Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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 And if that’s the case, then the Government’s response is dealing with outdated information, and their settings are not accurate for where we’re at.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. Do you see what I mean? So in Phase 2, the 'transition' stage, isolation periods for cases reduced from 10 days to 7. But under Phase 3, the definition of contacts changes to household - so only higher risk contacts will need to isolate, not this current whack a mole approach of everyone. We'll self-manage at home, notify our own contacts, and test to return to work. Which is about where we should be now, and no doubt will be very soon. This current slow down of results and delays is of course not the fault of the lab technicians and the testers who for all intents and purposes are working their butts off here - they seemingly cannot go any faster than they already are. But they're at the behest of a system that's been created without much regard for what's actually possible. The classic theory versus reality strikes again. Government has invented a political response which you could argue at the moment is neither current nor relevant. It ignores, one, the mildness of the illness, and two, the actual real time data. It's frustrating and I don’t even have it yet. Only a matter of time surely. My daughter’s school mates are dropping like flies, many schools have so many teachers isolating they’ve had to shut shop. There's a clock ticking for those of us who’re parents of school students and it’s the waiting that’s the annoying bit, isn't it? The anticipation of it, and for many, the fear that goes with that. I hope those who’ve locked themselves up with fear will be able to relax a bit once this washes through. It’s sad how restrictive many people have made their lives, and it makes you wonder if they’ll do this during flu season too or if it’s just the name ‘Covid’ that freaks people out. Either way, hopefully we see a peak soon, and we can start to come out the other side of all this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 they must have a plan for phasing out vaccine mandates – which Jacinda sort of did and didn't address yesterday - she alluded to it happening at some point, but I wouldn't set my watch by it. Luxon also argued that the Government has to make Rapid Antigen Tests available to everybody, allow Kiwis to purchase them and to take responsibility for their own health. I said this yesterday too – it’s a travesty the Government hasn’t been organised on this front, they’ve had the benefit of seeing how this has unfolded overseas, and they just did not get ready – even with all the lead up time. Thirdly, Luxon argued the Government needs to say when it’s going to move from emergency restrictions to a risk management approach. He points out it’s naïve – and I’d argue convenient - for the Government and its supporters to argue that ‘now’s not the time’ for these discussions. Since when has forward planning and thinking ahead not been valuable? Luxon points out too much of the debate is now characterized by fear and division – for or against us. And that’s top down too I reckon. The PM dismissing people and name calling or ‘punching down’ as she’s accused of, sets a tone. It speaks to a "them and us" camp - and for someone so hellbent on a 'team' narrative, that seems hypocritical of her. I just don’t think it’s black and white anymore. Pushing the division narrative of those who buy into her strategy - good, those who don't - bad is about the most ‘unkind’ thing you can do - alongside their current Trump-inspired idea of building a wall. But the tribalism on each side is so entrenched now, the same as the fear messaging promulgated by this Government, it’s really hard to turn that all around when you’ve taken such a defiant stance. It shows a lack of willingness to evolve, to grow, to shift. This is why David Seymour gets points on the board, for at least showing a preparedness to move with the times, to flex, rather than just sticking heads in the sand and saying, “now’s not the time."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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 as Beijing handed off to Milan-Cortina, site of the 2026 Winter Games. "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" kicked off a notably Western-flavored show with Chinese characteristics as dancers with tiny, fiery snowflakes glided across the stadium in a ceremony that, like the opening, was headed by Chinese director Zhang Yimou.Unlike the first pandemic Olympics in Tokyo last summer, which featured all but empty seats at the opening and closing, a modest but energetic crowd populated the seats of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" stadium. It felt somewhat incongruous — a show bursting with colour and energy and enthusiasm and even joy, the very things that couldn't assert themselves inside China's COVID bubble."We welcome China as a winter sport country," Bach said, closing the Games. He called their organization "extraordinary" and credited the Chinese and their organizing committee for serving them up "in such an excellent way and a safe way."By many mechanical measures, these Games were a success. They were, in fact, quite safe — albeit in the carefully modulated, dress-up-for-company way that authoritarian governments always do best. The local volunteers, as is usually the case, were delightful, helpful and engaging, and they received high-profile accolades at the closing. There was snow — most of it fake, some of it real. The venues — many of them, like the Bird's Nest and the Aquatic Center, harvested from the 2008 edition of the Beijing Olympics — performed to expectations. One new locale, Big Air Shougang, carved from a repurposed steel mill, was an appealingly edgy mashup of winter wonderland and rust-belt industrial landscape.TV ratings were down, but streaming viewership was up: By Saturday, NBC had streamed 3.5 billion minutes from Beijing, compared to 2.2 billion in South Korea in 2018.There were no major unexpected logistical problems, only the ones created deliberately to stem the spread of COVID in the country where the coronavirus first emerged more than two years ago.And stemmed it seemed to be. As of Saturday, the segregated system that effectively turned Beijing into two cities — one sequestered, one proceeding very much as normal — had produced only 463 positive tests among thousands of visitors entering the bubble since Jan. 23. Not surprisingly, the state-controlled media loved this."The success in insulating the event from the virus and keeping disruption to sports events to a minimum also reflected the effectiveness and flexibility of China's overall zero-COVID policies," the pro-government Global Times newspaper said, citing epidemiologists who say "the COVID-19 prevention experience accumulated from this Olympics can also inspire Chinese cities to adjust their policies."Look deeper, though, and a different story emerges about these Games.Internationally, many critiqued them as the "authoritarian Olympics" and denounced the IOC for holding...