Podcast appearances and mentions of charlotte bellis

When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Kiwi reporter Charlotte Bellis made headlines around the world.At the Taliban's first press conference in Kabul it was Bellis, a blonde haired, blue eyed westerner who brazenly questioned the organisations leaders on women's rights.Fast forward to a year later, it was the Taliban that would offer her assistance when the New Zealand government wouldn't let her into her own country. Social Media@charlottebellis - X (Twitter)@andyroweonline - X (Twitter)@andyroweshow - InstagramSponsorsIf you want to take ownership of your health, try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 Free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase. Go to drinkAG1.com/ANDYROWE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is journalist Charlotte Bellis.  Charlotte began her career in her hometown Christchurch, but it's taken her all over the world, from Europe to the United States and more recently, Afghanistan, where she has sat down and interviewed the Taliban. Last year she became a mum, and during her pregnancy she fought for herself and the many Kiwis locked out of New Zealand due to the MIQ system during the pandemic. She was instrumental in highlighting how deeply flawed it was, which came at the cost of some horrific online abuse. But, the system changed and she was part of that. A really fascinating conversation with a pretty remarkable woman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our National Party got themselves some coverage in Australia yesterday because three of their senior players are over there campaigning. The group is led by Chris Bishop and it shows a couple of things: 1) There are a lot of Kiwis in that part of the world so the pickings are particularly rich. 2) National are clearly organised given the election is a year away. 3) It's a fascinating experiment, where mood, actions and reactions lead to votes. The main reason they are over there is MIQ and the inability of tens of thousands of expats to access this country for such a long period of time during Covid. The question I suppose is - is that anger, all those threats, that dismay, that outpouring of grief going to convert to votes for the opposition? If you bottled the mood at the time, the Government would have been toast. The MIQ system was shockingly designed, fundamentally flawed and ended up in court with a loss for the Government. It was a foray into repression and fury that was never really needed and a very good example of what this Government has become famous for - dreaming up a plan then cocking it up. The famous got access to The Wiggles and Jacinda Ardern's favourite DJs while people were locked out and forced to watch loved ones die, loved ones get married via zoom and that mad lottery of getting up at all hours and watching as you yet again got a number that would not get you anywhere close to getting a room and into the country. Charlotte Bellis, remember her? The pregnant journalist who bullied her way in by embarrassing Chris Hipkins into submission - the whole thing was a grotesque mess. So, are they still angry you reckon? Or have they moved on? Is there still payback for an opposition to be mined or do we see it in a new light? Dan Andrews in Victoria locked his people down as badly as us, if not longer, and he got re elected over the weekend. Did people forget, or forgive, or were they not that bothered to start with? Our Government will be praying time heals all ills - and retribution isn't a driving force.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political commentator Matthew Hooten said that Chris Hipkins's apology to Charlotte Bellis rings hollow. Chris Hipkins is kicking into gear as Police Minister – what can we expect?  What's on the agenda for the PM's trip to Europe?   Newstalk ZB's chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE 

Newstalk ZB's chief political reporter Jason Walls discusses whether the Prime Minister should apologise to Charlotte Bellis and how Chris Hipkins is performing as Police Minister. LISTEN ABOVE 

After months of legal wrangling, the former Covid-19 Minister has made a public apology to the journalist Charlotte Bellis. In a statement, Chris Hipkins has admitted he released incorrect information earlier this year about Bellis' efforts to secure a spot in MIQ. Here's our deputy political editor Craig McCulloch.

Former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has formally apologised to New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis after releasing personal information without her consent, making incorrect statements and for the "distress" the process caused.National Party leader Christopher Luxon has penned an opinion piece in the NZ Herald saying 'Gangs shouldn't decide when to cease fire'.Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss.LISTEN ABOVE

Opinion: Bellis moved the dial on MIQ. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has apologised to Charlotte Bellis for comments made regarding her MIQ application. The journalist went public with her struggle to secure an MIQ spot to get home from Afghanistan while pregnant. Hipkins has previously refused to apologise for his comments over her case. Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Susie Ferguson.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon joined Canterbury Mornings and spoke about violence in NZ, he thinks it starts at home. Charlotte Bellis receives and apology, but National believe all New Zealanders affected by the MIQ lottery of misery should be apologised to, dangerous Canterbury roads and Waka Kotahi's lack of response on roading safety.Luxon also discussed his views on New Zealand leaving the Commonwealth, saying he's comfortable with the current arrangement but it may be something he sees happen in his lifetime.LISTEN ABOVE 

