Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

I’ve got some good news for you. Every one of you up now listening, is a go getter. Early birds are into it as we know, but not only that, research tell us they also earn more. A recent study showed night owls earn 4 percent less than early risers ..and it’s all down to circadian rhythms apparently. Scientists discovered in a Finnish study of more than 12 thousand people, that those who are more active at night, tend to earn less than early risers. That’s because they’re more likely to make poor lifestyle choices.. like drinking more alcohol, smoking, not exercising as much, and having an unhealthy diet. Night owls are also more likely to have more screen time, affecting their melatonin production and ability to sleep.. therefore they sleep worse and wake later, feeling less energized. Many according to the study, also had higher BMI’s. Scientists discovered that on average, night owls accumulate less human, social and health capital. This is because they apparently acquire less work experience, make those poorer health and lifestyle choices, and end up with sleep problems. Which, let’s face it, is one of the key components of good health… a decent night’s sleep. So that part makes sense. Early birds, on the other hand, are the first awake, they’re more likely to have slept better and earlier, in those crucial pre midnight hours of sleep, and they’re starting fresher and more ready. They’re more work ready. But this all comes down to chronotype according to the researchers. You may not be able to help it that you’re a night owl or an early bird, it’s just the way your body is wired. Your body may not be able to function or be active at the set time of day you might want it to. I know people who, try as they might, just cannot get their bodies to function early in the morning, but they feel their peak activity and fitness comes in the middle of the day. Likewise there are early birds like me who literally can’t stay up past 10pm without feeling like they’re on the verge of collapse. But being a Nana at night time serves us well if it means you can be more productive in the morning. And as this study shows, it can also make you a stronger income earner. Not all is lost for night owls though. According to scientists, ‘evening type individuals could likely earn higher wages through better lifestyle choices.’ Which seems obvious given everything is a domino effect isn’t it? Stay up later, you get hungrier, you eat more crap, you drink more, you’re less tired, you look at screens for longer, then you’re too wired, so you sleep poorly. They actually got some hard data on the numbers in terms of income, men who were night owls had ‘a four percent average lower income.’ Which is food for thought next time you’re staying up late binge watching Netflix with the choccky biscuits. Not all night owls are staying up late just to eat rubbish and watch TV though, some are genuinely just more productive at night because that’s when their body clock is more alert. The nub of it is what you do with that alert time. The study concluded that ‘evening type people could earn higher wages if they made better lifestyle choices.’ So that part’s in their hands. But for us early birds it’s validation here surely, that being up at the crack of dawn, is actually not only smart, it’s lucrative. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some markets are feeling economic pain more than others. Infometrics latest economic monitor suggests a primary sector slowdown as annual average growth has slowed to 1.7 percent. BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Kate Hawkesby internal migration numbers are showing various trends. He notes that when people move around the country, employment and construction often follow.Jones thinks cheaper house prices are attracting more people to the South Island. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research has found children in New Zealand are dying from serious trauma injuries at twice the rate of those in the Australian state of Victoria. The study examined cases of more than 13 hundred children seriously injured between mid-2017 and mid-2022. It focused on injuries usually caused by cars, motorbikes, bicycle accidents and serious burns. Save the Children Advocacy Director Jacqui Southey told Kate Hawkesby the results are unacceptable. She say officials need to focus on raising the level of health care for children across the country. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A month on from the general election, and the leaders of National, Act and New Zealand First have met together for the first time. Chris Luxon, David Seymour and Winston Peters caught up face-to-face at an Auckland hotel yesterday. Peters briefly returned last night, seemingly for further talks. Seymour says they haven't yet dealt with major substantive discussions, in a potential coalition deal. Political Editor, Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby more meetings are pencilled in for this week. He says the first meeting was preliminary to discuss timelines and they'll hopefully get into the meat and potatoes shortly. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Biden will be hoping to ease geopolitical tensions in today's meeting with counterpart Xi Jinping. The two leaders will meet at 8am NZST in San Francisco at the APEC summit, marking Xi's first visit to the US in six years. They're expected to discuss resuming military communications, the climate, and control of a fentanyl pipeline. US correspondent Mitch McCann told Kate Hawkesby that US-China relations have been frosty in recent times. He says tensions have been heightened over Taiwan and the South China Sea, as well as a claimed spy balloon being shot down earlier this year. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight will reveal if the Black Caps have what it takes to make it to the World Cup Final. They’re playing India in the semifinals at 9:30pm NZDT. Former Black Cap and Cricket Commentator, John Morrison, told Kate Hawkesby that while the team has been written off by many critics, he thinks they’re capable of an upset. He said the team has a pretty good line up that is capable of knocking India over. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think about all the sectors and industries in this country which have gone to the dogs lately —much of the public service, (electoral commission anyone?), the media, airlines, airports (namely Auckland), Hospitals— there’s an underlying common denominator. Within all these sectors there are still amazing people doing amazing things. I hear so often for example from people who, despite all the doom and gloom and horrible news about our Hospitals, have the best experiences with considerate, hardworking, and dedicated nurses. People who say they could not fault the care and attention they received. Likewise for every horror story about bus drivers and public transport, you’ll hear from someone who says they’ve only ever had a positive experience. I think a lot of the baggage and toxicity from these industries is at the top, amidst the bureaucracy and the layers of BS. Whereas often at the coal face, people are doing incredible things. I experienced this myself the other day at a medical appointment for an echo cardiogram. That’s done by a specialist cardio sonographer, trained specifically in that area