Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The previous Government's plans to introduce new maths and literacy tests as an NCEA requirement from 2026 have been delayed.   Trial runs of those tests have had failure rates of more than 40%.   New Zealand Initiative research fellow Michael Johnston told Tim Dower that he understands kids will still be able to do the tests, but can also meet requirements through NCEA achievement standards, like in the past.   But, he says, he'd like to see a certification for students who do pass those tests and meet requirements that way because they are more rigorous.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All employers will soon be able to use 90 Day Work Trials, which the previous Labour government restricted to small businesses.   The new Government is passing a bill to do so under urgency by Christmas.   The Employers and Manufacturers Association's Alan McDonald told Tim Dower that it'll mainly be used by smaller employers.   He says it might encourage them to take a chance on someone returning to the workplace after a long absence, or a school leaver looking for their first job.   Cabinet's also confirmed that it will repeal Fair Pay Agreements before Christmas, which made it easier for workers to band together to negotiate wages and working conditions.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Migrating to Australia is set to get more difficult.  The Australian Government is looking to halve overseas migration to 250,000 by 2025 after a record number of people arrived in the last financial year.  Australia correspondent Donna Demaio told Tim Dower that a number of the changes will impact international students and workers.  She says there will be more difficult English tests and visa requirements.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vape retailers are selling higher strength vapes at lower prices - before new rules kick in. From next Thursday, disposable vapes can't be sold, unless they have removable batteries, maximum nicotine limits, child safety features and follow new labelling requirements. All vapes will have to meet those requirements in March - and there'll be limits on flavours. Auckland University public health professor Chris Bullen told Tim Dower the new regulations may make it difficult for people who have been smoking heavily to switch to vapes. He personally thinks there's scope for higher nicotine concentration vapes to be available through prescription.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a fire sale underway at the vape retailers, and some pretty arresting advertising lines are being used.  “Stock up while you still can” ... “Get them before they’re gone” ... “Don’t be left stranded without a vape”  By gone, they mean illegal...new laws from the 21st of this month put restrictions on disposable vapes...including maximum nicotine limits.  So, at some places it's basically a fire sale, devices going for a couple of bucks or even being given away free.  Fair enough I suppose if you've bought stock in good faith and then basically had the rug pulled from under you by a law change.  But there's also a whiff of the frenzy to dump synthetic cannabis products, when that particular experiment went so badly wrong.  And thinking about it...our experience with the whole vape thing has been uncannily similar to the synthetics.  Hailed as a legal...controlled...and therefore theoretically safe alternative to the real thing.  And with vaping pitched at us as a tool to help the sorry old smokers get

Parliament will sit under urgency this week - with the new government pushing through the first changes in its 100 day plan. Part of this is repealing Fair Pay Agreement legislation. Former National ministerial adviser Brigitte Morten told Tim Dower every opposition complains about the use of urgency - then use it themselves when in government. She says the last Labour government used it considerably more - and while it'd argue Covid meant it had to respond with emergency legislation, they were pushing a lot more through under urgency even in August.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Now we've had a full day to digest Mark Mitchell's letter to the Police Commissioner, was he actually out of line to release that?  His Labour predecessor said on this show yesterday that Mark Mitchell was huffing and puffing, talking up a big game and chest beating.  To quote Ginny Andersen, “I think it's a demonstration of bravado”, and then saying, "He's getting dangerously close to telling the Commissioner how to do his job.”  Thing is, we all know there's a line between setting a strategic direction and meddling in day-to-day operational activities.  Mark Mitchell noted that, loud and clear, in his letter.  So, what the Minister was doing was not telling the Commissioner how to do the job, but outlining what the priorities of the job are.  That's not meddling, it's managing.  If you want an example of meddling, look no further than sacked Minister Stuart Nash on the phone to the Commissioner over a court case, hoping to persuade him to get prosecutors to appeal for a stiffer sentence.  So why was Ginny

Anger at the Government's decision to disestablish tertiary education programme Te Pukenga.  Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds announced the move yesterday, following a Letter of Expectation saying they're not prioritising it.  But the Tertiary Education Union is worried Simmonds has no clear plan on what happens next, and no vision for the sector.   National Secretary Sandra Grey says their members won't have any job certainty until well into the new year.  She says they go into Christmas not knowing if they'll have a job, lose it, or have to apply for something entirely new.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A grilling over Boris Johnson's decisions during the pandemic on the second day of his appearance before the UK's Covid-19 inquiry.   It's heard evidence from former advisers that the then-Prime Minister wanted to let the virus spread, rather than order another lockdown   Johnson's also accused of saying "let the bodies pile high", something he strongly denies.  UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Tim Dower that he also faced criticism for a campaign encouraging people go to restaurants while the virus was still out there.   He says the campaign, called " Eat out to Help out" was derided by scientists as " Eat out to help out the virus".  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take stock of what you have and save a little where you can.   That's the advice of one financial coach to those feeling the squeeze.   ASB is predicting a $70 increase in weekly living costs for the average family in 2024, that's down from the $115 increase this year.   Enable Me's Katie Wesney told Tim Dower that people should thoroughly check all the places their money is going.    She says everything has to serve you in the current environment.  That way you get the little one percent gains that alleviate pressure and position you to grow your wealth.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's being told phrasing in its call for an end to violence in Gaza needs to pack a stronger punch.  All parties in the House have supported a motion urging those involved in the conflict to 'take urgent steps towards establishing a cease-fire.'  Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Tim Dower that the wording is telling.  He says the Government clearly didn't want to call for an immediate cease-fire, so 'steps towards' was the compromise.  He says as the UN has called for an immediate end to fighting, we should follow suit.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor Swift says being named Time Magazine's Person of the Year is the proudest and happiest she's ever felt.  The 33-year-old beat finalists including Barbie, King Charles and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.  It caps off Swift's stellar year, which includes her record-breaking 'Eras Tour', two album re-recordings, and becoming Spotify's most most-played artist.  US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Tim Dower that Swift has become even more of a cultural icon in the last year.  He said that her tours both provoked an inquiry into Ticketmaster’s sales practices, and her concert in Seattle reportedly generated seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