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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 years to prepare for this, and didn’t.Then there’s the next most important set of numbers right now: those of the protestors.Day 14 of the protest today, 1000 people there, 800 cars, 750 tents.These numbers aren't just bad news for the government but also the Police Commissioner, whose nickname ‘Cuddles’ will likely see him sent somewhere else to hug people after this, given the hugging hasn’t worked. We could add another number here too actually – likelihood of Coster keeping his job after this protest rolls on: 0.But there are other concerning numbers floating around which the Government would be naïve not to pay attention to. Because when the media runs out of puff on reporting Covid numbers, it’s the real world impact numbers which will cause the most damage. The cost of living. Petrol, food, fruit and vege, building supplies, it’s all through the roof. $6 for a lettuce and more than $3 a litre for petrol is the stuff of nightmares for many. But for a government solely focused on Covid, it’s going to be their nightmare soon too, once Omicron takes a back seat. When the Covid headlines, case numbers and protest numbers move off the front page, what are we left with?Businesses in trouble by the thousand, thousands of jobs lost due to mandates, many more thousands of people unable to pay their bills, Hospo, tourism and events on its knees, and New Zealand still woefully short of nurses, teachers, agriculture workers, labourers, engineers, doctors. In fact there’s not much we’re not short of.So a lot of numbers being thrown around right now, but it's important the government pays attention to all of them, not just the ones they’ve got PR campaigns attached to.See 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 week.Both the queen's eldest son Prince Charles, 73, and her 74-year-old daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. Charles has since returned to work. There are also thought to be several recent virus cases among staff at Windsor Castle, where the queen is staying.Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, said the queen would likely be given one of several antiviral drugs that have been approved in the U.K. to treat COVID-19.“If you do get them early enough, it does reduce the risk of severe disease developing, so I would imagine any doctor for a patient in their 90s would be considering giving these antivirals,” he said.A host of senior British politicians sent get-well messages on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health.”Health Secretary Sajid Javid wrote that he was “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a quick recovery,” while opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wished the queen "good health and a speedy recovery. Get well soon, Ma’am.”Elizabeth has been in robust health for most of her reign and has been photographed riding a horse as recently as 2020. In the past year she has been seen using a walking stick, and in October she spent a night in a London hospital for unspecified tests.The queen's doctors ordered her to rest after that and she was forced to cancel appearances at several key events, including Remembrance Sunday services and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November.This month she returned to public duties and has held audiences both virtually and in person with diplomats, politicians and senior military officers. During one exchange caught on camera last week, she walked slowly with a stick and said “as you can see I can’t move” in apparent reference to her leg.The queen delivered two televised messages to the nation early in the pandemic in 2020, and has sought to lead by example. She let it be known she had been vaccinated, and last year sat alone during the funeral of her husband of 72 years, Prince Philip, because of coronavirus restrictions.Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said members of the royal family are probably more concerned than the queen about her situation.“I would guess that she will be matter-of-fact about the diagnosis in a way perhaps that the people around her are less matter-of-fact,” he said.The queen has a busy schedule over the next few months of her Platinum Jubilee year, and is scheduled to attend in-person public engagements in the coming weeks, including a diplomatic reception at Windsor on March 2 and the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14.On March 29, she has a remembrance service at Westminster Abbey...See 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.

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, conflicting advice from the Healthline, so after him, his parents and their 4 other children had all isolated, she decided in the absence of any answers or results, he could return to school. When she followed up through her own contacts in the health sector where his test had gone and why no result, she was told he was positive - and she'd be officially notified by Public Health. She contacted the Ministry of Health, rang the Healthline multiple times asking for advice on isolation times, contacts, testing procedures, she was given four completely different and conflicting pieces of information. She is still yet to be officially notified her son tested positive - Chaotic shambles. She is not alone. The disorganization of the Government not ordering RAT’s early enough means we don’t have enough of them for critical workers like schools to be able to use them. School students and teachers are now dropping like flies. It’s frustrating for them and for parents – and