Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The housing market is unlikely to be greatly impacted by the latest Reserve Bank announcement. The bank confirmed the Official Cash Rate will remain at 5.5 percent, although there is a possibility this could be raised again this year. Corelogic Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Kate Hawkesby the decision is neutral for the housing market, with a muted recovery still likely. He says whatever was going to happen to the housing market will still happen. Davidson says there is no need to panic and the hint of a further OCR hike is just a warning. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deciding the verdict in the Lauren Dickason trial would've been an extremely difficult decision for any jury. The 42-year-old has been found guilty of murdering her three daughters at their Timaru home in 2021. Dickason pleaded insanity, caused by postpartum depression. The Criminal Bar Association's former president Gary Gotlieb told Kate Hawkesby it was a case of having to weigh up the different views of experts. He questions whether it's appropriate for juries to determine the outcome in cases like these - where experts themselves are divided. Dickason has been remanded to Hillmorton Hospital, before her sentencing. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport is celebrating an end to bus driver shortages, but some believe it's too early to pop the champagne. At the height of the crisis AT needed 578 drivers. The city has three more drivers than the 2,206 required to operate the bus schedule. But, Public Transport Users Association's Jon Reeves told Kate Hawkesby only having three spare is a bit dicey, when it comes to staff sickness. He says people will hear buses are all running again, then experience a cancellation due to illness and feel let down by the marketing. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I see one of the favourite holiday playgrounds for many Kiwi families, has been hit with a travel advisory over violence. ‘Fiji police to increase presence after reports of violent attacks on tourists’ read the headline. These attacks apparently include assaults, robberies and sexual assaults, mainly in Suva’s downtown nightspots. Fiji, one of the safest countries in the world, facing the same problem many CBD’s are facing these day;  increased violence. I mean if a safe haven like Fiji can end up with a travel advisory for New Zealand, the US and Canada to ‘remain alert in public places’ then god knows what the warning should be for tourists coming to downtown Auckland these days. It sort of seems unfair that Kiwis are being told to ‘exercise increased caution in Fiji’ - I mean that’s what I’d tell anyone visiting Auckland too to be honest. But every time I raise how dangerous Auckland is these days, people always contact me from other centres telling me crime is rampant there too. It’s not just the violence

A leading economist is sceptical of claims Official Cash Rate hikes will be halted until next year. The Reserve Bank is providing an OCR update today, with economists predicting it will stay at 5.5 percent. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold says the bank believes this will be on hold until the second half of next year. But he told Kate Hawkesby with a strong labour market, strong migration, and high inflation, he isn't confident this will be the case. Eckhold says the Reserve Bank may need to lift the OCR a bit more, so it can get the inflation rate back to under 3 percent in a reasonable time frame. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US President Donald Trump is facing his fourth indictment in less than five months. He's been charged in Georgia with attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat - he denies all 13 charges including racketeering and election meddling. A phone call has emerged of him pressuring a Georgia Secretary of State to find votes. Washington Post Political reporter Amber Philips told Kate Hawkesby prosecutors believe the call is an essential piece of evidence. She says they believe it was an overt act in the conspiracy of trying to overturn the election results. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than half of New Zealanders say they're starting to sink when it comes to money. Fresh data collected by the Retirement Commission, shows 55 percent are having a hard time with their finances, up 17 percent from 2021. However, Sorted Personal Finance Lead Tom Hartmann told Kate Hawkesby the research also shows more people are starting to focus on positive money management skills. He says more people are considering purchases before they buy, which will help get through this financial rough patch.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The audacity of this Government - seriously, it makes you wonder whether this the most hypocritical government ever. Yesterday, Chris Hipkins - as in pulpit of truth Chris Hipkins – Covid Minister Chris Hipkins, the guy who ran the whole shebang alongside Jacinda - showed he's now so desperate for votes, that he said he now regrets the 2021 lockdown length for Aucklanders. No kidding. Does he really? I lived through that lockdown, alongside everyone else in Auckland. These guys could not have banged on about the importance of locking us down more. They could not have been clearer and surer that they were doing the right thing. Despite all of us who were vocal at the time - myself included - that it was overkill, and too much, and out of hand, and ridiculous, and way too long, they defended it. They chastised those who spoke out against it. They tried to frame anyone who railed against it as some kind of far right conspiracy theorist or anti-vaxxer. They lambasted and discredited anyone who questioned it. They

