Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

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.

Good morning - and welcome to the working week - for those of you working from home, with little ones, good luck.  Be patient with yourselves - we'll find out today at 4pm from the PM what the plan is going forward, but all the reckons are pointing to a longer lockdown for Auckland and Wellington at least.  What happens with the South Island is anybody's guess - we'll of course be carrying that press conference live on ZB but I think we're all prepared for a longer stay at Level 4 with more than 290 places of interest in Auckland alone and numerous schools.  The Delta variant was always going to be a game changer and thus it has proven.  We're in a hard lockdown and likely to be for sometime.  On Saturday there were 52,206 doses of the Pfizer vaccine administered nationally. And the government has introduced mandatory sign ins for busy places and large gatherings to ensure contact tracers can get the jump on the virus.  Why they didn't make it mandatory full stop is beyond me but there we go - people have been complacent when it comes to signing in and that has made it tough for the contact tracers.  The obligation will now be on the person responsible for the venue or the gathering to ensure that people sign in - what about personal responsibility?  Surely the onus should be on the individual.ACT Party leader David Seymour says rather than using the stick, the government should be offering a carrot.  He has proposed a $5.2 million fund.  Each time a person scans, they go in the draw to win $1000 dollars.  There would be 100 prizes of a $1000 a week.  He told Mike Hosking that he had high hopes the government would see the sense in the lottery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The decision not to vaccinate all police staff before the public roll-out has left some officers baffled. There are estimated to be about 10,500 sworn police and about 3,000 non-sworn officers.  2523 frontline officers have received two doses. 2849 have received first dose. Given they are now on the frontline, enforcing a Level four lockdown, questions are being raised as to whether this is acceptable.Police Association President Chris Cahill joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a mess. The images of Afghan nationals desperately trying to leave for somewhere, anywhere, as the Taliban approached Kabul was reminiscent of the US leaving Vietnam. What a shambles - at a press conference yesterday, the PM said she and key colleagues had been keeping an eye on the situation in Afghanistan as it deteriorated.And on Sunday, together with the Chief of Defence, they began to put procedures in place to see how they might evacuate both New Zealand citizens and Afghan nationals with Kiwi connections. It's those nationals who worked with allied troops and NGOs that are in real schtuck - they are legitimately fearful for their lives. There are 53 New Zealanders currently in Afghanistan and around 37 personnel who worked with the NZDF and an in principle; a decision has been made to get them out. Great idea, but how on earth are they going to do that? You've seen the scenes at the airport, other countries are desperately trying to get their own people out of the place and helping out New Zealand will be far down the list. Cabinet has also approved an NZDF Hercules being deployed to Afghanistan along with 40 personnel, although whether they'll get there, what they'll do and how long they'll stay is anybody's guess.I know the UN peacekeepers don't have a great track record in recent times, but you'd have to wonder whether an international transition force might provide reassurance for the ordinary people of Afghanistan, or whether the Taliban would see it as still more international meddling. Nobody who has had anything to do with the country sees it as having a long term peaceful future without the support of external factors, including former PM and UN administrator Helen Clark.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A unique school in Christchurch's central city has parents lining up to get their children into it.Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discover is a state-funded special character school that currently has 193 on its wait list.Students work on a 'high-trust model', directing their own learning and can learn anytime anywhere, including off-site if it's agreed.There is also a cohort of students who are not able to attend full-time education.Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery principal Anita Yarwood joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks' 57-22 Rugby Championship victory over Australia for the weekend was marred by a half-empty Eden Park.Ticket prices were roughly the same as last week, with Sky subscribers getting a last minute two for one deal when it was realised ticket sales were poor.Newstalk ZB Sports editor Matt Brown says the lure of the All Blacks is not quite what it was, especially with this seemingly being the last home test for the year."The reality is, it hasn't been cancelled yet, but the South African test will move to Australia because of the border situation."Brown says there's been so much feedback around the world on the crowd, which has had a negative impact.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another weekend, another senseless loss of a young life.Zion Purukamu, 16, died at Christchurch Hospital after being stabbed at a 17th birthday party. Two teenagers aged 14 and 17 were also stabbed at the Fendalton property remain in a serious but stable condition in hospital.It's understood that an Airbnb had been rented for the party, and trouble started when gate crashers turned up and were turned away.  The property had been rented through Airbnb, listed by Christchurch Holiday Homes, which makes you wonder if enough checks and balances are done on who's renting properties on the books.  One of the company’s directors, Susan Harrison, believed the guest who booked it had a legitimate account, which meant they were over 18.Police have spoken to the Airbnb renter.   The property’s rules include not having guests after 10pm.Harrison yesterday said they thought it was strange the booking was for two people in a large house, but a staffer had passed the property earlier in the evening and not noticed anything untoward.  The mother of a girl who attended the party said it was a girl's birthday party and the house had been rented for that purpose when uninvited guests showed up, some of whom were kicked out. It brings back very raw memories of when a couple of young teenagers were stabbed in our neighbourhood when my daughter was a teenager. She was desperate to host a party for her best friend when my then husband and I were going away for the weekend, and we were adamant it wouldn't happen. Not because we didn't trust her - it was just there had been ample tragic evidence that things could get out of hand through no fault of their own. There was much flouncing and huffing on both sides and in the end we compromised on hiring an apartment that was part of a hotel complex that could host six young people and that had security so nobody could just wander in to the party. It's tricky though. And a tricky age. And if people are hell bent on breaking rules, they will. But at least make it hard for them. Relying on a staffer doing a drive by to ensure all is well probably isn't gold standard security. And it does make me very nervous about renting out property to just anyone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former SAS commander says New Zealand has a moral obligation to help Afghan civilians, who supported New Zealand soldiers in the country.All commercial flights have been suspended from Kabul Airport as Taliban forces have swept in to Afghanistan's capital after taking control of other cities.Cabinet's reviewing immigration cases for about 38 interpreters and civilian workers, who could face retribution from the militant group.Chris Parsons, who served in Afghanistan, told Kerre McIvor it makes sense to help them.“I think we've already established that when we accepted interpreters coming back in 2012, and that was fantastic to see - those people and their families repatriated and brought to New Zealand.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The finger pointing continues in a bid to shift the blame over a major power cut in the North Island.About 20,000 homes were left in the dark on Monday night, after Transpower asked providers to ease network demand.Genesis Energy's Chief Executive claims the company's portfolio showed there was capacity to manage the demand.Marc England says they couldn't fire up an extra generator by the time the risk was apparent.But Transpower's Head of Grid Delivery John Clark says it issued the first notice at 6.00am.He says during the day it was escalated to a warning notice, and then finally to a grid emergency around 5.00pm.Bob Weir, former General Manager of Generation and Trading at Genesis Energy joined Kere McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.