Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

India have fallen agonisingly short of the World Cup semifinals, being beaten on the last ball by South Africa to hand a playoff place to the West Indies.After England earlier secured their semifinal spot by completing a remarkable turnaround with victory over Bangladesh, India were left with a simple equation: beat South Africa and their tournament would continue.But having racked up 274-7 batting first against a South African side who had already sealed a second-place finish, India were barely unable to defend that total at Hagley Oval tonight.Mignon du Preez capped an unbeaten half century by hitting the winning run from the final delivery, having survived an apparent dismissal off a no ball earlier in a dramatic final over.As a result, the watching West Indies were able to celebrate passage to the World Cup semifinals for just the second time. To the semi-finals WI go!!!!! #CWC22 #TeamWestIndies pic.twitter.com/OHRr7vPpcT— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) March 27, 2022 The West Indies, who finished f

Last time Phil Goff was on the show was when he announced he was departing as Auckland's Mayor. I asked him about heading off to London for the High Commissioner gig. He denied it. He batted it away as something he wasn’t even considering.But now we know that’s exactly what he’s doing. And maybe the fact he’s been packing his bags for London explains why he’s seemed so absent of late in his role as leader of the Super City. I like Phil Goff, I’ve said it before, I once even voted for him as Mayor, but he’s been largely ineffectual in the role, and actually quite a letdown to Aucklanders. Having said that. I don’t begrudge him the London gig. He’s actually very well suited to that kind of cushy cruisey cocktail party job. He’s got all the attributes - he’s convivial, chatty, friendly, diplomatic, and well steeped in issues that may arise at that level. He was extremely well regarded as our Foreign Minister once upon a time, very experienced, and probably doesn’t get enough credit for driving through the China

Newstalk ZB has discovered it’s getting more expensive to keep prisoners behind bar.It costs us an extra $140 million since 2018/19 — up from $1.1 to $1.3 billion.It also costs more per prisoner — each person behind bars costs about $150,000 per year, a 20 per cent increase.All of this while the prison population has decreased by 25 per cent in the same time period.Barrister and visiting justice in prisons Lady Heeni Phillips-Williams told Kate Hawkesby the Government needs to provide answers on how exactly money is being spent.“It appears to me that money is being splashed about with no accountability.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LA is preparing for its first Academy Awards with no pandemic restrictions in three years.The ceremony starts at 1 this afternoon, with New Zealand director Dame Jane Campion's Netflix film, Power of the Dog, up for 12 nominations.It will be hosted by three women for the first time - Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall.LA entertainment reporter Kristyn Burtt told Kate Hawkesby there's hope there's more interest in this year's awards than last year’s.“The Academy has invited Instagram influencers. They will be backstage at the show, they’ll be on the red carpet, so if you look on social media you’ll see a lot of coverage from the younger generation.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So tonight, the big Moana Pasifika game, just hours before the restrictions lift that could’ve seen bigger crowds attend. Seems crazy that they just miss out by a short timeframe, midnight Friday, when they surely could have let a bigger crowd gather at Mt Smart tonight. So, two of this weekend’s Super Rugby games can be held without restrictions on size, but tonight’s won’t be. But are fans ready to embrace the crowd thing again? Who's actually going? Are people ready for crowds? Or will they still freak out? I mean Eden Park seats 50,000 but I doubt that’ll be a full house. Yes, there’ll be excitement to see games live again, but how many will commit to sitting shoulder to shoulder in a large setting?  I mean I hope it’s a good number. For the teams and players, to get the atmosphere back, to get the hype back, the sense of normality we’ve all been missing. Crowds back watching games – I mean let’s hope come July we are all back to packed tournaments and good well-supported games, winter bugs permitting. Su

There are hopes pay transparency legislation will show New Zealand cares about equality. The Government's looking at a law that would make companies reveal their gender pay gaps publicly. It's also considering requiring companies to post starter salaries in job ads.  Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Karanina Sumeo told Kate Hawkesby if we want to close the gap reporting needs to be mandatory.  She says overseas examples show that if it's not enforced, there's no incentive for companies to fix them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Overnight, world leaders have been in Brussels for a round of emergency summits of NATO, the European Council and the G7. This comes as they seek to align their responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy has pleaded with NATO to send a fraction of their combined firepower. Former senior director of the United States National Security Council Stephen Flanagan joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So good news for sport lovers this weekend. From midnight tonight, there will be no gathering limits on outdoor events. This means for the Super Rugby season, they can finally have spectators at the games again. One of this weekend's games is Blues vs Highlanders at Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin. Business development manager at Dunedin Venues Kim Dodds joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I said yesterday that I thought the PM would use the opportunity to bang on about two years of Covid and our response and sure as eggs, she did. Is anyone still buying into this – as John Key rightly called it, ‘dog and pony show?’  Is anyone still subscribing to the PR spin and bollocks that’s spewing out of these press conferences? I mean I know dyed in the wool Jacinda lovers, like my mother, will forever – no matter what she does or says – applaud her every word, but seriously, it’s getting beyond a joke. Yesterday we needed a specific piece of information. Media gathered, dutifully and diligently, to hear this information and pass it on. Radio stations paused programming to live stream it, newspaper websites ran it live and what we wanted and needed was the info. Two minutes worth of info. What we got instead, was a self-indulgent almost half hour monologue of the Labour party patting itself on the back. It’s taking the piss. Since when do media tolerate this? Why do we acquiesce to it? This Government h

