Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Solo artist Miller Yule has been hard at work on new material.He is releasing “Miller Yule Live”, his first live video EP since his acclaimed debut EP “Shoot Me in the Heart” in 2016. “Miller Yule Live” comprises seven live music and video recordings featuring Miller Yule with his band, including a stunning rendition of Six60's 2018 hit "Don't Give it Up".Yule told Andrew Dickens that 2018 has been a year of consistently being in the studio and recording music."We worked on this project throughout the year and thought why not release this as a live EP. It all worked out well"Celebrating the new release, Miller will perform a free showcase at The Kingslander with his band on Wednesday 28 November 2018. A limited run of physical CDs will be available for purchase.LISTEN ABOVE AS MILLER YULE SPEAKS TO ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the interview above as professional Gasfitter Gary explains to Andrew Dickens all of the tips and tricks on using your BBQ properly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealander's love of outdoor cooking has grown in record numbers over the past few years.  American style BBQ devotees are starting to flock to the  Facebook page - NZ BBQ Pit Masters which is gaining about 300 every month.Talkback caller Mike told Andrew Dickens he has always been a fan of smoking meat."I have recently got back into smoking with wood and charcoal, it is more entertaining that way." LISTEN ABOVE AS MIKE SPEAKS TO ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rise of e-scooters has got everyone talking.It's been two weeks since the rental scooters appeared on Auckland and Christchurch footpaths, and they have been the subject of much debate since then.Some experts believe that New Zealand is not ready to have them as our footpaths aren't wide enough, while ACC has already received 14 injury claims related to the devices.Auckland Council is now deciding to re-examine the rules, furthering the debate about how safe they are. Callers to Andrew Dickens were divided, with some fans of the scooters and how convenient they are, while others are unhappy with how fast they travel. LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK FEEDBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Prime Minister putting a stake in the ground and swearing there’ll be no more regional fuel taxes as long as she’s in charge, I’ve been wondering who exactly the winners and losers are out of this.Obviously, the Opposition will be strutting around claiming victory. It was their incessant hectoring on the issue in the House that finally prompted the PM to say enough. Anything to make them shut up with their constant whingeing.Mr Bridges will be breathing a sigh of relief because finally something went right and he can chalk up a victory.But is this a victory for the nation? A victory for common sense and logic? On that, I’m not so sure.Firstly the rumor that further regional fuel taxes were to come is hard to substantiate. A bit like Jami Lee Ross’ claims to be fair. There is no smoking gun. The legislation specifically prevents them before 2021. It is true that 14 councils indicated that they’d quite like them at this year’s Local Government conference and, yes, the government heard them out but that

