Covid Watch

The speed and accessibility of the Covid-19 test and vaccine roll-out will be investigated in an independent review.

The Prime Minister has announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Government's Covid-19 response.

It will cover the period from February 2020 and October this year, and be chaired by Melbourne-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely.

Covid Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says the availability of RAT tests and jabs will be looked at, as well as the speed of the roll-out.

"We want a really broad review because we want to learn the lessons from the Covid-19 response to make sure we're better prepared for a pandemic in the future."

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The Government has recently announced that a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic will be taking place.

This Royal Commission of Inquiry will be used to prepare the nation for future pandemics, and evidence will be considered from February 1st, 2023.

Political editor Barry Soper has observed that this inquiry will conclude midway through 2024, and wonders if this decision is Labour betting on themselves for the upcoming election.

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Our National Party got themselves some coverage in Australia yesterday because three of their senior players are over there campaigning.

The group is led by Chris Bishop and it shows a couple of things:

1) There are a lot of Kiwis in that part of the world so the pickings are particularly rich.

2) National are clearly organised given the election is a year away.

3) It’s a fascinating experiment, where mood, actions and reactions lead to votes.

The main reason they are over there is MIQ and the inability of tens of thousands of expats to access this country for such a long period of time during Covid.

The question I suppose is - is that anger, all those threats, that dismay, that outpouring of grief going to convert to votes for the opposition?

If you bottled the mood at the time, the Government would have been toast.

The MIQ system was shockingly designed, fundamentally flawed and ended up in court with a loss for the Government.

It was a foray into repression and fury that was never really needed and a very good example of what this Government has become famous for - dreaming up a plan then cocking it up.

The famous got access to The Wiggles and Jacinda Ardern's favourite DJs while people were locked out and forced to watch loved ones die, loved ones get married via zoom and that mad lottery of getting up at all hours and watching as you yet again got a number that would not get you anywhere close to getting a room and into the country.

Charlotte Bellis, remember her? The pregnant journalist who bullied her way in by embarrassing Chris Hipkins into submission - the whole thing was a grotesque mess.

So, are they still angry you reckon? Or have they moved on? Is there still payback for an opposition to be mined or do we see it in a new light?

Dan Andrews in Victoria locked his people down as badly as us, if not longer, and he got re elected over the weekend.

Did people forget, or forgive, or were they not that bothered to start with?

Our Government will be praying time heals all ills - and retribution isn't a driving force.

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A court will today consider the fate of a four-month-old baby boy who needs life-saving heart surgery.

The child's parents are refusing blood donations from vaccinated people - wishing instead to use their own donors.

Health New Zealand will go to the High Court at Auckland today, seeking guardianship over the baby to allow the surgery to proceed.

Barrister Simon Judd told Mike Hosking while it's a rare situation, the law does cover situations like these.

He says the judge can appoint the court the guardian just for the purpose of the surgery, leaving the parents as guardians in every other respect.

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Wil Anderson is one of Australia’s most successful comedians, having worked as a television host, writer and podcaster. 

His latest project is a new book, it is called I Am Not Fine, Thanks, it's part memoir and part manifesto and looks back on the last couple of years- because they've been tough on all of us.

Wil Anderson was inspired by his bad luck to focus on being a stand up comedian around the same time Covid-19 hit, and he called in from Australia to discuss.

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Hong Kong stocks have jumped more than 7 percent as China announced an ease in Covid restrictions.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is reporting the best month in over a decade, and this is linked to China cutting back on quarantine measures for citizens and inbound travellers. 

Deborah Lambie from Milford Asset Management explained how China's easing of restrictions is affecting the economy, and what China opening up could mean for New Zealand.

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NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny has been reading over the Reserve Bank's response to the pandemic.

But it seems to have left her with more questions than answers, particularly concerning the housing market in late 2020/early 2021. 

According to Jenee Tibshraeny, the Reserve Bank didn't put more weight on what the spike in house prices at the time meant for the resilience of the economy. 

Jenee Tibshraeny also notes that it may be easy to factor in hindsight now, but the Reserve Bank could have been aware of this economic situation beforehand.

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Today on The Huddle: Neale Jones from PR firm Capital and Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transporting NZ talked about the following topics- and more!

A group of people chased down the Ellerslie robbers yesterday, and now police have come out and said please don't chase robbers and to leave that to the police. Is this a good idea, considering the public perception of the police?

More complaints are coming out about all the cruise ship passengers using public buses to get from A to B instead of expensive taxis / shuttles. How fair is this?

Do you think having to have at least two Maori representatives out of at least six representatives constitutes co-governance in the RMA replacement?

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The Reserve Bank has recently published a report about the last five financial years, in order to review the decisions they've made.

They've acknowledged these last five years have presented a unique challenge due to the pandemic, and said their Covid-19 response was both consistent with the data they had and avoided any worst case financial scenarios.

The Reserve Bank has also acknowledged in the report that they could have tightened monetary policy in order to “lessen inflation at the margins”.

Barry Soper, ZB's political editor explained further, and pointed out that it seemed convenient for them to share this report as the Adrian Orr fiasco unfolds and opposition parties call for an independent inquiry.

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Addington Raceway is humming as Christchurch punters continue to enjoy the return of Cup Day.

It's the first time in two years the venue can hold the annual event without Covid restrictions.

Racing industry manager Darrin Williams says despite general admission not being as high as they'd like, it's been an outstanding day.

He says it's just great to be able to have punters on course again.

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