Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

New research suggests three quarters of Kiwis have used video games to connect with their children during the pandemic. That's according to a new report by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association and Bond University in Australia. Nearly 60 percent of parents say their children’s schools are using video games as another way to teach. Let's Play Live director Duane Mutu told Kate Hawkesby parents should jump in and have a turn with their kids on games- like Fortnite, for example. “Understand what they’re doing. Being able to jump in and understand that language, being able to talk to them is very very good.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is keeping a close eye on vaccination rates in every DHB, as it prepares to transition the country to a new "traffic light" system of covid restrictions. Auckland will move to the new system once all three of its DHBs have hit the 90-percent vaccination target. The rest of the country is also set to move to the system, once 90-percent of the eligible population in each DHB area has received both of their Covid jabs. But Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare told Kate Hawkesby everything will be up for review at Cabinet every week leading up to a major review in late November. “We’re pushing our hardest for getting the highest vaccination rate.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got a strong sense yesterday of the reaction to school going back for seniors currently languishing in Level 3, and how it’s gone down with teachers.  The PPTA, as we know, was furious - they didn’t mince their words. They said the government had abandoned it’s ‘abundance of caution’ approach and moved to a “reckless disregard for consequences in the blink of an eyelid.” Teachers themselves had mixed reactions – some worried about having to teach students both online and in person – the increased workload associated with that, increased risk of exposure to Covid from any unvaccinated students. Could it be some kind of super spreader event, some wondered.  Parents were in the same camp. Some relieved, some anxious. Students, likewise, were split – some thrilled to go back, others saying it’s too soon. And sure enough, yesterday we learn not all schools are going to follow the Ministry's instructions and open back up. Some are opting to just keep exams online for seniors, as was already in train. I can't wor

Human rights activists have disrupted the flame lighting ceremony for the Winter Olympics. This was in protest to China hosting the games.  The activists are calling for countries and athletes to boycott the games due to human rights abuses in China. At the same time, British diver Tom Daly is asking IOC to ban countries from competing where being gay is punishable by death. Deputy Head of Sport and Events Management at Bournemouth University Dr Keith Parry told Kate Hawkesby so long as the IOC are not being punished in a financial sense, we can expect to see them continue to claim political neutrality. “It’s always going to be political.” He says “We have seen the greater presence of activism from athletes because they have got more power these days.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hopes today's announcement on the Covid protection framework will signal when the South Island can move out of Level Two. Canterbury Chamber of Commerce CEO Leanne Watson told Kate Hawkesby the south may have no cases of Covid - but that doesn't mean it's not struggling. She says businesses and people in general are frustrated that there’s just no recognition. “Businesses just want clarity. It will provide that sense of hope and will be a real incentive to people, particularly those who are not vaccinated yet.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tamaki’s are once again defending their right to protest. Bishop Brian Tamaki appeared in court this week for failing to comply with a Level Three order and breaching his bail conditions. He has attended and helped organise two lockdown protests and violated his bail conditions by attending another protest on October 16. Wife Hannah Tamaki told Kate Hawkesby he fully understands he could go to jail. “I don’t think he deliberately wants to break the law but, he’s gonna tip-toe up to the line and shout over to the other side: People, make the choices that are right for you.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you finding these days that your patience is wearing thin?  When it comes to morons, mine is. When I read yesterday that people were gathering and chanting outside the Henderson Police Station wearing "Freedom NZ" masks, and revving their motorbikes after Brian Tamaki’s arrest, it felt like the world had officially gone mad. Worse yet, Tamaki’s wife Hannah was live streaming the whole thing to Facebook. And as the crowd chants - God only knows what they were chanting - she allegedly says, “I hope my hunny comes home tonight".  Give me strength. How have I not taken alcohol back up? Are you serious? “Hunny” unfortunately broke his bail conditions by attending a second Freedom Rally protest. Hunny also claimed he’d gotten off his first arrest and avoided charges. Hunny appears to think he’s above the law, certainly above the Public Health Act Order. Hunny seems to generate a crowd. Not to sound too alarmist Hannah, but Delta’s on babes. This is Level 3, and these are blatant breaches of the rules. And are w

