National Party Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller joins the Weekend Collective to discuss the firefighters crisis. 

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With the rise of covid cases in the community, experts are looking at ways we can protect ourselves. Professor Michael Baker believes that masks should be mandated in indoor settings to avoid a really grim winter and that the government has taken a personal responsibility approach for fear of a potential political backlash.  Baker joined the weekend collective to discuss the recent covid resurgence and protections.

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Christopher Luxon said that New Zealand businesses have gotten soft in light of COVID-19 but is that a fair comment to make. Businesses have had to deal with changes in restrictions, staff shortages due to sickness and more.  CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Michael Barnett thinks some businesses would take offence to this comment, business isn't sitting back with its hand out. Barnett joined the weekend collective to discuss Luxon's comments.
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The OCR has increased to 2.5%, the highest rate since 2016, and the Consumer price index is expected to increase with results released this week. CTU Economist Craig Renney thinks more needs to be done for low-income families as their budgets shrink. Craig Renney joins the Weekend Collective to discuss the cost of living crisis and how the government can support low income families. 
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Orthopaedic Association president Dr John McKie says “chronic, institutional vacancies” are leading to surgeries being postponed or cancelled altogether, severely impacting the patients' quality of life. He says the solutions are complicated, but migrant workers would make a huge difference. 
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ACT's Housing spokesperson Brooke van Velden says it's unacceptable that the government hasn't met its own deadlines for ensuring Kainga Ora homes met healthy homes standards, despite having an extra tow years over private landlords. 
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501 support advocate and co-founder of Iwi in Aus Filipa Payne says she's glad to see Kiwis living in Australia start to be recognised as citizens - but the common sense approach to 501's isn't enough. She'd like to see legislative change implemented. 
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President of Hospitality NZ Jeremy Smith says the industry needs working holiday visas to include more countries than just the UK. He says they're short of people in the first place, and now need to fill the holes left by covid. 
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Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard says the FTA deal with the EU on Friday isn't a step backwards, but certainly not forwards either. He says it really only allows for less than 1% of what we produce to enter the European market. 
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Northland GP Geoff Cunningham says GPs have been left in the dark with the new Health NZ reforms, and they aren't the revamp the sector needed. He says those in the primary sector were left out of conversations with the government. 
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