Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Business New Zealand says the Government has plenty of work to do, to prepare the country for gradually reopening borders.Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby at the moment, we're extremely vulnerable.“I don’t think we’d have the capacity, if an outbreak occurred, to manage it particularly quickly, particularly if it’s Delta, because we haven’t advanced contact tracing.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch city councillors are set to go head to head today, over the city's planned multi-use arena.Some councillors have called for a U-turn on the decision to proceed with a 25,000 seat stadium – a reduction from the initial concept of 30-thousand seats.Christchurch Employers' Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Leeann Watson told Kate Hawkesby 30,000 seats would benefit the city the most.“Why would we build something that’s not going to enable us as a city to compete with other main centres around the country, when we’ve got the opportunity to build a first-class, purpose-built facility?”Adding five thousand seats would cost an additional $50 million to the present budget of $473 million.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Immunologist is warning Australians to take lockdown more seriously.I’m watching Australia closely at the moment with this Delta outbreak, because I can’t help thinking we are just one border mishap away from Delta being our problem here too.And like Australia, we’ll have no choice but to lock down immediately.Thankfully, we have form here on taking lockdowns seriously, we seemed to oblige willingly the last few times we’ve had them, most Kiwis seemed to get it. But I wonder with the onset of time, whether we’ll get less compliant with lockdowns.Towards the end of the last Auckland lockdown, people were over it, flouting a few more rules, and it didn’t take us all long to ditch the contact tracing and mask wearing.So we’ve become complacent.In Australia, they’re watching what’s happening in America, where fully vaccinated people are still getting infected with Covid. So the message appears to be that while vaccination rates are crucial, so is keeping up certain restrictio

Some very exciting fashion news for those interested in the rise in athleisure clothing.It's when people wear activewear in casual settings, at home, supermarket, even work.Well it's a booming industry, and JD Sports has been a market leader overseas.This month they're opening their first store in New Zealand at Sylvia Park.JD Sports ANZ CEO Hilton Seskin told Kate Hawkesby they are attempting to carve out a new market here.“We create new demand for product that’s never really been readily available in the market.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It has been suggested that labour shortages aren't as easy of a fix as the Government would like.It seems bringing in more automation is the Government's plan to resolve current labour shortages in the meat industry.But those in the industry say it's not that simple.Meat Industry Association CEO, Sirma Karapeeva told Kate Hawkesby a robot or computer can’t fill every role that a human can do.“We have many, many roles within the industry for which there simply isn’t any automation or technical solutions available.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's been told any travel bubble the Government chooses to open, should only be for the fully vaccinated.An independent panel of experts, led by Sir David Skegg, has released advice about reconnecting New Zealand.It says border restrictions must remain in place until the majority of us are vaccinated, but doesn't give a target.Bubble travel should be restricted to the fully immunised, as more people get jabbed. Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby it's highly likely the Government will agree to that.“It kind of makes sense doesn’t it, you see how devastating the Delta variant has been in places like Australia and Fiji.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New figures show we might be plugging the brain drain.A report from the Helen Clark Foundation revealed the first net gain of New Zealanders in 20 years.The pandemic saw fewer Kiwis leaving the country and more returning home.Economic consultancy group Infometrics says the reversal is mostly based on people not wanting to leave.Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby it may not last long.“24 percent of people through MIQ who were surveyed said ‘look if Covid conditions get better across the world, I’m outta here again.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party's idea to keep Marsden Point oil refinery in an operational state in case we need it in the future, is being seen as a little too late.Shareholders have voted to drastically scale back operations at the Whangarei refinery - and switch to distributing pre-refined fuels.Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai says the deal's already been done.She told Kate Hawkesby shareholders are the fuel companies that would buy the fuel from the refinery, and they're the ones who voted for the change.“They’ve got a tremendous amount of power, so I think the discussions for that should have happened some time ago.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So there's been a link between a spike in dairy robberies and our tobacco tax hikes.The tobacco tax came into place in 2016.At the same time, reported store robberies went from 41 to 136 in 2016, and to 200 the year after.This is leaving more dairy owners traumatised and injured, as they seem to be taking the hit from the extremes some are going to get tobacco.Sunny Kaushal, from the Crime Prevention Group, which was set up to advocate for dairies after robberies increased, told Kate Hawkesby the price increases have forced people to source their cigarettes by alternative means.“That has been putting a lot of hard working people into dangerous situations because the smokers who are not able to buy smokes, they are either going to the black market, or they’re going to the crime side.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was an easy hit for the Nats to slam the government’s lack of delivery, at the Party conference this weekend.But it was also very necessary. Hitting the government on its record is about the best thing the opposition can do.The slow vaccine rollout, the MIQ shambles, the Infrastructure projects that have gone belly up, the money for the mob, the fanciful cycle bridge, the Ute tax – this is absolutely where National needs to be finger pointing.But on top of that, they also need new ideas.New policies, new directions, new approaches.This is where David Seymour has the jump on them.He manages to zero in on policy and promote alternatives to the government.And at the end of the day, voters want to know they have real choices, options and alternatives. Otherwise what is it they’re voting for?There was speculation going into this weekend’s conference that there might be new leadership at the top, the very top – as in Party president.But Peter Goodfellow managed to retain his role.I don’t understand that, given h

Pillars of billowing smoke and ash turned the sky orange and blocked out the sun above Greece's second-largest island Sunday as a days-old wildfire devoured pristine forests and encroached on villages, triggering more evacuation alerts.The fire on Evia, an island of forested mountains and canyons laced with small coves of crystalline water, began Aug. 3 and cut across the popular summer destination from coast to coast as it burned out of control. Scores of homes and businesses have been destroyed and thousands of residents and tourists have fled, many escaping the flames via flotillas that even operated in the dark of night.The blaze is the most severe of dozens that broke out in the wake of Greece's most protracted heat wave in three decades, which sent temperatures soaring to 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) for days, creating bone-dry conditions.“It’s already too late, the area has been destroyed,” Giannis Kontzias, mayor of the northern Evia municipality of Istiaia, lamented on Greece’s Open TV. He was one of s

