Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Kiwi film lovers and fans of Middle-Earth will know today is an important anniversary. It's been 20 years since the first Lord of the Rings movie premiered. The Fellowship of the Ring started a global film franchise, but helped put New Zealand on the map in the film industry. As well as this, Hobbiton has become an international tourist attraction. Hobbiton movie set deputy CEO Shayne Forrest joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talking about travel insurance this morning got me thinking about going overseas again, and it's been a while. It's crept up on us, but from the middle of next month we can start to look at Australia again. Then, if it all goes to plan, we're into a staged opening of the borders, fully vaccinated people from overseas will be allowed in. 2022 is going to look very different to 2021. But are you ready to get on a long-haul flight again to go see those rellies in Europe? Look at the fares now, could you afford to get on a long-haul flight? And those twelve hour burns really take it out of you, plus the likelihood of having to have a mask on from arriving at the airport. Mmm... it's all getting less appealing the more I think about it. And if you did go up to Europe say, or the States, or Asia, as we know, the rules can change in a heartbeat. You could set off from New Zealand under one regime and find yourself locked out or quarantining on the way back, or refused entry to this country or that. Personally, I'm n

Business New Zealand is officially walking away from the Government's fair pay agreements.  The business lobby group sees them as unfair and unlawful, and believes they'll do more harm than good for workers. Small Business Voice chief operating officer, Max Whitehead, told Tim Dower the agreements mean employers would be forced to engage with unions and workers would have to pay union fees. “So it’ll be negotiated, for example, in Wellington, government officials and unions will sit down and then have a chat and go ‘let’s increase the wages, should we go 30 percent this year? Or maybe 40 percent?’” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There may now be more of a rat race for employers, than workers. Seek job listings are up 35 percent year-on-year, with applications down 36 percent over the past two years. Vacancies in retail have skyrocketed by 65 percent, healthcare 56 percent and 54 percent in manufacturing, transport and logistics.  Seek New Zealand Manager Rob Clark told Tim Dower for employers it's becoming a game of who has the best offer. “Salaries and wages, but more importantly, all the other benefits that come with that, flexibility of working et cetera are really top of mind for candidates at the moment.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 has irreparably changed travel. Government website SafeTravel says visiting every country except the Cook Islands will be risky and advises to avoid them.  Dunedin-based Vincent George Travel believes leisure travel will be a while off yet, while repatriation flights dominate.   Travel agent Rosann Connolly George told Tim Dower while there are Covid-19 provisions available in travel insurance, people need to read the small print. “Nothing will cover a border restriction or a sudden lockdown, or if you are in a country and all of a sudden you are unable to leave.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some interesting stuff has come out of Police Commissioner's session with the Justice Select Committee. Andrew Coster said we need to be careful about fixating on the gangs. When it comes to drugs and especially the big importers, he says discreet operators with global connections are the real problem. Coster says "90 per cent of people charged with importing, manufacturing, or dealing methamphetamine are not patched gang members.” He went on to say that in reality a gang member's lifestyle can be quite pitiful. They mostly deal drugs to support their own habits he says, and maybe have a bit left over to pay for petrol. Is he trying to make us feel sorry for them? I wonder if he's missed the point about the public's feelings over gangs. National's Mark Mitchell seems to have a better handle on that. He's appalled at the open warfare between gangs on his patch. And he says the public is sick of gang members taking over roads and public spaces, behaving as though they have licence to do what they want, quote un

The only people who could cause Sandra Goudie to lose her job would be her constituents. The Thames-Coromandel Mayor doesn't want Pfizer's Covid-19 jab and has recently spoken to an Australian anti-vaccination group.  A no-confidence motion in Goudie was considered yesterday, but decided against, given it would be meaningless. Local Government New Zealand President, Stuart Crosby, told Tim Dower mayors are elected by the whole region, and it's up to the community to decide on their performance. He says they're there to represent the community's position and have the best insight into local issues. “Look many councils have tried to do things like symbolic acts and votes of no confidence, but at the end of the day the mayors are there.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A war of words between Northland's best-known politicians, over the checkpoints being kept in place over summer. Police have confirmed they'll work with local iwi to keep checkpoints in place on State Highway 1 at Uretiti near Waipu,  and on State Highway 12 near Maungaturoto. Commissioner Andrew Coster says 74 staff will work at the checkpoints each day, equating to about 300 officers over a weekly roster. Cabinet Minster Kelvin Davis says criticising the iwi organisations involved is racist. But New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters told Tim Dower, they should be open to criticism. “People are making demands, and they’ve been making them for quite a long time without any authority in the Māori world, or the European world, or according to our law.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The America's Cup may not return to Auckland, but a new sailing event could replace it. Under a new deal, Auckland and Lyttleton will host alternate events in the Sail GP sailing competition for four years from 2023. Christchurch was due to host a one-off Sail GP event next month, but organisers had to cancel it after failing to secure 160 MIQ spots. Sailing expert Chris Steele told Tim Dower both cities are now set to benefit. “It’s basically alongside the America’s Cup now at the pinnacle of the sport and obviously the America’s Cup is once every three years, Sail GP runs year-round so it’s definitely up there.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think we're overdue a bit of honesty and openness on what's going on with the Auckland border. A bit of transparency. At the moment, we still have a hard border and if you've been through it, you'll have seen it's obviously a police operation. The actual checking as you go into and out of the contaminated zone could be done by a civilian with a little wand, I've also encountered uniformed soldiers. But it's clear the police are running things, and taking the opportunity to pull a few cars and trucks over for regular road safety checks. All very much in the interests of anyone on the roads. Now, come December 15th, those hard checkpoints on the northern and southern boundaries were meant to be going. A system based on trust we were told, with random police checks, like those you can expect anytime you're out on the roads. Now it turns out the police are building up a roster of 300 staff to run checkpoints in Northland. Grant Robertson trotted out the 'operational decision' line yesterday, but is that true? I

