Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Labour's caucus will this morning begin picking up the pieces of its election loss at a special caucus meeting in Wellington.   As well as the party's direction and the election of whips, MPs will participate in a leadership confidence vote.  Political Commentator Grant Duncan told Kate Hawkesby that while there are some great people on that team, there’s no obvious rising star to take Hipkins’ place as leader.  He said that in order for Labour to succeed, they need to think about how they’re going to restore themselves and voters’ faith in them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ninety percent of Queenstown hostels and backpackers are at capacity ahead of summer.  It comes as a third of hostels have shut down post pandemic, and many tourism operators are expecting a surge in visitors over the next few months.  Backpacker Youth Adventure Tourism Association Chairman Haydn Marriner told Kate Hawkesby that he's putting it down to a lack of available housing in Queenstown.  He says the massive oversupply of Airbnbs is causing huge problems for the region's rental market.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, exams are now underway for NCEA for High Schoolers who‘ve had —to be frank— a pretty crappy couple of years post Covid at school.   Disruptions due to strikes, floods, weather... and that was all after they were just getting their feet back under the desks post lockdowns. So not a great few years for those trying to head to Uni in a couple of years time.   But I know that in my many cases, teachers have worked really hard to get everybody up to speed and make up for lost time. It’s tough though because the stats aren’t great when it comes to where our kids are at educationally. It’s one of the key planks of the new government’s focus —to turn those stats around— and rightly so.   The less we educate our kids and the less time they spend in school – the worse the outcomes are for them. We as a country then suffer too with low productivity, a low skills economy, young people disengaged, and a general dumbing down of society.   Actually, I wonder if that’s already happened.  But there are still far too many

Cloudy conditions are forecast for today's 163rd running of the Melbourne Cup.  The TAB is expecting New Zealanders to put more than $12 million on the big five o'clock race.  Several horses have New Zealand connections, including Kiwi jockey James McDonald and Sydney-based Kiwi trainer Chris Waller.  Melbourne Cup correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby that there'll be an electric atmosphere.  She says 24 local and international horses will be racing around the track at Flemington, with $9 million in prize money.  Off the track, Christchurch's Lily Simons is set to represent New Zealand at the Fashion on the Fields competition.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand parents are becoming more relaxed about device use and safety.   A survey by NIB has found device use and screentime is still a concern for 73% of surveyed parents, but only 46% are limiting screentime.   That's down from 51% in 2021.  Parenting expert Anna Martin told Kate Hawkesby that the pandemic has had an impact.   She says research suggests that parents relaxed their attitude to online use during Covid, as it was helpful in allowing them to have some personal time.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NZ Kiwis won the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday with an emphatic victory over Australia in Hamilton. While India continue to cement themselves as favourite for the Cricket World Cup. And the build up for the 2023 Melbourne Cup continues. ZB Sport's Andrew Alderson wrapped up the weekend's sports with Kate Hawkesby on Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No guarantees from National on when it will have a government in place.  New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking.  National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday.  Deputy Leader Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby the coalition negotiations are a complex process.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political pundits wouldn't be surprised if coalition talks go on for some time yet.  New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking.  National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday.  Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby Luxon has said, if need be, he will can that trip.  He says it could drag out for a while or be done quickly, but Luxon has been doing some work in the lead up to the specials.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions raised after an 18-hour long hostage situation at Germany's Hamburg Airport.   A 35-year-old man, with his four-year-old daughter, drove through airport security and onto the tarmac - before parking his car underneath an aeroplane.  The chaos, that suspended almost 290 flights involving more than 34-thousand passengers, was revealed to be over custody arrangements.   Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the man eventually gave himself up, with the girl unharmed.   He says questions are being asked around how it was so easy for the man to drive through airport security.    LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, we now know Winston’s in the mix in a real and tangible way. He’s needed.   We can thank special votes for that.   So, I’m trying to look for positives, and trust me, it’s not easy - but I found one.   He at least has institutional knowledge of how parliament works, what being a politician means, and how the place functions.   That’s a benefit to Luxon because that’s more than he’s got.   Being a newbie, it’s all new to Luxon.   So, you add one old dog and one newbie - and maybe there in the middle lies some kind of middle ground where they can connect.   What wisdom about how the place works can Winston pass on to Luxon? How can Luxon learn from Winston’s years and years in this environment?   No Winston’s not a shining light or a good example of a model politician by any stretch, but he’s at least got runs on the board.   He knows the place. He knows the rules. He’s seen it all before.   He knows the inner workings of government’s better than Luxon would. So that’s the potential plus.   The other positi