It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything.The Tokyo Olympics, christened with "2020" but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world.A rollicking closing ceremony with the theme "Worlds We Share" — an optimistic but ironic notion at this human moment — featured everything from stunt bikes to intricate light shows as it tried to convey a "celebratory and liberating atmosphere" for athletes after a tense two weeks. It pivoted to a live feed from Paris, host of the 2024 Olympics. And with that, the strangest Olympic Games on record closed their books for good.Held in the middle of a resurging pandemic, rejected by many Japanese and plagued by months of administrative problems, these Games presented logistical and medical obstacles like no other, offered up serious co

Alcohol. Speed. An overloaded car. Unrestrained passengers.It was a recipe for disaster - and now five Timaru teenagers are dead, their families and community reeling.The five boys died at the scene after the car they were in crashed about 7.30pm on Saturday.Last night two of the boys were named by family - Niko Hill and Javarney Drummond.At least one call had been made to police about boy racing in the area shortly before the fatal carnage.The group - five in the car and one in the boot - were travelling in a Nissan Bluebird sedan which struck a power pole and tore in two.All five passengers - aged 15 and 16 - died at the scene.The 19-year-old driver survived and was taken to Timaru Hospital with serious injuries.He was well enough to post a message on social media yesterday afternoon, including a photograph of himself in his hospital bed, apologising for the crash."Hello everyone just wanted to say I'm not dead I am very very lucky to still be alive and I can't believe what has happened," he wrote, in a pos

As the Olympics wrap up this weekend, I think we can all agree it has been a huge success, and unexpectedly so.I mean, to be honest, I didn’t even think they’d go ahead, but in this case, the IOC’s determination paid off.Despite Japan being a mess with Covid, the Olympics were not.Slick organisation helps, military precision helps, being vigilant helps.Japan seemed to manage all of these athletes in a way that kept things under control; it did not become the super spreader event some might feared it would be.It seemed organised, controlled, calm and efficient. Athletes spoke highly of it, possibly also very grateful they were able to perform at all.Unusual not to have crowds yes, but I think it’s always been more of a TV event anyway hasn’t it?Most of us are watching from the sofa. I feel bad for the families and close friends of the athletes who would dearly love to have been there to support and watch in person, obviously.But generally speaking, for a large scale event held during a global pandemic; amazing

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup has been postponed a year following the withdrawal of Australia and New Zealand a fortnight ago.The tournament was due to kick off on October 23 but has been moved back a year.The New Zealand Rugby League informed tournament organisers two weeks ago that the Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns would not be attending the event in England, due to Covid related player welfare and safety concerns.New Zealand has participated in every World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1954.The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) also confirmed that they would not be sending teams to the tournament."Today is a challenging moment for everyone involved in Rugby League, but most importantly the players and fans of the competing nations," said Jon Dutton, RLWC2021 Chief Executive Officer."Ultimately, time and competing priorities from others forced us to make the most difficult decision in our six-year history. However, we and the sport of Rugby League are resilient, and next year we will deliver our vi

An opportunity has arisen to right a so called unfairness for people in our middle income tax brackets.The ability for property investors to claim loan interest costs as an expense against rental income is being phased out.Budget documents show the full removal of that would have given the government another $800 million or more in tax.Deloitte tax partner, Robyn Walker, told Kate Hawkesby this could be the beginning of a tax system rejig.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judith Collins says she'll agree to disagree with her party's youth wing on almost everything, including the ban on conversion therapy.A bill that would outlaw the practice has passed its first reading in Parliament.National voted against the bill, despite pleas from the Young Nats for the party to support it at first reading and seek changes at select committee.Collins told Kate Hawkesby  the party won't be dictated by its youth wing.“The National Party caucus if often offside with our youth wing on various issues. They’re are far more progressive culturally and socially, than the majority of MPs.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Carrington is a key cog in the machine that's driving New Zealand to its most successful Olympics yet.This country now has 19 medals, seven of them gold, pushing our tally ahead of the previous best ever five years ago at Rio.The champion kayaker has six medals all up, three of them in Tokyo, all gold.Carrington's strength and conditioning coach, Adam Storey told Kate Hawkesby her training has been through the roof.“People do see Lisa winning in such a dominant fashion and say ‘gee she makes it look so easy,’ but I tell you what it isn’t easy in any way, shape or form.”And there's a prospect of more medals to come.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the UK asks people working from home to get back to the office, a new survey out here shows that office workers are actually “more satisfied in their jobs than non-office workers”.'Skills Consulting Group's Work Wellbeing survey', it's been reported, looked at '1600 staff and human resources managers' and in terms of dissatisfaction in the workplace it had 'health workers, teachers and tradies at the top of the list'.It’s the office workers who have a higher wellbeing score. It’s assumed this is because they feel a stronger connection directly to their workplace, they have regular supports in place, they’re anchored somewhere. So that chit chat round the coffee machine and regular touching base with colleagues in meetings, is actually good for you apparently. It’s connection.It’s also one of the main reasons the UK is encouraging people back to the office. A lot of the connectivity in workplaces has been lost during Covid. Zoom just doesn’t cut it. The British Finance Minister says strong relationships are

ANZ is predicting 3 OCR hikes by the end of the year, and 5 by this time next year.This is off the back of our unemployment rate dropping from 4.7 per cent to 4 per cent yesterday.Kate Hawkesby asked Rival Wealth financial advisor, Tim Fairbrother if the Reserve Bank has messed this up?LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.