Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

So, a poll comes out which sees Labour drop 10 points, and voila, seasonal workers are on their way back in.I'm not sure how much detail of what's in those polls gets given to the parties in advance, but we can assume based on what happened next, that Labour had the tip off on one particular question.The poll included a question about what more the Government could do.The answer to which was: loosen up the borders a bit, more exemptions for seasonal workers.And boom, look at that.An announcement rolled out yesterday that indeed they're welcoming them back in from Samoa and Tonga, seasonal workers.If that's what a 10 point drop in the polls can produce in 24 hours, what could a 20 point drop do?Would they vaccinate the entire country in a week?One thing we know this Government hates is flailing popularity.It's a government who has become accustomed to riding high in the polls, critics would argue the subsequent arrogance they're showing around this is actually going to be the undoing of them.So when some real

A lot of evidence has pointed to how successful a four day working week is in increasing productivity, as well as avoiding burnout.Well there's been a massive development in the United States.California congressman Mark Takano has submitted a bill for Congress to introduce the four day work week for California.Congressman Takano told Kate Hawkesby imporoving employee wellbeing has benefits for everyone.“I think we can improve the health of most workers, reduce the stress that they experience, and at the same time we’re seeing experiments in countries such as yours and other places around the world that productivity does not have to suffer, in fact productivity might even be enhanced.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A move to allow more seasonal workers into the country, is being seen as an important piece of the puzzle for kiwifruit growers.From next month, seasonal workers from Covid-free Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga can come to New Zealand without quarantine.Kiwifruit Growers chief executive Colin Bond told Kate Hawkesby even with the change, they may still be six to seven thousand people short next season.“We really do welcome the news yesterday, but we are under no illusions that there is still more work to be done to encourage more New Zealanders just to fill that working holiday visa gap.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into housing is to clarify for central and local government and local iwi what the right to a decent home means in New Zealand.They say successive governments have failed when it comes to housing.Deputy CEO of Community Housing Aotearoa Chris Glaudel told Kate Hawkesby his expectations of the review will help them look at what isn’t working well in the current system and show how all citizens can help achieve the right to a home.“It’s not just on government, it also is on everybody. We all enjoy this right. Some of us currently don’t have it though.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was incredulous at the news we’d had a breach in protocols during the transfer of the Covid patient from Fiji.I shouldn’t have been, it was always a possibility, and perhaps one of the reasons the medics were so against the transfer in the first place. But to hear that a “PPE protocol incident” had occurred and ended up lumping a health worker into Jet Park for two weeks in MIQ, left me aghast.Imagine being that health worker – already stretched with RSV raging through the hospitals, your colleagues have all said no thanks to this patient coming, you’ve been over ruled by politicians, and then – beyond your control, the patient gets flown here, and wham, you’re into MIQ for two weeks.Away from your family, out at the Jet Park, isolating.Cool.How completely unnecessary.Medical experts have been leaping up and down about this since before we even took the patient, but over the weekend Professor of Medicine Des Gorman leapt up and down too.He criticised the decision saying "it's a pity" health workers here hav

Frustration from senior doctors about the Government's ongoing pay freeze for high-income public sector workers.Members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists will begin stopwork meetings today, to discuss their pay and working conditions.It comes as nurses prepare for strike action this month after rejecting their latest pay offer.Executive Director Sarah Dalton told Kate Hawkesby the Government pay freeze can't be justified, when the economy is doing so well."It's about giving lowest paid workers the biggest increases and we absolutely support that, but we think that you raise the floor for those at the bottom by actually raising the floor, not by pushing the ceiling down."Dalton says members will accept a pay rise below inflation, but they're being offered zero-percent instead.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi high jumper Hamish Kerr has given a strong account in his Olympic Games debut, jumping 1cm below his personal best to finish 10th in a competition that will be remembered for its unique ending.In a rare turn of events, Qatari star Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold medal, clearing a height of 2.37m. Neither of the two had failed a jump until the bar was raised to 2.39m, where neither athlete was able to clear it.While it was expected the two would go into a jump-off because their ledger was identical, they instead decided to share the top prize.It was a heartwarming moment and fans around the world were enamoured by the Olympic spirit shown. This must be one of the best Olympics ever for personal stories - Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa are tied for first in the men’s high jump. “Can there be two golds?” Essa asks an official. After a nod, they agree to share the win. Lovely scenes as they hug & celebrate.— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) August 1, 2021 To decide