it beggars belief the Ministry still says – “we want kids in school” when their own incompetence appears to be preventing that from happening. Then there’s the protest, an invisible PM, a government running for the hills, a Police force inept – full of threats they don’t deliver on – as we enter day 11 of this occupation, the crowd just continues to swell. Disturbingly, the Police Association Head said yesterday he reckons the protestors could still be occupying Parliament’s grounds in 3 months’ time. Russell Coutts is joining them - the protestors seem more organised than both the Police and the Government. Then there’s the College Sport fiasco with sports teams telling kids they can’t play unless they’re vaccinated – the Ministry saying that’s wrong, it’s not true, but the Ministry’s not prepared to do anything about it – they’re putting it back on parents to “contact their schools and tell them that’s not right”. Are you kidding? That was Chris Hipkins' official advice. Day 11 of the protest, year 3 of the pandemic, week one of our Omicron surge, and look at the state of us.Chaotic Shambles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 gather, but anyway, Alistair told us that he’d been talking with some of the protest leadership and the mood had changed, the crowd had changed, it was more calm and peaceful and protesters had some semblance of leadership now. They had an end goal, and they wanted to talk - and he said he’d brokered a deal with a senior member of Parliament to speak with them. I pushed him on who this might be, given that would be a big development if true, but he wouldn’t say other than the protest leadership and this mystery politician would be meeting by the end of the day. When Mike had Megan Woods on his show later on, he put this to her – that someone was going to meet with the protesters - and she immediately shot that down saying categorically that absolutely no one from government would be meeting with them, that it was an unlawful protest, they were a dangerous and violent lot, and no government minister was going near them. She was adamant. She said there were people issuing death threats, there was a noose hanging in a tree, it was not safe. This left us perplexed as to who this secret politician meeting them must be. We later find out of course, David Seymour. He said it was time for ‘some mature conversation about de-escalation.’ Kudos to him for doing it. I'm not sure how entering a reasonable discussion and hearing each side of a story is ever a bad thing. The protesters want to be heard, and ignoring them has so far only fanned the flames, it's not working. But the Government won't budge. So good on Seymour for trying something different - but I’m not sure it resolves anything. Unfortunately, what the protesters really want is a government minister, someone with some ability to give them some answers around an end to mandates. But they’re not going to get it. So where does this all end? And more importantly when? Because at this stage it's an ever-growing occupation set up like a small village, and as of this morning, still not a single car's been towed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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’d decided no thanks, we’ll stay away, hence the school needed to double down on its reassurances. But it’s not just schools spooked by this. A survey this week by Research NZ revealed that the “country has divided itself into “roughly two equal sized camps”; those who’ve changed their behaviour to limit exposure to Omicron, and those who are carrying on like before.” The report said 53 percent of “the 1001 Kiwis who took part, had ‘significantly changed what they do or how often they do it’. That’s disturbing because it smacks of just how powerful the fear messaging has been, how pervasive it’s been, and how suckered into it we all got. It’s not just sad for those who’re still afraid, but sad for the domino effect on all those negatively impacted. Cafes and restaurants sitting empty, supermarkets with smaller crowds, empty libraries, and schools with students too scared to attend. The shift in mindset we’re being required to make – is a large leap. The epidemiologists, experts, modellers, Ministry of Health and government ministers all the way up to the PM, have relentlessly warned us of this deadly disease coming to ravage us all for two solid years. And now that we’re finally ramping up case numbers, they’re flipping all that and saying, actually, don’t worry – carry on about your business. It’s a mental leap clearly not everyone's comfortable making. If you’ve got friends and family overseas, you’ll be more relaxed about it – we’ve got a daughter in Melbourne who along with all her friends has had it, a nephew in the US who had it, along with all his mates, friends and family in Australia and London who’ve all had it – all of them say the same thing – they can’t believe the amount of fear in New Zealand around Covid. Maybe it’s because we really didn’t get it here in the big numbers as other countries did. So I'm actually relieved a milder variant is hitting us now, so that once we’ve all had it, hopefully we’ll be less scared of it and put this climate of phobia and fear behind us once and for all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 a living wage for council employees. So he took ratepayers money to hand out to his employees. This smacks of a guy who never left the office. He was also obsessed with climate change – he got over two million native trees planted. So trees, a living wage for councillors, and closing some parks to stave off Kauri die back. This is Auckland city. Not a quaint seaside town. We needed more focus on roads, traffic, transport, the CBD, and fighting for Aucklanders during an economically devastating string of lockdowns. But Phil was too cosy with his old Labour mates, didn’t challenge them, didn’t fight for us, didn’t get out into the streets enough to see what was really going on. So now the opportunity awaits for someone new, someone fresh, someone who – please for the love of God – fights for the country’s biggest city. Trouble is, mayoral candidates often seem like a line up of fringe characters who, once inside a Council building; are unfortunately only as strong as their Council. And that’s the other problem. People who proffer themselves up as council candidates are largely bored people who love