Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Competition is being touted as a possible answer to banks' climate informed decisions.   NZ First Minister Shane Jones has spoken out against several banks' attempts to reduce lending and services to fossil fuel businesses - decisions he says are driven by "unelected climate apostles".   Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Richard McIntyre told Andrew Dickens that if new legislation came forward, he would like businesses to have other options.   He says that if banks decide they're the moral police of the country, there needs to be enough competition so that those they decline can get lending elsewhere.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Thursday the 30th of January. The government is lowering speed limits across the country. Viastrada's Glenn Koorey says it makes sense in some places, but does go against the evidence that roads with lower speeds are safer. Shane Jones has fired off at banks for their attempts to reduce lending and services to fossil fuel business and is understood to have a members bill in the works. Auckland has seen nine rubbish truck fires in just the first months of the year. Are Aucklanders putting the right things in the bin? Get the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced the reversal of speed limit reductions on a large number of New Zealand roads, including many in the northern regions of the country. The move will result in speed limits being increased on 38 sections of key routes, including parts of State Highway 1 in Northland, SH16 near Auckland and SH3 in Hamilton. Also on the list are changes to SH2 between Featherston and Masterton, and SH3 Whanganui. Making the announcement in Wairarapa, where the speed limit increase will save drivers around three minutes on their journey, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said: “It all adds up - that is productivity and growth.” Viastrada Certified Safe System Assessor and Level Crossing Safety Impact Assessor Glenn Koorey says the move goes against evidence that lower speeds make for safer roads, but there are some areas where putting the limit up can be justified. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's beggars belief these days when we report that it's hard to make money in a GP practice and that we don't have enough doctors. Primary medical care is the most important care, forget your fancy specialists and rock star surgeons. If your GP can spot and fix a problem as it begins then you can save your life and save the nation a ton on costs down the line so the health of our primary health sector should be of primary importance. But it hasn't been. We've added a million people through immigration over the past 10 years and we've also been creating new New Zealanders ourselves while our numbers of doctors per head of population has plummeted. There's two ways to get new doctors. One way to find them is to import them but that's necessarily difficult because not every Tom Dick and Harry who say they're doctors are in fact doctors. The other way is to train them ourselves and in that area we've been woefully short on numbers. I don't know why, you'd think our doctor training would increase in line with

The UK’s population is set to skyrocket.  Net migration is expected to increase the population to 72.5 million in the next seven years – an addition of almost ten million people.  UK Correspondent Gail Downey told Andrew Dickens the statistics also reveal that almost 5 million people are leaving the country to live elsewhere.  She says the government wants to bring down the high migration levels, but won't put an arbitrary cap on the number of people coming in.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech stocks have been taking a hammering after the debut of DeepSeek.  The Chinese tech firm has created a budget AI model said to be cheaper and more efficient than the other models on the market.  It sent the stocks of Nasdaq and NVIDIA tumbling – Nasdaq falling about 3% and NVIDIA plummeting more than 16%.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Andrew Dickens that the market has already recovered about half the drop.  He says everyone is now trying to get a handle on how big AI is and the amount of money they want to invest in it.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wondering when a shipment will turn up in New Zealand may hopefully be a thing of the past.   A collaboration has been announced between two of the world's largest shipping companies - Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk Gemini Cooperation.  Port of Auckland Chief Executive Roger Gray told Andrew Dickens the initiative may mean delivery takes longer across multiple ships, but it will also see cargo moved more reliably on a better schedule.  He says importers and exporters will benefit from the schedule reliability, adding not knowing when cargo will arrive has been one of their biggest complaints.   It's also expected to drive down freight prices.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 28th of January. People on the visitor visa will be allowed to work remotely while in New Zealand in an aim to increase time and money spent in the country. Tourism Export Council Chief Executive Lynda Keene joins the show to discuss how it will work. A new study says less than $500,000 is needed on top of superannuation to live comfortably as a retiree - is it really enough? Superannuation expert Jonathan Eriksen speaks to Roman. Students will be heading back to the classroom this week, but Kidscan say thousands will start the new school year without the essentials. Get the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve been watching a lot of the late night shows this week from America on YouTube.  Fallon, Kimmel and Colbert, all of them have used the same joke - “oh my god... it’s only been a week”  And then the audience cheers or laughs or boos or cries, or more likely all of that, all at once because what a week it's been. The second golden era of Trump kicked off and he started doing things, brilliant things. Colombia won’t take deportees, so hit them with killer tariffs and economic sanctions that take hold in a week.  Within 12 hours Colombia folded. Crisis over, back to work, business as usual. That was just one day. A short crisis is so much better than a long festering one where nothing happens. Or take the ceasefire in Gaza. Trump said call a ceasefire, rebuild Gaza.    Well you know that’s what everyone wants. Jewish, Arab and American construction tycoons - because there’s peace and money there.  Gaza may be rebuilt as Israeli condos or Palestinian homes with or without Arab mon

