Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

One of the BBC's leading presenters has been suspended over allegations that he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. The broadcaster says it's working to establish facts around the unnamed male presenter, who's a regular presenter and a "household name". London's Met Police says while no formal referral or allegation has been made, it's received initial contact from the BBC. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby that the broadcaster is taking the allegations very seriously. The allegations are that the presenter paid the equivalent of 70 to 80-thousand NZD for explicit photos of the teenager over a three year period. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A criminal lawyer is casting doubt on the benefits of throwing the book at troubled youth. The Act Party wants 17-year-olds to be charged as adults, and for youth justice facilities to be run by Corrections, not Oranga Tamariki. Steve Cullen told Kate Hawkesby that the policy would make problems worse. He says putting 17-year-olds in prison would create a fertile source for gang recruitment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So while we were away the news from home was pretty much standard. Another MP facing conflict of interest questions (looking at you Peeni Henare), another MP in meltdown and on leave, another Dairy owner attacked, the (entirely predictable) revelation that government debt was way higher than forecast, the disturbing news of half a billion dollars on almost expired RAT tests being stored in a warehouse exemplifying the very worst of this government’s wastage of our money, more youths on roofs being handed KFC for their troubles, and some more gaslighting by Ministers regards how we’re all feeling. Fresh from her ‘we’re all feeling safer’ tone deaf blunder, Police minister Ginny Andersen was busy alleging that Labour hasn’t failed on crime.  She ‘does not accept,’ it was reported, that the Government's record on crime is a "social and moral failure". Not even ‘hammer wielding offenders storming a Dairy and injuring two people’ could sway her. Nope, nothing to see here. No issues with crime, it’s all hunky dory

Yesterday was a big milestone for the FIFA World Cup here in New Zealand. The first of the 15 teams, Norway and Vietnam, stepped off planes at Auckland Airport. They received a warm welcome in the arrivals area, which has been transformed into a football field, signed autographs, high fived the FIFA mascot and headed to their bases.   The FIFA World Cup kicks off in New Zealand on 20th July - and I’ve got to say: where’s the hype?   This tournament is huge for New Zealand - even if it’s shared with Australia. It's set to be the biggest event New Zealand has ever hosted. FIFA estimates the tournament will bring more than $200 million into the New Zealand economy.   30,000 spectators are expected to arrive in the county to watch the tournament, throwing extra income into local economies. Tourism New Zealand is working hard to promote New Zealand to the potential 1.5 billion international viewers expected to watch the games. It’s all good. The benefits for both the country and women’s football are massive.   But

The All Blacks squad has been named for the Rugby Championship opener against Los Pumas this weekend. We don't have to cast our minds too far back to the Pumas' historic win against the the All Blacks in Christchurch last year. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith joined Francesca Rudkin from Argentina. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy owners aren't surprised there's been another horrific attack at an Auckland store.  Two men armed with hammers seriously injured the wife of a dairy owner and a customer in Mount Roskill, Central Auckland. A Givealittle page has been set up in support of the owners. It comes as the Police Minister's sitting down with dairy owners next week. Sunny Kaushal is the chair of the Dairy and Business Owners' Group and he joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions over how the Government managed to spend $531 million on unused Covid tests. Our newsroom can reveal Te Whatu Ora has almost $60 million rapid antigen tests in stock around the country, with 30 percent of them either having already expired or due to by month's end. General Practitioners Interim Chair, Buzz Burrell, told Francesca Rudkin he's glad the figures weren't swept under the carpet. He says we need to be asking where they've gone wrong, as someone has given the Government some well-meaning but not very helpful advice. A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says they're considering approaching the market - to seek recycling and disposal options or creative sustainable waste solutions. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the first thing you read about the new science curriculum is a group of science teachers saying “Where’s the Science” it’s hard not to feel despondent - especially if your child is going through the school system.   It’s important to say before we begin this conversation that the information being commented on has come from a leaked draft document from the Ministry of Education - which was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback. They were so taken aback by what they saw they couldn’t help sharing it.   It is a draft document. Once selected feedback has been collected a full document will go out to the wider sector and public for feedback in August. So what’s been seen isn’t set in stone, but I’m grateful to those who have raised alarm bells because it’s in all parents’ interest to be engaged in this conversation. The main concern expressed by the science teachers is that the proposed school science curriculum makes no mention of physics or chemistry. I don’t know about you but I’m under the impre

