Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Banks are starting to lift mortgage and deposit rates following last week's OCR hike.Kiwibank has lifted its headline rate for a two-year fixed mortgage to 5.19 per cent and ANZ has signalled changes to its interest rates.Mortgage broker Marcus Hull told Kate Hawkesby people are feeling the pinch.People look to tighten the belt and find ways to do a better budget, so brokers are seeing an increase in demand for their services.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is confidence the Government's moves to tackle the supermarket duopoly will increase competition.It's matched 12 of the 14 Commerce Commission recommendations,  and gone further on two of them.It's going to do annual competition checks on supermarkets instead of the report's suggested checks every three years.Night 'n Day is our third biggest grocery retailer, and General Manager Matthew Lane told Kate Hawkesby the yearly check-ups make sense.He says it will keep the supermarkets on notice, and ensure they're following the rules.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems all those Kiwis wanting to bail and go live and work overseas are having trouble even getting on flights.A travel agency was reported yesterday saying flights are just so hard to get. “We have so many people wanting to leave the country to work abroad but there just aren't any seats on direct flights to the USA or to Australia until the end of July," the agent was reported saying. And we know this first hand, one of our kids is headed to the US but securing a flight is proving tricky - and expensive. There are barely any seats, and what is there will cost you an arm and a leg. Not great for young people who’re already going to almost halve their savings when they convert their currency anyway. Leaving New Zealand is proving very costly.Part of it is air capacity – we still don’t have enough. Many of the carriers who were here back in the good old pre-Covid days have not come back yet, and despite all Air New Zealand’s promises of putting on extra flights, there’s still a woeful lack of them.So, young

We want to bring your attention to the idea of 3D printed schools.Thinking Huts, a non-profit dedicated to making education more accessible, has just opened a 3D printed school in Madagascar.The most amazing bit? Founder and CEO Maggie Grout is just 22-years-old.Maggie Grout joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those of you who don’t live in Auckland, I’ll just paint a picture of my weekend so you get the gist.Saturday we go to lunch at a suburban café, sitting outside, minding our own business, eating lunch, and this extremely large woman – I’m telling you about her size because it’s significant in terms of what she said. She’s extremely large, and she walks slowly and unevenly - seemingly struggling to carry her own weight. And she comes right up to our table, leans in close to us, interrupts and says: “Can you help me?” We are sitting there thinking what are we helping her with? Directions? Is she lost? She says, “I need money… I need money for food, I haven’t eaten in a week or two, my family hasn’t eaten either, we need money.”So my first thought is that she doesn’t look like she hasn’t eaten in a week or two, but also, is it one week or two? Like there’s a big difference there if you’re starving for one week versus two. You’d probably know exactly, so for a couple of reasons her story doesn’t add up. I tel

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez held on to win today's rain-marred and chaotic Monaco Grand Prix.The race was red flagged after Mick Schumacher slammed into the barriers at the swimming pool area in a scary incident.Schumacher lost control of his car and his Haas car split in half, such was the impact of the crash.Thankfully he walked away from the incident unharmed.

Tear gas fired indiscriminately around children and the elderly. Pepper spray unleashed at close-range on frustrated fans. Ticket holders blamed for delaying kickoff when they’d spent hours trying to enter the stadium in bottlenecks in tight spaces.Liverpool supporters have been defending themselves against accusations by French authorities they were responsible for the unrest at the Champions League final amid overcrowding outside the Stade de France caused by operational failings on Saturday.The British government called the treatment of the fans "deeply concerning."UEFA officials spent the hours after Liverpool lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in talks about the chaotic scenes that delayed the start of the final for 37 minutes in the biggest club match of the year.Even as the final started, riot police were firing rounds of tear gas immediately outside the stadium doors into wide open spaces to disperse any lingering people around Gate U.The French ministers for the interior and sports blamed ticketless Liverpool f

