Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Legal experts say that while lowering the voting age at general elections might be politically challenging, New Zealand could see a differential voting system with 16-year-olds able to vote at local body level as a ”trial” first. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she personally wants to see the voting age lowered for the first time in nearly 50 years and announced Parliament will debate the issue before the middle of next year. It comes after on Monday the Supreme Court declared the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights, namely the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of age, and that these inconsistencies have not been justified. Amending the law for the general election requires the support of a referendum or super-majority of 75 per cent in Parliament, meaning with National and Act currently opposed change appears unlikely. But changing the age for local elections only requires a simple 50 per cent majority, which legal experts say could be included in the same bil

Prison numbers are down, yet questions remain as to why is violent crime is on the rise. The prison population has dropped 24 percent since 2017,  but violent crime has increased by 21 percent and gang membership has risen 51 percent. Much fewer offences are resulting in prison sentences, leaving offenders on the street rather than in prison. National's spokesperson for Corrections, Simon O'Connor, joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The classic brown L&P bottle could be on its way out, due to its effect on our recycling system. Coca-Cola is looking to swap out the brown, and go for clear to make the bottles easier to recycle. The green Sprite bottles have already been ditched for the same reason. Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams told Kate Hawkesby the L&P bottle is a huge tourist attraction in Paeroa. He says people don't like change, but recycling is important. Adams says people just need to know the reason behind the switch. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COP 27 climate summit in Egypt has wrapped up, with countries agreeing to establish a fund to help developing nations deal with climate change. But the money isn't expected to go far. The EU is likely to contribute about 120-million New Zealand dollars. By comparison, the floods in Pakistan have already cost 60-billion New Zealand dollars this year alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report emphasizes the need for parents to prioritise their children's swimming skills. Water Safety New Zealand figures show just under half of children don't take regular lessons. Last year, 90 people drowned - the highest since 2011. Chief Executive Daniel Gerrard says people must have swimming skills living on an island nation. He says they are hearing parents will only send one child to lessons, while figuring out what to do with the other two or three. Gerrard says on average swimming lessons cost about 20 dollars for about 30 to 40 minutes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s fascinating to watch the gradual implosion of Twitter. There are two camps on this. Those who believe it’s been a toxic hellscape of negativity gradually eating itself anyway and Elon just sped things up, and those who believe it is a dynamic platform for free speech, representing a wide variety of views and providing an outlet for all kinds of diversity. Those who believe the latter, are grieving the demise of their outlet, their community, their sense of connection, and the independent citizen style journalism that went along with it. They saw Twitter as a space for discourse, debate, a contest of ideas. A source for breaking news and contradictory views, a sounding board and a mine of information. But I’d be in the former category. I struggle to see Twitter as anything more than toxic trolls lambasting people and ideas they hate, with venomous Tweets which look to cancel and cut people down. I found it a cesspit, hence I left Twitter years ago and did not for one minute look back. So I was bemused whe

One thing I love about the health and wellness industry is that it’s constantly evolving and changing, but that can also make it a challenge to keep up with. Hence, I’m a huge fan of science journalist and author of several health books, Dr Michael Mosley. He’s the guy behind the 5:2 diet and intermittent fasting, he invented them long before they became mainstream and popular. Not that I’ve ever done the 5:2 diet and I’m a terrible faster – can’t do that either – but I know people who do and they swear by it. Anyway I’ve read his stuff and loved his work for ages, hence I was very jealous Mike got to interview him yesterday on his show. If you missed that interview it’s worth looking up on the ZB website on demand, it was just after 8 yesterday morning. He’s actually coming to NZ to give some talks next year, he’s a fascinating guy. What I love about him, is he keeps it simple. He’s a big believer in doing stuff that makes your life easier not harder. So while extremists may tell you ice baths and cold plung

The All Blacks have named their strongest side for the final test of the season against England, signalling Jordie Barrett will have the inside running at No 12 for next year’s World Cup. Looking to end an inconsistent 2022 with an unbeaten northern tour, selectors Ian Foster, Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan have reverted largely to the team who thumped Wales a fortnight ago. The sees Barrett move back into the midfield alongside Rieko Ioane, leaving David Havili and Anton Lienert-Brown to provide cover from the bench. Barrett has excelled at second five-eighth in limited opportunities while wearing the black jersey and another strong performance at Twickenham will give him a good chance of making the position his own. Beauden Barrett will again start at fullback, with Richie Mo’unga remaining at No 10, while Scott Barrett will shift into the blindside flanker role he occupied when England knocked out the All Blacks in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup. He started at lock against Scotland, but Brodie Retallick

A youth development worker is giving a thumbs down to National's new policy to deal with youth crime. The party is promising to set up Young Offender Military Academies for 15 to 17-year-olds, if it's elected next year. It also wants to put electric monitoring devices on children as young as 10-years-old. Aaron Hendry told Kate Hawkesby evidence shows they're ineffective, as they don't address the root cause of why young people are involved in crime in the first place. He says there are groups of young people living in extreme poverty and homelessness, and struggling to make positive change in their lives. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I thought it was ironic this week when Grant Robertson admitted the rollout of the ram raid support for businesses has been too slow. Slow would be an understatement. I just can’t work out what’s going on here. Because every time you ask the Government about it, they say they’re chasing it, they’re telling Police to speed up, they want it sorted. Yet when you speak to Sunny Kaushal from the Dairy and Business Owners Association, he says the Government is the hold up. He says he has to chase government Ministers for months on end and even then they don’t get back to him. Then there’s the Police – the meat in the middle of this particular sandwich, the people the Government says are charged with sorting this, and they’re allegedly not doing it fast enough. So, if true, whose fault it that? Is it the Police’s? And if it is on them, is it because they are too under resourced? If they are, is that because this soft on crime government just hasn’t backed them enough, hasn’t supported them and resourced them enough?

