Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Some consumers are fizzed up over Cocoa-Cola's decision to axe two of its soft drink flavours.Coke Zero and Coke No Sugar will soon be merged into one new flavour, Coke Zero Sugar.Auckland University marketing expert Bodo Lang told Kate Hawkesby outrage caused by the move shows how attached people become to brands.He says you'd expect the criticism over a change to a product such as a car, but it's surprising to see it happen over a soft drink.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is expected to lift the OCR to its highest level again since 2016.Economists are predicting a lift of another 50 basis points, trying to cool demand while we deal with rising inflation.It's also predicted all mortgage rates will be above 6 percent over the coming year.John Bolton is the founder of mortgage broker Squirrel and he joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data suggests our shopping habits have changed for the long term.NZ Post's e-Commerce Spotlight report says online shopping was up 31 percent this quarter, compared to the previous year.To put it in context, it's up 86 percent compared to 2020.Even though we're out of Covid lockdowns, questions are being raised as to whether shoppers and businesses chosen a "new normal" of predominantly shopping online.Retail NZ CEO Greg Harford joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hands up if you had no idea yesterday was a traffic light announcement day.My hand is up. I was so oblivious, it was like stepping back in time, I thought the Herald had the wrong headline up when it ran front page news that Chris Hipkins had announced we were staying in an Orange light. Really? No kidding. Didn’t even know the prospect of coming out of that was on the cards. That’s how brow-beaten we all are by now. We don’t even expect our full freedoms back do we?But it seems we're staying in Orange not just due to Covid - but the flu too.There seems to be a very nasty flu hitting Australia, we’ve had some of it here in Dunedin already, I know there're many families back to isolating and staying home with sickness. Auckland's seeing resurgence in Covid cases – up 75 percent. In fact both the shops I visited yesterday had signs up saying, ‘please be patient, we have many staff away due to Covid.’ So it appears we’re not out of the woods yet, and is worse yet to come in the form of flu?And is it that this ye

It might be hard to catch people using their phones when they're driving.Waka Kotahi is starting a six-month trial in Auckland, with cameras set up to detect people using their mobiles.The Agency says it wants to find out how widespread the problem is.Crash investigator Hamish Piercy told Kate Hawkesby it could be challenging to make images from the system enforceable.He says the cameras will use a form of AI to identify people breaking the law, but it's always possible the technology might get confused.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With our mental health rates looking pretty dire, we need to think outside the box to try different treatment methods.Over in the UK, they're trying stand-up comedy.Comedy on Referral is a course for trauma survivors to try stand-up.It's been so successful, it now has NHS funding to expand the programme to men at risk of suicide.Comedian and founder of Comedy on Referral Angie Belcher joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A helping hand to ensure residents near Christchurch's wastewater plant can get their clothes dried in fresh air.The city's Student Volunteer Army has launched a new service, offering to pick up and dry clean laundry for people suffering from the stench.Founder and CEO Sam Johnson told Kate Hawkesby the service will be needed over the coming months - especially with winter on the way.He says it's important to have it operating when rotting material is removed from the plant, as the smell is then expected to get even worse.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I note the Greens are back at it with their ‘lower the voting age’ routine. And by Greens, I mean Golriz Ghahraman.She’s calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16. Here’s the problem with that – it’s never going to happen. It’s a waste of time and energy. Golriz says that, “16 to 17-year-olds are a very engaged group and have stood for what they believe in, which has been demonstrated by the school climate strikes. They can leave school, they can work, they pay taxem, but they don't have this one right. And it's just one vote."So that’s her pitch, that’s her rationale. The thing is, those of us who’ve had 16 year olds, who’ve raised them and watch them grow up, know, that 16 and even 17, is still very young. It doesn’t sound young if you’ve got babies or toddlers right now, to those parents 16 does sound grown up, but take it from parents who’ve raised teenagers, there’s a lot 16 years olds don’t know and don’t understand.Oh they’ve got opinions alright, and they know how to strike, and they know how to

All eyes on what incoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will do around 501 deportees. He took a softer stance on key issues throughout the campaign, including opposing the Morrison government's bid to increase 501 deportations 501 Support Advocate and Iwi in Aus co-founder Filipa Payne told Kate Hawkesby the policy has been a point of tension for the past seven years. She says it's had a huge impact on society, and a ghastly impact on the people who have been through the detention centres in Australia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Manchester City clinched a sixth Premier League title in 11 seasons today by scoring three times in five minutes to come from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the finale to avoid being toppled by challenger Liverpool. City was trailing 2-0 to Villa until İlkay Gündoğan began the comeback in the 76th. Rodri equalised two minutes later and Gündoğan put City in front in the 81st. At one point even when City was losing, it was still set to defend the title as Liverpool was only drawing 1-1 to Wolverhampton. But Mohamed Salah then put the second-place side in front in the 84th minute, which would have taken Liverpool into first place had City not mounted its fightback at the Etihad Stadium. Andy Robertson then sealed Liverpool's 3-1 win. Had City conceded a late equaliser, Liverpool would have snatched the trophy away but Pep Guardiola's side held on for the win in a thrilling climax. Pep Guardiola's defense of the trophy was secured on the final day in a more jittery way than expected when City briefly had a 14-