given the heart is so complex. And as she scanned the four chambers of my heart looking at blood flow, she had fascinating insights into the prevalence of heart disease, especially in women, and how preventable it is. Great tips about how diet is more important than exercise: as long as you’re moving each day it doesn’t need to be aerobic and hardcore, just walking or moving, and as women get older, strength training is great too. But what you put in your mouth counts. Hearts like healthy body weights. But she had some good insights into the state of the health sector at the moment. How much bottom of the cliff healthcare we’re dishing out, instead of having people proactively take care of their health. It’s funny because I thought the same thing during Covid. We heard a lot about masks and hand washing but we didn’t hear about nutrition, exercise, and vitamins or taking good care of ourselves to proactively improve our own health outcomes. But we were talking about the sad demise of primary care in this country – the lack of GP’s, the lack of interest in new Med students to be GP’s, how we’re now having to outsource most of our healthcare workforce to other countries. Which if you think about it, means we lose the nuance of the Kiwi experience and what’s unique to us. But GPs are so stretched and so time poor these days. She was saying she has a lot of GPs as clients, and the lament how little time they have for patients these days, how in a 15-minute window you can’t get to know people or get an insight into how they really are. You have just enough time to check, diagnose, maybe write a script, and that’s it. I know from personal experience that if you try to raise more than one issue too, you’ll likely get told they don’t have time for that, or they have to charge you for a second appointment. That’s if you can get into your GP in the first place. But it made me think about mental health in this country, and what a difference we could make at the primary care level if we had more GPs who had more time to really gauge where their patients were at, and maybe intervene earlier. Maybe just like heart disease, we wouldn’t have the crisis we do if we just got to people sooner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland’s Mayor wants the new Government to review earthquake-strengthening rules. The region hasn’t shown signs of earthquake activity for 100,000 years, Wayne Brown said, and instead they should focus on the risk of volcanic eruption. He’s keen to stop spending on seismic strengthening unless a building is likely to fall down. John Tookey, Professor of Construction at AUT, told Kate Hawkesby that it’s a matter of public safety. He said that no one thought that Christchurch was going to be a major problem until it became a major problem. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The soon-to-be coalition partners are meeting for the first time today, but there's no end in sight to negotiations. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters didn't show up for an anticipated meeting with National and ACT in Wellington yesterday. ACT's David Seymour confirms he flew back to Auckland last night, reportedly also with National leader Christopher Luxon. Former United Future Leader Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby that their rapid return to Auckland suggests negotiations are very much being done on Peters’ terms. He that there's a perception growing that Christopher Luxon's earlier confidence may have been misplaced. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite a decrease in global wine production New Zealand winemakers feel optimistic. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine says international wine production's expected to be about 7% lower this year than last. Statistics from New Zealand Winegrowers show the total production in 2023 is about 360-million litres, down from 383-million last year, but higher than the eight years prior. CEO Philip Gregan says that over time, wine production in Europe has declined, while in New Zealand, it's grown. He says our markets are now global rather than just supplying wine domestically, and those markets continue to be strong. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian port operating systems are getting back online, after a major cyberattack halted imports and exports. DP World Australia —which moves about 40% of items coming into Australia— stopped on Friday after the breach. It created a backlog of 30,000 containers. Australian Correspondent, Donna Demaio, told Kate Hawkesby that about 4000 containers started moving again yesterday. She said that the ripple effect they were concerned about is now unlikely, but they still don’t know what happened. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coromandel businesses are popping the champagne in anticipation of State Highway 25A reopening three months earlier than planned. The route between Kōpū and Hikuai —badly damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle— will be in business by December 20. The tourism-reliant area suffered a severe economic downturn following the route's closure. Mercury Bay Business Association Chair, Lynda Grant, told Kate Hawkesby that while there was a little bit of hope, nobody really thought it would reopen before Christmas. She said that it’s a win-win for everyone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we got new data yesterday on vaping, and it's nothing short of alarming. We here in NZ are among the biggest vapers in the developed world. The OECD found 8.2% of people aged 15 or older regularly vape in New Zealand, which puts us in second place, just behind Estonia. I was speaking to a specialist cardio sonographer the other day, and she was telling me that she thinks we’re going to find out down the track that vaping is worse than smoking. We just don't have enough research on it yet, but the toxins you're inhaling when you're vaping... no good can come of that. The worst part of course is all the young kids taking it up and how many of them are addicted to nicotine now and can't give it up. I was reading about some schools where kids are having withdrawals during exams and running out in breaks to vape; school kids, that addicted. To have the highest vape rates in the world —just behind Estonia— is a travesty and it's something we should be leaping up and down about to fix. Because not only are we inheriting a population full of nicotine addicted kids, but all the knock-on negative health side effects that are going to clog our health system down the track too. The stats are woeful and the evidence coming in on vaping is shocking. According to one Australasian health educator, vaping is too hazardous health wise, even as a means of quitting tobacco. And yet we still have large groups of our population thinking it's not that harmful. This health educator says the online government material is misleading, in her view, because it provides such a bald description of vaping - 'vaping does not have the toxins in tobacco smoking', it says, and yet vapes have to contain propylene glycol to make an aerosol, and chemicals for the smell. So, is that implying to vapers that it’s safe? At the very least it’s underestimating the potential harm. What about warnings or plain packaging? Why is there none of that? And why aren’t they regulated better? There are concerns the public are not informed enough about a product that is engulfing our youth. The real worry is the health and social impacts already manifesting, and the costly 'tsunami' of problems in the respiratory and cardiovascular sectors, as many commentators and health researchers have already pointed out. Those jumping up and down about it include clinical specialists, GPs, school principals, parents... they all petitioned the previous government to act. But I really think the last government dropped the ball on this and never took it seriously enough. We should be deeply worried about the pace of uptake in vaping amongst our young people, the lack of widespread research into its side effects, and the lack of detailed information on the risks. There’s a lot this new government needs to crack on with, and I hope dealing properly with vaping is on the list. