Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Concerns demand has outstripped efforts to improve frontline police numbers. Police Minister Ginny Andersen says the Government is closing in on its goal of bolstering staffing by 1800 officers. The Police Association's president says the increase made a real difference initially, but officers are again overwhelmed. Chris Cahill says the work to improve staffing represents a 20 percent increase. But he says there's a 60 percent increase in demand around family harm and mental health alongside growing gang numbers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report from Westpac claims more is needed to create sustainable competition between supermarkets. This comes as the price of fruit and vegetables is up 22.5 per cent from last year. Vegetables NZ chair John Murphy joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A top Auckland private school has so little confidence in the new NCEA Level 1 curriculum it is ditching the qualification in favour of its own Year 11 diploma next year. St Cuthbert’s College informed parents Wednesday next year’s Year 11 students would not take part in NCEA Level 1 but rather work towards the school’s own bespoke Year 11 Diploma. Principal Justine Mahon said several of the school’s senior academic staff had been on Government advisory panels for NZQA’s proposed changes to NCEA and had become increasingly concerned by what would be taught in 2024. “We don’t think it provides sufficient, in-depth learning for our students,” she told the Herald. “I’m also concerned about educational standards in New Zealand. Some subjects have been merged so that means that potentially, hundreds of students throughout the country will have a less rigorous conceptual framework.” Chemistry and biology had been merged into one subject as had accounting, business and economics. Several subjects, mostly in the arts

So a new poll shows the Nats nudging past Labour to form a government with Act. No Māori Party needed as Kingmaker, which has been the current narrative of course.. how close the race is, how powerful Te Pāti Māori could end up. If this poll becomes a trend, not powerful at all. But I still think Luxon did the right thing ruling them out and not a moment too soon. He's dead right when he says they're not the party they were, they grandstanders. But he's also right to do it because it makes him look decisive, like he stands for something, principled, and like a leader. And he desperately needs that right now. Because this latest poll also showed that his personal popularity is still floundering. He got his lowest favourability rating since becoming the leader in November 2021. Now the likes of Richard Prebble will argue women are the problem for Luxon - as in, they don't like him. He wrote a column yesterday saying ‘Polling indicates that women like Chris Hipkins’ “I am just a boy from the Hutt”, and dislike C

Early childhood teachers have painted a grim picture of the state of their sector. An Office of Early Childhood Education survey has found more than 70 percent of teachers believe the industry will get worse in the future. Early Childhood New Zealand Chief Executive Kathy Wolfe told Kate Hawkesby the survey results aren't surprising. She says there is chronic under-funding, teacher shortages and they're overburdened with standards and regulations. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avocados are due to return to supermarket shelves shortly as prices soar to more than five dollars each. A Rabobank report shows this year's production will be lower than last due to wet weather events. Foodstuffs' Brigit Corson told Kate Hawkesby they haven't been able to bridge the gap while avocados are out of season, hence the higher price. She says it hasn't been a good growing year and combined with the cyclone and poor weather they ran out. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

100 wealthy New Zealanders who believe our public services are underfunded think they should be the ones to pay up. The group has signed a pledge calling on the Government to increase their taxes. Inspired by the initiative Millionaires for Humanity, it believes the current tax system contributes towards the gap between poor and the wealthy. Ex-Retirement Commissioner, Dame Diana Crossan told Kate Hawkesby higher taxes are better than philanthropy, as the money is shared more widely. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a funny thing being away and suddenly seeing stuff without the blinkers on - and we are blinkered here. We’ve been cloistered in a sheltered environment with shut borders for so long that we’ve maybe lost sight of how much the rest of the world has moved on. And they have moved on. But I tell you what struck me the most, how safe I felt in cities like London and New York, compared to New Zealand. I know, weird eh. When you think of New York you think crime and mayhem, but in fact, there are just so many cops, that it feels safe. And not only are there lots of them, they’re armed and look like the sort of people you don’t mess with. They walk round in minimum of doubles, but usually groups of them. They clamp down on any whiff of action and if something does fire up – they’re on the scene shutting it down within seconds. The sirens of the NYPD are a constant - there are cops everywhere, active and omnipresent, and that’s before we get to all the security guards stationed outside shops, malls and doorways