I admire the Grounded Kiwis and I am thrilled for their win in the High Court.But, and it's a big but, what effect will this have? I note the previous win over vaccine mandates by the Police and Defence Force has led to nothing in the sense that Defence is continuing mandates.You'll remember a Māori authority took the Ministry of Health to court over access to information and won. But then the Ministry still refused to let the information out.At the start of the pandemic the Government also lost in the case that argued the first nine days of lockdown was unlawful. But once again, to what effect?It is, of course, a reminder that a government is the ultimate court. They, if they have the numbers, can do whatever they like.The only real hope out of the Grounded Kiwis' case is that it's a moral victory and perhaps something the voter and certainly every expat will remember come next year's election.What the judge said, in essence, is what the vast majority of us already knew. There was always a better way to do what the Government were trying to do. The system they insisted on was cruel. It was a lottery when it didn't need to be.The Government always pleaded innocence over alternatives. But that is one of their great governing weak points, they never admit mistakes, they never admit fault, and they never admit failures.The travel industry pleaded to help, the very people whose bread and butter is booking, shuffling, and sorting stuff. They were never listened to.No, you were never going to please everyone. But then they never tried to please more than they were. They were blind and deaf to the pleas for help, the cries of distress, the abject misery so many ex-pats were put through at some of the worst times of their lives.The permanent stain on this Government and its reputation are the stories of illnesses and deaths in families that were deliberately kept apart because of a government that would not listen and certainly didn't have a heart.And as Charlotte Bellis showed us, when they didn't have a heart, what you needed was PR and media help. This is yet another government failing, their poll driven obsession with oiling embarrassing squeaky wheels.So well done to the Grounded Kiwis. It's a good and just win. Given it's retrospective, and nothing really happens now, I hope the fight and energy has been worth it.You also might like to think that the Government might just hang their heads in a bit of shame, but don't hold your breath.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hopes the Government will take some responsibility and acknowledge the issues within MIQ.A High Court decision found the lottery system to get a spot was unfair,  and the criteria for emergency vouchers, too narrow.Journalist Charlotte Bellis made headlines when she initially couldn't get home from Afghanistan while pregnant.She told Kate Hawkesby to hear the Government say it will do better, and not be defensive, would go a long way for a lot of people.Bellis says no one expects people to be perfect, but the Government should appreciate there are always things to learn from emergency situations.LISTEN ABOVE

The covid-19 Response Minister has doubled down on his decision to go against official advice and share private information about New Zealand journalist, Charlotte Bellis. Earlier this year Ms Bellis was stuck in Afghanistan after being denied an MIQ spot - at the time Chris Hipkins said she had been offered consular assistance twice but had not responded. She insisted the information is wrong. Now it's been revealed in parliament that Foreign Affairs officials gave Mr Hipkins the details but told him they shouldn't be shared publicly. Here's RNZ political reporter Charlie Dreaver.

Chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Andrew Dickens on the battle to get Chris Hipkins to apologise to Charlotte Bellis. LISTEN ABOVE 

Wie Tausende andere Kiwis sass auch die Journalistin Charlotte Bellis im Ausland fest. Nur war sie bei den radikal-islamischen Taliban in Afghanistan und als schwangere unverheiratete Frau in einer heiklen Situation. Der aufsehenerregende Fall zwang die Regierung von Jacinda Ardern, das harte Corona-Einreise-Regime zu überdenken. Heutiger Gast: Matthias Stadler Hörerinnen und Hörer von «NZZ Akzent» lesen die NZZ online oder in gedruckter Form drei Monate lang zum Preis von einem Monat. Zum Angebot: nzz.ch/akzentabo

Trevor Mallard's predecessor is telling him to grow up.David Carter, Parliament's Speaker during the last National-led government, has lashed out at Mallard's handling of the Parliamentary protest.Anti-mandate protestors are into the seventh day of their rally on the grounds of Parliament.Mallard's had sprinklers on, and blasted them with some of the world's most hated songs in an attempt to move them on.Police say they don't endorse the tactics.Carter told Kate Hawkesby it doesn't do anything for New Zealand's reputation on the international stage.“Which is in tatters frankly. We had the Charlotte Bellis incident three weeks ago, and now New Zealand's in the international headlines because we have a Speaker acting in a boorish, childish way.”LISTEN ABOVE

New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis-who asked how the Taliban will treat women-is pregnant and ‘stranded' in Afghanistan…or is she?

