Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The All Blacks squad has been named for the Rugby Championship opener against Los Pumas this weekend. We don't have to cast our minds too far back to the Pumas' historic win against the the All Blacks in Christchurch last year. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith joined Francesca Rudkin from Argentina. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy owners aren't surprised there's been another horrific attack at an Auckland store.  Two men armed with hammers seriously injured the wife of a dairy owner and a customer in Mount Roskill, Central Auckland. A Givealittle page has been set up in support of the owners. It comes as the Police Minister's sitting down with dairy owners next week. Sunny Kaushal is the chair of the Dairy and Business Owners' Group and he joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions over how the Government managed to spend $531 million on unused Covid tests. Our newsroom can reveal Te Whatu Ora has almost $60 million rapid antigen tests in stock around the country, with 30 percent of them either having already expired or due to by month's end. General Practitioners Interim Chair, Buzz Burrell, told Francesca Rudkin he's glad the figures weren't swept under the carpet. He says we need to be asking where they've gone wrong, as someone has given the Government some well-meaning but not very helpful advice. A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says they're considering approaching the market - to seek recycling and disposal options or creative sustainable waste solutions. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the first thing you read about the new science curriculum is a group of science teachers saying “Where’s the Science” it’s hard not to feel despondent - especially if your child is going through the school system.   It’s important to say before we begin this conversation that the information being commented on has come from a leaked draft document from the Ministry of Education - which was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback. They were so taken aback by what they saw they couldn’t help sharing it.   It is a draft document. Once selected feedback has been collected a full document will go out to the wider sector and public for feedback in August. So what’s been seen isn’t set in stone, but I’m grateful to those who have raised alarm bells because it’s in all parents’ interest to be engaged in this conversation. The main concern expressed by the science teachers is that the proposed school science curriculum makes no mention of physics or chemistry. I don’t know about you but I’m under the impre

It looks like National's plan for a third medical school is being well received. The Party is promising a new school at the University of Waikato to train more doctors and address the health worker shortage. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is backing the idea and Executive Director Sarah Dalton joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Members of Parliament are being urged to treat housing as a human right. The final report in the Human Rights Commission's housing inquiry says all available resources must be used to alleviate the housing crisis. It's found housing affordability has dropped, a shortfall in accessible homes and many houses, particularly rentals, are not healthy to live in. Housing inquiry manager Vee Blackwood says too many people are out in the cold. They say it's as hard as ever to find somewhere to live - particularly for vulnerable communities, Māori, Pasifika, elderly and disabled people. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's police spokesperson says rising crime rates is coming at an enormous human cost. Ministerial briefings have revealed police response time targets have been extended due to rising pressure on staff and resources. This comes as two people were seriously injured in a broad daylight attack at a dairy in Auckland's Mt Roskill yesterday. National's Mark Mitchell told Francesca Rudkin there's a frustration over the lack of police response - and demand has overtaken any benefit of the additional police officers. He says shop keepers are building cages around themselves - and that's not the New Zealand they want to be living in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday I reflected on a year of Te Whatu Ora, and how those within the sector rate the new centralised health system.   I said that, from what I’ve been told, Te Whatu Ora has not worked hard enough or quickly enough over the last year to get staff on side, to fill the staffing shortages, to fix the postcode lottery, to shorten surgery and GP wait times, to give emergency departments some relief or provide adequate mental health services.   No reasonable person expects them to have solved all these problems in a year, but we should expect they’ve made some key moves.   Since Monday morning the Ministry of Health has been firing out announcements as if it’s on steroids, and doing their best to show the naysayers like myself that tangible action is on its way.   So far we’ve had a new pay equity offer for nurses, another 830 clinical placements for nursing students, a new nation-wide lower threshold for cataract surgery, and yesterday the release of a comprehensive health recruitment and retention plan.   It

Midwives want a seat at the table for boosting their work force in the long term. It comes after the Government launched their workforce action plan - aiming to fill more than 8,000 vacancies of doctors, nurses and other health staff. It includes boosting offshore recruitment, rural training, earn-as-you-learn schemes and wellbeing support. College of Midwives Chief Executive Alison Eddy told Francesca Rudkin midwifery has had one of the most significant shortages in the health sector. She says Government claims there's a 40 percent shortage but Eddy says it's likely higher. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health advocates are calling for mandatory consent education, throughout someone's high school years. It's often paired with health class, which isn't required past Year 10. However, Family Planning Director Fiona McNamara told Francesca Rudkin students should be learning about consent in schools, around 15 hours a year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I like to have a good time, I let my hair down occasionally, and over the years I have by no means always behaved perfectly in public after a few drinks on a Friday night. I’ve worked in the media for 25 years after all, an industry that really can’t throw shade at anyone else’s Friday night mishaps. However, Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is likely wishing she had one less glass on Friday night. You know the story; apparently, she turned up to a restaurant with few drinks under her belt, had a meal and a few more drinks with a friend, and then made a bit of scene. Supposedly she said, “Do you know who I am” at some point to wait staff - although we’re not sure of the tone. Was it threatening, like in The Godfather? Comical? Or a genuine question? Then she accidently left without paying the bill - a miscommunication between friends.   Tory Whanau would have been just one of many, many people putting on a show in Wellington, and any other New Zealand town on Friday night. But she’s a public persona responsible f

