Covid Watch

I am so disappointed in Auckland teacher unions right now.
Parents are begging the government to shift the school holidays to give them some help after weeks and weeks at home with the kids.
All the want is the holidays to be brought forward by a couple of weeks so they fall during the lockdown, not after the lockdown might end.
Otherwise, parents will go from six weeks at home with the kids, straight into the kids having another two weeks at home.
This is not just about parents’ sanity.
It’s about the quality of the education. None of us think two weeks learning at home is equivalent to two weeks in the class right? 
But oh no. Teachers don’t want a bar of this. Unions are saying no. it would be too disruptive. Teachers already have plans and teachers need a break.
Come on guys.
We’ve got all plans and they’ve been disrupted. None of us planned to be locked in at home half of August and all of September. We all need a break and we’re all stressed out.
You’ve got to be flexible and help Aucklanders out here.
Frankly, the government needs to put its foot down with the unions in this instance. It’s entirely up to the government who it chooses to side with: the unions or stressed out Auckland parents and their kids getting a raw deal on education right now.
Now, I think there is actually every chance that Auckland is still stuck in level 3 for the school holidays and so it’s a moot point anyway. But it’s a signal isn’t it?  It’s a really disappointing signal from teachers and their unions.

The Wānaka couple must have been listening to Deborah Pead on this show yesterday, given the apology and expressions of remorse delivered by them last night when their name suppression lapsed. 
Oh, they're very sorry, and they understand they've done wrong, but they weren't Covid positive and they hadn't been to places of interest. 
Not surprisingly, the Queenstown mayor Jim Boult is underwhelmed.  He says if he were William Willis and Hannah Rawnsley, he wouldn't be coming back any time soon. 
I think I would put some distance between now and the next visit to Wānaka would be my best advice to them. Wānaka is a tight community and quite understandably people right across the district were really unhappy about this, he said.
"It will take a while to get over this.”
And I get that.  But can we just take a moment to ask why Auckland police didn't take action against a gang gathering - a group of fifty people broke level 4 rules to attend a tangi in Avondale yesterday. 
The funeral may have been online but that didn't stop people gathering together to share their grief and their sorrow and give their loved one a decent send off - all things we would love to be doing under Level 4, all a natural part of being human. 
The inability for people to come together and share their grief and pain and memories is one of the toughest parts of a lockdown - and yet time and again, people choose to break the rules - and they're not punished. 
Those who play by the rules are. 
Look at this poor woman who applied three times to travel to Waihi to attend her mother's funeral.  She was told the need to protect the wider NZ population from Covid 19, and especially from the new and more transmissible variants, has meant some restrictions have been put in place.
And yet, these people who broke the rules to see of their loved one weren't charged, the names of these people haven't been released - because according to the police, the officers were aware that they were dealing with people going through the grieving process. 
It's not just bloody gangsters who grieve.  And yet they can get away with closing roads in Hawkes Bay and blocking off areas and getting police escorts and breaking Level 4 rules, while people who obey the rules are left absolutely distraught.
And it's not just those directly affected.  The vast majority have chosen to give up certain freedoms and the vast majority have chosen to reluctantly comply for the good of the wider community. 
There are people who are losing their businesses and their homes - who are suffering death by a thousand cuts, and to see people like the Wānaka duo and the tangihanga attendees.
Not to mention the ridiculous, random and incomprehensible decisions being made about which businesses can open and which cannot, erode the good will and the resolve we have towards obeying. 
Compliance is not a given.  What is the point of following rules when there are no consequences for breaking them? When in fact the consequences for following the rules are far worse than the punishment for breaking them?
When you can't be by a loved one’s bedside - but others can have sex in the hospital, or have a cast of thousands disrupting a ward.  When you can't give your mother a proper send-off but others can.  When you are laying off employees and wondering whether you are going to lose your house - and others are swanning off to Wānaka to their other house. 
If we're all in this together - then there need to be consequences for all rule breakers.  Because even the most compliant and law abiding of us - we might not be rule breakers, but we do have a breaking point.