admin, meetings and probably in a previous life wrote a lot of letters to the editor. In other words, not real people living in the real world. And half of it's our fault too.. because we don’t vote in local body elections, we don’t care enough. I was tempted to run for Mayor once, I jokingly suggested it on air and was blown away by the amount of support I got – people offering to fund and run my campaign, including support from politicians. It just goes to show anyone could put their hand up and get some semblance of a campaign behind them. I’d do it if I didn’t hate meetings and admin and councillors so much. But I’m passionate about Auckland and fixing it so please could someone awesome throw their hat in the ring. And please could the rest of us not waste our votes and pay attention. The last time I wasn't paying attention I voted for Phil Goff, so you can see how dire this can get when we don't give it our full focus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

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 the findings. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, would not say how definitive the intelligence was, and the White House publicly underscored that the U.S. does not know with certainty whether Putin is committed to invasion.However, U.S. officials said anew that Russia's buildup of offensive air, land and sea firepower near Ukraine has reached the point where it could invade on short notice.U.S. officials told The Associated Press late Friday that the State Department plans to announce early Saturday that virtually all American staff at the Kyiv embassy will be required to leave. The State Department would not comment.The department had earlier ordered families of U.S. embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave. But it had left it to the discretion of nonessential personnel if they wanted to depart.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said a small number of officials may remain in Kyiv but the vast majority of the almost 200 Americans will be sent out or relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the Polish border, so the U.S. can retain a diplomatic presence in the country.Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, urged all Americans in Ukraine to leave, emphasizing that they should not expect the U.S. military to rescue them in the event that air and rail transportation is severed after a Russian invasion.Several NATO allies including Britain, Canada, Norway and Denmark also are asking their citizens to leave Ukraine, as is non-NATO ally New Zealand.Sullivan said Russian military action could start with missile and air attacks, followed by a ground offensive."Yes, it is an urgent message because we are in an urgent situation,” he told reporters at the White House.“Russia has all the forces it needs to conduct a major military action,” Sullivan said, adding, "Russia could choose, in very short order, to commence a major military action against Ukraine.” He said the scale of such an invasion could range from a limited incursion to a strike on Kyiv, the capital.Russia scoffed at the U.S. talk of urgency.“The hysteria of the White House is more indicative than ever," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "The Anglo-Saxons need a war. At any cost. Provocations, misinformation and threats are a favorite method of solving their own problems.”In addition to the more than 100,000 ground troops that U.S. officials say Russia has assembled along Ukraine's eastern and southern borders, the Russians have deployed missile, air, naval and special operations forces, as well as supplies to sustain a war. This week Russia moved six amphibious assault ships into the Black Sea, augmenting its capability to land marines on the coast.Sullivan's stark warning accelerated the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trevor Mallard has officially lost the plot.If you're in any doubt, google the column my colleague Heather du-Plessis Allan wrote for the Herald On Sunday yesterday.She pointed out his disturbing overreach whereby he “advised” media to stay away from protestors outside Parliament. Heather questions how much of this is actually 'advice' versus instruction – and how democratic is it really to keep media away from a protest. He’s done it under the guise of protection of course – appointing himself as some overarching protector of all – whether they want or need to be protected or not. It’s an old school ‘I know best’ approach that reeks of patriarchy and has no place here in the modern world. But what the Government's tried to do here – and failed in my opinion, is grab the narrative on this protest and shut it down. Problem is they’ve only made things worse.Refusing to speak to the protestors, writing them all off as wacko conspiracy theorists, and rabid far-right anti-vaxxers is a big mistake – and has only served to gaslight the situation. Media who've ignored Mallard’s instructions, have managed to gauge a large diversity of views from a raft of other people there too – yes there are your fringe nutters, but actually, the anger runs deep and there're some genuinely aggrieved people out there too.Only a fool would dismiss them and hope they go away. Yet that’s what Mallard, Robertson and Ardern are trying to do. Robertson's rolled out the usual sneering condescending frown down the nose rhetoric which is so popular in the left-leaning sandpit of Twitter.. just writing them off as dangerous rabid crazies. Mallard has taken it next level – he’s stooped to childish antics of pulling dumb – as someone pointed out “boomer” stunts -– like sticking hoses on them and playing them the Macarena.Why try to turn this into a joke? Not even the Police support his actions and have distanced themselves from that stupidity. And why give it this much attention if the government line is supposed to be ignore them? Ardern on the other hand has done what she does best – head in sand, fingers in ears – vanish. She's invisible. But when put on the spot to address it, she joins the Robertson ‘write them off’ camp.But it’s not working, the protest is only swelling in number, not even a cyclone diminished their enthusiasm.The other problem for the government is the hypocrisy on display here. Let’s not forget all these MP’s decrying the protest were all proud protestors themselves back in the day. So they support free speech, and your right to protest.. but only