Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

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

New data from the Beach and Coastal Safety Report - shows 30 per cent of New Zealanders cannot swim or float in the ocean for more than a few minutes. Our holiday drowning figures over summer were the worst in 40 years. Swimtastic swim coach, Mark Bone told Kate Hawkesby that's due to a lack of swimming lessons, the lockdown and the fantastic weather we've had. “I think we’re going to have a generation of kids that cannot swim well, that’s only kids and then you take the adults and they’re wanting to get out.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 touris

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

Health Minister Andrew Little is being urged to wake up and smell the coffee over the state of our health workforce. A recruitment campaign to bring in intensive care nurses from overseas begins this week - two years after the start of the pandemic. In a radio interview speaking to Newstalk ZB's Heather Du Plessis-Allan yesterday, Little refused to admit there's an urgent need for doctors and nurses. Medrecruit owner Sam Hazledine says told Kate Hawkesby there's no doubt we're in a crisis, and the Government's been too slow. “At this point in time, we need to stop congratulating ourselves and giving ourselve high fives and actually looking at the reality.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leehane Stowers was just 35 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and felt scared and in the dark as to what her best option was. "I had all these questions and was just being told no for everything, I didn't really have much understanding of what was going on." The Auckland woman, who is part Māori and part Samoan, is part of a group of people a new report shows are most at risk of dying from the cancer - the country's third most common. The research was included in a report from Te Rēhita Mate Ūtaetae - Breast Cancer Foundation National Register, titled 30,000 voices: Informing a better future for breast cancer in New Zealand and released today on World Cancer Day. The report, covering 30,000 patients diagnosed from 2003 to 2019, says despite significant improvements in overall survival rates, breast cancer remained deadlier for Māori, Pasifika, and younger women 10 years on from diagnosis. Pacific women are 52 per cent and Wāhine Māori 33 per cent more likely to die from breast cancer within 10 years t

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, th

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

A union is welcoming the proposed income insurance scheme - but wants minimum wage increases alongside it.The new scheme would mean someone who's made redundant or stopping work because of health issues could claim 80 percent of their income, for up to seven months.It would be funded by a 1.39 percent levy on both employers, and workers.E tū's Annie Newman told Kate Hawkesby there's a concern low paid workers won't be able to afford the levy - but a minimum wage increase would cover that.“We’ll be looking out for that increase in the minimum wage that should be happening on April the first this year, because we want to see a decent increase and a decent increase over time because this won’t kick in until 2023.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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,

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

Most first home buyers would probably be knocked off the property ladder, if they couldn't use their KiwiSaver for a deposit. The OECD has recommended blocking access to KiwiSaver for first time buyers, looking to raise a deposit. It says this would help cool the property market. First Home Buyers' Club director, Lesley Harris, told Kate Hawkesby well over 90 percent of first home buyers need to use their KiwiSaver. “They either have to have very, very wealthy parents and also a very income... or they just don’t buy a house until maybe they are 65.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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 f

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

Electric vehicles appear to be something that's staying. But this has some of our local mechanics and garages nervous as servicing an EV is a whole different kettle of fish. So UCOL, based in Manawatu, is launching a new course to train mechanics to deal with EVs. Senior lecturer Lance Funnell joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

New Zealand is highly regarded for so many things but good infrastructure would not be one of them.We’ve been starved of world-class public transport for too long and for too long now we have dragged the chain when it comes to keeping up with some of our closest neighbours.Other OECD countries including Turkey, have surged ahead of us while we’ve sat about celebrating Hobbits and All Blacks.Why is it that others have leapt ahead and developed what’s required for their communities while we pay consultants to spell out the bleeding obvious and ask them to decide for the government of the day?Last week I was telling you that we need governments to live within their means but how does any country keep up with what’s required for its people unless they build the demonstrably huge ticket items?As much as I have enjoyed our tiny population over my 53 years, sadly the greater consensus would be that we can only progress if we vastly increase our population. And so we are.Oddly enough, we still seem very appealing to