Ukraine is denying responsibility for the deadly missile explosion in Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it was not a Ukrainian missile. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltetnberg says the explosion appears to have been caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile, fired at a Russian cruise missile attack. But security analyst Paul Buchanan told Kate Hawkesby ultimately, the evidence points to this being Ukraine's fault. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belief businesses aren't out of the woods yet, despite economic activity increasing in the September quarter Infometrics data shows a 2.6 percent year-on-year rise, driven by stronger tourism and household spending. Auckland and South Island areas have seen some of the strongest gains. Tourism Export Council Chief Executive Lynda Keene told Kate Hawkesby Australian visitors through the winter months have played a key role. She says the results are encouraging, but they won't be too excited until October's results are released, as that's when the season officially begins. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hopes a major international retailer moving to Lambton Quay will give a post-pandemic boost to Wellington's CBD. Clothing brand Calvin Klein has confirmed it will set up shop in part of the building that once housed Kirkcaldie and Stains, and more recently David Jones. It shut down in June. First Retail Group Managing Director Chris Wilkinson says it's great news for the capital. He says having the acknowledgement of an international brand is a great first step in enlivening the area again. Other tenants for the rest of the building's space haven't yet been announced. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So I note the Police commissioner was saying the other day re the surge in youth offending, that it’s up to us to do more about it, and look after our communities better. And then hospitality came out and said staffing issues in the sector may be on us as well. What they’re saying is that customers are getting ruder these days, that abuse and poor treatment of hospitality staff is getting more commonplace, and that they’re sick of it - and we need to do better. It’s apparently turning many off the industry now. An industry that used to be fun, is now not so fun. So it’s on us, the customers, to lift our game. Now this has of course been a globally contentious issue recently, thanks to late night TV host James Corden and his - now infamous – verbal altercation with staff at a New York restaurant. Furious they got his wife’s meal order wrong three times; he told staff he’d be better off going into the kitchen and cooking it himself. Cue the restaurant owner labelling Corden the rudest man he’d ever met. There i

Some are suggesting our great brain drain may slowing down. The net number of Kiwis that left the country for the year to September was more than 8,000. But for the month, people arriving outstripped the number leaving. Kiwibank senior economist Jeremy Couchman joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US President Donald Trump is preparing to launch his third campaign for the White House, this afternoon NZ time, looking to move on from disappointing midterm defeats and defy history amid signs that his grip on the Republican Party is waning. Trump had hoped to use the GOP’s expected gains in last week’s elections as a springboard to vault himself to his party’s nomination by locking in early support to keep potential challengers at bay. Instead, he now finds himself being blamed for backing a series of losing candidates after disappointing results in which Democrats retained control of the Senate and House control remains too early to call. “Hopefully, tomorrow will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country!” Trump wrote on his social media network yesterday. An announcement is expected at 3pm today NZ time from his club in Palm Beach. Another campaign is a remarkable turn for any former president, much less one who made history as the first to be impeached twice and

A general view that the devil will be in the detail around RMA reforms. Three new laws will take its place, with two being announced so far. The Government says the changes aim to lower costs and will speed up the time it takes for new homes and infrastructure projects to be approved. Environmental lawyer Kate Storer told Kate Hawkesby until now, there's been questions as to what should be prioritised whether that's building houses, protecting rivers or air quality. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So I had quite the day yesterday. And here's the thing, I wish I was one of those people who knew how to react in the moment.  I always think of stuff I should have said or done, after that fact. Yesterday I had a very stark example of that. I got bitten by a dog. Now I adore dogs, I’ve never been bitten by one, I love them, I grew up with them, I’ve owned them myself, they’re the greatest companions in the world, I think they’re adorable. But not all of them are. Some are downright vicious, and dangerous, and I put that down to the owner and their lack of control, not the dog. So I was walking my dog yesterday morning, and we see a man with his dog walking towards us, and his dog is pulling on the lead looking excited to see another dog and as we get closer, the polite thing all dog walkers do, is stop and let the dogs have a little sniff of each other. But as we got closer to this dog, it suddenly very aggressively lunged forward of its owner, jumped up and bit me – hard – on my thigh. I felt its teeth pier

Belief dropping our speed will drive down our number of road fatalities. Waka Kotahi's proposed sweeping speed limit decreases on state highways across the country - with focus around schools and marae. AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thompson told Kate Hawkesby it's a key part of the Road to Zero Strategy. He says there's clear evidence from both overseas and within New Zealand, that the changes result in fewer crashes. Consultation on these latest changes closes on December 12. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Health Star system is being changed to better reflect added sugar and salt in nutritional ratings. Nutritionists are welcoming changes to the programme, which rates nutritional content of packaged food up to five stars. Today's upgrade gives lower star ratings to foods with high levels of added sugar and salt. Deputy Director-General of New Zealand Food Safety Vincent Arbuckle told Kate Hawkesby uptake has been increasing. He says major producers see value in the scheme, and both major supermarket chains have heavily adopted it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.