Monkey Pox is not as much of a concern as some might think. The World Health Organisation has identified more than 90 cases of the disease across the US, England, Australia and Canada Belgium has put in place a 21-day quarantine period for people who catch it. Canterbury University Professor of Epidemiology Arindam Basu says told Kate Hawkesby we are in danger of over-hyping this. He says rather than let people panic, we need to say it's a problem, but it's probably not going to kill people like Covid can. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While media were quick to report that a win for Albanese and the independents was a win for climate change and a more liberal approach to governance, I think there was a chunk of voters who just voted for change. In other words – anyone but Morrison. It’s a story the world over and one our government will be acutely aware of.  Regimes who presided over the pandemic, who locked down their citizens, who exerted a lot of power and control over people, are getting tossed out. It's a vote against status quo. People are fed up, they’re sick of fear, sick of feeling anxious, sick of the division. So, in that regard, Morrison had no chance. If you look at Albanese as a campaigner and a candidate for PM, he wasn’t exactly smooth. He botched his way through it, did not work as hard as Morrison, did not know his stuff enough, had a campaign loaded with gaffes. But none of that mattered at the end of the day. Australians clearly didn’t care about the detail or how much the potential new PM knew or didn’t know, they just

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese are doing a last-minute blitz of marginal seats, ahead of tomorrow's Australian election.2GB's Michael McLaren told Kate Hawkesby the vote could still to go either way.“I think it will be closer than opinion polls and in fact a lot of people suggest it might be.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time will tell how many people will actually benefit from changes to help first home buyers.House price caps for the First Home Grant have been lifted in many parts of the country, while the caps for the First Home Loans scheme will be removed entirely.First Home Buyers' Club Director Lesley Harris told Kate Hawkesby the bank's criteria is key.She says they're stress-testing people at a much higher rate, and interest rates are climbing up, there are no guarantees that just because these things are available that people will be able to get the lending.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rare moment of agreement across the political divide as National's Leader says he's supportive of the idea to scrap the school decile system.Christopher Luxon told Kate Hawkesby deciles were too broad.He says what they proposed was to use data which highlights the families who are doing it tough, and schools are allocated money in an anonymised way, based on the families at their school.The Government will implement a new Equity Index to replace the decile system.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of people unsoothed at yesterday's Budget is of course the nurses - who've been crying out for support for ages - yet got nothing.And this comes as our number of Covid deaths passed the milestone of a thousand this week, just as a new round of Covid seems to be slowly taking hold of our colleagues here, and some family and friends too.You can see why the push is on to get flu jabs before winter really kicks in. With the borders opening and international foot traffic increasing, so too will the traffic of new viruses, according to the experts.We know already that in Dunedin there’s a nasty bout of flu plus Covid going around, seeing many students hospitalized because of it. A mate of my son’s studying at Otago reckons it’s the sickest he’s ever felt – in fact he said Covid seemed a breeze compared to the flu he’s got. And this Covid surge happening around us in Auckland at the moment will be the case in other centres too eventually, so it’s something we all need to be aware of.But at the same time, the

New Wellington City Council data suggests the capital is losing its sense of mojo, and the city’s water woes could be to blame. Wellbeing indicators show a sense of community and pride have fallen in the capital over the past four years. Council member Fleur Fitzsimons told Kate Hawkesby the city’s under-investment in water systems is taking a toll. She’s says it’s not uncommon for the water to be out and pipes to be leaking and that Wellingtonians are fed up. The most important thing the council does is bring water into people’s homes, which hasn’t been invested in for years.Fitzsimons says we are now seeing the cost of that. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concern drivers are becoming increasingly cavalier around road works.Road work contractors in Bay of Plenty are reporting an increase in speeds near their vehicles, raising major safety concerns.Three road workers were killed near Whakatane in 2019 in a truck crash at a work site.AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said it's no surprise to hear motorists are ignoring the temporary speed signs, and its been a long-standing issue.“My experience is it’s very seldom that people get down to that 30km/h level if they’re going through an active worksite.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Salvation Army says getting housing under control is the first step towards solving deeper poverty issues.It's calling for a mix of immediate rent assistance and longer term efforts to get people into affordable housing in today's Budget.Senior Policy Analyst Paul Barber says clothing and food for struggling children are essentials.He told Kate Hawkesby we need to be bolder.Barber says we should be trying to eradicate child poverty before the 2028 goal.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s the big day and I can’t help feeling the Government is going to miss the mark here given their obsessive focus on climate change and Māori health. Add to that their inability to listen, or tune into where the real world is at, and you’ve got a cocktail for disappointment for the average New Zealander. But then again, it feels like the average New Zealander is not in their sights at all, in general. The ‘squeezed middle’ as the opposition calls them, are used to being ignored by this government by now.But none of that excuses what will likely happen today. Which will be billions sheeted to climate, and hundreds of millions to Māori heath. This country is in dire straits. The labour market is a shambles, immigration is stuck and faltering, inflation’s through the roof, we have a cost of living crisis, there’s no growth, we’re forecasted for a recession and house prices are flagged to tank.There’s social division and disharmony, crime is surging, young people are outsmarting Police, we have 15 year olds