If you watched the Taliban's first press conference,you will remember New Zealand journalist, Charlotte Bellis She's the one who asked the Taliban how they plan to treat woman. Ironically,she now finds herself pregnant and 'stranded' in Afghanistan... or is she? From her media interviews you would feel sorry for herand angey at New Zealand for their hypocritical and preposterous rules the allegedy weren't allowing her to return home. But,as we dig deeper,you will see that things aren't exactly as she would have everyone believe.

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Poto Williams and National's Gerry Brownlee to talk the big topics of the week. John asked if the Charlotte Bellis situation had been dealt with appropriately, if the Three Waters Reform was going ahead despite rumours, and what they thought of the local anti vax protesters outside Canterbury schools. LISTEN ABOVE

For those of us who live in New Zealand, MIQ has been pretty bloody good.Not perfect, no. But good enough to keep out the worst of the virus for the best part of two years. Of course, for New Zealanders based overseas who've wanted to get home, the experience has been pretty different. As New Zealand citizens, most of our opinions have been informed by our own individual experiences. If you've been separated from a loved one, or been denied precious moments with new or dying family members, the cruelty of the MIQ lottery system will stick in your throat. It'll be a defining memory of the pandemic. But the truth is, MIQ is still running today because it's popular. A majority of New Zealanders, most of whom are in the country, think the MIQ lottery is necessary for their own protection.If nothing more, the Charlotte Bellis fiasco has probably hastened the end of MIQ for most people arriving in New Zealand.But the end of the MIQ lottery is only one piece of the puzzle that needs to be sorted for New Zealand's reconnection with the World. And for all the clarity around different dates for different travellers, the new Tourism New Zealand campaign that's been launched overseas, and the end of MIQ, there is still one massive hurdle at the border.New Zealand won't be in a position to properly reconnect with the world until we no longer have a requirement for extended at-home isolation.If you were a fully-vaccinated international arrival landing in Sydney this afternoon, you'd be expected to go home, self-isolate, and take a rapid antigen test. Once you'd received a negative result, you wouldn't have to isolate any longer. You'd be good to go! For a week, you'd just have to avoid high risk places (rest homes, prisons, hospitals etc), before taking another rapid antigen test on day six.I'm not saying we should be New South Wales... yet. Australia's at least a couple of months ahead of us with Omicron. We're still waiting for the big surge.But the self-isolation requirements announced by the Government this week, where all new arrivals are treated as close contacts, will be a significant disincentive to people who want to travel to New Zealand.So what?! You might argue. It keeps us safe! Perhaps.But when we look back at 2022, something tells me Omicron isn't the thing that will have caused the most pain. Especially if most of us have received our booster shots.No, INFLATION will be the word of 2022.And removing as many barriers at the border as possible for workers and tourists alike, is one of the few things we can do to try and slow it down.

