Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Folic acid will be put in bread making flour to prevent devastating birth defects that can result in death or lifelong disability, it can be revealed.Fortifying bread and other food staples with folic acid has significantly reduced birth defects of the brain, spine, or spinal cord in other countries including the United States, Canada and Australia.The move comes after an investigation by the Herald exposed the heartbreaking stories of parents who have been pushing for years for New Zealand to match other countries by fortifying bread."This is about protecting babies. Low folate levels in mothers cause neural tube defects that result in the death of babies, or lifelong disability," said Food Safety Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall."This B vitamin is safe and essential for health, particularly for development of babies early in pregnancy. Folate is naturally present in food - folic acid fortification restores what is lost during processing such as flour milling."A little over half of pregnancies in New Zealand are u

Do you obsessively read the grading ratings on eateries like I do, or are you normal?You know how the kitchens and backrooms of restaurants and cafes get inspected and graded based on hygiene and cleanliness? More ratings came out this week and I’m obsessed with them.Because I’m a hygiene freak and if I see anything other than an A rating I want to run for the hills. How the system works is that a D or E rating basically means the situation is pretty revolting. Uncovered uncooked food left out, cockroaches, filth or flies look, it’s gross. This has all come about due to Food Safety checks, for which we should be eternally grateful. So MPI wanders round with inspectors, checks out the state of eateries and slaps a grading on them.Auckland Council took it further and adopted the measure that these gradings have to be displayed publicly; we have to know what we’re dealing with. And that’s why I have now become obsessed with looking for that little food safety certificate every time I walk into a takeaway outlet.

There are calls for Police to up their game in the enforcement of seatbelt rules.Figures released to Newstalk ZB show the number of fines being handed out for failing to wear a seatbelt, have almost halved in the past decade.That's despite the number of serious injuries and crashes where a driver or passenger wasn't wearing a seatbelt, have either increased, or remained unchanged, over the same period.Independent crash investigator Hamish Piercy told Kate Hawkesby the importance of such fines shouldn't be underestimated.“They do have an effect, and it’s not necessarily the amount either it’s actually the sting for an indiscretion or wrongdoing that tends to wake people up.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nurses say striking is a last resort and not something they do lightly.Members of the Nurses Organisation have voted to walk off the job another three times this year, in July, August and September.Some strikes will be as long as 24 hours.Nurses Organisation industrial advisor, David Waite, told Kate Hawkesby it's the most significant strike action nurses have ever voted on, and will ever take.“And I guess it really goes to the frustration that members have felt after a year of negotiations and these tow issues around pay and staffing are still unresolved."LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Generation Z, the generation after Millennials, want to make their mark on the world.This includes in fashion.It seems more of our younger generation want to buy gender-fluid clothing.In 2019, 56 percent of Gen Z consumers shopped outside their assigned gendered area.There are suggestions that it is time some of our local retail brands, Farmers, The Warehouse, Kmart, got more with the programme.Senior analyst at World Global Style Network Nick Paget told Kate Hawkesby there is more than one barrier to inclusive clothing.“I think to do something that’s really truly inclusive; it’s about making all clothing inclusive to everyone, which is both a technical challenge and a challenge to society’s perception to clothing and gender as well.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trying to get a Covid-19 vaccination is a bit like the “Hunger Games”, according to the NSW Health Minister.Brad Hazzard offered the scathing review of the vaccine rollout while standing alongside the NSW Premier and chief health officer to deliver the latest Covid update.There have been 35 new cases of Covid in NSW, a huge spike on the 16 infections revealed on Sunday.While addressing the media, Mr Hazzard was probed about the commonwealth rollout.“It is almost a sense now of the ‘Hunger Games’, of people chasing the vaccine,” he said.“Until we get enough vaccine (doses) and enough GPs actually at the frontline able to provide that vaccine into arms, we will continue to have effectively the Hunger Games going on here in NSW.”Brad Hazzard has described getting the jab as a bit like the Hunger Games. (Photo / NCA)He was quick to defend the federal government though.“It is easy to be critical in hindsight but the federal government did their best to try and get the vaccine when we didn’t know what vaccines woul

