Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Fast food operator Restaurant Brands says that despite making record sales, it still has major cost issues.  The operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Junior, and Taco Bell has posted $1.3 billion in full-year sales.  Its net after-tax profit was $15.8 million, down half a million annually.  Brad Olsen, Infometrics Principal Economist, told Mike Hosking that while spending value was up 4.2% year on year, the volume purchased was down by 2.7%.  So, he said, you’re spending more, getting less bang for your buck.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Communication problems are running rampant between the Education Ministry and schools.  The Government's ordered a review of school building projects, saying they've inherited a school property system "bordering on crisis".   Already the ministry has put 20 projects on pause, with up to 350 in doubt.   Auckland Primary Principals' Association President Kyle Brewerton told Mike Hosking that the pauses have caught some schools by surprise, with shovels already in the ground.   He says there's confusion around the schools that have been tagged and what's happening now.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lack of transparency with Wellington Water is being blamed for the region's water woes.  The Capital's water provider yesterday admitted that it's failed to meet Ministry of Health fluoridation targets at least 95% of the time over recent months.  It comes as the region grapples with leaks and water shortages.  Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung told Mike Hosking that the water agency won't give the council adequate information as to what it's working on.  Wellington Water has also announced that it won't be exempt from new rules around chlorine compliance.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nationals Annual Blue Greens forum was held over the weekend. The prime minister and the party caucus members were all there to talk with the environmental leaders. Greens Forum chair Grant McCallum told Mike Hosking that the meeting was a 10/10 and it 'couldn't have gone better'. When asked how green the national party are he said 'we're very pragmatically green, We're not idealistically green.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ginny Andersen says she'll apologise to Mark Mitchell, over comments she made on last week's Mike Hosking Breakfast. On last Wednesday's show, the Labour Police Spokesperson accused the Police Minister of being paid to kill people when he was a defence contractor in East Africa and the Middle East. Mitchell says he hasn't knowingly killed anyone. Andersen told Mike Hosking this morning, she shouldn't have made the comments, and will personally apologise to Mitchell when they reappear on the show this week.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A building expert says people tend to focus on the cost of building infrastructure and think they'll figure everything else out as they go along.  The Infrastructure Commission says we need to spend around 60% of our investment to look after what we already have, rather than building more.  AUT Professor of Construction Management John Tookey told Mike Hosking that people often focus on acquisition costs, rather than maintenance costs because it's easy.  He says that's because the sums get more complicated when you start considering the likes of depreciation and more over an extended period of time.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s “a new approach" from the Government on breaking the cycle of child poverty.  The percentage of children living in poverty has risen to 17.5, with the percentage of children facing material hardship rising to 12.5.  Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says they'll have a target and will be held accountable for it.   She told Mike Hosking that it's not just a matter of addressing incomes.   Upston says those on welfare and the lowest incomes are hit the hardest in the cost-of-living crisis.   She says that's why they have to deal with the costs families face, and housing costs are a significant part of that.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s concerns the Government's plan to switch the first year of free tertiary study to the final year won't hit the mark.  The Tertiary Education Commission has told a select committee this week that there's no discernible evidence the first-year policy changed numbers of low decile school students attending university.  Tertiary Education Union National Secretary Sandra Grey says once students get past the first year, they usually stay until the end.  So, she told Mike Hosking, it doesn't make a lot of sense to make the final year free.  Grey says students need support when they're trying to transition either off the benefit and unemployment into study, or when they're going from school into study.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand's turbulent relationship with Auckland Airport is taking another turn.  The national carrier is demanding an inquiry into the airport's spending, claiming it will push up airfares to five times the current rate by 2032.  Cath O’Brien, Executive Director on the Board of Airline Representatives, told Mike Hosking that the airport has a history of extremes, going from spending too little on their projects to a significantly higher amount, which its regulatory regime is not designed to handle.  She said the regime is only a five-year look, and so it can’t handle the ten-to-fifteen-year expense of the current plan.  While Auckland Airport denies any significant price changes, O’Brien said that due to the limitations on the current regime, prices will rise a lot more than they’re currently able to say.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tribute from one Pacific leader to another.  49 yearold Green Party MP and former Auckland Councillor Efeso Collins collapsed and died at a charity event yesterday morning.   Pasifika Medical Association Board Director Sir Colin Tukuitonga told Mike Hosking that he picked up the causes that other people perhaps wouldn't.  He says that includes young people and poor south Auckland communities, and his joining of the Green Party highlighted his concern for the environment.