Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Capital gains and wealth taxes may not accomplish the goals advocates think they might. After investigating, Chris Hipkins has ruled out those changes while he's Prime Minister. Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker says wealth taxes don't bring in a huge amount of revenue, but create higher administration and compliance costs. She says there are unintended consequences which have been seen in overseas countries, like Norway. Walker says the wealthy and "the want to be wealthy" have fled the country. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no evidence a BBC presenter who allegedly paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos committed a crime, London police says as the broadcaster’s wife publicly identified him for the first time as veteran news anchor Huw Edwards. Metropolitan police said it made its decision after speaking with the alleged victim and that person’s parents. The parents had complained to The Sun newspaper last week that the BBC had allowed the presenter to remain on air after they told the broadcaster in May that he paid the youth more than $72,000 starting in 2020 when the person was 17. As the scandal remained atop the news all week, colleagues at the BBC had called for the unnamed presenter to come forward. Edwards is one of Britain’s best-known news broadcasters. Photo / BBC It was only early Thursday morning that his wife, Vicky Flind, issued a statement identifying Edwards. She said her husband was suffering from serious mental health issues and was hospitalised. Flind said after “five extremely difficult days for our family” she was naming him “primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children”. “The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future,” she said. Colleagues at the BBC called for the unnamed presenter to come forward. Photo / AP Edwards, 61, is one of Britain’s best-known and most authoritative news broadcasters, lead anchor on the BBC’s nighttime news and the face of its election coverage. He led BBC coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September. He’s among the broadcaster’s best-paid stars, with an annual salary of at least $896,000. The UK’s publicly funded national broadcaster had not named Edwards, but said it had suspended a male star over the allegations. The BBC said it will continue its investigation into the matter. A lawyer representing the young person in question, who was not named, told the BBC earlier this week that “nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality”. The lawyer said the allegations reported in The Sun were “rubbish”. Though the age of sexual consent in Britain is 16, it is a crime to make or possess indecent images of anyone under 18.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So more than a hundred million users have signed up for Meta's new Threads platform - making it the fastest growing online platform in history. Can you believe that? How do more than a hundred million people still have so much to say that they need to say it on a whole new platform? It was set up to rival Twitter; it's kind of a Twitter 2.0 but they’re trying to make it ‘kind’, they say. Clearly they don’t understand how the internet works. Anything that even for one moment purports to be ‘kind’ is corrupted eventually - the internet is just not a ‘kind’ place. Even Instagram, which started out as the least nasty of all the social media platforms, still has keyboard warriors coming for you, still has trolls lining up in your DM’s to ask if you were wearing a seatbelt in that last video, or if you really should let your children walk around without shoes on. But with the proliferation of platforms, there are just more outlets for more people to say more stuff - most of which is either irrelevant or of no importance to your life whatsoever. It truly is the domain of bored people and stalkers. Or influencers. Or comedians. Or those with an agenda. You go into it knowing all that and taking it for what it is surely? But I just don’t know why we need more of it? It's like streaming services these days too, are we not so awash with content now that it’s actually just a turn off? Too much of everything? At a time when we are supposedly meant to be getting back to nature and sunlight and less screen time and less stress? Are we not in the process of eating ourselves here? The other thing that gets me about Threads is because it’s linked to your Instagram, apparently once you get it you can’t delete it, without deleting your whole Instagram. So they’ve got you. I was listening to a podcast the other day by a Guru out of India who was saying the world now is just full of expression, rather than perception. We don’t listen anymore, we don’t tune in to what’s really happening, we don’t use perception to enhance our lives, because these days there are so many platforms to express ourselves that we’re just busy expressing all the time. Espousing our opinions, expressing our beliefs and spewing outwardly so much that we take nothing in. We are hungry for more platforms to express more of our views. More social media platforms, more podcasts, more, more, more. But the point he makes is, when we’re so busy all the time expressing, when are we stopping to listen? And if we’re not stopping to listen, then when do we learn? How much of what is being ‘expressed’ is just regurgitated ignorance? There’s a growth in ‘silent’ retreats these days. People are paying to go somewhere and just shut up. They’re paying to stop the noise. There is so much expression now that people actually pay to get away from it. So I look at the addition of Threads to our lives with a certain level of cynicism. I’m not saying I won’t be suckered into it, eventually, but I happily exist without Twitter, Facebook and TikTok, so maybe not. Then again I’m not the target market. I think it’s for Millennials. And you know what? They’re welcome to it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The court system backlog continues. Families are waiting on average nearly 500 days for answers to Coronial cases - and over 170 for District Court case resolutions. Family Court decision wait times have tripled in five years, forcing people to wait over 1000 days for answers. King's Counsel barrister Marie Dyhrberg joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We shouldn't see any surprises from the central bank on the Official Cash Rate today. Most economists are picking no change after Reserve Bank head Adrian Orr indicated they were done. It's expected to be confirmed around 2pm this afternoon. Christina Leung, Principal Economist at the New Zealand institute of Economic Research joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People are questioning the BBC's response to allegations of inappropriate behaviour against a high-profile presenter, with a second person coming out with complaints. The second lot of allegations are from a person in their 20s, who met the presenter on a dating app and allegedly received abusive messages and was pressured to meet with them. The BBC has confirmed it didn't speak to the presenter until last week, despite initial claims being made in May. UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the BBC took only two attempts to contact the complainant. He says the presenter's identity is still unknown but they are suspended. