Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Heading into a busy winter season, the dairy sector is still lacking thousands of workers. The shortage is being partly blamed on the median migrant wage with the $29.66 cent hourly wage requirement being called unreasonable as local workers earn less for the same job. Federated Farmers Dairy chair and Immigration spokesperson, Richard McIntyre, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death of MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has sent shockwaves through the food world. Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby the 46-year-old's loss is being felt across the world. “Tributes from Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, even Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes says he feels like he has lost a brother.” It's still unclear if the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia will go to air. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government was warned in 2018 it would run out of money to fund the Clean Car Discount scheme. Due to its success, it is having to lower the threshold for higher emitting vehicles, increase the fees on those vehicles and change rebates for zero emissions imports. Vehicle Import Association Chief Executive David Vinsen told Kate Hawkesby this is an artificial process to accelerate the uptake of EVs. He says all the scheme does is bring forward a move towards lower emitting vehicles by two or three years. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's nursing and midwife policy might need to pivot if it wants to complete what it aims to achieve. In a bid to grow the workforce, the party's promising to pay nurses and midwives 22 and a half thousand dollars back on their student loans. But, they'll have to agree to work here for five years. College of Nurses Executive Director Kate Weston says the policy targets graduates, rather than the loss of experienced nurses. She says that focus is needed on workplace issues driving nurses away such as unsafe staffing, and they're worried about their patients. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first time, the public will be asked to say a pledge of allegiance to the King at the Coronation. King Charles' coronation will be held Saturday night, our time. The Archbishop of Canterbury will ask people in the UK and other Realms and Territories to pay homage to the King. UK Correspondent Gavin Grey says that it's one of several changes to the ancient ceremony. He says female clergy will have a prominent role, the King will pray out loud, and religious leaders from different faiths will also play a part — all for the first time. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Excitement is ramping up ahead of King Charles' Coronation. It will be held this Saturday night, New Zealand time. Royal correspondent Robert Hardman says told Kate Hawkesby that Friday is when all the world leaders will start to arrive. He says there's a special event at Buckingham Palace on Friday, and the New Zealand Governor-General and key representatives of all the realms will be there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had a great chat with a London cabbie yesterday. I love how knowledgeable they are about everything, and they’re super chatty and friendly. It’s a Bank holiday here tomorrow —Monday here our time— then of course they get another Bank holiday the following Monday for the Coronation, so they’re drowning in long weekends here at the moment. I asked him if that meant everything would be shut, no he said, everything stays open just like any other day – in fact he said the only day you will find everything closed in London is Easter Sunday. I asked about whether the huge volume of people in town was unusual or whether London was just this busy these days. I‘m trying to work out if this is an influx for the Coronation, or if I’m just not used to this many people everywhere all the time, but it’s definitely busier than we were last here, which was Harry and Meghan’s wedding. He said it’s definitely busier, they’ve had an influx last week for the London marathon – which was the day we arrived, and it was heaving. Then

One of the things I like about London is the infrastructure works. The buses, the trains, the tube, the taxis all work. It’s a systems place, it’s got the population to support it, and it works, so people use it. The other thing I’ve found on our travels both here and in the States, is that service culture is huge. It’s a career. At home it feels a bit more of a transient option for school leavers or students or those who want to dabble in something for a while. Waiting tables or working in a hotel is an in between gig on the way to or from something else. In the States at the hotel we stayed in in New York for nine days, same staff every day. We had the same people working the same shifts – breakfast, lunch, dinner, reception, concierge, housekeeping, doormen, bell hops. All the same people all the time. All older people, it’s a career, they love it, they’re stayers. We spoke to them, most of them have been there for years. In fact, one of them was telling us he got Covid and left for a while, because he liv

