Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A lot of anticipation for Prince Harry’s tell-all book out later this year.It’s now being alleged he may go for Prince Charles and Camilla in the memoir.One royal author says Harry can’t stand Camilla and takes issue with her becoming queen.It’s also alleged that he’ll touch on his rift with his brother Prince William.Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Leclerc has completed a dominant weekend in his Ferrari after converting his pole position into a comprehensive triumph in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.The 24-year-old Leclerc extended his lead in the drivers' championship while claiming his second win of the season following victory in the season-opening race in Bahrain.Leclerc was able to hold off Red Bull rival Max Verstappen during the opening laps and defended well mid-race under safety car conditions to pull away for a decisive 20.524-second victory.Sergio Perez overcame a slow start to take second ahead of the Mercedes' combination of George Russell, who secured his first podium finish for the season, and Lewis Hamilton.McLaren pair Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth.Verstappen, the world champion, endured another frustrating race when a mechanical failure ended his hopes while he was running second 39 laps into the 58-lap race.Verstappen, who was clearly disappointed after the race, never really challenged Lecler

So as we slide towards the Easter break this week there will be many in tourism and hospo keeping their fingers and toes crossed that this week sees the long-awaited move to the Orange Traffic Light.Remember at the last announcement of a possible announcement we were told we’d get another update this week? Thursday the Pulpit of Truth will be returned to, for more conjecture on the state of our Covid situation. Which to be frank surely can’t be pumped up to be anything more than what it currently is – a declining trend – even the experts are saying we’ve passed the peak. We are seeing record low case numbers at the moment.So given that, surely nothing but good news is coming our way? I’m not going to be as naively optimistic as I was last time; I made the classic mistake of overestimating the government and underestimating their abundance of caution routine. I thought they’d have a bit more heart, I thought they’d read the room, but no, I got that horribly wrong.So the obvious thing to do this week of course

Ukraine's President says his country is bracing for a "hard battle" to come in eastern Ukraine.Volodymyr Zelenskyy says while everyone would like to see a diplomatic end to the war, Ukrainians are ready to stand their ground.Officials are urging civilians to flee eastern regions, particularly the south-eastern Donbas region.Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby there's now a race to get weapons to the region to fend off an incoming convoy of Russian soldiers.“Certainly, aerial footage shows a massive amount of troops gathering, making their way to that south-eastern region.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former senior Labour MP says the party's treatment of Louisa Wall looks bad for Labour.The outgoing MP told TVNZ's Q+A programme that Jacinda Ardern said she would never be a cabinet minister under her leadership.She says she often felt unwelcome in the party.Peter Dunne left Labour to set up United Future and told Kate Hawkesby what Wall's saying doesn't reflect the party's stated values.“The Labour Party says it’s inclusive. The Labour Party says it tolerates the diversity of viewpoints being expressed. None of these things tends to apply in Louisa Wall’s case.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced plans to build more nuclear power plants, boost renewable energy production and further tap domestic oil and gas reserves to help the U.K. reduce its dependence on Russian energy following the invasion of Ukraine.Critics quickly panned Johnson’s energy security strategy for focusing almost entirely on boosting supplies while doing little to increase energy efficiency and cut demand. As a result, they said, the plan offers no relief to consumers pummeled by soaring utility bills and risks undermining Britain’s commitment to cut carbon emissions in response to global warming.“This takes the U.K. backwards not forwards,” said Professor Matthew Paterson, an expert in the politics of climate change at the University of Manchester. “It is a knee-jerk response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that goes back to old, tired solutions focused on expanding energy supply, and does so in ways that contradict the U.K.’s climate strategy.”Johnson announced the strategy thr

Questions over whether the current Police Minister is up to the job.New figures show police response times have risen in almost every part of the country over the past five years and tripled in some regions.Minister Poto Williams responded by saying it's an operational matter and Covid-19 was playing a big part. Former minister National's Paula Bennett told Kate Hawkesby Williams needs to be doing more to address the wait times, increasing gang numbers and violent crime.“There’s a whole lot of laws and leadership that she could be showing that we’re not seeing. Instead, she hides through her Commissioner from scrutiny and denies that there’s even a problem.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consumers are hoping to weed out the rotten eggs in the chocolate industry this Easter.The annual Chocolate Scorecard study surveyed 38 confectionary companies across the world.They found more and more are trying to improve ethically sourcing ingredients and their environmental impact.Be Slavery Free co-director Fuzz Kitto told Kate Hawkesby there's pressure on the companies to act.“Consumers are more and more aware and are wanting ethically sourced cocoa and chocolates.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not averse to banning fizzy drinks in schools. I know many schools have already done it, some schools even have a water-only policy for drink bottles, and that all happened without too much pushback. There was, a few years ago, a big push to clear out tuck shops of all junk food too. Remember in the bad old days when we could get donuts, pies, Chelsea buns with icing, hot chips? Those days were brought to a grinding halt off the back of the good food movement and around the same time Jamie Oliver was busy trying to clean up school lunches in the UK. The sanitising of tuck shop food got more push back than the drinks did, but kids seem to have adapted and like all things, over time it becomes all they know.Younger generations will never know their school tuck shop used to serve sugar-laden carbs dripping in icing, or deep-fried treats. So I’m not sure what the holdup is with fizzy drinks. I know there’s the ‘don’t demonise food’ brigade, and the “don't tell us what to do” brigade, (I'm in that brigade actu