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I tell you what’s a good look - CEOs who walk the talk - and we’re seeing a bit more of it these days which is great. Because I think we’re at a time now where we expect more of our leadership, one of the things we expect most is that they’re the real deal. That they ‘walk among us’ and seem a little bit human. More and more you’ll see bosses or those in leadership roles sitting at desks in open plan offices rather than being squirreled away in a vault somewhere removed from the hoi polloi. When I started out my media career many moons ago as a naïve 21 year old intern at TVNZ, bosses were tucked away in upstairs offices. You got summoned to them by a PA who would brief you before you went in – so as to prepare you for ‘face time with the boss’. “He’s in a good mood today you’re lucky..”, or “hope you’re not going to be too long in there because he’s flat out today..” There was this constant middle man go between, between you and the manager. Even walking up to see the manager was a big deal. People would see you going along towards the ‘management’ corridors and say stuff to you like ‘hope you’re not in trouble!’ So there were mind games being played on you before you even got to their door. Then when the Pitbull PA or the executive assistant finally allowed you in, the big boss would reach into his filing cabinet and pull out your contract or your folder (pre everything being online) and take a good hard look at the notes before looking up to engage you. A nerve wracking time? To say the least. Thank god those days are over. At least I assume they’re over, please tell me if they’re not where you work, but I’m assuming those days are well and truly over. These days the boss is just another one of you, they’re on the shop floor, they go to pub quiz night, they play on the work social sports teams, they keep communication lines open - or the good ones do anyway. But I raise all this because my parents were at the airport the other day, it was absolutely chocka, school holiday madness, they were waiting to check in, and this guy comes over and offers to help. He’s helping others, he sees them struggling – confused as to where to do bag drop or something, and he offers to help them. He does their bag labels, points them in the right direction, walks them to where they need to be, sorts it all out for them. Anyway, turns out, it’s Greg Foran. Now this isn’t new; Air NZ’s CEO is often out at the airport working the floor in various departments. Staff know it, passengers know it, it endears management to people, it means they’re visible and approachable.. two key attributes of modern leadership. But if you ask Foran he’ll tell you he does it because it helps him get to know the company – and every aspect of it, better than any time in a board room will. Nothing like being on the front line. So that’s impressive, it’s noted by customers, it’s appreciated by staff, it sends a good message that he's one of the team, and that he's not above lugging bags onto a travellator. CEOs on the ground pitching in is hopefully more often nowadays the norm rather than the exception. And if it's not, it should be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new study has confirmed exercising before an operation will substantially improve your recovery. Researchers at Otago University collated data from their own and other existing studies and found high intensity interval training can reduce the risk of surgery complications by 56 percent. Lead researcher Dr Kari Clifford says even a brief four week programme makes a difference, while also giving patients agency at a time when they may not feel in control. Clifford says it's something meaningful they can do before their surgery that will actually improve their outcome. She adds getting people out of recovery sooner will alleviate pressure on the sector. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dwelling consents have fallen 10 percent this year - slowing down demand for residential building. Latest CoreLogic figures show construction costs still increased by 0.6 percent in the June quarter, in line with March figures. But it's a decrease on the average quarterly rise of two percent which we've seen in 2021 and 2022. Chief property economist Kelvin Davidson says the sector is slowing down, but that doesn't mean new-builds will get cheaper. He says wages are still a big component of the new-build price - and those aren't going to fall. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Pasifika representative says the community will hold the Government to account if changes aren't made to Dawn Raid practices. An independent review suggests the Government should make deep changes to the Immigration Act - and out-of-hours visits should be only the last resort. It also calls for the consideration of those, like children and the elderly. Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina told Kate Hawkesby the recommendations are clear. He says the Government needs to be held accountable for the changes that need to be made to the practices. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the BBC's leading presenters has been suspended over allegations that he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. The broadcaster says it's working to establish facts around the unnamed male presenter, who's a regular presenter and a "household name". London's Met Police says while no formal referral or allegation has been made, it's received initial contact from the BBC. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby that the broadcaster is taking the allegations very seriously. The allegations are that the presenter paid the equivalent of 70 to 80-thousand NZD for explicit photos of the teenager over a three year period. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A criminal lawyer is casting doubt on the benefits of throwing the book at troubled youth. The Act Party wants 17-year-olds to be charged as adults, and for youth justice facilities to be run by Corrections, not Oranga Tamariki. Steve Cullen told Kate Hawkesby that the policy would make problems worse. He says putting 17-year-olds in prison would create a fertile source for gang recruitment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So while we were away the news from home was pretty much standard. Another MP facing conflict of interest questions (looking at you Peeni Henare), another MP in meltdown and on leave, another Dairy owner attacked, the (entirely predictable) revelation that government debt was way higher than forecast, the disturbing news of half a billion dollars on almost expired RAT tests being stored in a warehouse exemplifying the very worst of this government’s wastage of our money, more youths on roofs being handed KFC for their troubles, and some more gaslighting by Ministers regards how we’re all feeling. Fresh from her ‘we’re all feeling safer’ tone deaf blunder, Police minister Ginny Andersen was busy alleging that Labour hasn’t failed on crime. She ‘does not accept,’ it was reported, that the Government's record on crime is a "social and moral failure". Not even ‘hammer wielding offenders storming a Dairy and injuring two people’ could sway her. Nope, nothing to see here. No issues with crime, it’s all hunky dory folks! Just in the interests of data, which tends to outweigh and contradict the Police Minister’s opinions, records show “retail crime shot up 39 percent between 2018 and 2022..” according to Ministry of justice figures. The Nat’s Paul Goldsmith blames government mixed messaging. He says, “the one target that they've had is to reduce the prison population irrespective of what's happening in the community and they've created a culture of excuses for crime and that has led to this sense of impunity," it was