Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Do you obsessively read the grading ratings on eateries like I do, or are you normal?You know how the kitchens and backrooms of restaurants and cafes get inspected and graded based on hygiene and cleanliness? More ratings came out this week and I’m obsessed with them.Because I’m a hygiene freak and if I see anything other than an A rating I want to run for the hills. How the system works is that a D or E rating basically means the situation is pretty revolting. Uncovered uncooked food left out, cockroaches, filth or flies look, it’s gross. This has all come about due to Food Safety checks, for which we should be eternally grateful. So MPI wanders round with inspectors, checks out the state of eateries and slaps a grading on them.Auckland Council took it further and adopted the measure that these gradings have to be displayed publicly; we have to know what we’re dealing with. And that’s why I have now become obsessed with looking for that little food safety certificate every time I walk into a takeaway outlet. The good ones, the ones with the A ratings, display them proudly at the front door or behind the counter. The dodgier ones with not such flash ratings may have theirs a bit more buried from view, but I’ll look for it.Mainly because I take cockroaches and food poisoning and filth, extremely seriously. I mean, who doesn’t? Cockroach infestations, ‘extensive’ ones, luckily, mean a business has to close. How often does this happen? More often than we’d like to think. Auckland Council says in regards to food safety, pest infestations are their greatest concern.I was alarmed to read Waiheke’s Cable Bay Vineyard was one of 11 eateries in Auckland slammed with an E grade for a “critical” cockroach infestation. The premise can clean up their act and the rating gets adjusted, they’re now back to an A, by the way. But I read the list exhaustively because for someone who balks at a fly landing on a pizza even for one second, this is not heart-warming news to me.I mean is basic hygiene in food preparation too much to ask? How are these eateries that get D and E grade ratings and have uncovered food laced with flies or roaches, how are they even allowed to reopen once they’ve cleaned it up? I mean, haven’t they already proven they don’t know how to manage food storage? Not all of the dodgy rated places are pest issues.Some are cleanliness, food safety, unregistered businesses, but if we look at the pests, and I am, the most common identified were roaches and flies, followed by rats and mice, followed by birds. Maggots are on the list too, as is hair. I hope you’re not eating right now as I tell you this. Sure, not everywhere you’re getting your takeaways is a rat infested dive, but it does give pause for thought on why those grades are important. It also makes you stop and think, how badly do I want those takeaways?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are calls for Police to up their game in the enforcement of seatbelt rules.Figures released to Newstalk ZB show the number of fines being handed out for failing to wear a seatbelt, have almost halved in the past decade.That's despite the number of serious injuries and crashes where a driver or passenger wasn't wearing a seatbelt, have either increased, or remained unchanged, over the same period.Independent crash investigator Hamish Piercy told Kate Hawkesby the importance of such fines shouldn't be underestimated.“They do have an effect, and it’s not necessarily the amount either it’s actually the sting for an indiscretion or wrongdoing that tends to wake people up.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nurses say striking is a last resort and not something they do lightly.Members of the Nurses Organisation have voted to walk off the job another three times this year, in July, August and September.Some strikes will be as long as 24 hours.Nurses Organisation industrial advisor, David Waite, told Kate Hawkesby it's the most significant strike action nurses have ever voted on, and will ever take.“And I guess it really goes to the frustration that members have felt after a year of negotiations and these tow issues around pay and staffing are still unresolved."LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Generation Z, the generation after Millennials, want to make their mark on the world.This includes in fashion.It seems more of our younger generation want to buy gender-fluid clothing.In 2019, 56 percent of Gen Z consumers shopped outside their assigned gendered area.There are suggestions that it is time some of our local retail brands, Farmers, The Warehouse, Kmart, got more with the programme.Senior analyst at World Global Style Network Nick Paget told Kate Hawkesby there is more than one barrier to inclusive clothing.“I think to do something that’s really truly inclusive; it’s about making all clothing inclusive to everyone, which is both a technical challenge and a challenge to society’s perception to clothing and gender as well.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trying to get a Covid-19 vaccination is a bit like the “Hunger Games”, according to the NSW Health Minister.Brad Hazzard offered the scathing review of the vaccine rollout while standing alongside the NSW Premier and chief health officer to deliver the latest Covid update.There have been 35 new cases of Covid in NSW, a huge spike on the 16 infections revealed on Sunday.While addressing the media, Mr Hazzard was probed about the commonwealth rollout.“It is almost a sense now of the ‘Hunger Games’, of people chasing the vaccine,” he said.“Until we get enough vaccine (doses) and enough GPs actually at the frontline able to provide that vaccine into arms, we will continue to have effectively the Hunger Games going on here in NSW.”Brad Hazzard has described getting the jab as a bit like the Hunger Games. (Photo / NCA)He was quick to defend the federal government though.