Public health and nutrition experts are calling for a national food strategy to fix our obesity epidemic. The latest Healthy Food Environment report reveals 1/5 of preventable deaths are related to unhealthy diets. At the same time, one in eight children live in households where there's not enough to eat. Health Coalition Aotearoa Co-Chair Lisa Te Morenga told Francesca Rudkin Government hasn't made food safety a priority. She says not much progress has been made since governments started monitoring the safety of our food supply 12 years ago. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been asked over whether the health system has the resources to deliver the changes to those suffering with cataracts. All New Zealanders with mild vision impairment from cataracts will now qualify for surgery under the new nationally consistent threshold, which removes what's known as the postcode lottery. This will enable approximately 3,500 more surgeries to be delivered. General Practice Chair Bryan Betty told Francesca Rudkin these are likely to be rolled out slowly. He says the issue is that if you put 2,000 - 3,000 people on a operating waiting list you have the be able to resource it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building consents are coming back to earth after record highs last year. Stats NZ says consents fell 11 percent in the year to May. Certified Builders Association Chief Executive Malcolm Fleming says homeowners are favouring doing up their own houses instead of building new ones. He told Francesca Rudkin that doesn't mean builders haven't been busy. Fleming says there was already existing high demand so builders have good workloads. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The family of a French teenager killed by Police is calling for riots around the country to stop. France has seen its most violent riots and protests since 2018, following the death of a 17-year-old by police at a traffic stop. Thousands have been arrested since it started last week. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Francesca Rudkin that 45-thousand Police Officers have been deployed across the country. He says the relatives of the dead 17-year-old want the riots to stop, and say they just want a re-evaluation of how Police carry arms.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time will tell whether a move to ease nursing shortages will be sustainable long-term. The Government has announced more than 800 additional clinical placements for nursing students, with 130 starting from the July and August intake. For the 2024 intake, Te Whatu Ora will work with nurse education providers to bring in another 700 placements. College of Nurses Aotearoa Executive Director Kate Weston told Francesca Rudkin that the country needs to increase its supply, but questions whether it will be sustainable. She says they'll need to see high quality placements but the other main concern is the considerable financial pressure on the university and polytech sectors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport says it's been working hard to trim down the bus driver shortage. It's managed to cut it by 72% since its peak, and the agency only needs to recruit another 170 drivers. Auckland Transport Metro Optimisation Manager Richard Harrison says they've searched both locally and internationally for drivers. He told Francesca Rudkin that pay has been a key factor in getting people on board. He says the average wage is now 28 dollars an hour, with hopes that help from the Government can get that up to 30 dollars. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturday marked a year since the new heath system Te Whatu Ora kicked into gear. Twenty district health boards were abolished and replaced with a centralised system aimed at getting rid of our postcode lottery of health care.   A year ago, I wished the then Minister of Health Andrew Little good luck with his venture. Our health system had been under pressure way before the pandemic hit, and clearly needed an overhaul.  I liked the fact the government was taking a big swing at this and trying to make sure that New Zealander’s, regardless of where they lived, got the same services and healthcare. Us Kiwis love fairness!   But, for all the good intentions it turns out making changes as large as this, off the back of a pandemic which had further reduced an already depleted work force, may not have been such a great idea. Nor does it seem the transition was as considered or well executed as well as it needed to be.   A year later, it’s not obvious what has changed – except the automatic signature on the bottom of

If we ever needed proof this Government was one giant overlord of bureaucratic blow outs, it’s the estimated $1 billion blowout on establishment costs for Three Waters. It’s been reported now that “the cost of creating 10 new Water Services Entities over a transition period that now stretches to July 1st, 2026 is expected to reach $2 to $3 billion. The estimate before recent revisions to the plan was $1 to $2 billion.” But wait, there’s more. “The Crown is expected to foot additional costs in the first instance, costing taxpayers, but costs might ultimately be charged back to the new Water Services Entities, costing ratepayers,” it was reported. Ratepayers, that’s you and me. Us mugs who’re already facing rising rates. But there could be even more. “Official documents also showed further costs to the Crown would likely be required to operate the drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai,” it says. “An extra $200 million in Crown costs is expected due to the later establishment date. And the fixed costs of esta

Single-use plastic items will be officially banned from shelves from tomorrow. It's the second step in the Government's plan to reduce plastic waste. Plastic cutlery, plates and bowls, cups, straws and produce bags will all be cut. Foodstuffs Sustainable Packaging Manager, Debra Goulding joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.