The curtain is closing on the Women's World Cup for New Zealand, with just one game left on home soil. Spain and Sweden will go head to head tonight at Eden Park in the first semifinal. Over half a million tickets have been sold for the 29 New Zealand games - with the country hosting some of the world's best talent.  New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell joined Kate Hawkesby to give a review of the tournament from New Zealand's point of view. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More Kiwis are starting new lives overseas despite migrants arriving in droves. In the year to June, annual net migration rose to more than 86,000. But, the loss was nearly 35,000 citizens - the largest in a decade. ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Kate Hawkesby we're losing New Zealanders to Australia because it's seen as a low-risk  option. She says changes to the citizenship and wage levels reassure people to make the move. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian woman who served up poison mushrooms suspected to have killed three people has sent a new statement to police. Erin Patterson now says she was hospitalised after the meal and had bought the ingredients from two different shops. Australian correspondent Donna Demaio Kate Hawkesby says Police are continuing to investigate the deaths. She says Patterson says she released the statement so 'people are not so quick to pass judgement.' She's also admitted lying to investigators that a food dehydrator found at a local tip had been left by her months ago. Patterson says she actually dumped it in a panic after the lunch,  when questioned about it by her ex-husband. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The scrapping of Covid restrictions couldn't have come soon enough for the hospitality industry. All remaining restrictions were dropped as of midnight last night, including the seven day isolation period. Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive Steve Armitage told Kate Hawkesby they're surprised it's taken as long as it has, but are keen to move on. He says we need to trust people to manage their business themselves and this development will mean they can finally move forward with recovery. Armitage says it will provide much needed certainty for businesses around staff availability. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Criticisms of Labour's latest election promise are rising. The party's promising to axe GST from fresh and frozen fruit and veggies from April, with the average household expected to save roughly $20 a month. But New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Kate Hawkesby that these policies always end up costing more in revenue than they deliver to families, and make the tax system more complex. He says the accounting gets more difficult, and lawyers have a field day on definitions of what's included and what isn't. Labour's also promising to boost In-Work Tax Credits by $25 a week, and lift the Working for Families abatement threshold. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homes are still covered in silt and roads are far from repaired six months on from Cyclone Gabrielle. The devastating weather event left Gisborne without power and communication for days, and took the lives of 11 people nationwide. Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Kate Hawkesby that resilience is as important as recovery, which could cost billions. She says we can't just keep on patching up these areas, as more storms expected in the coming years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democracy's interesting isn't it? I mean it’s our best option, but look at what we got this weekend in the latest mad grab for power. We’ve got an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist revealed as a NZ First candidate (read the Stuff piece from yesterday and weep), and we’ve got a ruling party announcing no tax on fruit and vege, in a completely pointless policy that even their own Finance Minister hates. It feels like a world gone mad, but then I have to remind myself, we voted for this, and people may yet vote again for it. Democracy in action can be a terrifying ride. I said on Mike’s show last Friday that I worry about the Kiwis with short memories who are saying they’ll vote for Winston again this time round. My colleague Kerre Woodham put it best when she said, ‘I’m sure there are intelligent people who vote NZ First, but I’ve never met or heard of one’. To throw a vote to Winston is to waste your vote. The people voting for Winston are doing it because they say he’ll ‘get rid of all the Maori signs’, or he’l

Getting to work on time isn’t usually an issue for me.   I have a well-staged and orchestrated routine that has me rolling out of bed on the first alarm, staggering with mediocre accuracy to the bathroom where I plunge my freshly light tortured eyes and body into an overly hot shower, before dressing at fireman like speed and sliding down the lift shaft to my Newstalk ZB racing car.  Today, all of that speed and agility was once again exercised expertly as I’ve done hundreds of times before.  But then I was caught like a possum in the lights at the intersection of Newton and Ponsonby Road. As I approached, the lights for me were red. And they stayed red for what seemed like hours.  I sat there contemplating all forms of wizardry that might entice the lights to change to that favourable shade of green that we all love. I sat there calculating the action of getting out of the car, running over to the pedestrian lights and activating those – so that the opposing green light would within seconds turn red.  Then I

One political party is making a comeback. New Zealand First has gained popularity in the latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll, gaining enough support to push over the five percent threshold to return to parliament. It comes after Act leader David Seymour says he refuses to partner with Winston Peters. But that may have to change as a National-Act government is looking more solid. Political commentator Brigette Morten joined Roman Travers to break down the latest numbers. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday's news that another of our major banks has made another record profit, just about had me falling off my financially unstable rocking horse. ASB have reported another record annual profit in the same week that the TSB have said they'll be closing seven of their 25 branches, even though they are rated highly in customer service and satisfaction surveys. The ASB is our third biggest bank, and they've just reported this record profit, after all costs, of an eye watering $1.56 billion which is an increase of 6% on last year. In a way that's supposed to induce some form of pity for them, they've also announced that because of the slowing economy and rising interest rates, their earnings have been detrimentally affected. Oh dear. Oh my. How tragic is that? Isn't it amazing to see the power of the PR machine spinning madly in the background even with a business as profitable as the ASB bank? Isn't it sickening to see that within the same outward gush of hot halitosis breath, laced with stale gin and tonic f

Six people have died as wildfires engulf the Hawaiian island of Maui. Residents and tourists have been escaping into the sea to escape the blazes, devastating the town of Lahaina. Some with burns and smoke inhalation, are being flown to Honolulu for treatment. US correspondent Mitch McCann told Roman Travers the fires are being exacerbated by wind from a hurricane moving past the island. He says thousands of homes have lost power and cell services, leaving people stranded and unable to call 911. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is an expectation McDonald's will address charging loyal app users higher prices. Users have taken to complain on social networking site Reddit, after pointing out a $3 difference between what app users and casual customers are charged. McDonald's says the prices may be different to entice some customers to return to the app. But Massey University marketing professor Bodo Lang told Roman Travers it's doing the opposite. He says companies want people to engage with it and this personalisation of prices is counterintuitive. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.