A fresh war of words has erupted over the fate of former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who is reportedly being urged to run for federal politics despite the cloud hanging over her from an anti-corruption investigation. New South Wales’ Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has yet to deliver the findings of its inquiry into whether Ms Berejiklian breached the public’s trust or had a conflict of interest during her secret relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire. It is also considering whether she failed in her duty to report suspected corruption, and whether she encouraged that sort of behaviour by turning a blind eye. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has, in recent weeks, been attacking ICAC for its investigation into Ms Berejiklian. Most notably, in one session of Question Time in late November, he denounced the treatment of her as “shameful”. “What was done to Gladys Berejiklian, the people of NSW know, was an absolute disgrace,” he said in parliament. “The Australian peo

The Government's being told to consider making KiwiSaver compulsory. Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark is looking at more changes to the nearly 15-year-old system. Financial Services Council chief executive Richard Klipin told Tim Dower people can opt out of the scheme, but it could be made mandatory. He says most people are paying three percent but should be given a target of about 10 percent. “The more active your investment options, the better the outcome and some of the default changes have already addressed some of those things.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big boost for New Zealand's reputation in the video gaming industry. Developers Rocketwerkz new game 'Icarus: The First Cohort' is the top seller on a global platform called 'Steam' In Layman's terms, it's like being number one the Billboard chart. Duane Mutu is director of Let’s Play Live, an e-Sports and gaming company and he joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says continuing to have Police officers on Auckland's northern border is a waste of resources. It's understood about 300 cops from around the country will be used to monitor border checkpoints after Auckland's border lifts on Wednesday next week. The Police Association says it's disappointing news. National Police Spokesman Mark Mitchell told Tim Dower it's a waste of valuable policing resource that is also needed in other places. “There are highly trained police officers, it takes a lot of money to train them. That’s just placing additional stress and workload on those officers that are there to fill the gap.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I want to give Chris Luxon a solid 8 for his first week as National Party leader. Much better than I'd expected to be honest, and to be further honest I wasn't even sure the caucus would actually pick him. And so far, MPs are making a decent fist of showing a united front. Maybe they've finally cottoned on to the fact that they can't afford another leadership crisis before the election. It's all or nothing now, and Luxon's put himself forward for what's always described as the worst job in politics. The next big job for Luxon is to announce the shadow Cabinet, and we'll get that today. Giving Simon Bridges Finance was a good move I think, and he must make good use of Judith Collins' knowledge and cunning, if she's willing. But if you look across the rest of the National Party caucus, it's pretty slim pickings. Shane Reti...Chris Bishop...Barbara Kuriger...Mark Mitchell...mmm...running out of potential Cabinet Ministers already. Labour is highly vulnerable on some major issues; housing, Three Waters, crime, th

Auckland businesses are still missing out on a chunk of revenue - they're open, but stuck on the red. The traffic light system has seen bars, cafes and restaurants open across the city for the first time in months. People are required to use their vaccine passes for these places. Hospitality New Zealand Auckland President Jamie Freeman told Tim Dower bars have to wrap things up around 11pm rather than three or four AM. “We really need get back to orange or green. As I said before, that late night piece is such a large part of our revenue, being at orange we’re trading at low 40 percent.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new OneRoof report this morning paints a gloomy picture on housing affordability. People believe it will get even worse over the next two years, with most of them blaming property investors and overseas buyers. Infometrics' principal economist Brad Olsen joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another historic day for Ajaz Patel was not enough to prevent India from edging closer to a crushing second-test victory in Mumbai. Patel picked up four more wickets to go with the perfect 10 he took in the first innings as India declared on 276-7 midway through the third day. That gave the hosts a commanding 539-run lead and, in the half hour before tea, Tom Latham was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin for six. Will Young (20) and Ross Taylor (six) departed quickly after tea, but Daryl Mitchell (60) and Henry Nicholls (36 not out) added 73 for the fourth wicket to wrestle back some respectability and send the test to the fourth day. Mitchell fell in the final hour though, as did Tom Blundell, run out for a duck in a shocking mix-up, leaving the Black Caps at 140-5, a whopping 400 runs away from victory and staring down the barrel of one of their largest defeats. India have left the Black Caps in a tangle after three days of the second test. Photo / AP The series will almost certainly belong to India but, in a

The new traffic light system puts more responsibilities on businesses to enforce vaccine mandates and rules around proof of vaccine passes. Employsure Employment Relations Specialist Maddie McKenzie told Kate Hawkesby the feedback is mixed.  "Employers are concerned they're losing some of their best employees because of the vaccine mandates."She said, even where vaccine mandates stand for certain industries, employers must still follow a fair and reasonable consultation process for those not wanting to get vaccinated.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How have we survived 107 days of lockdown Auckland? 188 if you add in last year's locked down days too... amazing. So, as we finish the alert level system and head into the traffic lights today, I'm actually putting a stop light on the old alarm now for a few weeks. This is my last show for the year. We worked through the lockdowns again this year so we gathered a lot of leave. Well, some more than others, my husband still has another week of work to go, but I'm off. Which is bittersweet actually, because I love my little show, my listeners, and our team. And the news cycle just keeps going this year, just when you think it might wind down, it's hello Omicron, hello new National party leadership and that’s the beauty of news I guess, new every day and constantly evolving. It has us hooked. So, we love it - but we’ve also experienced a lot of love back from you guys this year, for which we're tremendously grateful. If you know the radio biz, you know we live or die by our ratings and these are surveyed through