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have three. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have one on the way. Ordinarily, the British settle for two (as do Kiwis). So how many children makes for the happiest families?Talkback caller Paddy told Andrew Dickens he had two kids but would love to have more. He said the increasing costs of having children was just going to be to much to make it viable.Another caller said she came from a family of eleven, but it is now increasingly uncommon to see families produce so many children, with childcare being a major expense.LISTEN ABOVE TO TALKBACK CALLERS SPEAK WITH ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi musician and Legacy Winner at the Vodafone Music Awards Sharon O'Neill is returning to the country for a brand new tour.Sharon will be before two concerts at The Boathouse and the Hornby Working Men’s Club in Christchurch, and a concert at the Upper Hutt Cosmopolitan Club in Wellington, a first for her career.The 'Maxine' singer will be accompanied by a 7 piece band on the ‘Home Again II Tour’  including her partner and musical director Alan Mansfield on Keys, Clinton Brown on Bass, Dean Hetherington on Guitar, Simon Williams on Saxophone, Ric Hetherington on Drums, Aly Cook & Chrissie Small on Backing Vocals.She spoke with Andrew Dickens about the tour and her legendary career.LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bus strike across the country has highlighted the use of split shifts.Bus drivers in Auckland and Hamilton went on strike at the last minute today over better pay and allowances.Another issue that has arisen is the prominent use of split shifts within the industry.Many drivers or relatives of drivers called Andrew Dickens to reveal their experiences working split days, which often leads to employees waiting around for hours and working longer than eight hours. Union members say that drivers are often away from home for around 14 hours, and often work the longest hours in the country without the benefits for it.However, some callers were scathing over the bus driver's plight, with some accusing them of being lazy and viewing their work as a burden. Others pushed back, saying that there is no option for them to take a break from their work while on split shifts, and they have limited family time as a result. LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK FEEDBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Gisborne the best part of the country?That's what Margaret seems to think. Tech company The Straker Group moved their headquarters from Auckland to Gisborne in order to give employees a better chance of buying a home. The move has proved a success, and managers believe they will hit 20 staff by next year.Local Margaret told Tim Roxborogh that she thinks everyone should spend time in the sunny city.She told him about the joys of living there, including how it's perhaps the only place in the country where you can phone the shops up to warn you are coming.LISTEN TO MARGARET CHAT WITH TIM ROXBOROGH ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The question is, did anyone get up this morning thinking ‘hurrah, it’s Labour Day’? Or is this anniversary largely irrelevant to New Zealanders?Given how few people would actually work a 40 hour work week these days, Labour Day feels largely redundant as a holiday.Is this the weakest of the flock of public holidays, and re-name it to something else?Does it resonant with anyone? I’ll be honest, in terms of its resonance with me, I’d have to rate it a big fat zero.Hawke’s Bay got it right. They take the day off on Friday – it’s their local holiday – and they tie it in with Labour Day, so everyone gets a four day weekend.Why can’t we have a day like New Zealand Day or Sir Edmund Hillary Day, something where we can celebrate the qualities that we share in common.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wall-to-wall calls today showed that there is still only one thing on the public's mind. Talkback callers expressed their outrage over the behaviour by not only Simon Bridges and Jami-Lee Ross, but the National Party in general.Dallas told Tim Beveridge that although they are not in charge of the country, they still hold a responsibility to represent Kiwis properly.“They are the opposition and are still running the country. I am afraid the calibre of the National Party is just pathetic."Another caller made a comparison between Todd Barclay's behaviour earlier this year.“In private, what sort of a character are you to publicly air private conversations, it really is despicable behaviour.”LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK FEEDBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been over a decade since the anti-smacking legislation came into force, removing the reasonable force defence to parents prosecuted for assaulting their children. Now new research out of Canada suggests that young people are less likely to resort to violence in countries where there is a full smacking ban.Yes, I know as soon as many of you hear “new research” you may be inclined to stick your fingers in your ears and go, “blah blah blah”.But I would be interested to know how much our attitudes have changed over time and whether the passage of time or evidence, such as that presented by this research, has any impact on people's views on the smacking legislationI confess that when the smacking law was being debated I was against it. Perhaps because of my own conservative instincts and a fear of injustice.Possibly I also rebelled against the language used by the chief proponent of the Bill Sue Bradford, who insisted on framing it as a battle between supporters of the legislation, and those parents who wante

I started to draft an editorial about the National Party situation last night, and I thought I had finished it, polished it up this morning. But now I understand how that Banksy painting felt being pushed through the shredder. It’s not just a week that’s a long time in politics - the last twelve hours have been. But as the saying goes, if you are going to go down, go down in flames. Jami-Lee Ross has thrown not just himself and Simon Bridges under the bus, but he has trashed his entire National Party family as well. In addition to describing Simon Bridges as ‘corrupt, dishonest and unfit to be leader of the National Party, he also called for businesses and donors not to make further donations to the National Party while Bridges is the leader. In addition to that, he stated ‘many people shared my views within the caucus’, or words to that effect. In doing so he has basically undermined the integrity of his entire caucus - claiming, in my view, that none of them would have the guts to stand up to Simon Bridges,