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has suggested National may take asset sales to the next election but denies there are any immediate plans for a sell-off. Act’s David Seymour says it’s time to debate whether some government assets should be sold off if they aren’t delivering returns. Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis on Monday said Treasury had identified some areas where entities were not delivering “as well as it should” and more would be said in the future. Infrastructure NZ Chief Executive Nick Leggett says New Zealand is falling behind on infrastructure and asset sales are needed to bring us back in line with other countries and improve assets we currently have. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expert is backing a recent recommendation that retirees need a decent amount of money to top up their superannuation.  New Expenditure Guidelines have found less than $500 thousand in savings is enough for most over-65s.   Superannuation and Super Fund expert Jonathan Eriksen told Roman Travers a nest egg is required to top up superannuation.  He says Massey University's half a million dollar figure is right, adding if people want a bit more luxury for holidays, a million is probably needed.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The leader of a kids charity says it's a bleak situation for some families heading into the school year.   KidsCan, which offers schools help with uniforms and food, has 70 schools on its wait list.   Chief executive Dame Julie Chapman told Roman Travers that 20 of those have applied since the middle of last year. She says they're already supporting kids in more than 1,100 schools and early learning centres.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 28th of January. People on the visitor visa will be allowed to work remotely while in New Zealand in an aim to increase time and money spent in the country. Tourism Export Council Chief Executive Lynda Keene joins the show to discuss how it will work and when we will see an increase in tourists. A new study says less than $500,000 is needed on top of superannuation to live comfortably as a retiree - is it really enough? Superannuation expert Jonathan Eriksen speaks to Roman. Students will be heading back to the classroom this week, but Kidscan say thousands will start the new school year without the essentials. Get the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tourists in Aotearoa on the visitor visa will soon be able to work remotely while here. The change is targeting 'digital nomads', people employed by overseas companies here to holiday and work at the same time, in the hope they will spend more time and money in the country. Tourism is currently New Zealand's second largest export and the latest visitor numbers from Stats NZ show in November 2024 we reached 86% of pre-Covid levels. Chief Executive of the Tourism Export Council Lynda Keene welcomes the move, saying it will help get us closer to pre-Covid numbers, but more should have been done sooner. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s great to see the coalition government looking at every way possible in order to maximize the New Zealand economy.    Yesterday, a bunch of important government ministers stood near the arrival gates of Wellington Airport, to reinforce the news regarding the loosening of visa requirements for overseas visitors, who want to tour New Zealand while working remotely for their employer at home.   This is a copy and paste of what other countries have successfully implemented. Essentially, what are known as ’digital nomads’, will include visitors like IT specialists, as long as they are not receiving any income from New Zealand sources.   It would also extend to social media influencers — provided they were being paid by overseas companies.   These changes will apply to all visitor visas, including tourists and people visiting family.   Visitor visas can be extended for up to nine months, although the ministers warned that working in New Zealand for more than 90 days could require them t

At least 50 properties have been damaged in Mangawhai following the tornado that ripped through the Northland town over the weekend.  Two people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.  MP for Northland Grant McCallum has been in Mangawhai witnessing the damage and joins the show to give an update on the situation.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Europe's busiest airport may be adding a new wing, as the Chancellor suggests the possibility of a third runway at Heathrow.  An announcement is expected next week for the London airport, as part of plans to boost the UK economy.  Clean up is underway across the UK and Ireland after storms left millions of people without power. Two people died in separate incidents when their cars were hit by falling trees. UK and Europe Correspondent Gail Downey joins the show to discuss these issues and the second storm heading their way.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Open finals saw the women's world number one beaten, and Italian Jannik Sinner take home the men's division prize.  Auckland FC have secured yet another win, this time against Western Sydney.  ZB sports editor Elliott Smith joins the show to discuss the major sports news over the weekend.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition Full Show Podcast for Monday the 27th of January. Northland MP Grant McCallum has the latest on the Mangawhai tornado. The start of 80 hours of hearings on the Treaty Principles Bill starts today. Lady Tureiti Moxon shares her views ahead of giving an oral submission later today. The Australian open has wrapped up and Auckland FC win against Western Sydney. Elliott Smith has your weekend sport wrap. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oral hearings for the treaty principles bill get underway today, marking the start of 80 hours worth of hearings over the course of a month. Author of the bill and Act party leader David Seymour will be the first to give his submission later this morning. A total of 50 oral submissions will be heard on day one. Managing Director of Te Kōhao Health Lady Tureiti Moxon says she thinks the bill should be rejected and opposed by the select committee. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.