As New Zealand introduced a stalled stepped plan to reopen its border, the Canberra Convoy clashes with ACT Police. Polls show both Ardern and ScoMo are losing popular opinion. Religious freedom is once again in the spotlight. Join Tim Wilms and Dieuwe de Boer on Trad Tasman Talk. From Monday private hospitals in Victoria will be able to resume elective surgery as Omicron hospitalizations plummet. The Andrews Government also announced $1.4 billion in extra health funding after it was revealed that Victoria spends less per patient than any other state in Australia. Dan Andrews hasn't ruled out mandating further vaccine doses if they are recommended. There has been international outrage at Jacinda Ardern over pregnant NZ journalist Charlotte Bellis being denied a MIQ spot instead of remaining in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban even though she is an unmarried woman which is forbidden under Sharia law. In response and after emerging from isolation Ardern announced a complex 5 stage plan to reopen NZ to the whole world without any quarantine by October of this year. The other closed state Western Australia is now facing a food shortage after the road and rail transit routes on the Nullabour are currently flooded. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has compared WA to North Korea. The local WA Police last night interrupted a Catholic mass to check mask exemptions. Inspired by the Candian Truckers' Convoy many Australians have driven cars and caravans to Canberra to demand an end for vaccine mandates and passports. The ACT Police used brute force to drive the convoy participants from the Patrick White Lawns outside the National Library whom they deemed were packed and camping there illegally. Two ACT police officers were counseled for clinking their pepper spray bottles afterward. During this same week coincidently Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews announced $60 million in funding to combat violent extremism. Although the NZ general election isn't due until the end of 2023 Jacinda Ardern's stardust has taken a tumble in the polls. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has proposed a 3% tax increase in the government's redundancy insurance scheme. The Australian federal election is due in May 2022 with the latest Newspoll seeing Labor leading 56-44 and Morrison now only 2 points ahead of Albanese as Preferred PM 43-41. Scott Morrison's National Press Club speech didn't go to plan with Peter Van Onselen confronting him with a text message where former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian called him a 'horrible horrible person' with a serving Cabinet Minister replying calling him 'a complete physco'. The Unshackled Links: Website: https://www.theunshackled.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TUnshackled Twitter: https://twitter.com/Un_shackled Gab: https://gab.com/theunshackled Minds: https://www.minds.com/The_Unshackled/ Telegram: https://t.me/theunshackled MeWe: https://mewe.com/p/theunshackled Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_unshackled Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/theunshackled/ Free eBook: http://theunshackledbattlefield.net/ Unshackled Productions: WilmsFront: http://www.timwilms.com Trad Tasman Talk: https://www.theunshackled.net/ttt/ The Report from Tiger Mountain: http://reportfromtigermountain.com/ Support Our Work:  Membership: http://www.theunshackled.net/membership Donate: https://www.theunshackled.net/donate/ Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/TheUnshackled Store: https://www.theunshackled.net/store/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Loop is back for 2022, in a big week for local news! Rosie and Katie catch-up on the biggest stories of the week, starting with the latest announcements around the reopening of the New Zealand border. Then they are joined by Interest.co.nz journalist Jenée Tibshraeny to discuss new OECD recommendations against using your KiwiSaver to buy your first home, and Newstalk ZB's Aaron Dahmen after his piece detailing the struggle to find a flat in Wellington. In a new segment, Looping You In, the two dissect the saga of pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis saga and her fight to get back into New Zealand, and the controversy that erupted after she went public. And speaking of pregnancy, Rihanna set social media on fire with her pregnancy announcement. For more news, head to nzherald.co.nz You can follow Rosie Gordon @rosiejanegordon You can follow Katie Harris @katieharrisnz You can read Aaron's piece about the cooked rental market: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/aaron-dahmen-inside-new-zealands-cooked-rental-market/3W3HIO4D6FZWNVY6GCIW4EBU34/ And Charlotte Bellis' original open letter: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-charlotte-bellis-an-open-letter-on-miq/U4WQGYTJHUP36AGVOBN3F6PJSE/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National.  This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan Crump about the fallout from broadcaster Charlotte Bellis's media campaign against MIQ. Also: over-the-top overseas coverage of our Covid response; the first big political poll of the year zeroing in on party leaders' popularity . . . and do presenters ever sneeze live on TV?

