Matthew Theunissen

More than 31-thousand people tried to book some 3-thousand MIQ spots when the pause on new bookings was lifted yesterday morning. Needless to say, the vast majority missed out. One of them was Mike… Audio

Older New Zealanders who are stuck abroad and unable to book MIQ spots fear that their pensions will stop being paid if they don't make it home within six months. This includes Rotorua couple Eddie… Audio

Almost 400 refugees who fled Afghanistan in last month's takeover by the Taliban have arrived in New Zealand. Some have already completed their mandatory two weeks in managed isolation only to find… Audio

The Warriors players have withdrawn their bids for MIQ rooms in the hope that it makes it easier for their nine staff members to get a spot. The players have written to Minister of Sport and Deputy… Audio

Truckers say they still don't have clarity about a new requirement that they be tested every week if they travel through Auckland, fearing it could result in costly delays.

The government introduced… Audio

Twenty-nine staff at Middlemore Hospital have been stood down and told to isolate for 14 days after a patient complaining of abdominal pain tested positive for Covid-19. Four wards at the hospital… Audio

Road hauliers say they still don't have clarity about a new requirement that they be tested every week if they travel through Auckland, fearing it could result in costly delays. The government… Audio

Some Auckland businesses believe this lockdown could be the straw that breaks the camel's back and they may have no choice but to close down. This is despite the wage subsidy, resurgence payment… Audio

Many West Auckland residents are currently facing the double-whammy of dealing with an Alert Level 4 lockdown and homes that were badly damaged by yesterday's floods. So how do people go about making… Audio

Over the past two weeks more than 500 people have received the news that they've contracted Covid-19, with 34 of them so unwell that they have needed hospital treatment. It's prompted people who've… Audio

As you've heard this morning, a suicide bomber has killed at least 50 people at Kabul airport in Afghanistan - which in many ways elevates the importance of our next story.. A group of Afghan… Audio

While the main news about the Delta outbreak has centred around Auckland and Wellington, First Up's Matthew Theunissen hit the phones yesterday to find out how people are coping on some of New… Audio

A renowned architect has come up with a plan to turn a former leper colony into a scenic managed isolation facility. Michael O'Sullivan has designed a prefabricated pod that he reckons would be a big… Audio

Of course the level 4 lockdown means that school's out - for at least a week in Auckland and Coromandel and three days for the rest of the country. Teachers and staff are scrambling to get online… Audio

So our producer Matthew Theunissen wanted a reminder about what we can or can't do in level four lockdown And the answer from microbiologist Siouxie Wiles was ... well... not much really... Audio

One of the Afghan interpreters who helped New Zealand's Provincial Reconstuction Team in Bamyan says his family has fled to the mountains to escape Taliban death squads, who he fears will target them… Audio

The Taliban has moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with reports in the past few hours that the Kabul airport is under heavy artillery fire. Kabul is now the only major city left in… Audio

No significant reopening of New Zealand's border will happen until early next year, and not before our vaccine programme has been rolled out. We remain in danger of a Covid-19 outbreak similar to New… Audio

Researchers have the effects of 'Long Covid' in their sights, AND the impact that the vaccine has on it. University of Auckland researchers want funding to look into the issue.. as the Pfizer rollout… Audio