An Auckland business leader believes Auckland Council made the right call, when responding to yesterday's flood events. Heart of the City Chief Executive, Viv Beck told Kate Hawkesby while shutting down the city can't be done willy-nilly, it was appropriate in this case due to the widespread impacts. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A body has been found in the search for a missing student in Abbey Caves in Whangarei. Specialist equipment brought up from Auckland allowed the search to continue last night. A formal identification process will be carried out, with cordons in place for a routine scene examination. Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo told Kate Hawkesby they expect a review of the doomed school trip to be carried out. He says as the owner of the caves, they will be involved with the review and other processes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An anti-smoking advocacy group is calling for a 21-year-old age limit for buying vapes. Action for Smokefree 2025 has outlined new proposals that aim to help tackle youth vaping in New Zealand. According to the group, in 2020, daily vaping in Year 10 students increased from one percent to almost 10 percent, and from one percent to 18.6 percent for under 25s. ASH Director Ben Youdan told Kate Hawkesby the group's recommendations aim to improve prevention. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pay rise for the Defence Force, which has lost about about 10 percent of its personnel over the past year. That works out to around 800 people leaving. What would be really interesting to know and hopefully the Defence Force does know this - is where they're going and why they're going. Is it only because there's more money to be had in civvy street or are there other issues? There was a time when we were losing trained personnel to the Australian military, purely because of money. These days, there's better dough to be had in the Fire Service or the Police and in Corrections too, although you might argue there's more danger in any of those roles now than the military. So we're upping the money by between $4000 and $15,000 a year, meaning 90 percent of NZDF personnel will be above, or close to, market rates. Also meaning about 10 percent, roughly the proportion that left last year, will still be below market rates. Thing is the Defence Force has turned out some fantastic contributors. Recent examples just o

A 10,000 strong petition is calling for more facilities to fix freedom camping issues. The Responsible Campers Association says the Government is claiming there's a nationwide problem, but its incoming legislation won't fix it. Association secretary Bob Osborne joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big pay increase is on the way for our Defence Force in the hope of stemming staff turnover. The Government is bringing 90 percent of pay in line with market rates, by putting aside nearly $420 million in the Budget. Another $328 million will also be spent upgrading assets and infrastructure, including Defence Force housing. Former Defence Minister, Ron Mark told Tim Dower he takes his hat off to new Minister Andrew Little. He says he's clearly had the support of Chris Hipkins to come to the table, which is desperately needed as the force is bleeding experienced personnel. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coromandel Peninsula community is eagerly awaiting an announcement on the fate of State Highway 25A due later this morning. The Kopu to Hikuai route has been closed for three months after significant damage from Cyclone Gabrielle. Waka Kotahi has three options on the table; a potential bypass, bridge, or retaining wall. Coromandel MP Scott Simpson told Tim Dower his concern isn't which one it will be, but rather how long it will take to complete. He's hopeful it can be re-opened before summer, as the closure's impact on the community and local businesses has been devastating. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Government is seeking an end to the imprisonment of Julian Assange in the UK. The Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder has been incarcerated while the US seeks to extradite him on charges relating to the publishing of classified information about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Anthony Albanese hasn't been able to find a "diplomatic solution" to the Assange case while in London for the Coronation. But UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Roman Travers that there is some positive news. He says that for the first time both Australia's leader and opposition leader has called for his imprisonment to come to an end. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's believed continuity and stability will be a core-focus for King Charles as he guides the Royal Family into a new era. Royal Commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams told Roman Travers that the King knows his biggest challenge will be connecting with the younger generations. He says it's been a tough time for the monarchy, with Prince Andrew in disgrace and Prince Harry and Meghan's exit, the split affecting young people's attitudes towards the Royals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's some hope that supplier costs to supermarkets will soon show signs of easing. The Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index shows a 10% increase in what suppliers charged supermarkets for goods in April. We've seen increases of 10% or more for the past six months. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says this reflects suppliers themselves are facing very high input price pressures. He says we're starting to see some signs of possibly less intense cost pressures, but they are remaining high for now. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What an astonishing weekend it’s been, right?   There aren’t many of us that are old enough to remember in great detail the coronation of our previous monarch, Queen Elizabeth the second.   Now we all have Saturday night etched into our memory banks with all that pomp and pageantry, being beamed into lounges across the world with the coronation of King Charles the third and Queen Camilla.  Generally, people seem to have been polite enough to park their republican discussions with the possibility that the preponderance of those in favour of sticking with what we have has again become the way we’ll stay.  With the coronation formalities now designated to the official websites of royal history and fabulous photography, it’ll be fascinating to see whether the debate around New Zealand becoming a republic once again bobs about.  For those excited at the prospect of buying more new shoes, and more very formal outfits for one off occasions, we may well get to see another coronation in a decade or so from now. So han

What a cool day we’ve had today. We met David Walliams from ‘Little Britain’ and ‘Come Fly With Me’ – two comedy shows that could never be made these days without being cancelled immediately – in fact I don’t even know if there are clips still up on YouTube– probably been gassed by now. But they were hilarious shows. He’s also been the judge on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ so he’s a big name here. But Walliams is probably most known worldwide for his books I think – fabulous author – Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy Robo-dog. He’s an extremely entertaining children’s book author and he very generously gave my daughter some books, he signed them for her and her little brother and sister, he did photos with us, and he was genuinely very funny. He actually just took the piss out of us. He called us ‘a very stylish family’ but then he did have a crack at Mike about his ripped jeans. He said Mike reminded him of ‘a Karl Lagerfeld’ he said he was ‘wearing clothes designed for a much younger man..’ we were in fits. He also