“It is easy to be critical in hindsight but the federal government did their best to try and get the vaccine when we didn’t know what vaccines would become available,” he said.“Of course the AstraZeneca has had its challenges and Pfizer supplies haven’t been great, so accepting that the federal government did their best at a difficult time to get as much vaccine as possible.“The focus should be on at the moment, and the federal government appears to be doing this, is to try to roll out as much vaccine as they have available. They are doing their best to get more vaccines.”A little more than 7 per cent of the Australian population is fully vaccinated and about eight million doses have been administered, well behind other developed nations.People queue for testing. (Photo / NCA)The sluggish rollout is a cause for concern as the nation grapples with Covid spot fires in several jurisdictions, particularly in NSW.Of the 35 new cases revealed on Monday, 24 were in isolation for their full infectious period.Four cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period and seven were in the community.There are five new cases associated with Virgin flight VA524 from the Gold Coast to Sydney on June 26, bringing the total number of infections linked to the flight to nine – eight passengers and a household contact.The aged care cluster stands at five. (Photo / NCA)“It is pleasing to see that we’ve contacted those individuals. We had already identified them as close contacts and they were isolating and therefore pose no other risk to the community,” NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said.She warned anyone who was on that flight who was in isolation to remain at home for the full 14 days.Meanwhile, another two residents at an aged care home in Sydney have tested positive, taking that cluster to five.The two new infections are both women in their 70s. Only one of the women has been vaccinated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I wonder, with school holidays starting at the end of this week, how many people are put off by the bubble given the mess Australia’s in currently.Quarantine free travel to South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the A.C.T is back open, but it comes with a warning. Epidemiologist Rod Jackson said go at your own risk, basically. Be prepared to be stuck there for weeks or even months, he says.That’s harsh. But is it true?How many people are still prepared to risk it?I think a lot of us have acclimatised to the new reality of no international travelling at the moment.Well not all of us. My sister hasn’t. Having lived in Europe for 10 years and travelled extensively she’s a wanderer with itchy feet. She’s hated not being able to travel. She’d booked the Gold Coast for the school holidays for her family but that’s obviously off now. So she’s booked the Cook Islands.She said basically because it’s the only place she feels she can safely and easily go with her kids and she’s sick of not going anywhere. The second week of the holidays was already fully booked in terms of flights so clearly she’s not the only one feeling that way.But I wonder how many Kiwis will still jump on planes to Australia at this stage, or whether they’ve been spooked?Greater Sydney’s lockdown is due to end this Friday night, that remains to be seen if it will, given it’s still recording high numbers of cases. But their lockdown's not like our lockdowns. My girlfriend who lives there was saying it’s basically no school for the kids but you can move around. For example, you can go to your holiday homes, lots of shops and businesses are open, she hasn’t run out of toilet paper, her supermarket shelves aren’t bare. So it’s not as dire as we might think.But Rod Jackson believes our approach regarding travel with Australia should still be one of caution. “Overly cautious,“ he said.He’s also reported as saying that he doesn’t “think we can change that approach until nearly everyone is vaccinated.” Wow. That’s going to take a while then. Because the aim for us is to get 90 per cent vaccinated, which is a lot. Especially considering the States had a goal of 70 percent by July, they’re close, they're at 67 percent vaccinated currently.The UK has 63 percent of its population fully vaccinated, and Australia’s sitting at a woeful 7 percent. And outbreaks are still happening, so can all countries ever really achieve herd immunity?And if not, are we ever going to open our borders again? Or will overseas school holiday choices really just be Australia or the Cooks for the foreseeable?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hospitality industry is uniting for a collective ‘lights out’ moment and they hope it'll help avoid them going dark for good.Businesses will switch their lights off for two minutes to express concerns about immigration policies.They say there's a desperate need for overseas workers and visa extensions.Pre-Covid, about 30 per cent of the industry was made up of migrant workers.Owner of Monsoon Poon in Wellington Mike Egan told Kate Hawkesby they're not asking for much.“They can just look around and go well, ‘this could be the reality one day’.. We’re an important part of cities, towns and villages.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's fair to say this year's Olympics, which start this month, will be different to others.Athletes will feel increased stresses and pressures, travelling and competing in an event during a worldwide pandemic.But another factor will be the spectators.The smaller than usual crowds are not allowed to cheer, sing, chant, give handshakes or hug but must sit quietly.Sports psychologist Sara Chatwin told Kate Hawkesby the lack of cheering may affect individual athletes differently.