if it aligns with their views. I’m not on the side of the protestors here by the way – they’ve blown this by a long shot – it’s a disorganised shambolic out of control mess.But I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to write them all off as anti-vaxxers and far-right conspirators. There is genuine anger that runs deep in this now very divided country, over mandates and the campaign of control and fear.So to just write off those protesting without even hearing them, is a dangerous move I think, by a government increasingly out of its depth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan Fox secured the biggest title of his career by winning the Ras Al Khaimah Classic by five shots on Sunday.It was the 211th-ranked New Zealander's first victory in a 72-hole format on the European tour. His only other title was in a Super 6 tournament in 2019 that featured a six-hole knockout format following 54 holes of strokeplay.Fox went into the final round in Abu Dhabi with a six-shot lead — on 19 under — and a load of nerves.He bogeyed two of his first six holes to allow the field to close in, but played the final 11 holes in 4 under and wound up shooting 3-under 69 for 22 under overall."Sleeping on a six-shot lead, I didn't sleep very well last night," Fox said. "Obviously a couple of the guys came at me early. I was a bit nervous. I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach all day.""But I'm very happy with how I played. A couple of great shots coming down the stretch and it was certainly nice walking down the last with putter in hand with so many putts to win."Ross Fisher finished in second place after a closing 66 at Al Hamra Golf Club, the latest stop on the tour's "Desert Swing."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An international analyst says New Zealand would be impacted by a war in Europe.United States intelligence has indicated a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent.The New Zealand Government has told New Zealanders in Ukraine to leave immediately.Democracy Project International Analyst Geoffrey Miller told Kate Hawkesby war would affect oil prices and New Zealand's trade.“If you’ve got a war in Europe, suddenly that’s not good for New Zealand exporters. We are an island literally, but not figuratively.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trevor Mallard's predecessor is telling him to grow up.David Carter, Parliament’s Speaker during the last National-led government, has lashed out at Mallard's handling of the Parliamentary protest.Anti-mandate protestors are into the seventh day of their rally on the grounds of Parliament.Mallard's had sprinklers on, and blasted them with some of the world's most hated songs in an attempt to move them on.Police say they don't endorse the tactics.Carter told Kate Hawkesby it doesn't do anything for New Zealand's reputation on the international stage.“Which is in tatters frankly. We had the Charlotte Bellis incident three weeks ago, and now New Zealand’s in the international headlines because we have a Speaker acting in a boorish, childish way.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Charles has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating. A message on his official Twitter page said Charles tested positive on Thursday morning UK time and was "deeply disappointed" not to be able to attend a scheduled visit in the city of Winchester in southern England. Charles, 73, met dozens of people during a large reception at London's British Museum on Wednesday evening. He was accompanied by his wife Camilla, and was in close contact with Britain's Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, among others. Charles' office, Clarence House, confirmed that he is triple vaccinated. It was not immediately clear what his condition was. Charles previously contracted the coronavirus in March 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic. Officials said he had mild Covid-19 symptoms then, and Charles said later that Charles and Camilla isolated in Scotland at the time. Britain's Press Association news agency reported that Charles recently met with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, but the monarch was not displaying any symptoms. The queen, 95, marked her Platinum Jubilee on Sunday by expressing her wish for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Charles becomes king. Camilla carried on with her engagements as scheduled, visiting a sexual assault referral center in London. Spain's King Felipe VI, 54, and Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, 81, also tested positive for the coronavirus this week. - APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m just wondering this morning if we, as women, need to apologise now for being women. Or for calling ourselves women. Is it insulting that we are happy to be women? Adele has been in hot water this week for her acceptance speech at the Brit Awards as she collected the gong for Artist of the Year. It used to be two categories, Best Male Artist and Best Female Artist, but in a move we should’ve all seen coming, that was changed to the more gender neutrally appropriate “Best Artist’. So Adele said when she accepted the award, "I understand why the name of this award has changed but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!" That’s what she said – to huge applause and cheers by the way. But here’s the difference between the real world and the online world – the keyboard warriors lit up. What travesty was this?! No less than a transphobic slur, she must be transphobic! Why would she say such a thing? How dare she! Twitter users (who else) blew up in fury – “Who’d have thought Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community!” said one. The destruction of the trans community? Are you serious? Some said they’d lost respect for her and ‘wouldn’t spend another cent on her music’. She was accused of confusing teenagers. To be clear here, all she did was say she loves being a woman. And that now, apparently qualifies as cancellation worthy. And this is where cancel culture is eating itself. It’s so inane and ridiculous that you now cannot even enjoy being the gender you are, for fear it upsets those who don’t believe in gender. Worse still, those who are affronted by her daring to say she likes being a woman, are now bullying her online, in the hope that what? She denies her own existence? That she