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Listen to the latest interviews from the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB
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18 AUG 2021 · Our rescue mission to Afghanistan begins this morning.
At 8am a C130 Hercules was scheduled to be deployed to bring back the interpreters and civilians who helped the New Zealand Defence Force.
The person responsible for our deployed forces is Commander of Joint Forces NZ Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour who told Mike Hosking security is the region is still an issue.
“Prior to heading into Afghanistan, we need to be assured the improving security situation at the Kabul airport continues.”
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18 AUG 2021 · I would like to thank our Political Editor Barry Soper, who was on our behalf here at the Mike Hosking Breakfast, annoyed that the Prime Minister would not appear on the show yesterday.
I am not sure it's worth getting annoyed about, because how else was this whole thing going to turn out?
From the PM’s point of view, obviously it’s a serious mistake given there isn't a radio programme in this country that has an audience like ours.
By not fronting here, she misses the chance to front hundreds of thousands of voters. The arrogance of that is something for the voter to work out for themselves.
But the deal was, if you ever took the deal seriously, which I didn’t, that she, although no longer appearing on this programme regularly, would still front for matters of major importance.
Level 4 probably falls into that category.
So, by not fronting on Level 4, what we find out is what most of us suspected in the first place.
The business earlier in the year about shuffling media commitments, about not being able to be everywhere all the time was of course a sham.
They make this stuff up in the hope you will 1) fall for it and 2) then forget about it.
It is without a shadow of a doubt now shown that she was scared of the accountability of this programme, she knew the level of detail she was expected to front with and wasn’t up for it.
And she could easily find more friendly places with softer questions.
I momentarily stated I didn’t want her back on the programme because more often than not, she was a verbal drain.
But Barry, God bless him, quite rightly pointed out that I couldn't go round bagging the rest of the media for being asleep at the wheel and asking soft questions, if I wasn’t prepared to provide the alternative by having Ardern on here for a proper back and forth.
I apologised to Barry and acquiesced but the rest, as they say, is history.
She never intended to come back on again, she did what she does so often; dream up some flannel by way of an excuse, suffer a bit of headline argy bargy and move on to other matters and hope it all goes way.
The slight dilemma for this programme is in the ensuing months we have added 10s of thousands of new listeners and have more people than we have ever had.
We’ve never had a bigger audience and she is missing out on the biggest audience there is.
So, who's the loser?
18 AUG 2021 · Kiwi motorsport star Brendon Hartley joined Mike Hosking to discuss his season in endurance racing and his chances of defending his Le Mans 24 Hour title this weekend.
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18 AUG 2021 · The Reserve Bank thinks the Official Cash Rate will go to two percent over the next 12 months or so.
The central bank opted to keep the OCR at 0.25 percent yesterday, because the country was already in alert level four.
Governor Adrian Orr told Mike Hosking they'll be reassessing the OCR in light of things like inflation and maximum sustainable employment.
He says higher interest rates in the future make sense.
"We would need to see something pretty dramatic, ongoing, including internationally to deter us."
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18 AUG 2021 · Naked Scientist podcast host and virologist Chris Smith told Mike Hosking the Delta strain of Covid-19 isn't more deadly -- but it's far harder to contain
"The severity of cases that people are presenting with are not greater, on average, than with other strains or variants of the virus. But what it does do is to spread better."
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18 AUG 2021 · New Zealand has 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 -- but that number is almost certain to rise.
Three more cases were confirmed late yesterday afternoon, including a 60-year-old woman with a link to the border.
Officials are now trying to determine whether they're linked to the other seven cases.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told Mike Hosking he's expecting to be informed of further cases, later this morning.
"We are expecting results for overnight from those household contacts, this Delta variant seems to be very infectious inside households, so I am expecting more cases from those households overnight."
Almost 70 locations of interest have been identified -- including one going back to the start of the month.
But Bloomfield says that doesn't mean the virus has been in the community that long.
"None of our waste water testing suggested any infecton out there, at least until last Wednesday."
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17 AUG 2021 · The Government's Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme will be available for businesses across New Zealand impacted by the lockdown that took effect from midnight, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.
"The Wage Subsidy Scheme is available nationally when there's a regional or national move to Alert Levels 3 and 4 for a period of seven days and helps eligible businesses keep paying staff and protect jobs," Robertson said in a statement on Tuesday night.
The statement added that the Wage Subsidy Scheme allows eligible employers anywhere in the country to apply for support if they expect a loss of 40 per cent of revenue as a result of the alert level increase announced today.
"The WSS rates have been increased to reflect the increase in wage costs since the scheme was first used in March 2020. Businesses will be eligible for $600 per week per full-time equivalent employee, and $359 per week per part-time employee.
"The Wage Subsidy will be paid as a two-week lump sum. Applications open on Friday August 20, with the first payments usually available after three days.
"A Resurgence Support Payment is available if firms incur a loss of 30 per cent of revenue as a result of the alert level increase. The RSP is worth up to $1500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent employee, up to a maximum of 50 full-time employees (so up to a total of $21,500).
"The Leave Support Scheme provides a two-week lump sum payment of either $585.80 per week for full-time workers, or $350 per week for part-time workers, who must self-isolate and cannot work from home.
"The Short-Term Absence Payment (STAP) provides a one-off (once per 30 days) $350 payment for workers who must miss work due to a COVID-19 test and cannot work from home."
More information can be found here.
17 AUG 2021 · NZ went into lockdown for three days from midnight last night, with Auckland and Coromandel expected to be in lockdown for seven days.
Here is what you need to know, and what you need to know across schools, health, shopping, exercise and going out.
Level four - dubbed the "eliminate" phase - means people must stay at home in their bubbles - travelling out only for essential personal movement.