“I dare say, the athletes I’ve worked with, they don’t rely on crowd support, because you’re just as likely to get support as you would the nay-sayers.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regular saliva testing for staff at New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine facilities could be underway in weeks, which aims to strengthen the country's border against Covid-19.Asia Pacific Health Group (APHG) was awarded a Ministry of Health contract in May to provide virus surveillance testing through saliva samples from staff at New Zealand's MIQ sites.Testing at the border has been a contentious issue, punctuated by revelations in April that an infected Grand Millennium security guard wasn't tested for six months, even though he was meant to be tested fortnightly.As at June 28, 161 MIQ workers were overdue for a test.Auckland's Grand Millennium MIQ facility. (Photo / File)It was estimated between 6000 and 20,000 saliva tests would be done per week.Early indications were MIQ workers would submit a sample every second day when the programme was rolled out in the coming weeks, following a prototype in Christchurch last week.Voluntary saliva testing had been offered at MIQ facilities since January but uptake had been poor.The 12-month contract was worth up to 60 million but was dependent on testing volumes. That meant tests could cost between $58 to $192 each.Labtests, which is one of five APHG facilities primed to process the saliva tests, gave the Herald exclusive access to its Auckland laboratory, which had processed 520,000 Covid tests since the pandemic began.Labtests general manager Chris Davey said there were no concerns about the efficacy of the test and was confident it was the best option."We don't believe that there are better tests out there."MIQ workers will drop off their tubes at collection booths based in their facilities. (Photo / Michael Craig)As explained by Labtests microbiology and molecular head of department Susan Smith and molecular section head Blair Shilton, the process will start by MIQ workers signing into an APHG phone app.This requires a person's National Health Index (NHI) number and date of birth, but only for the first sign-in.Through the app, the worker would scan the bar code on the tube, which their "sample" is going in, deposit the sample and scan the bar code again.The worker will then scan a QR code at a collection booth before dropping off their sample.Once at the lab, the sample is heated and further liquified in a water bath to make it easier to process. Then any viral RNA - evidence of the virus being present - is extracted.Reagents, substances that cause chemical reactions, are added to bind to any viral genetic material before it is amplified. Inferences can be made about how infectious a person is by how quickly the genetic material amplifies.Labtests molecular section head Blair Shilton (left) and microbiology and molecular head of department Susan Smith are confident in the process. (Photo / Michael Craig)Smith said a positive test result could be determined within three to six hours, depending on the urgency and quantity of samples.APHG is owned by NZ Healthcare Investments Ltd, which was partially owned by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which holds a 48 per cent stake.The Ministry of Health denied any suggestion of a conflict of interest in awarding the testing contract to a company partially owned by another Government entity."The successful tenderer was appointed after a comprehensive process, which followed Government procurement processes and included independent evaluation of proposals by panel members from across the testing sector," a spokesperson said.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A snapshot of the scale, lays bare the geographic spread of New Zealand's meth problem.The New Zealand Herald's obtained two years of wastewater test results that police have used to monitor consumption of illegal drugs around the country since late 2018.Analysis shows small towns with high levels of deprivation - including Kaitaia, Opotiki and Wairoa - have been saturated - recording weekly per capita consumption more than double the national average.Herald reporter Jared Savage says police are using the data to provide funding for community groups tackling the issue."For example, provide extra social workers or other support and funding for resources that they can have this wrap-around holistic approach to families that might be struggling."Savage says rehab centres, counselling services and other resources across the country are already very low, but almost non-existent in smaller towns.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I had a dollar for every parent contacting me about the state of things at Starship, I could make a large donation to the Hospital.It's dire in there at the moment. There’s a severe lack of funding, staff, beds, you name it, they’re screaming out for it.I just can’t fathom how the country’s only specialist children’s hospital can be so over run and in such dire need… and yet the government does nothing. I know it’s a DHB issue, and that model's questionable to say the least in terms of the way it handles funding, but it still doesn’t make sense to me that it can get this woeful, and the only thing propping it up is private donors.Off the back of last year, a year when the government locked people up and shut people out, the inevitable result was hundreds and hundreds of babies and children untouched by bugs and sickness. The follow on from this of course is that their little immune systems never got exposed to anything, never got the chance to toughen up or protect themselves. So now, this winter, with an influx of winter bugs, they’re getting knocked over and super sick... in their hundreds.One of the many mums who reached out to me desperate with a baby in