Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The countdown is on to the historic King's coronation this weekend. King Charles has been heir to the throne for 70 years and excitement's building for the big royal celebration on Saturday.  Max Foster is a CNN host and royal correspondent in London, and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are now in the final countdown to the coronation. One of those representing New Zealand at Westminster Abbey is former Olympic and World Championship winning rower Rebecca Scown. She now heads up Youth Experience in Sport over in Britain. Rebecca Scown joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The iconic Rodd and Gunn is making its presence felt in London. The lifestyle brand opened in mayfair towards the end of 2019 - and is now expanding into europe. That came after massively successful launches into Australia and the United States. Kate Hawkesby caught up with Rodd and Gunn's UK Regional Manager Eleanor O'Dea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well today has noticeably ramped up another notch in coronation preparations. More roads closed, more barricades up, more Cops around, and way, way more people. The Palace garden party was on today, so attendees were out in their finery and even the weather played ball with a beautiful and rare blue sky day. Many, who at the start of this week were a bit ho hum, seem now to be getting excited. I was speaking with one woman whose kids insisted she drag them round all the festivities to see what’s in store for the celebrations ‘for our King’, as she put it. She said they weren’t really royalists and felt indifferent about the monarchy, but she said when it came to events like an historic coronation, how could you not be part of it all? She said it’s part and parcel of being British. On the day however, given how busy London already is, she said she’d stay home and ‘watch it on the telly’, which she argued would be a better view anyway, and she’s probably right. But there’s something magical about being here and

Just one concussion can cause someone to go on and commit a violent crime. New AUT research shows even a mild traumatic brain injury significantly increases the risk of criminal behaviour over the following decade. It also exacerbates mental health difficulties, drug abuse and managing emotional reactions to events. Researcher Gail Pacheco told Kate Hawkesby a concussion can result in more criminal convictions and court charges later in life. She says the risk is higher amongst men and those who have had multiple brain injuries. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'll probably know the Kiwi company, Karma Drinks. They're an ethical drinks company which launched in New Zealand back in 2012. They are a massive success story in Britain, which now accounts for about half their business. And out of its 25 staff - seven are based in the UK. UK Marketing and Sales Director at Karma Jessamy Besson-Jones joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins has confirmed he still hasn't heard from Meka Whaitiri. Whaitiri has resigned from minister and from the Labour Party, and plans to jump ship to Te Pāti Māori at the next election. Speaking to Kate Hawkesby from England, the Prime Minister says he's still completely in the dark about why she's suddenly decided to leave. “She clearly hasn’t spoken to anyone about it. She certainly hadn’t raised any concerns up to the point where she made her announcement. So those are really questions for her I guess.” Whaitiri is now expected to carry on as an independent MP, but will run under Te Pāti Māori's banner for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti seat she holds, in this year's election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So just as we have rolling strikes beginning this week in New Zealand, the UK has strikes going on too. Nurses and teachers. Today here more than 22,000 schools were disrupted with a mass walkout of Union members. And if you think our strikes are bad, this is the fifth time this year teachers in England have walked off the job demanding better pay and conditions. And it’s raised the question here of who picks up the slack and looks after all these kids for parents who have to keep working and can’t take the time off. There’s a lot of debate here about what they’re calling ‘Granny day-care’ where grandparents are having to take over the caregiving. Some parents are saying it’s too much for elderly grandparents who may have health issues or not be fit and able enough to suddenly be running round after small children all day. It can cause friction between families who’re expecting too much from grandparents. Others are saying it’s just not fair – it’s free unpaid work, and many busy grandparents with full active