Rules requiring local body candidates to put residential addresses on campaign advertisements are being described as outdated.Stories of harassment towards public figures, particularly women, are rising.They come as we head towards local body elections in October.Waitaki Deputy Mayor Melanie Tavendale, who's not standing for re-election, told Kate Hawkesby it feels like an invasion of privacy.“I had a very young family when I first stood and you didn’t like the idea of people that could be quite grumpy if they’re turning up on your front doorstep in front of your family. It’s not ideal.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time yesterday I was talking about the disconnect between Wellington and Auckland and how much of an echo chamber it is; how out of touch they are. I referenced the way Ashley Bloomfield had dismissively written off the red light as no big deal. He seemed dismissive and over it, and just a few hours later we learned why.  He’s going. And who can blame him? I get it. Who wouldn't be over it by now? For a while now we’ve been saying how tired he looked, how sick of the politics he looked, and maybe he’s figured out he just doesn’t need all that stress anymore. That explains why he may’ve been so dismissive. What a relentless couple of years working that closely and that intensely with the Labour party for that long, that would surely take its toll on anyone.  He was quick to rule out any future in politics when asked and that’s completely understandable. If you think about his role, as a public servant, he was never supposed to get that politicised anyway, but the past two years of such a close working rel

Changes coming up in the health sector are thought to be part of the reason why Ashley Bloomfield's resigned. The Director-General of Health, Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay, and her deputy, are all leaving the Ministry of Health. The DHB model's set to be replaced in July. Health commentator, Ian Powell, told Kate Hawkesby Bloomfield's wrong when he says it's a good time to go in terms of Covid, but the restructure would reduce his role in the funding of health services. “I do know, to his credit, that Ashley Bloomfield has made it known to his political masters that he has reservations about that, various reservations.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Biden has announced more sanctions on Russia – including Putin’s two adult daughters? And Oklahoma has moved closer to passing a near-total ban on abortion? US correspondent Katherine Firkin joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns there's no regulation when it comes to ordering alcohol, vaping products, and tobacco through online delivery platforms. A study shows the pandemic's created a surge in people buying these products – with little oversight from the government. One of the co-authors, Hannah Miles, from the University of Otago Christchurch's Population Health Department, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A security expert says New Zealand may have too little weaponry to send to Ukraine.  The Defence Minister has asked Cabinet to send anti-tank missiles and lethal support over, but his request's been declined.  Victoria University Centre for Strategic Studies' Jim Rolfe told Kate Hawkesby one reason could be a group in Cabinet prefers non-lethal support. “Another possible thought is that the numbers we have are quite small really, and it might look as if a little bit derisory to be sending tens of weapons rather than hundreds or thousands that other countries can send.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flights are being cancelled in the UK due to staff shortages. Two “stolen” notebooks written by Charles Darwin have been mysteriously returned. UK and Europe correspondent Gavin Grey joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Workers at Countdown are unhappy with the supermarket's plan to change their Covid-19 leave policy. Countdown had allowed staff to use extra leave instead of using their sick leave when they have to isolate due to covid. But now it wants workers to use their sick leave first instead. Other companies have made these same changes including Fletcher Buildings. First Union organiser Ragda Hassan joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The entrance to Wellington's Embassy Theatre is to be restored to its former glory.  The project's being financed by former mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast and his husband – former Wellington City Council member – Rex Nicholls. They've loaned the Embassy Theatre Trust just over a million dollars to get the job done.  Nicholls told Kate Hawkesby the theatre's already magnificent on the inside. Nicholls expects there'll be a bit of pushback to the digital billboard, but says it's for the public benefit. “We’re lending the money to spend to build the entrance foyer the way it was in 1925, and then we’re putting a big digital ad up on top of the building and that will pay us a rent.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I thought Ashley Bloomfield said something quite revealing on Mike’s show yesterday about where the hospital system is at. We know there are more than 700 people in hospital with Covid related illnesses but that’s not in hospital because of Covid – that’s in hospital with Covid related illnesses. Unfortunately, Bloomfield said they don’t know specifically the breakdown on how many of those are in which category, but he said roughly about 30 to 40 percent of people across the Auckland-Waikato region are in hospital not because of Covid, but with it. In other words, it’s incidental to their sickness. On top of that, hospital numbers are actually coming down. And yes, we can ask the obvious questions around why on earth they didn’t fix the health system over the past two years, and why they didn’t staff the health sector properly, and it’s not just this government, it’s a cumulative problem. But here’s the key. It’s not under pressure exclusively due to Covid.  Bloomfield admitted it’s under huge pressure even w

Looks like the Government’s back to listening to Rod Jackson.I started the week so optimistically yesterday. I was so full of hope that we’d be going to an orange light, after all, we’re through the peak, especially in Auckland, we’re largely double vaxxed and boosted, we’re still in masks, we’ve done everything we’ve been asked to do.. but nope, we’re staying in red.I just don’t know when this Government will be able to give up their Covid micro management and all the PR and media time it affords them. I can see it is getting increasingly difficult for them to let it go. I mean here we are again spending another week angsting and dissecting more Covid framework decisions that are drip fed to us in little increments of time from their beloved podium of truth.Adding in another review period – before Easter and before the school holidays, just keeps us all on tenterhooks, keeps the Government in control and at its podium, keeps the media focused on their Covid response – and while we’re focusing on that we’re n