they know and just won't tell us because they're drunk on power? Or are they making it up as they go along and don't have a clue yet?
The lack of urgency is galling. If they know what's happening for schools, vaccine passports, Māori, business support, and a target, then they should've shared it as of yesterday.
And if the target is over 90 percent, they're chasing pipe dreams nowhere else in the world has, at our expense.
It’s become a farce. If you voted for this omnishambles, I hope you’re happy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Auckland businesses continue to bleed money.
The retail and hospitality sector is desperate for the Government to announce an opening date.
The Government will announce more business support by Friday.
Co-owner of Auckland's The Grange Restaurant Mark Wilson, told Mike Hosking they're getting the resurgence payment.
But, he says come level two, they will need to start paying reasonable rents again.
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Despite the optimism of many yesterday, Auckland is facing another two weeks of lockdown while the rest of the country remains in level two.
The Government did make some announcements of announcements
It will finally reveal a vaccination target on Friday, as well as a new traffic light system.
But this has some saying the chop and change of decisions shows the Government is flailing about
Political commentator Bryce Edwards told Kate Hawkesby the Government are in a tough position.
"They've got people that want relaxation of the rules and others that want a circuit breaker going back up to Level 4, Ardern did her typical thing of going somewhere in the middle, which means the status quo is staying where we're at."
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A PR expert says the people at Saturday night's influencer party deserve to be dumped by those who support them.
Attendees at the gathering on Auckland's North Shore were seen dancing and kissing in videos posted to social media.
A 28-year-old man has been arrested and will appear in the North Shore District Court on Friday.
PR expert Deborah Pead told Mike Hosking brands don't want to be associated with bad behaviour.
“It’s not just influencers, movie stars, sports stars, they’ll be dropped at the first sniff of a scandal.”
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National says the Government is continuing to downplay the economic impact of the extended restrictions.
Leader Judith Collins told Mike Hosking small business owners are on their knees across Auckland and around the country.
“Those are just people, they are people who have often mortgaged their homes to be able to go into business, they are people that are looking at losing their homes.”
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Grant Robertson insists taking Auckland out of lockdown simply isn't an option right now.
Auckland will remain under current restrictions for at least another two weeks, to help limit rising Covid-19 cases.
Cabinet ministers ruled out a Level Four "circuit breaker" lockdown for the region.
But the Deputy Prime Minister told Mike Hosking restrictions also need to be kept in place, to prevent the health system being pushed to breaking point.
“No system in the world through Covid has been completely foolproof, because no health system in the world is designed for a massive outbreak of something like Covid.:
Northland will move to Level Two at midnight tonight -- but parts of Waikato will remain in Level Three until at least Friday due to ongoing mystery cases.
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Hairdressers are frustrated there's no roadmap for them.
They're among those bearing the brunt of Auckland's lengthy lockdown; it's 10 weeks since they've had to shut up shop.
Ashley Green owns Society, a salon in Grey Lynn, and told Kate Hawkesby they have the ability to operate one client to one staff member, who's in full PPE.
She says they can open safely.
“If we are waiting for vaccinations to go up, why not let us look after clients who are already vaccinated? My team are fully vaccinated, we’re ready to go.”
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A warning a home isolation model will come with more risk.
The Government says positive Covid-19 community cases will be quarantining in their own homes fairly soon, as rising cases will make it unsustainable to put them all in MIQ.
Auckland University modeller Dr Dion O'Neale says the risk is mitigated a bit if there's a large number of vaccinated people, but vaccination isn't an all or nothing thing.
“It doesn’t completely block infection risk and it doesn’t completely block transmission either, so there’s still going to be some chance of poor health outcomes and of further infections.”
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The construction industry is urging the Government to mandate vaccinations for worksites.
Health and education workers already have mandates and now Master Builders wants to follow suit for construction workers.
Their members want mandates for security and to clear up confusion.
Master Builders Chief Executive David Kelly told Andrew Dickens the construction industry is difficult to control because the sector is all separate businesses and they don't control all of them.
"What we've heard back very clearly is that people are finding it very difficult, it's very confusing, and it's just holding things up and the fear is that's just going to get worse."
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The Government has announced that Auckland will stay at Alert Level 3 for a further two weeks.
This move quashes the experts' opinion to move Auckland back into a "circuit-breaker" Level 4 lockdown.
Meanwhile, Northland will move to Level 2 on Tuesday night and Waikato will stay in Level 3 for now.
David Seymour has proposed a new incentive for Covid vaccination.
The idea, called "Vax Bucks" is a $250 tax return for those that have already been double vaccinated.
Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford cancelled their wedding venue in Gisborne and won't pay the $5000 cancellation fee.
They cancelled the venue after a stoush over catering by celebrity chef Peter Gordon.
Listen above as Tim Wilson and Hayden Munro discuss the day's news with Andrew Dickens on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The ACT Party has launched an idea called “Vax Bucks”.
This is to reward those who have got double-vaccinated.
It is a $250 tax credit that can be paid on your vaccination day or in your next tax return.
ACT leader David Seymour told Andrew Dickens one of the issues to deal with is how we use taxes that saves the public money, similar to smoking and alcohol.
“The idea here is that if you get vaccinated, you’re 96 per cent reducing the probability that you will go to hospital. So if you’re actually saving the healthcare system money, you should get some tax back.”
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Super Saturday, we’re full of hope. Sunday, bit of a hangover. Monday, it’s back to what it’s been.
You know what I loved about Super Saturday? It’s because ordinary New Zealanders got to sell the message of vaccinations.
It wasn’t “please” from politicians in the basement of the Beehive. Because they're falling on deaf ears.
We have been cajoled and exhorted by Jacinda, Ashley, Grant, Chris and Ayesha for months now, time and time again, and yet there were so many people who did not heed the call.
But on Saturday, people formed a conga line and asked young vacs to come and join the party and it was lovely.
Instead of political leaders, we had community leaders urging us on.
The Ngai Tahu tattooist who said, “I’m not giving you ta moko until you’re double-jabbed.”
The Wellington man told by his family up north that he can’t visit them until he’s double jabbed.
On Sunday, Tame Iti posted on Facebook that this Tuhoe fella got double-jabbed, not because of government policy. Amongst Tuhoe, that’s got to be wildly important.
So maybe it’s time for the Government to devolve the vaccination programme to the people on the ground.
And by the way, it’s time to fire the Covid-19 ad lady. Because all I’m hearing from her these days is “blah, blah, blah and be safe.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Emeritus Professor Des Gorman says a lack of detail from the Government today on the next steps for the country is predictable but disappointing.
Auckland's current restrictions are continuing for another two weeks.
Gorman told Andrew Dickens the Government had to balance the chorus of experts wanting Level Four with the reality compliance is slipping.
He says he's disappointed because what we needed today was clarity - with timelines and what the endgame looks like.
“Mothers and fathers homeschooling, the people whose businesses are going bust, people whose jobs are at threat, people whose mental health is deteriorating, they didn't need ‘tune in on Wednesday and Friday and we’ll tell you the next instalment,’ they needed clarity, they needed hope.”
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Promising signs on the horizon.
Auckland’s going to get to 90 percent vaxxed soon, fingers crossed, and that’s going to force this Government to open some stuff up.
And by stuff, I mean the border. The shops. The Auckland boundary. Normality is calling.
Not for the people still steeped in fear and “freaking out” like Rod Jackson and Siousxie Wiles.
Unfortunately, in going hard and early on the fear mongering, and in pursuing it for so long, there’s still a large chunk of New Zealanders trapped inside the fear and unable to get out.
These are the same people craving another level 4 lockdown. The epidemiologists - given so much airtime and limelight throughout this pandemic, risk becoming increasingly obsolete and irrelevant. They’re not on message anymore, the Government now distancing itself and making calls that the academics disapprove of.
A classic example of this is the new traffic light system the Government wants to implement to replace levels.
Most of their “experts” poo pooed this idea as “not fit for purpose”.
Yet as far as the Government is concerned, they’ve ‘consulted’ on it so that’s that.
Arrogance means you just have to go through the motions, you don’t actually have to listen or act on anything, you just give them a platform to speak, nod politely, and move on. This modus operandi is this Governments forte.
In fact, these experts should be grateful they got any consultation at all.
So, what will happen today then? Well certainly not level 4 as the panickers would like, in fact I think more freedoms are coming.
They know tolerance for lockdowns is through the floor, they know they’re taking a hit politically on the MIQ shambles, they will only tolerate so much political damage.
So, despite cloaking it all under the veil of a “health response” what we'll see in the coming weeks will all be political.
Opening the border for Kiwis to come for Christmas will be a ballsy but welcome move, opening CBDs and retail, getting people back to the dentist and the hairdresser and the physio, allowing Aucklanders to escape T ā maki MaCovid. This all needs to start rolling out over the next few weeks surely.
The pace at which they move here is key.
Quick enough to get the ball rolling in time for Christmas, but slow enough not to infuriate the chicken littles running round saying the sky will fall in.
It’s a balancing act, and one they need to weigh up in good enough time for Kiwis to get their much-promised summer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.