New research finds 46% of kiwi jobseekers still experience barriers when finding work.  The 2023 Randstad Employer Brand Research Survey found factors such as sexual orientation, disability, language, gender identity, and ethnicity to be a barrier when applying for and securing a job.  It found that 28% of male candidates believed these factors resulted in them missing out on the role, and 22% of women refused to work for a company whose values don’t align with their own.  Employment Relations Expert, Max Whitehead, told Tim Dower that he’s a bit suspicious of these results.  He said that employers are absolutely desperate for workers, and if someone doesn’t fit the mould but has the skills necessary, they would bend over backwards to hire them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special votes, as I'm sure you know, are usually good for the left and National has said it expects to lose one or two seats from the election night count.  If it was two, and even if the overhang goes, the maths is undeniable. It's a 120 seat Parliament, but that one-seat majority for the Nats and ACT is gone.  And we all know what that means.  I think Winston's petulant display in Wellington right after the election told us a lot about the way the new coalition is being drawn together.  My read of it, is that Mr Peters had been well and truly put in his place over the weekend.  I suspect the rules of engagement were spelled out very clearly, and he knows he's not going to be wearing the pants in any future relationship.  Not to start with, anyway.  The other thing to bear in mind, and unless you're actually doing the counting there's no way of telling, is whether the specials will favour the left as much as some people think.  There's a school of thought that says people outside the country, and in particul

The Australian woman who cooked and served a lunch that killed three will appear in court today.  Erin Patterson faces three murder charges and five attempted murder charges.   Her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson as well as Gail's sister Heather all died from suspected toxic mushroom poisoning in July, and Gail's husband Ian was hospitalised.   Three other charges relate to incidents in 2021 and 2022, as police allege a 48-year-old man became ill after meals.   Australian correspondent Lesley Yeomans told Tim Dower that Police spent yesterday searching her home.   She says they also sent in technology detector dogs, trained to hunt down things like SIM cards, phones, and USB sticks.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future shape of our next government all comes out today.   While the preliminary votes for the election were all counted up, the results of the around 570 thousand left over special votes will be released at two this afternoon.   It will likely decide whether National and ACT will need New Zealand First to get into power.   Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower that the majority of special votes do tend to favour the left.  He says people like John Key and Chris Bishop both expect to see National lose at least one seat today.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A nutritionist would love to see confectionary moved away from the checkouts.  Countdown's aiming to make healthier choices easier for customers, and combat checkout 'pester power'.  The supermarket chain —soon to be Woolworths— has committed to 80% of foods at checkouts carrying a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or more.  It's also moving "kids confectionary" elsewhere.  Nutritionist Nikki Hart told Kate Hawkesby that it’s got to be better than the current trend.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt has opened for the first time since Israel's siege began more than three weeks ago.  Palestinian officials say 335 foreign passport holders and 76 injured Gazans have been able to leave so far.  It's thought 88 injured Palestinians and around 500 foreign nationals will be allowed out in the first phase.  US Correspondent, Mitch McCann, told Kate Hawkesby that the exits are due to a deal brokered by Qatar between Israel, Hamas, and Egypt, coordinating with the US.  He said that US passport holders are not expected to be among the first nationals to be released.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So tomorrow we finally —after such a ridiculously long wait— get the final vote count. Specials will be done, duplicates checked, ballots finalized, we will know where we’re at, and more importantly, what form the new government might take. The fact we’ve had three weeks in limbo is completely ludicrous and at least the incoming PM has acknowledged that and claims he’ll do something about changing it. Which as far as I understand involves changing the law and the way the electoral commission operates, and I hope they do that. The electoral commission did not cover itself in glory: botching some people’s booth experiences by not having enough forms, closing early or opening late, not getting easy vote packs out in good enough time for early voting, and generally operating like it’s 1953. Even Luxon said that three weeks is too long, that they should be working 24/7 to count votes. He also reckons they should do a daily release of votes counted and take over local government elections so they’re up to speed a y

It’s being predicted that the household budgets for mortgage holders will be squeezed further in 2024.  Those on extremely low interest rates in 2019 are turning over to new rates now.  A Reserve Bank report says the average household will spend about 18% of their income on interest payments alone by mid-next year.  ANZ economist, Henry Russell, told Kate Hawkesby that it's not unexpected, and the Reserve Bank needs to see demand in the economy slow to get on top of inflation.  He says there's still many households with 2% or 3% interest rates who'll face a tough adjustment when they rollover to six or seven percent.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More calls for Oranga Tamariki to be shaken up following new details about a toddler that was killed in Lower Hutt.   A homicide investigation has been launched into the death of almost two-year-old Ruthless-Empire Wall. Newstalk ZB understands his uncle contacted Oranga Tamariki wanting the child to be uplifted. It comes after it was recently revealed 57 children have died since the agency was established.  Child Matters Chief Executive Jane Searle told Kate Hawkesby that it reflects the need for change.  She says they've known for a long time Oranga Tamariki's not fit for purpose, with this being just another example.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A health commentator has given his thoughts on how the next Government should tackle problems in our hospitals.  Te Whatu Ora metrics show the national rate of preventable hospital admissions for 0–4-year-olds has increased by 35% in the last year.  It also shows the number of patients waiting more than four months to see a specialist has increased by 46% over the same period.   Ian Powell told Kate Hawkesby that there's one change the new Government shouldn't make, and that's restructure the whole system again.  He says it sounds as though the new government is not going to do that, which is a plus.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.