reported. And he’s right isn’t he? No real consequences for crime and the offenders know it. But when asked if the Government’s soft on crime, Police Minster Ginny Andersen said she ‘refuted it’ (straight from the Jacinda playbook). But she can refute it all she wants, she can deny they’re soft on crime, she can claim it’s not a failure of her government, but the facts and the numbers speak for themselves. The evidence daily in our communities speaks for itself. We know how we feel (not safer), we know what’s going on at our local dairies, (increased and more violent crime) we know what’s happening at Police level (fewer arrests, fewer charges) and we know how it all ends up in our justice system (a cultural background report, a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket and at best an ankle bracelet). This is not to be sneering or nit-picky about what’s going on, it’s just the facts. And it's why the Government should spend less time gas lighting and telling us nothing to see here when we see it very clearly with our own eyes on a daily basis. I really hope that when this government is finally relieved of its shambolic approach to running our country in October, that they take some time to reflect on what they’ve done here. Leaving behind eye watering levels of debt, a warehouse full of millions of dollars worth of expiring RAT tests, a country divided, record levels of crime and truancy, a health system in tatters... it's not pretty. F or a government that promised to be transformational, honest, open and transparent, they’ve been nothing but a bumbling circus act of failures and waste. I for one, won’t miss them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday was a big milestone for the FIFA World Cup here in New Zealand. The first of the 15 teams, Norway and Vietnam, stepped off planes at Auckland Airport. They received a warm welcome in the arrivals area, which has been transformed into a football field, signed autographs, high fived the FIFA mascot and headed to their bases. The FIFA World Cup kicks off in New Zealand on 20th July - and I’ve got to say: where’s the hype? This tournament is huge for New Zealand - even if it’s shared with Australia. It's set to be the biggest event New Zealand has ever hosted. FIFA estimates the tournament will bring more than $200 million into the New Zealand economy. 30,000 spectators are expected to arrive in the county to watch the tournament, throwing extra income into local economies. Tourism New Zealand is working hard to promote New Zealand to the potential 1.5 billion international viewers expected to watch the games. It’s all good. The benefits for both the country and women’s football are massive. But aside from the economic benefits and the beautiful videos Tourism New Zealand is producing for overseas audiences, there doesn’t seem to be a much fuss. We don’t seem to understand or have embraced the magnitude of what’s about to take place. I may be wrong. You may have a footballer in your house and a countdown on the fridge for the New Zealand vs Norway opening game at Eden Park on 20th July. Or for the other games taking place in Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin. If I’m wrong - set me right. Reassure me we’re ready to go. But slow-ish ticket sales suggest we’ve been doing the Kiwi thing of waiting until the last minute to get tickets. Giving ourselves time to confirm it’s ‘going off’ and something worth being part of. How much the hype grows, and the country gets behind the Cup, will also come down to how the Football Ferns go. On the Sunday Session I’ve spoken to footballers who’ve played at a World Cup, or are ambassadors for this World Cup. They tell me you won’t find a more exciting atmosphere and that it’s a great sporting spectacle whether you’re a football fan or not. So it’s time to commit, because it’s not just the tourists and footballers who will make this a successful tournament for NZ. It’s us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks squad has been named for the Rugby Championship opener against Los Pumas this weekend. We don't have to cast our minds too far back to the Pumas' historic win against the the All Blacks in Christchurch last year. Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith joined Francesca Rudkin from Argentina. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy owners aren't surprised there's been another horrific attack at an Auckland store. Two men armed with hammers seriously injured the wife of a dairy owner and a customer in Mount Roskill, Central Auckland. A Givealittle page has been set up in support of the owners. It comes as the Police Minister's sitting down with dairy owners next week. Sunny Kaushal is the chair of the Dairy and Business Owners' Group and he joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions over how the Government managed to spend $531 million on unused Covid tests. Our newsroom can reveal Te Whatu Ora has almost $60 million rapid antigen tests in stock around the country, with 30 percent of them either having already expired or due to by month's end. General Practitioners Interim Chair, Buzz Burrell, told Francesca Rudkin he's glad the figures weren't swept under the carpet. He says we need to be asking where they've gone wrong, as someone has given the Government some well-meaning but not very helpful advice. A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says they're considering approaching the market - to seek recycling and disposal options or creative sustainable waste solutions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the first thing you read about the new science curriculum is a group of science teachers saying “Where’s the Science” it’s hard not to feel despondent - especially if your child is going through the school system. It’s important to say before we begin this conversation that the information being commented on has come from a leaked draft document from the Ministry of Education - which was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback. They were so taken aback by what they saw they couldn’t help sharing it. It is a draft document. Once selected feedback has been collected a full document will go out to the wider sector and public for feedback in August. So what’s been seen isn’t set in stone, but I’m grateful to those who have raised alarm bells because it’s in all parents’ interest to be engaged in this conversation. The main concern expressed by the science teachers is that the proposed school science curriculum makes no mention of physics or chemistry. I don’t know about you but I’m under the impression these are quite central to the study of science. The Ministry wants to take a more holistic approach and excite students by engaging with the issues of the day and teaching science through five contexts: earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases. My science-loving daughter just groaned. “They’re turning it into a social studies or English class. We’re already dealing with the big issues of the day in every other class”, she said, “can’t we just keep setting our hands on fire” Some context is probably required here. My daughter loves science, not because of the curriculum or because she’s good at solving problems with a formula, but because she has an awesome science teacher who engages the class with exciting experiments to bring the science basics to life. And yes, if the class has done well or has had a good week she lets them set their hands on fire - in a perfectly safe and scientific way. There’s something in the idea of making a curriculum more relevant and fun for students. Great teachers have already worked out how to do this, but school can’t always be fun and engaging - sometimes it's work. No amount of playing around with the curriculum is going to make a kid who doesn’t like science suddenly like science. It’s one of those subjects you tend to like if you’re good at it, but will those students be happy to study just five main areas throughout their secondary education. More importantly though, how is this going to prepare our teenagers for tertiary education. From the friends I know whose offspring have headed off to university to study engineering, math or science, many speak about what a step up it is and how in some ways they didn’t feel adequately prepared. Surely the curriculum also needs to be driven by what universities require of students.