I haven't had too much to say over the last few days about this Charlotte Bellis situation - but today I feel compelled to bring it up for discussion because I am appalled at the way it's played out. In particular, I'm appalled by what I see as her complete lack of gratitude for getting what she wanted in just a matter of days. Charlotte is the TV journalist who used to work for Al Jazeera - she's originally from Christchurch and worked for TVNZ before she headed overseas a number of years ago. She got a bit of a profile last year through her coverage of the Taliban taking over the shop in Afghanistan after the US pulled out its troops. And last weekend, she went public with the fact that she was pregnant, out of work, wanted to come home to have her baby but couldn't get an emergency spot in MIQ. Well, that's all changed in just a few days and because of all the attention, the Government has dipped into its bag of tricks and now says she can have an emergency spot and it looks like she'll be heading home to New Zealand early next month. Now before I go any further - I just want to clarify something. I've seen and heard people who aren't happy that she's got this emergency MIQ spot saying she “chose” to get pregnant. Well, she didn't actually - my understanding is that she'd been told at some point she would never be able to get pregnant. So, the fact she is pregnant - would've been quite a surprise. And a delight I imagine. And I'm very happy for her, her partner and her wider family. But I'm not happy with, is what I think (in my honest opinion) is her complete lack of gratitude for the Government giving in and getting her the emergency MIQ spot she wants, so she can come home to have her baby. If there's one thing that annoys me more than squeaky wheels getting special treatment ahead of those of us who just put up and shut up, it's squeaky wheels who continue to whinge even after they've got what they wanted. The thing that did it for me was hearing that, despite getting the MIQ booking, she's considering legal action against the Government for breaching her privacy. She was a bit coy when Mike Hosking asked her about that earlier this morning - all she said was that her lawyer probably wants her to press ahead with it. But the fact that it's even on the table and up-for-discussion is galling - as far as I'm concerned. She's not happy that Chris Hipkins revealed information about what he says “she had and hadn't done” to try and get into MIQ. But if you're going to write an open letter for publication in the NZ Herald and do media interviews about it, what do you expect the Government to do? Of course it's going to give its side of the story. But she thinks the Government has been “incredibly disrespectful”. The question that went through my head when I heard about her possibly taking legal action against the Government was, “whatever happened to gratitude?” There is zero gratitude coming from Kabul, where Charlotte is at the moment. And, you know what, if you can't be grateful, at least be gracious. But that's not coming through either. But it's not just Charlotte's attitude that's got me going today. It's also the fact that the Government appears to have given in. As Charlotte herself said this morning, other pregnant New Zealanders stuck overseas are saying to her “great for you, but what about me?” How must these women be feeling about the Government falling over itself just because someone with a profile, who - as I read in one report - has a PR friend here in New Zealand. How must they feel about this outcome? It's an appalling outcome. And, as I said earlier, the lack of gratitude coming from Charlotte Bellis is galling - but so too is the Government's willingness to put the squeaky wheel ahead of anyone else in the same situation. I'm not naive. I know this sort of thing happens every day. It's always happened. And not just with governments. We all tread on eggshells sometimes and we'v...

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National.  This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan Crump about the fallout from broadcaster Charlotte Bellis's media campaign against MIQ. Also: over-the-top overseas coverage of our Covid response; the first big political poll of the year zeroing in on party leaders' popularity . . . and do presenters ever sneeze live on TV?

As part of Canterbury Mornings' regular catch up with National Party Leader, Christopher Luxon, John MacDonald asked about his view on the Charlotte Bellis situation and if National would've handled things differently. Luxon also discussed the recent National Party retreat in Queenstown, and talked about key objectives going forward for the party and how they used the time to come together as a team with guest speakers including Steve Hansen. LISTEN ABOVE

'I urge her to take it' - the message from the Deputy Prime Minister to pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis - after announcing she's been given a place in MIQ. Bellis is in Afghanistan, and had been denied an emergency MIQ room. Her case garnered international attention, after she said the Taliban had offered her safe harbour, while she couldn't get back to New Zealand. Grant Robertson says government officials have been working with her, and have offered her a voucher and flight arrangements. He says the staff who process emergency applications deal with challenging cases on a daily basis.

Charlotte Bellis isn't sure her story has made much difference for other New Zealanders, stranded overseas.  The pregnant New Zealander has now been offered an emergency MIQ spot.  But it's based on the risks of Bellis and her partner being in Afghanistan - not the need for time-critical scheduled treatment.  Bellis told Mike Hosking it's great for her - but it hasn't moved the dial for other pregnant Kiwis abroad. “There's a simmering feeling now amongst Kiwis abroad, just from what I've read in messages today, of anxiety and not knowing and - ok great for you, but what does that leave us with?” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pregnant Kiwi journalist Charlotte Bellis will return to New Zealand at the end of this month after surviving the "circus" of her battle with the Government over an MIQ spot. "It's definitely up there," she told Newstalk ZB today after being asked about the experience and her battle to get home from Afghanistan. Stuart Nash and Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking to discuss this and the day's politics news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is coming under pressure this week as National ramps up its attack on the handling of the pandemic and the media turns its full attention to pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis and her bid for a spot in MIQ. National leader Christopher Luxon told Queenstown business leaders yesterday there should be a phased shutdown of MIQ and widespread access to rapid antigen tests. He would allow New Zealanders into the country. Bellis has won her battle and will be taking the emergency MIQ spot she's been allocated.  Meanwhile, the government has announced that the country will have access to more than 55 million rapid antigen tests by the end of March - bringing the total on order to 123 million tests. Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson spoke to Corin Dann.

