Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The retail sector is pointing to Government justice policies as a reason for increasing crime. Police figures suggest only 2.3 percent of reported retail crime results in arrests. The number of retail offences reported to police last year was over 125,000, up from 61,000 in 2021, although that year saw lengthy Covid-19 lockdowns in several regions. Sandringham Business Association Chair Jithin Chittibomma told Kate Hawkesby the Government's approach leaves a lot to be desired. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party is slamming Labour's legacy in schools. Education Ministry data shows last year 75 percent of school leavers attained NCEA Level 2 or above - down from 81 percent in 2017. Maori school leavers fared worse - with just 59 percent getting NCEA level two or above. National's Education Spokesperson Erica Stanford told Kate Hawkesby she's not surprised. She says it's been a trend that the stats have gone down every single year since 2017. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A friend of my nephew was king hit from behind in town by a bouncer several months ago when he was out in Auckland city. He was a visitor from the US, being shown around NZ, being shown some nightlife in Auckland. He wound up in hospital needing several stitches to his head. The bouncer didn’t like the look of them, came down some steps after them, followed them a short distance along the street and then punched him in the back of his head as he was walking away. The whole thing was filmed, there were witnesses, the Police were called and turned up, they were shown the video footage, CCTV footage, they spoke to everyone concerned, they had everything there right in front of them including the culprit. Did they make an arrest? They did not. The Police at the time were unsure what to do; they said they needed to ‘think about it’. The next day, many questions were asked, including why no charges had been laid. They’d be ‘following it up in due course’ they said. Witness statements were made, reports filed and th

In the latest in a series of attacks, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says war is returning to Russia. Russia's Defence Ministry says it brought down three Ukrainian drones after a strike on Moscow yesterday. It damaged a high rise building before being intercepted.  Newshub's Europe correspondent Lisette Reymer joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss the developments. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Businesses are continuing to struggle under cost pressures. Latest Centrix data shows a climb in business credit defaults, with company liquidations up 36 percent year on year. CEO of Small Business Voice, Max Whitehead joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss the effects on owners. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pay will be just one part of the puzzle in getting teachers on board in negotiations. An arbitration panel has recommended secondary school teachers get a 14.5 percent pay rise over three instalments. Secondary Principals' Association Chief Executive Mike Newell says it's a pragmatic pay offer which compromises on the 17 percent rise teachers wanted. He told Kate Hawkesby other things are missing from the system which need to be addressed. He says we need a way to get teachers in the door, to end our over-reliance on foreign teachers. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So I’ve just been to Sydney last week and I’ve got to go again this week – these are not holiday trips, these are events I’m attending so I’m in and out, but here’s what I can tell you about Australia, it’s going off. And by that I mean it’s energized, it feels ambitious, it’s got everything going for it that we used to have but have sadly lost. Even in Melbourne when we were there a few weeks back, the vibe was more upbeat, and that’s a city that’s mimicked Auckland’s a lot in terms of post Covid decline... more homeless, more edgy peeps around at night, more for lease signs. Yet the city still hums. Yes, population helps. But it’s attitude I’m talking about. The attitude of hospo staff, the attitude of workers, the attitude of people in general. The malaise we have that’s so oppressive here, is not there. They’re still aiming high. And it’s one of the reasons why I think people are heading across the Tasman. Yes food is cheaper and salaries are better in many cases, but real estate’s still expensive, there

Plenty of ways to spin the Government's tweaks to its rent-to-buy scheme. Changes to the Progressive Home Ownership programme will allow eligible people to buy existing homes, instead of just new-builds. The income cap is also rising from $130,000 to %150,000. AUT construction expert John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby that if you're in power you say it's a marvellous scheme that's done well and being expanded. He says if you were in Opposition, you'd say it's been a disastrous scheme that's not doing well so you have to spin it out. Tookey says the other view is to say you don't have much faith in new-builds and we're going to see a drop off. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s support for some aspects of the ACT Party's personal grievance policy, and scepticism over others. ACT wants all personal grievance cases brought before the Employment Relations Authority resolved within a month. Its proposed legislation would see staff who don't manage that facing dismissal. The Employers and Manufacturers Association says the current timeline of cases is too long. Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald told Kate Hawkesby that firing ERA staff because of the deadline may not be practical. He says it seems harsh because there's a backlog that needs to be cleared. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday Te Pāti Māori released their tax policy ahead of the election. The policy wasn’t a huge surprise. At their election campaign launch a few weeks ago they made it clear their tax reform policy would have a focus on redistributing wealth. So the proposal for a new wealth tax, an increase in income tax for those earning over $200,000, and a tax free threshold for income up to $30,000 are all expected. During Matariki, Co leader Rawiri Waititi said, “100,000 people are homeless in New Zealand, 60,000 of those are Maori”, so it’s no shock they’re also pushing for new taxes for land banking and vacant houses as well as a capital gains tax. They’ve clearly decided to go all out. So also plan to raise the corporate tax rate from 28% to 33%, as well as new taxes for foreign companies. They call the policy radical and transformative and representative of their values - but there’s plenty of debate as to whether these policies will encourage or hinder productivity. It’s easy to take a radical approach when you’

