Andrew Dickens Afternoons

What a lovely Waitangi day. We spent the morning at the beach. Had a meal at a café and fell asleep in the afternoon. Then fired up the barbecue and sat down to watch the cricket in Wellington.It was a bit of a surprise to see everyone rugged up like it was autumn, but I’m sure the cool change was welcome, particularly in Nelson where two terrible fires were raging. Perhaps not so much at the Phil Collins concert in Hawkes Bay!It was a lovely night of cricket watching as both the men and women’s cricket teams took good revenge against the Indians.It was particularly pleasing to watch the women. The White Ferns posted a good enough 159 for four. But the Indians at the 12th over were cruising at 102 for one. We’d given up watching and were cooking in the kitchen, listening to the radio and then the collapse happened and it was riveting. The final nine wickets falling for just 34 runs.We’d rushed back to the TV. The crowd was in good voice. What a good thing for women’s sport. Sharing a big stage they showed tha

"I don't think this government has the leadership or communication to get a fair capital gains tax across the line."Andrew Dickens asked the question 'Can this government deliver a capital gains tax which is fair to all?' on his afternoon show.Callers into the show expressed their opinions on the issue.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The record holder for the most liked image on Instagram is now using the popularity for good.world_record_egg was launched at the start of the year as a harmless attempt to claim Instagram's record, besting the 18 million likes that Kylie Jenner had racked up with a photo of her daughter, Stormi.View this post on InstagramLet’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this

Last week at this time I criticised the Prime Minister for not appearing for her regular Tuesday state of the nation interviews with the country’s electronic media. She had a logic for it but I said it didn’t make political sense. Her government is under attack on many fronts and after near enough two months of silence I thought it time she stood up and defended her beleaguered policies.Well today she turned up for her first of the year. It’s February 5th. But anyway she’s back and I think it’s fair to say that she didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and re-energise her supporters or the country.This was most evident when Mike Hosking asked why how the government got the immigration numbers so wrong. If you missed the story, the statistical methodology has been changed and under the new method net migration is less than it was previously thought to be. Depending on which statistician you listen to the numbers are down 10 to 20 thousand people.What followed between Mike and Jacinda was a mind numbingly bo

Some Tauranga families living in hardship are struggling to provide school lunches for their children as back-to-school costs mount. responsibilities  KidsCan's data shows that one in every five children in low-decile schools around New Zealand will head back to class this year without enough food.Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Diane Bruin said there had been high demand for food parcels during the school holidays as allocated food money was paying for back to school costs."A number of young mothers have been seeking food assistance this week due to back to school costs," she said."We don't want to see children without food or school uniforms."Bruin said children going back to school without food and uniforms was a "growing issue" in Tauranga, as well as high accommodation costs.Tauranga principals were also noticing the back to school pressures on vulnerable children.Tom Paekau is the principal of Merivale School. Photo / FileMerivale School principal Tom Paekau said the decile 1 school was graded

It's unclear whether the initial incursion happened stealthily at night or brazenly during the day - though authorities are almost certain the invasion occurred by sea.And federal employees who returned from the month-long partial government shutdown decided that it was probably not worth the effort to relocate the roughly 90 individuals involved. That's because some of them were pregnant or newborns, and all of them were opportunistic elephant seals that have taken over what used to be the tourist area of Drakes Beach, California.Across the nation this week, returning federal workers slogged through backlogs of voice mails, sifted through bursting email inboxes and tried to remember the name of the childhood pet at the beginning of their log-in passwords.At Drakes Beach, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, employees had a much bigger problem. Literally. Some of the elephant seal squatters weigh as much as a car.A colony of nearly 1,500 seals inhabits nearby Chimney Beach, which is protected from binoc

It was a beautiful summer’s weekend. Balmy temperatures that meant T-shirts all day and all night.  A pristine day in Wellington as India handed New Zealand another comprehensive lesson in how to play one day cricket. I watched the game with a beer and my youngest son who’s enjoying a fantastic summer before returning to university in the capital.So who can believe that pre season Super Rugby was being played and the official season is now less than two weeks away. Madness.But the Blues were playing the Chiefs in Kaikohe. To be honest the Blues were spanking the Chiefs in Kaikohe but that is not the news. The news was that 4000 people sold out the local ground and it was a great day. Simon Wilson has written a lovely story about the fun and festivities and the aroha that surrounded the players for an afternoon in February.But not all the story. He does mention that nobody stayed in the town. The Blues were in a hotel in Waitangi while the Chiefs bunked down in Whangarei. But what wasn’t mentioned was that the

