Andrew Dickens Afternoons

National has unveiled its new-look line up with big promotions for Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford, now ranked fourth and seventh.
Bishop has been reunited with the shadow leader of the house portfolio, which Collins stripped him of.
Stanford has taken education from Paul Goldsmith, and retained the immigration portfolio.
She has rocketed up the rankings, having been ranked 25th previously.
One of the biggest losers is former leader Judith Collins, demoted to 19th. But she still stays in the shadow cabinet, and has the research, science and innovation portfolio.
New National Party leader Chris Luxon has decided to part with the tradition of giving the entire caucus - except new and departing MPs - a numbered ranking.
Instead, he's given rankings to the first 20 MPs, and left the rest unranked.
'Ultimate team sport'
Speaking at a press conference after revealing the reshuffle this afternoon, Luxon described politics as the "ultimate team sport".
He said his line-up was based on performance, as well as matching people to their experience and skills.
Luxon said every MP had a significant role to play, and he hadn't ranked those below the shadow Cabinet because it was irrelevant, and performance mattered more than ranking.
The new party leader said he'd spoken to every MP himself, but had not talked to previous leaders Sir John Key or Bill English or Steven Joyce to get their opinions on MPs' strengths and weaknesses.
He said another former party leader, Todd Muller, had re-entered caucus. Luxon said it was a decision for Muller to make whether to stand again in the next election.
"I know he wants to come back and be part of our team."
Luxon this afternoon said he watched the MPs closely for the past year and seen where their strengths and weaknesses lay.
He said he had watched low-ranked MPs perform very well against their counterparts in that area.
On Judith Collins, he said the ousted National leader had a "real passion" for the portfolio she was given.
Asked how he could be convinced the reshuffle would unite the party, Luxon said MPs were feeling energised because of public feedback that change was needed.
Luxon said he was still working on getting his own office set up in terms of staff, but was loving the pace of his job.
"I'm absolutely loving it. I'm somebody who needs to be wired and ready to go 24-Seven."
Luxon asked deputy Nicola Willis to start working on redeveloping Bill English's social investment work from the last term. That included a programme to identify and target social assistance to at-risk people early on.
Match-ups promised
"My shadow Cabinet leverages the wealth of talent and depth of real-world experience across the National caucus team," Luxon said earlier today.
"I have deliberately selected a shadow Cabinet of 20 members to match the Government's Cabinet.
"I'm confident that when you put any of National's shadow ministers against their Labour counterparts, you'll see that National's MPs have the deep experience, the political skills, the work ethic and the intellectual grunt to come out on top every time," Luxon said.
Former deputy leader Dr Shane Reti has suffered the least of Collins' former team. He has fallen from second place to fifth.
And Reti has kept health and been given the Maori-Crown and Pacific Peoples portfolios.
Whip Matt Doocey has kept mental health and youth and been given a ranking of 8. He was previously ranked 20. He has been given the associate transport portfolio. The caucus will elect the party's whips tomorrow.
One MP to suffer a severe drop is Todd McClay, falling from number six to the unranked bottom of the list. He's got the trade portfolio and tourism.
Simeon Brown continues his dramatic rise, climbing up the ranks from 19 to ninth. He's dropped his police portfolio (given to Mark Mitchell - number 14, down one) and been...

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So here we are approaching the next hurdle for Christopher Luxon to vault; the choosing of his shadow cabinet.  
Last week was spent facing the media and the public in walk abouts. The media indulging in their age old game of playing gotcha politics.  
For those who don’t know the gotcha, it’s about asking a question that draws the subject into an awkward reveal.  
Jessica and Tova had the opening gambit which was on how many houses Luxon owns. That backfired, as anyone who heard talkback the next day will tell you. All the callers saying that there’s nothing morally wrong with owning property and it’s a sign that he’s successful.  
But that wasn’t the gotcha. The gotcha was when Jessica asked how much his Remuera home was worth. Christopher was $2 million off. The implication was that Christopher doesn’t understand the implications of the housing crisis, or has no idea about his own balance sheet, which is a problem if you want to give him the keys to the country’s balance sheet.  
There was a double whammy when both Luxon and Nicola Willis were a hundred bucks off when asked what the average rent was.  
But the answer that I found most interesting was Christopher’s reckon on the living wage. He thought it was 28 bucks when in fact it’s 22.75.  
The minimum and living wage has always been opposed by National in that it affects small business owners, but here was a National leader thinking it was higher than it was.  
But, combine that with his view expressed on Q and A that he supports a higher minimum wage, if the economy can afford it.  
This is a new view for the National Party.  
And I like it. It shows someone who finally understands economies.  
For too long we’ve been called a low wage, low productivity economy with expensive infrastructure and transport.  
Anyone who gets that lifting the bottom will in fact lift us all, has a nod of approval from me.

