Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Trade, TikTok and Ukraine are expected to be top-of-mind during a diplomatic visit between New Zealand and China. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta is today on-route to Beijing to meet with her Chinese counterpart. Contemporary China Research Centre Director, Jason Young, told Kate Hawkesby they'll likely oppose New Zealand banning TikTok on diplomatic phones. And New Zealand may push back on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the same time Chinese President Xi Jinping is meeting with Putin. But Jason Young expects the main discussion to be about economic development. He says 33 percent of our trade goes into China, and it's important that carries on when the economy looks as it's softening. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The retail sector is hoping to sit down with the new Police Minister soon. Ginny Andersen is replacing Stuart Nash in the role, having only been sworn in as a Cabinet minister earlier this year. She is a low-ranking member of Cabinet, but has 10 years of experience working with Police. Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford told Kate Hawkesby they want Police to have more resources and tools to deal with retail crime. He says fundamentally we need a big social change campaign across the whole of Government, including Police, to get the message out that it's not okay to steal. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are demands for dental care to be included in New Zealand's public health system. An Association of Salaried Medical Specialists-commissioned poll shows seven in 10 Kiwis agree it should be free, as it is for children. Seventy-two percent of respondents say they've delayed a dentist visit due to cost, and only 43 percent had visited a dentist in the last year. Auckland Action Against Poverty coordinator Brooke Stanley Pao says in the communities they work with, that stat would be higher. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Make it 16 campaigners are annoyed apparently – because their campaign’s been shoved on the back burner by the new PM, who has worked out that it’s not a priority right now and added it to his so-called ‘bonfire’.  But it shouldn’t be a priority right now, not when the government has to contend with rising inflation, the health system in dire straits, crime at massive highs, a huge cyclone relief effort, infrastructure badly needing doing... and all the other problems we have right now. Lowering the voting age is well down the list. But not as far as the campaigners themselves are concerned and in that lies part of the problem.  Ability to read a room maybe comes with age and experience. It’s juvenile to stand there whining about it being a human rights breach when the rest of the country clearly has other more pressing concerns. I don’t doubt the Make it 16 campaigners can actually see, but they just disagree that their plight shouldn’t also be on the list. They see this as them being ‘sidelined,’ and th

The Green Party wants a commitment to climate action from a potential coalition partner. Co-leader James Shaw voiced his distaste at the prospect of a National-Act alliance in a 'State of the Planet' address yesterday. He said it would be the most "reactionary, race-baiting, right-wing" government in decades. Clint Smith, a former advisor to Jacinda Ardern, says that the Greens aren't happy with the Prime Minister's policy bonfire either. He says they're concerned Hipkins' leadership is moving away from climate. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The clock is ticking for Switzerland's banking sector as one rival hopes to save another. The country's largest bank UBS has offered to buy all or parts of Credit Suisse. The Swiss Government is looking to change laws to bypass a shareholder vote. Regulators have been racing to save the 167-year-old bank, hoping to secure a deal before the markets reopen tonight at 6pm New Zealand time. Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby that UBS is offering to pay around 1.8-billion dollars. He says although parts of Credit Suisse are still viable, the plummeting share prices make it a risk for both UBS and the Government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Stuart Nash last the day as a member of the Cabinet? Newstalk ZB has revealed Nash was warned for breaching the Cabinet manual over a 2020 Newstalk ZB interview in which he advocated for police officer Matthew Hunt's killer to be imprisoned for a long time. Nash has already lost his job as Police Minister after revealing on Newstalk ZB this week that he'd asked the Police Commissioner two years ago to appeal a decision by the courts. Otago University law expert Marcelo Rodriguez-Ferrere told Kate Hawkesby that it isn't a good look for Nash. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Cyclone Gabrielle will have a negative impact on the economy this quarter, it could be a different story later in the year. The latest GDP figures show a 0.6 percent contraction for the December quarter, with economists predicting another decline to follow, partly driven by recent weather events. But ANZ Senior Economist Miles Workman told Kate Hawkesby that it will support GDP in the quarters to come. He says that broken window style of economics is going to give demand for goods and services a bump higher than otherwise as people rebuild and replace. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lyttelton is gearing up for a big weekend. Racing in the International SailGP competition starts tomorrow on Lyttelton Harbour. Banks Peninsula Community Board Member Reuben Davidson told Kate Hawkesby that after a few false starts due to Covid getting the event off the ground has been hard work, but the set up looks amazing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the start of this week I was chastising Auckland for being a dump these days and don’t get me wrong, I still hate the traffic, the cones, and the congestion. But, I am here today to defend the city of my birth.  When I criticized Auckland this week, part of my long list of complaints was the way people behave at concerts (Snoop Dog was the example). Someone who attended said the crowd was so baked and out of it they were barely alive.  But in Auckland’s defence, I was at the sold-out Morgan Wallen concert this week and boy did Auckland lap him up. What an audience.  The packed Spark Arena absolutely loved him, sang every word of his songs, cheered and clapped and danced til the bitter end and even then insisted on an encore and got a spectacular one.  Two things I learned. One, the support for country music in this country is phenomenal, and rightly so. Bands and singers out of Nashville are slick, well-organized, class acts, brilliant musicians who know how to play a live show. They’re humble and connecte