Essential reasons for leaving the home briefly include:• Physical exercise in your neighbourhood• Visiting the supermarket, dairy or pharmacy• Necessary medical care or getting a test
Level 4 measures
People are instructed to stay at home in their bubble other than for essential personal movement• Safe recreational activity is allowed in local area• Travel is severely limited• All gatherings are cancelled and all public venues are closed• Businesses are closed except for essential services, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, petrol stations and lifeline utilities• Educational facilities are closed• Rationing of supplies and requisitioning of facilities is possible• Reprioritisation of healthcare services
Education
All New Zealand primary and secondary schools are expected to close for on-site learning.
The Ministry of Education said in a memo to schools last night that school hostels and residential special schools should send students home during lockdown. However, an exception will be made for students who cannot safely return home, such as international students.
Auckland Primary Principals' Association president Stephen Lethbridge said last night schools in the region were very well prepared for the transition back to home learning.
"We've learned a lot from each subsequent lockdown, and each time we do it a little better," he said.
That being said, it was going to be difficult for everyone, parents included, to adjust to level 4, he added.
Healthcare professionals are now required to wear Personal Protective Equipment to prevent further spread during the lockdown. Photo / NZME
Health
New Zealanders won't be able to get a Covid jab for at least the next 48 hours while Government officials discuss how to ensure a safe process.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last night said she wanted to ensure vaccinations could still take place in a safe environment.
"We will be considering whether drive-through vaccinations are the best options and looking at what other precautions could be put in place to ensure it was safe."
She said a further update on vaccinations could be expected in the next 24 hours.
Testing will be ramped up in a bid to detect any possible spread. Additional testing stations are being set up.
Meanwhile, healthcare professionals all have to wear Personal Protective Equipment to prevent any further spread.
Pregnant women can expect the same care from their midwives but non-critical appointments may be conducted via video.
Midwives union MERA's co-leader Caroline Canroy said midwives were "well seasoned" and "all geared up" to transition their work to alert level 4.
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director Bryan Betty said most general practices would move into a predominantly virtual consultation model.
"Patients would be required to ring up prior to coming to see their GP, very similar to what we saw during last year's lockdown. Those patients who need to be seen in person will be," he said.
Council facilities
Most Auckland Council facilities will be temporarily closed to the public for the next seven days. They include libraries, pools, leisure centres, early childcare centres, community venues and playgrounds. Some public toilets will remain open. Auckland Council's public Wi-Fi at council libraries will be switched off and drinking fountains will also be unavailable under alert level 4.
Ferry passengers disembark the ferry in Devonport, North Shore, Auckland, yesterday. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Public transport
The Government's advice under Alert Level 4 is to stay home and travel on...
17 AUG 2021 · The Taliban has declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government - as reports emerge of Taliban fighters going door-to-door searching for female journalists.
"The Islamic Emirate doesn't want women to be victims," Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission, said today, using the militants' term for Afghanistan. "They should be in government structure according to Shariah law."
He added: "The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join."
Samangani's comments came as Nadia Momand, who works at Enikass Radio in Jalalabad, posted a tweet claiming the Taliban had raided the homes of two female journalists in Kabul today.
While there were no major reports of abuses or fighting in Kabul, many residents have stayed home and remain fearful after the insurgents' takeover saw prisons emptied and armouries looted.
Older generations remember their ultra-conservative Islamic views, which included stonings, amputations and public executions during their rule before the US-led invasion that followed the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Hundreds of people gather near a US Air Force C-17 transport plane at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16. Photo / AP
Under the Taliban, which ruled in accordance with a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, women were largely confined to their homes. The insurgents have sought to project greater moderation in recent years, but many Afghans remain sceptical.
Meanwhile, Stefano Pontecorvo, Nato's senior civilian representative to Afghanistan, posted video online today showing the runway empty at Kabul's airport with American troops on the tarmac.
What appeared to be a military cargo plane could be seen in the distance from behind a chain-link fence in the footage.
The runway "is open", he wrote on Twitter. "I see airplanes landing and taking off."
Overnight, flight-tracking data showed a US Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules plane at the airport and later taking off for Qatar, home to Al-Udeid Air Base and the US military Central Command's forward headquarters.
There were no other immediate flights seen in Afghan airspace, which has been taken over by the American military as commercial flights have been halted in the country.
On Monday, thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul's main airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held on to a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, US officials said.
Across Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross said thousands had been wounded in the fighting. Security forces and politicians handed over their provinces and bases without a fight, likely believing the two-decade Western experiment to remake Afghanistan would not survive the resurgent Taliban. The last American troops had planned to withdraw at the end of the month.
"The world is following events in Afghanistan with a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
A resolute US President Joe Biden on Monday said he stood "squarely behind" his decision to withdraw American forces and acknowledged the "gut-wrenching" images unfolding in Kabul.
Biden said he faced a choice between honouring a previously negotiated withdrawal agreement or sending thousands more troops back to begin a third decade of war.
"After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces," Biden said in a televised address from the White House.
Taliban fighters at the presidential palace in Kabul on August 15. Photo / AP
Talks appeared to be continuing between the Taliban and several Afghan government officials, including former president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, who once headed the country's negotiating council.
President Ashraf Ghani earlier fled...
17 AUG 2021 · Back to the future for schools around the country.
Students at all levels are reverting back to remote learning for at least three days, and those within Auckland and the Coromandel peninsular for probably seven.
Mock exams are approaching for senior students.
Papatoetoe High School Principal Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking the biggest challenge is technology.
"What we haven't been able to do is get devices and hard packs out to students who don't have those sorts of things at home, but from a practical sense, teachers have been preparing for another lockdown all year really."
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Listen to the latest interviews from the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB
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