apologises for being a woman? That she stops referring to herself as a woman? That God forbid she backtracks and decries enjoying being a woman? Where is all this going? What’s the end game here? Why do we all have to be the same? And why do we have to bend and change ourselves constantly to fit in with whoever the latest person or group to be offended is? Surely that’s a bottomless pit? There will be no individuality left at all, if we go down that track. I mean the Tweeters that are outraged that she’s apparently confused teenagers by saying she loves being a woman, what about the teenagers who’re seeing this bullying backlash against a woman for saying she likes being a woman? What message is that sending them? Some sprung to Adele’s defence – thank goodness. One author’s reported as saying, "A decade ago, if someone had said a woman would [be criticised] for the thought-crime of saying she liked being a woman, I would have laughed at such a ludicrous suggestion. Now it is happening.” She’s right - it is ludicrous. So ludicrous in fact that Adele hasn’t even bothered responding to it. But maybe someone should tell Shania Twain? Surely it can’t be long before her song, “Man, I feel like a woman,” gets cancelled.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are feeling the pinch under the Covid-19 protection framework. A new survey by MYOB shows more than half expect to see a negative impact on the financial health of their business, if the country stays in Red for more than a month. Almost a quarter believe they will take a significant financial hit. Head of Go to Market at MYOB Jo Tozer told Kate Hawkesby they've had a mix of feedback from their customers. “Some are noticing a drop in customers through their doors, others a degree of caution but still enjoying a solid summer, but seeing the data now makes quite stark reading.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says the Government's new close contact exemption scheme has too many barriers. In phase two of our Omicron response, critical business workers found to be close contacts won't need to isolate, if they return negative rapid antigen tests. But companies wishing to sign up, will still need to meet certain criteria. National's Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop told Kate Hawkesby RATs should be available to everyone. “It’s hard to imagine a more bureaucratically inept system that the Government could design, it’s classic Labour. I just don’t understand why we’re making it so difficult. Everyone acknowledges we need rapid antigen tests.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m feeling the itchy feet, the urge to travel is back. Now that we can, it’s tantalising isn’t it? I’m worried that once everybody does start bouncing out the door, I’m going to get wicked FOMO. But here’s the problem, with all this time locked up at home and locked down, I’ve become too attached to the dog and vice versa. I’m serious. I don’t know how I leave her now. She didn’t cope well when my daughter finally went back to school, having had all these months of just having everyone home all the time, walking her, cuddling her, feeding her, playing with her. And now it’s like, well real life is knocking on the door again and the dog’s not coping. She’s gotten used to us all at her every beck and call. And I’ve become so attached to her that I genuinely don’t know how I would up sticks and leave her to gallivant off somewhere. Only dog people will understand this of course. So, I’m not sure what I’m going to do here. I fear my family will probably just go regardless and leave me and the dog behind. So how many of us are heading out back into the world? Flight Centre said in one report that ‘travel inquiries surged by 75 per cent the day border restrictions for vaccinated Kiwis were relaxed.” Apparently, vaccination rates equal travel confidence. And there’s nothing like being locked up for two years to make one feel like they need to spread their wings. So where are we all going? (Well, those of us who can leave their dogs that is.) Flight Centre says most popular destinations include London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as India. And how many of us are actually going? Flight Centre research said in one report that of around 160,000 clients, 88 percent of them intended on travelling. But intending to, and actually making it out the door are two different things aren’t they. We’re seeking luxury though apparently – people want to make the most of their holidays having missed out on them for two years, Flight Centre says. We want a trip to remember. But you don’t want it to be memorable for having spent it in a mask or isolating. Or for catching some new variant, and that’s my other worry (apart from the dog). Imagine spending a fortune on some exotic far flung holiday and then some new variant crops up and everything grinds to a halt and you’re back isolating again or stuck somewhere. I mean I think until the world feels truly back to normal and we’re not hearing the word “Covid’ in news reports anywhere, ever, then we may at that point start to feel fully relaxed about travel being normal again. But I imagine at the moment it still involves a lot of testing, temperature checking, extra sanitising and queuing, which can bog down your travel plans and make it a bit admin heavy. Won’t it be cool when the world’s 100 percent back to normal and we can just jump on planes again? No masks, no temperature checks, no tests. Until then, I think I may just be sitting tight at home with the dog.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a busy day in the capital yesterday as the convoy protesters continued their stay on the lawns of Parliament. Three people were taken into custody after attempting to breach police lines, while an official trespassing notice was issued. Chester Burrows is a former police officer and joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday in parliament, New Zealand's relationship with the monarchy was once again debated. This was after a motion was set to congratulate Queen Elizabeth on her platinum jubilee, a 70-year reign. But the Māori Party voted against the motion, and the Greens say our head of state should be from Aotearoa New Zealand. Questions have therefore been raised as to how the monarchy and the UK would feel if we turned our backs on the institution. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tinder Swindler is now one of the most popular films on Netflix. It shows the dangers of online dating, with a fraudster scamming several women for a total of $10m. NortonLifeLock have a report out this morning, saying more than half of Kiwis vet their matches online, and nearly 2/5 un-match as a result. Senior director at NortonLifeLock Mark Gorrie joined Kate Hawkesby from Australia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi director Jane Campion is leading the Oscar nominations this year with 12 nods for her film The Power of the Dog. But as always, the list of nominations was full of surprises, announced this week by comedy actors Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross. From Dune to House of Gucci, several of the biggest films released over the past year have missed out in the major categories. Here are the most shocking snubs on this year's list of nominees. Best Actress — Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) Gaga was gunning for an Oscar with her role as Patrizia Reggiani - but while she landed nominations at the BAFTAs and the SAG Awards, the Academy wasn't convinced enough to recognise her performance. Best Supporting Actress — Caitriona Balfe (Belfast) Outlander star Caitriona Balfe was a frontrunner for an Oscar nom with her performance as Ma in Belfast. But she was edged out by her co-star Judi Dench, who picked up the nomination - her eighth to date - instead. Best Supporting Actor — Jared Leto (The House of Gucci) Jared Leto was unrecognisable as Paolo Gucci under layers of makeup and a thick accent, picking up both a Critics' Choice Award and a SAG Award nomination. However, Oscar voters gave him a pass. Best Supporting Actor — Bradley Cooper (Licorice Pizza) Cooper's brief but hilarious performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza has been earning him plenty of awards love, just not enough to propel him toward an Oscar nomination. Best Supporting Actor — Ben Affleck (The Tender Bar) Affleck earned rave reviews for his turn as a bar owner under George Clooney's direction, as well as Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations. But it didn't land him an Oscar nomination. Best Original Song — Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi (Don't Look Up) Grande plays music star Riley Bina in Don't Look Up, as well as contributing an original song Just Look Up to the film's soundtrack. But the Academy said thank you, next to the song, although the film landed a few other nominations including Best Picture. Passing Rebecca Hall's adaptation of the Nella Larsen novel missed out on most of the awards love, apart from a nod to supporting actress Ruth Negga from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and SAG Awards. She was the film's best chance at an Oscar as well, but surprisingly missed out. Best Director — Denis Villeneuve (Dune) Dune landed 10 Oscar nominations, but its director Denis Villeneuve missed out despite turning Frank Herbert's epic novel into a genuine hit on screen. Best Adapted Screenplay — Tony Kushner (West Side Story) Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner took a risk adapting West Side Story for today's audience - but Academy voters didn't see a place for his take on the musical.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As our Omicron daily case numbers started to trend down instead of the much promised up, I wondered if my theory last week is in fact more than just a theory. People aren’t testing. They’re not scanning in, they’ve turned off their Bluetooth on the app, they’re not reporting symptoms, or maybe they’re just asymptomatic. Either way, our Omicron surge that the doomsayers keep warning us about, that we are sitting in a red light because of, is still nowhere to be seen. And it may well be down to a variety of factors; some say it’s a slow burner, we haven’t ‘let it rip’ like other countries, so it’s just a slower start for us. Others say we are getting a milder taste of what the rest of the world experienced because our vaccination numbers are high. Others say it’s because we’re in a red light, so we’re slowing it down with our restricted movement. But my theory, and one I don’t think you can discount given the way our case numbers are plateauing, is that people are over it, Covid fatigue has set in, and no one’s scanning or testing. And why would you, if it’s a mild cold you may not even think to test. And if you did think to test, your very next thought would be – well how long am I having to isolate for now? And how many of my contacts are lumped into that same boat and now have to isolate because of me? So, for that reason alone, I think people will be circumspect to test. Add to that the fact most people won’t get that sick with it, and you’ve probably got a lot of people just laying low. Then there’s the scanning in, whose still doing that? My husband waited in the carpark outside the supermarket for me the other day and while he did, he counted 39 people go in. Of that 39 entering the supermarket, how many scanned in? Three. Three whole people. That would indicate, just in that small experiment in a random supermarket, that people are indeed over it. If case numbers continue to drop and stay low then watch two things happen. One, the modellers who cried wolf will be trying to walk it all back with a range of excuses. They already are to be honest. But in fact, the most honest thing they could do is just admit once and for all that it’s a big guessing game, that they really have no idea, and that it’s just been politically in the Government’s best interests if they predict doom at every turn and keep the fear tap turned on. But two, don't be surprised if this self-congratulatory Government takes credit for ‘beating' Omicron. I mean that’s a stretch but I wouldn’t put it past them to grab some positive spin off it in the end. The modelling is so far, way out – even Covid Minister Chris Hipkins said last week we can take it about as seriously as the weather forecast. So, the other thing that’s happened here is we have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, started to take control of our lives back. And that’s the good part. We’ve gone from being micro-managed and controlled by the Government at every turn, to actually just getting about our business on our own. And that’s no bad thing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is concern vaccine fatigue could be setting in. The campaign for people to get their Covid-19 booster is ongoing, and now there's a push for them to get their seasonal flu jab, ahead of the country's border opening. Auckland University public health expert Colin Tukuitonga told Kate Hawkesby both vaccinations are necessary, but people are tiring of having to have yet another jab. He says the Ministry of Health's speaking about giving the jabs at the same time, which might help. “Without a doubt, we’re going to have to be creative and think about how we communicate best.