Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

I’m thinking the people we should be feeling most for this election campaign are the government’s security detail. Judging by the Prime Minister’s outing to Otara markets in South Auckland over the weekend, it could be a rough old time on the hustings. Bear in mind, this is South Auckland, Labour territory. The PM was not wandering through Fendalton or Remuera. He was in an area which should have his back, but not this time. Protestors from Freedoms NZ, which it’s reported is, “a new political party, joining together the Tamaki-led Vision NZ party and the Outdoors and Freedom Party..” reportedly, “chased him around the market, two on bicycles and others carrying big blue banners, until the prime minister eventually left.” So they caused such a ruckus, they ended Hipkins visit early. From the footage at the event, the person looking most surprised was the PM’s security. Chippy just kept smiling. Was he not aware of how bad it was? Did he just not care? Was he smiling to just keep up appearances? But this could be something he needs to get more used to. People are angsty, they’re angry, they’re seemingly going to make their voices heard. And not always just to offer him a sausage roll. Hipkins was reported saying he won’t change his campaign strategy because of it though. He still hopes to get out and about and said he won’t curb his movements... is that true though? I don’t doubt that behind the scenes the logistics peeps are busy working out how best to avoid this bad press, to avoid this unrest, and to keep him out of the fray. Let’s not forget what happened when Jacinda started to get booed in public, she stopped visiting places where she might find an unpopular reception. She stuck to safe spaces like primary schools or Universities, places where she knew she’d be well received. Will Chris Hipkins have to start doing the same? And that’s before we get to how much the party is internally disputing how they’re tracking, and how much solidarity there is among them as they lose support and lose face, on the back of losing so many Ministers. Hipkins is looking increasingly like a bit of a lone wolf, making a few ‘big calls’ but then having them backfire. GST on fruit and vege being one glaringly recent example. How much of it will come down to him though, versus the party’s lack of delivery, versus the sheer fact Kiwis are just fed up with the direction of the country and feeling stuck in a never-ending cost of living crisis. If Labour go on to lose in October, what went wrong will be dissected ad nauseum. Was it one too many Cabinet minister dramas? Was it Chippy going out on a limb trying to be all things to all people and instead falling between stools? Was it just tide out time on a tired and out of ideas government? Was it too much media focus on fringe minor parties making a lot of noise and getting too much attention? The next couple of months are going to be crucial for Labour, but many inside the party will be asking if the damage has already been done. However Hipkins has no choice really but to keep showing up everywhere, protestors or no protestors, I guess.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellingtonians are finally snapping up tickets to the city's craft beer festival. Two Beervana sessions are fully sold out, overturning concerns people weren't keen this year. Event Manager Ryan McArthur says there's a lot to get excited about this weekend. He says almost 60 breweries are represented, some from Australia, and about 340 brews to try. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we spoke with Mark Mitchell earlier this morning on Ginny Andersen's claim that he's unfit to be Police Minister. This came about because he said the Government wasn't going after gangs properly, and more than half the charges they were laying for gangs were administrative like traffic offences or minor infringements. This is Operation Cobalt, the Government's so called 'gang crackdown' which the Police Minister is very defensive of. She fired back that the charges Police were laying were not minor, that many were for serious offences like burglary and theft. She went on to say it was ‘frankly appalling’ that Mitchell was ‘going after hard working police officers.’ Which is of course not what he was doing at all, but it’s election season, and a desperate government will latch onto anything as a means of a personal assassination of their opposition right now. What I don’t even need to point out to you here, because it’s so glaringly obvious, is that when you have achieved absolutely nothing in that space, in your portfolio as Police Minister, it is a bit rich – if not farcical, to come out and fire salvos at someone else. This is why Mitchell called it a ‘desperate showing from a Labour government that has utterly failed in law and order.’ He says he's ‘proud of the job our frontline Police do in a very challenging environment created by this hopeless Labour Government’ and that he ‘takes issue with a Government that purports to be 'tough on gangs', while presiding over a 70 percent increase in gang membership, a 33 percent increase in violent crime, and gang-related shootings becoming commonplace.’ He says ‘Labour has zero credibility in law and order, and none of the four Police Ministers they've had over the past year have changed that,’ it was reported. See, that’s the problem. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Andersen doesn’t have a record she can stand on, she doesn’t have a metric she can be proud of, all she does is highlight the failures of the Labour government in this space. Look don’t get me wrong, it’s election season and everyone’s tetchy and the Labour party are looking increasingly frazzled and strung out. When Nicola Willis said the other day they need a cup of tea and a lie down or a holiday – it’s true. I don’t begrudge them that. It could be a long lie down if they find themselves in the Opposition benches, but I would’ve thought in these final weeks, avoiding own goals would be helpful. Ginny Andersen critiquing National’s Police spokesperson, himself a former Police officer, is a waste of her time and energy. Pretending that he was having a crack at hard working officers was also a delusional stretch. Of course an opposition spokesperson is going to look to hold government claims around successful metrics, to account. The focus for Andersen at this time would be better spent on actually trying to improve things Kiwis can tangibly notice. Like the violence in our CBD's, the crime in our retail sector, the aggressive burglaries, the gang takeovers of our streets, that would be a great place for the Police Minister to expend her energy between now and October 14th. Less time spent taking pot-shots at former cops and more time bolstering the ones you have.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have another stoush between Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen - this time over Operation Cobalt. National's police spokesperson this week claimed more than half of charges from the gang crackdown were for minor offences. The Minister has fired back, saying that's simply not true and those "minor offences" include burglary, theft, fraud and others. She claims Mitchell is "unfit to be Police Minister." Mark Mitchell joined Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of the UK's biggest names are paying tribute to veteran broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson. The talk show great has died at 88 after a short illness. He presented 'Parkinson' from 1971 to 2007 quizzing celebrities over more than 800 episodes. Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Kate Hawkesby he's being remembered for his dedication to making his guests feel comfortable. He says he always made sure the interviewee was the person who shone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everything that's wrong with our justice system at the moment was summed up this week by the judge who gave those two sex offenders home detention. They were described as two of this country's most notorious sexual predators, their offending so heinous one of the victim's called it depraved, one's had PTSD and flashbacks since, one had attempted suicide twice. The judge apparently choked back tears as he said, ‘The harm to the victims can only be described as profound.’ The judge 'described graphic details of some of the offending, which at times involved the use of beer bottles and a deodorant ball.' Yet given all that, what did the judge give them? Permanent name suppression - and a discounted sentence. One offender got 11 months home detention, the other got seven months. The victims urged the judge to lift name suppression, they said they felt like they had little value or worth and 'this victim blaming culture would never stop', but the judge upheld the suppression, based on the fact he felt the offenders met the category of extreme hardship - and would not be able to move on with their lives if their names were made public. They had their sentences reduced due to their age at the time, with the judge saying ‘youth is relevant as it explains the lack of consequential thinking.’ What message does that send young offenders in our current climate of rampant youth crime? That you have another excuse for your behaviour - you're too young to be thinking clearly. So despite the profound impact on the victims lives, the trauma, the flashbacks, the suicide attempts, the bravery in coming forward and going through this whole process, despite all of that, what are they left with? How is there any justice served for them? The judge was concerned about the offenders’ ability to move on with their lives, but what about the victims? How do they move on with their lives? This is why so many victims of sexual violence and sexual offending never come forward. This is why they feel the system is broken and rigged against them. How many times do we hear about the plight of the offender? Their background, their upbringing, their challenges? Why is that seemingly prioritised over and above the plight of the victims? These guys didn't even show remorse. The judge said, ‘I am not convinced there is a high level of remorse, remorse needn't be extraordinary but it must be genuine. There is a lack of tangible evidence of this.’ So no remorse, but still a light sentence. When the TV news crews filmed one of these guys leaving court he flicked the bird at them, had his middle finger up at them the whole way out. Does that indicate a chastened offender whose learnt the lesson or understands the gravitas of what they've done? Of course not. It's just another guilty criminal who beat the system. A system that is seemingly designed to favour the offender. It's a travesty not just for the victims, but for all the families involved in trying to hold predators to account. What it says is - the crime committed against you may have ruined your life, but the justice system wants to make sure it doesn't ruin the lives of the offenders too. I just don’t see how that's fair - or just. It feels like we have a justice system working backwards, where there's actually no justice at allSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The housing market is unlikely to be greatly impacted by the latest Reserve Bank announcement. The bank confirmed the Official Cash Rate will remain at 5.5 percent, although there is a possibility this could be raised again this year. Corelogic Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Kate Hawkesby the decision is neutral for the housing market, with a muted recovery still likely. He says whatever was going to happen to the housing market will still happen. Davidson says there is no need to panic and the hint of a further OCR hike is just a warning. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deciding the verdict in the Lauren Dickason trial would've been an extremely difficult decision for any jury. The 42-year-old has been found guilty of murdering her three daughters at their Timaru home in 2021. Dickason pleaded insanity, caused by postpartum depression. The Criminal Bar Association's former president Gary Gotlieb told Kate Hawkesby it was a case of having to weigh up the different views of experts. He questions whether it's appropriate for juries to determine the outcome in cases like these - where experts themselves are divided. Dickason has been remanded to Hillmorton Hospital, before her sentencing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport is celebrating an end to bus driver shortages, but some believe it's too early to pop the champagne. At the height of the crisis AT needed 578 drivers. The city has three more drivers than the 2,206 required to operate the bus schedule. But, Public Transport Users Association's Jon Reeves told Kate Hawkesby only having three spare is a bit dicey, when it comes to staff sickness. He says people will hear buses are all running again, then experience a cancellation due to illness and feel let down by the marketing. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I see one of the favourite holiday playgrounds for many Kiwi families, has been hit with a travel advisory over violence. ‘Fiji police to increase presence after reports of violent attacks on tourists’ read the headline. These attacks apparently include assaults, robberies and sexual assaults, mainly in Suva’s downtown nightspots. Fiji, one of the safest countries in the world, facing the same problem many CBD’s are facing these day; increased violence. I mean if a safe haven like Fiji can end up with a travel advisory for New Zealand, the US and Canada to ‘remain alert in public places’ then god knows what the warning should be for tourists coming to downtown Auckland these days. It sort of seems unfair that Kiwis are being told to ‘exercise increased caution in Fiji’ - I mean that’s what I’d tell anyone visiting Auckland too to be honest. But every time I raise how dangerous Auckland is these days, people always contact me from other centres telling me crime is rampant there too. It’s not just the violence though is it, it’s the low rent factor as well. The social issues tipping out all over our streets. I was in two opposite ends of Auckland yesterday, and both places had barefoot beggars at intersections tapping on car windows asking for money. Some are organised with signs, some just wander aimlessly banging on car windows and waving their hands. Most of the cars I noticed ignored them, in fact all bar one guy in a Ute who wound down his window and flicked out a couple of coins. But who has cash these days anyway? They can’t be making much business out there at the intersections. It used to be window washers asking for money, but these days they’ve ditched the soap and brush and they’re just straight up asking for money outright. I often wonder how intimidating that must be for little old ladies alone in their cars, or young students on their restricted, nervous about why someone is walking through moving traffic banging on their car window. It’s actually dangerous, I saw one guy almost get hit. Cars had to swerve for him, I’m not sure how it’s allowed, but that’s the point. Nothing’s not allowed anymore is it? We’ve just come to accept that our suburban streets may look at times like downtown New York, minus the cops. Barefoot beggars wandering through traffic, and people on street corners yelling obscenities is somehow normal now. When did that happen? When did we just accept that every social and mental health issue is fine to just pour out all over our streets? A woman wrote to me the other day saying her son and a friend had been walking down Auckland’s Queen St last year after attending a gig, and a group of men in a car was going past yelling at pedestrians. The car then stopped, the men got out and attacked her son and his friend. Her son was tasered and stabbed in the chest, puncturing his lung, his friend was bludgeoned with a hammer, resulting in a fractured skull. No one was found or held accountable for the attack. but she said she found herself saying to her son after the Auckland CBD shootings recently, that he was lucky he only got stabbed. She said the fact she even thought that, far less said it out loud, was extremely sobering. It’s a telling sign of where we’re at isn’t it? The bar has sunk so low now, that we’re just grateful we didn’t get shot.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A leading economist is sceptical of claims Official Cash Rate hikes will be halted until next year. The Reserve Bank is providing an OCR update today, with economists predicting it will stay at 5.5 percent. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold says the bank believes this will be on hold until the second half of next year. But he told Kate Hawkesby with a strong labour market, strong migration, and high inflation, he isn't confident this will be the case. Eckhold says the Reserve Bank may need to lift the OCR a bit more, so it can get the inflation rate back to under 3 percent in a reasonable time frame. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US President Donald Trump is facing his fourth indictment in less than five months. He's been charged in Georgia with attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat - he denies all 13 charges including racketeering and election meddling. A phone call has emerged of him pressuring a Georgia Secretary of State to find votes. Washington Post Political reporter Amber Philips told Kate Hawkesby prosecutors believe the call is an essential piece of evidence. She says they believe it was an overt act in the conspiracy of trying to overturn the election results. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than half of New Zealanders say they're starting to sink when it comes to money. Fresh data collected by the Retirement Commission, shows 55 percent are having a hard time with their finances, up 17 percent from 2021. However, Sorted Personal Finance Lead Tom Hartmann told Kate Hawkesby the research also shows more people are starting to focus on positive money management skills. He says more people are considering purchases before they buy, which will help get through this financial rough patch. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The audacity of this Government - seriously, it makes you wonder whether this the most hypocritical government ever. Yesterday, Chris Hipkins - as in pulpit of truth Chris Hipkins – Covid Minister Chris Hipkins, the guy who ran the whole shebang alongside Jacinda - showed he's now so desperate for votes, that he said he now regrets the 2021 lockdown length for Aucklanders. No kidding. Does he really? I lived through that lockdown, alongside everyone else in Auckland. These guys could not have banged on about the importance of locking us down more. They could not have been clearer and surer that they were doing the right thing. Despite all of us who were vocal at the time - myself included - that it was overkill, and too much, and out of hand, and ridiculous, and way too long, they defended it. They chastised those who spoke out against it. They tried to frame anyone who railed against it as some kind of far right conspiracy theorist or anti-vaxxer. They lambasted and discredited anyone who questioned it. They hung on to the power they held and waved it around with gay abandon. And yet - now look. Suddenly Chris Hipkins regrets it. I mean how do we take these guys seriously? Will they literally throw away very ounce of principle they ever had to try to win this election? We’ve already had Grant Robertson swallowing the dead rat that is GST off fruit and vege. Now we’ve got Hipkins regretting Auckland’s lockdown time. Too late mate. Way too late. We lived it. We lost it. We’ll never get that time back. All the people who missed funerals, lost weddings, sacrificed being at their child’s birth, never got to say goodbye to a dying loved one, all the operations delayed, all the people shut out, all the businesses gone under - none of them can get any of it back. So a glib ‘it was probably a bit long’ doesn’t cut it. You don’t get to go back on your decisions now. Not decisions of that magnitude. It’s reprehensible that you could enact such strict rules, with such courage of conviction at the time, only to completely back-peddle later – based on poor poll results and a desire to get back into power. Is this not the pinnacle of unprincipled government? They should hang their heads in shame for what they’ve done to New Zealanders. An apology was owed to Aucklanders - not a cheap line about it probably being too long a lockdown. ‘Looking back,’ Hipkins said, the length of Auckland’s 2021 lockdown was ‘probably one of the decisions he would change.’ Do you reckon? He acknowledged it was a challenging time for this country, but that ‘out of adversity had come strength’. Well while that’s a nice sentiment and possibly true in some cases, it also resulted in people broken, bankrupted, and bereft. To now say you probably regret it just smacks of the amateur hour we knew at the time was running the show. People out of their depth, determined to control the narrative, to shut down any opposition, to rule the roost and play God with people’s lives. We got scammed by power drunk rookie leadership, one of whom has already scarpered leaving one who now has the audacity to tell us he regrets it. So while he may regret Auckland’s 2021 lockdown, I can tell you who regrets it more; Aucklanders.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The curtain is closing on the Women's World Cup for New Zealand, with just one game left on home soil. Spain and Sweden will go head to head tonight at Eden Park in the first semifinal. Over half a million tickets have been sold for the 29 New Zealand games - with the country hosting some of the world's best talent. New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell joined Kate Hawkesby to give a review of the tournament from New Zealand's point of view. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More Kiwis are starting new lives overseas despite migrants arriving in droves. In the year to June, annual net migration rose to more than 86,000. But, the loss was nearly 35,000 citizens - the largest in a decade. ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Kate Hawkesby we're losing New Zealanders to Australia because it's seen as a low-risk option. She says changes to the citizenship and wage levels reassure people to make the move. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian woman who served up poison mushrooms suspected to have killed three people has sent a new statement to police. Erin Patterson now says she was hospitalised after the meal and had bought the ingredients from two different shops. Australian correspondent Donna Demaio Kate Hawkesby says Police are continuing to investigate the deaths. She says Patterson says she released the statement so 'people are not so quick to pass judgement.' She's also admitted lying to investigators that a food dehydrator found at a local tip had been left by her months ago. Patterson says she actually dumped it in a panic after the lunch, when questioned about it by her ex-husband. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The scrapping of Covid restrictions couldn't have come soon enough for the hospitality industry. All remaining restrictions were dropped as of midnight last night, including the seven day isolation period. Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive Steve Armitage told Kate Hawkesby they're surprised it's taken as long as it has, but are keen to move on. He says we need to trust people to manage their business themselves and this development will mean they can finally move forward with recovery. Armitage says it will provide much needed certainty for businesses around staff availability. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Criticisms of Labour's latest election promise are rising. The party's promising to axe GST from fresh and frozen fruit and veggies from April, with the average household expected to save roughly $20 a month. But New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Kate Hawkesby that these policies always end up costing more in revenue than they deliver to families, and make the tax system more complex. He says the accounting gets more difficult, and lawyers have a field day on definitions of what's included and what isn't. Labour's also promising to boost In-Work Tax Credits by $25 a week, and lift the Working for Families abatement threshold. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homes are still covered in silt and roads are far from repaired six months on from Cyclone Gabrielle. The devastating weather event left Gisborne without power and communication for days, and took the lives of 11 people nationwide. Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Kate Hawkesby that resilience is as important as recovery, which could cost billions. She says we can't just keep on patching up these areas, as more storms expected in the coming years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democracy's interesting isn't it? I mean it’s our best option, but look at what we got this weekend in the latest mad grab for power. We’ve got an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist revealed as a NZ First candidate (read the Stuff piece from yesterday and weep), and we’ve got a ruling party announcing no tax on fruit and vege, in a completely pointless policy that even their own Finance Minister hates. It feels like a world gone mad, but then I have to remind myself, we voted for this, and people may yet vote again for it. Democracy in action can be a terrifying ride. I said on Mike’s show last Friday that I worry about the Kiwis with short memories who are saying they’ll vote for Winston again this time round. My colleague Kerre Woodham put it best when she said, ‘I’m sure there are intelligent people who vote NZ First, but I’ve never met or heard of one’. To throw a vote to Winston is to waste your vote. The people voting for Winston are doing it because they say he’ll ‘get rid of all the Maori signs’, or he’ll ‘get rid of all the gender nonsense.’ I mean those two statements alone give you some insight into the NZ First voter’s mindset. But what these people fail to understand is how MMP works. They’re voting for Winston like he’s going to be Prime Minister, like he’s going to have enough sway to move the needle and change things in this country, like the bigger parties are just going to do everything he says. Like he's going to be in government. Think again. Firstly, he's not NZ First he's Winston first. His goals for this country are less about caring about what’s right for it and more about what’s beneficial to him. He appointed a losing party to government in 2017, ignoring everyone who voted for him, just because he wanted to take the biggest bribe and settle some scores. He abandoned his base, for power. And once there, he allowed that government to implement all the things he now rails against. As Richard Prebble wrote the other day in his Herald column, “New Zealand First was no handbrake. Peters was part of a Government that issued compulsory vaccination mandates and developed co-governance. Only he would have the nerve to campaign against policies he made possible. If history is a guide, then the more Peters rules out supporting Labour, the more likely it is that he will support that party.” All voting for NZ First will do, is split the right vote further and make for a more chaotic outcome, or worse, push a left leaning coalition back into power. For all the people who bemoan the state of the country and ‘that’s why they’re voting for Winston’, they’re rolling the dice on no change at all, on keeping status quo – but potentially worse. A coalition of Labour, the Greens, Te Pati Māori and NZ First. Let that sink in for a minute. It’s not a vote for change at all. It’s a vote for a circus act. For those who're voting for Winston because they ‘don’t like Luxon’, you either want change or you don’t. Think about the party and the policies, not just the person. For those who're voting for Winston because they like him personally, bear in mind he'll be one year off 80 next year and he won’t be hanging around. It’s more for him about scoring points, proving something, making his mark and then buggering off to go fishing again. So if you vote for him thinking he’ll be sticking around, I think you’ll be disappointed. When I give my thoughts on Winston, invariably people text me that they’re - 'never listening to me on radio again'. I hope that’s true. The head in the sand Winston worshippers I can live without.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting to work on time isn’t usually an issue for me. I have a well-staged and orchestrated routine that has me rolling out of bed on the first alarm, staggering with mediocre accuracy to the bathroom where I plunge my freshly light tortured eyes and body into an overly hot shower, before dressing at fireman like speed and sliding down the lift shaft to my Newstalk ZB racing car. Today, all of that speed and agility was once again exercised expertly as I’ve done hundreds of times before. But then I was caught like a possum in the lights at the intersection of Newton and Ponsonby Road. As I approached, the lights for me were red. And they stayed red for what seemed like hours. I sat there contemplating all forms of wizardry that might entice the lights to change to that favourable shade of green that we all love. I sat there calculating the action of getting out of the car, running over to the pedestrian lights and activating those – so that the opposing green light would within seconds turn red. Then I sat there and contemplated inching my way into the intersection, against the red light; in a very safe manner of course. But as I sat there contemplating this highly dodgy action, I realised that the red light camera was well and truly trained upon the Early Edition racing car. I then began to delve into further calculations and ran the scientific odds of this camera actually working in light of just how broken New Zealand’s infrastructure is. Then I thought, what are the odds of me easing my car into the intersection, gently running the red light only to find a police officer waiting to set off his own display of red and blue lights. Those odds by the way were overwhelmingly in their favour. Not mine. By this time, many other cars had piled up behind me, possibly running the same calculations; and mentally urging me to be the one to break the law, run the red light and commit the crime of Friday morning. After what seemed like hours of interminable pain and suffering; the lights turned green and I was eventually able to get to work and tell Executive Producer Hannah all about my epic early morning contemplation of law breaking frustration. I know New Zealand isn’t completely stuffed. But at 3:30am when traffic lights don’t allow you to get to work and your stress levels are through the roof… only one thought coursed through my head. Just fix the infrastructure. Anyone. Any political party. Just promise to fix New Zealand and then actually fix it all once you’ve won the election. Please. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One political party is making a comeback. New Zealand First has gained popularity in the latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll, gaining enough support to push over the five percent threshold to return to parliament. It comes after Act leader David Seymour says he refuses to partner with Winston Peters. But that may have to change as a National-Act government is looking more solid. Political commentator Brigette Morten joined Roman Travers to break down the latest numbers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday's news that another of our major banks has made another record profit, just about had me falling off my financially unstable rocking horse. ASB have reported another record annual profit in the same week that the TSB have said they'll be closing seven of their 25 branches, even though they are rated highly in customer service and satisfaction surveys. The ASB is our third biggest bank, and they've just reported this record profit, after all costs, of an eye watering $1.56 billion which is an increase of 6% on last year. In a way that's supposed to induce some form of pity for them, they've also announced that because of the slowing economy and rising interest rates, their earnings have been detrimentally affected. Oh dear. Oh my. How tragic is that? Isn't it amazing to see the power of the PR machine spinning madly in the background even with a business as profitable as the ASB bank? Isn't it sickening to see that within the same outward gush of hot halitosis breath, laced with stale gin and tonic from yesterday's celebrations after announcing another record profit; this sentiment of sadness and sorrow apropos their reducing profits? So why is it that we still flock to these major foreign owned banks regardless of the record profits they make and return offshore? Are we so short-sighted when it comes to the demonstrable benefits of supporting our own New Zealand made banks - that supporting the big foreign owned major players is just a forgone conclusion? Another key part of the ASB's record profit announcement yesterday came in the form of their commitment