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It was halfway through last week, and I was having a conversation with a mate about whether MIQ for in-bound citizens was still relevant.  
Both of us were noting that with over 2000 active cases in the country, compared to a handful in MIQ, you were more likely to catch Covid in New Zealand rather than from a recent returnee.  
So he asked me, can you give me one good reason why we should retain MIQ? 
There was only one reason I could think of, and that was the possibility of a new variant rising and us needing to prolong our defences as we ready ourselves for another viral invasion.  
So imagine my surprise when over the weekend that exact scenario played out.  Omicron was discovered.  Nations immediately prevented flights from Southern Africa.  Australia started the process of re-introducing hotel based MIQ.   
The world went on war footing.  
And here our slowness to dismantle quarantine measures suddenly looked like an inspired decision, rather than a decision born of fear and a love of being a hermit nation.  
But make no mistake, this was not an inspired decision.  This was yet another example of this country’s plain dumb luck.  
When Covid first arrived, it was in our late summer so we were outside and infections never went ballistic the way they did in the housebound Northern hemisphere.  Being an island nation and not a travel hub, it was easy to close the borders and keep the bug out.  
The looming end of MIQ was much like the process that ended out in the Australian travel bubble.  
Long term sustained vocal pressure from business and opinion writers and the opposition resulted in a slow relenting by the Government.  
But with the benefit of hindsight, you could argue that the trans-Tasman travel bubble was vastly uneconomic or worthwhile.  It so obvious that I’ve never seen a detailed Return on Investment study on it.  
So, it may have been that the scrapping of MIQ could also have been a well-intentioned move, but ultimately a mistake.  
We will wait and see whether we’re into round 3 of this scrap with Covid.  
Here’s my hope. Omicron seems much more infectious but the symptoms seem milder. Big lethargy and tiredness with a headache but no respiratory effects.  
If this turns out to be true, it may be this Covid is the bad Covid killer. It could become the dominant strain resulting in an infection that finally is really like the flu.

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So Auckland waits for 4pm for an announcement that they will be rewarded for their stirling effort in achieving vaccination targets.  
They’ve been good little hobbits. They’ve jabbed like their life depends on it.  It’s what being locked down for 98 days will do to you.  
The town is desperate for a haircut.  They’re desperate for a sit-down meal.  
They live in one of the most highly vaccinated cities in the world.  
But I have bad news for Auckland, the chances of them being given that freedom are very low.  
Not only has the Prime Minister’s office hinted at that over the weekend, but use your common sense  
If the cafes opened on Wednesday under a Level 3.3 model, then one and all, vaxxed and unvaxxed could swan into a café and order a panini.  
Then in a few short weeks, the traffic light system comes in and suddenly all the unvaxxed are refused permission to enter the cafes they’ve already been freely entering.  
It just won’t work. 
This means Auckland’s freedoms won’t be denied on vaccination levels but on the efficiency of their bureaucratic roll out.  
This will be the cost of not having a vax passport system rolled out months ago and that is on the head of the Ministry of Health.  
The procurement process which started in July was not contractually finalised until October. The process was the standard process but this is not standard times.  
It’s been a tale that’s been repeated throughout this pandemic.  
New Zealand began its vaccination programme only after Medsafe declared the vax authorised.  Compare that with America who started vaxxing as soon as it was available.   
FMA approval for the Pfizer jab only came through on August 23rd.  If America had waited until then, then the death toll would have been far higher.  
These are extraordinary times which demand extraordinary measures in emergency time frames.  
But in New Zealand, our bureaucracy bumbles it’s way like a plodding sloth to unfortunate outcomes.

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Welcome to the first day of vaccine mandate.  Today was the deadline for teachers and health workers to have had at least one shot of the Covid vaccination.  
We all know this has caused some consternation amongst members of those professions who have an antipathy towards the vaccine, and amongst those people against government compulsion.  
In fact, there has been a cacophony of calls suggesting that this issue is splitting the nation. Headlines, commentators and talkback callers claim that this is the most divisive issue in our history.  
But is it really? 
To be divisive, you really need to be split 50/50 on an issue, yet in vaccinations we are already pushing 80 percent double vaccinated. That is a very large majority of the country.  
What we have is a very loud minority who are prepared to shout division at the top of their lungs.  
It is interesting how many of our politicians are pro-vaccination but anti-mandates.  Even the Prime Minister was reticent. Today, David Seymour calls the mandates divisive and mean-spirited, even though as the personal choice party he should also be supporting the businesses who make a personal choice to employ who they want.  
It’s important to realise that these mandates proposed by the Government are mostly for their employees. The doctors, nurses, teachers and firefighters which covers 40 percent of the population.  
It should also be noted that private companies are doing the exact same thing.  Whether it’s Spark or The Warehouse or Air New Zealand or my very own company.  
The non-vaxxed will not be let into our studio doors and negotiations with non-vaxxed staff will hinge around them staying at home.  
So, whether it’s government order or just the domination of the wishes of the vast majority, there will one rule for the vaxxed and another for the non-vaxxed. It’s your personal choice  
The mandates are a fact of life. They’re not hear to oppress you but to preserve your health and the health of others around you.    
They are compulsion. Just like the compulsion that was conscription and compulsory military service which led servicemen to die in defence of your freedoms in the first place