Wildfires raged Sunday near Turkey's holiday beach destinations of Antalya and Mugla as the discovery of more bodies caused the death toll to rise to eight. Residents and tourists fled the danger in small boats while the coast guard and two navy ships waited out at sea in case a bigger evacuation was needed.Authorities warned tourists and residents to keep evacuating Turunc, a town in the seaside resort of Marmaris in Mugla province. Fires enveloped the area and strong winds made firefighting efforts more difficult. A helicopter attempted to extinguish the blazes, which were unreachable by land.As residents of villages around Marmaris pleaded for more help on social media, people boarded small boats carrying suitcases. Others waited anxiously to see if the fire would come down to the shore.Turkish news agency DHA said the bodies of a Turkish-German couple were found in their burned home in Manavgat, Antalya. Fires were also encroaching on a village near the town and residents were evacuating in trucks.High te

What we’ve seen with the transfer of this Covid patient from Fiji is very simple. It's not a medical decision, it's a political one.The medical decision was made by the DHBs, the Director of Health, the Ministry of Health. The medical decision was no.But then politics got involved. Helen Clark, it's widely asserted, (and she hasn't denied it), stepped in, the UN stepped in, pressure was applied, and voila, change of plan.This is an embarrassing flip flop.The request was initially declined on clinical grounds, following advice from three Intensive Care Units at Auckland's major hospitals.But hang on, suddenly we have room.Don't forget, our ICU and hospital staff have been flat out dealing with this RSV outbreak, which has swamped hospitals right around the country.They've been absolutely stretched; you can see why they said no.But now, the Covid patient who we were categorically told was not coming, is sitting in Middlemore hospital after a 'change of plan.’The medics are mad, they're apparently furious about

HBO Max has just released a 12 episode series parodying the life of Prince George, yes, the eight year old.It navigates the trials and tribulations of being a royal childBut critics are accusing HBO of taking cheap shots at a child.Royal family commentator Victoria Arbiter joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand may be taking on extra risks -- by allowing a Covid-19 patient to be transferred from Fiji to New Zealand for treatment.The woman arrived at Auckland Airport last night, before being transferred to Middlemore Hospital.She's understood to be a high-profile World Health Organisation staffer, medevaced under a UN agreement.Auckland University public health expert Colin Tukuitonga told Kate Hawkesby  it's an inherently risky move.“There’s a higher chance that this is Delta varient, and Delta can go bad real quick. I think we’re accepting a risky situatuion to be honest.”Tukuitonga says if New Zealand wants to help people in Fiji, it should be deploying more specialists and resources to the country.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tramways Union drivers in Wellington have accepted a fourth pay offer from NZ Bus, bringing an end to months of wrangling over their collective agreement.The long-running saga has resulted in stop-work meetings, a strike, and a lockout.This afternoon NZ Bus confirmed in a statement a new collective employment agreement has been settled on with its Wellington drivers.Chief Operating Officer Jay Zmijewski said the agreement secures a fair and equitable outcome for existing staff and gives NZ Bus greater ability to recruit more full-time drivers."This is a great outcome. We want our drivers to be the best paid and have the best conditions in the industry, and this deal achieves that."We look forward to attracting more drivers to the industry to provide safe and secure public transport services to the people of Wellington."Tramways Union has been approached for comment.Zmijewski acknowledged the role Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) has played in the pay talks."We look forward to partnering with council

We're seeing a lot of raw emotion and huge pressure unfolding at the Olympics aren’t we?Which isn’t necessarily new, elite sport at that top level is hugely competitive and nothing but pressure.You're carrying the weight of the world, or at the very least your whole country, on your shoulders. There are tears, collapses, enormous highs, catastrophic lows. That’s elite sport, and most athletes at that level know that.But I just wonder whether this Olympics will be remembered for something else.For mental health issues coming to the fore and taking precedence over performance, and I can’t work out if this is a good or a bad thing.On the one hand, I appreciate how huge the toll is and admire athletes who have the guts to say, you know what? Not this time, can’t do it, my head’s not in it.I mean that can’t be easy and it takes guts. It also helps identify and draw into the mainstream that mental health as a very real issue, at even the highest levels of success.But I’m torn because on the other hand, you worked r