True story, abbreviated for time.  San Francisco, about 15 years back now, coming out of the subway following my two teenage daughters.  A group of tatty half-drunk, half-baked beggars hanging around with their paws out for money.  And I hear some leering, grubby, smutty comments being directed at my children.  I sense danger, move a little closer to them.  And the leerers embolden one another. It gets a bit grubbier, I feel the anger boiling up inside me.  Then out of nowhere comes this guttural, aggressive, very loud, and very threatening voice.  It sounds like a lion, and it roars, it truly roars: BACK OFF.  Everyone jumps. The leerers, the girls, myself, other people passing by turn to see where it came from.  It's not until this point, as we quicken our step and move up the stairs into the street, that I realise that powerful, guttural, threatening roar came out of me.  There was no thought behind it, and believe me, I'm not a confrontational or threatening person at all.  I'm a weed. I'm not brave, and

There’s a pressing need to strengthen hundreds of Wellington buildings that are quake-prone.  Experts are warning deadlines are closing in for the work, with more than 500 buildings needing strengthening, including residential apartments.  AUT Professor of construction, John Tookey, told Tim Dower that building owners need to start, or hundreds could be left homeless.  He says it's a public safety issue, and councils should consider incentivising the work.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good news for kiwis as the price at the pump is dropping just in time for Christmas.   Oil prices have dropped four cents since Friday and now sit at $77 USD, almost 30 cents down from September.   AA Principal Policy Advisor Terry Collins told Tim Dower that the recession may be acting in our favour, combined with a lack of demand coming out of China and Europe.   He was predicting fuel prices would be closer to $3.50 than $3 three months ago, and he's glad he's wrong.   Terry Collins says he was starting to feel like the Christmas Grinch, but now he's feeling things are much better.   He predicts we'll probably see the prices drop a little further over the summer period.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell's predecessor says his letter to the Police Commissioner seems a bit redundant.   He's made his letter to Andrew Coster public.  It focuses on things like tackling youth and gang offending, supporting frontline officers, and strengthening policing in communities.   Ginny Andersen told Tim Dower that it's important that police have operational independence.   She says the letter doesn't cover much new ground.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

$27-28,000 a year. That's about the going rate for private secondary education in New Zealand right now.  And you'd pay it gladly wouldn't you, if you could afford it.  I hope the kids whose parents are working or on their way at five in the morning to help pay for it recognise what a privilege it is.  I referred to that St Andrew College prizegiving a little earlier, and the takeaway for me is the value of a good education.  The basics? Yep, obviously, but opportunities too for kids to explore what they're really interested in, and seek the passions that'll give them exciting, rewarding, and worthwhile lives.  And you know what? You don't need, actually, to fork out for private to get that. We've got some great state schools in New Zealand too.  My kids went to cracking state primaries in Auckland: Botany Downs, Mellons Bay, Farm Cove Intermediate, then onto MacLeans.  I think they know they were lucky. Like in health, our education system is a bit of a postcode lottery.  Would I have pushed for private if w

Te Pati Māori's challenge to the incoming Government has been heard loud and clear, likely foreshadowing what is to come.    Thousands answered the party's call to protest the Government's incoming Treaty and Te Reo reforms yesterday, while MPs swore allegiance to both their mokopuna and Te Tiriti, as well as King Charles III.  ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower that it sets the stage for the sort of party Te Pati Māori is going to be for the next three years.  Walls says the party's positioning themselves as a thorn in the Governments side on all Māori issues.  But he says it's fair of Prime Minister Chris Luxon to question why there are protests only a week into their first term.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More stability in education is being floated as an idea to reverse declining test scores.   New Zealand's 2022 PISA reading, maths, and science scores have all dipped since 2018, and they show longer term decline.   New Zealand is still above the OECD average in all three standards.   PPTA Acting President Chris Abercrombie says all countries have seen a decline.   He told Tim Dower that constant curriculum changes between different governments have contributed. Abercrombie says curriculums need time to develop and if they're changed too often it disrupts children and teachers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where shoppers are seeing food prices rise, Woolworths New Zealand is seeing profits fall, but is still walking away with $76 million in its pockets.   The latest annual figures show a 52% drop from last year, the source of which one business consultant says is ‘very opaque.’   Ernie Newman told Tim Dower that he believes the recent $400 million rebranding and transfer pricing has something to do with it.   Transfer pricing is when multi-nationals adjust their books and take their profits in whatever country they want to, usually to a country with the lowest tax rate.  He says there's no sign of any benefit in this for consumers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.