The New Zealand economy is shrinking, the only question is by how much. GDP figures due out this morning are expected to show the economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year. Speaking to Tim Dower ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley is picking a steeper 0.5 percent drop. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins is determined to laugh off the resignation of Police Minister Stuart Nash. Nash has been forced to resign, after revealing on yesterday's Mike Hosking Breakfast, that two years ago he asked the Police Commissioner to appeal a judge's sentencing. The Prime Minister joked about the news during a speech to kiwifruit growers last night saying a "minor reshuffle" is coming, but he'd rather not mention the reason why. But this morning, Act Leader David Seymour told Tim Dower there was nothing funny about Nash's actions. He says the right way for politicians to address concerns about a sentencing is to pass laws that require tougher sentences. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I said yesterday that I worry we care more about having a Prime Minister who looks like someone you could have a beer with, than caring about leadership, economic responsibility or policies.  The electorate fell head over heels in love with a smiling friendly looking Jacinda Ardern, until her ideology started to bite, then everyone freaked out and she was gone. In came smiley friendly looking Chris Hipkins. “Just a boy from the Hutt!” the media exclaimed with glee, Chippy! Guy next door vibes. Innocuous looking. We seemingly instantly forgot and forgave all his time as Police Minister achieving nothing but a hike in gangs, crime and ram raids, all his time as Covid Minister running the MIQ debacle and overseeing no access to RAT tests, all his time as Education Minister overseeing the biggest truancy numbers this country’s ever seen.  All forgotten and forgiven - he looks like a mate you could have a beer with so surely he’s in. The polls show a surge in his popularity - based purely on visibility I guess, an

It's thought anything this country does on climate change will have no impact until the whole world responds. A 1News Kantar Public survey reveals more than half of respondents want the Government to act with more urgency on climate change. The poll, taken in reaction to Cyclone Gabrielle, finds 27 percent want officials to continue as planned and 10 percent want less urgency. But Victoria University climate scientist Adrian Macey says even if the nation's emissions hit zero tomorrow, it would make no difference. He says the climate we experience is entirely determined by what big countries like China, Russia, India, the US and Brazil do with their emissions. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is coming under fire for scrapping a number of climate-focused policies. However Prime Minister Chris Hipkins insists Labour has not lost sight of the country's climate goals. New Zealand's first Climate Change Ambassador, Adrian Macey, agrees with him. Now a senior associate at Victoria University, Adrian joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cashflow issues are being blamed for building businesses falling over. The country's construction crunch may start to snowball, with more building businesses expected to fail. Bayside Designer Homes is the latest, leaving nine Auckland housing sites unfinished. AUT Professor of Construction Management John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby the industry uses borrowed money to do all the work. He says as interest rates go up, it gets harder and harder and then payments get delayed, then you end up with companies struggling with cashflow. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cashflow issues are being blamed for building businesses falling over. The country's construction crunch may start to snowball, with more building businesses expected to fail. Bayside Designer Homes is the latest, leaving nine Auckland housing sites unfinished. AUT Professor of Construction Management John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby the industry uses borrowed money to do all the work. He says as interest rates go up, it gets harder and harder and then payments get delayed, then you end up with companies struggling with cashflow. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Napier's Mayor says cyclone impacted residents want central government decisions on whether they'll be able to re-build. The Government is introducing a Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill, similar to legislation passed after the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes. The Bill will remove constraints on recovery such as letting rural landowners in affected regions carry out emergency work without having to apply for resource consent. Mayor Kirsten Wise told Kate Hawkesby anything that removes red tape is welcome. She says there are still properties that can't remove silt and people just want to know what the future of their land is. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was telling you about my $7.99 lettuce yesterday – and my bad, as I said, I shouldn’t have bought it at that price – it’s ridiculous. But it’s also a reality at the moment that we’re not only paying more for fruit and vege – and all groceries actually, but that those prices are potentially going to get worse before they get better. That’s according to leading economist's and pretty much everyone involved in the sector – to be fair to them, they have been warning us.  But in the last month alone, groceries went up another 10.4 percent, that’s off the back of another 10 percent hike which we already had to swallow back in January. There’s a whole gamut of contributing factors.. fuel prices, packaging costs, farm feed and fertiliser, harvesting costs, and that’s before we even get to the cyclone damage and the impact that’s wrought. So it’s across the board.. not just fresh fruit and vege, but frozen, tinned goods, meat.. we know we’re paying more at the checkout because we look at the amount on the conveyor b

A researcher says urgent policy change is needed to ensure the future health workforce reflects the diverse communities it'll serve. An Otago University, Auckland University and AUT study in the British Medical Journal Open, has analysed data from 20,000 students. It's found systematic under-representation of Māori, Pacific, low socioeconomic and rural background students. Otago University Professor Peter Crampton says currently it's up to individual universities and polytechs to make selection decisions. He says the health system has a huge stake in these decisions and should be working with the Education Ministry and Tertiary Education Commission to guide funding. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.