Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A big pay increase is on the way for our Defence Force in the hope of stemming staff turnover. The Government is bringing 90 percent of pay in line with market rates, by putting aside nearly $420 million in the Budget. Another $328 million will also be spent upgrading assets and infrastructure, including Defence Force housing. Former Defence Minister, Ron Mark told Tim Dower he takes his hat off to new Minister Andrew Little. He says he's clearly had the support of Chris Hipkins to come to the table, which is desperately needed as the force is bleeding experienced personnel. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coromandel Peninsula community is eagerly awaiting an announcement on the fate of State Highway 25A due later this morning. The Kopu to Hikuai route has been closed for three months after significant damage from Cyclone Gabrielle. Waka Kotahi has three options on the table; a potential bypass, bridge, or retaining wall. Coromandel MP Scott Simpson told Tim Dower his concern isn't which one it will be, but rather how long it will take to complete. He's hopeful it can be re-opened before summer, as the closure's impact on the community and local businesses has been devastating. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Government is seeking an end to the imprisonment of Julian Assange in the UK. The Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder has been incarcerated while the US seeks to extradite him on charges relating to the publishing of classified information about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Anthony Albanese hasn't been able to find a "diplomatic solution" to the Assange case while in London for the Coronation. But UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Roman Travers that there is some positive news. He says that for the first time both Australia's leader and opposition leader has called for his imprisonment to come to an end. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's believed continuity and stability will be a core-focus for King Charles as he guides the Royal Family into a new era. Royal Commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams told Roman Travers that the King knows his biggest challenge will be connecting with the younger generations. He says it's been a tough time for the monarchy, with Prince Andrew in disgrace and Prince Harry and Meghan's exit, the split affecting young people's attitudes towards the Royals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's some hope that supplier costs to supermarkets will soon show signs of easing. The Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index shows a 10% increase in what suppliers charged supermarkets for goods in April. We've seen increases of 10% or more for the past six months. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says this reflects suppliers themselves are facing very high input price pressures. He says we're starting to see some signs of possibly less intense cost pressures, but they are remaining high for now. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What an astonishing weekend it’s been, right?   There aren’t many of us that are old enough to remember in great detail the coronation of our previous monarch, Queen Elizabeth the second.   Now we all have Saturday night etched into our memory banks with all that pomp and pageantry, being beamed into lounges across the world with the coronation of King Charles the third and Queen Camilla.  Generally, people seem to have been polite enough to park their republican discussions with the possibility that the preponderance of those in favour of sticking with what we have has again become the way we’ll stay.  With the coronation formalities now designated to the official websites of royal history and fabulous photography, it’ll be fascinating to see whether the debate around New Zealand becoming a republic once again bobs about.  For those excited at the prospect of buying more new shoes, and more very formal outfits for one off occasions, we may well get to see another coronation in a decade or so from now. So han

What a cool day we’ve had today. We met David Walliams from ‘Little Britain’ and ‘Come Fly With Me’ – two comedy shows that could never be made these days without being cancelled immediately – in fact I don’t even know if there are clips still up on YouTube– probably been gassed by now. But they were hilarious shows. He’s also been the judge on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ so he’s a big name here. But Walliams is probably most known worldwide for his books I think – fabulous author – Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy Robo-dog. He’s an extremely entertaining children’s book author and he very generously gave my daughter some books, he signed them for her and her little brother and sister, he did photos with us, and he was genuinely very funny. He actually just took the piss out of us. He called us ‘a very stylish family’ but then he did have a crack at Mike about his ripped jeans. He said Mike reminded him of ‘a Karl Lagerfeld’ he said he was ‘wearing clothes designed for a much younger man..’ we were in fits. He also

The countdown is on to the historic King's coronation this weekend. King Charles has been heir to the throne for 70 years and excitement's building for the big royal celebration on Saturday.  Max Foster is a CNN host and royal correspondent in London, and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are now in the final countdown to the coronation. One of those representing New Zealand at Westminster Abbey is former Olympic and World Championship winning rower Rebecca Scown. She now heads up Youth Experience in Sport over in Britain. Rebecca Scown joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The iconic Rodd and Gunn is making its presence felt in London. The lifestyle brand opened in mayfair towards the end of 2019 - and is now expanding into europe. That came after massively successful launches into Australia and the United States. Kate Hawkesby caught up with Rodd and Gunn's UK Regional Manager Eleanor O'Dea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well today has noticeably ramped up another notch in coronation preparations. More roads closed, more barricades up, more Cops around, and way, way more people. The Palace garden party was on today, so attendees were out in their finery and even the weather played ball with a beautiful and rare blue sky day. Many, who at the start of this week were a bit ho hum, seem now to be getting excited. I was speaking with one woman whose kids insisted she drag them round all the festivities to see what’s in store for the celebrations ‘for our King’, as she put it. She said they weren’t really royalists and felt indifferent about the monarchy, but she said when it came to events like an historic coronation, how could you not be part of it all? She said it’s part and parcel of being British. On the day however, given how busy London already is, she said she’d stay home and ‘watch it on the telly’, which she argued would be a better view anyway, and she’s probably right. But there’s something magical about being here and