So how awkward was the RAT kit announcement yesterday – that the Goverment's bought up 29 million more RATs from private company Kudu Spectrum.  I mean great, don't get me wrong, always great when much needed RATs are coming our way .. but super awkward when you've only got them because a private citizen (Sir Ian Taylor) hooked you up with the company who supplies them, and even then you waited two whole months to respond.  Kudu Spectrum were offering millions of tests, at way cheaper prices, two months ago. So, they'd be here by now, and at a better price. But as usual, the Government was too slow, too tardy, and now we're waiting, when they could've already been here.  If only the private sector were taken seriously at the time, when they showed the wherewithal to be more organised than the Government. As I said yesterday, the private sector knows how to strategize, they're smart, they're awash with contacts and resources, why doesn't this Government tap into them more often? And speaking of embarrassment, there's only so much bad international press this Government will stand. I mean they hate bad press in general, but especially on a global scale.  So no surprise to anyone that Charlotte Bellis has miraculously found herself not just an MIQ spot, but flight arrangements to go with it.  It only took a very pervasive global social and mainstream media campaign, and threats of a lawsuit, to suddenly get the MIQ doors thrown open for her.  The lawsuit, if you missed this development, was threatened after Chris Hipkins rather defensively and stupidly tried to shut down Bellis's claims by releasing personal details of hers, which she did not give consent for him to share. Bellis also claimed the details Hipkins shared were not even true.  Oh dear. So of course, she's got a spot no worries. As for all the other pregnant women who can't get wall to wall media and social media coverage, sorry, no deal. And that's the tragedy of all this. Have a platform, make a song and dance, get a result. Surely the only message here is that unless you're going to really publicly and internationally discredit and embarrass the Government, you're not going to get a spot. So an awkward week so far for the Government. Shamed into buying more RAT's - and buying them two months later than they could and should have, shamed by a pregnant Kiwi journo in Afghanistan who stuck it right up them on the world stage and got the result she needed – a capitulation from the power mad bureaucrats at MIQ and a ticket home. And tomorrow we potentially get the trifecta of shame, the announcement on reopening New Zealand. If the announcement is anything other than they're opening the border, then this will be a very sorry week indeed for the Government. 

Two weeks - that's the deadline a rural contractor is setting the government to follow through with their December promise to allow 200 skilled machinery operators into the country to help with the busy autumn harvest. Since then, not a single worker has managed to secure an MIQ spot because of the Omicron response. It comes as the government announces it's got a voucher for pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis in MIQ and has urged her to travel from Afghanistan to take it. Brook Nettleton from BlueGrass Contracting in Waikato says if workers don't arrive in the country within the next fortnight, crops will deteriorate to a point farmers will not be able to milk their cows. He talks to Lisa Owen.  

A New Zealand woman was forced to care for her new-born in the NICU without any family support because her multiple attempts at securing an emergency MIQ room were rejected. There are growing calls to prioritise emergency MIQ spots for pregnant New Zealanders who want to return from overseas. They've been prompted by the situation of Charlotte Bellis - a pregnant New Zealand citizen in Afghanistan who's been trying to get an emergency spot. Here's our political reporter Katie Scotcher.

In this crazy topsy turvy world that is the Covid pandemic it is possible to feel enormous sympathy with Charlotte Bellis, but also little sympathy at all.  So, what the hell happened?Charlotte needs to find a new place to live and have her baby because the place she chose to live in, Qatar, makes it illegal to be unwed and pregnant.  So, she escaped to the father's homeland of Belgium but under EU rules she could only stay there for 3 months. With nowhere else to go, the couple return to Kabul where the regime can spot a PR gift when they see one.  All the while she's trying to win a place in the New Zealand MIQ lottery and failing. Even though people are going for overseas holidays and returning, others like Charlotte appear to be not so lucky. Pointing out the lack of rationality in a lottery-based system. Then New Zealand closes its borders to its citizens because MIQ is full of Omicron infected Kiwis, but there is no Omicron in the country. The action buys time to make sure more New Zealanders are vaccinated against the inevitable Omicron surge.  So, Charlotte applies for an emergency exemption but is refused because being pregnant is not an emergency. She had no medical appointments and wanted to come home in a month but the emergency provision is only open for the immediate fortnight.  It's a bureaucratic bungle by Charlotte. Sadly, she hit a faceless pen pusher who operated under rules and not common sense. She's told she's got the paperwork all wrong and needs to reapply.    Instead, she snaps, hires a PR firm, contacts an opposition MP and goes to war on the Government.  On one hand, the crisis is all of her own making.  Rules are rules. However, on the other hand, it is also the making of a bureaucratic public service regime that seems to show no ability to think for itself.  I have no doubt that an answer will be found quickly now that the politicians whose jobs depend on public favour are aware of the implications and the worldwide reputational impact on our country and then this firestorm will be over.  Now I've been a big supporter of MIQ. Despite the fashion to say it's failed; it's actually been the most successful quarantine programme in the world aided by our geographic position. It's why we have had such a low infection, hospitalisation and mortality rate.   However, things need to change.  MIQ was closed to hold back Omicron. Now Omicron is here, it's time to reopen it.  Time to start phasing it out in favour of home self-isolation.  My suggestion would be that once we hit the 1000 cases a day level that should be the trigger. According to the doomsayers, that'll be in a fortnight and then there's plenty of time for Charlotte to get home to have her baby in May. 

