Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Labour MP Greg O'Connor has apologised and said he got it wrong after he publicly criticised the handling of Clare Curran's resignation.O'Connor told Newstalk ZB's Heather Du Plessis-Allan yesterday, he felt things could have been done better.Now, he says it's pretty important to get it right - and he got it wrong - saying he's apologised and he's got the message.O'Connor repeatedly admonished himself when speaking to media today - saying eight times in just 90 seconds that he got it wrong.The Ohariu MP says his understanding of the events was wrong, the Prime Minister has spoken with him, he's apologised, and he now knows what was right.Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper has doubts though."Well in my book she [Jacinda Ardern] actually got it wrong and O'Connor got it right.""She deserved to be criticised for her handling of the Curran debacle, particularly when she declared on Newstalk ZB on Friday morning that Curran had paid her price and wasn't going to be cut loose, knowing full well that she had r

A school fundraiser faces a battle with bureaucracy to continue to sell alcohol after a medical officer objected to the event which has been running for 10 years.The Napier District Licensing Committee will tomorrow hear an objection to plans to sell liquor at a suburban Hawke's Bay school fundraising event.The objection has been lodged by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board against an application by Port Ahuriri School to sell liquor over the three-and-a-half hours of its Food and Music Festival in the school grounds on the evening of Friday, November 9.It will be the fourth year in a row the selling of liquor at the event has been opposed by the board through Medical Officer of Health Dr Rachel Eyre, who argued the consumption of alcohol on school grounds in the presence of children was inappropriate.The application was not opposed by the police and no concerns have been raised by Napier City Council licensing inspector Darryn Waugh.Eyre said her view held it was inappropriate to have liquor on school gro

Clare Curran has resigned as Minister - but is it too little, too late?That's the view of some callers to Andrew Dickens today, who were overwhelmingly critical of how the situation has been handled.The main criticism was levelled at Curran for using a Gmail account to conduct ministerial business.Callers Jeff was critical, with Jeff saying that using a private email address was 'obviously wrong' and 'stupid'.Another caller says Curran has shown poor judgement. Some callers were divided on whether or not Ardern should have been more upfront about Curran's resignation.The Prime Minister spoke to Chris Lynch hours before Curran resigned and gave no hint that the Minister would be resigning. Callers were split on how Ardern handled it, with some happy that she gave Curran space while others think she should have been more upfront. One caller says the damage will be 'far more wide reaching'. Graham says that Ardern needs to show more ruthless leadership. Though one caller was a little more realistic, saying that

A proposed parking bylaw in Hahei could see visitors fork out $10 to visit the beach.The Thames-Coromandel District Council wants to ban people from parking on the streets between October and April each year.Visitors would have no choice but to use paid car parks, when visiting attractions such as Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.Hahei Holiday Resort manager Grant Kilby told Andrew Dickens there's huge pressure on local infrastructure, and he welcomes the idea."The benefit of that is that all the revenues to gain from that will go back into the infrastructure to enhance the tourism attraction that Hahei is."Other callers from locals and bach owners were mixed, with some strongly opposed while others were not as bothered.Gloria, who lives near Hahei, says she doesn't mind the cars being there, and says that people need to accept that there will be cars."When you've got some sort of attraction, people are going to want to come and see it, and you have to handle it the best you can." She pointed out there is a

Merriam-Webster has added more than 840 words to its dictionary. The list is heavy on food-related words like 'hangry', which Merriam-Webster defines as 'irritable or angry because of hunger'.If you prefer a liquid lunch, you might enjoy new entries such as 'hophead' ("a beer enthusiast")Word nerds who can't stand it when nouns get turned into verbs are unlikely to be pleased with 'Instagramming', defined as 'post[ing] (a picture) to the Instagram photo-sharing service'.Other social media words include 'retweet', when a post on Twitter is shared by other users, and 'bingeable', referring to multiple episodes of a TV show that can be watched in rapid succession. Many of the new words are popular with young people, including 'time suck' ('an activity to which one devotes a lot of time that might be better or more productively spent doing other things'), and 'rando', a shortened version of random. If you reached the end of this article, then you wouldn't need to worry about 'TL;DR', an abbreviation of 'Too Long,

No matter what the Government does, they can't change terrible tenants.That's the overwhelming message talkback callers had for Andrew Dickens this afternoon. The Government has released a discussion document on the Healthy Homes Bill, that looks to improve the quality of homes across the country.However, most landlords have rejected the proposal, saying that there will always be bad tenants who will reverse all that hard work.One landlord, Jeff, told Andrew how he had tenants steal heaters from his home and put him off ever renting out again.LISTEN TO CALLER JEFF ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand needs to quickly stop burning fossil fuels, plant vast amounts of forest - and switch to electric vehicles and greener agriculture, a major report has found.The Productivity Commission's final report on how the country can shift to a low-emissions economy also called for emissions standards for newly registered vehicles, a "feebate" scheme to boost the uptake of EVs, and putting a price on gases from farms.Chairman Murray Sherwin said the period between now and 2050 - the target the Government has set for its bold Zero Carbon Bill - would pass quickly, and delaying action now would make the shift harder and costlier in the long run.The commission recommended a move away from using fossil fuels for providing process heat for industry, and a "rapid and comprehensive" switch from petrol cars to EVs, of which fewer than 10,000 are on our roads today.The suggestion has been met with mixed reaction from talkback listeners, particularly around the switch to electric vehicles.Some callers were positive ab

