Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A telethon of a different sorts is getting underway at Lincoln University. Charity Meat the Need is hosting The Big Feed, where farmers donate livestock and milk to foodbanks and City Missions for families in need. It's New Zealand's first ever rural telethon, starting at 6am, and being livestreamed across Facebook and YouTube for 12 hours today. Co-founder Wayne Langford told Roman Travers they started during the Covid lockdowns in 2020 and carried on since. He says it seems silly there are Kiwis going hungry when they have so much food to share. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A glimpse into how our economy is continuing to fare post-pandemic. Stats NZ is set to release our GDP figures for the third quarter later this morning. It was up 1.7 percent in the June quarter. ASB's chief economist Nick Tuffley told Roman Travers they expect today's numbers will show the economy is still going through a recovery. He says they're tipping it'll show a decent growth of 0.9 percent. Tuffley says they also expect to see more signs of international tourism recovery, which will help the transportation sector. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The end has come for half-price public transport and fuel tax cuts. The Government's announced both subsidies will finish at the end of March.  Half-priced public transport will still be available for Total Mobility and Community Service Cardholders. Public transport users association national coordinator Jon Reeves told Roman Travers getting rid of the subsidies does the opposite to encourage people to get on public transport. He says buses and trains are going to be operating regardless, so why can't the fares be reduced. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bluff Oyster and Food Festival has been canned once again. The festival was to be held in May,  but has been postponed due to a former hotel adjacent to the site,  having a dangerous building notice on it. It’s the second year running it’s been cancelled, with Covid-19 the reason last year. Festival chair John Edminstin, who owns the building next door told Roman Travers he knows this is disappointing news for Bluff. He says the festival would generally bring in thousands of people who would eat, drink and stay there. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expectation that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will use his address to call for more lethal aid. The Ukrainian President will be speaking to Parliament via video link this morning, as New Zealand becomes the latest Western country to receive him. And with Ukraine making significant ground in the country's east in recent months, he'll likely expect New Zealand to send more weapons. Democracy Project geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Roman Travers we haven't sent lethal aid to Ukraine since April's $7.5 million dollars to the UK to buy on our behalf. He says with key supporters like the EU and the US pouring money into the kitty, he expects Zelenskyy to call for us to do the same. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes to emergency housing looks to return motels back to tourism. The Government has agreed to a raft of recommended changes, after a review by the ministries of social development and housing. It includes quality standards for suppliers, expanding support services and improved grants to help get people into private rentals. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell told Roman Travers they've been calling for these changes for some time. She says emergency housing was meant to be a maximum of 28 days but has been extended up to three years in some cases. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As much as anyone might have a long list of things they’d love to have for Christmas; I’m picking that most of us really just want to spend time with family and friends. Gone are the days when a large quantity of presents was the measure of one’s devotion and love. The slow to catch on but evolving trend now is to buy experiences rather than things. Wouldn’t you rather have a fantastic memory for your hard drive as opposed to more stuff to take to the tip and recycling stations in months to come? One family, unable to have the luxury of having their children around this Christmas once again, are the three children missing with their father, Tom Phillips. The real concern is for the young and impressionable Jayda, Maverick and Ember Phillips. Experts have genuine concerns for the children's physical and psychological well-being. They’ve not not been seen since December the 9th last year. That’s when their father Tom Phillips disappeared with them for the second time. Last week the children's extended family sa

David Seymour says there needs to be consequences over the water privatisation entrenchment debacle. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta received a letter of advice on making water privatisation more difficult. That was a month before the controversial vote which was criticised by constitutional lawyers,  and later labelled a mistake by the Prime Minister The Act Party leader told Roman Travers Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hasn't shown leadership skills in this situation. He claims former Prime Minister Helen Clark would have fired her on the spot. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The College of Nurses says a pay increase is well overdue. Te Whatu Ora is asking the Employment Relations Authority for interim orders to fix pay equity rates for nurses. It would increase pay for most by more than 14 percent, putting Kiwis on par or better with Australian nurses. Executive Director Kate Weston told Roman Travers it's a shame it's taken so long. She says nurses were the backbone of the health system during the pandemic. The Government has also immediate residency opportunities for nurses, specialist doctors and midwives. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cancer Society says New Zealand is taking a step towards a Smokefree 2025. Newstalk ZB understands questions still remain over the compliance of almost 1700 products in New Zealand - with 466 already removed due to banned ingredients or high nicotine levels. The deadline for information passed on Friday - and officials are now reviewing details. It comes as our newsroom can reveal British American Tobacco is threatening legal action over the review. Cancer Society CEO Lucy Elwood told Roman Travers it supports the products being taken off the shelves. She says New Zealand is creating addicts by selling vapes with high levels of nicotine.