Starship, said the place is just heaving with children. She said there’s not enough space for them all, it can be seven hours just to get to even see a doctor. Starship’s ICU... the only dedicated intensive care for children in the country, is at critical capacity every 48 hours. This Mum told me nurses were telling her they just can’t take any more patients because it’s reaching ‘unsafe limits’. The cleaners can’t keep up, there's urine all over the toilet floors, she said.Parents and nurses alike are desperate and at breaking point. One Starship Paediatrician told 1 News they’ve had “record numbers of presentations to the emergency department and very high numbers of hospital admissions..." According to another report, Kidz First Children’s Hospital at Middlemore has banned all visitors who're not primary caregivers to try to limit the spread of this surge of winter viral respiratory illnesses. ‘Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch Hospital [have had] a surge of sick kids needing treatment... with several admitted into intensive care’ too, according to 1 News.So sick kids are swamping emergency departments around the country... they're overrun.So given all this, where’s the funding? Where’s the money to help ease this pressure and treat this scourge of sickness which can be sheeted back to locking a country down for large chunks of winter last year?It’s heartbreaking that all this is going on, especially as one Mum of a sick Hospitalised child said to me, when money can be handed out for a cycle way across Auckland's Harbour Bridge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Text by Danica Kirka, APEngland may soon abandon legal requirements for wearing masks, a government minister said Sunday as the nation waits for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce plans for easing COVID-19 measures.Johnson is expected in the next few days to update England on “freedom day’’ — the plan to scrap the remaining restrictions on business and social interaction on July 19. British media widely reported that many requirements, including mask wearing, would also end.“We are going to, I think, now move into a period where there won’t be legal restrictions — the state won’t be telling you what to do — but you will want to exercise a degree of personal responsibility and judgment and so different people will come to different conclusions on things like masks,’’ housing minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News. “The prime minister will set out more details on the national policy on some of those restrictions in the coming days.”Some doctors have expressed concern about further easing of restrictions as infection rates rise, largely because of the more transmissible delta variant. Despite the jump in new infections, there hasn’t been an equivalent increase in hospitalizations and deaths, emboldening government ministers who believe Britain must learn to live with the virus.The number of confirmed new infections recorded throughout the U.K. over the last seven days rose 67% from the previous week, according to government statistics. There were 118 coronavirus-related deaths reported last week, one less than the previous period.Public health officials attribute the divergence of the figures to the success of Britain’s vaccination program. Almost 86% of U.K. adults have received at least one dose of vaccine and 63.4% are fully vaccinated.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Simeon Brown is fuming over a Human Rights Commission donation to the Mongrel Mob.Newstalk ZB has revealed the commission gave the Waikato chapter $200 as koha, after Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt spoke at the Mob's hui in May.Brown says its unacceptable any amount of taxpayer money is being donated to a gang."It's absolutely outrageous the Human Rights Commission is giving money to a criminal organisation. The Mongrel Mob were recently caught in a major transnational drug bust and gang bust. There's no way that any government department should be donating money to that cause"Brown says this is a kick in the guts to victims of crime, people who have been hurt by the Mongrel Mob, and it sends all of the wrong messages.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I feel bad for Mike King, not just him actually, but for every family he’s tried or is still trying to help and can’t get funding for.Yesterday the government told him they’re not funding Gumboot Friday to provide free counselling for young people struggling with mental health. I find this ironic given the government’s talked a big game on mental health, handed out 1.9 billion for it, acknowledged it’s a problem, say their work is ongoing, yet they’re not supporting this.It’s also ironic they can find the money to fund a cycle lane over the Harbour Bridge for a handful of Auckland cyclists, but they can’t find money for this. Likewise, they can throw 50 million at a slush fund to look for alternatives to cotton buds, but they can’t fund this. There are plenty of examples of money being printed and handed out from the Beehive and I’m just not sure how this one doesn’t make the cut.Our mental health stats are woeful. The government’s well aware of it, has had solutions offered to them, people with practical tangible answers and it still says no.Does the rejection of this funding go hand in hand with Mike King speaking out against the PM and returning his New Zealand Order of Merit?I would hope not, but the timing’s not great is it. King says he’s devastated by this, mainly because of the devastation it’ll have on families already battling with mental health services, already struggling to pay, or get access, or get attention in this sector.The services are over run, the system is broken, ask anyone whose had to deal with it, it’s just not catching all the people it needs to. It