I wonder, with school holidays starting at the end of this week, how many people are put off by the bubble given the mess Australia’s in currently.Quarantine free travel to South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the A.C.T is back open, but it comes with a warning. Epidemiologist Rod Jackson said go at your own risk, basically. Be prepared to be stuck there for weeks or even months, he says.That’s harsh. But is it true?How many people are still prepared to risk it?I think a lot of us have acclimatised to the new reality of no international travelling at the moment.Well not all of us. My sister hasn’t. Having lived in Europe for 10 years and travelled extensively she’s a wanderer with itchy feet. She’s hated not being able to travel. She’d booked the Gold Coast for the school holidays for her family but that’s obviously off now. So she’s booked the Cook Islands.She said basically because it’s the only place she feels she can safely and easily go with her kids and she’s sick of not going anywhere. The second we

The hospitality industry is uniting for a collective ‘lights out’ moment and they hope it'll help avoid them going dark for good.Businesses will switch their lights off for two minutes to express concerns about immigration policies.They say there's a desperate need for overseas workers and visa extensions.Pre-Covid, about 30 per cent of the industry was made up of migrant workers.Owner of Monsoon Poon in Wellington Mike Egan told Kate Hawkesby they're not asking for much.“They can just look around and go well, ‘this could be the reality one day’.. We’re an important part of cities, towns and villages.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's fair to say this year's Olympics, which start this month, will be different to others.Athletes will feel increased stresses and pressures, travelling and competing in an event during a worldwide pandemic.But another factor will be the spectators.The smaller than usual crowds are not allowed to cheer, sing, chant, give handshakes or hug but must sit quietly.Sports psychologist Sara Chatwin told Kate Hawkesby the lack of cheering may affect individual athletes differently.“I dare say, the athletes I’ve worked with, they don’t rely on crowd support, because you’re just as likely to get support as you would the nay-sayers.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regular saliva testing for staff at New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine facilities could be underway in weeks, which aims to strengthen the country's border against Covid-19.Asia Pacific Health Group (APHG) was awarded a Ministry of Health contract in May to provide virus surveillance testing through saliva samples from staff at New Zealand's MIQ sites.Testing at the border has been a contentious issue, punctuated by revelations in April that an infected Grand Millennium security guard wasn't tested for six months, even though he was meant to be tested fortnightly.As at June 28, 161 MIQ workers were overdue for a test.Auckland's Grand Millennium MIQ facility. (Photo / File)It was estimated between 6000 and 20,000 saliva tests would be done per week.Early indications were MIQ workers would submit a sample every second day when the programme was rolled out in the coming weeks, following a prototype in Christchurch last week.Voluntary saliva testing had been offered at MIQ facilities since January but

A snapshot of the scale, lays bare the geographic spread of New Zealand's meth problem.The New Zealand Herald's obtained two years of wastewater test results that police have used to monitor consumption of illegal drugs around the country since late 2018.Analysis shows small towns with high levels of deprivation - including Kaitaia, Opotiki and Wairoa - have been saturated - recording weekly per capita consumption more than double the national average.Herald reporter Jared Savage says police are using the data to provide funding for community groups tackling the issue."For example, provide extra social workers or other support and funding for resources that they can have this wrap-around holistic approach to families that might be struggling."Savage says rehab centres, counselling services and other resources across the country are already very low, but almost non-existent in smaller towns.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I had a dollar for every parent contacting me about the state of things at Starship, I could make a large donation to the Hospital.It's dire in there at the moment. There’s a severe lack of funding, staff, beds, you name it, they’re screaming out for it.I just can’t fathom how the country’s only specialist children’s hospital can be so over run and in such dire need… and yet the government does nothing. I know it’s a DHB issue, and that model's questionable to say the least in terms of the way it handles funding, but it still doesn’t make sense to me that it can get this woeful, and the only thing propping it up is private donors.Off the back of last year, a year when the government locked people up and shut people out, the inevitable result was hundreds and hundreds of babies and children untouched by bugs and sickness. The follow on from this of course is that their little immune systems never got exposed to anything, never got the chance to toughen up or protect themselves. So now, this winter, with an

Text by Danica Kirka, APEngland may soon abandon legal requirements for wearing masks, a government minister said Sunday as the nation waits for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce plans for easing COVID-19 measures.Johnson is expected in the next few days to update England on “freedom day’’ — the plan to scrap the remaining restrictions on business and social interaction on July 19. British media widely reported that many requirements, including mask wearing, would also end.“We are going to, I think, now move into a period where there won’t be legal restrictions — the state won’t be telling you what to do — but you will want to exercise a degree of personal responsibility and judgment and so different people will come to different conclusions on things like masks,’’ housing minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News. “The prime minister will set out more details on the national policy on some of those restrictions in the coming days.”Some doctors have expressed concern about further easing of restrictio