Lifeline’s funding has been stretched to the limit – as one talkback caller knows all too well.The helpline lost its contract for Government funding last year and has been struggling ever since, with calls being missed.Andrew Dickens asked for his listeners take on the issue, and one caller shared his story.Dave says that Lifeline helped him out as recently as last week, with the helpline talking him out of a dark place.However, it came after he tried Crisisline first, and was told that a conflict of interest meant they could not talk to him.Where to get help:If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.Or if you need to talk to someone else:Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youthline:0800 376 633 • Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 (available

The cost of having a baby when you are the Prime Minister will weigh heavily on the taxpayer this week - around about $100,000. Newstalk ZB Political editor Barry Soper told Andrew Dickens the RNZAF VIP jet will fly back from Nauru to pick up Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday to take her to the Pacific Islands Forum.Ardern's cut short her time at the forum because to take her baby would have required giving her a number of vaccinations.The media contingent left the country this morning with Foreign Minister Winston Peters on the same jet, and it will return and collect Ardern on a separate trip.  Based on fuel prices from two years ago - the cost to fly the jet to and from Nauru would be just over a hundred thousand dollars, but in the past year fuel's risen by 20 percent. Ardern will miss tonight's opening ceremony and tomorrow's formal dialogue - but will get to the leaders' retreat on Wednesday and attend a banquet before flying out at close to midnight.The Forum's opening ceremony is tonight, but Ardern will on

I got the best Father’s Day present this weekend. My youngest lad, 19-year-old Ben, came back from university for a week at home during a mid-semester break. He’s only a fifth of our family but having him home doubles the energy of the house.So when Ben comes home he only has a few demands. Make sure there are 24 eggs and a slew of cold meats in the house and let’s have some hearty home-cooked meals. He comes home for family but I think he really comes home to eat.Life as a second-year student, flatting in Wellington is tight. No free tertiary for this boy he’s one year too old. No hostels because he’s in his second year. High rents because properties are tight. It means the budget is brutal.Ben gets through by bulk buying veggies at the Victoria Street carpark Sunday market. Meat disappears from his budget. When he arrives home his only stipulation is no tomato based dishes because the pasta and can of tomatoes diet gets tedious when it’s your staple diet.I thought about this when I heard two conflicting sto

It's one of the best-known songs in the English language.And today, it celebrates its 50th birthday.'Hey Jude' is one of the Beatles most defining tracks. Written to comfort John Lennon's son Julian after his parent's divorce, it is now frequently played in any type of event all around the world.LISTEN TO ANDREW DICKENS TALK ABOUT IT ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it ever right to lie to your partner?An Australian psychiatrist, speaking to ABC's Nightlife station, got Andrew Dickens thinking about the intricacies of telling the truth to your partner."Relationships are built on truth and honesty, but of course sometimes hearing the truth can be painful," he said to listeners.Talkback callers were mostly in agreement that lying is sometimes necessary - though the secrecy and trying not to hurt their feelings can backfire. One caller, Keri, says that she and her partner of 15 years work by completing separating their lives and rarely share the finer parts of their days. Another, Dante, says that he is careful with giving his partner criticism, but expects honesty from her. LISTEN TO THE TALKBACK ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So if you’ve noticed that the world seems peaceful and springlike lately it might be because parliament is in recess.Our MPs have vacated Wellington and spread to all four corners of the Earth. Yesterday we learnt that Mark Mitchell is spending the break  in South Sudan. Of course South Sudan is right beside Somalia and is the world’s youngest declared country coming into existence in 2013. Since then dozens of factions have been fighting for control wand the fights have killed thousands and displaced millions. And when they’re fighting they neglect to make food so a fair few South Sudanese are starving even though it’s a fertile place with loads of land.There’s a peace deal floating around but just an hour ago it started to fall apart again. Former Labour leader David Shearer is running the UN peacekeeping operation there with a handful of Kiwis and so Mark Mitchell is going to have a look see. I guess he wanted to go somewhere less stressful than the Beehive.The Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard is havin

