Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

RATs will be the norm at testing sites in Auckland.  PCR testing has been pushed to its limits causing long delays.  Covid Modelling Aotearoa Lead Researcher Emily Harvey says the tests still need to be prioritised for people who are close contacts or have symptoms.  She told Kate Hawkesby if you test positive with a RAT, you should trust it. “Very highly likely a positive result, so well over 99%. The main thing you should be worried about is the false negative rate.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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 And if that’s the case, then the Government’s response is dealing with outdated information, and their settings are not accurate for where we’re at.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

Police say genuine protesters are no longer in control of the behaviour in and around Parliament. Veteran activist John Minto told Kate Hawkesby the protest leaders have tried - and failed - to get control of the situation. “After two weeks, the group should have been able to sort this out to develop some clear guidelines, have some clear leadership and unfortunately I think with all the new people that have arrived that’s overwhelmed them.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

I know lots of people are over the protest, and I feel a bit that way too, and I know that’s easy to say if you're not sitting in the same city as it. Even those in Wellington, just not near the CBD, say they’re sick of it as well.  But then there are those at the epicentre who say it’s horrific, don’t underestimate the gruesome time we’re having. The students who can’t catch the bus, the law students who can’t get on campus, the local businesses being punished, the commuters held up. But for those of us for whom it's out of sight, it's out of mind. If it doesn’t affect you, do you really care? And many don’t care. But a lot still do. I got texts yesterday from people analysing the politics in all this. Rating Seymour for at least having a view, and asking where the invisible PM's been and also, where the leader of the opposition's been too. He finally came out of the woodwork yesterday, arguing that the Government needs to address three key issues.  He says a response from the Government is required, that th

A hospo boss says new government help doesn't go far enough.  A targeted payment will help some businesses struggling with revenue loss due to Omicron. To be eligible, they must show a 40 percent drop in revenue, since moving to phase two.  Lone Star Chief Operating Officer Paul Steiner told Kate Hawkesby while it's great there's support, it doesn't address the problem of staffing. “The bigger issue is the return to work for existing staff, the delays in testing, the inability to access rapid antigen tests et cetera.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

The Government needs to come down from its lofty pedestal.That's the call from a political commentator as anti-mandate protesters wake to their third week at Parliament.Former United Future leader Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby leaders need to engage with the crowds at some point.“You can’t just carry on with the ‘we’re not talking, we’re not getting involved’ while the police are saying ‘we’re not doing anything either’. This is just an ongoing stalemate and the Government’s got to take a lead in its resolution.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A disappointing start for university students looking to kick off the year with a bang.Orientation Week events are canned as Covid-19 puts a dampener on the student experience.University of Canterbury Students' Association president Pierce Crowley told Kate Hawkesby it's unfortunate.But he says they're still looking to put on some scaled-down events.“It’s going to be barbecues and quizzes kind of outdoor events, performances-type things. Everything will be Covid based. We’re doing what we can. We kind of want to provide students an opportunity to have an opportunity to socialise.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace said, adding that she still plans to carry on working. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain's political spectrum for the famously stoic 95-year-old.Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a fixture in the life of the nation, the queen reached the milestone of 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6, the anniversary of the 1952 death of her father, King George VI. She will turn 96 on April 21.The palace said the queen, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week.“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines," the palace said in a statement.People in the U.K. who test positive for COVID-19 are now required to self-isolate for at least five days, although the British government says it plans to lift that requirement for England this wee

A “chaotic shambles” is how one reporter this week described the Government’s RAT kit rollout for critical workers - and that sums up the week really - if not the whole pandemic, let’s be honest. We’ve got a cumbersome and clunky critical worker RAT kit rollout requiring businesses to register with six forms of ID.  Six.  Set up systems in their workplace to manage this, get hold of the RATs and be clear on the rules. Which, speaking of rules – they keep changing, you get a conflicting message every time you call – even the Ministry seems unclear on what exactly the rules are.  That’s if you can get hold of the Ministry. I know of someone who called the Covid line – they were 146th and then 94th in line, on two separate calls. That’s a system not coping – a chaotic shambles indeed. I also know of someone whose child was unwell, she took him for a Covid test. Four days later there was still no result. He felt fine and wanted to return to school but she needed to check his test result. No answers, no one knew,

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

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

According to some experts, we should expect to see the protesters outside parliament for the long haul. Chris Cahill from the Police Association says they'll still be there in three months. Questions are being raised about the kids at the protest. Newstalk ZB understands protesters have created a school or daycare amongst themselves, but how do we feel about kids being at the protest for three months? Child psychologist Kathryn Berkett joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.