National's Simeon Brown is fuming over a Human Rights Commission donation to the Mongrel Mob.Newstalk ZB has revealed the commission gave the Waikato chapter $200 as koha, after Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt spoke at the Mob's hui in May.Brown says its unacceptable any amount of taxpayer money is being donated to a gang."It's absolutely outrageous the Human Rights Commission is giving money to a criminal organisation. The Mongrel Mob were recently caught in a major transnational drug bust and gang bust. There's no way that any government department should be donating money to that cause"Brown says this is a kick in the guts to victims of crime, people who have been hurt by the Mongrel Mob, and it sends all of the wrong messages.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I feel bad for Mike King, not just him actually, but for every family he’s tried or is still trying to help and can’t get funding for.Yesterday the government told him they’re not funding Gumboot Friday to provide free counselling for young people struggling with mental health. I find this ironic given the government’s talked a big game on mental health, handed out 1.9 billion for it, acknowledged it’s a problem, say their work is ongoing, yet they’re not supporting this.It’s also ironic they can find the money to fund a cycle lane over the Harbour Bridge for a handful of Auckland cyclists, but they can’t find money for this. Likewise, they can throw 50 million at a slush fund to look for alternatives to cotton buds, but they can’t fund this. There are plenty of examples of money being printed and handed out from the Beehive and I’m just not sure how this one doesn’t make the cut.Our mental health stats are woeful. The government’s well aware of it, has had solutions offered to them, people with practical tan

The number of people studying nursing in New Zealand has stalled and is closing in on a decade low.The Nurses Organisation are concerned the mounting pressure on current nurses are keeping people from entering the profession.Dr. Sandy Richardson, College of Emergency Nurses chair, told Kate Hawkesby“It’s more what do we do with them once we’ve got them into nursing? How do we find placements for them when they’re training? And how do we find jobs for them when they’ve finished training?”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britney Spears' father has asked the court overseeing his daughter's conservatorship to investigate her statements to a judge last week on the court's control of her medical treatment and personal life, which she called overly restrictive and abusive.James Spears emphasized in a pair of documents filed that he has had no power over his daughter's personal affairs for nearly two years.His filing says the court must investigate "serious allegations regarding forced labor, forced medical treatment and therapy, improper medical care, and limitations on personal rights.""Given the nature of the allegations and claims, it is critical that that the court confirm whether or not Ms. Spears' testimony was accurate in order to determine what corrective actions, if any, need to be taken," the documents said.The filings come a week after Britney Spears spoke for the first time in open court in the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years. She condemned those with power over her, saying she has b

Prince Harry and Prince William almost look as though they've buried the hatchet, putting on a united front to celebrate their late mother's 60th birthday early Friday (NZT).The feuding brothers smiled and laughed with each other as they arrived together at Kensington Palace, looking to be in high spirits as they greeted a small number of guests at the unveiling of Princess Diana's memorial statue.It was an emotional day for the family of Diana - who died in 1997 - with her beloved sons releasing a rare joint statement shortly after the ceremony."Today, on what would have been our Mother's 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character – qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better," it read."Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy."Britain's Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on w

More companies around New Zealand and overseas are letting staff pick their own working hours.Deloitte Australia is the latest big player to give it a go.One staff member is making the most of it by working two hours in the morning, surfing in the lunch break and then coming back to do another six.A dairy farm in Canterbury, Align Farms started the same thing recently.Align Farms CEO Rhys Roberts told Kate Hawkesby the flexibility has attracted workers from other industries.“That dairy farm actually just employed the head trainer at f45 in Ashburton, which is obviously a whole new skill set and diversity into the team. You’d argue we wouldn’t be able to employ someone of that calibre onto a dairy farm 12 months ago without that flexibility.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am just wondering how many parents are , like me, watching a generation of kids who don’t or won’t cook.And how much of this has been exacerbated by Covid?What I mean by that is, yes during lockdown people cooked from home more, but they also ditched the supermarkets a bit and got into meal kits and takeaways. We know this from a recent Herald survey which looked at life ‘post-Covid’ for Kiwis.Feels weird saying ‘post-Covid’ given we didn’t really have Covid here like other countries did, but also are we ever really ‘post-Covid?’ I think it’s something we’re going to have to live with forever. But this Lifestyle Survey by Colmar Brunton and the Herald found that how we eat has changed.I know for our family, a couple of our kids became hooked on Uber Eats. Easy, convenient, you can get what you feel like, you don’t have to leave the house, you don’t have to waste time cooking. There are no dishes.Our kids got dependent on it for their flat, it was the easiest solution to the ‘what to have for dinner’ questio