Vaccine mandates are ending for teachers at 11.59pm on April 4. 1400 teachers lost their jobs due to the mandate, but will soon be able to apply for jobs again as normal. That's just in time for winter, when the teacher and reliever shortage really begins to hammer home due to sickness. PPTA president, Melanie Webber joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand has announced it is starting it's non-stop flights from Auckland and New York in September. It will be one of the longest flights in the world, taking around 16 hours. But government and Air New Zealand say American tourists are the key to our tourism recovery. Aviation commentator Irene King joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflation is just one problem businesses are dealing with at the moment. Finance Minister Grant Robertson is signalling another 2.5 percent rise in inflation if Russia's invasion of Ukraine lasts a year. Inflation is already at a three-decade high. Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett says it's on top of an increase in the minimum wage from the end of next week. He told Kate Hawkesby unemployment is also down, meaning salaries will go up, and someone will have to pay. Barnett says with immigration not feeding skills shortages, that's going to be a massive problem. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is starting a mental health nursing recruitment drive, funding registered nurses to specialise in mental health.  It's also announced two more apps that kiwis can download for free to help with mental health support.  These announcements came on the same day as a damning report by the mental health and wellbeing commission calling for transformation in the sector.  Dr. Angela Lim, the CEO of an online mental health platform Clearhead joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At almost 96 years old, I can understand the Queen feeling frail, and with the family she’s got, and the headaches they’ve given her over the past few years, it’s nothing short of a miracle that she’s still in such good health. How good though? That’s the burning question at the moment.  There are many conflicting reports about her mobility. Some say she’s using a wheelchair, that she struggles to move around and that she’s unable to stand for long periods of time. Royal sources say they’re pacing her diary now. Not before time. I know she’s committed herself to a lifetime of service, and she’s dedicated to the bitter end, but surely at almost 96 years old and having lost your husband, you could forgive her just taking it easy now.  I’d love her to just have a cup of tea and a lie down, but either she, or those she surrounds herself with, seem adamant she keeps working. That’s seemingly becoming physically quite a challenge now though, and word is she’s too proud to be seen in a wheelchair for fear it makes h

A new report by an Auckland University think tank is suggesting an overhaul of the city's governance and funding structures. Waitakere representative Linda Cooper says under the Supercity structure, there's one sort of united region, which helps get Government funding for things like the Central Rail Link. But she told Kate Hawkesby we've lost that local connection. Cooper says everyone had a mayor, knew who to talk to and could chat to their councillor at the supermarket. She says it feels a lot more distant these days. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m just wondering if, when the PM announces they’re dropping mandates and vaccine passes, they could also drop the scaremongering epidemiologists? Seriously, can we please retire them?  The hysteria is over, the peak is passing, in the grand total of two years of this pandemic, fewer than ten percent of New Zealanders actually caught Covid, many more had their lives disrupted and damaged in ways some may never get over. We need to draw a line in the sand. I’d love to know if the hysterical headlines are still getting the clicks. Is anyone even interested in reading or hearing from these guys anymore? Yesterday’s drama from Rod Jackson was that hospitals were overwhelmed, that it’s too soon to drop mandates.  Spoiler alert – the hospitals are not overwhelmed, a point even Jackson conceded, the health sector is actually coping, which is what other health professionals including Saint Ashley himself say too. They were probably under worse stress with RSV last year. We had an employment lawyer on the show yester

A prediction New Zealand will provide military aid to Ukraine in the near future. The Government is giving an extra $5 million to sure up fuel supplies, rations and medical kits.  The Defence Force is offering just over a thousand body armour plates and around 500 each of helmets and camouflage vests. Otago University's Professor Robert Patman says what Russia's doing in Ukraine is a huge challenge to the rules-based international order. He says there's a growing realisation the rest of the world has to communicate to the Putin regime that this is unacceptable, and New Zealand has to do its bit. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Act Party says New Zealand is out of step with its traditional allies, and should show a united front. The Government is stepping up support to Ukraine with an extra $5 million to bolster the supply of fuel, rations and medical kits.  The Defence Force is offering just over a thousand body armour plates, and around 500 each of helmets and camouflage vests. Act leader David Seymour told Kate Hawkesby New Zealand can't afford to be apart from the rest of the free world, which is being challenged in a Cold War-esque way. He says it's brutal and awful, and we need to start confronting it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A couple of students from Massey University have developed technology to help farmers monitor their cow's health. Their start-up Protag has developed small device clips that go onto a cow's ear, from there it transmits important data to farmers about the cow's health. They've raised $1m from investors to fast-track the development of the ear tag sensors. Co-founder of Protag Tyrel Glass joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a “turning point for the world,” arguing that a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces would herald “a new age of intimidation.”But the British leader was accused by opponents of making a crass comparison by likening Ukraine’s fight against invasion to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.Speaking to a Conservative Party conference in Blackpool, northwest England, Johnson claimed Putin was “terrified” that the example of a free Ukraine would spark a pro-democracy revolution in Russia.“That is why he is trying so brutally to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine and that’s why it is so vital that he fails,” Johnson said.“A victorious Putin will not stop in Ukraine. And the end of freedom in Ukraine will mean the extinction of any hope of freedom in Georgia and then Moldova, it will mean the beginning of a new age of intimidation across Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea,” Johnson said.Joh