Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A shock to an old classic.Toyota's announced the most popular car model in the world - the Corolla will only be sold in hybrid-electric versions by the end of the year.Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala told Kate Hawkesby it joins some of their other models that have become fully hybrid.He says their plan has always been to move towards a fully electrified line-up, so this is a step in that direction.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not all doom and gloom when it comes to our wellbeing.Stats NZ's 2021 Wellbeing data shows just over 28 percent of people report poor mental wellbeing, up just under six percent from 2018.But Wellbeing Principal Analyst Claire Bretherton told Kate Hawkesby there's some positive stuff in the numbers too.She says most New Zealanders are satisfied with their lives, something that hasn't changed from 2018.Bretherton says a lot of people are also optimistic for the future.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well for all those heading away next week for school holidays, could be great timing. It looks like we may end up in red light again at some point, if case numbers are anything to go by. The PM says she’s not looking at it yet, but is she looking at anything apart from the cameras on the international stage at the moment? Bit tricky given she’s out of the country and perhaps a tad more out of touch than usual. And what triggers a red light anyway? The PM makes a captains call based on the vibe? Or, as new Covid Minister Ayesha Verrall would tell us, is it purely about case numbers and she’s been very honest in fessing up that number is 10,000 cases.We are getting dangerously close to the 10,000 mark, and it was a 10,000 case rolling average that threw us into the red last time.It’s not even really the case numbers that will be the problem.I think in all reality it’s the state of our hospital system and its inability to cope right now. We’ve got experts saying a new wave is here, we’ve got flu viruses, high ab

There have been more calls for the Government to be honest about their departments.Michael Wood yesterday called out the hospitality sector about their working conditions, while they're struggling for workers.And the ongoing cry for help from the health sector, with Andrew Little maintaining that they're on top of it.Add to that their police response, and action on the cost of living crisis.These lines are no longer cutting it with the public, who are increasingly aware of the crises the country is facing.Political commentator Bryce Edwards joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Clean Car Discount scheme is having to alter wrong or missing emissions or safety-rating data as it goes along.Car dealers say some customers expecting a rebate are getting hit with a fee instead, because an incomplete database is being updated even as the vehicle is sitting on the lot.The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association's David Vinsen told Kate Hawkesby the Government was warned it didn't have information on all of the fleet, but proceeded anyway.He says NZTA has been scrambling to remedy the glaring database emissions since its launch.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oral specialists say the dental system is failing children, and urgent change is needed.Research shows dental decay is the most prevalent non-communicable childhood disease in New Zealand.Māori, Pasifika, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those without access to community water fluoridation are most affected.Otago University researcher Dorothy Boyd told Kate Hawkesby now's the best time to address it, in amongst the other health system changes.She says statistics show 70 percent of Pasifika, 60 percent of Māori, and a-third of other children have dental decay by the time they're five.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I can see why we have resource consent issues in this country and it’s virtually impossible to get anything done. We’re experiencing it first hand at the moment with the Auckland Council.We put in a building consent to build a pool, a very straight forward pool, not building hydro slides and dive boards and turreted pool houses with fancy gates.Just a pool and the obligatory pool fence. We had an engineer draw up the specs and submit it to Council, routine procedure, nothing to see here. Then, to our surprise, the Council comes back a couple of weeks later and says not only do we have to apply for building consent to build a pool, but now also a resource consent.And all the standards that come with meeting resource consent. Obviously we query this – there must be some mistake, we’re not building a house or a garage or a building or a dwelling, it’s a puddle in a backyard. A pool surely cannot be subject to all the rigmarole of resource consent. So I ring up the Council planner one afternoon to have a chat and

Sir John Kirwan is hitting the road in the name of kids' mental health.The All Black legend and mental health advocate is driving from Auckland to Invercargill, to raise funds and awareness for his initiative Mitey.It's an approach to teaching mental health in primary and intermediate schools - helping children understand how to look after their own emotional wellbeing.Sir John Kirwan told Kate Hawkesby he will be stopping at seven main centres in the next week.He says during that time he will be visiting schools, as well as holding some community events.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A gunman opened fire in a Copenhagen shopping mall, one of the largest of its kind in Scandinavia, killing an unspecified number of people and wounding several others on Sunday, police said.The suspected gunman, who is in custody, is a 22-year-old Danish man who was detained near the Fields shopping mall on the southern outskirts of the capital, said police inspector Søren Thomassen, head of the Copenhagen police operations unit."We know that there are several dead" and "several injured," Thomassen told a news conference, adding that terror can't be ruled out. "We do not have information that others are involved. This is what we know now."He didn't provide any further details on the victims or supsect, or say how many people were killed or wounded. The shopping center is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway line that connects the city center with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to Fields, which opened in 2004.Images from the scene showed people running out of

