The Prime Minister has reiterated that the protesters have had their say and it's time to go home and again stressed she would not be meeting them because she says the pandemic is still top of mind. The Council of Medical Colleges Chair John Bonning is calling for the isolation period to be reduced from the current 10 days for household contacts to just three days. He says combined with high vaccination rates, Omicron was causing much less serious illness among vaccinated people and that meant some changes could be made. He said he was very clear that many public health measures needed to stay and the changes should be step by step. But he said there was some sensible middle ground that could help to keep the country moving and prevent workplace’s having a quarter of their staff at home isolating, which is just brutal for business, is brutal for supply chains. You've got people who know what they're talking about, saying for most people, it will be a mild to moderate illness. So, time to end the mandates? Yes - put a time frame on it because we can now. Prime Minister Ardern told the Breakfast show this morning that her job is to think about the elderly, the immuno-compromised and other vulnerable Kiwis who will be hugely affected by an ongoing Omicron outbreak. That's her job, and that's her front of mind. Is that really her job now and should that be front of mind? Do we not all have the information we need to look after ourselves? Surely, with the best medical advice indicating that this variant is of the cold and flu variety and severity, can she not get on with looking at some of the many, many other issues that we have in New Zealand rather than micromanaging their health care of a small number of New Zealanders? 

Kerre McIvor Mornings Podcast

Kerre McIvor: Should the pandemic really be front of the Prime Minister's mind?

The first international tourists in two years have touched down in Sydney to be greeted by jubilant well-wishers waving Tim-Tams, jars of Vegemite and stuffed koalas.Qantas is bringing in people from eight overseas destinations including Vancouver, Singapore, London, and Delhi.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday was an important day that all Australians had looked forward to.It's a bitter pill to swallow for our own tourism industry though. Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson Ann-Marie Johnson joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVE

Ann-Marie Johnson: Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson on Australia border reopening and what it means for us

Now I know that there are a lot of people who think that this Government has done and is doing a good job - look at the polls. I would ask them to explain this to me then, how is it that this Government can say that teachers are not critical workers? Principals are astonished and furious that schools won't have access to rapid antigen tests to help protect their staff and keep classrooms open during the Omicron outbreak. They want, everybody wants, parents want and the community wants teachers to be included in an exemption scheme that lets some critical workers bypass close contact isolation requirements if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests. How was it that teachers are not included in that list? Chris Hipkins, the Covid-19 Minister and the Education Minister said at the start of the year he wanted stability and full attendance at schools to be the norm. With disruptive measures like alternating days at school, only used on a local level in case of an outbreak, Hipkins said he was hoping that getting kids back into school would help remedy issues like the digital divide, which he said had been made worse by Covid. And teachers whom he acknowledged were stressed and tired, had found hybrid learning was almost impossible. That was in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, so the Education Minister is very clear that getting children and teachers back together in classrooms is vitally important. So how the hell can the Government explain why teachers aren't considered worthy of the basic protection? Right? 

Kerre McIvor: How are teachers not considered worthy of basic protection?

Queenstown is the epicenter of Omicron in the South Island, with dozens of businesses and hospo venues having to shut their doors because of self-isolation and close contact rules.   Queenstown is a prime example of just how tough the tourism and hospitality sectors are doing, all businesses are doing it tough.  Frequently, the family home is holding up the family business, so any failure of a business has huge far-reaching ramifications that go way beyond the immediate family. Julie White, Hospitality NZ CEO says, with Omicron, the end is in sight. They just need a bit of support from the Government and the taxpayer to get them to the finish line. If you're in hospo or tourism, are you still hanging in there? Can you keep going? Do you bite the bullet now or should the support keep going? 

Kerre McIvor: Are hospo businesses hanging in there or biting the bullet?

