Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Labour's made a suite of announcements targeting women.   The party's released its first women's manifesto promising improved endometriosis care and extended breast cancer screening.   It'd also introduce gender pay gap reporting and establish an innovation and entrepreneurship scholarship programme for low to middle-income women.   Employment lawyer Jennifer Mills told Kate Hawkesby New Zealand rates well on gender equality, but there is pay inequality.  “I’m not sure that frankly an entrepreneurial mentorship programme will go far in addressing the problem, but at least it’s a good start.”  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wasn’t the Warriors game just the much-needed boost we all needed? Amazing scenes on Saturday night, a wild home crowd, as raucous as any I’ve seen.   I mean that was ebullient and electric – how awesome to have been there for those who were. I was so thrilled for Shaun Johnson – a last-minute bounce back from injury and what a superb performance he gave right up until his final minutes on the field, which was a lot longer than I think any of us anticipated.  One reporter described it as a masterclass and it really was. He’s a leader and just such a great performer – so deserving of the standing ovation he got as he left the field.   But seeing how far the Warriors have come, watching them progress to this end of the competition and to look like such a class act with it – confident, strong, bulletproof. Whatever happens, this team under Andrew Webster have grabbed us all like nothing else.   My sister-in-law was bemoaning the fact her family had to leave their restaurant dinner early Saturday night as my niec

As policies fly about here and there in these last 4 weeks heading into the election, Labour's deputy prime minister and National's deputy leader will join once a week to gain insight into all things party-related.  National’s Nicola Willis joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss any fiscal plans, Act vowing to end co-governance and Labour supposedly turning down proposals to stop gang funding.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police in the UK are approaching the paper which brought allegations to light against Russell Brand and one of his former employers.   The comedian has been accused of rape and sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.   Police have gone to Channel 4 and The Sunday Times to make sure any victims of crime can be made aware of how they can report it to police.   UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby Brand is denying the accusations and isn't stepping out of the spotlight.  “He went ahead with a scheduled gig on Saturday night. He started an hour late – people thought he wasn’t going to turn up but he did. He received a very warm response.”  Meanwhile, the Trevi Women & Children's Charity in the UK has announced it has ended its association with the star.  LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liam Lawson continues to press his case for a fulltime Formula One seat in the 2024 season. In just his third race of deputising for injured AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo, the 21-year-old Kiwi has earned his first two points in Formula One with a ninth-placed finish at the Singapore Grand Prix. Not only was it his first finish in the points, it was the best result any AlphaTauri driver had achieved all season. Red Bull’s sister team are yet to confirm their driver lineup for the 2024 season as Ricciardo is only on loan from Red Bull until the end of 2023, and Lawson has well and truly put his hand up after missing out on a fulltime seat coming into this season. Lawson caught plenty of attention in qualifying for the event when he made it through to the third session – being the only Red Bull-affiliated driver to do so; keeping reigning World Champion Max Verstappen out of the final session in qualifying. It was a sign of things to come from Lawson, who ultimately qualified to start the race 10th on the g

Another exciting weekend of Rugby kicks off tomorrow, as the All Blacks face Namibia in their second World Cup pool match.  Newstalk ZB’s rugby commentator, Elliott Smith, told Kate Hawkesby that they can be fairly confident in winning.  He said that it should be a comfortable win tomorrow and a good chance to build some confidence back.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consumer NZ is backing Labour's policy to shake up the legal system to make class action lawsuits easier.  Labour says it will establish a formal class actions regime, allowing groups of people to band together to sue.  Leader Chris Hipkins says people are blocked out of justice due to costs or system delays.  Consumer NZ Chief Executive John Duffy told Kate Hawkesby that class action lawsuits are rare in New Zealand.  He says they're very common overseas, and often used for consumer rights, health and safety, and environmental issues.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s funny as we get to the sharp end of the election campaign, what exercises people and what doesn’t.   The media are exercised by the Nats tax cut plan. They’re exercised by it largely I assume because the Labour party are exercised about it. And the Labour party are exercised about it because they hate it because it’s popular. It’s seen poll surges for National, and they’ll do anything to try to stem that tide.   Problem is, as the feedback I’ve received this week would attest, and as the polls would suggest too, it is popular. And people seemingly do not care how it’s costed, or what a handful of economists say about it, or how much Grant Robertson bangs on about it being flawed.   The reality is, this government can’t really talk smack about costings to anyone given the state they’re leaving the economy in. They can’t really talk costings when they’re the government who oversaw wasteful spending like we’ve never seen, money poured into mad ideology that went nowhere like bike bridges and light rail, and

Central Otago residents fighting to stop the planned Tarras Airport are doing all they can to make their voices heard.   A new survey has slammed Christchurch Airport's plans with more than 80% of the region's surveyed residents and businesses in opposition.   The study has found opposition has risen by nearly 10% compared to two years earlier.   Wanaka Stakeholders Group Chair Meg Taylor told Kate Hawkesby that it will have a major impact on their region.   She says almost 96% of respondents say Wanaka and the Upper Clutha should or must be involved in the decision-making process.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A health commentator says it'll be over a decade before new medical school students make an impact. If elected, Labour's promised to train an additional 335 doctors every year from 2027, with medical school numbers increasing from next year.   National's previously announced a new medical school at Waikato University, which would provide 220 extra places by 2030.   Ian Powell told Kate Hawkesby that we need international recruitment, and Australia offering more pay isn't being acknowledged.    He says when competing with Australia internationally, New Zealand's only advantage is not having snakes.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A criminal barrister says our current approach to crime is working.   ACT Party leader David Seymour's pledging to boost prison capacity by 500 beds and toughen sentencing for offending against vulnerable workers.   The party also wants new youth justice beds under Corrections and ankle bracelets on youth offenders.   Criminal Barrister, Tony Bouchier told Kate Hawkesby that crime is becoming too much of a political football.   He says on the whole things are working, and politicians aren't the experts on this.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve been obsessed with grocery prices this year – I mean, haven’t we all? Anyone who does the shopping knows what a shock it can be when you see the prices of some things literally quadruple right in front of you.   I have an ongoing debate with the person in our household who does not do the groceries about this. His solution is: if you don’t want to pay $20 for blueberries, shop around. Now, that’s all well and good if you have lots of time on your hands and all day to trawl through supermarkets and greengrocers all over the city, but most of us don’t.   You’ve also got to ask yourself how much you want to be inconvenienced by the whole experience, how long you want to sit in traffic for, and how much money you’re actually spending on petrol driving around all these places.   But if you do shop around, you'll see the disparities. The other day for example, a stick of celery was 4 different prices at 4 different places. $3.49 at Pak n’Save, $3.99 at Fruit World, $5.79 at New World, Countdown... $6.99! For a