What a fascinating business section in the paper today.Firstly, the section had a wrap around. For those who don’t know, a wrap around is a full-page ad on the front page of a paper or a section of the paper.Todays’s wraparound was paid for by the Westpac bank and its headline was “minimum is not enough. It’s time.”Westpac has decided that the lowest wage to be paid in their corporation will be the living wage - not the minimum wage. The ad says the living wage will add at least $131 to the lowest paid’s weekly wage. They think it will make a world of difference. It’s an extra week's worth of groceries. Westpac currently employs 480 people on minimum wage.But they also say it will grow their business and will mean workers take more pride in their work, feel more valued and hence more enthusiastic. Then they challenge other big businesses to join them.So good on them, it’s their choice. The cynical amongst us might note that what with the Australian Banking Royal Commission and the FMA here snooping around ban

Inland wastewater systems will be under huge pressure, if predicted sea level rise continues.A report from Local Government New Zealand shows predicted damage to council infrastructure nationwide would cost approximately $8 billion.Water New Zealand technical manager Noel Roberts says it will back the water level up inside the sewers.He says the infrastructure will be under pressure and it will have to cope with higher volumes.Andrew Dickens asked his listeners what they thought about this, especially in light of a recent story that the West Coast Regional Council demanded more information on climate change from the Government.One caller, Jake, says that people don't have the knowledge or time to appreciate the horror of these reports. But another, Gavin, questioned where all the water that would raise the sea levels is coming from. Pete drew the debate back to the recent talk of a heat wave, claiming the current temperatures are what he felt as a kid.He says that he owns a property in Fiji and a sea wall nea

It’s officially a heatwave is some parts of the country and coming to other parts within days. A heatwave is five days in a row five degrees over the average temperature.So it’s hot. But interestingly not as hot a January as last year. And we need to put the hot into perspective. It’s not Melbourne hot, or Alice Springs hot. It’s more Rarotonga hot or South of France hot so it’s actually quite pleasant. As long as you know how to cope.So a friend of mine is in the middle of a two room house renovation and the builders are in.  Normally they turn up at 7 to 7.30am and get working at 8am. But yesterday they turned up at 5am and started working by 6am. They knocked off work at 2pm because it only gets hotter as the day goes on. Smart.I don’t have to worry about peak heat because I’m indoors in air con. But yesterday Helen worked from home. I got home about 5pm to find her melting in a puddle. All the windows open. And that was her mistake. Our living room faces west. The sun and heat had been streaming into the

Industries like tree planting and fruit picking are facing a shortage of workers, but are young people to blame?Fencing is the latest industry to reveal they are struggling to find workers, despite offering a high hourly pay. Young people are often blamed for not being attracted to physical work.A fencer who spoke with Mike Hosking says that education is too focused on going to university rather than pointing them towards trade sectors.However, Andrew Dickens raised his doubts about this. He says it's not up to young people or the Government to fill the vacancies, but the industries themselves. "Is it up to these industries to get out there and tell more people about this industry?"Putting the question to listeners, a swarm of callers shared their thoughts.Caller Jamie says that he has worked in fruit picking, and the industry hasn't evolved to adapt to modern work practices around working hours and pay. Another, Tom, says that the government should pay sports clubs to do these jobs as sponsorship for their a

A tidying revolution has gripped the world.After Tidying Up with Marie Kondo launched on Netflix this month, people around the world have been inspired to clean up and scale down on their possessions.The trend was felt strongest by opshops, with many inundated with more donations than they could handle.But while Marie Kondo has everyone talking, she isn't the only cleaning superstar. 'Cleanfluencers' have become big on social media, with people racking up millions of followers as they show off their cleaning obsessions. The news had Andrew Dickens bemoaning about the real burden cleaning out can have on people, and many talkback callers were in agreement. LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So has anyone seen the Prime Minister lately? If anyone sees Jacinda Ardern in the flesh, could you please contact authorities so we can return her to the people.This is an observation that has been brewing for a while. In fact Chris Trotter, a lefty, first wrote about it in the middle of December.But it wasn’t until today that I finally thought this is getting weird.Every Tuesday since Helen Clark’s day the Prime Minister has done the rounds of media in the morning. On ZB that means 7.35am for 10 minutes and we have a quick recap of the issues of the week and where the government is at.But we haven’t had one this year. Firstly she was on holiday for ages, which I didn’t resent because she does have a child under one who hasn’t seen a lot of her Mum. Then last week the PM was in Davos Switzerland but apparently was unable to use a phone.The suspicion is rising that Jacinda Ardern likes to be a spokesperson for a government and a figurehead for the world but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of being a le