is failing people on a regular basis.The Ministry, in rather a condescending tone, said of its rejection of Gumboot Friday funding that there is ‘more work to be done’ in this sector, and that they share Mike King’s passion and commitment. The PM made the same utterances. But that’s all it is, empty words. The rubber, literally, was hitting the road here with King’s work, and they’ve just shut the door on it.We had Mike King on the show recently when he was returning his medal; he was aggrieved about the lack of transparency on where that mental health money the government had packaged up in 2019 had gone. Turns out only 5 extra beds had been added to facilities over two years. Minister Andrew Little said he was ‘frustrated’ and there was general acknowledgement it wasn’t good enough. But tut tutting the failures and making promises like ‘we’ll try to do better’, don’t really cut the mustard for a guy like King who’s been on the front line and has to face these families on a daily basis. What do you even say to families who are at absolute breaking point, when a government that pretends to care, clearly doesn’t care enough?So when King says he’s devastated this week, I completely understand why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of people studying nursing in New Zealand has stalled and is closing in on a decade low.The Nurses Organisation are concerned the mounting pressure on current nurses are keeping people from entering the profession.Dr. Sandy Richardson, College of Emergency Nurses chair, told Kate Hawkesby“It’s more what do we do with them once we’ve got them into nursing? How do we find placements for them when they’re training? And how do we find jobs for them when they’ve finished training?”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britney Spears' father has asked the court overseeing his daughter's conservatorship to investigate her statements to a judge last week on the court's control of her medical treatment and personal life, which she called overly restrictive and abusive.James Spears emphasized in a pair of documents filed that he has had no power over his daughter's personal affairs for nearly two years.His filing says the court must investigate "serious allegations regarding forced labor, forced medical treatment and therapy, improper medical care, and limitations on personal rights.""Given the nature of the allegations and claims, it is critical that that the court confirm whether or not Ms. Spears' testimony was accurate in order to determine what corrective actions, if any, need to be taken," the documents said.The filings come a week after Britney Spears spoke for the first time in open court in the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years. She condemned those with power over her, saying she has been forced to perform live shows, compelled to use an intrauterine device for birth control, made to take lithium and other medications against her will, and prevented from getting married or having another child."I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive," Spears said.James Spears controlled his daughter's personal life for most of the existence of the conservatorship, but he now oversees only her money and business dealings along with an estate-management firm. A court-appointed professional, Jodi Montgomery, has had power over Britney Spears' personal decisions since her father relinquished that role, known as conservator of the person, in 2019."Mr. Spears is not the conservator of the person. He has not been the conservator of the person since September 2019," one of the court filings says. "Ms. Montgomery has been fully in charge of Ms. Spears day-to-day personal care and medical treatment."Montgomery, whose appointment Britney Spears supported, is serving temporarily. The court was expected to make her role permanent, but one of James Spears' filings says his daughter's criticism of Montgomery last week suggests that she doesn't want her in the role.James Spears says that when he was conservator over his daughter's personal decisions, he did everything in his power to support her well-being, including consenting to her getting married in 2012 and sharing conservatorship duties with her fiance. Spears was engaged to former manager Jason Trawick in 2012, but the couple broke it off in 2013.Montgomery's attorney Lauriann Wright said in a statement in response that "conservatorships in California are subject to the strictest laws in the nation to protect against any potential abuses," and that Montgomery is "a licensed private professional fiduciary who, unlike family members who serve as conservators, is required to follow a Code of Ethics."Wright said Britney Spears' right to marry or have more children are not affected by the conservatorship, and that Montgomery has had no say in those matters since she took on the job."I can state unequivocally that Jodi Montgomery has been a tireless advocate for Britney and for her well-being," Wright said, adding that "it is her sincere personal wish that Britney continues to make meaningful progress in her well-being so that her conservatorship of the person can be terminated."Montgomery is creating a care plan with that end in mind, the statement said.James Spears' filing is also critical of Britney Spears' personal attorney Samuel L. Ingham III, saying that he wrongly asserted in a recent filing that the court had found Spears did not have capacity to consent to medical treatment and is using that as a pretext for a court order taking away her right to give informed consent.An email sent to Ingham seeking comment was not immediately returned.While Britney Spears was...