Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Nicola Willis is blaming ACT and NZ First for the momentous dismantling of Smokefree laws. That's what she said over the weekend, telling Newshub the minor parties were insistent on reversing the amendments, not even a year after they were passed.  ACT says tobacco taxes bring in about 1.8 billion all up, and we're given to believe taking those new restrictions away will be worth about a billion.  So, handy money...especially when you've just had to sacrifice a different cash raising scheme which you'd hoped would help fund tax cuts.  But what do we read from this? Isn't this a matter of principle, a moral issue even, and where was this in the manifestos?  Are we to infer that delivering tax cuts is now more important than saving thousands from the misery of being addicted to tobacco? And if you haven't been there...believe me...it's a miserable addiction.  Are we to infer that it's really Act and New Zealand First in the driving seat...and if so...what further horrors are to come?  There'll be a lot of dairy

So, this is my last day – not just for the year but for good. It’s time for me to turn off the early alarm.   I’ve been so conflicted about making this decision, purely because I love the job so much, it’s the most fun and best time I’ve ever had in my broadcasting career. Radio is addictive. It’s dynamic and instant and an intimate connection with your audience. I’ve felt privileged to be in your cars, your kitchens, your headphones, an earpiece while you’re still in bed... the fact you choose to tune in here as you start your day, is something I never take for granted.   We’re a small team – my producer Hannah and I, but I’m really proud of how hard she works. It’s not easy getting up in the dark and putting out a radio show, but I’ve been lucky to have had awesome producers alongside me over the years. Mike’s team of Sam and Glenn have also been amazingly helpful, and I’ve been blessed with the best in newsreader and all-time fun zone Niva, and the statesman of sport Andrew Alderson. The pre-dawn camarader

Shoppers hunting for a bargain will be hitting the malls over the weekend for Black Friday sales.  Tens of thousands of shoppers are expected to swarm the shops.  But Wellington Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Simon Arcus told Kate Hawkesby that consumers should be careful to ensure they are getting a fair deal.  He says shoppers should look online to see if the same product can be bought cheaper elsewhere.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More details on the incoming governing trio are expected to come soon.  National, ACT, and New Zealand First have agreed on a deal which will be signed in Parliament today.  It'll have the parties' policy agendas, details on who's in and who's out of Cabinet, and who's becoming the Deputy Prime Minister.  Herald political reporter Adam Pearse told Kate Hawkesby that we've apparently been in the final stages for more than a week now.  He says they're expecting statements of support from the three parties throughout this morning.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So has the anticipation of this government been greater than the event itself?   Will it be under whelming when we finally see the state of it?   Did we just build it up as this huge thing full of controversy and twists and turns, when in fact it was just a boring longer than expected meeting of negotiating endless minutiae?   I actually felt sorry for them yesterday – especially the ones who are parents to young kids, like Nicola Willis. She was desperate to get back to Wellington and see her 4 young children, Chris Bishop was wearing a borrowed shirt because he'd run out of clothes... I mean all of that just reeks of a thing that went on longer than anyone expected. Longer than perhaps it needed to. I know even David Seymour was saying that.   But how will we remember all this and Luxon’s abilities around it? Well, that’s the thing, possibly not at all. The news cycle moves fast, a week’s a long time in politics, this will all be ancient history before long. I don’t know that people will care in three years

So has the anticipation of this government been greater than the event itself?   Will it be under whelming when we finally see the state of it?   Did we just build it up as this huge thing full of controversy and twists and turns, when in fact it was just a boring longer than expected meeting of negotiating endless minutiae?   I actually felt sorry for them yesterday – especially the ones who are parents to young kids, like Nicola Willis. She was desperate to get back to Wellington and see her 4 young children, Chris Bishop was wearing a borrowed shirt because he'd run out of clothes... I mean all of that just reeks of a thing that went on longer than anyone expected. Longer than perhaps it needed to. I know even David Seymour was saying that.   But how will we remember all this and Luxon’s abilities around it? Well, that’s the thing, possibly not at all. The news cycle moves fast, a week’s a long time in politics, this will all be ancient history before long. I don’t know that people will care in three years

A trend is emerging of older New Zealanders opting to dish out inheritance to their family before they die.  NZ Seniors data shows more than a third are doing just that.  More than half worry over what they'll be able to leave their kids because of current economic challenges.  Pidgeon Judd Law Director, Joanna Pidgeon, told Kate Hawkesby that people are living longer, and don't want to see their kids struggling with renting into their 50s.  She says with prices increasing, help upfront can get them onto a more stable home-owning road.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Domestic pressure in Israel is said to be the driving factor behind the hostage deal.  Israel's cabinet has agreed to a four day pause in fighting in exchange for the release of 50 women and child hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th.  It's believed there are around 200 Israeli hostages.   The agreement also includes Israel releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners.   International geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Kate Hawkesby that hostage families have mounted a high profile "bring them home" campaign.  He says Israeli public opinion has turned, with 54% in favour of some sort of prisoner swap deal.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An influx of migration and lack of property investors is thought to be driving up rental prices around the country. Rental growth is running at historically high levels, hitting 6.1% in the year to October, with Auckland skyrocketing by 8.5% over the past year. Aspire Managing Director Mike Atkinson told Kate Hawkesby that he's warning the incoming Government that prices need to be reined in. He says if prices continue to rise renters will fall out of the market, putting more pressure on social housing wait-lists. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t begrudge David Seymour tipping his hat into the ring for Deputy PM.   Many would argue it’s a relatively inconsequential role - it doesn’t mean much. I mean most of last term we couldn’t remember who was deputy leader or deputy PM: Kelvin Davis or Carmel Sepuloni. It didn’t really matter, no one really cared.   But it does carry gravitas. There is something about the title which carries weight – and of course the obvious additional bonus of stepping into the PM’s shoes when they're out of the country. So you can’t argue it doesn’t carry some responsibility too. And Seymour’s argument is fair I reckon. Proportionality. He’s arguing that the role makes sense for him given they’ve got the second-largest government party, so he says, the second-biggest role makes sense. He thinks that’s the clear case for him to be Deputy PM.   However, he’s also saying he doesn’t know if he’ll get it – he said outside Luxon’s house yesterday that, “a negotiation's a negotiation, and you never know your luck ... so I'm no