As New Zealanders across the country get out and enjoy a variety of music festival, the question around drug testing rears its head once again.Aucklanders today got to enjoy all that Laneway Festival had to offer, while One Love took over Tauranga this weekend.While most are there to enjoy the music, the festivals have turned into political fodder as the debate rages about whether drug testing should be legalised.Andrew Dickens says that while he has no issues with drugs such as marijuana, he finds pills such as ecstasy "evil chemistry" and should not be encouraged."This is not organic. As soon as someone starts talking about LSDs, MDMAs, popping pills, it gives me these heebie-jebbies. I've never done it, never will." However, he feels that people don't deserve to die over mistakes. Talkback callers were divided over the matter, with a mix of support for the move while others were strongly against. Caller Tom says that the performers should have to be tested as well, as they promote drug culture. While Dagan

Ever wanted to live in an Italian village? This may be your opportunity. Airbnb wants to send four people to the small village of Grottole for three months later this year, in an effort to boost tourism. The site wants to send four people to live in the hilltop village, and will give them US$1,000 a month to spend on food and wine.The catch? It's not quite a free holiday, as the move is part of an effort to help revitalise the town and others throughout the Italian countryside.Currently, only 300 people live in Grottole, which has 600 empty houses. The abandoned feel is due to the mass exodus of young people heading to the bigger cities to find work. The four lucky people sent to the town will participate in traditional activities, such as harvesting honey and making olive oil and pasta.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Kiwi woman shared an inspirational message about promoting positive body image after some men "pointed and laughed" at her when she took her sarong off at Mt Maunganui Beach.Shelly Proebstel, from Waipa, posted to Facebook on her page Bald and Beautiful what happened and then listed reasons why people are insecure about their bodies.Shelly Proebstel said that for a split-second after the incident she thought about covering up, but then reminded herself about what she learnt from her journey. Photo / Bald and Beautiful Faceboook"To the guys who pointed and laughed when I took my sarong off today at Mt Maunganui Beach, bearing my soul (my bikini body) to the world, I just want to say (excuse my language but) f*** you!," she wrote."It's because of dickheads like you that people are so incredibly insecure about their body image.Callers to the Andrew Dickens Show shared there experiences of body shaming, with many asking the question why people feel the need to judge what others look like.One woman said througho

Numbers - they get you every time.The problem with numbers is that they don’t fudge.They’re definite. Exact. Numbers don’t lie. But people lie.People fudge. People lie about numbers. People fudge numbers. But numbers are the truth. Which is why any politician worth their weight in gold, which is an inexact number, will avoid them at any cost.It’s a lesson this government fails to learn. The numbers have been causing all sorts of bother this parliamentary term.This is obviously the very hard lesson Phil Twyford has learnt this week, as the numbers came to bite him on the bum.There’s no doubt that New Zealand doesn’t have enough housing stock.  There was always doubt as to whether the government should become a private housing developer. Nothing wrong with running a social housing programme, but KiwiBuild was always to supplement the private market. There was always uncertainty as to what affordable means. But all that was debatable and defendable.But as soon as Phil Twyford started putting numbers on it he dre

Andrew Dickens has exposed fellow ZB host Larry Williams and political editor Barry Soper as Lime e-scooter enthusiasts.The two were spotted by ZB staff zooming about Auckland's CBD during the break, and reportedly were big fans.Andrew confronted Barry about the incident, and how the two left their wives behind."You were supposed to double the wives, but you and Larry left them behind!"Barry admits that got "so excited by it". "Larry was such a curmudgeon when it came to Lime scooters., he didn't wasnt to have anything to do with them. But by the end of the day, did he enjoy them?"Barry says that he can see a time where congestion forces more people onto transport initiatives like this.It comes after Mike Hosking last year admitted his enjoyment for the e-scooters after taking one for a test spin. Larry has not yet commented on his newfound love for the Lime. LISTEN TO THE CHAT ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes the public will opt for sustainable alternatives, as the country sits on the edge of a gas shortage.It comes as Genesis Energy reaches a five-year high in coal burning.READ MORE: Coal burning increases as NZ faces gas shortageThe company says it's due to low hydro storage, plant outages and the bleak outlook of longer term gas supplies because of the government's offshore exploration ban.Talkback callers to the Andrew Dickens Afternoons Show were mostly in favour of using solar panels. With the price decreasing of installing and operating solar panels, many have taken the opportunity to upgrade.Barbara told Andrew Dickens she had recently installed them, but she wasn't in favour of the government subsidising the product."I don’t think it is a good idea for the government to subsidise, and this is coming from someone who has installed solar panels. I put them in 6 months ago, and I love it, but its all about how you use it. You have to use the power during the daytime when you are at home."John

It was a very entertaining morning listening to our breakfast host lose a significant part of his rag over the well-meaning twaddle that comes out of the clean green mob.It started early just after the 6.30am news, when a hapless solar power enthusiast got a little casual with his language. He called an increase in sales of electric vehicles a “rapid uptake”.