Here’s a little story about Pukekohe.Pukekohe, the eighteenth largest city in New Zealand with 31,000 souls, 50 kilometres from Auckland. Possesses the best soil on earth and an awful lot of lettuces and carrots. Birthplace of Possum Bourne, Jonah Lomu and my mother. Home of the mighty Counties rugby side.A friend of mine has just transferred from the Wellington newsroom to Auckland. She and her husband are looking for a place so until then she decided to get the best and cheapest renter she could and so she chose Pukekohe. It’s relatively cheap. There’s a train. The train costs her $7.50 and takes 1 hour and 10 minutes and in that hour she gets loads of work done. Occasionally she brings her car into town. It takes longer. The parking is more expensive and she gets no work done.So the other day she asks me why she has to change trains at Papakura which is 33 kilometres from Auckland. That’s because when the lines were electrified it was decided to save money to stop at Papakura. So two-thirds of the way home

Tauranga City Council is discussing ways it can reduce the number or wastewater blockages caused by wet wipes.The Council's Environment Committee has written to the Government asking them to ban labels such as "flushable" on advertising and packaging.Mayor Greg Brownless says wet wipes aren't truly flushable because they cause about 30 per cent of the network's blockages every year."Other places than Tauranga would also benefit from changes to the advertising because other councils throughout the country must deal with the same issue."Property Manager Steven told Andrews Dickens that the baby wipes are not designed for our wastewater system."I think it is really deceiving to use words like 'flushable" when in reality they block drains and are a serious problem."LISTEN ABOVE AS STEVEN SPEAKS WITH ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LISTEN TO RAYLENE RAMSAY AND ANDREW DICKENS DISCUSS THE STORY ABOVEA bridezilla in Canada has disowned friends and family in a foul-mouthed Facebook rant after she cancelled her $60,000 ($NZ68,800) wedding because guests refused to give her $1500 ($NZ1700) to attend.The unbelievable story went viral after shots of the bride's ridiculous rant were posted to Reddit.The bride, Susan, took to Facebook to announce the cancellation of her wedding four days before the event, blaming guests for not funding her Kardashian-style wedding.The post is very lengthy so here is a quick rundown if you don't feel like reading the whole thing — but I really recommend you do as it is totally worth it.It starts with Susan announcing the cancellation of the wedding and that her and her partner have split due to "recent and irreparable problems".She then goes on to explain how she had always dreamt of having a huge "blowout" wedding but as her and her partner had only saved $15,000 ($A15,700) they turned to their guests to fund the

She's done it in the movies, now she's doing a whole album of it.Cher has begun to release music from her forthcoming Abba cover album, Dancing Queen. The two singles so far, Gimme Gimme Gimme and SOS, will feature on the album released next month, just in time for her tour in Australia and New Zealand. The song has already earned an ecstatic response from fans, with caller Ally singing her praises to Andrew Dickens above. LISTEN TO ALLY AND THE SONG ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an admirable perversity to one of the world's great lyricists - perhaps the world's greatest - delivering those great lyrics - perhaps the world's greatest - in a voice that regularly borders on damn near incomprehensible.Dylan's words slur and soar and crash into each other, more rhythmic onomatopoeia than anything else, in a croaking voice that sounds like he's spent the day gargling gravel. It has to be said that against the backing of his crash hot blues band this sounds absolutely fantastic. Grizzled, swampy and, often, quite moving and beautiful.It also borders on trolling that the man who started a musical revolution, smirking off accusations of being a folk Judas for having the audacity to pick up an electric guitar, spent the evening hammering away at a grand piano.Dylan did leave it once - doing a snazzy little dance shuffle to center stage to sing Love Sick, heck, he even busted out some unexpected Elvis Presley style, mic stand poses an indication that yes, he was having fun up there - bef

It was a weekend where there was much to take pleasure in.Friday saw the Warriors make the post season for the first time since 2011.  That is a long time between drinks.  Warriors players have come and gone without knowing the thrill of finals play.  That Simon Mannering will finally be back at the business end after racking up 300 appearances is very sweet. But the people I’m happiest for are the faithful fans. Crowds have been up this season as fairweather fans came back to Mt Smart, but in amongst them are the 10,000 or so who kept the faith. They deserve this.Saturday saw the All Blacks wallop the Wallabies even though they had less possession.  This side are the most vicious counter attackers on the planet. As many have pointed out there is even more upside for this team which must be putting the wibble wobbles under everyone else. Chris Rattue this morning said just give next years World Cup to us now. You got to love Mr Rattue. He’s either too grumpy or too enthusiastic.The Black Ferns also thumped th

Bewitched is making a return - but with a very different take on things.Entertainment industry website Deadline says the hit sitcom of the 1960s is being reworked with an interracial family.Samantha will be a hardworking black single mum who marries Darrin, a white mortal who happens to be a bit of a slacker.They struggle to navigate their differences as she discovers that in America, even when a black woman is literally magic, she’s still not as powerful as a white man in America. LISTEN TO GEORGE FENWICK TALK WITH ANDREW DICKENS ABOUT THE NEWS ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.