to reducing scams and illegal activity. I guess when you're making such obscene levels of profit, you can invest in anything you want to. I don't buy into the PR spin of, "we're here for New Zealand and we are here for the New Zealand economy". Ultimately, that could not be further from the truth. Ultimately, as a business, you're there to impress your senior executives and your shareholders. That's it. Bottom line. The final part of the ASB's PR statement yesterday was to acknowledge that they are 'actively engaging' with the Commerce Commission market study into personal banking services. I wasn't aware that there was a choice. Of course they have to comply with the commerce commission study. The only real choice, and the only way to make a difference comes in the form of you and me and where we choose to bank. I can only dream of a day when we have a commercially, competitive and viable bank that's completely New Zealand owned and operated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six people have died as wildfires engulf the Hawaiian island of Maui. Residents and tourists have been escaping into the sea to escape the blazes, devastating the town of Lahaina. Some with burns and smoke inhalation, are being flown to Honolulu for treatment. US correspondent Mitch McCann told Roman Travers the fires are being exacerbated by wind from a hurricane moving past the island. He says thousands of homes have lost power and cell services, leaving people stranded and unable to call 911. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is an expectation McDonald's will address charging loyal app users higher prices. Users have taken to complain on social networking site Reddit, after pointing out a $3 difference between what app users and casual customers are charged. McDonald's says the prices may be different to entice some customers to return to the app. But Massey University marketing professor Bodo Lang told Roman Travers it's doing the opposite. He says companies want people to engage with it and this personalisation of prices is counterintuitive. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The primary teachers union says the secondary teachers pay rise is great news for the whole sector. PPTA members have accepted a 14.5 percent pay bump, meaning roughly 30,000 teachers will receive the first of three pay boosts between now and the end of next year. NZEI President Mark Potter told Roman Travers there's more to be done, but this is a good step towards recognising the value of teachers. He says resolutions to workload and resourcing issues are also needed to bring the teaching profession back to the status it once had. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For all the people ‘hopping across the Tasman’ at the moment I can tell you one thing - it’s not a hop. It used to be a short haul quick trip - painless. But these days it seems to be less painless and more painful. I’m not sure who’s more at fault - Auckland Airport or Air New Zealand, or both. Of the three times I’ve crossed the Tasman in the last month; I’ve been held up on the tarmac or delayed every time - twice without any communication at all. Once was a lengthy tarmac sit where they announced after an uncomfortably long wait - that there was an issue with the brakes needing fixing. More delay - then another announcement - they’d need to actually replace the brakes. How you can’t sort the brakes out before you board everyone is beyond me but that added two hours to our flight, so the short hop across the Tasman was no longer short and we hadn’t even left the ground yet. Likewise coming home the airport had no dogs rostered on, so they were screening every single bag of every single passenger including flight crew - queues for miles, no one knowing what was going on, so much delay my sister missed her connecting flight to Christchurch. Many others missed their connections too. Air NZ also has this new annoying thing where they announce boarding, yet when you get to the gate there are no staff there, no one is boarding anyone, and no communication. So passengers are all standing around wondering what’s going on. This last trip to Sydney a man got verbally abusive over the fact that when they did finally allow people to board they boarded everyone at once and didn’t prioritize premium passengers as they’d said they would. This man started yelling at the ground crew that as a premium passenger who’d paid extra he should not be at the back of a very large queue. He was yelling, but the crew did nothing. My brother was flying out of Auckland yesterday in a party of eight, they got an email from Air NZ saying they were downgrading aircraft and therefore passengers, so a heap of people got put down the back into economy - people who’d booked business class and premium. Cue more grumpy travellers. At check in, the only oversized baggage conveyor working had a glitch where the in-feed belt didn’t load, so massive queues, more upset passengers worried they’d miss boarding. When they called everyone to the gate for boarding, again there was no boarding, more delays and then they announced engineering issues. Again, why board everyone if your plane isn’t ready to go. And why aren’t the planes ready to go? So further delays for what was ostensibly just a three hour flight. He was on the tarmac delayed for an hour fifteen, before they even pushed back from the gate. His group were all separated on board, which also happened to my daughter and I, as the seat booked for her was broken, so she ended up on the opposite side of the cabin to me. This is all a bad buzz for people wanting to travel - it doesn't inspire goodwill from your customers. We deserve better - but so do our visitors to this country. It's an embarrassingly shoddy experience that gives an awful first impression. Both Air NZ and Auckland Airport have some serious work to do, to be more professional, so it feels less amateur hour out there. They need a manager on the ground at Auckland airport walking the floor and seeing in real time what a circus it is - and then doing something about it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National plans to crack down on cellphone use in schools, if it wins the October election. It would ban phones for all year groups - with some exemptions for those needing the devices for health or learning purposes. Party Leader Christopher Luxon says it's about eliminating unnecessary disturbances and distractions. But social media expert Vaughan Davis told Kate Hawkesby studies show cellphone use in schools doesn't really hurt, or improve learning. He says the accusation that they hurt academic performance doesn't really stand up. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A change in attitudes is needed before people will stop using cellphones in their cars. A six-month Waka Kotahi safety camera trial across Auckland spotted 242,000 potential offences, including drivers using handheld phones or not wearing a seatbelt. Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis says we need a culture change so people don't have to be constantly available by phone. He told Kate Hawkesby people need to take the issue more seriously, as continual phone use is just waiting for an accident to happen. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Criticism of the Government's climate deal with a major investment company is being disputed. BlackRock Capital has launched a $2 billion fund to help New Zealand achieve 100 percent renewable electricity. ACT condemned the announcement saying it amounts to the Government micro-managing energy supply. But BusinessDesk journalist Dileepa Fonseka says this isn't the case. Fonseka says the fund doesn't emphasise one form of energy over another. He adds they could be referring to the target, but this also isn't set by the fund. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I got sent a video yesterday, which I assume is doing the rounds, of the Point England shooting in Auckland on the weekend. 