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More pain at the pump is on its way, as petrol prices continue to climb. It's thought 91 could reach $3 a litre soon, and stay there this year. The National Party is calling on Auckland's regional fuel tax to be scrapped. Consumer New Zealand Chief Executive Jon Duffy told Kate Hawkesby $3 a litre will hurt everyone, but particularly those on low or fixed incomes. “Bear in mind this is in combination with high rents, high food prices and rising inflation generally, so everything is getting more expensive for people.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Construction costs are continuing to skyrocket and there are no signs of slowing down. The CoreLogic Cordell Construction Cost Index for the last quarter of 2021 shows a 6.2 percent increase. That's the highest in four years. But experts are warning that figure could hit double digits. CoreLogic chief economist Kelvin Davidson told Kate Hawkesby costs could easily rise to 10 per cent or more and stay that way. “The builders, they’ve got such a big pipeline of work in front of them and Omicron, Covid I think there’s going to be supply disruptions for a while so I could imagine double digits for a little period of time.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well the latest Newshub Reid Research poll has the Labour / Green government still the most popular, yet if ever we needed confirmation of the spin and PR machine that this Government really is, we got it at the weekend from Sir Ian Taylor. In a series of columns for the NZ Herald documenting his dealings with this Government, Taylor has become increasingly disillusioned. He admits he voted for them – that was probably his first mistake. Like many who voted for them, one wonders if he’ll make that mistake again. Like many who believed in this Government, he went in with good faith believing they would walk their talk. Sadly, they did not. Like many business people who’ve tried to help this Government, he’s been sidelined, rebuffed, muzzled, and shut out. It should worry every New Zealander interested in democracy and progress, that this Government continues to shut out the private sector, ignore them, and then crap all over them. The Government seems to have, on top of this bewildering level of arrogance, a very short memory. It was after all the private sector who helped them initially get their much-hailed Covid response off the ground in the first place. It was the Mowbray’s of Zuru Toys fame sourcing the PPE, it was other business leaders like them loudly advocating to shut the border back at the start of all this and to act swiftly. The Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming, and as usual, once it got there, loudly claimed all the credit for it and continues to. It's strange that for a government so light on business experience itself, that they continue to believe they know best. Their bureaucrats have proven over the last three years, that that’s just not the case. As Sir Ian Taylor said, government bureaucrats tend to do the same old stuff they’ve always done; order various reviews, take too long considering them, miss crucial windows, then scramble at the end in a mad panic. I’d hazard a guess they’ve probably burnt Ian Taylor now, they’ve burnt other business people who, as Business Editor Fran O’ Sullivan pointed out, are getting increasingly sick of Ardern. O’Sullivan said in a business column last week that “the mood shift within the business sector has been moving against Ardern since late last year and has since spread more broadly.” So many of them won’t be back. We know offshore Kiwis who got the border slammed shut in their face won’t be back, the pensioners trapped overseas, the separated families, the businesses haemorrhaging without workers. It’s doubtful many of them are ticking a red box again. So how has this Government, according to the latest poll, maintained its popularity? Either voters remain hoodwinked by them and sucked into the spin, or they don't care and would vote for this Government regardless of what it does or, no one's paying enough attention yet. I'd pick the latter. But for the Sir Ian Taylor's, who've dealt with them at the coal face, there's first-hand experience of how not open honest and transparent they actually are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History making Zoi Sadowski-Synnott believes momentum can take her to a second Winter Olympic gold medal, but only if she can come down from winning the first. New Zealand's first Winter Olympics gold-medal winner said she will need to regather herself for the big air competition, the event she won bronze in at the 2018 Games. But she sounded confident of landing another gold medal early next week after her slopestyle triumph in Beijing. "I feel like I'm a bit of a momentum competitor - every season where I start well, it carries through," she said. Andew Alderson from Newstalk ZB Sport joined Kate Hawkesby to let us know which events to keep an eye on this week. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Businesses are angry about the Ministry of Health requisitioning Rapid Antigen Tests for its own stocks. When news broke that the Ministry was requisitioning the tests, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said they were from forward orders from overseas - not tests already in the country. But the Ministry has backtracked - acknowledging it took the full February allocation from one manufacturer, along with its stock on hand in the country. Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby the Ministry has misled people. “We’re dealing with businesses all the time who have been struggling to get access to the Rapid Antigen Tests that they ordered. They’re getting angrier and angrier and it’s frankly unacceptable.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.