Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A Colin de Grandhomme century and two vintage Neil Wagner wickets have given the Black Caps hope, but they'll still need to accomplish a rare feat for another test victory over South Africa.South Africa reached stumps on day three of the second test at Hagley Oval at 140-5, holding a lead of 211 runs as the Black Caps hunt for their first test series victory over the Proteas.While a crucial pair of Wagner wickets in the final session opened an avenue into the South African tail order, the visitors aren't far away from providing an imposing total.Just twice have New Zealand successfully chased a fourth-innings target of 230 or more in New Zealand, and there have only been five winning fourth-innings chases of more than 235 by any team in this country – none since 2003.That statistic doesn't tell the entire picture, as the 235 mark has been passed 25 times, 20 of them coming in draws or defeats, but it points to the old adage being true – fourth-innings chases, even those with feasible targets, are no walk in t

Sitting with her teenage daughter in a hotel foyer in northern Romania, 38-year-old Viktoriya Smishchkyk breaks down in tears as she recounts her departure from Ukraine.“I could hear the sound of the fighting outside, it was very scary,” Smishchkyk, who is from Vinnitsya in central Ukraine, told The Associated Press from a hotel that is offering free accommodation to refugees.“We left all our belongings behind, but they are material things — less important than the lives of our children,” she said.Smishchkyk and her daughter are among hundreds of thousands of people who have fled Ukraine since Russian launched its attack on Thursday. The U.N. refugee agency said Sunday about 368,000 people have fled the country, many into bordering nations like Romania, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia.Amid the horrors and chaos, volunteers from far and wide are showing support by extending help to those whose lives are being shattered by war.At Romania’s Siret border crossing, where thousands of Ukrainians have entered

Covid-19 and other world events are increasing anxiety in children.Clinical therapist and parenting expert Dr Anna Martin says access to social media means kids are more likely to come across upsetting images.She told Kate Hawkesby parents can't put their heads in the sand on tough issues like the current Ukraine conflict.“Answer questions that they may have, but also let them know how safe they are and what’s happening over there isn't going to be happening in their backyard.”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.

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

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

A sense of shock across Ukraine - as Russia ramps up its invasion of the country. Forces are carrying out a major military assault -- with missile strikes and explosions being reported near major cities. The Ukrainian military claims to have shot down at least six Russian aircraft - with reports at least 40 of its troops and several civilians have died. Al Jazeera's Abdul Al-Kadiri spoke to Kate Hawkesby from Kiev where many people are trying to flee. “There is some reports of some heavy clashes on the West side of the capital.” Russian paratroops are now in control of an airbase near Kiev, and are reportedly trying to seize the Chernobyl nuclear plant. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. LISTEN ABOVESee 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 t

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

The Government is confident its new goal of zero road deaths by 2050 is realistic. An extra $140-million will be spent on road policing in the next three years as part of the Road to Zero campaign.  Police Minister Poto Williams says human error is a good place to start in addressing the issue.  She told Kate Hawkesby the plan uses not only government but community agencies and educators as well. “It really speaks to key elements; how we have safer roads, how we have safer road users, how we look at speed, how we look at infringement and education and all those things combined.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's superannuation fund, as well as ASB and Westpac's growth fund all hold shares in Russian listed companies with ties to the Kremlin.  British and American sanctions on Russian companies therefore might start impacting our KiwiSaver funds. Barry Coates, chief executive of Mindful Money joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Case numbers yesterday were another ‘record’ of course, but given the lag in getting results notified, and the delay in having them updated, we can only assume these numbers are old. And by old, I mean, out by a few days. In which case, if the experts who say numbers double every 4 to 5 days are right, then you’re looking at in all reality, us sitting at about 5 and half thousand cases at this stage, not the 2 thousand 800 reported yesterday. And if that’s the case, then the Government’s response is dealing with outdated information, and their settings are not accurate for where we’re at. Think about it, they said at about 5 thousand cases a day we’ll move to phase 3, yet we are still in phase 2 because the reported numbers say we’re only at less than 3 thousand cases at the moment. Except that in reality, we’re probably not, due to the delays.  So in fact, if testing was keeping up, we’d see a more accurate picture of numbers, instead of a week-late picture, and we’d be more accurately going to phase 3 now.

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

A prediction the Reserve Bank will take a cautious approach to the Official Cash Rate. The central bank releases its latest Monetary Policy Statement, and any change to the rate this afternoon. The OCR is 0.75 percent, after it was raised by 0.25 percent in November. Fisher Funds Head of Fixed Income, David McLeish, told Kate Hawkesby he thinks the Reserve Bank will put the OCR up by a quarter of a percent today. “The harder and faster they go, the greater the range of outcomes there will be for the economy and I don’t think the bank will want to make what is already a very hard job any harder.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sanctions being placed on Russia are unlikely to scare Vladimir Putin. Western nations are taking action, after Russian troops were ordered into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.  Germany has frozen a newly built, but not yet open, gas pipeline -- and both the EU and UK have announced sanctions against Russia. But Birmingham University international security expert Stefan Wolff told Kate Hawkesby Putin's used to sanctions by now. “The has sufficiently insulated Russia from the effect of these sanctions and I think he is also still betting on maintaining a positive relationship with China.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 th

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

Queensland is clamping down on e-scooters, bringing the speed limit down to 12 kilometres an hour.  Here in New Zealand, e-scooters are relatively unregulated, with the speed-limit at the discretion of local councils.  National president of Blind Citizens NZ Jonathan Godfrey told Kate Hawkesby he wishes our country would take Kiwis with disabilities as seriously as they do across the Tasman.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A suggestion of missed opportunities in the Christchurch rebuild. It's 11 years today since the major quake that claimed 185 lives. Auckland University sociologist Steve Matthewman told Kate Hawkesby the city could have been what residents wanted it to be - but central government took over the recovery process. But he says it's still heading in the right direction. “I think the real resource for hope is the former residential red zone, it’s absolutely massive, it's three times the size of one of Europe’s biggest urban greening projects just outside Vienna.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.