Questions are arising over whether Air New Zealand will have to continue to discount domestic flights in coming months as it grapples with sinking demand.  October passenger data highlights the slow down, alongside lower-margin leisure travel and lower capacity.  The airline's forecast a pre-tax profit of up to $230 million for the second half of 2023, down from nearly $300 million last year.  Aviation commentator Irene King told Kate Hawkesby that the data was taken before its capacity problems in which aircrafts were taken out of the system.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re heading in the right direction, but they’re still not great numbers on the trade deficit.  Stats NZ data for October shows exports fell to $5.4 billion annually, with imports down to just over $7 billion on last year.  The annual trade deficit is $14.8 billion, slightly better than September's $15.41 billion.  Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby that it's an improvement, but it remains a concern.  He says we're still importing more than we're exporting.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrangling continues in Auckland today between National, ACT, and New Zealand First, of the allocation of Cabinet portfolios in the new government.  David Seymour, Winston Peters, and Nicola Willis are all in the running to be Deputy Prime Minister.  But Brigitte Morten —a former senior ministerial advisor for National— told Kate Hawkesby that the allocation of other roles will be more crucial.  She says finance positions are likely to be given to both parties, and the allocation of justice, police, and Attorney-General portfolios will also be important.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think we’ve reached peak woke, or at least I hope we have... who would know? But I think we’ve reached it when I see that in China now, they’re looking at banning clothes that hurt people’s feelings. You heard that right. CNN reported that, ‘China’s legislature has proposed changes to a law that if approved would allow authorities to fine and detain people who wear clothes that “hurt the nation’s feelings”.’  This to be honest is probably less about wokeism and more about patriotism and control, and it did of course set off a chain of concerns over freedom of expression. But how on earth do you define clothes that hurt people’s feelings? I mean I find Crocs offensive, should they ban those? The mom jean I’m not a big fan of, they’re everywhere. Jorts... horrific, yet back in fashion. As are wedge jandal heels. I mean it’s a minefield of offensive clothing out there already as far as I’m concerned.  But who are the arbiters of this offensive fashion? Well turns out China’s National People’s Congress Standing

Questions over how fog cannons and body cameras in Woolworths stores will mitigate the rising abuse of staff.  The supermarket giant is reporting a 131% rise in physical assaults on staff in the past six months, compared to the same time last year.  It's also launching an in-store campaign to encourage customers to respect workers as they head into the busiest time of year.  First Union General Secretary Dennis Maga told Kate Hawkesby that those security measures could work short-term.  He says intervention is needed in the long run, particularly as the rate of unruly behaviour increases.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High school students are increasingly visiting online gambling sites.  An investigation by Newstalk ZB has found that sports betting and online casino games are increasingly popular with teenagers, who even access the sites during the school day.  Life Education Trust Chief Executive John O'Connell told Kate Hawkesby that phones among young people have caused a number of challenges.  He says schools should be aware that students with mobile phones have gambling in their pocket.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A political commentator is suggesting that we should relax a little about how long it's taking to form a government.  There's been much commentary on the fact it's been 18 days since the release of the official election results, and we still don't have a government.  Former National party staffer and now political commentator Ben Thomas told Kate Hawkesby that this time will be quickly forgotten.  He says in six months time —whether the Government is flourishing or floundering— no one is going to be remember the difference between two weeks and three weeks of negotiations.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weekend has come and gone, but coalition negotiations continue into another week. Incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon says about three issues to settle remain between National, Act and New Zealand First. The trio's been meeting in Auckland since Wednesday, where Luxon now believes they'll stay for the next few days. Herald Political Reporter Adam Pearse told Kate Hawkesby that Luxon described his meeting with Peters yesterday, as 'helpful'. He says it was a departure from previous conversations in which he described talks as 'positive' and 'good' and cast a better light on things.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron had his first outing as Foreign Secretary yesterday as he made his way to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky.   UK Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Tim Dower that when they saw a Range Rover coming up Downing Street on Monday and David Cameron climbed out “mouths were literally a gog.”  He added that Cameron doesn’t have the best reputation across the continent given his mishandling of the Brexit referendum and then bouncing as soon as he lost it.   “we'll see how he fares in the rest of Europe in the coming months to get that support going again.”   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron had his first outing as Foreign Secretary yesterday as he made his way to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky.   UK Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Tim Dower that when they saw a Range Rover coming up Downing Street on Monday and David Cameron climbed out “mouths were literally a gog.”  He added that Cameron doesn’t have the best reputation across the continent given his mishandling of the Brexit referendum and then bouncing as soon as he lost it.   “we'll see how he fares in the rest of Europe in the coming months to get that support going again.”   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.