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It looks like National's plan for a third medical school is being well received. The Party is promising a new school at the University of Waikato to train more doctors and address the health worker shortage. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is backing the idea and Executive Director Sarah Dalton joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Members of Parliament are being urged to treat housing as a human right. The final report in the Human Rights Commission's housing inquiry says all available resources must be used to alleviate the housing crisis. It's found housing affordability has dropped, a shortfall in accessible homes and many houses, particularly rentals, are not healthy to live in. Housing inquiry manager Vee Blackwood says too many people are out in the cold. They say it's as hard as ever to find somewhere to live - particularly for vulnerable communities, Māori, Pasifika, elderly and disabled people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's police spokesperson says rising crime rates is coming at an enormous human cost. Ministerial briefings have revealed police response time targets have been extended due to rising pressure on staff and resources. This comes as two people were seriously injured in a broad daylight attack at a dairy in Auckland's Mt Roskill yesterday. National's Mark Mitchell told Francesca Rudkin there's a frustration over the lack of police response - and demand has overtaken any benefit of the additional police officers. He says shop keepers are building cages around themselves - and that's not the New Zealand they want to be living in. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday I reflected on a year of Te Whatu Ora, and how those within the sector rate the new centralised health system. I said that, from what I’ve been told, Te Whatu Ora has not worked hard enough or quickly enough over the last year to get staff on side, to fill the staffing shortages, to fix the postcode lottery, to shorten surgery and GP wait times, to give emergency departments some relief or provide adequate mental health services. No reasonable person expects them to have solved all these problems in a year, but we should expect they’ve made some key moves. Since Monday morning the Ministry of Health has been firing out announcements as if it’s on steroids, and doing their best to show the naysayers like myself that tangible action is on its way. So far we’ve had a new pay equity offer for nurses, another 830 clinical placements for nursing students, a new nation-wide lower threshold for cataract surgery, and yesterday the release of a comprehensive health recruitment and retention plan. It’s this last announcement which got me excited. The reason is that this recruitment and retention strategy gives us a hint the government has a grip on where they’re at. We finally have the data to know how many staff members we’re short of and in which areas. It’s estimated we’re currently short by 4800 nurses, 1700 doctors, 1050 midwives, 220 dental or oral health practitioners, 200 anaesthetic technicians, 170 pharmacists, 120 sonographers, 30 radiation therapists and 30 clinical or cardiac phycologists. There’s more. It’s also estimated we’re going to need a further 8000 nurses, 3400 doctors and 250 midwives make up shortfalls in health demand out to 2033. They’re substantial numbers, but at least now we know where we are at and what we need to work towards. The reason this is so important is because you can announce increased and improved services all you like, but if we don’t have the resources and plans to achieve these new targets, they’re pointless. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has said she expects this plan will make a difference to workforces within a year's time. It may have taken a year to come up with the plan and a plan’s only successful if its executed, but some credit where credit is due, at least we finally know exactly what needs to be fixed. Step one – tick.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Midwives want a seat at the table for boosting their work force in the long term. It comes after the Government launched their workforce action plan - aiming to fill more than 8,000 vacancies of doctors, nurses and other health staff. It includes boosting offshore recruitment, rural training, earn-as-you-learn schemes and wellbeing support. College of Midwives Chief Executive Alison Eddy told Francesca Rudkin midwifery has had one of the most significant shortages in the health sector. She says Government claims there's a 40 percent shortage but Eddy says it's likely higher. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health advocates are calling for mandatory consent education, throughout someone's high school years. It's often paired with health class, which isn't required past Year 10. However, Family Planning Director Fiona McNamara told Francesca Rudkin students should be learning about consent in schools, around 15 hours a year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I like to have a good time, I let my hair down occasionally, and over the years I have by no means always behaved perfectly in public after a few drinks on a Friday night. I’ve worked in the media for 25 years after all, an industry that really can’t throw shade at anyone else’s Friday night mishaps. However, Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is likely wishing she had one less glass on Friday night. You know the story; apparently, she turned up to a restaurant with few drinks under her belt, had a meal and a few more drinks with a friend, and then made a bit of scene. Supposedly she said, “Do you know who I am” at some point to wait staff - although we’re not sure of the tone. Was it threatening, like in The Godfather? Comical? Or a genuine question? Then she accidently left without paying the bill - a miscommunication between friends. Tory Whanau would have been just one of many, many people putting on a show in Wellington, and any other New Zealand town on Friday night. But she’s a public persona responsible for leading Wellington Council, a council currently dealing with a lot of challenges. So was it a good look? No it wasn’t. It was embarrassing, and unnecessary, and another controversial headline for the Mayor. I like the way Tory Whanau is herself, speaks her mind, and doesn’t appear to be hand-held by a public relations team, but yesterday she should have come out with less excuses; instead simply apologised and moved on. The vast majority of us would have sympathised and also happily moved on. Former Mayor Kerry Prendergast made a good point on Newstalk ZB last night. She claims this kind of behaviour “diminishes the respect and mana of the office” and the issue is probably more to do with behaviour and what we deem to be acceptable as opposed to whether the Mayor can do her job. And it’s not like alcohol and politics haven’t always had a cosy relationship. There are books on it. BBC journalists Ben Wright wrote in his book Order, Order, which charts the rise and fall of political drinking in the UK, that “Politics just floated along on a sea of claret for about two centuries.” I’m sure there is a history of New Zealand politicians who can relate to that sentiment. The reality is much of politics is about relationships, and sometimes there’s no better way of getting to know someone than over a lunch or dinner. And if you’re a politician out with a friend - just remember to pay the bill, presume no one knows who you are, and beware that if they do know who you are they’ll be watching closely.