An Auckland primary school is boasting big improvements in literacy with its different way of teaching. Willow Park School has adopted a structured literacy approach after a trial proved successful. It means early intervention for any kids struggling from Year One. Principal Duncan Millward joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hoped a new fund will unleash opportunities for New Zealand's domestic wood processing sector. Government is putting $57 million into the industry, aiming to process more logs onshore, create high-wage jobs and aid climate change goals. Forest Industry Contractors Association Chief Executive Prue Younger told Kate Hawkesby the problem the industry is facing is heavy reliance on export markets. She says when those markets are down, the workforce is significantly impacted and not only are the trees not being sold, but contractors are losing days at work. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is being called on to invest any money it may borrow, into things that create a stronger economy. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed no major tax overhaul will be made this term, including on capital gains or a cyclone levy. Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney told Kate Hawkesby if we borrow for things like roads, schools and hospitals, we're all better off as a society. He says if we don't borrow or invest, simply to reduce debt, we will find ourselves in a situation where the infrastructure we want or need isn't there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With all this tax the rich talk and naysayers wanting punitive measures dished out to anyone showing signs of success or ambition, I just wonder if we're shooting ourselves in the foot here. Are we not at peak tall poppy syndrome now? Because where does all this "it's not fair, woe is me" whining actually get us? So far all I can see is that it sends our best and brightest off elsewhere. We have the 5000 nurses who've registered to work in Australia, the net migration loss of more than 8000 Kiwis to Australia just last year, we have those who've discovered cost of living is actually cheaper overseas. I mean, gosh, even our former Prime Minister is off to the States for a semester there. She had said she was looking forward to more time at home and getting her daughter off to school. But when push comes to shove, being away from New Zealand was too tempting, even for one of our greatest cheerleaders. We all know dozens of families whose kids have chosen a life outside of New Zealand. They've left for opportuni

WARNING: This story discusses rape and may be distressing. A writer suing Donald Trump has taken the stand to tell jurors that the future president raped her after she accompanied him into a department store fitting room in 1996. “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back,” E. Jean Carroll testified. Former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll claims former President Donald Trump raped her in a department store dressing room. Photo / AP From afar, Trump repeated his insistence that Carroll’s allegations are fiction, writing on his social media site that the case “is a made-up scam”, and more. His comments prompted the judge to warn Trump’s lawyers that he could bring more legal problems upon himself. Trump hasn’t attended the trial thus far, but his lawyers said Tuesday it’s still possible he could decide to testify. The trial comes as Trump again seeks the Republican nomination for p

What is the fallout for the Super Rugby teams with Scott Robertson pinching their coaches for the All Blacks? All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan will be joined by Blues coach Leon MacDonald, Hurricanes coach Jason Holland and Scott Hansen from the Crusaders. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliot Smith joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says the Government needs to front up on whether it'll tax people more. Inland Revenue research shows the top one percent of earners pay a median effective tax rate of 9.4 percent, when including capital gains on investments. Meanwhile, Treasury estimates a comparable tax rate for a "middle wealth" Kiwi is roughly 20 percent. National Party Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby there's no doubt Labour want more taxes. “This is a government that is spending $1 billion more every week, they can’t get the books to add up, they are desperately searching for more places to find money.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Potential policy changes from the Reserve Bank could provide a helping hand to first home buyers. It's looking at tweaking the rule by which banks can only give 10 percent of new loans to borrowers with deposits under 20 percent. The Reserve Bank wants to increase that to 15 percent of new lending from the start of June. Mortgage Supply Co-Director David Windler told Kate Hawkesby it's good news for first home buyers. He says it's a small difference but its heading in the right direction, as finding the funding for first home buyers has been tough for a while. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western countries are racing to get their citizens out of Sudan, as conflict in the country continues to escalate. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the UK has just carried out the first of several flights to evacuate hundreds of British nationals. “There are dozens of British NHS doctors currently trapped in Khartoum and sadly the militia there are actually going to try and round up doctors.” LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As school goes back today, for how long who knows given the looming strikes, but as we head back to the office and to school, it’s been interesting to reflect on the past two weeks. We headed away for the first time in three years – we hadn’t left the country since Covid and closed borders, but we’d heard from everybody who had, how refreshing it is to get out of NZ. How inspiring it is to see how much the rest of the world has moved on. How blinkered and parochial we have become in our own little hermit kingdom. Our first stop was San Francisco, a lost city full of drugs and homeless people and not much to enthuse a tourist to be honest. It felt edgy and unsafe and made me worried about our next stop – New York – and how much more dangerous and unsafe that may feel. But how wrong I was. New York is incredible. It feels super safe due to the fact the place is flooded with cops – Police on every corner, and lots of them. The place moves at a cracking pace, people are focused on what they’re doing and they’re g

Tensions between china and the west continue to heat up. The UK foreign secretary is expected to give a major speech this week, which will urge China to come clean about its "biggest military spend up in peacetime." It's thought China will have a stockpile of 1500 nuclear missile warheads by 2030. International relations professor at Otago University, Robert Patman, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACT Party is claiming the Government is slamming the brakes on road investment. In 2020, Waka Kotahi identified almost 400 risks on state highways around the country, including major and extreme threats, but has only started work on ten of them. ACT Party Transport spokesperson, Simon Court, told Kate Hawkesby says it demonstrates what the Government wants to focus on. “They are focussed on their ideological priorities, getting people out of cars onto busses and bikes, instead of actually fixing up some of these extreme risks.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.