New Zealand's migration figures are above pre-pandemic levels.   There was a net gain of 96,200 people in the year to July, with 135,000 non-citizens arriving, and 39,400 New Zealanders leaving.   Demographer Paul Spoonley says the Productivity Commission says we need to align the number of immigrants with the infrastructure and services we can provide.   He says we're back in high annual population growth rates but with the same problem we've had for 10 or 20 years: an inability to keep up.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are calls for a cluster of international investment scams to come under scrutiny.   Financial expert Janine Starks wants a banking ombudsman to launch an investigation after accusing banks of corporate failure.  She says there's systemic failures with foreign scams estimated to be stealing up to $200 million a year from New Zealanders.  Massey University banking expert Claire Matthews told Kate Hawkesby that it's difficult to know what an investigation might show.   She says it may reveal banks are doing everything they can, or it may show there are things they could be doing better.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm just wondering if there's a big box of prezzy cards stashed somewhere inside the Beehive, or somewhere all the bureaucrats can go, to just bundle up endless prezzy cards to hand out to people.   In the latest prezzy card scandal —and let's not forget there've been a few— 'defendants on serious charges', it was reported, got $75 dollar prezzy cards to attend meetings. These were meetings in Hawke's Bay at the courts, and it was reportedly to ‘share ideas and court experiences.'’  So the news report said 'about 50 people attended the meetings'. This was at the start of the month, a couple of weeks ago, and they were held in Napier and Hastings. So who held these meetings and were handing out the prezzy cards?   ‘Ministry of Justice Chief Operating Officer Carl Crafar..' alongside 'Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, and supported by the Ministry.' The story said the meetings 'were held in order to gain a deeper understanding of the local community’s aspirations for Te Ao Mārama.' Which means enhancing justice

There’s been a 900% increase in the number of prospective tenants viewing an Auckland rental property in just six months.  Impression Real Estate data shows on average, more than 50 people attend each viewing in the city.  Chief Executive, Rishabh Kapoor says demand comes from those who lost their homes in the January floods, and recent migrants.  He says property managers are seeing more cases of people offering to pay more for rent, or offering bribes.  Kapoor says it's concerning for two reasons —the first being that it's illegal— and the second being it speaks to the desperation among people for rentals.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour has plunged 5.5% in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll, taking the party to just under 27% support.   National has shot up to 40.9%, while ACT's on 10%, the Greens 12.3% and New Zealand First is tip-toeing up to the threshold at 4.6%.  Former Senior Ministerial Advisor for the National Party Brigitte Morton told Kate Hawkesby that it’s a significant swing and is likely to stabilize back.   She said that this is probably the most significant downfalls in popularity that the Labour Government has seen.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m wondering at this point who’s more obsessed with the election, the media, the politicians, or the voters.   The bulk of the feedback I’m getting at the moment is: we’re over it, open early voting, let’s get on with it, we just want change and a new direction. So as the politicians ramp up the campaigns and the polling starts spewing out percentages, and we begin crunching numbers and policy's getting released... who’s listening and watching? Over the weekend several policies got released - how many can you name or do you care about?   The people caring deeply right about now will be the Labour party’s strategists. Last night’s Newshub Reid research poll had Labour tumbling further, it’s tanked to a result not seen since Andrew Little was leader, and you know what happened then.   Newshub called it ‘a crisis poll’.  26.8% Labour’s dropped to a ‘catastrophic’, as the reporter called it, 5.5% fall. The gap’s widening with the Nats up to a whopping 40.9%, which is up another 4.3%. The Greens were on 12.3%, Ac

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chastised China’s premier on Sunday for “unacceptable” interference in British democracy, after a newspaper reported that a researcher in Parliament was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of spying for Beijing.  Sunak said he raised the issue with Premier Li Qiang when the two met at a Group of 20 summit in India. He told British broadcasters in New Delhi that he’d expressed “my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.”  The two men met after the Metropolitan Police force confirmed that a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s were arrested in March under the Official Secrets Act. Neither has been charged and both were bailed until October pending further inquiries.  The Sunday Times reported that the younger man was a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior lawmakers from the governing Conservatives, including Alicia Kearns, who now heads the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, and her predecessor in that

A view ACT's new housing policy sounds good in theory - but is a step too far in reality.    The party's unveiled its housing policy - which would see builders able to use insurance companies as an alternative authority for consenting - to speed up the process.   It aims to cut local councils out of the consenting process.   Property commentator Ashley Church told Kate Hawkesby he believes in getting rid of bureaucracy - but this policy is all over the place.  “I think there’s a risk with this that you’ll end up with shoddy housing – you'll end up with some equivalent of what happened with leaky homes back in the late 90s and we’ll be right back in that space again.”  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.