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Harry and Prince William almost look as though they've buried the hatchet, putting on a united front to celebrate their late mother's 60th birthday early Friday (NZT).The feuding brothers smiled and laughed with each other as they arrived together at Kensington Palace, looking to be in high spirits as they greeted a small number of guests at the unveiling of Princess Diana's memorial statue.It was an emotional day for the family of Diana - who died in 1997 - with her beloved sons releasing a rare joint statement shortly after the ceremony."Today, on what would have been our Mother's 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character – qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better," it read."Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy."Britain's Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what woud have been her 60th birthday. (Photo / AP)The bronze statue, made by Ian Rank-Broadley, depicts Diana with her arms around two children with another little boy following behind.The statue towered over the brothers as they revealed it to the world surrounded by 4000 of her favourite flowers.Beneath the commissioned piece, a project which the brothers had been working on since 2017, a plaque reads: "These are the units to measure the worth of this woman as a woman regardless of birth. Not what was her station? But had she a heart? How did she play her God-given part?" The Diana statue has been unveiled at Kensington Palace. Underneath it is a paving stone engraved with: ‘These are the units to measure the worth Of this woman as a woman regardless of birth. Not what was her station?But had she a heart?How did she play her God-given part?’ pic.twitter.com/VIFIuUKOgB— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) July 1, 2021 Prince Charles was not present at the ceremony, which was changed to a "private event" instead of the large celebration to mark Diana's life as originally intended.The move to scale back the unveiling was largely due to bad blood between the brothers and Harry's determination to control media coverage - it was only broadcast after it was over and the Duke of Sussex was leaving.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More companies around New Zealand and overseas are letting staff pick their own working hours.Deloitte Australia is the latest big player to give it a go.One staff member is making the most of it by working two hours in the morning, surfing in the lunch break and then coming back to do another six.A dairy farm in Canterbury, Align Farms started the same thing recently.Align Farms CEO Rhys Roberts told Kate Hawkesby the flexibility has attracted workers from other industries.“That dairy farm actually just employed the head trainer at f45 in Ashburton, which is obviously a whole new skill set and diversity into the team. You’d argue we wouldn’t be able to employ someone of that calibre onto a dairy farm 12 months ago without that flexibility.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am just wondering how many parents are , like me, watching a generation of kids who don’t or won’t cook.And how much of this has been exacerbated by Covid?What I mean by that is, yes during lockdown people cooked from home more, but they also ditched the supermarkets a bit and got into meal kits and takeaways. We know this from a recent Herald survey which looked at life ‘post-Covid’ for Kiwis.Feels weird saying ‘post-Covid’ given we didn’t really have Covid here like other countries did, but also are we ever really ‘post-Covid?’ I think it’s something we’re going to have to live with forever. But this Lifestyle Survey by Colmar Brunton and the Herald found that how we eat has changed.I know for our family, a couple of our kids became hooked on Uber Eats. Easy, convenient, you can get what you feel like, you don’t have to leave the house, you don’t have to waste time cooking. There are no dishes.Our kids got dependent on it for their flat, it was the easiest solution to the ‘what to have for dinner’ question and they now seem unable to shake the habit. This is despite their mother banging on to them endlessly about what an expensive waste of money that is, and how they really should cook for themselves.Thing is, they tried the supermarket shopping and cooking thing, and decided they didn’t like it.Too time consuming, too hard. I’m sure blowing up their microwave didn’t help, but that’s another story.So I wasn’t surprised to see in this survey that actually this is typical for this age group.This is their new normal. Those “aged 18 to 24 said in the survey that would order Uber Eats on a weekly basis.“And it’s not just the convenience of Uber Eats, the meal kit business also took off post Covid.Meal kit businesses ‘soared in popularity’ apparently. “Around a fifth of under 50’s are using meal kits more now than a year ago.”I would have thought all that time during lockdowns baking sourdough and making endless pasta, that we would have enjoyed provisioning and making our own food, but apparently not.There are large chunks of us who want the convenient and easy way out, and I know at least two of our kids fit that bill.It’s a time poor thing I guess, but it’s also a variety thing. You may not know how to cook a good Indian curry or a yummy Thai dish, but you sure can order it in from an expert in about 20 minutes. So it’s not hard to see why that’s appealing.I’m old school though, and admittedly I’m not in that age demographic of die-hard weekly Uber Eats orderers, so it’s hardly surprising I’m not a huge fan of takeaways.But to try and convince my kids about the merits of making your own food from scratch? Disappointingly, it’s a battle I‘m losing, and Uber Eats is winning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A set of professional conduct rules kick in today for New Zealand's lawyers.Enforced by the Law Society, the rules clarify the standards of behaviour expected of lawyers around clients and colleagues.Aotearoa Legal Workers Association director Harrison Cunningham says there are three key changes.He told Kate Hawkesby two are clear definitions of bullying and harassment.