National has come out swinging against the new Immigration Minister.Michael Wood's accepted some concerns the sector's raised over foreign worker shortages...But says businesses should be considering how to make low-wage jobs with insecure working conditions,  more attractive places to work.National party immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford told Kate Hawkesby he's gaslighting the industry, which is trying their best to attract workers.She says the average hourly hospo wage has gone up past $24 an hour - with it well past $26.50 in Queenstown.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott McLaughlin has claimed his second victory of the IndyCar season after taking out the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio this morning.Starting in second behind Pato O'Ward, the Kiwi benefitted from a yellow flag to take his first pit stop and hold first place.It's a much-needed boost for McLaughlin after a poor run of form lately.He won the opening race of the season in St. Petersburg before a second placing in Texas to top the standings but then failed to crack the top five in the last six races which saw him drop to ninth before today's win.Fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon, a six-time winner at Mid-Ohio, finished fifth.McLaughlin's parents Wayne and Diane were on course for the victory after joining their son in May after 31 months apart due to Covid-19."To have mum and dad here was super special," McLaughlin said after the win."It's America's weekend. Last night I was dressed up as a blow-up beagle so maybe I need to do that every July 4 weekend."More to come...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a parent whose kids are at the ‘wander the mall on their own’ age, I do worry about headlines like “Screams heard before mall stabbing in Auckland”.It’s terrifying that young people are carrying weapons; it’s terrifying that they’re so brazen about using them, it’s terrifying that Police still appear powerless to stop youth offenders.One of our kids asked us the other day why the country feels less safe these days, why there's so much violence. And the question made me sad, because it’s not how we grew up. Walking the malls and streets at night felt safe, doing it in broad daylight wasn’t even in question. But these days parents are rightly thinking twice about their young people heading off to the mall with their mates unsupervised.And even the teens themselves are thinking twice about it. And what worries me is that as the bar dips lower and lower on social responsibility these days, and public behaviour gets worse, how much are we just sleepwalking into accepting it? Why are we putting up with more aggr

Put down the drink and spare a bit of money this July.New Zealanders are being asked to give up alcohol for the month to raise funds for those going through cancer treatment, as part of Dry July.Cancer support charity Look Good Feel Better is experiencing higher demand than ever for practical services and care.General Manager Clare O'Higgins told Kate Hawkesby given the rise in the cost of living, finding some loose change could be difficult.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's new Free Trade Agreement with the European Union isn't perfect, but it may be the best we're ever going to get.The 27-country bloc has agreed to remove tariffs on most New Zealand goods.But the dairy and red meat sectors will still face tariffs, and much lower quotas than they'd hoping for.Trade Minister Damien O'Connor told Mike Hosking this may be the best deal Europe was ever going to agree to.The Herald's Thomas Coughlan is travelling with O'Connor and the PM.He told Kate Hawkesby even if the deal gets all the necessary approvals, it won't be fully implemented for another 13 years.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new dawn for New Zealand's heath sector.The country's 20 DHBs have been officially disestablished to make way for the Health NZ juggernaut and the Maori Health Authority.After years of debate and reports, the new Health NZ agency has launched with Health Minister Andrew Little promising a new way of tackling health issues in New Zealand.Along side the new agency is the Māori Health Authority responsible for ensuring the health system provides more equitable outcomes for MāoriA Ministry for Disabled People also comes into force today.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Politicians have sucked the life out of young New Zealanders” this according to a very good opinion piece in the Herald yesterday by University Macro Economics professor Robert McCulloch.He makes the point that even though students and staff returned to campus post lockdowns, “students are reluctant to physically attend class.” He says it’s because ‘they can’t see a future, their mojo and buzz are gone’, and that ‘despondency rules.’ How depressing is that? The thing is, he’s not wrong. He cites students who’ve told him they’ll leave as soon as they graduate for international jobs with higher pay and lower living costs, students who say they feel like their entire course has been done on Zoom.McCulloch argues the Government took away their dreams by sucking the air out of them, they’re lonely – he cites a NZ study showing:“Loneliness is highest among people aged 15-24. Teen suicide rates are among the worst in the OECD. Cognitive skills at age 15 are in decline. Levels of school attendance are declining and

Nominations are now open to run for your local school's board of trustees.With elections in September, New Zealand School Trustees Association wants to make sure "decent people" actually run for school boards, as during Covid, we realised how much power these boards have in our children's education.NZSTA president Lorraine Kerr joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Demand for passports has risen significantly, with a 400 percent increase since January.This now has the Department of Internal Affairs scrambling, with nearly 50,000 passports yet to be processed and around 8600 people still waiting for responses to queries.Many are worried they may have to cancel their school holiday plans due to the backlog.Brent Thomas is the House of Travel chief operating officer and joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions are being raised around the sentence given to a young man whose driving resulted in the deaths of five Timaru teenagers.Tyreese Fleming has been jailed for two-and-a-half years in the High Court at Timaru.He was just 19 at the time, driving on a restricted licence and had been drinking when his car slammed into a power pole at up to 115 kilometres an hour.Victims' advocate Ruth Money told Kate Hawkesby she sees this as a light sentence.She believes the youth justice system needs an overhaul, to ensure victims get justice.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call me naïve, and look when to comes to this stuff I probably am. It’s a mixture of not being that clued into forensically what goes on technologically with my information, but also a bit of head in the sand too. Like I sort of know this stuff happens but don’t think about it much, hence I’m always shocked at the reality of it. But you know how the apps we exist on these days are grabbing all our info and data and can track us? Well, yesterday I was confronted with the stark reality of this. To explain what I’m talking about, I’d had an online order with a supermarket go awry, again, and this was when I was really sick and just ordering groceries in, which I hate doing but needs must. So I’d been ordering them in, and I’d had such a bad experience time after time. There were broken eggs, rotten avocados or bananas, smooshed up mandarins, like every order arrived with either stuff broken, rotten, missing or damaged.I was getting fed up of throwing out groceries I’d paid for just because someone couldn’t be bo