Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A pile of figure-skating rubble created by Russian misbehaviour. A new Chinese champion — from California. An ace American skier who faltered and went home empty-handed. The end of the Olympic line for the world's most renowned snowboarder. All inside an anti-COVID "closed loop" enforced by China's authoritarian government.The terrarium of a Winter Games that has been Beijing 2022 came to its end Sunday, capping an unprecedented Asian Olympic trifecta and sending the planet's most global sporting event off to the West for the foreseeable future, with no chance of returning to this corner of the world until at least 2030.It was weird. It was messy and, at the same time, somehow sterile. It was controlled and calibrated in ways only Xi Jinping's China could pull off. And it was sequestered in a "bubble" that kept participants and the city around them — and, by extension, the sporadically watching world — at arm's length.On Sunday night, Xi and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach stood together

I’m wondering how much the Government’s following all the numbers we’re getting these days. We are getting bombarded with numbers at the moment. Every day, every night, every news channel, every front page. It’s all numbers. Cases, hospitalisations, protestors, petitions, tents, cars, prices.Case wise – yesterday we hit 2500. So all the news outlets were able to use the now completely over used words “new record”. Which is getting about as annoying as the way “unprecedented” got thrashed. Let’s all accept that every day from here on in is going to be a 'new record'. So cases – higher than we’ve had, hospitalisations – 100, people in ICU – still 0 though. Average age of those hospitalized with the infection – 56 years old.There are just under 14,000 active community cases in New Zealand as of the past 21 days. A PCR test result is taking about 5 days to get back. These are the numbers I imagine the government's following very closely. These are the numbers they’ll be really worried about, given they had two ye

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.”LISTEN ABOVESee 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 barbecues and quizzes 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.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 wee

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,

83 percent of nurses say patients aren't receiving complete care in hospitals due to understaffing.  A major independent report has been looking into a safe staffing programme that was put in place 15 years ago, and found 13 out of 20 DHBs haven't been following it.  Along with this, it highlights just how bad the short staffing has become.  New Zealand Nurses Organisation acting chief executive, Mairi Lucas joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several alcohol companies are continuing to illegally supply Dunedin students free drinks, in exchange for advertising.  Police have warned those companies, but with O-Week starting on Monday, the problem is likely to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.  Doug Sellman, director of the National Addiction Centre joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

The Tenants Protection Association says new regulations for property management have been a long time coming. The organisation, based in Christchurch, is backing the Government's proposal.  Rental property managers would need a licence and would be subject to an independent complaints process.  Association manager Penny Arthur told Kate Hawkesby that process is the biggest thing they'd hoped to see. “A lot of the complaints we get it are actually about property managers’ behaviour as opposed to the property, so this provides an avenue for those complaints.” LISTEN ABOVESee 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

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

Our wild weather over the last three weeks has caused huge damage to our crops throughout the country.  Arable farmers are describing this month as the harvest from hell. Federated Farmers Arable chairperson Colin Hurst joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

As a born and bred Aucklander, who I’m ashamed to say, once voted for Phil Goff as Mayor, I can honestly say, we won’t miss him.  You don’t need to live or work in Auckland to see what an absolute cluster it is. The place is a mess. The CBD’s been obliterated, the roads ruined, the infrastructure is shocking, the traffic’s the worst it’s ever been, the development of shoddy buildings and infill housing is depressing, and the public transport system an absolute joke. It’s not all Phil’s fault of course. But most of it is.  He cited in his retirement announcement the things he was proud of - containing the spread of Kauri die back was one. I rest my case. Show me the Aucklander who gives a toss about Kauri die back when they’re stuck in commuter traffic for hours on end and there’s not a bus or a train to be seen. He thinks Auckland is a world class city now. I’ve lived here all my life, and having also lived in London, I can tell you categorically, it’s not.  He also cites as part of his success, implementing

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

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.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Contenders in the Auckland mayoral race are lining up. Phil Goff is standing down as Mayor of Auckland, a post he's held since 2016. Councillor Efeso Collins and HeadQuarters bar owner Leo Molloy have put their hands up for the job, and Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck is expected to as well. Massey University Associate Professor Grant Duncan told Kate Hawkesby Collins is a strong contender because Aucklanders tend to support left wing candidates, but he says Beck has a chance. “But of course, it’s completely open now, we don't have an obvious front runner this time.” Grant Duncan doesn't rate Molloy's chances very highly, but says he'll make the race interesting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Biden administration on Friday escalated dire warnings of a possibly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could happen at any moment, even as emergency diplomatic efforts continued. U.S. officials said the United States is preparing to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv, and Americans in Ukraine are being told to leave within the next 48 hours.Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 U.S. troops to Poland to reassure allies.As diplomatic options for averting war in Ukraine appeared to narrow, the White House said President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss the crisis by phone on Saturday.Biden has said the U.S. military will not enter a war in Ukraine, but he has promised severe economic sanctions against Moscow, in concert with international allies.Timing of possible Russian military action remains a key question.The U.S. picked up intelligence that Russia is looking at Wednesday as a target date, according to a U.S. official familiar with th