We are four days out now from the coronation of King Charles III. You certainly can't miss it in London, the build up is in full force, but how do the public feel about the upcoming coronation? LBC talk radio host Iain Dale joined Kate Hawkesby out of the UK. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A last push as area school teachers prepare for strike action. Union NZEI has agreed to join the Post Primary Teachers Association in rolling strikes from next Tuesday to Thursday. It's also opted to ban covering relief teacher work. NZEI President Mark Potter told Kate Hawkesby this action is necessary, as they haven't had an offer from the ministry since last year. He says rolling strikes might have an impact on students, but the impact will be even greater if teachers resign. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Rotorua dentist says kids are suffering by waiting so long to be seen. Te Whatu Ora figures show the average wait time for children 15 or under, who need surgery across the city is just over four months, with some waiting up to nine months. Ranolf Dental Surgery owner Leroy Chan told Kate Hawkesby that's an unnecessary length of time. He says it's affecting their health, their families and the whole of society. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I asked AI a question the other day and it didn’t know the answer. I thought Chat GPT knew everything? It came back and said – I don’t know, but would you like me to find out for you? I mean, what do you think? That’s why I asked. Anyway I Googled it, and immediately got the answer. My question was ‘why don’t London cabbies work in the rain’ – I got the answer not only from Google but also from the next Cab I hopped into when he just told me. Always better from the horse’s mouth. But like all things, it doesn’t take long before advancements in technology become battlegrounds for hearts and souls and breeding grounds of distortion and hate. Like the internet itself. The real uses these things are intended for get hijacked by the lowest common denominator or bad actors that look to disrupt. The concern with AI at the moment is that it’s mostly being used as a toy or a tool of trickery – deep fakes, artificial voices and the like. Fake campaigns often go a long way on mainstream before they get picked up. And so

Time to meet a Kiwi making noise in the royal world. Sophie Gaulter is only the second woman to be included in the famed London Scottish Regiment band. This is the esteemed band known for performing at royal events and participated in the procession for the Queen's death. Sophie joined only a few months ago and Sophie Ggualter joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heading into a busy winter season, the dairy sector is still lacking thousands of workers. The shortage is being partly blamed on the median migrant wage with the $29.66 cent hourly wage requirement being called unreasonable as local workers earn less for the same job. Federated Farmers Dairy chair and Immigration spokesperson, Richard McIntyre, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death of MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has sent shockwaves through the food world. Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby the 46-year-old's loss is being felt across the world. “Tributes from Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, even Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes says he feels like he has lost a brother.” It's still unclear if the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia will go to air. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government was warned in 2018 it would run out of money to fund the Clean Car Discount scheme. Due to its success, it is having to lower the threshold for higher emitting vehicles, increase the fees on those vehicles and change rebates for zero emissions imports. Vehicle Import Association Chief Executive David Vinsen told Kate Hawkesby this is an artificial process to accelerate the uptake of EVs. He says all the scheme does is bring forward a move towards lower emitting vehicles by two or three years. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's nursing and midwife policy might need to pivot if it wants to complete what it aims to achieve. In a bid to grow the workforce, the party's promising to pay nurses and midwives 22 and a half thousand dollars back on their student loans. But, they'll have to agree to work here for five years. College of Nurses Executive Director Kate Weston says the policy targets graduates, rather than the loss of experienced nurses. She says that focus is needed on workplace issues driving nurses away such as unsafe staffing, and they're worried about their patients. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first time, the public will be asked to say a pledge of allegiance to the King at the Coronation. King Charles' coronation will be held Saturday night, our time. The Archbishop of Canterbury will ask people in the UK and other Realms and Territories to pay homage to the King. UK Correspondent Gavin Grey says that it's one of several changes to the ancient ceremony. He says female clergy will have a prominent role, the King will pray out loud, and religious leaders from different faiths will also play a part — all for the first time. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Excitement is ramping up ahead of King Charles' Coronation. It will be held this Saturday night, New Zealand time. Royal correspondent Robert Hardman says told Kate Hawkesby that Friday is when all the world leaders will start to arrive. He says there's a special event at Buckingham Palace on Friday, and the New Zealand Governor-General and key representatives of all the realms will be there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had a great chat with a London cabbie yesterday. I love how knowledgeable they are about everything, and they’re super chatty and friendly. It’s a Bank holiday here tomorrow —Monday here our time— then of course they get another Bank holiday the following Monday for the Coronation, so they’re drowning in long weekends here at the moment. I asked him if that meant everything would be shut, no he said, everything stays open just like any other day – in fact he said the only day you will find everything closed in London is Easter Sunday. I asked about whether the huge volume of people in town was unusual or whether London was just this busy these days. I‘m trying to work out if this is an influx for the Coronation, or if I’m just not used to this many people everywhere all the time, but it’s definitely busier than we were last here, which was Harry and Meghan’s wedding. He said it’s definitely busier, they’ve had an influx last week for the London marathon – which was the day we arrived, and it was heaving. Then