Disappointment that the Government have automatically dismissed a separate MIQ facility for our athletes.  
We already know the plight of our athletes overseas; the Warriors can't get home, Ryan Fox, Hayden Wilde, Michael Venus, they all can't get a spot in MIQ and face months away.  
Others have visas expiring and will be kicked out of the country regardless if they have a spot to come home to or not.  
But what about those athletes who are currently here, can't compete, can't continue on their career or job, but are too worried to leave because they know of the struggle to come back? 
Kiwi pro surfer Paige Hareb is in that camp and joined Mike Hosking. 
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The Health Minister has bold ambitions for New Zealand's vaccination rate. 
A range of initiatives are being rolled out to increase vaccination numbers, with six buses being used as mobile vaccine clinics in Auckland from tomorrow. 
The Government hasn't set a specific target, on how many people it would like to see vaccinated. 
But Andrew Little to Mike Hosking he'd like to see the vaccination rate hit the high 90s, so a raft of restrictions can be removed. 
"Not just us moving around inside the country, but people coming into the country. We can change the rules around managed isolation, we can let more people in, all those sorts of things." 
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As tough as this lockdown is for many people, it’s really tough for the kids having to do school work from home, and for their parents who may be trying to juggle work, while also keeping their kids focused on learning.  
It’s a juggling act we’ve been keeping up for 4 weeks now, and as Aucklanders enter a fifth week of it, it’s understandable the wheels are starting to fall off a bit. Reality is biting, this is a really long time to have kids away from class. 
There’s something irreplaceable about that level of engagement from a teacher face to face, as opposed to online lessons or worksheet instructions. There is huge pressure on students to stay motivated for their at home learning, yet they’re being deprived of their usual tools in a classroom environment, their mates, their sense of purpose, their teacher front and centre. 
The younger they are, the tougher it is for them to grasp and stay with this. And tough for working parents too. 
The juggle adds enormous amounts of pressure to households. In fact, it’s so tough that many are asking the Government to bring school holidays forward. That’s because by the time Auckland comes out of all this, school students will have spent a total of 9 weeks away from the classroom. Think about it.  
We’re having five weeks in level 4, if we come out and move to level 3 next week and do a two-week cycle in level 3, then that’s 7 weeks off school for kids, only to return to school in time for school holidays. That’s another two weeks. So, nine weeks in total. The impact to their learning of that, given term 3 is an intense term with a high level of output, is concerning. 
But will the Ministry of Education move the dates? 
Teachers Unions hope not, they say it’s too logistically challenging and too much to ask of teachers. 
Hipkins said he’d make a decision sooner rather than later but we are of course still waiting for that. 
Some clarity is badly needed, for parents who’ll need to plan childcare, for teachers, for the students themselves, and also, for the all-important regional tourist operators.  
Think about the implications for them if school holidays get moved forward into level 3 lockdown time, then what does that mean for any domestic travel plans for Aucklanders? 
And what do we know about Aucklanders not travelling? It has a devastating knock-on effect for tourist operators throughout the whole country.  
So, a lot weighs in the balance here as we wait, and wait, for the Government to answer.  
My pick? School holidays are going nowhere, they'll stick with the original dates.

Auckland Airport and some big names in business are coming together in our first real mass incentive push to get people vaccinated.  
The drive thru vaccine site at the airport has been successful, but they are still only jabbing at half the rate possible.  
So, they've launched a new campaign called "Doing it for each other".  
It will involve tens of thousands of dollars in prizes and daily draws for everyone who gets jabbed at the site, and you go in the draw by scanning the Park and Ride QR codes.  
Some of the incentives include:

Three donations of $10,000 cash and $10,000 in warehouse stationery goods to be made to south Auckland schools 
New initiative to attract unvaccinated 20-35 age group with daily prize draws at the park & ride drive-through vaccination centre, worth a combined total of over $70,000
$5,000 award for the best social media campaign promoting vaccinations, with the award going to the south Auckland charitable organisation of the winner’s choosing 
Fleet of park & ride buses to be used for the mobile vaccination drive

 Auckland Airport chief Adrian Littlewood joined Mike Hosking. 
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The idea of a student loan-type scheme is expected to be a win-win for businesses and the Government. 
Treasury's being asked to introduce it to help companies get through the economic impact of Covid-19. 
The idea's come from Cognitus Economic Insight principal economist, Richard Meade. 
He told Kate Hawkesby the Government would have about 14 percent less debt, if the scheme was put in place. 
"But the level of support offered is about two and a half times higher than wage subsidies, because you're ensuring businesses revenue lines, not just one of the cost lines."
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The Auckland couple who travelled to Wānaka have outed themselves and apologised. 
They are 35-year-old William Willis and 26-year-old Hannah Rawnsley. 
In their apology, they have said their actions were completely irresponsible and inexcusable but that they sought name suppression because they had received death threats.  
Upon hearing that, has our vitriol gone a bit overboard? And can this couple recover their reputation after this?  
Specialist in Reputation Management at Massey University Dr Chris Galloway joined Mike Hosking. 
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Another plea for help from Auckland businesses. 
Heart of the City says Covid-19 has had a severe impact on companies and the cries for help are escalating. 
Chief Executive Viv Beck told Mike Hosking there needs to be targeted help for businesses in the form of a Covid loan scheme. 
"On Friday, we had the announcement of the three extra resurgence payments at $1.2 billion. High cost, but the reality is, as much as it's welcomed, it's really only a drop in the bucket for some." 
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The Wellington Chamber of Commerce says New Zealand is too reliant on Auckland. 
The capital has been in Alert Level Two for a week now...but with Auckland still in Alert Level Four...paused supply chains are leaving businesses vulnerable.  
Chamber CEO Simon Arcus told Kate Hawkesby the reliance needs to end.  
"We need to think differently about the way we're building New Zealand cities. Things like warehousing, logistics, modern e-commerce should be driving our thinking when we're planning our cities." 
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