The future of business travel, and what it will look like post-pandemic will be discussed today. Flight Centre are holding their corporate travel event Illuminate. It coincides with the launch of the government's self-isolation pilot for business travellers, with 150 people confirmed for the trial. Flight Centre Travel Group's Head of Customer Engagement Andy Jack told Kate Hawkesby the pilot is a welcome first step in right direction. “We’re no stranger now to isolating. It’s probably the longer-term solution but it isn’t the absolute solution for regular overseas travellers who travel more for days rather than weeks.”  Jack says they saw travel bounce back ahead of this lockdown and domestic travel levels overtake pre-Covid levels. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks have a supporter in the US House of Representatives with a congressman welcoming the "legendary" team to America ahead of their clash against the USA Eagles this weekend. Speaking next to a picture of the All Blacks haka, Republican congressman Alex Mooney, who is co-chair of the congressional rugby caucus, said the All Blacks are "the world's most famous rugby club" and their visit to Washington DC could be an "important barometer" for America to host the Rugby World Cup in the future. "I'm excited to see the legendary New Zealand All Blacks take the pitch against the USA national men's rugby team when they face off this Saturday October 23rd (Sunday NZT)," Mooney said in an address to the House of Representatives. "We hope to pack FedEx Field here in DC. The All Blacks of New Zealand are the world's most famous rugby club. They strike fear in their opponents with their world-famous traditional pre-game war dance called the haka."  I am proud to join with my Congressional Rugby Caucus Co-Ch

Some changes could be on the way for the Catholic Church. Pope Francis has announced a two-year consultation process that aims to reform the Church. Called "Synod" the aim is to consult every Catholic parish and bishop around the world on the future direction of the Church. Assistant Catholic Bishop of Auckland Bishop Michael Gielen told Kate Hawkesby the Pope wants everyone to have their voices heard.  “We're going to approach this in complete openness. We’re called to listen.” Bishop Gielen says change is always hard for an ancient historical community but the Church is up for it.  “We haven’t always got everything right in the past and we have to listen.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior students in level three regions get to go back to school from Tuesday, but for years one to 10, no such luck.  Education Minister Chris Hipkins says those students might not return to school until 2022. And if they do, Hipkins says some options being considered to make it work are rostered attendance, and learning outdoors in the warmer months.  Principal of Rowandale Primary School in Manurewa, Karl Vasau said it’s not as simple as just getting kids back in the classroom. “Sometimes we think, goodness me, let’s get them back to school, let’s make it safe, but sometimes Kate, getting them back to school just won’t work.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if this week’s not tough enough and we’re not rarked up enough already, now they want to carve up heritage houses for more development. A new bill aims to force councils to allow more dense housing. The "new intensification rules will allow buildings of up to three storeys on most sites in cities without any need for resource consent from August 2022,” we read yesterday. This is basically a green light to development and a way of addressing housing supply. Councils have previously made access to land difficult; this turns the tables. It takes more power off Councils and reduces impediments to progress, and that’s no bad thing. What might be ruffling the feathers of the latte set however, is whether this snazzy new drive for development winds up on their front door step. A South Auckland Councillor has said that it needs to include wealthier suburbs too. So those sitting pretty in a 200-year-old villa in Remuera, or Kelburn or Fendalton may well be looking down the barrel of a 3-storey development going up