The protest at Parliament faces a challenge today as fed-up locals, university students, retailers and parliamentary staff have demanded that their right to freedom of movement, their right to attend lectures and their right to trade. These rights actually trump that of a group of people with various grievances who've been camped outside parliament for the last week. Yes, they have a right to protest. They do not have a right to impede the rights of others.  As for the protesters demanding they will not leave until they've had contact with the Prime Minister or a member of the cabinet.  According to New Zealand Herald political reporter Thomas Coughlin, prime ministers don't usually come out to respond to protests, even when it's something they agree with.  He points out Jacinda Ardern didn't visit the climate strike protest despite climate change action being something she strongly supports. And he also points out there's the issue of the threats being made by some people, by an ugly element who do not represent all of the protesters.  But the threats to hang her from her heels, and you know the usual nonsense, gives her a very good reason for staying away.  Nobody wants to see violence and interestingly enough, it's mainly the two groups facing each other on either side of the fence that are both the groups who least want to see violence.  The protesters and the police. I think it's fair to say the protesters have made their point. That mandates are harming people that mandates must have an end point, as Omicron makes its way through the community, vaccinated and unvaccinated.  So, a week on, point made.   Isn't it time you packed up your tent and went home before everything turns nasty? 

Kerre McIvor: The protesters have made their point, now time to go home

The Salvation Army has released its annual State of the Nation report. This year’s report highlights the continued impact of Covid-19 on the most vulnerable people across Aotearoa New Zealand, with incidences of family violence, housing struggles and inequalities for Māori wellbeing on the rise. When it comes to housing, they say it is more than a housing crisis, it's a catastrophe as house prices and rents continue to soar. Senior social policy analyst Paul Barber says there are real challenges for people at the sharper end of the housing crisis with the number of people on the social housing register now more than 25,000. Senior social policy analyst Paul Barber joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE  

Paul Barber: Salvation Army Senior Social Policy Analyst on report highlighting New Zealand's housing 'catastophe'

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday the country would be moving to Phase 2 of the Omicron plan. Phase 2 reduces isolation periods for contacts from 10 days to 7 and means the focus of contact tracing will shift to high-risk exposure events and, effectively, everyone must do their own contact tracing. Phase 2 also places a greater reliance on rapid antigen tests (RATS) to reduce the burden on the health service and the economy. Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking this morning that if he was on the job RATs would be available. They're not on the shelves, so we have to rely on the Government to dole out the supplies to those they deem worthy and we just have to accept that. There is good news; that is that the isolation period is being shortened and that of the five and a half thousand people with Covid in the community and at the border, there are just 37 in hospital none are in ICU.So, can we all hold on to that fact?  Even Jacinda Ardern managed to choke out the words that you know, you can manage this yourself. So yes, you may very well catch Omicron over the next few weeks and I'm sorry if there are people who are very frightened about that. I'm sorry if you are still feeling very nervous after the constant bombardment of messages you've received over the past two years, but you are unlikely to need hospital treatment, far less intensive care nursing.  So please don't live an absolute terror of waiting for this virus to catch you.

Kerre McIvor: Please don't live in absolute terror of Omicron

The protest in front of Parliament continues today despite the storm, despite the sprinklers being turned on, despite music from the most hated list being blasted at the men, women and children who have gathered together over the past few days to protest all sorts of things.There was some interesting reading in the media over the weekend, journos went down and spoke to the people who make up the protest and found a disparate group. Some were men and women who were jobless as a result of the vaccination mandate, a mandate they feel is desperately unfair. Others were so far down the rabbit hole it seems impossible that they'll ever come back. Most were in favour of peaceful protests, a couple used vile and violent rhetoric. And some of the typical renter protester who turned up to protest over anything, just add their flag and their banner and their placard to whatever protest is going.The only thing we can be sure of is that we don't know when the protest will end and that Trevor Mallard has handled the situation badly very badly.I can understand being affronted that a ragtag group of malcontents has kept on your front lawn. It must be very difficult for a government used to basking and adulation and public approval to have very real evidence that not everybody sees them as Flash Gordon's Saviours of the Universe. Mallard really does need to leave operational matters, i.e., getting rid of the protesters to the Police.

