Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

One of the things I like about London is the infrastructure works. The buses, the trains, the tube, the taxis all work. It’s a systems place, it’s got the population to support it, and it works, so people use it. The other thing I’ve found on our travels both here and in the States, is that service culture is huge. It’s a career. At home it feels a bit more of a transient option for school leavers or students or those who want to dabble in something for a while. Waiting tables or working in a hotel is an in between gig on the way to or from something else. In the States at the hotel we stayed in in New York for nine days, same staff every day. We had the same people working the same shifts – breakfast, lunch, dinner, reception, concierge, housekeeping, doormen, bell hops. All the same people all the time. All older people, it’s a career, they love it, they’re stayers. We spoke to them, most of them have been there for years. In fact, one of them was telling us he got Covid and left for a while, because he liv

An Auckland primary school is boasting big improvements in literacy with its different way of teaching. Willow Park School has adopted a structured literacy approach after a trial proved successful. It means early intervention for any kids struggling from Year One. Principal Duncan Millward joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hoped a new fund will unleash opportunities for New Zealand's domestic wood processing sector. Government is putting $57 million into the industry, aiming to process more logs onshore, create high-wage jobs and aid climate change goals. Forest Industry Contractors Association Chief Executive Prue Younger told Kate Hawkesby the problem the industry is facing is heavy reliance on export markets. She says when those markets are down, the workforce is significantly impacted and not only are the trees not being sold, but contractors are losing days at work. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is being called on to invest any money it may borrow, into things that create a stronger economy. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed no major tax overhaul will be made this term, including on capital gains or a cyclone levy. Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney told Kate Hawkesby if we borrow for things like roads, schools and hospitals, we're all better off as a society. He says if we don't borrow or invest, simply to reduce debt, we will find ourselves in a situation where the infrastructure we want or need isn't there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With all this tax the rich talk and naysayers wanting punitive measures dished out to anyone showing signs of success or ambition, I just wonder if we're shooting ourselves in the foot here. Are we not at peak tall poppy syndrome now? Because where does all this "it's not fair, woe is me" whining actually get us? So far all I can see is that it sends our best and brightest off elsewhere. We have the 5000 nurses who've registered to work in Australia, the net migration loss of more than 8000 Kiwis to Australia just last year, we have those who've discovered cost of living is actually cheaper overseas. I mean, gosh, even our former Prime Minister is off to the States for a semester there. She had said she was looking forward to more time at home and getting her daughter off to school. But when push comes to shove, being away from New Zealand was too tempting, even for one of our greatest cheerleaders. We all know dozens of families whose kids have chosen a life outside of New Zealand. They've left for opportuni

WARNING: This story discusses rape and may be distressing. A writer suing Donald Trump has taken the stand to tell jurors that the future president raped her after she accompanied him into a department store fitting room in 1996. “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back,” E. Jean Carroll testified. Former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll claims former President Donald Trump raped her in a department store dressing room. Photo / AP From afar, Trump repeated his insistence that Carroll’s allegations are fiction, writing on his social media site that the case “is a made-up scam”, and more. His comments prompted the judge to warn Trump’s lawyers that he could bring more legal problems upon himself. Trump hasn’t attended the trial thus far, but his lawyers said Tuesday it’s still possible he could decide to testify. The trial comes as Trump again seeks the Republican nomination for p

What is the fallout for the Super Rugby teams with Scott Robertson pinching their coaches for the All Blacks? All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan will be joined by Blues coach Leon MacDonald, Hurricanes coach Jason Holland and Scott Hansen from the Crusaders. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliot Smith joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says the Government needs to front up on whether it'll tax people more. Inland Revenue research shows the top one percent of earners pay a median effective tax rate of 9.4 percent, when including capital gains on investments. Meanwhile, Treasury estimates a comparable tax rate for a "middle wealth" Kiwi is roughly 20 percent. National Party Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby there's no doubt Labour want more taxes. “This is a government that is spending $1 billion more every week, they can’t get the books to add up, they are desperately searching for more places to find money.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Potential policy changes from the Reserve Bank could provide a helping hand to first home buyers. It's looking at tweaking the rule by which banks can only give 10 percent of new loans to borrowers with deposits under 20 percent. The Reserve Bank wants to increase that to 15 percent of new lending from the start of June. Mortgage Supply Co-Director David Windler told Kate Hawkesby it's good news for first home buyers. He says it's a small difference but its heading in the right direction, as finding the funding for first home buyers has been tough for a while. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western countries are racing to get their citizens out of Sudan, as conflict in the country continues to escalate. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the UK has just carried out the first of several flights to evacuate hundreds of British nationals. “There are dozens of British NHS doctors currently trapped in Khartoum and sadly the militia there are actually going to try and round up doctors.” LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As school goes back today, for how long who knows given the looming strikes, but as we head back to the office and to school, it’s been interesting to reflect on the past two weeks. We headed away for the first time in three years – we hadn’t left the country since Covid and closed borders, but we’d heard from everybody who had, how refreshing it is to get out of NZ. How inspiring it is to see how much the rest of the world has moved on. How blinkered and parochial we have become in our own little hermit kingdom. Our first stop was San Francisco, a lost city full of drugs and homeless people and not much to enthuse a tourist to be honest. It felt edgy and unsafe and made me worried about our next stop – New York – and how much more dangerous and unsafe that may feel. But how wrong I was. New York is incredible. It feels super safe due to the fact the place is flooded with cops – Police on every corner, and lots of them. The place moves at a cracking pace, people are focused on what they’re doing and they’re g