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tax policy is set to remain the main point of disagreement as coalition talks continue this morning between National, ACT, and New Zealand First. Newstalk ZB understands that New Zealand First is taking issue with some elements of National's tax plan. That includes the proposal to redirect money from the Climate Emergency Response Fund to tax cuts, and the proposed tax on foreign home buyers. Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker told Kate Hawkesby that National is committed to some form of tax cuts, but the specifics of those tax cuts may have to change. She says National is proposing quite extensive tax cuts, but they may have to scale those back and make them more targeted. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World No 635 Kiwi Ben Campbell birdied the final two holes to edge major winner Cam Smith and claim the US$2 million ($1.7m) Hong Kong Open overnight. Campbell drained a 15ft birdie putt on the 18th hole to top playing partners Smith and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai who earlier caused a bizarre 20-minute delay. Campbell had not led at any stage of the tournament until his last putt to finish at 19 under par and beat Smith by one and Phacahara by two. For Campbell, who also birdied the 17th, it was his maiden win on the Asian Tour with his only other win in the professional game coming at the New Zealand PGA Championship in 2018. He won US$360,000. “It’s good to finally get the monkey off the back and yeah, sort of just battling away all day,” said Campbell. “Sort of didn’t get off to the greatest of starts and swing wasn’t feeling that great. Sort of went back to a few close losses and wrote a few notes down in my yardage book last night, and really used them on those last four or five holes. “It was getting a bit tight in the swing and just from those past experiences managed to, I think, you know, put a couple of nice swings coming down the stretch which really helped.” The victory is also just reward for a player who has struggled with injuries and missed six months last year due to a back issue that required surgery. “Even probably four months ago I was sort of battling with the body. I’ve had quite a few operations, and bulged discs in the back and things like that, so had to change the swing quite a bit, especially in the last two or three years. So yeah, great to put that behind me now and the monkey’s off the back which is good.” The most recent Kiwi winner of the Hong Kong Open was Frank Nobilo in 1997, while the only other was Walter Godfrey in 1972. Smith and Phachara had started the day sharing the lead with Campbell one back. Phachara looked to be heading for the win when he birdied three in a row from 11 and led by one from Smith and two from Campbell with three to go. However, drama unfolded on the par-four 16th when he hooked his tee into the trees. He chose to try to hit his ball back into play from a treacherous lie but failed to get it out before just being able to advance his ball to the edge of the fairway with the next. Smith and Campbell appeared visibly irritated by Khongwatmai’s actions, which led to a 20-minute delay. “He can’t stand all over this, can he?” Campbell was heard saying to officials. Phachara ended up making a costly double. He also birdied the next hole before his disappointing finish on 18. “Today my putting was not so good like the last three days, but I played well since the beginning until the 16th hole,” said Phachara. “I was in a very difficult situation at that moment that I couldn’t do anything. Also, there were broken trees, which was an obstacle, so I couldn’t step backwards to drop the ball. I had to keep trying to hit it. However, I’m satisfied with my overall performance that I can make under par for today.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I thought I was in a bad dream at the weekend when I saw the headline ‘Health experts recommend people wear masks and celebrate Christmas outdoors amid another Covid-19 wave.’ So, my first thought is – what ‘experts’ said this, and what wave? And how big is the wave? And when will we stop reporting waves? Turns out it was Australia’s New South Wales Health Ministry who were saying there’d been a ‘moderate’ rise in Covid cases, and they’d asked people to consider wearing a mask inside crowded indoor spaces. It didn’t take much scrolling further down the story to find the name Michael Baker though. He was recommending for Kiwis, booster jabs, masks, and staying home if you were sick. Now here’s the thing about these guys, had we not been bashed everyday nonstop for two years by them in the media telling us what to do and how to do it, we may take it more seriously. But the hysteria drummed up over a two-year period of lockdowns and social distancing has left us all with a bit of collective PTSD. We don’t want to hear from them anymore, we associate them with misery and bad times, it was overkill at the time, and now we are turned off whenever their heads pop up above the parapet again. It’s the same for many people with Jacinda, it’s an instant reaction – I mean she got so toxic she had to step away from the Labour Party, she was that triggering for people. So, I’m just not sure after all this time, and after all we’ve gone through, that we want to go into yet another Christmas with being told to mask up and keep our distance. I mean the obvious one about if you’re sick stay home, we probably could work that out for ourselves, couldn’t we? So how big is this new wave? Well, the key word was ‘moderate’ rise. That was for Australia, what about here? Baker says we’re in our 5th wave. I missed the last few, so I’m paying attention now for the 5th. Apparently, our immunity is waning, hence his call for boosters. I’m not sure how many are adhering to these calls, that would be a more interesting story I reckon, what are the booster numbers? I’d hazard a guess very little. As for the size of our wave, the last update on Covid numbers was 5 people in ICU, 212 in hospital with Covid. Remember the ‘with’ is important, they may well be in hospital with other things, and they happen to have Covid as well. I personally know of two people recently who went to hospital with other things and picked up Covid while in there. Getting Covid in hospital makes you a statistic of someone in hospital - with Covid. So bear that in mind. I don’t know who's in charge of marking the waves, I’m not sure how helpful it is to keep reminding us of them, or who wants to still hear about them, I mean will we still be reporting 6th, 7th, 8th, 25th waves? Or will we at some point accept that Covid is around now just like the flu and colds are around? I’m just not sure about the merits of making people fearful about how they spend their Christmas Day and telling them they may need to spend it with a mask on. I mean I’m prepared to be wrong, but how many people, who aren’t immune deficient or vulnerable in any way, do you reckon are spending Christmas Day with a mask on? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long-dormant Icelandic volcanoes are waking up and threatening to erupt. The country declared a state of emergency and evacuated thousands from the southwestern town of Grindavik. There are more than 30 active volcano sites in Iceland and there's currently a 15-kilometre river of magma underneath the surface. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the likely eruptions follow intense seismic activity. “20,000 tremors have been recorded in southwest Iceland since late October.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders lost just under $200 million to scams over the past year. That's according to 11 of the country's largest financial institutions. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released the figure for Fraud Awareness Week. Spokesperson Ian Caplin told Kate Hawkesby they want to make people more aware of authorised scams – where people agree to a payment. “The scammers are getting very sophisticated and they are making things like sort of hoax sites.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Certain policies could be sticking points in holding up negotiations between National, Act and New Zealand First. National will need both parties to make a government after they lost two seats following special votes. Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls says it's hard to figure out how much progress was made over the weekend. He told Kate Hawkesby while there seems to be agreement on infrastructure issues, race relations policy could be causing tension. “Christopher Luxon – he hasn’t ruled out, say for example, the Treaty referendum, but it sounds like he very, very, very much doesn’t want that to be a thing because of how divisive he envisions that being.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BNZ’s profits are continuing to rise despite the economy slowing. The bank’s net profit after tax rose by 6.7% in the year to September to a total of $1.5 billion. BNZ’s net interest margin —a key measure of profitability— jumped 25 basis points to 2.4%. Claire Matthews, Massey Business School Associate Professor, told Roman Travers that while they made a substantial profit, things did slow in the second half of the year. She said that they hadn’t done as well in the last six months as they did in the first, reflecting the slowing economy. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regular attendance is still at lower rates than in 2019, before Covid-19. Education Ministry data shows just 47% of students were regularly at school in term two. That's down from 59.5% in term one, but an increase on 40% in term two last year. Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association President Pat Newman told Roman Travers that it's about illness. Attending school 90% of the time is considered regular attendance. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A warning that Fonterra's new sustainability goals could push farmers away. The dairy giant is planning to cut 30% of emissions by 2030 via new technology, carbon removal through vegetation, and on farm practises. Lincoln University Adjunct Professor Jacqueline Rowarth says farmers will look to other companies if they can't cope. She says this could all come back to bite Fonterra if other countries don't do what we're doing. Rowarth adds it's hard for farmers to do better when our farming emissions are already low. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been 27 days since New Zealand general election. 27 days of relative peace, calm, and tranquillity, even though our GDP resembles a 737; out of gas and plummeting to earth at less than 1% growth. Isn't it luxurious to live in a country where perhaps our biggest problem is wondering if the pre-election promises will be fulfilled to turn everything around? Talks between the three political parties continue as we wait to see who gets what and undoubtedly the compromises that'll be made. Forming a coalition with friends and foe can't be all beer and skittles. Given what was said prior to the election, some almost certainly will reluctantly capitulate on their promises, having their arms shoved up their backs or biting their tongues. To get a coalition government formed and working at the mammoth job of turning around our floundering economy, will only be hindered by the demonstrable egos at the table. When asked yesterday if there was a deadline for the coalition talks to conclude, Winston Peters told us that speed is of the essence. There's a refreshing change from someone who's been at times, the personification of a handbrake. It's gutting to know that our gross domestic product is currently at less than 0.1%, when so many of us are doing everything we can to ensure that work gets done. We are now working the second longest hours within the OECD nations. So much for a work life balance. Our proud reputation of being a leader in so many measurable economic facets, is now something muttered about with a sense of shame, as people try to change the topic, looking for a positive distraction. We're now looking at a ranking of 159th in the world according to the international monetary fund. That's not a number anyone wants to have when trying to sell New Zealand to the world. But what've we got left to sell? Which primary sector is still unique to New Zealand? What aspect of our primary produce have we not taught other countries to grow and manufacture as well - if not better than us? Is the future of our economy to simply provide highly skilled labour to international markets who will always outbid those same employers in New Zealand? In fairness to the three political parties working hard to come to consensus, it didn't help that so many people rocked up to the polling booth on election day looking to enrol and to vote. The whole process has been slowed down by a large chunk of apathy. Here's hoping that next week we have something solid to talk about. Here's hoping that when the clock starts ticking on that first 100 days with so many promises made, we get to see those promises put into positive action. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am just wondering at what point we give up on trying to get anywhere by ferry in this country? If you’re an Aucklander, or a visitor to Auckland, you know the Waiheke Island Fullers ferry service is unreliable, often fraught with maintenance, or staffing or scheduling issues. Locals who regularly commute on and off the island by and large hate it – but they’re trapped as Fuller’s has had a monopoly and been their only means to get across the Gulf... up until now, with a new player in town. And God speed to Island Direct that they can make a go of it, get well patronized, and give Fullers a run for their money. But for years now, Fullers has been it and it's been a rubbish service. Then we have the Cook Strait ferries. I mean, where do we start? Who would take the gamble of getting on board one of those ferries and expecting that you’d actually get to your destination? The interislander ferries are notorious, and then just yesterday, we see the reports that “a Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry had to turn back after it hit a wharf as it was leaving Wellington.” How does a professional operation whose job is solely to get passengers from wharf to wharf, actually smack into the wharf? So that whacked the wharf and now has a dent in the hull and a hole. A tired and old fleet of ferries doesn’t help, but as reported back in April this year, under the headline, ‘Chaos on the Cook Strait’, “there’s been a decades long history of things going wrong here. So how is our infrastructure and maintenance so dire? Why has not enough proactive investment been done? It feels like our approach in this country is wait until stuff breaks, and people are leaping up and down, until you do something about it. That’s certainly how it’s been with the roads too. But if you look at public transport in general in this country, we’ve got buses that are unreliable, have a lack of patronage, routes being cut, delays, driver shortages.. all of that only serves to put people off. Then we’ve got violence at bus stops, vandalism, that’s before we get to the trains. They’re in the same category as the buses, often whole routes cancelled, trains not showing up, unsavoury behaviour on trains, a lack of any general kind of professional service. Just yesterday somebody texted me about their experience on a bus where the driver was asked to concentrate on the road instead of looking in a bag taking their eyes off their driving, and the driver took umbrage and stopped the bus and started yelling at the passenger to get off. When the passenger refused to, the driver then sped up, driving recklessly trying to intimidate the passenger. They said why would anyone put their life in the hands of a lunatic like that? Now I’m sure for every lunatic bus driver there’s a great one too, but the point is we need consistency. We need buses, trains, and ferries to work, be on time, run to schedule, not crash, for there to be consistency among drivers and for passengers to want to use public transport. Otherwise, we’re never getting out of our cars are we. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A study's found that kids who drink fizzy drinks try alcohol earlier. The study from Seoul National University found children aged 9 to 10 who drink caffeinated soft drinks daily were twice as likely to try alcohol within a year. The researchers say the study can't show if the soft drinks are causing differences in behaviour and brain activity. Auckland University nutritionist Dr Sally McKay told Kate Hawkesby that many RTDs look and taste like fizzy drinks. She says it can be a natural change, given they're already quite familiar. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States is cautioning Israel against occupying Gaza. It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country will have overall security responsibility for an indefinite period after the war ends. International geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Kate Hawkesby that Israel doesn't want a power vacuum in Gaza or Hamas to rebuild, so their only option is occupation. He says that will be disastrous, and a bit like when the US occupied Iraq after the Iraq war. However, Miller concedes it'll probably be the only option. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Employees are going above and beyond, often without compensation for it. A Hays Recruitment survey's found overtime increased in more than a third of organisations last year. It also found overtime was unpaid in 30% of organisations. Frog Recruitment Managing Director Shannon Barlow told Kate Hawkesby that often people do what's needed to get the job done. She says there's also been a shift for employees wanting to protect their roles and making a personal decision to work more than they're required to. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not surprised Chris Hipkins is staying on as leader. I mean let’s face it, one, who else have they got? And two, when you’re a career politician, what else is it you’re going to do at this point? But it’s the best possible option for Labour I reckon. He’s adept at politics and playing the media – and those two things go hand in hand these days. He’s quick on his feet, he’s an attack dog – which is what opposition is all about. But how attack-y is the potential problem for him... as in, is he too much attack dog? I think he will have to tone it down. I think voters have had a gutsful of mudslinging and negativity and scrapping in the gutter. The Willie Jackson style of politics of flinging grenades everywhere and not caring where they land... it’s reckless and we tolerate it less and less nowadays. There seems, as the election result would indicate, to be an appetite to get some adults back in the room. And more important than snapping at the government in these next few months, is going to be getting his own party back on track. Rebuilding it won’t be easy given there are factions there now that seem obviously divided: the hard-core lefties wanting to move further left, and the retail middle of the roaders who want to remain more centrist. Although, throwing a wealth and capital gains tax back on the table so soon would indicate the lefties have gotten to him (that's a sop to them). Key question is whether it entices disgruntled Labour voters back to the fold. It seems a bit quick and flip floppy to have reversed that decision so quickly. But they’ll be having a good hard look at themselves in terms of what the bulk of their support base wants. They've got to think about how much they hand out and to who though, I mean look at the Māori caucus, look at how much they lost there, despite all the compensations made to Māori by the Labour Government. The Maorification of pretty much everything did not see the party get thanked or rewarded by Māori, who abandoned Labour in their droves. So who is the Labour party going forward? I heard one commentator say that in voting to keep everyone who lost on the party list, essentially, the people who lost them the election are still there. Many would also argue the future leader of the Labour party is not among them. So you’ve got a lot of potentially jaded talent hanging around, with the electorate jaded by them too. So how do you refresh with all the old dead wood? I think Grant Robertson will go, David Parker probably too, and that may be no bad thing. In fact a clear out is probably just what the party needs. It also needs a fresh approach to leadership. If it’s still Chippy, who says he wants to see it through to 2026, then he needs to work out who he is and how he's doing it. And it’s got to be a step up from just zinger slinging. It’s got to sound more calm and professional. I’m hoping the shouty yelly election style bickering we saw will be put to one side. So how the Labour party gathers itself together and rebuilds from here will be critical. And I think they’ll really want to make a good go of it, because if I was Labour looking at this three headed monster Luxon’s trying to put together, I’d be thinking odds are on that the Nats, ACT, NZ First trifecta may only be a one term government. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teachers from about 100 early childhood centres will strike today. They're part of the Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement and say negotiations have reached an impasse. NZEI says the government funding model isn't fit for purpose. Montessori New Zealand chief executive Cathy Wilson told Kate Hawkesby that the incoming National government has said they'll initiate a funding model review. She says the funding model is challenging, the funding is inadequate, and it's easy to get into trouble because you've done something wrong. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Electoral Commission is looking to see whether discrepancies at three polling places are isolated or more widespread. It's launched a check of all voting place results after our newsroom picked up errors at two polling places at Port Waikato, and one polling place in Ilam. More than 500 votes at one polling place were wrongly assigned to the Leighton Baker Party, rather than National. Political commentator and former United Future Leader Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby that it's one of several issues that will need to be addressed when the electoral process is reviewed at select committee. He says the commission also needs to answer questions about the time it took to count the votes, and whether there were enough polling places on election day. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Businesses being left frustrated about transport changes in Auckland's city centre is being put down to poor communication. Auckland Transport has decided to remove all car parking on Karangahape Road and restrict the times on loading zones to allow room for a new bus service. Businesses say they've been given very little notice. Infrastructure New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett told Kate Hawkesby that no shop owner should wake up and find their loading bays are all but gone. He says these things always become a problem because we don't engage properly in discussions right at the start AT has apologised to businesses for the communication around the change. It says there will be a grace period until December 11 for vehicles caught using the bus lanes at the wrong time. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's caucus will this morning begin picking up the pieces of its election loss at a special caucus meeting in Wellington. As well as the party's direction and the election of whips, MPs will participate in a leadership confidence vote. Political Commentator Grant Duncan told Kate Hawkesby that while there are some great people on that team, there’s no obvious rising star to take Hipkins’ place as leader. He said that in order for Labour to succeed, they need to think about how they’re going to restore themselves and voters’ faith in them. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ninety percent of Queenstown hostels and backpackers are at capacity ahead of summer. It comes as a third of hostels have shut down post pandemic, and many tourism operators are expecting a surge in visitors over the next few months. Backpacker Youth Adventure Tourism Association Chairman Haydn Marriner told Kate Hawkesby that he's putting it down to a lack of available housing in Queenstown. He says the massive oversupply of Airbnbs is causing huge problems for the region's rental market. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, exams are now underway for NCEA for High Schoolers who‘ve had —to be frank— a pretty crappy couple of years post Covid at school. Disruptions due to strikes, floods, weather... and that was all after they were just getting their feet back under the desks post lockdowns. So not a great few years for those trying to head to Uni in a couple of years time. But I know that in my many cases, teachers have worked really hard to get everybody up to speed and make up for lost time. It’s tough though because the stats aren’t great when it comes to where our kids are at educationally. It’s one of the key planks of the new government’s focus —to turn those stats around— and rightly so. The less we educate our kids and the less time they spend in school – the worse the outcomes are for them. We as a country then suffer too with low productivity, a low skills economy, young people disengaged, and a general dumbing down of society. Actually, I wonder if that’s already happened. But there are still far too many young people not attending school or dropping out early. What I’ve found from our experience, with kids who leave school early versus those who see High School through to the end, is that the ones who dropped out early in a rush to get out into the world regret it later down the track. There is something about finishing something you started. Even though these days to be honest many of them have already passed their grades for that year before they even sit the exams. So you can see how it’s tempting, if you’ve already passed the year in July, then there seems no point in staying on grades-wise. But there’s something collegial and lovely about friendships at school and going through stages with your peers. I’ll be fascinated to see what happens to Uni stats in the next couple of years, having had a big decline in on campus attendance, whether that pings back up or not. But how ready these kids coming through High School at the moment will actually be for Uni remains to be seen. Given all the disruptions, all the curriculum issues, all the poor test results and high failure rates, how will they actually fare in a tertiary environment? Are our High Schools who’ve been hit with so much chaos due to Covid, weather, strikes and so on churning out students good enough to go forward and do well? Because if they’re not, then we as a country are inheriting a way bigger problem than just bored kids. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cloudy conditions are forecast for today's 163rd running of the Melbourne Cup. The TAB is expecting New Zealanders to put more than $12 million on the big five o'clock race. Several horses have New Zealand connections, including Kiwi jockey James McDonald and Sydney-based Kiwi trainer Chris Waller. Melbourne Cup correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby that there'll be an electric atmosphere. She says 24 local and international horses will be racing around the track at Flemington, with $9 million in prize money. Off the track, Christchurch's Lily Simons is set to represent New Zealand at the Fashion on the Fields competition. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand parents are becoming more relaxed about device use and safety. A survey by NIB has found device use and screentime is still a concern for 73% of surveyed parents, but only 46% are limiting screentime. That's down from 51% in 2021. Parenting expert Anna Martin told Kate Hawkesby that the pandemic has had an impact. She says research suggests that parents relaxed their attitude to online use during Covid, as it was helpful in allowing them to have some personal time. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NZ Kiwis won the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday with an emphatic victory over Australia in Hamilton. While India continue to cement themselves as favourite for the Cricket World Cup. And the build up for the 2023 Melbourne Cup continues. ZB Sport's Andrew Alderson wrapped up the weekend's sports with Kate Hawkesby on Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No guarantees from National on when it will have a government in place. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking. National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday. Deputy Leader Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby the coalition negotiations are a complex process. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political pundits wouldn't be surprised if coalition talks go on for some time yet. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters isn't answering questions about negotiations and he and Act's David Seymour aren't talking. National doesn't know whether deals will be done in time for incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon to attend the Apec Leaders' Summit in San Francisco on Sunday. Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby Luxon has said, if need be, he will can that trip. He says it could drag out for a while or be done quickly, but Luxon has been doing some work in the lead up to the specials. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions raised after an 18-hour long hostage situation at Germany's Hamburg Airport. A 35-year-old man, with his four-year-old daughter, drove through airport security and onto the tarmac - before parking his car underneath an aeroplane. The chaos, that suspended almost 290 flights involving more than 34-thousand passengers, was revealed to be over custody arrangements. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the man eventually gave himself up, with the girl unharmed. He says questions are being asked around how it was so easy for the man to drive through airport security. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, we now know Winston’s in the mix in a real and tangible way. He’s needed. We can thank special votes for that. So, I’m trying to look for positives, and trust me, it’s not easy - but I found one. He at least has institutional knowledge of how parliament works, what being a politician means, and how the place functions. That’s a benefit to Luxon because that’s more than he’s got. Being a newbie, it’s all new to Luxon. So, you add one old dog and one newbie - and maybe there in the middle lies some kind of middle ground where they can connect. What wisdom about how the place works can Winston pass on to Luxon? How can Luxon learn from Winston’s years and years in this environment? No Winston’s not a shining light or a good example of a model politician by any stretch, but he’s at least got runs on the board. He knows the place. He knows the rules. He’s seen it all before. He knows the inner workings of government’s better than Luxon would. So that’s the potential plus. The other positive? We are not having a second general election. Remember that threat? During the campaign Chris Bishop didn’t rule out having to go to the polls again, remember? Well thank God we are not doing that. I think our appetite for another election is zero, we could barely summon up enough enthusiasm for this one, so if not working with Winston would have meant having to have another election then I guess we should be grateful they’re going to work with Winston. But look that’s about where the positives end for me. I don’t see this trifecta of parties being anything short of prickly and problematic. If it is - they’ll get tetchy, it will get messy, and eventually they will get turfed out as an unsuccessful one term government. Given that’s not what any of them want, given how much they’ve talked about strong stable government, given how much they all want to turn around New Zealand then I’d like to think they work hard at making it work. So far so good in terms of tight lipped. No one’s getting sucked into a demanding media vortex hungry for 24/7 information, they’re holding their tongues. Luxon for his part has managed to keep his caucus together, leak free, and on message, long may that continue. Seymour has not gone too rogue yet. Even Winston appears to be playing ball. Could we be seeing a new dawn? Could this finally be the adults taking charge and determined to act like grown-ups? Can they stay above the fray and get this country back to some kind of order and productivity? Time will tell but I think we have high hopes that after such a scarring six years of shambles, unproductivity and angst, that we can get some runs on the board finally. Our expectations are high. And re the timeframe, how much longer will we have to wait for it? Well personally I’d rather wait and have them sort it out properly and in a robust manner that can go the distance, than have them cobble together a rushed job which potentially implodes down the track. I mean nothing will necessarily be perfect, but I hope enough goodwill and good faith is at play, that it’s the best possible shot. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research finds 46% of kiwi jobseekers still experience barriers when finding work. The 2023 Randstad Employer Brand Research Survey found factors such as sexual orientation, disability, language, gender identity, and ethnicity to be a barrier when applying for and securing a job. It found that 28% of male candidates believed these factors resulted in them missing out on the role, and 22% of women refused to work for a company whose values don’t align with their own. Employment Relations Expert, Max Whitehead, told Tim Dower that he’s a bit suspicious of these results. He said that employers are absolutely desperate for workers, and if someone doesn’t fit the mould but has the skills necessary, they would bend over backwards to hire them. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special votes, as I'm sure you know, are usually good for the left and National has said it expects to lose one or two seats from the election night count. If it was two, and even if the overhang goes, the maths is undeniable. It's a 120 seat Parliament, but that one-seat majority for the Nats and ACT is gone. And we all know what that means. I think Winston's petulant display in Wellington right after the election told us a lot about the way the new coalition is being drawn together. My read of it, is that Mr Peters had been well and truly put in his place over the weekend. I suspect the rules of engagement were spelled out very clearly, and he knows he's not going to be wearing the pants in any future relationship. Not to start with, anyway. The other thing to bear in mind, and unless you're actually doing the counting there's no way of telling, is whether the specials will favour the left as much as some people think. There's a school of thought that says people outside the country, and in particular people who were locked out of the country during COVID, might have been less inclined to continue their support for the previous administration. Maybe there'll be further punishment to come. Maybe the Nats and ACT will have the numbers and the confidence to press on without New Zealand First. What a relief that would be. So, why have a got a good feeling about this? Luxon. That's why. He's used to being in charge, and maybe that's why it took him time to find his feet as a political leader, where your authority and decision-making are questioned day after day, and even the people who pretend to be your mates are carrying sharp knives around. I believe what we've seen —and what haven't seen— in the past couple of weeks are a demonstration of how things are going to be done. It's going to be business-like and people who want to be on board are going to have to respect who's boss. Bring it on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian woman who cooked and served a lunch that killed three will appear in court today. Erin Patterson faces three murder charges and five attempted murder charges. Her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson as well as Gail's sister Heather all died from suspected toxic mushroom poisoning in July, and Gail's husband Ian was hospitalised. Three other charges relate to incidents in 2021 and 2022, as police allege a 48-year-old man became ill after meals. Australian correspondent Lesley Yeomans told Tim Dower that Police spent yesterday searching her home. She says they also sent in technology detector dogs, trained to hunt down things like SIM cards, phones, and USB sticks. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future shape of our next government all comes out today. While the preliminary votes for the election were all counted up, the results of the around 570 thousand left over special votes will be released at two this afternoon. It will likely decide whether National and ACT will need New Zealand First to get into power. Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower that the majority of special votes do tend to favour the left. He says people like John Key and Chris Bishop both expect to see National lose at least one seat today. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A nutritionist would love to see confectionary moved away from the checkouts. Countdown's aiming to make healthier choices easier for customers, and combat checkout 'pester power'. The supermarket chain —soon to be Woolworths— has committed to 80% of foods at checkouts carrying a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or more. It's also moving "kids confectionary" elsewhere. Nutritionist Nikki Hart told Kate Hawkesby that it’s got to be better than the current trend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt has opened for the first time since Israel's siege began more than three weeks ago. Palestinian officials say 335 foreign passport holders and 76 injured Gazans have been able to leave so far. It's thought 88 injured Palestinians and around 500 foreign nationals will be allowed out in the first phase. US Correspondent, Mitch McCann, told Kate Hawkesby that the exits are due to a deal brokered by Qatar between Israel, Hamas, and Egypt, coordinating with the US. He said that US passport holders are not expected to be among the first nationals to be released. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So tomorrow we finally —after such a ridiculously long wait— get the final vote count. Specials will be done, duplicates checked, ballots finalized, we will know where we’re at, and more importantly, what form the new government might take. The fact we’ve had three weeks in limbo is completely ludicrous and at least the incoming PM has acknowledged that and claims he’ll do something about changing it. Which as far as I understand involves changing the law and the way the electoral commission operates, and I hope they do that. The electoral commission did not cover itself in glory: botching some people’s booth experiences by not having enough forms, closing early or opening late, not getting easy vote packs out in good enough time for early voting, and generally operating like it’s 1953. Even Luxon said that three weeks is too long, that they should be working 24/7 to count votes. He also reckons they should do a daily release of votes counted and take over local government elections so they’re up to speed a year before general elections. The main thing is he wants the vote counting sped up, so let’s hope he makes that happen. As for the new government and how that looks... he seems confident they’re on track for a swift and seamless transition with good faith and goodwill from all parties. Actually, someone —who will remain nameless— in this newsroom had a bet that a new coalition government would be announced and formed all set to go Friday arvo. That overly ambitious idea was smacked down by Luxon himself who said that there’ll be no government announced Friday arvo. Good news – they’re closer to an actual government than they were a week ago. Bad news – not so close that it’ll be wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon. Luxon said they still have issues they’re working through and things to be agreed on, but they’ve been working diligently in good faith for a strong stable government, and he says progress is being made. So how long? Luxon says no timeframe exactly – but there are good intentions not to draw it out. Maybe next week? Who knows. Even Winston though, claims it’ll be quick. Can we trust anything Winston says? Having said that, you have to hand it to them all, not a peep out of them. No one’s broken ranks, no one’s leaked, no one’s spilled the beans. Luxon has to be congratulated for consolidating everyone together in a way that seems clean and tight. Winston hasn’t been playing it out in public, Seymour has kept his cool, it all seems, so far, tickety boo. If they can keep it that way, they’ll manage to prove all the naysayers wrong. Every person who said it would implode and that it'd be a cluster and they’d all be at war with each other... so far, so good. None of that. The true test is if Luxon can keep it that way – if he can, he’ll be seen as a genius. I mean who’d want to wrangle Winston and David Seymour on a daily basis? Not me. Best case scenario, they don’t need Winston, and NZ First can just stay out of the fray altogether. Worst case, he’s in and he goes nuts wreaking havoc and making it all about himself and the whole thing implodes. That would be disastrous not just for Luxon, but also for our country. So fingers crossed tomorrow goes their way and it’s a clean two party Nats/ACT deal and they can get on with some governing. If not, get out the popcorn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s being predicted that the household budgets for mortgage holders will be squeezed further in 2024. Those on extremely low interest rates in 2019 are turning over to new rates now. A Reserve Bank report says the average household will spend about 18% of their income on interest payments alone by mid-next year. ANZ economist, Henry Russell, told Kate Hawkesby that it's not unexpected, and the Reserve Bank needs to see demand in the economy slow to get on top of inflation. He says there's still many households with 2% or 3% interest rates who'll face a tough adjustment when they rollover to six or seven percent. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More calls for Oranga Tamariki to be shaken up following new details about a toddler that was killed in Lower Hutt. A homicide investigation has been launched into the death of almost two-year-old Ruthless-Empire Wall. Newstalk ZB understands his uncle contacted Oranga Tamariki wanting the child to be uplifted. It comes after it was recently revealed 57 children have died since the agency was established. Child Matters Chief Executive Jane Searle told Kate Hawkesby that it reflects the need for change. She says they've known for a long time Oranga Tamariki's not fit for purpose, with this being just another example. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.