Nine To Noon

Stephen, Kathryn and Ben discuss what the latest 1News Kantar Public poll is showing, the frustrations over Rapid Antigen Testing and the inflation rate. Stephen Mills is an executive director at Talbot Mills research limited which is the polling firm used by Labour. He is a former political adviser to two Labour governments. Ben Thomas is a PR consultant and a former National Government press secretary.

Hannah August reviews her favourite books from last year: No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood published by Penguin Random House, Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout published by Penguin and The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay.

Thomas surveys the rising Ukraine/Russia tensions, is Europe close to war?. The EU and NATO are struggling to find a common position to deal with the crisis. And while other European countries might have already seen the peak of the Omicron wave, Germany is still very much in the middle of it, with record numbers of cases, over 200,000 a day, and many restrictions on public life. Thomas Sparrow is a political correspondent for Deutsche Welle, based in Berlin.

Significant changes will be made to the holidays act this year - affecting both employers and employees. Despite having been amended more than 20 times, the 2003 Act has been a nightmare over the years for many workplaces and staff as payroll systems struggled to understand and apply it - especially for employees with variable pay. This year's proposed changes include new ways of calculating holiday pay and other leave entitlements and also the ability for employees to take annual holidays in advance.Employees will also be eligible for family violence leave, bereavement leave and one day's sick leave from the outset of their employment. Buddle Finlay employment law partner, Hamish Kynaston, says employers need to get familiar with the changes.

It's back to class for hundreds of thousand of students today and principals worry Omicron will force some schools to close, meanwhile paediatricians want children to remain in class as long as possible. Strict safety measures have been mandated, including vaccinations, masks and the maintenance of a COVID-19 vaccination register. Dr Teuila Percival is a senior lecturer in paediatric health at the University of Auckland and a consultant paediatrician. She is part of a group of 10 paediatricians urging the government to keep schools open as long as possible, with closure only as a last resort. To discuss how well equipped teachers and principals are to deal with with Omicron rising and Delta still spreading in the community, Cherie Taylor-Patel is the new President of the New Zealand Principals Federation.

Comedians Te Radar and Michele A'Court bring a few laughs.

Among NZ's sporting elite, the only man to win 3 consecutive gold medals for NZ has called it quits and Sam says rower Hamish Bond has to be considered for a knighthood pretty soon. Also sporting disruptions caused by Omicron and the business end of the Australian Open.

Tilly Lloyd of Unity Books tells us about her favourites from last year - "three marvels of non-fiction".

British ultra-athlete Rob Pope left his job to recreate Forrest Gump's fictional run, traversing America five times.The English veterinarian is the first person to complete the epic run covering 15,600 miles, or 25,000 kilometres. It took him 18 months and raised money for the World Wildlife Fund and Peace Direct. He's no stranger to endurance events and holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon, dressed as a film character. Rob Pope now has a podcast - "How to be Superhuman". And his memoir Becoming Forrest - one man's epic run across America catalogues the ins and outs of his endurance run, the injuries, stamina sapping days, forest fires, wildlife and wild weather, and also a marriage proposal.

Susana has the latest on the massive Tongan aid effort in the wake of volcanic eruption and tsunami devastation. Also a look at Covid in the Pacific region - Solomons has community transmission, Fiji's death toll is rising, including a baby and children. Susana Lei'ataua is RNZ Pacific's news editor.