Charlotte Bellis says she's been forced to turn to the Taliban for help after she was rejected by her own government to get home.

Yet again, the cruel and unnatural Hunger Games-style MIQ lottery has been in the spotlight. This time because a high profile journalist has been denied permission to return home so she can have her baby.  Christchurch native and former journalist at Al Jazeera, Charlotte Bellis, has made headlines around the world after she revealed that the Taliban offered her asylum in Afghanistan - when New Zealand refused to allow her in.  You can just imagine the tabloids take on that. But her's is just another example of the hurt, the frustration, the fury, the tragedy of an unnecessary system.  MIQ could be justified when Covid was an unknown. When there was no vaccine.  When people didn't know what they were dealing with and when Covid wasn't in the community. It's here.  Both Delta and Omicron variants are doing the rounds in this country and there has finally been an acceptance - if not from the PM, at least from Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson - that we have to learn to live with Covid.  Contact tracing is a farce - the PM found out she was a close contact of an Air New Zealand flight attendant a week after she flew from Kerikeri to Auckland. A week's a long time in politics and during that time she was out and about doing what a PM should be doing. As ACT leader David Seymour says if they can't trace the PM in a week, perhaps it's time to relax the isolation rules for everyone else.  Quite right.  I had a friend on that flight and I was the one who had to tell her she too was a close contact. Nobody from the Ministry had been in touch - and yet there's a passenger manifest.  She's hardly the Scarlet Pimpernel - she would have been quite easy to contact.  But nope. Not a dicky bird. We're a small country. We're a mobile country - when we're not locked down. Deem us all close contacts. Accept that it's inevitable that someone we know, sometime soon, will get Omicron. Understand that that is not a death sentence - most people will barely know they have it. Get on with life - and let New Zealanders come home, pregnant, not pregnant, young, old. Let this unjustifiable farce finally end.

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says his heart goes out to Charlotte Bellis and others desperate to return to Aotearoa. Bellis is currently pregnant and stuck in Afghanistan after missing out on a spot in managed isolation and quarantine. Baker told Morning Report MIQ is still necessary, but how rooms get allocated could do with some tuning. "There's about 500 people a day going through MIQ at the moment, and obviously, you want a robust allocation system. "It sounds like it needs attention, and I think the Charlotte Bellis case illustrates that." Baker is expecting a move to from managed isolation to self-isolation soon, but for now says having controls at the border will help slow the spread of Omicron in NZ.

Pregnant Kiwi Journalist, Charlotte Bellis, joined the Rumble on the phone Live from Kabul In Afghanistan to discuss her situation on MIQ and trying to get back home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the show - couple of great kiwis were on the show which broke up the chat of Rog whinging he had to work on a public holiday. Charlotte Bellis, who is currently stranded in Kabul, spoke to the team about being pregnant in the Middle East and not being able to make it back home to NZ. We also had Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker jump in studio to talk about dropping a weight class and then he tried to choke out Bryce. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lawyer representing pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis says more New Zealanders have been asking for his help to return home to give birth. Auckland barrister Tudor Clee says he has already helped 30 couples come back to New Zealand, and pregnant people with health complications or in dangerous situations need to be allowed to return home for the birth. He spoke to Corin Dann.

You may have seen this all over the news over the last few days - Charlotte Bellis is pregnant in & stuck in Afghanistan and can't get back to NZ to give birth, because she can't get an MIQ spot. We spoke to her about this and how she even had to approach the Taliban to figure out her options, if she couldn't get home. 