Kiwis who came home at the beginning of the Covid outbreak are now taking a one-way ticket back overseas.Some reasons are believed to be employers being closed off to the idea of global experience and recruiters not being able to translate people's specific skills to roles here.Tribe Recruitment's Sarah White told Kate Hawkesby many people who came home when the pandemic struck weren't in a position to properly settle back into New Zealand.“They can’t put their roots down like a lot of people have here, so it’s best to go back overseas, do a couple of years and come back with a bit more in the bank.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hard not to feel helpless, and a whole lot more, watching the news stories out of Ukraine.There is something you can do to show solidarity that won't break the bank and there's something in it for you.You have the opportunity to see a film, or a couple of films, even a Ukrainian film in Auckland.The Ukrainian Film Festival starts this weekend in Devonport.Filmmaker Dasha Volga joined Tim Dower.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Disagreement between National and the construction industry, over the pressures facing the industry.The recent liquidation of Tauranga's Oceanside Homes and Wellington's Armstrong Downes has exposed the pressures the multi-billion dollar industry is under.But Construction Industry Council Chair Graham Burke told Tim Dower talking about a recession, is the right way to go about making one happen.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacinda Ardern has taken a swipe at keyboard warriors.The Prime Minister gave the commencement speech at Harvard this morning, speaking to roughly 8,000 graduates and their families.A key theme of her speech was rallying against misinformation and calling out social media to do its part to shut it down.She also took a swipe at those who deliberately peddle misinformation, the 'keyboard warriors'.Jacinda Ardern says when she sees abusive comments online she imagines it's written by a lone person unacquainted with personal hygiene practices, dressed in a poorly fitting super hero costume.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I really feel for these guys throwing in the towel on their construction businesses, there's been a spate in the past couple of weeks.Most recently, not a big one, a firm in Tauranga but bad enough if you're one of the creditors, who won't be seeing any of that half million shortfall.Since the start of the year, nearly 100 construction companies have gone unde, .nearly 1 in five of all business failures.When your company folds with a half a million shortfall that's pretty devastating.It has a ripple effect; the suppliers and the taxman and workers and all the others who don't get paid.But the likelihood is that's gonna be a Mum and Pop sized operation, so what you don't see is the impact on them, their money is the first to go.The house might well be on the line, other assets too. The wheels, the tools and any cash the business owes them, all gone.The half-point hike in the OCR comes as no surprise, but it'll be a death knell for some.These businesses are the canaries in the coal mine, just think back a year

New guidelines for school uniforms are being praised as a step in the right direction .The Human Rights Commission has released non-binding standards, to help schools align their policies with the Bill of Rights.It includes consistency with the Treaty of Waitangi and consideration of non-gendered uniforms.Otago University public health researcher Johanna Reidy told Kate Hawkesby treating everyone the same, isn’t treating everyone fairly.She says these guidelines help create uniforms that are inclusive and flexible.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A differing of opinions from Auckland's mayoral candidates, on the latest spate of gang activity in Auckland.Police have been called to about a dozen gang incidents in recent days.It includes seven gang shootings on Tuesday night, and two firearms incidents in Mellons Bay and Massey last night.Viv Beck says told Kate Hawkesby she wants a tough, urgent response from law enforcement.“We’ve got to have much stronger Police presence, we’ve got to have the resource focused on the right things.”Leo Molloy says the shootings need to be considered in context.“This latest little spate is a one-off between two gangs with a deeply entrenched hatred for eachother.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police say they’re disgusted by the shootings happening in Auckland. They can join the club, we all are.And although it’s believed to be gangs feuding in some kind of reignited turf war, two of the houses shot at had no gang links whatsoever, Police revealed.How disturbing, and as Police say, disgusting. Police also say they’ll be increasing their presence in the area, they’re worried it’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured or killed. The community is worried too and rightly so. The question is – how did it even get this far? And the answer to that, sadly, is it got this far because it was able to.Gangs have not been stood up to for the bullies, criminals and reprobates they are. They have been pandered to and curried favour with, and time and time again been given the benefit of the doubt by a naïve government soft on crime. I’m not interested in these gang members back stories and how tough their childhoods’ may have been, or whatever other excuses are being offered up, they’re not

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.