Kerre McIvor: What we can be sure of with Parliament protests

Nick Maling, Kāinga Ora General Manager of Services, told me yesterday that making people and whānau homeless creates a revolving door for housing which only sees the problems compound and perpetuate. Look, I get that they're trying to repair the damage caused by generations of issues, alcohol and drug abuse, welfare dependency, physical and mental health conditions within families. I know that it means that it's a long-term incremental process to turn the lives of people around and good on the Government. But what about the other vulnerable people? The 30,000 people, the 5000 families living in motels right now who are desperate for a home? The need has never been greater and when those people living a precarious existence in motels know that their situation will be made even more precarious.  What will happen to the 30,000 people who are currently living in motels and some have been there for more than two years?  It does seem that behaving in the worst possible way basically earns you a home for life. 

Kerre McIvor: It seems behaving badly gets you a home for life

The Government is stepping up work to address long-standing problems in conservation law while laying the foundations for future reform. It is a complex web of 24 Acts, developed largely on an ad-hoc basis over a span of nearly 70 years. Concerns have been raised that there are too many outdated, confusing and inconsistent rules and that the system that was created is out of step with current values and priorities. Giles Dobson is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University and he joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE 

Giles Dobson: Senior Lecturer at Massey University on work being done to address our conservation laws

The Government has announced it will lift the minimum wage to $21.20 from April 1st. Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood says amounts to an extra $48 a week for someone working 40-hour weeks. Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope says it's a big increase at such short notice and a slap in the face for struggling businesses. Kirk Hope joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE 

Kirk Hope: Business New Zealand Chief Executive says increase in minimum wage is a slap in the face for struggling businesses

According to the One Choice Kiwi Education Repor, 3 in 10 Kiwi parents are very strongly concerned that their children have fallen behind at school due to COVID-19; 1 in 3 felt that COVID-19 lockdowns had a solely negative impact on their kids' education. To be frank, I would have thought the numbers would be higher than that. I would have thought easily 5 in 10 Kiwi parents would feel that their children had fallen behind at school, but no according to the report 3 in 10.  I suppose that goes to show what a jolly good job, parents and teachers have done to shore up all of the failings that come from trying to do classrooms by Zoom. They've shored up the gaps in the kids' education and have kept them motivated and interested.  The experiences of home-schooling seem to differ between parents of private school and public school students. 29% of private school parents described their experience is excellent, which is pretty powerful. 12% of public school parents said the same. So, you get what you pay for. The survey showed, however, that eight and 10 parents don't feel they can afford to send their kids to private school of their choice. Half of the parents surveyed who'd like to send their kids to private schools say they can't afford it. It is the young people that have been most massively impacted, I believe by this and, you know, we're going to see those results and years to come, either for the good or for the bad. I don't necessarily see it as being a wholey negative experience. 

Kerre McIvor: Kiwi parents are concerned their children have fallen behind

Critical business workers will no longer have to isolate if they are identified as a close contact. That's if they return daily negative rapid antigen tests. It's part of a new exemption scheme that aims to keep critical supply chains running through the Omicron outbreak. Our Chief Political Reporter Jason Walls has been at the Critical workforce announcement with Ministers Chris Hipkins and Dr Ayesha Verrall. Jason Walls joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE 

Jason Walls: Critical workers no longer have to isolate

There's frustration from the events industry, and from the public wanting to have some fun, at the number of festivals and events that are being cancelled. From the Wanaka A&P show to New Plymouth's Womad Festival to the Auckland Arts Festival cancelling all 51 of their live events. There’s also fear our biggest and brightest music stars, frustrated by a lack of events at home, will venture overseas to perform – Six60 is a good example of that – they've been playing in the USA. Brent Eccles from Eccles Entertainment joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE 

Brent Eccles: There's frustration from the events industry

Finally, Kainga Ora have outlined their eviction policy! There will be a warnings process, effectively letting them end a tenancy, if it's triggered three serious incidents in a 90-day period. It's a story we have championed for upset neighbours of Kainga Ora tenants throughout last year. Kainga Ora General Manager of National Services Nick Maling joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE 

Nick Maling: Kainga Ora has outlined their eviction policy

Join Kerre McIvor one of New Zealand’s best loved personalities as she dishes up a bold, sharp and energetic show Monday to Friday 9am-12md on Newstalk ZB. News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your morning listening covered.

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Kerre McIvor Mornings Podcast

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