Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

People have had a lot of time on their hands during lockdown and many people have dusted off their Elna's and Berina's to make masks. Lockdown has also given people time to once again make their own clothes. Well-known fashion clothing business Ruby is believed to be the first established fashion brand to sell its intellectual property, its patterns, to the public. It is part of a reshaping of its business to become more sustainable and circular, and has secured the business a finalist’s place in the 2021 Sustainable Business Awards. Ruby's patterns can be found here.Emily Miller-Sharma, Ruby's general manager and designer of its Liam brand joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite most of the country moving into Level 3 tomorrow, there is a worry that many businesses will be disrupted by the supply chain in Auckland and globally not being able to get supplies. Julien Leys is the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Building Industry Federation and he joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business is doing it tough; and they’re telling Government loud and clear there is a need for employers to receive a weekly support package to cover recurring costs to get through another two weeks of lockdown. The Auckland Business Chamber has an online petition calling on Government to provide an employer subsidy, rather than a one off resurgence payment which did not go anywhere near far enough. There's been a great response with over 15,000 signing the petition so far.  Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Captain’s Log Day 13: I finally broke over the weekend.It took me four lockdowns but I finally did some baking.  The bananas were getting overripe and I have an absolute horror of wasting food especially when so many people are doing it tough - so onto the Chelsea Sugar recipe page and one hour later, a perfectly cooked banana cake.  Just as well we had all the ingredients because the baking shelves were pretty bare at the supermarket and so many new faces at my local supermarket.  You can really see the effect of the isolation strategy with this outbreak.  We're expecting an announcement today from the PM as to whether the country south of the Bombays can move down a level and you would think, given that the rest of the country has dodged yet another bullet, there is no reason at all why they shouldn't and indeed shouldn't slide straight down to Level 2.  In Auckland it's a different story.  Hopefully, thanks to the lockdown, the number of new cases will start to come down - but you can see just what a different virus the Delta variant.  So much more transmissible and attacking the young.  People have been asking whether those in hospital have been vaccinated - There are 34 people in hospital, including two in ICU.   Of the 34 people in hospital at the moment, 30 are Samoan and two are Māori.None of those hospitalised are fully vaccinated and just eight of the 34 have had one dose.A higher number of women are in hospital - 21 women compared to 13 men.And Delta is affecting younger people too. Seven of those in hospital are in their 30s, four in their 20s, and one is under the age of 20.People are getting the message that vaccination is your best protection against this variant - the numbers of people who have had the jab has risen exponentially.  On the 3rd of June, 9.1% of the population has one dose, 5% fully vaccinated.  On the 23rd of August, 37% had one jab, 20.9% fully vaccinated.  So we're getting there - but now the problem is demand is exceeding supply.  We're due a shipment from Pfizer in October, but just when there's real impetus in the vaccination rollout, we're going to have to go on a go-slow.  Ayesha Verral the Associate Minister of Health defended that when she was on the MHB this morning - saying all the government is doing is reverting to the plan.So vaccinations.  Had yours?  Decided to have yours after some hesitation? Should we go on a go-slow or do a swapsies with Poland?  And Level 2 for the South Island?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government’s Covid-19 fast track consenting process has seen the Sleepyhead Estate in north Waikato granted resource consent for its foam factory, which is expected to be operational in 2023.The foam factory is the first stage of The Sleepyhead Estate – a $1.2 billion, 178-hectare manufacturing hub and residential community.It's estimated that the estate will generate more than 1500 new jobs in the region and the company is building 1100 new homes for the workers.Comfort Group director and developer Craig Turner joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Helen Clark is pushing back at any suggestion that the New Zealand Government is providing financial aid to Afghanistan.Taliban officials have spoken exclusively to New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis following the takeover, thanking our Government for the aid its providing to the country.Clark says New Zealand provides aid to the Red Cross, the High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme.The former Head of the UN Development Programme says it's utterly ridiculous for the Taliban to suggest the aid is going to them.She says it's ridiculous spin, to make the Taliban look good, when they're anything but.Clark told Kerre McIvor that the Taliban are conducting a sophisticated media strategy, to cover up a horrible reality she's seen with her own eyes.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no sign of community spread on the Coromandel Peninsula, so far, nor has there been any trace of Covid-19 in the wastewater. Yet again, people are scratching their heads as to why, if this virus is so incredibly transmissible, someone with the Delta variant can drink at the local pub which was absolutely packed, go into cafes, spend time with other people - and people don't catch it. Otago University Epidemiologist, Professor Michael Baker joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been some strong opposition in response to Parliament being suspended for a week due to Covid-19 restrictions. Select committees will still go ahead online, but that’s drawing criticism from the opposite side the House, as most committees are led by Labour MPs. There have also been calls for the Epidemic Response Committee to be reinstated in order to ensure the Government is being held to account. National Party Leader Judith Collins joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, as expected, we're all going to be doing this for a wee bit longer, and Auckland probably longer than others. I think knowing it was inevitable has made it easier to accept. There's some good news - the town of Coromandel appears to have dodged a bullet and yet again, people are scratching their heads as to why, if this virus is so incredibly transmissible, someone with the Delta variant can rock on at the local pub which was absolutely packed, go into cafes, spend time with other people - and people don't catch it. We saw that too with the Australian tourist in Wellington and the AUT student and gym go-er back last year.But how are you doing? How are the business people, the parents with kids at home, the older people living on their own, are you coping?  Is this lockdown better than the last one? It certainly is for me. I'd just sold the house, three days before our first big lockdown, and had yet to find another one.  A relationship of 22 years had ended. I didn't know when or if I'd see my London based family again.  I had jobs vanishing - the Woman's Weekly was part of the Bauer stable and they shut up shop.  All my speaking gigs were postponed then cancelled.  Here at NZME we lost Radio Sport. At work, it was almost impossible to get any information out of either the PM's Office or the Commissioner of Police, and what information you could find was often contradictory. That made me anxious because I had anxious people ringing me looking for answers and I simply couldn't give them the information they needed. It was a horrible, horrible time.  This time, not so much. We know what a level 4 lockdown looks like.  My family is safe.  I have a home I'm living in and one to move into.  I have a job.  All the hashtags. But how are you coping?  Applications opened for the Resurgence Support Payment - that's designed to help business who have experienced at a least a 30 percent decline in revenue over the past seven days as a result of the increase in alert levels. Is paying the bills your main concern?  Is worry about your living arrangements your main concern?  Your family?  Or are you like those splendid unicorns who are absolutely making the most of this pause on everyday life?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's adoption of saliva testing is 'frustratingly slow' according to Dr Anne Wyllie, a New Zealander working on leading-edge saliva test science at the Yale School of Public Health.However, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall told the MHB this morning we don't have a need for more saliva testing.“Saliva testing - it depends where you put it in our system. I don’t think it’ll add much to dealing with the community outbreak when we have the wastewater testing and the nasopharyngeal PCR. But we’ve been increasingly using it for people getting repeat testing and those are our people in MIQ, and that’s probably a good place for it.”Dr Wyllie said that she expected more progress onto using saliva testing over nasal swabs."They really want to look into it, really wanted to be sure, but I would've expected a lot more progress during this time."Dr Wylie suggests that the Ministry of Health may be getting the wrong advice about saliva testing.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.