Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Expect another rise in interest rates.The Reserve Bank is expected to increase the OCR by 50 basis points this afternoon, to 2.5 percent.Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby while some parts of the economy are struggling, inflation remains high.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A different approach to filling nursing shortages.Health New Zealand is going to meet with nine nursing schools as they call for more funding.Perpetual Guardian Foundation is a charitable organisation which gives scholarships to nurses to advance their training via private donors.Foundation Philanthropy Manager Kirsten Killian-Taylor told Kate Hawkesby they want to help.She says the charity sector can do its bit as funding is tight in many government departments.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 51st Pacific Islands Forum is now underway in the Fijian capital Suva.Drama has already unfolded with the Kiribati Government pulling out, while China's role in the Pacific is expected to be a hot topic.Professor Steven Ratuva is the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies director at Canterbury University and joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shares of Twitter slid more than 11% in the first day of trading after billionaire Elon Musk said that he was abandoning his $44 billion bid for the company and the social media platform vowed to challenge Musk in court to uphold the agreement.Twitter is now preparing to sue Musk in Delaware where the company is incorporated. While the outcome is uncertain, both sides are preparing for a long court battle.Musk alleged Friday that Twitter has failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts on its service. Twitter responded in a weekend letter disclosed Monday that his "purported termination is invalid and wrongful" and that the company has continued to provide the information he "reasonably requested."Twitter said last month that it was making available to Musk a " fire hose " of raw data on hundreds of millions of daily tweets.The company has said for years in regulatory filings that it believes about 5% of the accounts on the platform are fake. But on Monday Musk continued to taunt the

The health system crisis is the cost of living crisis all over again isn't it?Doesn't this have a familiar ring to it?A government in denial of something existing, which is laid bare for all to see, in broad daylight, in every part of our community, and yet politicians heads are firmly in the sand.Nothing to see here.Governments are always reluctant to use the word crisis, but our health system has been gradually falling apart for so long that it's now gotten to the point where those working in it are crying out for help at every level.Hospitals, GP's, nurses, doctors, midwives, health staff across the board are all saying it's an issue, they're over worked, under staffed, under resourced, under paid, exhausted, burning out and yet, somehow, the Government manages to have its fingers in its ears on this.The headlines have persisted nonetheless. The stories have gotten worse and yet, the Government can't or won’t see it.Well surely they must see it, they just won't acknowledge it.Health minister Andrew Little,

So if the rumours are true, I personally don’t think they are, today we go into a red light.I first heard this rumour last Friday. A worried retailer told my husband he’d heard from ‘someone very reliable’ (isn’t it always?) that Monday was going to see an announcement of a red light. I was immediately suspicious. It reminded me of all those times over the past couple of years when rumours ran rife that we’d be going into a lockdown, because they’d heard it from ‘a reputable source’. The source was always someone’s friend or partner who worked ‘deep inside the Beehive’, ‘so they knew’.This also reminds me of all the rumours we got fed on high rotate about Clarke Gayford for a while there. That rumour cycle went for months, and it was always from ‘a reliable source’ or someone who knew someone who worked in the Police, or the Prison, or the Court. In fact, those rumours got so out of control the unusual step was taken by Police to shut them down by denying them. This was unusual because 101 of rumours is ignor

Businesses are being pushed to the brink as staff sickness upsets workplace rosters.Flu season is in full swing, combining with a spike in Covid-19 case numbers and hospitalisations.Global modelling suggests up to 45 percent of new Covid cases could be re-infections, thanks to the virulent BA5 Omicron strain.Employers and Manufacturers' Association Chief Executive Brett O'Riley  told Kate Hawkesby 2022 is by far the most unpredictable year of the pandemic for businesses.He says the economy is seeing more disruption than ever, making it a tough time for employers and their workers.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legal action against rodeos.Advocacy group SAFE is taking the Government to the High Court in Wellington today saying rodeos violate the Animal Welfare Act, and that there's been not enough action to stop them.Group chief Executive Debra Ashton told Kate Hawkesby there's a lot of support behind their case.She says there's been growing concern in the public arena since they and other groups took a petition to Parliament in 2016.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Potential successors to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rushed to differentiate themselves from an increasingly crowded field on Sunday as the governing Conservative Party was expected to set a tight timetable for the election.Candidates released slick campaign videos on social media and appeared on Sunday morning political talk shows to make their cases to the public. Several promised tax cuts, appealing to rank-and-file Conservative party members for whom low taxes are a mantra.Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday after more than 50 members of his Cabinet and lower level officials resigned from his government, many citing concerns that his ethical lapses had undermined the government's credibility.That triggered the internal Conservative Party contest to pick a new party leader. Under Britain's parliamentary government, the next party leader will automatically become prime minister without the need for a general election.International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt was the latest to announce he

All rounder Michael Bracewell has saved the Black Caps from their first defeat to Ireland with some remarkable late hitting, denying the hosts a famous win in Dublin.In one of the great match-saving innings for New Zealand, Bracewell pretty much singlehandedly won the game for the Black Caps with 127 not out including all of the required 20 off the final over to pull off a one-wicket victory.Ireland looked set to match their rugby counterparts and pull off a convincing win over the Black Caps in the first ODI.At 217 for eight chasing 301 for victory, it looked a formality only for Bracewell to smash his maiden ODI century and secure a famous win.Bracewell finished with 127 off 82 balls with seven sixes.Needing 20 off the final over, with New Zealand down to their last wicket, Bracewell went four, four, six, four, six to win it with a ball to spare.But there was also all the work that Bracewell did just to get New Zealand in that final over position.New Zealand looked out of the match at 120 for five and equal