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So once again, we await another announcement about our gradual stumble towards something someone might laughably call freedom  
At 4pm, the Government should confirm their in-principle agreement to lower Auckland to Level 3 Step 2.  Otherwise known as a bit of a shop and up to 25 people outdoors, otherwise just as you were, please.  
The whole thing is dependent on vaccination rates and hospital beds.  The Government has specified 90 percent double jabbed for freedom, but that could all be reversed if a surge depletes our hospital capacities.  
So, everything is based on vaccinations.  
Which is why the conversation needs to be re-framed.  It’s not about taking Auckland out of lockdown and allowing them to travel.  Auckland has beds and will break the 90 percent barrier in just over a week.  
It’s about closing down the areas with the lowest vaccination rates and least hospital beds.  Which is why Christmas holidays are still under threat.  The places with the best beaches have the worst vax rates.  
Gisborne, Coromandel, Whangamata, Northland and even glitzy Matakana.  
It’s time for the tourism entities and local DHBs to step up and demand an effort.  The sort of effort Auckland has already done  
Meanwhile the vexed vaxxed issue continues to be Māori rates.  
They continue to lag.  
Jack Tame yesterday on Q and A said Māori disparity the biggest failure of Covid response. 
But who’s failure?  
I asked the question on Twitter yesterday. Based on their experience and the carnage of the 1918 Spanish flu then I would have thought that Māori would crawl over broken glass to get the jab. What do you call this hesitancy and it’s motives  
In response, a Māori intellectual, who only got double jabbed this week, wrote me this.  
“I'd call it post-colonisational trauma, mistrust of abusive authority, loss of rangatiratanga, reactionary expression of cultural suppression, defensive response to perceived threat based on historic experience, ingrained lack of self-value arising from generational state abuses”  
That, to me, is an over intellectualisation and considering it comes from leaders it’s concerning.  
If you don’t want a repeat of your great grandparents slaughter, get to a pharmacy now guys. It’s sounding like martyrdom if you don’t.

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Another day with so much going on submerged under the tsunami of reckons that is Covid.  
4pm today we find out the next phase.  It really is six of one and half a dozen of the other.  
Pure health theory would be to wait until the magical 90 percent is reached.  But political reality is that compliance is waning. Unless you bring out the water cannons and the rubber bullets there will be an erosion of standards tomorrow whichever way the decision goes.  
Fun fact.  Wales.  Population 3.2 million people had a 7-day average Covid case number of 2700 this past week.  10 people died.  6140 have died in the pandemic and they have 71% double jabbed.  Yet 70,000 screaming Welsh fans without masks gathered in the Principality Stadium and then flooded downtown Cardiff.  As a matter of comparison NZ is currently 75 per cent double jabbed and Auckland is 80% and yet shut down.  
Meanwhile other stories are pushed aside.  NZ this weekend made a pledge to cut Carbon emissions in half by 2030.  Just 8 years. But it’s a game of smoke and mirrors. The Government thinks that spending $1.5 billion of borrowed money to plant forests in Asia is called cutting emissions.  No, it’s not. It’s called offsetting emissions. It is of minimal help to the planet.  
The whole thing has become an artifice where governments struggle to look like they’re doing something when they’re not. That’s not a problem, except it’s all so freaking expensive. A freaking expensive nothing.  
Three Waters staggers on.  A government determined to centralise and give honourary seats on the board to iwi.  The thing about Three Waters is that authorities with good water systems don’t want it and don’t need it.  To drag them into dysfunctional regions is classic socialism. Dragging all down to a lower overall level.  
What was needed was investment in poorly performed regions, while not fixing places that weren't broken.  
My suggestion was always to set up an Infrastructure Bank to lend the capital to the places that are under invested because they had too few ratepayers, or they had ratepayers who hated paying fair rates.  
And finally, the Assisted Dying regime comes into effect this weekend. Despite the fact we don’t have any nurses because of Covid and we haven’t had training because of Covid.  In New South Wales they have the same problem and they have postponed the rollout. Why haven’t we?  It’s reckless.  
Three issues alone that could dominate talkback.  
Yet all we get is Covid, Covid, Covid. It is the most corrosive disease