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Children's Minister says she's prioritising frontline staff investment in Oranga Tamariki.   Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has released a report detailing two thousand complaints and enquiries he's witnessed in the past four years.   He concluded work is inconsistent across the country, with some parts showing an alarming "absence of discipline"  Minister Karen Chhour told Mike Hosking that we can't keep having report after report saying the same things.   She says we're talking about children and young people with futures ahead of them and we need to do everything we can to ensure these futures are positive ones.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems the path has been cleared for a multi-million-dollar film studio in Hawke's Bay.  Number Eight Studios has received resource consent from Hastings District Council for its 400-hectare facility in the coastal township of Te Awanga.  Despite having been five years since the first proposal, project leader Tony Keddy says it's been worth the wait.  The idea is for buildings to be built for the specific needs of the film industry, bringing a raft of international productions to Hawke's Bay home.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Grant Robertson is retiring from Parliament next month and will become Otago University's Vice-Chancellor in July.  The 15-year MP was Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the Labour Government.  He says the time is right for new challenges.   Political Commentator Brigitte Morten told Mike Hosking that the writing was on the wall when he decided not to run in Wellington Central again.  She said that making room for the new guard is a painful transition, but it's the right thing to do.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no silver bullet when it comes to improving our physical activity levels.  Health New Zealand's latest review of the state of our health has found one in three adults carries enough weight to affect their health.  Exercise New Zealand Chief Executive Richard Beddie says we're one of the worst in the western world when it comes to being active.  He told Mike Hosking that if information was key, we could solve it overnight.  Beddie says the answer is easy —move your body— but the behaviour is the complicated bit in terms of how they get people to do that.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High mortgage rates are continuing to pressure the housing market as the year starts with slow January sales.   CoreLogic data shows there were more than 3,100 sales last month, up just 2% on the same time last year.  It's the slowest start to a year since 1983.  Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson says a slowdown in the Auckland market has also had a big impact.   He says mortgage rates have stopped increasing but aren't falling either, which is creating a bit of variability in the market, which he expects to continue for a while yet.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A taskforce is proposing a crackdown on drugs and alcohol in the Australian parliament.  Australian Senator Perin Davey admitted to having a couple glasses of wine before a senate hearing, where she was seen slurring her words.  Australian Correspondent Donna Demaio told Mike Hosking that this isn't the first time an Aussie politician has been caught drinking on the job.  She says the image of former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce lying and babbling on the street is still fresh in the minds of Australians.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lack of resources are being blamed for St John's move to pull some ambulances off the road.  The service is aiming to rein in costs for when a worker is sick or goes on leave.  Health commentator Ian Powell told Mike Hosking that it comes down to having enough staff, and funding isn't matching the increase in health demand.  He says this is not just a St John's problem there's a problem in the model, and there's a problem tangled up in the generalised under-funding of our health system.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's defending its work in the benefit space when in government, saying it takes time for change to occur.  Social Development Minister Louise Upston's announced a ramp up of work check-ins for jobseekers, with sanctions for those who don't meet obligations, starting in June.  Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni told Mike Hosking that when she was minister, there were record levels of people leaving benefits to get into employment.  But she says there were a lot of people coming onto the benefit who didn't necessarily have the skills to match the jobs that were out there, which is why they invested in upskilling and training.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The British and American ambassadors to Russia have laid flowers at a memorial to Alexei Navalny in Moscow. The Russian opposition leader died after collapsing following a walk in his Arctic prison, over the weekend. Meanwhile, G-7 foreign ministers have met in Munich to discuss ideas to punish Russia for his death.Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Mike Hosking that the UK and US have suggested seizing Russian central bank assets held abroad to pay for Ukraine. He says they believe the way to make Vladimir Putin uncomfortable is not demanding an explanation for Navalny's death, but to hit him in the pocket.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scepticism over whether handing over speed camera duties will reduce fatal speed-related crashes. NZTA is taking over the job from Police, with plans to increase the number from 150 to around 800, as part of a high-tech development of the network. It's estimated to process around three million infringements annually by 2030. But road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson told Mike Hosking it doesn't target those who cause most of those accidents. He says those who actually cause them are a very small group of poorly educated people, usually with substance abuse problems and an attitude.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.