It looks like National's plan for a third medical school is being well received. The Party is promising a new school at the University of Waikato to train more doctors and address the health worker shortage. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is backing the idea and Executive Director Sarah Dalton joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Members of Parliament are being urged to treat housing as a human right. The final report in the Human Rights Commission's housing inquiry says all available resources must be used to alleviate the housing crisis. It's found housing affordability has dropped, a shortfall in accessible homes and many houses, particularly rentals, are not healthy to live in. Housing inquiry manager Vee Blackwood says too many people are out in the cold. They say it's as hard as ever to find somewhere to live - particularly for vulnerable communities, Māori, Pasifika, elderly and disabled people. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's police spokesperson says rising crime rates is coming at an enormous human cost. Ministerial briefings have revealed police response time targets have been extended due to rising pressure on staff and resources. This comes as two people were seriously injured in a broad daylight attack at a dairy in Auckland's Mt Roskill yesterday. National's Mark Mitchell told Francesca Rudkin there's a frustration over the lack of police response - and demand has overtaken any benefit of the additional police officers. He says shop keepers are building cages around themselves - and that's not the New Zealand they want to be living in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday I reflected on a year of Te Whatu Ora, and how those within the sector rate the new centralised health system.   I said that, from what I’ve been told, Te Whatu Ora has not worked hard enough or quickly enough over the last year to get staff on side, to fill the staffing shortages, to fix the postcode lottery, to shorten surgery and GP wait times, to give emergency departments some relief or provide adequate mental health services.   No reasonable person expects them to have solved all these problems in a year, but we should expect they’ve made some key moves.   Since Monday morning the Ministry of Health has been firing out announcements as if it’s on steroids, and doing their best to show the naysayers like myself that tangible action is on its way.   So far we’ve had a new pay equity offer for nurses, another 830 clinical placements for nursing students, a new nation-wide lower threshold for cataract surgery, and yesterday the release of a comprehensive health recruitment and retention plan.   It

Midwives want a seat at the table for boosting their work force in the long term. It comes after the Government launched their workforce action plan - aiming to fill more than 8,000 vacancies of doctors, nurses and other health staff. It includes boosting offshore recruitment, rural training, earn-as-you-learn schemes and wellbeing support. College of Midwives Chief Executive Alison Eddy told Francesca Rudkin midwifery has had one of the most significant shortages in the health sector. She says Government claims there's a 40 percent shortage but Eddy says it's likely higher. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health advocates are calling for mandatory consent education, throughout someone's high school years. It's often paired with health class, which isn't required past Year 10. However, Family Planning Director Fiona McNamara told Francesca Rudkin students should be learning about consent in schools, around 15 hours a year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I like to have a good time, I let my hair down occasionally, and over the years I have by no means always behaved perfectly in public after a few drinks on a Friday night. I’ve worked in the media for 25 years after all, an industry that really can’t throw shade at anyone else’s Friday night mishaps. However, Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is likely wishing she had one less glass on Friday night. You know the story; apparently, she turned up to a restaurant with few drinks under her belt, had a meal and a few more drinks with a friend, and then made a bit of scene. Supposedly she said, “Do you know who I am” at some point to wait staff - although we’re not sure of the tone. Was it threatening, like in The Godfather? Comical? Or a genuine question? Then she accidently left without paying the bill - a miscommunication between friends.   Tory Whanau would have been just one of many, many people putting on a show in Wellington, and any other New Zealand town on Friday night. But she’s a public persona responsible f

Public health and nutrition experts are calling for a national food strategy to fix our obesity epidemic. The latest Healthy Food Environment report reveals 1/5 of preventable deaths are related to unhealthy diets. At the same time, one in eight children live in households where there's not enough to eat. Health Coalition Aotearoa Co-Chair Lisa Te Morenga told Francesca Rudkin Government hasn't made food safety a priority. She says not much progress has been made since governments started monitoring the safety of our food supply 12 years ago. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been asked over whether the health system has the resources to deliver the changes to those suffering with cataracts. All New Zealanders with mild vision impairment from cataracts will now qualify for surgery under the new nationally consistent threshold, which removes what's known as the postcode lottery. This will enable approximately 3,500 more surgeries to be delivered. General Practice Chair Bryan Betty told Francesca Rudkin these are likely to be rolled out slowly. He says the issue is that if you put 2,000 - 3,000 people on a operating waiting list you have the be able to resource it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building consents are coming back to earth after record highs last year. Stats NZ says consents fell 11 percent in the year to May. Certified Builders Association Chief Executive Malcolm Fleming says homeowners are favouring doing up their own houses instead of building new ones. He told Francesca Rudkin that doesn't mean builders haven't been busy. Fleming says there was already existing high demand so builders have good workloads. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The family of a French teenager killed by Police is calling for riots around the country to stop. France has seen its most violent riots and protests since 2018, following the death of a 17-year-old by police at a traffic stop. Thousands have been arrested since it started last week. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Francesca Rudkin that 45-thousand Police Officers have been deployed across the country. He says the relatives of the dead 17-year-old want the riots to stop, and say they just want a re-evaluation of how Police carry arms.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time will tell whether a move to ease nursing shortages will be sustainable long-term. The Government has announced more than 800 additional clinical placements for nursing students, with 130 starting from the July and August intake. For the 2024 intake, Te Whatu Ora will work with nurse education providers to bring in another 700 placements. College of Nurses Aotearoa Executive Director Kate Weston told Francesca Rudkin that the country needs to increase its supply, but questions whether it will be sustainable. She says they'll need to see high quality placements but the other main concern is the considerable financial pressure on the university and polytech sectors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.