Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

We’re a generous bunch us Kiwis. It never ceases to amaze me how New Zealander’s step up when tragedy or just bad luck strikes someone or a community. In May 2023 - when every second headline was about the cost-of-living crisis - it was announced we’d given $36.6 million to charities and causes over that last financial year. It was a 38% increase on the previous year. That’s a lot of money. We’re givers and we give in good faith, but we’re not idiots and we like to know where the money is going and what it’s going to be used for. This week, a mayor hit the headlines asking why a considerable amount of money raised through Lotto to help communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle is still in a bank account almost a year after the disaster, with no thought given to how it may be allocated. It’s not a good look. It’s not a good look for Lotto who ran the appeal, or the Department of Internal Affairs who have banked the cash and are earning a bit of interest, or the Fund’s trustees responsible for allocations, to n