Just one concussion can cause someone to go on and commit a violent crime. New AUT research shows even a mild traumatic brain injury significantly increases the risk of criminal behaviour over the following decade. It also exacerbates mental health difficulties, drug abuse and managing emotional reactions to events. Researcher Gail Pacheco told Kate Hawkesby a concussion can result in more criminal convictions and court charges later in life. She says the risk is higher amongst men and those who have had multiple brain injuries. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'll probably know the Kiwi company, Karma Drinks. They're an ethical drinks company which launched in New Zealand back in 2012. They are a massive success story in Britain, which now accounts for about half their business. And out of its 25 staff - seven are based in the UK. UK Marketing and Sales Director at Karma Jessamy Besson-Jones joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins has confirmed he still hasn't heard from Meka Whaitiri. Whaitiri has resigned from minister and from the Labour Party, and plans to jump ship to Te Pāti Māori at the next election. Speaking to Kate Hawkesby from England, the Prime Minister says he's still completely in the dark about why she's suddenly decided to leave. “She clearly hasn’t spoken to anyone about it. She certainly hadn’t raised any concerns up to the point where she made her announcement. So those are really questions for her I guess.” Whaitiri is now expected to carry on as an independent MP, but will run under Te Pāti Māori's banner for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti seat she holds, in this year's election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So just as we have rolling strikes beginning this week in New Zealand, the UK has strikes going on too. Nurses and teachers. Today here more than 22,000 schools were disrupted with a mass walkout of Union members. And if you think our strikes are bad, this is the fifth time this year teachers in England have walked off the job demanding better pay and conditions. And it’s raised the question here of who picks up the slack and looks after all these kids for parents who have to keep working and can’t take the time off. There’s a lot of debate here about what they’re calling ‘Granny day-care’ where grandparents are having to take over the caregiving. Some parents are saying it’s too much for elderly grandparents who may have health issues or not be fit and able enough to suddenly be running round after small children all day. It can cause friction between families who’re expecting too much from grandparents. Others are saying it’s just not fair – it’s free unpaid work, and many busy grandparents with full active

We are four days out now from the coronation of King Charles III. You certainly can't miss it in London, the build up is in full force, but how do the public feel about the upcoming coronation? LBC talk radio host Iain Dale joined Kate Hawkesby out of the UK. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A last push as area school teachers prepare for strike action. Union NZEI has agreed to join the Post Primary Teachers Association in rolling strikes from next Tuesday to Thursday. It's also opted to ban covering relief teacher work. NZEI President Mark Potter told Kate Hawkesby this action is necessary, as they haven't had an offer from the ministry since last year. He says rolling strikes might have an impact on students, but the impact will be even greater if teachers resign. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Rotorua dentist says kids are suffering by waiting so long to be seen. Te Whatu Ora figures show the average wait time for children 15 or under, who need surgery across the city is just over four months, with some waiting up to nine months. Ranolf Dental Surgery owner Leroy Chan told Kate Hawkesby that's an unnecessary length of time. He says it's affecting their health, their families and the whole of society. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I asked AI a question the other day and it didn’t know the answer. I thought Chat GPT knew everything? It came back and said – I don’t know, but would you like me to find out for you? I mean, what do you think? That’s why I asked. Anyway I Googled it, and immediately got the answer. My question was ‘why don’t London cabbies work in the rain’ – I got the answer not only from Google but also from the next Cab I hopped into when he just told me. Always better from the horse’s mouth. But like all things, it doesn’t take long before advancements in technology become battlegrounds for hearts and souls and breeding grounds of distortion and hate. Like the internet itself. The real uses these things are intended for get hijacked by the lowest common denominator or bad actors that look to disrupt. The concern with AI at the moment is that it’s mostly being used as a toy or a tool of trickery – deep fakes, artificial voices and the like. Fake campaigns often go a long way on mainstream before they get picked up. And so

Time to meet a Kiwi making noise in the royal world. Sophie Gaulter is only the second woman to be included in the famed London Scottish Regiment band. This is the esteemed band known for performing at royal events and participated in the procession for the Queen's death. Sophie joined only a few months ago and Sophie Ggualter joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.