LISTEN ABOVE AS BARRY SOPER SPEAKS TO TIM BEVERIDGEJami-Lee Ross' days in the National Party caucus look numbered.In a series of tweets, Ross claims Bridges pushed him out on medical leave after confronting him with a recording of Bridges discussing unlawful activity.Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper told Tim Beveridge  the future for both Bridges and Ross is looking messy."This is a direct challenge to Simon Bridges' leadership, he has got to go in and ask for the expulsion of Jamie Lee Ross from the National Party caucus tomorrow when they have their meeting."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I can’t help get the feeling the government is on the cusp of missing a golden opportunity to send a message to us all that it isn’t afraid of addressing the hard problems.The news that of a teaching crisis in the form of a teacher shortfall of around 850 teachers might have come as a shock to some but for those at the coalface of the education system it is hard to imagine too many were surprised.In watching interviews with Minister of Education Chris Hipkins one almost gets the impression that he is resentful of finding himself in the position of having to address the demands and needs of teachers after what has, arguably, been a lengthy period of neglect.But that is this Government’s lot and they have to deal with it.Yes, perhaps he has a point in placing the blame on the previous government or governments.  The crisis hasn’t happened overnight.  One thing for certain. The problem is here and it’s not going to go away.We could all spend too much time debating and discussing how or why we got here.But what i

So I'm a reasonable man and I'm not prone to hyperbolic statements. I believe that most New Zealanders and virtually all New Zealanders in leadership positions are doing their best to do the best thing for New Zealand.I'm prepared to give any government a fighting chance. This one is wanting to spend money, as money becomes available, on stuff we've neglected for a while as we recovered from a big economic shock in 2008. On a macro level, this government has the same attitude as National's coalition, who also had the same attitude as the Labour-led government before it. Run a surplus, keep debt under control. The difference is how they spend the tax. With this government, the benefit spend is up, education spending is up and one day when all the working groups make their mind up they might do something else.So they're not the big bad wolf. They just have different priorities to the last lotBut at the moment I facepalm at some of the stances being taken by Government.Knowing that business is leery of a lefty l

LISTEN ABOVE AS MARK TIERNEY SPEAKS WITH ANDREW DICKENSMark Tierney is the founding member of Strawpeople, the multi-platinum ambient pop duo of the 1990s.Mark won the APRA Silver Scroll in 1996 for his song ‘Sweet Disorder’ and also individual awards for Engineer Of The Year, and Producer Of The Year.Tierney has spent the last 20 years away from the music business, but is back with new single ‘Drowning’. He explains to Andrew Dickens his love of music, and what made him get back into the recording studio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington's Rainbow Crossing is being officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.The crossing has been installed at the intersection of Dixon St and Cuba Mall.Mayor Justin Lester says Cuba Street is considered by many to be the spiritual home of Wellington’s Pride movement."We want to celebrate our support of the Pride community, our support and solidarity as well, and doing that with a real token, a tangible sign of our support."The cost has proved controversial though, with some estimates putting the cost at $30,000 - double the cost of a normal level crossing.The cost was slammed by callers on Andrew Dickens Afternoons, with many criticising the cost of installing a new pedestrian crossing in general.LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK FEEDBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who better to represent the US at the United Nations than the President's daughter?That's what Donald Trump seemed to think when asked by a reporter earlier.The President is seeking a new ambassador, after Nikki Haley resigned from her post this morning.Asked about the possibility of Ivanka Trump taking the role, Trump said she would be "incredible" in the role."There's nothing to do with nepotism, but I want to tell you, the people that know know that Ivanka would be dynamite."Ivanka has tweeted out to say that she will not replace Haley.Trump says he's narrowed down a short list of five people to replace U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley at the United Nations.Talking with reporters aboard Air Force One, he said that former White House adviser Dina Powell is among those on the short list.Asked about U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, Trump said he "absolutely" would consider him but would rather keep him where he is because he is "doing such a good job."He is expected to announce Haley's successor in a fe

An emotional video is being shared across the internet, showing one man's attempt to help out injured elephants in Thailand.57-year-old Paul Barton of England performs for a herd of 28 elephants at the Elephant World sanctuary in Kanchanaburi, Inside Edition reports. Barton says the elephants sway and sing to the musics and sometimes drape their trunks over the instrument."Almost all elephants react in a visible way," Barton told Caters News.He says that even monkeys nearby take part in the fun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.