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public health and nutrition experts are calling for a national food strategy to fix our obesity epidemic. The latest Healthy Food Environment report reveals 1/5 of preventable deaths are related to unhealthy diets. At the same time, one in eight children live in households where there's not enough to eat. Health Coalition Aotearoa Co-Chair Lisa Te Morenga told Francesca Rudkin Government hasn't made food safety a priority. She says not much progress has been made since governments started monitoring the safety of our food supply 12 years ago. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been asked over whether the health system has the resources to deliver the changes to those suffering with cataracts. All New Zealanders with mild vision impairment from cataracts will now qualify for surgery under the new nationally consistent threshold, which removes what's known as the postcode lottery. This will enable approximately 3,500 more surgeries to be delivered. General Practice Chair Bryan Betty told Francesca Rudkin these are likely to be rolled out slowly. He says the issue is that if you put 2,000 - 3,000 people on a operating waiting list you have the be able to resource it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building consents are coming back to earth after record highs last year. Stats NZ says consents fell 11 percent in the year to May. Certified Builders Association Chief Executive Malcolm Fleming says homeowners are favouring doing up their own houses instead of building new ones. He told Francesca Rudkin that doesn't mean builders haven't been busy. Fleming says there was already existing high demand so builders have good workloads. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The family of a French teenager killed by Police is calling for riots around the country to stop. France has seen its most violent riots and protests since 2018, following the death of a 17-year-old by police at a traffic stop. Thousands have been arrested since it started last week. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Francesca Rudkin that 45-thousand Police Officers have been deployed across the country. He says the relatives of the dead 17-year-old want the riots to stop, and say they just want a re-evaluation of how Police carry arms. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time will tell whether a move to ease nursing shortages will be sustainable long-term. The Government has announced more than 800 additional clinical placements for nursing students, with 130 starting from the July and August intake. For the 2024 intake, Te Whatu Ora will work with nurse education providers to bring in another 700 placements. College of Nurses Aotearoa Executive Director Kate Weston told Francesca Rudkin that the country needs to increase its supply, but questions whether it will be sustainable. She says they'll need to see high quality placements but the other main concern is the considerable financial pressure on the university and polytech sectors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport says it's been working hard to trim down the bus driver shortage. It's managed to cut it by 72% since its peak, and the agency only needs to recruit another 170 drivers. Auckland Transport Metro Optimisation Manager Richard Harrison says they've searched both locally and internationally for drivers. He told Francesca Rudkin that pay has been a key factor in getting people on board. He says the average wage is now 28 dollars an hour, with hopes that help from the Government can get that up to 30 dollars. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturday marked a year since the new heath system Te Whatu Ora kicked into gear. Twenty district health boards were abolished and replaced with a centralised system aimed at getting rid of our postcode lottery of health care. A year ago, I wished the then Minister of Health Andrew Little good luck with his venture. Our health system had been under pressure way before the pandemic hit, and clearly needed an overhaul. I liked the fact the government was taking a big swing at this and trying to make sure that New Zealander’s, regardless of where they lived, got the same services and healthcare. Us Kiwis love fairness! But, for all the good intentions it turns out making changes as large as this, off the back of a pandemic which had further reduced an already depleted work force, may not have been such a great idea. Nor does it seem the transition was as considered or well executed as well as it needed to be. A year later, it’s not obvious what has changed – except the automatic signature on the bottom of their email, as one specialist told me. Association of Salaried Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said the union was giving Te Whatu Ora a mark of two out of five so far. She told me yesterday on the Sunday Session, “There are significant workforce shortages, there are gaps that are simply not being filled and acute demand just keeps getting higher and higher. Which, in turn, is making it really difficult to deliver the planned care." There was a great article in the NZ Herald over the weekend from senior investigative journalist Alex Spencer, looking into the state of our A&E's and work place conditions. I saw this first hand recently. My son and I visited Auckland Hospital Emergency Department a few weeks back and after a wait of 5 and a half hours, the doctor was very apologetic. As were we; we didn’t want to be clogging up the system. My son got excellent care, but when I asked the doctor if the wait time was normal, he unleashed an exhausted and frustrated monologue about wait times, how long it takes to get a bed in a ward, the lack of staff, and the pressure on the system. His final words were “Make sure you use your vote wisely this election.” I’ve thought about that doctor often since that night. It was an unexpected and startling moment of candour. What are we doing to these people? We can’t afford to be driving doctors away. From what I’ve been told, Te Whatu Ora has not worked hard enough or quickly enough to get staff on side, to fill the staffing shortages, to fix the postcode lottery, shorten surgery and GP wait times, give emergency departments some relief or provide adequate mental health services. No one expects them to have solved all these problems in a year. We understand this is a massive undertaking and it will take time to see results, and yet when those in the system, at the frontline, are saying they see very little change it only seems fair to question the idea and the execution. Either way, several months out from an election, the government would have been hoping for a better report card than 2 out of 5. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we ever needed proof this Government was one giant overlord of bureaucratic blow outs, it’s the estimated $1 billion blowout on establishment costs for Three Waters. It’s been reported now that “the cost of creating 10 new Water Services Entities over a transition period that now stretches to July 1st, 2026 is expected to reach $2 to $3 billion. The estimate before recent revisions to the plan was $1 to $2 billion.” But wait, there’s more. “The Crown is expected to foot additional costs in the first instance, costing taxpayers, but costs might ultimately be charged back to the new Water Services Entities, costing ratepayers,” it was reported. Ratepayers, that’s you and me. Us mugs who’re already facing rising rates. But there could be even more. “Official documents also showed further costs to the Crown would likely be required to operate the drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai,” it says. “An extra $200 million in Crown costs is expected due to the later establishment date. And the fixed costs of establishing 10 Water Service Entities is anticipated to be higher than for four,” the report also said. Here’s the thing. I’m glad Three Waters is back in the news making headlines again because it got forgotten for a while there as the news cycle moved onto other things, and we all stopped being exercised about it. We were instead busy being exercised by ram raids, youth crime, truancy rates, violent offending and government minister side shows. But now that Three Waters has reared its head back into the news, it makes for sobering reading. It’s a story of cost blowouts, budget over runs and bureaucratic heavyweights raking in large sums of cash. It’s a story of more costs being sheeted our way. The Nat’s Local Government spokesperson said it’s “an extravagant example of this government spending money to set up a mega bureaucracy.. instead of using money to fund needed water infrastructure.” He said New Zealanders had been promised a plan that would cost less, but which is not panning out that way. Why are we not surprised? I think we are potentially so punch-drunk by this Government’s ineptitude now that we just shrug our shoulders when we hear figures like millions and billions being doled out. It’s par for the course, sadly. But you have to ask the question – why is this government so adamant on this? Why are they progressing on something so expensive, so controversial, so divisive and so flawed? Something that’s not likely to start until they’re potentially not even in government anymore, anyway? Something that potentially only fills consultants wallets, but alienates voters? It speaks volumes about how much this Government has lost its ability to read the room. It has all the hallmarks of a government in a death spiral frantically trying to throw everything at it before the doors close on them. It smacks of the arrogance we’ve come to expect from them, and their disregard for the voter. The crying shame here is that few would argue our water infrastructure doesn’t need upgrading, but the way this entire process has been painfully dragged out has left a bad taste. The cost of it now is making the taste even worse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Single-use plastic items will be officially banned from shelves from tomorrow. It's the second step in the Government's plan to reduce plastic waste. Plastic cutlery, plates and bowls, cups, straws and produce bags will all be cut. Foodstuffs Sustainable Packaging Manager, Debra Goulding joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time is ticking to fill up, before the fuel tax returns. The Government's relief package ends tomorrow, meaning petrol prices will rise around 29 cents a litre including GST. It'll still be substantially less than the peaks seen after Russia's Ukraine invasion in March last year which saw oil prices skyrocket. Gull NZ General Manager, Dave Bodger told Kate Hawkesby sales have been up, rather than manic. He says yesterday's sales were about 50 percent higher than usual, and expects today will be much like a regular pre-Christmas special. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A primary school principal claims their latest government offer is bittersweet. It includes a six percent base salary increase in July, and further rises next year. There's also lump sum payments and allowances for cultural leadership and professional coaching. Auckland's Laingholm School Principal Martyn Weatherill Kate Hawkesby says it's a step in the right direction - but there's still more to do. He says more funding is still needed for learning support. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Try as we do to endlessly support the Police, they’re not making it very easy for us are they? This story of the citizen’s arrest this week irked a lot of people - and rightly so. If you missed it, a Christchurch business owner and some tradies tackled a thief to the ground after he allegedly stole motorcycle parts, he had an armload of stuff, they chased him, got him on the ground, held him down while they called Police. The guy was putting up a fight and was yelling apparently that if they called the cops he’d ‘go back to prison’. Some pause for thought there as to whether getting sent back to prison might be your motivator to not rob people in the first place, but that’s another story. So these guys call the cops, the Police ask if the offender has any weapons on him, when they say, not that they can see, the Police tell them to let him go. Let him go. An offender, caught red handed, in possession of stolen goods, let him go. They do, he runs off down the street, free as a bird. Now the Police here make a not invalid point- they can’t attend every callout, they can’t prioritize a guy stealing motorcycle parts when they have arguably more serious offences to attend like where people’s lives or safety’s at risk. The Police claimed they had several high priority family harm events to attend at that time. And I don’t doubt that. The sad reality is that they have to prioritise the crimes they attend, because there are not enough of them to attend everything. That’s not their fault, but it doesn’t endear the Police to business owners trying to get by, these guys were aggrieved there was no follow up from the cops, other than being told to file a report online - and Police didn’t contact the business owner to even do that until after the Herald had chased them up on the story. So that’s disappointing, but again you could argue they’re too stretched, and that’s not their fault. The Commissioner, Andrew Coster admits trust and confidence in police is declining but says it's an international trend. Is it? And if it is, does that make it OK does it? Do we justify things based on whether they're happening overseas or not? He says he's proud of the Police and their work, but that it is a thin blue line. Many of us would argue it feels thinner than ever before. He says they're dealing with high demand, but that doesn't soothe the concerns of law abiding citizens or help placate the plight of victims. It’s disappointing if you’re a victim of crime, no matter how much you may appreciate how busy and stretched cops are, that they can’t or won’t follow up on incidents. Part and parcel of us all knowing this these days though, unfortunately, is that more people are turning to citizen arrest style action. More people are reticent to call cops and think they can just deal with it themselves. We’ve seen it time and time again with retail crime and witnesses jumping in to try to stop offenders. It’s a dangerous path to go down though, because there could be a weapon involved, you could make things worse for yourself or others. Admirable as it is to have people try to jump in, it’s preferable the professionals are left to deal with it. The glaring problem here is, there are seemingly not enough professionals available, or willing to do so. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Meta finally doing better at protecting kids online? The tech giant is adding new safeguards across Messenger and Instagram. It's the first time parental supervision tools will be connected to their instant messaging app. Tech commentator Paul Spain joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's D-Day for Let's Get Wellington Moving. The council will vote on a motion of no confidence today as seven councillors push for the programme to be scrapped. Yesterday, the capital's Mayor Tory Whanau rejected a compromise from the group. Diane Calvert is one of the councillors who's signed the motion - she joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Donald Trump is trying to turn the tables on the advice columnist who won a $5 million jury award against him in a sexual abuse lawsuit, saying in a countersuit that she owes him money and a retraction for continuing to insist she was raped even after a jury declined to agree. Lawyers for the Republican presidential candidate filed papers late Tuesday saying E. Jean Carroll should pay Trump unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and retract her damaging statements. The countersuit comes a month after Carroll's lawyers filed a rewritten defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10 million more from Trump over comments he made after the jury verdict in May. The jury concluded after a two-week trial that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in spring 1996. It also found that he defamed her in comments he made denying the attack last October. But the jury rejected Carroll's claim, first made in a 2019 memoir, that Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. At trial, Carroll testified that the rape occurred after a chance encounter with Trump at the midtown store, initially friendly and flirtatious, turned into a violent assault after they teased each other to try on a piece of lingerie. Trump has consistently denied ever raping Carroll or knowing her. He said the department store encounter never happened. In his countersuit, Trump's lawyers cited comments Carroll made in a CNN interview after May's verdict, saying that when she was questioned about the jury's finding that she was not raped, Carroll responded: "Oh yes he did, oh yes he did." And they said Carroll also revealed that when she spoke to Trump attorney Joe Tacopina immediately after the verdict, she said she told him emphatically: "He did it and you know it." The lawyers, Alina Habba and Michael T. Madaio, wrote that Carroll "made these statements knowing each of them were false or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity." "The Interview was on television, social media and multiple internet websites, with the intention of broadcasting and circulating these defamatory statements among a significant portion of the public," they added. In a statement in response to Trump's counterclaim, Carroll attorney Robbie Kaplan said that Trump "again argues, contrary to both logic and fact, that he was exonerated by a jury that found that he sexually abused E Jean Carroll by forcibly inserting his fingers into her vagina." She said four of five statements cited by the counterclaim were made outside of the one-year statute of limitations when a claim must be made and predicted the other will be dismissed by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. "Trump's filing is thus nothing more than his latest effort to delay accountability for what a jury has already found to be his defamation of E Jean Carroll. But whether he likes it or not, that accountability is coming very soon," Kaplan said. Kaplan is not related to the judge. Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for president again next year, did not appear at the initial trial. But extensive excerpts of his recorded deposition were played for jurors, along with an infamous video revealed shortly before Trump's 2016 election in which he bragged that celebrities can grab women sexually without consent. - LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated PressSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new peak has been reached in our drunk driver fatalities. Last year, 111 people died in incidents where a driver was over the limit - up from the 53 seen in 2013. In the last five years, the highest numbers were recorded in Waikato, Auckland, and Northland. Crash Investigator and former Police officer, Hamish Piercy told Kate Hawkesby there's no doubt there has been a spike, but it's important to remember the legal limit changed in 2014. He says they made the limit zero for under 20s, and 250 micrograms per litre of breath for adults - meaning more people have potentially been captured in the statistics. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are in for a bunch of cost increases over the next few weeks. I know, more. It’s not like we haven’t been facing a steady stream of rising costs for a while already, but a couple of things are coming up to bite us. One, the Government’s petrol subsidy is coming to an end this Saturday, which’ll see petrol prices jump by 29 cents a litre. That’s a lot, and it’ll hit hard in a cost of living crisis. Not just in our tanks, but it’ll be passed on across the board in terms of transport and logistics for pretty much everything we buy. Two, fruit and veges. That’s been rising steadily too, in fact food inflation is at its highest level in 36 years, according to a recent report. “Stats NZ’s food price index rose 12.5 percent in the year ended April, the highest annual rate since late 1987. The main drivers over the year were a 14 percent rise in grocery prices, and more than 22 percent for fruit and vegetables prices,” the report said - more than 22 percent. That’s huge, and we know it because we see it in our trolleys at the supermarket, we get less food for more money, it’s depressing. But there’s more pain to come it would seem. Producers are struggling to get stuff out of Gisborne, due to State Highway 2 north of Gisborne being closed due to flooding and storm damage, which has made all transportation of goods a logistical nightmare. Gisborne’s Mayor said the closure’s having a big impact on the region. Meanwhile, Countdown this week put out a release saying that due to those weather events, there’s going to be limited supply of fruit and veges on supermarket shelves everywhere. “Due to road closures, key produce suppliers are facing difficulties in transporting fruits and vegetables from Tairawhiti and Hawkes Bay, unfortunately it may take some time before the situation improves,” they said. They highlighted bagged salads, lettuce, broccoli and mandarins as an issue, and acknowledged it’s been a challenging time for growers this year. You’ve got to feel for them, they’ve been up against it. So if you’re lucky enough to find broccoli and mandarins on supermarket shelves, you might find you’re paying a bit more for them too. And it’s not like we don’t already pay through the nose for fruit and veges, the sector was the ‘second-largest contributor’ to the hike in food prices this year, ‘driven by tomatoes, avocados, and potatoes.’ Haven’t avocados been dodgy? Lack of supply, hiked up prices to $10 an avocado for a while there, and now though they’re trickling back onto shelves at better prices, the quality’s still not great. I will admit they’re hard to grow though, trust me I’m trying, I have three avocado trees on the go and am still, a couple of years later, waiting for them to produce fruit. So we pay more for the good stuff, it’s going to be harder to get for a while due to road closures, and then as of Saturday we’re going to pay more for petrol too. So, I'm just wondering, what basics are left these days that don't cost a bomb?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the UK, the former health secretary says the UK's pandemic planning was "completely wrong". Matt Hancock, the secretary during the pandemic, has told that country's coronavirus inquiry the attitude was to plan for the consequences of a disaster. He claimed medicines for intensive care were within hours of running out. UK and Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby Hancock says he's "profoundly sorry" for the response. He says Hancock told the inquiry they should've been looking at how to slow down or stop the spread of Covid-19. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tertiary Education Union is welcoming the $128 million cash injection to the struggling sector. Split over the next two years, it'll increase tuition subsidies by an extra four percent at degree-level and above. The Government is also promising to review the funding system for universities. Union National President Julie Douglas is hopeful the boost will allow Vice-Chancellors at Otago and Victoria universities to reconsider job cut proposals. She says the universities have a level of autonomy over what to spend it on, but the money wasn't given for a new building and stems from a long union campaign. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There have been mixed feelings about Resource Management Act reforms. The Environmental Select Committee has suggested amendments including faster consenting and enabling local voices. AUT Professor of Construction John Tookey says it will be impossible to have both increased community say, and a faster consenting process. Part of the RMA reforms is reducing the number of RMA plans from 100 to 16, one for each region. Tookey told Kate Hawkesby this will bring positive changes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerning new research from Otago University suggests alcohol is the most harmful drug in New Zealand. The first of its kind study ranked alcohol as the most harmful drug for the overall population, followed by methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids, and tobacco. Researcher Dr Rose Crossin says the findings suggest the need for policy reconsideration to reduce overall drug harm. She questions the current drug policy settings given that a legal drug is the most harmful. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So another day, another study on alcohol - in fact I’ve seen two just in the last two weeks and of course they say different things. One says even the smallest amount of alcohol can age your brain, another says a small amount is beneficial. So which is it? I honestly believe a lot of it has to do with the makeup of your own body and metabolism, and what makes you tick, what’s in your DNA. As in, some people drink like fish their whole lives and live to almost a hundred (looking at you Prince Philip), others are lightweights who can barely finish a glass of wine without falling asleep (a.k.a me). We all have different tolerances and constitutions. Different strokes for different folks. I also think we get to know ourselves better as we get older, we work out what we can and can’t tolerate because our body lets us know. CNN reported the other day that “For decades, large epidemiological studies have shown that people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol - less than one drink a day for women, and one to two drinks a day for men - have lower risks of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes compared with people who abstain from alcohol completely as well as those who drink more. Scientists have never been able to tease out exactly why this is the case, however,” they reported. So if the scientists can’t tease it out, God help the rest of us trying to understand it. Constant mixed messaging certainly doesn’t help. A small amount of alcohol is good for your brain and heart, shouts one study, a small amount can increase your chances of cancer, shouts another. We do of course have Dry July coming up, starting next week, where we’re all encouraged to stop and think about how much we’re drinking and why, and pause for a month. I think the why’s important. Mostly I reckon its habit. A glass of wine or a beer after a hard day, or on a hot day sitting in the sunshine – it’s sort of a rite of passage. It wasn’t until I voluntarily stopped drinking one day many, many years ago that I realised I didn’t really miss it, didn’t really need it. Felt better without it. But I’m a lightweight who was never really that into alcohol in the first place. I get that if you’re a wine collector like my husband is or someone who savours the taste or just appreciates the addition of alcohol in their lives then it’s far tougher to give up. And not everyone needs to or should give up. I think if we’re aware of what we’re doing, and we’re not starting drinking at 9am or binge drinking, then we can by and large regulate ourselves. But what it’s doing to our bodies remains a mystery that I’m not sure any number of studies will get to the bottom of. The same way we hear coffee or chocolate is good for us one day, bad the next. It’s hard to keep up. I think we’re best served, as my Nana used to say, by sticking to the mantra, ‘everything in moderation’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hopes a multi-million dollar government loan to Ruapehu Alpine Lifts liquidators gets the skifields off thin ice. The Government is chipping in up to $5 million towards the liquidators, as a new bid has entered the table A group on behalf of iwi is now proposing to take over operations of the skifields - the bid for operations to be split between two other companies is still on the table. Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton says it's a complex situation, but the financial backing helps jobs. He's sure businesses and communities are clapping with joy, and he's hoping for a good snow season. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes Prime Minister Chris Hipkins can shine in his first meeting with Xi Jinping. The pair will meet to discuss topics like trade and the war in Ukraine tonight in Beijing. New Zealand China Council Executive Director Alistair Crozier says New Zealand needs to be sold as an accessible and open country. He told Kate Hawkesby it will be a chance to make up for lost time. Crozier says it will be the first trade delegation of its kind for seven years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A $6 million cash injection has been welcomed by food banks, as the number of families struggling with food insecurity rises. The latest funding top up by the Government will be given to community food providers and distributed to areas in need. Zero Hunger Collective Executive Director Tric Malcolm says it's great news, but the question is whether it will be enough. She told Kate Hawkesby the number of people struggling, as well as the level of support needed, is increasing. Malcolm says this is particularly evident in communities that have experienced weather events - where many have lost their basic items. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.