“And the third one is a lowering of the threshold for essentially when lawyers have to tell on each other.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the world comes out of the pandemic, the international luxury hotel market is heating up.After what would have been a difficult period for most, there's now going to be more pressure on hotels to push the boundaries, and try outdo each other.For the last few years, the Gevora Hotel in Dubai has been the world's tallest hotel.But, there is competition now with the J Hotel Shanghai Tower also claiming to be the highest hotel.General Manager of Gevora hotel in Dubai Jairaj Gorsia told Kate Hawkesby he can already see the signs that things are returning to normal again.“I guess part of the reason is people have been locked down so many months and have extra disposable income to spend, so I guess they want to splurge and have a god time.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's scepticism at predictions water bills could balloon to nine thousand dollars a year, if water services aren't consolidated.The services of 67 councils could be put into just four water entities, under the Government's reforms.South Canterbury mayors say they don't know where the Government's getting its numbers from.Timaru District Mayor Nigel Bowen told Kate Hawkesby he has his doubts about the figures.“It just looks like a marketing campaign; the data is coming out in a timely fashion that suits the government.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction.In a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as "America's Dad," the state Supreme court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.Cosby, 83, has served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era.Bill Cosby's Twitter account released this photo of the comedian inside jail earlier in his sentence. Photo / TwitterThe former "Cosby Show" star was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence — the comic's damaging deposition testimony in a lawsuit brought by Constand — brought charges against him days before the 12-year statute of limitations ran out.But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby. There was no evidence that promise was ever put in writing.Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the former district attorney's decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil case.The court called Cosby's arrest "an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade."A Cosby spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did a Steele representative, Constand or her lawyer.The justices said that overturning the conviction, and barring any further prosecution, "is the only remedy that comports with society's reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system.""Mr. Cosby should never have been prosecuted for these offenses,' said lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, who argued Cosby's appeal. "District attorneys can't change it up simply because of their political motivation." She said Cosby remains in excellent health, despite being legally blind.A Steele representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did Constand or her lawyer."FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" the actor's "Cosby Show" co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted. FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected! pic.twitter.com/NrGUdwr23c— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021 "I am furious to hear this news," actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time's Up, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault, said in a Twitter post. "I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision."Four judges formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favour, while three others dissented in whole or in part.Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reargument or reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot."I can't imagine that with such a lengthy opinion, with a thoughtful concurring opinion and a thoughtful dissenting opinion, that you could honestly say they made a simple mistake that would change their minds if they point it out to them," Goldberger said.Even though Cosby was charged only with the assault on Constand, the trial judge allowed five other accusers to testify that they, too, were similarly victimised by Cosby in the 1980s. Prosecutors called them as witnesses to establish what they said was a pattern of criminal behavior on Cosby's part.The Pennsylvania Supreme...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British police said Tuesday that they are investigating the circumstances around the seeming harassment and intimidation of England's chief medical officer by two men in a park in central London.The incident, which was captured in video footage and shared on social media, shows Prof. Chris Whitty struggling to get away from the pair, who appeared to be manhandling him while trying to take a selfie.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "thugs" accosting Whitty, who has been one of the most prominent voices during the coronavirus pandemic."I'm shocked at seeing the despicable harassment of chief medical officer Chris Whitty," Johnson said. "I condemn the behaviour of these thugs. Our hard-working public servants should not have to face this kind of intimidation on our streets and we will not tolerate it."The 20-second video shows the two grinning men grabbing Whitty as they shout "Oi oi" and ask for "One photo please?" As the clearly perturbed Whitty attempts to walk away, the men try to grab him again.With a line of police vans visible in the background, a voice is heard saying "leave the gentleman alone" before the clip ends.London's Metropolitan Police said in a tweet that officers spoke to all those involved at the time and that their details had been taken."We are in contact with the victim and the circumstances continue to be investigated," it said.Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was "just horrified" by the incident and that officials are looking at support available to Whitty."It's terrible to see such an important public figure, someone that day in, day out, has been serving our country in the way in which he has to keep us safe, being subject to just appalling abuse," she said on Times Radio.It is not the first time Whitty has been forced to endure public harassment. During the pandemic, Whitty has become one of the most visible public faces , often hosting press briefings alongside Johnson and the government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance. While he has undoubtedly become one of the most trusted voices, he has faced the fury of lockdown skeptics.Earlier this month, he was confronted in a street in Oxford by a man accusing him of lying to the public about the virus, while in February a man accosted him near Parliament. Both incidents were filmed on mobile phones.Whitty brushed off the February incident, saying he was sure the person involved would "become a model citizen in due course."- by By PAN PYLAS Associated PressSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the never ending battle of what we can and can’t eat, the one consistent evil these days appears to be sugar.And now a new study published by Frontiers in Neuroscience says ‘children who consume too much sugar could be at greater risk of becoming obese, hyperactive, and cognitively impaired as adults’.Cognitively impaired, that's serious.So just how much sugar are we eating?According to the study, children and adults in more than 60 countries have a diet consisting of more than four times the sugar recommended by the WHO. So the WHO recommends 25 grams a day, most of us are consuming 100 grams a day.The worse news is that over eating sugar leads to more general over eating. We tend to eat more processed food, the more sugar we eat.Long term sugar consumption ‘significantly boosts weight gain, elicits an abnormal and excessive stimulation of the nervous system and it also alters both episodic and spatial memory,’ the study says.This is similar, apparently, to what happens with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders.I’m always surprised by how many things sugar is actually buried in. Tomato sauce, for example, pasta sauces, yoghurt, salad dressing and even your hearty oatmeal. We know muesli bars can be full of it, and juices, but how often do we blithely just consume it without even realising how much we're consuming?So now on top of the hyperactivity, obesity and damage to teeth, we also have neurocognitive deficits to worry about.Professor Bartlett said "there is increasing evidence of overlap in the brain circuitry and molecular signalling pathways involved in sugar consumption and drug abuse."That’s so disturbing isn’t it? Because we often do eat sugary treats for pleasure or comfort. Bad day? Bar of chocolate. Rough night? Sugary drinks.The experts say this ‘hedonistic desire for palatable food is reward-driven and can override our ability to regulate.’So, in effect, we lose the ability to stop ourselves.Look it’s not all doom and gloom, there was some good news in this study.Apparently overall our ‘sugar consumption has dropped since the mid-1990s’ but (why is there always a but) ‘obesity rates have climbed,‘ which scientists say could be the delayed effect of high sugar intake over a life span.So what can we do? Well apparently we need to eat four times less sugar than we currently do. That’s a lot.So let’s start with breakfast. If you’re about to get into a bowl of cornflakes, think again, maybe try some eggs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.And in an exciting week in New York, a second Statue of Liberty is arriving just in time for Independence Day.Like the original, the statue has been gifted by France, it is slightly smaller though, about one sixteenth the size of the original.President and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Jesse Brackenbury told Kate Hawkesby the logistics of moving such a piece across the Atlantic is considerable.”“It hasn’t been entirely straightforward, but it’s a lot easier than getting the 300ft version here. It did take a crane and a specialty crew and specialty company.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oranga Tamariki is being told it needs to find staff who are up to the job.A whistleblower has released footage taken at a secure residence.It shows staff tackling a boy and twisting his arms behind his back, and putting another into a headlock before throwing him to the ground.Whanau Ora chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait told Kate Hawkesby children in Oranga Tamariki care have complex needs, requiring staff who understand behaviour, trauma and the brain.“We don’t hire for the skills required and the level of skills required. What I saw there could have been de-escalated.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is the last possible day for the government to release the next set of its three year targets for child poverty reduction.But despite some fighting words from the Labour government in tackling child poverty, there is word it will be a press release and that there will be no major changes to targets.Jacqui Southey, the Advocacy and Research Director at Save the Children told Kate Hawkesby children can’t afford to wait for the help they need.“Our children need to live good lives now, and that means not living in poverty.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.