Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday the coronavirus is under better control in the United States. but the pandemic isn't over — and the challenge is how to keep improving the situation."We are in a different moment of the pandemic," said Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, in an interview with The Associated Press.After a brutal winter surge, "we've now decelerated and transitioned into more of a controlled phase," he said. "By no means does that mean the pandemic is over."His comments came a day after he said on the PBS "NewsHour" that the U.S. was "out of the pandemic phase" and also told The Washington Post that the country was finally "out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase."Fauci's remarks reflect how health authorities are wrestling with the next stage of the pandemic — how to keep COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations manageable and learn to live with what's still a mutating and unpredictable virus.Fauci said the U.S. appears to be out of what he called the "fulminant phase" of the pa

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.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is trying to get more older workers to stay in the workforce and not retire.They say they have an employment action plan to try and achieve this.It comes as one third of our workforce are considered older workers.CEO of Age Concern Karen Billings-Jensen joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

The National Party thinks Labour just wants to tax people more.Revenue Minister David Parker is introducing a new bill focussing on principles of fairness in our tax system.He says the data on tax paid by New Zealand's wealthiest is close to useless, with a lot on low or middle incomes and very little on the wealthy.National Party finance spokesperson and deputy leader, Nicola Willis, told Kate Hawkesby if IRD has concerns about someone not paying enough tax, it can audit them.She says Parker's looking for tools to dream up new ways to tax people.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions around why a creature from the deep has washed up in Otago.The 3.6 metre oarfish was found on Aramoana Beach on Monday afternoon.The species was last spotted around Dunedin in 2015.Otago University marine biologist Bridie Allan told Kate Hawkesby the fish caught the attention of everyone on the beach.She considers herself  lucky to have seen it in the flesh.The oarfish died after failed attempts to put it back to sea, and its body washed away.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has been met with cheers - and jeers.The billionaire added the social media giant to his empire in a deal worth $66 billion.While some have welcomed the move, others are worried that misinformation and hate speech will be allowed to thrive.Former White House Senior Cybersecurity Director Samir Jain says some people have already started leaving the site.He told Kate Hawkesby we will have to wait for the dust to settle to see his impact on the site.Jain says while there may be a knee jerk reaction to the purchase, we don't know what he'll do with the site.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I see gangs are now ruffling the feathers of Wellingtonians. It was only a matter of time.Ask anyone in Auckland, the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Northland.. gangs are a scourge at the moment so no surprises they’ve started to upset those in the capital. One Wellington Councillor was reported calling it “unacceptable” and “scary.” Well yes it is. And it’s something we’ve been banging on about for a while now.Wellington’s incident involved a shooting in the inner city. Not just one, but two shooting incidents, two people wound up in hospital critically injured, and Police arrested seven people.They’ve said there may be even more arrests.So this Wellington City councillor has asked a great question - why is there gang warfare in central Wellington? Well I can answer that for her; because there’s gang warfare everywhere in this country these days.Her solution? She wants to get the gangs round the table in some Jada Pinkett-Smith style chat fest.And while I’m all for trying to hear people out, I reall

It was just last week that urgent calls were made for an inquiry into the safety of port workers.Another port worker has been killed, this time at Lyttelton.The man was believed to be crushed by coal, and is our second port death in less than a week.Merchant Service Guild vice president Iain MacLeod joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you want to get close to the Melbourne Storm, everything has to go right.At AAMI Park on Monday night, just about everything went wrong for the Warriors – after a promising first half – as they fell to a record defeat in the Anzac clash, eventually losing 70-10.They conceded a staggering thirteen tries, in what ended up as the biggest loss and worst humiliation in the club's history.The Warriors had only trailed 16-10 at halftime, but three tries in six minutes early in the second half ended their resistance.The Storm disappeared out of sight after that, as the Warriors could barely completed a set in the second half.The visitors were left to rue costly errors in the first half, which gifted two tries to the Melbourne team when the contest was still in the balance.To compound their nightmare, the Warriors also lost Josh Curran and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to serious injuries.It was the Storm's 12th successive win over the Auckland team, a run that dates back to 2015.The manner of the defeat will be a hammer