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, over the weekend, The National Party completely flipped the seat for Hamilton West, which probably means that the Labour Party have flipped the desk with their visceral reaction to losing it; although Jacinda Ardern did appear most magnanimous. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Potaka won with 6629 votes, with Labour's Georgie Dansey trailing by 2285 with 4344 votes. The Labour candidate says it was a tough battle, but she’s still keen to represent Labour at next year's general election. A big surprise for me was the Act Party candidate James McDowall -  well behind with 1462 votes, while former Labour MP Gaurav Sharma, whose resignation triggered the by-election, had 1156 votes. Mr Sharma says that he expected more votes, but the most important thing for him was to stand up and not be silenced. So what now for Mr Sharma? Back to medicine or perhaps to university for a night course in diplomacy? There might be a variety of reasons to want to celebrate the Hamilton West by-election result or to commise

Kiwis are feeling the pinch in grocery prices as the Christmas period nears. The latest Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index data shows cost increases from suppliers to supermarkets have risen by more than 10 percent in November. Around seven-thousand-800 items increased in cost, nearly three times as many items as in November 2019. Vegetables NZ chair John Murphy told Roman Travers that they've had to make up for lost time due to weather, which has played into supply woes. He says they're struggling to keep up with demand, but do see that easing closer to Christmas. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frustration from councils over the passing of the first of the Three Waters reforms bills. The Water Services Entities Bill jumped its last hurdle, thanks to Labour's majority, yesterday. The reforms take water assets from 67 councils, and amalgamates them into one of four water entities. Communities 4 Local Democracy Chair, and Manawatu District Mayor Helen Worboys told Tim Dower the Government hasn't worked with councils like it said it would. She says they've never had any answers on why this reform will make things more affordable. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new bill to create more flexible parental leave. National MP Nicola Willis's members' bill has been drawn from the biscuit tin for a proposal to allow a baby's parents to both take maternity leave, simultaneously or one at a time. Willis says she's hoping for cross-party support, saying it's a simple legislative change to support families. She says it's a total no brainer and parents should be able to take their leave when and how they need to. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought Harry and Meghan's new Netflix series is unlikely to ruffle too many feathers. The first three episodes of the pair's long-awaited docu-series dropped last night, after weeks of rumour about the content. Royal Correspondent Robert Hardman told Tim Dower there's nothing terribly surprising in there. He says the rest of the family will just roll their eyes and get on with it. Hardman says it's an extended version of the complaints we heard in the Oprah Winfrey interview last March. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Young criminals will now have a support plan put in place within 48 hours of offending. The Government is launching a  $2 million youth crime package to fund locally-led solutions in Auckland, Waikato, Northland and Bay of Plenty. A new, fast-tracked intervention approach will be taken for children aged 10 to 13 - dubbed serious or persistent offenders. Youth worker Aaron Hendry told Tim Dower it's important children who offend get support as soon as possible. He says they need to be told the repercussions of what they've done and how it will be dealt with it. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A barrister says there was potential for a dangerous precedent, had the judge ruled in favour of the parents of a six-month-old who needs heart surgery. Doctors at Starship Hospital have been granted medical responsibility of the baby until the surgery is complete, and he recovers. His parents won't let doctors use donations from the Blood Service for the surgery - over claims it's all tainted by the Covid vaccine. Barrister Simon Judd told Tim Dower there could be a slippery slope if individual patients could pick and choose the services they receive, or control how a treatment is delivered. He says you could imagine the administrative difficulties and time all of that would take. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new and efficient way of getting across the Hauraki Gulf. Fullers has teamed up with sustainable boat company SeaChange, to bring a zero-emission hydrofoil onto Auckland's waters from next year. The boat is fully electric, carries 10 passengers and can reach a top speed of 55 km/h. SeaChange founder and CEO Max Olson told Tim Dower they're much more efficient than the ferries currently on the water. He says they make them out of high performance materials like carbon fibre which gets better shapes, and they have much better control strategy than normal ferries. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been five years since New Zealand brought in compensation for live organ donors. It was driven by National's Chris Bishop, allowing living donors to receive 100 percent of their income for twelve weeks after surgery. So far, 344 people have been supported. Chris Bishop joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Waikato University sports sociologist is applauding the actions of Sport New Zealand around inclusion of transgender people in community activities based on which gender they identify with. The document takes a human rights rather than scientific approach to the issue which has tended to be the focus at elite level. Holly Thorpe says the guidelines are an important first step to navigate a complex issue. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.