Tensions between china and the west continue to heat up. The UK foreign secretary is expected to give a major speech this week, which will urge China to come clean about its "biggest military spend up in peacetime." It's thought China will have a stockpile of 1500 nuclear missile warheads by 2030. International relations professor at Otago University, Robert Patman, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACT Party is claiming the Government is slamming the brakes on road investment. In 2020, Waka Kotahi identified almost 400 risks on state highways around the country, including major and extreme threats, but has only started work on ten of them. ACT Party Transport spokesperson, Simon Court, told Kate Hawkesby says it demonstrates what the Government wants to focus on. “They are focussed on their ideological priorities, getting people out of cars onto busses and bikes, instead of actually fixing up some of these extreme risks.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research is coming out about how much tax New Zealand's rich are paying. The Inland Revenue report will estimate the effective tax rate of the wealthiest families, taking into account their full economic income, rather than just taxable income.  Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Kate Hawkesby it's expected to show they're paying tax rates that are lower than marginal tax rates. But she says Treasury is also releasing their report on tax rates of the average New Zealander and expects that to say a large section of that population is also paying below marginal tax rate. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK diplomats and their families have been evacuated from war-torn Sudan. Fighting broke out two weeks ago between Sudan's national army and rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces. The two sides have been sharing power since a coup in 2021, but there's been disagreement about how to lead the country. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Roman Travers that the UK nationals living in Sudan remain in the country. He says they feel abandoned by the British Government, being left there with no power and limited food and water. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some principals begin a two month work ban this morning over a recent pay offer. Those working in primary and area schools will pause the work they do with the Education Ministry, including all work outside of 8am to 5pm weekdays, apart from board meetings. NZEI President Mark Potter says this is about sending a message. He says they need action from the Ministry, because the Ministry needs principals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Modified technology from the wine industry could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. New Zealand researchers are developing a medical device in the hopes of preventing about 1.5 million deaths annually caused by surgical complications. Auckland University's Surgical and Translational Research Centre director and professor John Windsor says there's no easy way of measuring oxidative stress; a feature common in many diseases. But he says pilot clinical studies show this technology enables it to be accurately measured at the patient's bedside. Windsor says the challenge is now making the equipment easy to use. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's never been a more important time to introduce a stringent bonding policy to encourage qualified Kiwi's to remain in New Zealand.  From July first this year, New Zealanders who've been on the Special Category Visa and who've lived in Australia for at least four years, will be able to gain Australian citizenship.  The most ironic outcome from the new immigration policy announced for Australia last week, is that our very own prime minister has become an advocate for more of our highly qualified citizens to make the move across the Tasman. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is quoted as saying that it's a blimmin' good day for Kiwis living in Australia.  You may blimmin' well be right Chris, but it doesn't take the leader of a country to realise that it's also not so blimmin' fantastic for people contemplating whether or not they’ll stay here.  Perhaps he should've added to that sentence: dear Australia, please let us know if there's anything else we can do to make your lives easier, including not having to tra

I doubt that many of us will ever forget the protest action that took place for three weeks on the grounds of Parliament that began in February last year, lasting 23 days.  Apart from the Springbok tour protests back in 1981 that lasted 56 days, I’ve not seen that level of barbaric, dishevelled and uncivilised behaviour in our society before.  The protest in Wellington last year was hard to watch and even harder to stop watching.  I’m hoping I never see it again, but given the false prophets that maraud maliciously amongst the vulnerable through the internet and organisations claiming to be churches, the reality is likely to be different.  The 200 page Independent Police Conduct Authority report that was released yesterday shows that the police handled the situation well faced with extreme provocation.   I wonder how many police have rethought their career, given the very poor direction given by senior staff who took too long to decide the best plan of action, tip-toeing around the parliamentary rose gardens

The Tertiary Education Union is shocked by the number of jobs potentially on the chopping block at Otago University. Several hundred staff could be made redundant as dwindling student numbers takes a toll. They're down by about 670 so the university needs to reduce its annual budget by $60 million. Union National Secretary Sandra Grey joined Roman Travers. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.