Emmanuel Macron is promising to reunite France.He's made history by becoming the first president in 20 years to win a second term.Paris correspondent for the Guardian, Angelique Chrisafis says far right opponent Marine Le Pen took more than 13 million votes, but around the same number refused to vote.She told Kate Hawkesby Macron's promising a new way of working.Chrisafis says one of his priorities is the cost of living crisis in France, which Le Pen capitalised on.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I want to pay tribute to our beloved colleague Bruce Russell .. who died Sunday night – at work.. ironically, I can’t think of a time he wasn’t at work. I don’t think anyone worked longer hours than Bruce. He seemed omnipresent here. From news reading, to overnights, to his show ’In My Day’.. he was part of the fabric of this place. But he was very beloved not just because he was part of the furniture here, but because he had such a loyal and dedicated following of listeners, many of you whom I'm sure are still reeling from the news this morning. His listeners were fierce in their loyalty to him; they truly felt part of his community and his conversations. And he was loyal back to them. And I know many of them – there’s a crossover between his show and mine in that I come on right after him, so there’ll be those who were tuned into Bruce who'll still be tuned in at 5am when I come on, and I know how devoted to Bruce they are. My condolences to not just his family this morning, but all those who'll really feel

The Queen has marked another milestone in what has been a tumultuous year for the royal family.After 70 years on the throne, the Queen is quietly celebrating her 96th birthday with a private gathering at her country retreat, Sandringham, in Norfolk.Royal Correspondent Phil Dampier joined Roman Travers.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Companies are being warned they could go out of business, if they don't lift prices.Annual inflation's hit 6.9 percent  - a 30-year high.Auckland Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett, says businesses are paying more for shipping, fuel, and transport and have higher staff costs.He told Roman Travers consumers will have less money in their pockets, so businesses need to ensure their products have the necessary margin for them to survive.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Kiwi oil company is hoping to meet the demand for sunflower oil in New Zealand, which would usually be meeting by imports from Ukraine.Pure Oil currently grow 300 to 400 hectares of sunflowers a year, but would like to expand that up to 1000 hectares while supplies are short.Pure Oil Managing Director Nick Murney joined Roman Travers.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s hard to believe that we’re nearly at another ANZAC Day commemoration. I can still remember when annual events like this seemed to take forever to get to.When I was 21 I spent a month travelling through Turkey and went over to Gallipoli for the day. It was a day I’ll never forget. What I saw, I never want to see again. I have never seen so many headstones for so many people in one place.It’s also hard to believe that large parts of Europe are once again dealing with a maniacal, megalomaniac with strong narcissistic traits seemingly undeterred by some of the strongest sanctions ever imposed.How can it be possible that all these years after the First World War and then the second, that we are once again faced with an event that in this day and age should be foreseen and resolved behind the scenes with high-level diplomacy.Like me, you are probably eternally grateful to have a life with such incredible freedom. I will always remember those who have so much so that we’re able to have what we have now.There wo

So while the property market might be cooling in some parts of the country, this might make your eyes water this morning.A new record has been set in Tauranga, where a penthouse apartment at Mount Manganui has sold for $10.2m.To put in context, the rateable value was only about $6 million. Questions are being raised as to how a such a big purchase is justified.Bayleys luxury home and apartment specialist in Tauranga Peter Clarke joined Roman Travers.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon has been dubbed out of touch following his comments on axing a public holiday.The National party leader made calls to scrap Labour Day to make way for Matariki yesterday.But he has since back-pedalled, saying he was being facetious, and doesn't care what day gets cancelled to make way for it.Council of Trade Unions Policy Director Craig Renney told Roman Travers no public holiday should be cancelled - especially Labour Day.He says Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, won in New Zealand back in 1840.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This morning's inflation rate will be historically high - but economists are divided on how high inflation will be, and how long it will last.Stats NZ will release its latest Consumer Price Index data just before 11am.ASB Economist Mark Smith told Roman Travers the big uncertainty is whether the high inflation continues into next year.“The longer these prices stay up, the more the cost of high inflation becomes embedded in the economy and the more work the Reserve Bank will have to do to try and raise interest rates.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.