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Well since I was on air last week things have devolved into a right royal mess.
Last Monday, the Prime Minister kept Auckland in Level 3 but threw the city a bone.
You're still locked down but you can have a little visit with another family or your yoga class.
Her mistake was fooling with the settings.
What Aucklanders heard was socialising is back on the menu boys. They heard Level 2 with restrictions. Not Level 3 with picnics. Give a city an inch, it'll take a mile and it did and lo and behold, case numbers are up and the spectre of Melbourne and Sydney is upon us.
Those cities got into a mess by going into loose lockdowns which don't work. The Government last week lost their bottle and made exactly the same mistake.
They've bowed to the pressure from business who are constantly advocating for opening up, meanwhile they've let down the population who believe that the suppression of Covid cases until we're as fully vaccinated as we can be is the best course for the country.
In trying to make everybody happier they've made everybody angrier.
Meanwhile, the spread of Covid into Waikato and Northland suddenly saw a surge in vaccinations. What worries me is not the hardcore vaccine hesitant, but the guys who only pull their finger out when the threat becomes real. Getting the jab in Raglan the day Covid arrives is 4 weeks too late.
This is New Zealand's great weakness. Too many people don't see the threat. They've not seen Covid up close. Elsewhere people leapt on the vaccine because they'd seen too many ambulances picking up their neighbours in the middle of the night. We never had that.
There is complacency in the community as well as in government.
The threat is hiding in plain sight. It's the swamping of our health system.
This current outbreak is causing a hospitalisation rate of 10%. With the numbers at their current level, we can absorb that. Just. Double them and we're in big trouble. We're on the verge of doubling them
Obviously, we need to learn to live with Covid. Surely, it's simple
Double the hospital beds and ICU and offer freedoms only once we're at 80% vaccinated, or more.
Everything else is just shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic.

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Well haven’t we worked ourselves up into a tis was. 
Frustration with 7 weeks of lockdown in Auckland is starting to boil over in public with claims that everything is failing and not working and will never work. We’re being left behind and there is no plan.  And it’s all this Labour government’s fault.
There have been calls to give up the lockdown strategy. To open our borders and start to live again. 
But has New Zealand’s strategy against Covid really been such a failure. 
Melbourne today celebrates it’s 246th day in lockdown becoming the world’s most locked down city.  Meanwhile Sydney approaches their 100th day in a row.  A rough back of the envelope calculation shows that Auckland is around 120 days all up since March 2020. 
On Saturday Melbourne had 1176 cases and 3 deaths. On Saturday 10 people died in New South Wales.  No body died in Auckland and there were 33 cases. 
While Covid was not eliminated, it was mitigated by the lockdown strategy preventing hospitalisation that we could not cope with. Call me a glass half full fella but I call that a success. 
But, like everyone, I want the lockdowns to stop and in every country where they have there is only one factor that led to their scrapping; and that is the level of vaccination in a population. 
We’re so close to hitting those goals I wonder why on earth would anyone want to throw out the effort that we have made so far. 
There has been a lot of talk about anti vaxxers and the vaccine hesitant but I’m more worried that New Zealand’s remarkable success over the past 18 months is now working against us. 
Last night’s television gave us this admission from a Raglan resident. 
“Before you didn’t really think too much about it but now it’s arrived it’s time for a test and a jab.” 
What an astounding degree of complacency. The Auckland truck driver who drove to Palmerston North: unvaccinated.  The 2 in Raglan: unvaccinated. There appears to be no urgency to get the jab amongst a small minority of New Zealanders.
Not because of ethical grounds, just complacency.
Maybe it’s because we have been fortunate compared to the rest of the world. We’ve worked 464 days since the beginning of the pandemic as opposed to 82 in Australia and 75 in Britain. We don’t have neighbours and family members dying gruesomely. 
But this tardiness has a terrible consequence and that’s a loss of a billion dollars a week from our economy.  You would have thought that was more than enough motivation.

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Is Covid-19 increasing the risk of leader burnout?
NZ Herald Business reporter Jane Phare researched into the issue, and found that leaders are feeling even more overworked as a result of Covid, compared to 2019, and that leaders are caught in between their staff and their businesses.
86 per cent of business leaders are feeling stressed, but Phare says they carry the burden of the entire company.
Jane Phare joined Andrew Dickens.
LISTEN ABOVE

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