A plan to close the Milford Sound airstrip has been met with outrage by local tourism operators who use the runway.The Milford Opportunities Project Masterplan has been unveiled in Te Anau today, aimed at addressing visitor pressures and safety. It includes proposed changes to the way we access the UNESCO World Heritage site, including a plan for carbon neutral buses, charging international visitors, a ban on cruise ships in the inner sound and the removal of the airstrip.Tourism Industry Aotearoa says the plan could radically change the way we look after the jewel in New Zealand's tourism crown.However the Queenstown Milford Users Group (QMUG) is describing the plan to close the Milford Sound Airport a 'kick in the guts' and is strongly opposing the recommendation.Glenorchy Air owners James Stokes and Kirstin Stokes. (Photo / Supplied)QMUG represents the commercial GA operators flying to Milford.Chair James Stokes, who is also the owner and Managing Director of Glenorchy Air, says flying into Milford Sound i

New Zealand will get the clearest look at the inner workings of the supermarket giants on Thursday when the Commerce Commission releases its draft report into the level of competition across a $22 billion sector.Shortly after the election, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark announced the competition watchdog would undertake a market study into supermarkets to determine "whether the sector is as competitive as it could be".The market study is the second of its type under new powers to compel companies to provide detailed financial information, following an examination into petrol companies ordered by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018.For months, the Wellington-based competition watchdog has been receiving evidence and interviewing witnesses, sometimes under oath.The study will be released at 8:30am, followed by a press conference. You can watch it live here.Like many industries in New Zealand, it is a sector dominated by two companies. Foodstuffs, which counts New World, Pak n Save and Four

Fiji 27New Zealand 12Five years after sevens made its Olympics debut, the world was treated to a dream final in the event.But unfortunately for New Zealand, it wasn't quite a dream result.The All Blacks Sevens had to content themselves with the silver medal after being overpowered by great rivals Fiji 27-12 at Tokyo Stadium tonight.It was New Zealand's second sevens silver after the women's side were runners-up in Rio five years ago, a medal collection that could increase with the Black Ferns Sevens kicking off their campaign tomorrow.But despite that silver hue now complementing the black jersey, the men's side were unable to attain the redemption they sought after the horror show of Rio 2016.They Kiwi men nervous debutants at those Games, losing to Japan and Great Britain in pool play before being dumped out of the quarter-finals by Fiji.New Zealand's woes denied the sport what would have been a fitting finale to its first inclusion at the Olympics. But the wait for a showpiece between the traditional rival

My kids and my husband think I’ve gone mad; it wouldn’t be the first time.But I can't help this sense of foreboding at the moment, that we just won't and can't escape Delta coming here.I’m not scaremongering; I’m not saying this to cause alarm. I’m just incredulous as to how we’ve escaped it thus far.Because we are virtually the only country to do so.Yes our geography and isolation helps, yes sheer good luck helps, we avoided potential catastrophe with the Wellington traveller didn’t we? That could’ve been a lot worse. But I can't help thinking logic would dictate that’s it’s only a matter of time.I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m way off beam. (However I have been ramping up my health and wellbeing lectures to my kids.)I'm also mentally preparing myself for what will be our only possible response given our slow vaccination rollout; a lockdown.We would have to respond just like Australia is now.I’m just looking at the odds and going 'hmmmm.'How long until it accidentally trips its way in here?  How much luck do pe

The Olympics are now in full swing, with wall to wall coverage, yet it seems not as many people are watching them overseas.Over in the all-important US market, ratings for the opening ceremony dropped by 36 percent compared to Rio 2016.There are several factors thought to be behind this, but should Olympic officials be concerned?Senior TV editor at Variety Brian Steinberg joined Kate Hawkesby from New York and said the multitude of viewing options available these days makes it hard for broadcasters to pin consumers to one medium.“People are watching TV as they see fit, there are dozens and dozens of Olympics streams.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A suggestion more should be done to remove barriers for people wanting to get the Covid jab.It comes as the Group 4 rollout begins today, with people aged 60 plus, now able to book an appointment.That's despite many in Group 3 who say they still haven't received their jabs.Auckland University vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris says Kate Hawkesby vaccination centres need to be more approachable and accessible.“These clinics aren’t generally places that people find themselves comfortable in; I do think you have to find other ways to reach people.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists say they care about animals and there are strict rules about how they experiment on them.Twenty-one science organisations have signed an agreement to be more open about their use of animals in testing, teaching and research.Auckland University education lecturer Sally Birdsall was involved in developing it.She told Kate Hawkesby scientists are keen for more people to understand how the process of using animals happens.“And how the regulations actually mean that they can’t just do what they want, they’re heavily regulated.”More than 315-thousand animals were experimented on in New Zealand in 2019.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.