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon in a suburban neighbourhood in Auckland. That makes three shootings in a week by the way for our country, three separate gunmen on the loose – still at large – and three victims dead. It seems unfathomable that this is the state of our country right now. The video of the Point England one shows a scene of chaos; people running around, as shots volley out across the reserve. It’s incredulous to watch and think this is just a family suburb of Auckland. How did we end up here? The answer to that is lengthy, but the consequences are people left terrified in their own communities. The Herald yesterday reported a “traumatised mother who’d spoken of her horror after her two young children witnessed the fatal daylight gang shootout from their living room window. She told the Herald her children, aged 6 and 8, were watching television when gunshots rang out. “They saw two men firing guns at each other right outside our house,” she said. ‘Two people were shot, with one later dying in hospital. Police described it as “reckless violence” in community spaces and “deplorable” to authorities and the public,’ it was reported. This woman's been left traumatised and on edge since the incident.’ She said she won’t let her kids play in the reserve now like they used to as she ‘feels insecure’, she said. We know of a grandmother in the area who’s scared to leave her house now. These people are lucky they weren’t hurt, but with that unfolding outside your window and the killer still at large, you can see how locals would be terrified. Likewise downtown Auckland in the CBD (the scene of two shootings this month), has become a scary place to be after dark. I know of several people who now have to rethink their schedules to account for random violence and nut jobs accosting them. They either hybrid work some days from home, change hours to enable them to leave town before dark, or have changed their mode of transport home for safety reasons. Swapping from the bus to an Uber, some book taxis rather than risk waiting for an Uber on the street. Good decent hard working people, changing their routines and schedules, just to try and stay safe. They shouldn't have to, but they’re being proactive, they feel forced to by the lack of patrols downtown, the lack of security, the lack of a Police presence. That’s how dangerous downtown Auckland’s become. It’s a travesty. There're plenty of people who don’t like hearing this stuff, but why shouldn’t we report the facts? When the streets and parks of our communities and our CBD’s are so awash with crime and violence? We should be appalled; we can’t just put our heads in the sand and pretend it’s not happening. We don’t fix it or move forward by denying it. We have to confront the stark reality that this country is not what it was, the streets do not feel safe, random people with guns are shooting them and not being arrested because they’ve scarpered. And then we get told to ‘keep a look out’ for dangerous criminals on the loose. Is anyone feeling safer yet? I don’t think so.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks' squad for the 2023 World Cup has been named. Former player Richie McCaw announced the 33 players heading to France at an event in Napier last night. The first game with France verses New Zealand is Saturday 9th September local time. So will the boys handle the heat? Sky Sports rugby commentator Tony Johnson joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police in Victoria are keeping an open mind after three people died from a poisoned mushroom lunch, cooked by their daughter-in-law. Another guest is in critical condition in hospital. Australian correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby the daughter-in-law is denying any malice. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's main fast food company says its full year profit could be half of last year's. Restaurant Brands, responsible for KFC, Taco Bell, Carl's Junior and Pizza Hut, is blaming inflation. Devon Funds Management Retail Manager Greg Smith told Kate Hawkesby there's a clear driver of higher costs in the sector. He says the price of ingredients has risen threefold in some cases. The company is expecting between $12 and $16 million in profit. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A plea for action has come to address the recent spate of violent crime. Police are raising concerns about rising gang tensions, after fatal shootings in Auckland's Point England and Palmerston North's Highbury over the weekend - both linked to gang rivalries. They're also continuing to hunt for the man wanted over Thursday's fatal shooting in downtown Auckland. Heart of the City Chief Executive Viv Beck told Kate Hawkesby Auckland is now at risk of no longer being seen as a safe place. She says if that doesn't change now, Auckland could become known internationally as a "dangerous city". LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It’s a fantastic place to grow up as a kid... and it’s also a great place to retire... it's the in-between bits that are tricky,” said Neil Finn when once asked what NZ was like. It’s the same now I’d argue. He also said, and bear in mind this is many, many years ago, that it was "the worst place in the world to be if you had any ambition.” That’d be true now too I reckon. And at the risk of sounding like Marc Ellis and all the other Kiwis bailing, we have definitely lost our mojo. We are backwards on too many metrics. Australia - where I’ve been three times in the last month —Sydney and Melbourne— is more forward focussed than we are, it’s going places, people are upbeat - my sister's currently in Queensland, she says it’s the same there. Here, it feels like we are still mopping up from a pandemic and a shut down that we should've bounced back from ages ago. The fact we haven’t yet, or don't want to, or don't know how to, speaks volumes about where we are and who we are. Focussed on all the wrong things, held up by all the wrong belief systems, dragged down by lowest common denominator BS. Take our Universities for example, laying people off, closing down courses, low enrolments, high dropout rates. Compare that to Australia… in huge demand by international students, drawing in large numbers of Kiwi candidates - in fact at Sydney Uni they say the waitlist for some on campus accommodations is so long you’re best to apply now for 2025. The gap now between Australia and us seems ever wider. You can feel it when you’re there. NZ just seems down at heel, and to be frank, miserable. So how do we turn it around? Because a change of government I don’t think is going to be enough. The change needs to be radical. We need wholesale changes in attitudes and ambition. We need to want for better and demand more. From our government, from our law and order, from our bureaucracy, from our thought leaders, and from ourselves. We’ve gotten complacent and happy with average. And that’s seeped into every orifice. And the problem with average is it just erodes into below average before you know it. But I’m desperate to turn it around because as I watch more and more of our young people refuse to hang around here - it makes me more determined to fix it. How have we become a country our children don’t even want to stay and study in? A country that anyone with ambition or drive, is leaving. I don’t know how we fix it or how we grow everything back up, bit when Marc Ellis said NZ’s best days were behind it… that cuts deep. That’s writing off a whole country forever and I refuse to believe we can’t bounce back. It’s not as simple as just ‘go’ if you don't like it, not if you're established here with a home, family, kids in schools, jobs, pets, commitments. It’s not that easy for everyone to upsticks and leave and I’m not sure that’s the answer. I think we have to dig deep at this juncture and work out what we can do to build a brighter future here, and turn attitudes around. A few simple things might get us back on track, like cleaning up the levels of crime, working on our infrastructure, paying better attention to the liveability of our CBD’s. It’s really confronting when you travel and see just how quickly other cities have moved on from where we're still stuck, but just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's Business Chamber is keen to see some momentum on a second harbour crossing. The Government's released a plan which will include two 3-lane vehicle tunnels and a light rail route connecting Albany and the CBD. Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges told Kate Hawkesby that the plan is positive, and he'd love to see more details. He wants to know if it can be sped up, and exactly how much it will decongest the roads. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So what is going on with people throwing objects at musicians on stage? I know. It’s not the most pressing issue in the world today, but it’s Friday, after all. What we’ve seen at recent concerts is a breakdown in the social etiquette that normally sees an artist and an audience coming together respectfully. We’re seeing an increase in aggressiveness and rudeness – from both sides - and the desire for concert goers to steal the limelight from the star on stage with attention grabbing antics designed to make them go viral online. I don’t know if you saw the Cardi B video of her reacting to someone from the crowd throwing water at her during a Vegas concert. The retribution was swift and brutal as Cardi B hurled her microphone. I don’t know if she hit her target or a loyal fan – but the result is a law suit. I don’t condone Cardi’s B’s behaviour but it does represent how fed up artists are at being targeted. Recently Harry Style’s was hit in the eye by a flying object, Bebe Rexha took a phone to the face and needed stitches, and Justin Bieber put a phone thrown at him down his pants. At a Pink concert, someone handed her a wheel of cheese, and at another concert someone allegedly threw a bag of their mother’s ashes on stage. Needless to say Pink was taken aback when she found out what was in the bag. And the list goes on… Whatever happened to tossing a pair of knickers? Throwing things on stage is not new. There will be many of you who like me have been going to gigs for decades, and watching singers gracefully dodge projectiles coming their way without the slightest pause in performance. It used to be mostly bottles that were thrown – only for the culprit to be swiftly removed, without achieving any infamy. While there has always been a divide between floor and stage this doesn’t mean the line can’t be crossed – as long as it’s instigated by the artists. Stage diving, crowd surfing and audience participation has been part of the concert experience for years. And then there’s the aforementioned Knicker trend – which never seems to end. The sexual revolution has been blamed for knicker throwing taking off in the late 1960s. Over the years Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Mick Jagger, Jon Bon Jovi, Drake and One Direction, just to name a few, have been confronted with underwear hitting the stage. Apparently Lana del Rey has also received her fair share of underwear. As has John Farnham, which did not go down well with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. They had a series of concerts planned in 2005 but she pulled out after watching videos of women throwing knickers at Farnham during one of his concerts. It ended up in court; our Dame won. So while not new, it is interesting to see how artists are reacting to it now. No longer happy to see the funny side of it and deal with it in good grace, they’re calling time out. Recently Adele spoke out against the spate of people throwing objects at musicians, telling her audience she would “kill you” if they tried. I wouldn’t try it on with Adele. Clearly I go to a concerts for a difference reason to some others. I go for the music, the show, the atmosphere, the shared experience and the talent. And that’s the way it should be. Not to make yourself famous on tiktok.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surgery wait times continue to be lengthy, despite the Government saying its targeted approach is working. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says the total number of planned care treatments, including minor operations, is increasing nationwide. People waiting longer than three years for treatment now either have a date and plan, or have been treated, and officials are working their way down from there. Christchurch colorectal surgeon Chris Wakeman told Francesca Rudkin it's a tough problem to fix. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s taken over a year, but maybe, just maybe, all the disruption to teenage schooling is coming to an end after the government accepted a recommendation by the Arbitration Panel and offered to increase secondary teachers’ base salaries by 14.5 percent by December 2024. This package to settle the teachers and principal’s agreement is the final offer from the Government, and will add $680 million to the $3.76 billion already set aside by the Government to resolve this issue. The extra money is coming from savings found in departmental funding through project deferrals, a forecast underspend on staffing and removing the reimbursement of bank staffing. The Post Primary Teachers Association is “pleased” to see the offer and will be recommending to members they accept it ahead of a vote next week. Wouldn’t that be good. I think we all agree teachers are undervalued. I think we accept their argument for a pay increase matching inflation, better conditions so they can do their jobs more effectively and a deal which attracts and retains teachers. Surely these have been met by this offer, and surely they will accept. I’m not sure even parents who consider education fundamental for our children and the country, and believe the value of teachers should be reflected monetarily, can stomach the use of their children as pawns in this stalemate anymore. It was always expected that as the election draws near the Government would want to demonstrate it values education and teachers – it wants their votes after all. Equally, the PPTA could be concerned about a potential change in government and more austere times ahead, so are trying to get the best deal they can now. This deal seems to tick both boxes, and it's time for the Ministry, teachers and principals to get back to prioritising students. Yesterday, data came to light from the Education Ministry showing that last year 75 percent of school leavers attained NCEA Level 2 or above – down from 81 percent in 2017. Māori school leavers fared worse, with just 59 percent getting NCEA Level 2 or above. The overall figure should come with some context. Many students began working during Covid, apprenticeships are on the rise and unemployment levels have been low, but serious work needs to be done to find more ways to keep students in some form of education. I’m not saying teachers haven’t been putting their students first. But you’ve got to admit, the ongoing pay stalemate has been a distraction. Let’s get back to focusing on the real issue; finding a way to successful educate all Kiwi kids. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GDT results have taken a sharp dive - down 4.3 per cent. Whole milk powder - which more or less dictates Fonterra's farmgate milk price - is down 8 per cent. It's all painting a fairly bleak outlook for farmers.. Wayne Langford, Federated Farmers National president, joined Early Edition to discuss the impact of the figures. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don't know how bad the Government's books are, but there are signs things are worse than previously thought. National is calling on Finance Minister Grant Robertson to be up-front about the state of the books. Robertson has confirmed he's called in Crown chief executives for a meeting about financial restraint. But Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Francesca Rudkin the Finance Minister won't be specific about any revenue shortfall. Olsen says even if we don't know the size of any shortfall, it appears the Government has taken a bit of a hit. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims National's approach to parental leave is more "flexible" than the current rules. A member's Bill proposed by National's Nicola Willis would allow parents to take paid leave at the same time, one after the other, or in overlapping instalments. Currently, primary carers can't take parental leave together. Labour was the only party to vote against it - using its majority in the House to block it. Kids Need Dadz field worker Allan Harvey told Francesca Rudkin giving families the ability to chose is important. He says allowing both parents parents to take time off, while not having a financial impact is a good idea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m amped by this new study on coffee. I know, I know, everyday a new study telling us something we should or shouldn’t be doing that we thought previously we could or couldn’t do. Llike chocolate’s bad for you, then it’s good, wine’s bad for you then it’s good, coffee’s the devil and now it’s good. But still, I love a good bit of research, especially broad spectrum studies and this latest one on coffee was a 15-year-study of more than half a million participants. It showed ‘people who drank coffee were less vulnerable to a range of chronic illnesses’. “Drinking coffee is protective for health,” it said. You can have two to five cups a day and get the cognitive and health benefits. Apparently the cut off is seven, so don’t go more than seven cups a day for goodness sake. But it can reduce the risk of colorectal cancers, it helps flush toxins through your system, it promotes good gut bacteria for your microbiome, it’s got polyphenols which protect against inflammation apparently - this includes decaf by the way. It can improve brain function, there’s a link ‘between coffee drinking and better cognition in later life’. One researcher was quoted saying she believes ‘the components in coffee may be helpful in maintaining neuronal plasticity and activity.’ It can also help prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to a Swedish professor quoted in the report. Apparently, all these health benefits stem from ‘the complex mixture of minerals and chemicals within coffee, from magnesium to chlorogenic acid, {which} potentially alters how the body produces and uses insulin.” Basically it’s full of antioxidants that potentially have anti-inflammatory properties. It can boost your metabolism, increase dopamine, protect against neurodegenerative conditions, the study says, so you know, the list goes on, and it’s sounding pretty bloody promising to get into that morning brew. There’s a reason our body obviously craves it. But here's the thing, here’s the point of this whole story. I gave up coffee 24 years ago when I was pregnant with my first child. I was very hippie and dedicated to having a body free of stimulants or caffeine but the upshot is, I never went back. I kept having babies and then once I’d finished doing all that procreating and breastfeeding I found I’d just lost the taste for it. Then years later it became cool to stop drinking coffee and I thought wow I’m so far ahead of this trend without even realizing it. So I just kept going, but then I see this study. On top of all the other studies, saying how good it is for you, so now I’m wondering, do I take back up coffee? Because I’m into the health benefits. And if I do, do I start with decaf and ease back in gently? Or do I go a hardcore double shot? My husband drinks espressos, black, straight up caffeine. He loves his coffee machine but he’s a purist coffee drinker. I would need to add milk, thankfully the health benefits are not lost when you add milk, they’re only lost when you add sugar. So a double shot flat white this arvo for me? Or a slow intro like a decaf latte to begin with? Let me know, coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers, what would you do? Do I break a 24 year run? This is the big question of the morning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unemployment figures are out today - and it's the last data set before the election. It's currently sitting at 3.4 percent and no-one is expecting much change to that. Sharon Zollner is ANZ's Chief Economist and she joined Kate Hawkesby ahead of the figure's release. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The retail sector is pointing to Government justice policies as a reason for increasing crime. Police figures suggest only 2.3 percent of reported retail crime results in arrests. The number of retail offences reported to police last year was over 125,000, up from 61,000 in 2021, although that year saw lengthy Covid-19 lockdowns in several regions. Sandringham Business Association Chair Jithin Chittibomma told Kate Hawkesby the Government's approach leaves a lot to be desired. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party is slamming Labour's legacy in schools. Education Ministry data shows last year 75 percent of school leavers attained NCEA Level 2 or above - down from 81 percent in 2017. Maori school leavers fared worse - with just 59 percent getting NCEA level two or above. National's Education Spokesperson Erica Stanford told Kate Hawkesby she's not surprised. She says it's been a trend that the stats have gone down every single year since 2017. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A friend of my nephew was king hit from behind in town by a bouncer several months ago when he was out in Auckland city. He was a visitor from the US, being shown around NZ, being shown some nightlife in Auckland. He wound up in hospital needing several stitches to his head. The bouncer didn’t like the look of them, came down some steps after them, followed them a short distance along the street and then punched him in the back of his head as he was walking away. The whole thing was filmed, there were witnesses, the Police were called and turned up, they were shown the video footage, CCTV footage, they spoke to everyone concerned, they had everything there right in front of them including the culprit. Did they make an arrest? They did not. The Police at the time were unsure what to do; they said they needed to ‘think about it’. The next day, many questions were asked, including why no charges had been laid. They’d be ‘following it up in due course’ they said. Witness statements were made, reports filed and then silence. Crickets chirping. Month after month ticked by, nothing. Then, the other day, seven whole months after the event, a police spokesperson got in touch with an update. The bouncer had been ‘spoken to’ about the incident. He had ‘taken full responsibility’. No kidding, he was all over all the footage being caught in the act. He was offered a ‘community panel’ which is ‘an alternative to court.’ Why? Who knows. Who’s on this panel? Again, who knows. Why was he offered it? Why did he get to choose between court or a community panel? Who would know. I looked up community panels, called Te Piki Oranga. It’s an ‘Iwi Community Panel, where the participant is given the choice of attending a panel hearing or going to Court. Panels are made up of three community people. They are not judges or lawyers. Their job is to decide what should happen as a result of the offence.’ The offender had to ‘meet some outcomes’ the police spokesperson said. What outcomes? Who knows. Who’s checking he meets them? As far as the police were concerned, it’d been ‘dealt with’. They’d handed it over to the community panel. Case closed. So a violent attack in town that saw a young man, a tourist to our country, wind up in the back of an ambulance and in hospital for hours awaiting stitches, is wrapped up seven months later by a chat with a community panel. No arrests, no charges, no court, no sentence. Did this offender get to keep their job? We understand yes. So will this person offend again and thump someone else they don’t like the look of one night? I can’t see why not, given the lack of consequences shown this time. So what are we saying to victims in these scenarios? We are saying, you may encounter violence in our country, and your complaints won’t be followed up for seven months, at which point the offender will get off scot-free, bar a few unknown ‘outcomes’ they’ve been asked to meet. Your ambulance trip to hospital, your stitches, your recovery from head injuries and trauma, your terrible experience here, that’s just tough luck. Will this tourist be back to our shores? He absolutely will not. Will he tell others about his experience here? You betcha. So when we say the effects of being soft on crime is harming our country, the domino effect is it’s harming guests to our country too, which has far reaching effects that we should be more cognizant of I reckon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the latest in a series of attacks, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says war is returning to Russia. Russia's Defence Ministry says it brought down three Ukrainian drones after a strike on Moscow yesterday. It damaged a high rise building before being intercepted. Newshub's Europe correspondent Lisette Reymer joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss the developments. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.