A new bill designed to cut red tape and allow more intensification in housing construction could be pointless if practical aspects aren’t taken into account.  Labour and National have joined forces on the rules, which will allow up to three homes of up to three storeys built on most sites, without resource consent.   AUT construction expert John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby it could help those wanting to get on the property ladder. But he’s raised questions over whether there are enough builders or materials to construct all the houses being promised. About 105-thousand extra homes are expected to be built in the next five to eight years.  Tookey says it has to be twinned up with capacity growth initiatives, such as skills training or a revised Ministry of Works. “Somebody somewhere needs to start thinking more collectively about capacity because opportunity without capacity is meaningless.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prison staff have been taken by surprise by the Government’s move to include them in mandatory vaccination.  All staff working in New Zealand prisons now need to get their first dose by October 30 and both doses by December 1. Corrections Association Acting President Floyd du Plessis told Kate Hawkesby the news has come as a shock to members. He says they understand it was decided by Cabinet on Monday, but they're disappointed it wasn't announced sooner to help get things rolling. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life has returned to normal for millions in Britain since coronavirus restrictions were lifted over the summer. But while the rules have vanished, the virus hasn't. Many scientists are now calling on the government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe's highest, rise still further. The UK recorded 43,738 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, slightly down from the 49,156 reported Monday, which was the largest number since mid-July. New infections have averaged more than 44,000 a day over the past week, a 16 per cent increase on the week before. Last week, the Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 people in England had the virus, one of the highest levels seen in Britain during the pandemic. A man wears a face mask as he walks in Piccadilly Circus, in London. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government lifted all the legal restrictions that had been imposed more than a year earlier to slow

Financial hardship thanks to lockdown means more people are trying to get their Kiwisaver funds out earlier.  Budgeting advisers say there's been a 25 to 40 per cent increase in the number of payouts being approved.  That means an increase in rejected applications that they don't quite meet the hardship standard -  and this is proving tough for some to hear.  Financial Services Complaints CEO, Susan Taylor told Kate Hawkesby they have noticed increased demand for their services."We’ve had about a five to ten percent increase, just in the last few months, which we see as a bit of a trend happening.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You knew when the PM started selling the idea that we should be so grateful not to be going into level 4, that the mind games were on, and she was going to make Level 3 sound like a picnic. And picnics as it turns out, is all we got. Two more weeks of them. I could not have called this more wrong. Yesterday, I optimistically said they’d definitely free up some restrictions. I thought a zoo or a museum or the odd library may get thrown a bone. How wrong I was. Two more weeks at Level 3 for Auckland, and the announcement that a slew of announcements will be dripfed over the coming week. If we thought we were living week by week on dripfed news by the Government, it just got worse. It’s now day by day. We are being dictated our terms, and our lives, in 24-hour cycles. Here in Auckland, we’ve been locked down for 63 days now. Ten weeks. We are 89 percent vaccinated single dose, 71 percent double dose. The bulk of us, bar Destiny Church and the odd North Shore party goer, are abiding the rules. This is infuriating

Despite the optimism of many yesterday, Auckland is facing another two weeks of lockdown while the rest of the country remains in level two. The Government did make some announcements of announcements It will finally reveal a vaccination target on Friday, as well as a new traffic light system. But this has some saying the chop and change of decisions shows the Government is flailing about Political commentator Bryce Edwards told Kate Hawkesby the Government are in a tough position."They've got people that want relaxation of the rules and others that want a circuit breaker going back up to Level 4, Ardern did her typical thing of going somewhere in the middle, which means the status quo is staying where we're at."LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The film industry has traditionally been dominated by studios in Hollywood, but there seems to have been a shift in the tide. The biggest movie in the world right now is a Chinese propaganda movie. The Battle at Lake Changjin is on track to become the biggest movie of the year, and the highest grossing Chinese film of all time. That alongside South Korea's Squid Game, has some in Hollywood nervous, and realising they may face more competition from Asian productions Media studies professor at University of Virgina and author of "Hollywood made in China" Dr Aynne Kokas joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hairdressers are frustrated there's no roadmap for them. They're among those bearing the brunt of Auckland's lengthy lockdown; it's 10 weeks since they've had to shut up shop. Ashley Green owns Society, a salon in Grey Lynn, and told Kate Hawkesby they have the ability to operate one client to one staff member, who's in full PPE. She says they can open safely. “If we are waiting for vaccinations to go up, why not let us look after clients who are already vaccinated? My team are fully vaccinated, we’re ready to go.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.