Charlotte Bellis MIQ – was the right call made? Do you feel safe under this Government? Nick Mills and Brodie Kane join Tim Beveridge. LISTEN ABOVE 

Pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis says she could have kept quiet about her predicament but felt "infuriated" after failing to gain an MIQ spot and seeking refuge in Afghanistan. She says many other pregnant New Zealanders deserve to come home and she's speaking up. Bellis told Morning Report it was frustrating watching others get places in MIQ when she was unable to. "New Zealand citizens are having to fight so hard and jump through various clauses and provide X amount of evidence and apply seven times and go to court, and at the same time, you've got DJs and athletes and TV crews coming in." Bellis said the decision to go to Afghanistan was tough, but she was in Qatar when she found out she was pregnant, and the country has a law against unmarried people having children. Going to other countries would have been a challenge due to visas and the poor quality of Afghanistan's maternal health care means Bellis does not want to stay there. She said watching New Zealand handle the pandemic from overseas made her proud, but she believed it should not be this difficult to make it home and that played into her decision to go public. "I've been so proud and a huge advocate of MIQ, the questions that I'm raising now, if you're negative, and boosted, and a dangerous situation abroad, you have to fight as hard as we're fighting to try to get on a plane." Bellis said she's been asked to re-apply to enter New Zealand under a new category, a serious risk to safety.

David Seymour can't believe the Taliban is being more helpful to a pregnant Kiwi journalist than her own Government.Charlotte Bellis has sought asylum in Afghanistan after a failed emergency MIQ bid had her turn to the Taliban for help.Act Party leader David Seymour told Roman Travers you just can't make this up.“New Zealanders are now being given asylum from the Taliban because our own government is so mean spirited.”David Seymour says the Government should've continued with its plan to reopen the border, which is what Bellis had planned around.LISTEN ABOVE

A Kiwi Journalist stranded overseas hopes the Government will look at whether the managed isolation system is fit for purpose.  Charlotte Bellis found out she was pregnant in Qatar, where it's illegal to be unmarried and pregnant.  She and her partner fled for Afghanistan – the only place they had visas for.  An emergency application for MIQ with 59 supporting documents was rejected.  Bellis told Tim Beveridge she doesn't want to be in Afghanistan after 30 weeks as premature care is almost non-existent.  She says she has considered going to Belgium – where her partner is from – but she'd become an illegal overstayer. “Running around the world trying to get asylum in different places and risk imprisonment for being there illegally, but that's what it comes down to if New Zealand continues to reject us, then that's what we'll have to do.” LISTEN ABOVE 

New Zealand Al Jazeera journalist Charlotte Bellis is back in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The intrepid Christchurch-born reporter feels safe on her return to the Afghan capital, despite the fact the hotel that she is staying at has been the subject of threats by ISIS-K, who she says are now the biggest problem in the war-torn nation. 

The Taliban is giving assurances that all foreign nationals will be able to leave Afghanistan unharmed. New Zealand is one of 98 countries to negotiate a deal recognising this assurance.  Al Jazeera Journalist Charlotte Bellis, spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan from Kabul. She says this iteration of the Taliban wants to show they're more "progressive". But as they get ready to announce their Government, she says everyone is looking to see who's holding the reins "is it the more conservative guys or is it the more progressive guys?"LISTEN ABOVE 

Helen Clark is pushing back at any suggestion that the New Zealand Government is providing financial aid to Afghanistan.Taliban officials have spoken exclusively to New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis following the takeover, thanking our Government for the aid its providing to the country.Clark says New Zealand provides aid to the Red Cross, the High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme.The former Head of the UN Development Programme says it's utterly ridiculous for the Taliban to suggest the aid is going to them.She says it's ridiculous spin, to make the Taliban look good, when they're anything but.Clark told Kerre McIvor that the Taliban are conducting a sophisticated media strategy, to cover up a horrible reality she's seen with her own eyes.LISTEN ABOVE

Today on the show - we spoke to Charlotte Bellis who is currently in Afghanistan reporting, she has some hectic yarns and is pretty dam brave for being there right now. On the other side of the coin we have Bryce, who tells a story about a hot shower like he was dipped in acid.  And have you got a massive dog? We're on the hunt for NZ's Biggest Dog.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.