The man who killed a New Zealand-born London police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison. Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana died of a chest wound after being shot with an antique gun smuggled into a custody block in September 2020. The judge has handed down a whole life sentence to 26-year-old Louis De Zoysa. UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Francesca Rudkin he's only the 65th person ever to receive that punishment. He says that means he will never be let out, no matter what appeals he tries to make. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says removing GST from fruit and vegetables can become very complicated in practice. National claims it is part of Labour's election tax policy, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is refusing to either confirm or deny it. Nicola Willis says she has been leaked the information. ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Francesca Rudkin the extra administration to do this comes at a cost. He says ideally you would take a targeted approach, but that is hard to do. Smith says other countries ask people show their income to get the discount, but it comes with problems. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you feel about electric tractors? The first one arrived in the country this week and Forest Lodge orchard owner Mike Casey has been trialling it out. It's 40 horse power on the small side, and costs about $150,000 - $200,000 if you include shipping. Mike Casey spoke to Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netball fans will be fizzing as the kick off for the 2023 World Cup draws closer. The first game is 7pm NZ time tonight, in Cape Town, South Africa with the Silver Ferns taking on Trinidad and Tobago. ZB Sports Reporter Nathan Limm spoke to Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is today expected to plead guilty to tax crimes and possession of gun. US correspondent Mitch Mccann talked to Kate Hawkesby.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was at the supermarket this week and I got to witness first-hand the theft that is taking place on the daily. In fact it’s more than a daily basis; it’s like hourly, according to the checkout operators. My check out operator by the way, I’m convinced, was some kind of angel on earth. She wanted to help the thief. The guy, who to be fair looked dodgy and if I was in the business of profiling customers who may be stealing, I would have picked him all day long: hoodie, head bowed, scruffy, sifting through the aisles looking uncertain, and in his trolley just a couple of packets of meat. Anyway he’s in front of me at the checkout and the operator puts through his small amount of groceries then looks at him and says, “Hey I just wanna let you know, you’ve been spotted by security, they know you’ve got stuff on you and I just want to give you the opportunity to hand it over to me now so you don’t get in any trouble.” I’m thinking - wow this woman is brave, he looks angry, he shakes his head and denies he has stol

The government is merging CERT NZ - who help the public with cyber-attacks - and the GCSB together. This decision's had huge opposition who say it's been rushed through. GCSB minister Andrew Little says he's after a single front door for cyber security reporting, triage and response. Darkscope Technical Director Joerg Buss talked with Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Customs Minister is cooling hopes of making trans-Tasman travel easier. A taskforce is being set up by our government and Australia's, to look at ways to make travel more seamless. Maurice Williamson told Kate Hawkesby he doesn't believe new efforts in the space will lead to much progress. He says the speed you can travel between the two countries is quite fast now - and he doesn't believe we'll get to a point where travellers won't need passports. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Severe staffing shortages gripping Christchurch are being viewed as a replica of the pressure healthcare systems are facing nationwide. Pegasus Health's after-hours medical centre shut it's doors at midnight, and won't re-open until 8am. This comes as Christchurch Hospital faced its busiest 24 hours ever, earlier this month. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists former executive director Ian Powell told Kate Hawkesby it's happening across the country. He says it's not just in urgent care facilities - but hospitals and emergency departments - and is now normal rather than abnormal.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With all the travelling that’s taken place these last few weeks with school holidays and people bailing to beat the winter blues, I’m confounded more and more by the state of Auckland airport. It’s a shambles. Now during and immediately after Covid, you can accept staffing’s an issue, that a few things aren’t right, that it’s not running as well as it should be. You can forgive the dysfunction. But all this time later, it’s still a shambles. It still appears to have staffing issues, it still doesn’t function. Why? Why have they not got it together yet? Worse still, it’s the gateway to our country, it’s currently welcoming FIFA guests and tourists, and it’s just an abomination. You wait forever for an air bridge so you can disembark, then you wait forever for your bags, then you get into the world’s longest queue for MPI clearance – which in my case at the weekend involved the biggest queue I’ve ever seen and no ‘nothing to declare’ lane. It was just a seething mass of people, including flight crew, all having