Performance reviews for a lot of businesses this week and 87 percent of workers expect to discuss money.42 percent of companies say salary reviews are the most anticipated method to combat staff leaving.Sandy Gibbs is head of People and Culture at Tribe Recruitment, who joined Tim Dower.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was the mayor who basked in the glory of hosting the 2012 London Olympics and the man who led the Conservatives to a thumping election victory on the back of his promise to "get Brexit done".But Boris Johnson's time as prime minister was marred by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and a steady stream of ethics allegations, from alcohol-fuelled government parties that broke lockdown rules to how he handled a sexual misconduct scandal involving a senior party lawmaker.Otago University international relations expert Robert Patman told Tim Dower the change of leadership won't change much about New Zealand's relationship to the UK.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police officers in the Far North say they're ready to walk off the job.According to the New Zealand Herald, there are only seven officers covering the mid and far north regions.Police Association President Chris Cahill told Tim Dower the police feel the communities are missing out.He says when there are only one or two staff working the whole of Kaitaia on a night shift, being backed up by Kerikeri, it puts immense pressure on those communities.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boris Johnson.Charismatic, almost a cartoon figure, bit of a clown, instantly recognisable and right out of the likeable toff mould.But that's really about as far as comparisons between him and Conservative leaders past really goes.They've fallen on their swords with a degree of grace, even occasionally a little humility. What's different about Boris is even at the end he's blaming everyone else.So it's the herd's fault, if only they'd stuck with me it would all have worked out.The hallmark of the Boris Johnson brand has been that boyish cheekiness, even when you knew he was lying through his teeth there was something, well, just likeable about him.So he remains at number 10 for now, and for quite a while, at least a couple of months longer as Prime Minister.Is this even remotely feasible?Boris in office, on his best behaviour, but with one hand tied behind his back at a time his country, like ours, is facing massive challenges not least the war in Ukraine.A crippled leader, more liability than asset probably

A Kiwi skin cancer expert who consults some of Los Angeles' biggest names has created the world's first vegan non-injectable wrinkle reduction serum.Dr Sharad Paul has been featured in Time magazine as one of the world's celebrity scientists and is even filming a documentary on Netflix.But this world-first serum is said to be a game changer in the multi-billion dollar dermal filler market.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air pollution is a major contributor to premature deaths caused by respiratory illnesses and heart illnesses.The 2016 Health and Air Pollution study has found it contributed to more than three-thousand deaths in a year.It also played a part in 13,000 cases of childhood asthma, and 13,000 hospitalisations.Lead author Dr Gerda Kushcel told Kate Hawkesby it's the worst case scenario.She says there are issues around hospitalisation from asthma, particularly with children, and restrictive activity days, where people don't feel well enough to live their normal lives.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A supermarket watchdog looks set to stir up competition in the sector.Consultation is underway on a draft code between major grocery retailers and their suppliers - the Government will also appoint a Grocery Commissioner later this year.An earlier Commerce Commission report found a supermarket duopoly was driving up prices at the till.Vegetables New Zealand Chair John Murphy told Kate Hawkesby it will all come down to how the code of conduct is applied.He says it could end up having a negative effect on producers.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Didn’t you always know that this Government, in clamping down on something, would involve a working group, a watchdog, a commissioner or a report?Turns out they’ve gone with a mix of all four. ‘Grocery Commissioner’ is the official title of the watchdog being set up. Supermarkets must be quaking in their boots. Not.It will take a while to establish – first they need to set up legislation round it, then there’ll be a mandatory code of conduct drawn up, so by the time the legislation goes through the House and the a commissioner actually gets appointed it’ll be mid 2023.That’s if they work to time, which they won’t, so that’ll be delayed. And in terms of when we the consumer will actually see the results of all this watchdogging?Who knows?They’re only just at the ‘discussion paper’ phase. And when it finally comes down to the grocery commissioner appointment part – how many people flank up this new department with the fancy new title?  Have you ever encountered a government more bogged down in layers of bureauc

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling to remain in office, shrugging off calls for his resignation after a slew of officials resigned from his government. Sky News reports a total of 38 MPs have quit.A delegation of senior politicians, including the new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart and Policing Minister Kit Malthouse and Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris, met Johnson at his Downing Street office to press him to resign.New education secretary Michele Donelan, who was only appointed into the role last night following Nadhim Zahawi's elevation to chancellor, is also understood to have been among the group in Number 10 calling for the PM to resign. The Times reports UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has also sided with the group calling for Johnson to go.Johnson reportedly told the group he would not resign, suggesting his departure could lead to an early election and defeat for the party. Sources tell ITV News that the PM said the chaos of a leadership con

Inland Revenue is on the chase for unpaid taxes from construction and property investment firms.Deloitte has seen an increase in action and companies coming to them for help.Craig Elliffe is a tax expert at Auckland university and joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.