Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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.

Businesses are continuing to struggle under cost pressures. Latest Centrix data shows a climb in business credit defaults, with company liquidations up 36 percent year on year. CEO of Small Business Voice, Max Whitehead joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss the effects on owners. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pay will be just one part of the puzzle in getting teachers on board in negotiations. An arbitration panel has recommended secondary school teachers get a 14.5 percent pay rise over three instalments. Secondary Principals' Association Chief Executive Mike Newell says it's a pragmatic pay offer which compromises on the 17 percent rise teachers wanted. He told Kate Hawkesby other things are missing from the system which need to be addressed. He says we need a way to get teachers in the door, to end our over-reliance on foreign teachers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So I’ve just been to Sydney last week and I’ve got to go again this week – these are not holiday trips, these are events I’m attending so I’m in and out, but here’s what I can tell you about Australia, it’s going off. And by that I mean it’s energized, it feels ambitious, it’s got everything going for it that we used to have but have sadly lost. Even in Melbourne when we were there a few weeks back, the vibe was more upbeat, and that’s a city that’s mimicked Auckland’s a lot in terms of post Covid decline... more homeless, more edgy peeps around at night, more for lease signs. Yet the city still hums. Yes, population helps. But it’s attitude I’m talking about. The attitude of hospo staff, the attitude of workers, the attitude of people in general. The malaise we have that’s so oppressive here, is not there. They’re still aiming high. And it’s one of the reasons why I think people are heading across the Tasman. Yes food is cheaper and salaries are better in many cases, but real estate’s still expensive, there are still drawbacks, it's just the vibe is different. And it’s why I can guarantee you the latest high profile high flier from Auckland is leaving, and why so many young people are leaving and why our most productive are going. Richlist property developer Ben Cook, it was reported at the weekend, is outta here too. “One of the country’s biggest private retail real estate investors is quitting New Zealand for Australia - sparking a $100 million dollar sell-off..” it was reported, “Ben Cook boasts a portfolio stretching from Auckland to Central Otago including a string of Countdown supermarkets, and Bunnings… He also owns iconic Auckland buildings. But he is now using his Sydney home as a base and says he doesn’t plan on returning to New Zealand… “I just prefer Aussie now that kids have finished school,” he said. “I just prefer Aussie,” says exactly what we know it says. This country is not aspirational anymore, it’s not desirable, it’s not a place for go-getters. He’s not the only high net worth person leaving. “Some properties {he owns} are co-owned with people who have already left New Zealand to live in other countries..” Others who’ve already gone. Other high net worth individuals taking their investments, developments, money and productivity, out of this country. A designer was also quoted at the weekend moving with her husband and 4 children to Australia - again for better opportunities and a better way of life. we also got reports of the ex-pat who came back with his family only to discover how backward the NZ school system is, and in disgust, moved back to Europe for better education. There will be people who say ‘good riddance’ to this, and you know what, that’s everything that’s wrong with where we’re at right now. Because what is happening when all these people take their business and their brains out of NZ? They take it elsewhere. Our loss. Ben Cook’s “looking to expand in Australia” it was reported, the designer's taking her business to Australia, brains and investments are leaving this country. So a big loss to us, a loss of productivity, jobs, development, drive, intelligence, and money. How many people like that are we prepared to lose, and what does that leave us with? And is that the sort of future you want for your kids here?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plenty of ways to spin the Government's tweaks to its rent-to-buy scheme. Changes to the Progressive Home Ownership programme will allow eligible people to buy existing homes, instead of just new-builds. The income cap is also rising from $130,000 to %150,000. AUT construction expert John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby that if you're in power you say it's a marvellous scheme that's done well and being expanded. He says if you were in Opposition, you'd say it's been a disastrous scheme that's not doing well so you have to spin it out. Tookey says the other view is to say you don't have much faith in new-builds and we're going to see a drop off. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s support for some aspects of the ACT Party's personal grievance policy, and scepticism over others. ACT wants all personal grievance cases brought before the Employment Relations Authority resolved within a month. Its proposed legislation would see staff who don't manage that facing dismissal. The Employers and Manufacturers Association says the current timeline of cases is too long. Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald told Kate Hawkesby that firing ERA staff because of the deadline may not be practical. He says it seems harsh because there's a backlog that needs to be cleared. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday Te Pāti Māori released their tax policy ahead of the election. The policy wasn’t a huge surprise. At their election campaign launch a few weeks ago they made it clear their tax reform policy would have a focus on redistributing wealth. So the proposal for a new wealth tax, an increase in income tax for those earning over $200,000, and a tax free threshold for income up to $30,000 are all expected. During Matariki, Co leader Rawiri Waititi said, “100,000 people are homeless in New Zealand, 60,000 of those are Maori”, so it’s no shock they’re also pushing for new taxes for land banking and vacant houses as well as a capital gains tax. They’ve clearly decided to go all out. So also plan to raise the corporate tax rate from 28% to 33%, as well as new taxes for foreign companies. They call the policy radical and transformative and representative of their values - but there’s plenty of debate as to whether these policies will encourage or hinder productivity. It’s easy to take a radical approach when you’re a minor party. When it comes to the compromises required for coalition negotiations it’s important to have something to lose. Te Pāti Māori’s tax reform policy comes after the Green Party recently released their plan to pursue a wealth tax and universal income guarantee. The person this creates a headache for is the Prime Minister - who recently made a Captain’s Call pledging no new capital gains our wealth tax as long as he’s Prime Minister. It makes for an interesting potential coalition negotiation doesn’t it. And it means the Labour party needs to be very clear about their tax policy, which is expected to be announcing imminently. Obviously voters would like the labour party to be transparent about what they would be prepared to consider from coalition partners when it comes to tax reform, but they’ll see no upside in having that discussion before the election. Hipkins’ announcement on capital gains and wealth taxes was pure politicking, and accepted by his cabinet even if they didn’t entirely agree. Which is becoming a theme. National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis has pipped the government’s tax policy announcement by doing it herself. She confidently claims Hipkins’ plans to announce the removal of GST from fruit and vegetables, even after his Finance Minister ruled out the idea earlier in the year. It’s a difficult idea to put in place, and it will be hard to know if we’re saving 15% on our fruit or veggies without more supermarket regulation, but with the heightened cost of a weekly shop it could be a popular move. Hipkins’ is making the big calls and he now has the tough job of assuring party faithful they’re living by their values, while also appealing to a wide demographic feeling the pinch of a cost of living crisis. Something tells me, he may need more than just a fruity rehashed idea from 2011 to get the job done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The man who killed a New Zealand-born London police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison. Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana died of a chest wound after being shot with an antique gun smuggled into a custody block in September 2020. The judge has handed down a whole life sentence to 26-year-old Louis De Zoysa. UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Francesca Rudkin he's only the 65th person ever to receive that punishment. He says that means he will never be let out, no matter what appeals he tries to make. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says removing GST from fruit and vegetables can become very complicated in practice. National claims it is part of Labour's election tax policy, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is refusing to either confirm or deny it. Nicola Willis says she has been leaked the information. ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Francesca Rudkin the extra administration to do this comes at a cost. He says ideally you would take a targeted approach, but that is hard to do. Smith says other countries ask people show their income to get the discount, but it comes with problems. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you feel about electric tractors? The first one arrived in the country this week and Forest Lodge orchard owner Mike Casey has been trialling it out. It's 40 horse power on the small side, and costs about $150,000 - $200,000 if you include shipping. Mike Casey spoke to Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netball fans will be fizzing as the kick off for the 2023 World Cup draws closer. The first game is 7pm NZ time tonight, in Cape Town, South Africa with the Silver Ferns taking on Trinidad and Tobago. ZB Sports Reporter Nathan Limm spoke to Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is today expected to plead guilty to tax crimes and possession of gun. US correspondent Mitch Mccann talked to Kate Hawkesby. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was at the supermarket this week and I got to witness first-hand the theft that is taking place on the daily. In fact it’s more than a daily basis; it’s like hourly, according to the checkout operators. My check out operator by the way, I’m convinced, was some kind of angel on earth. She wanted to help the thief. The guy, who to be fair looked dodgy and if I was in the business of profiling customers who may be stealing, I would have picked him all day long: hoodie, head bowed, scruffy, sifting through the aisles looking uncertain, and in his trolley just a couple of packets of meat. Anyway he’s in front of me at the checkout and the operator puts through his small amount of groceries then looks at him and says, “Hey I just wanna let you know, you’ve been spotted by security, they know you’ve got stuff on you and I just want to give you the opportunity to hand it over to me now so you don’t get in any trouble.” I’m thinking - wow this woman is brave, he looks angry, he shakes his head and denies he has stolen anything and says, ‘nah nah nah’. But she’s not letting up. “Hey I want to help, I’m happy to buy you milk and bread if you need it, I just don’t want you in trouble, if you want to give me what you’re hiding now, and you getting to just walk out no issues.” He refuses, looks annoyed, proceeds to the door, where two security guys immediately stop him and ask him if he’s got anything he hasn’t paid for. I ask the checkout woman what happens here, have they beefed up security, what are they doing now? She says, “Watch… nothing. We can’t stop them, we can’t search them. We can’t do anything.” He runs to his car and she says that’s the only thing they can do, take a car rego plate and give it to the cops. What do you think happens then? You’re right, nothing. So they get away with it and they know they get away with it, which is why they keep doing it. I asked her if this was still happening regularly, she said all the time, it’s constant. She said the new thing the supermarket is doing is attaching a monitor to the trolleys which registers if you stop for long periods of time in the aisle just loitering. Once that trolley gets to the door, that monitor then triggers the brakes and stops the trolley dead. The idea being that if it’s been loaded up with stolen goods and someone’s trying to make a run for it, the trolley doesn’t budge. I asked how successful that’s been. She said it works to stop the trolley but it doesn’t stop the people and they get angry. She said she’s seen colleagues have cans of baked beans and bottles of wine thrown at them, people just chucking stuff out of the trolley making a scene as they grab at whatever groceries they can and make a run for it. She said it’s so sad and the staff get abused a lot, but she keeps working in a supermarket because she cares about her customers and she wants to help. Is she or is she not an angel on earth? She also gets up every day at 4.20am she told me, she listens to this show, so we know she’s smart. And it’s people like her that deserve every cent of our increasing grocery bills, people like her at the coal face and wanting to help. Isn’t it a shame that more of our hefty grocery bills these days don’t go towards people like her, on the front line of a really ugly epidemic of brazen theft that they just should not have to put up with?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is merging CERT NZ - who help the public with cyber-attacks - and the GCSB together. This decision's had huge opposition who say it's been rushed through. GCSB minister Andrew Little says he's after a single front door for cyber security reporting, triage and response. Darkscope Technical Director Joerg Buss talked with Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Customs Minister is cooling hopes of making trans-Tasman travel easier. A taskforce is being set up by our government and Australia's, to look at ways to make travel more seamless. Maurice Williamson told Kate Hawkesby he doesn't believe new efforts in the space will lead to much progress. He says the speed you can travel between the two countries is quite fast now - and he doesn't believe we'll get to a point where travellers won't need passports. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Severe staffing shortages gripping Christchurch are being viewed as a replica of the pressure healthcare systems are facing nationwide. Pegasus Health's after-hours medical centre shut it's doors at midnight, and won't re-open until 8am. This comes as Christchurch Hospital faced its busiest 24 hours ever, earlier this month. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists former executive director Ian Powell told Kate Hawkesby it's happening across the country. He says it's not just in urgent care facilities - but hospitals and emergency departments - and is now normal rather than abnormal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With all the travelling that’s taken place these last few weeks with school holidays and people bailing to beat the winter blues, I’m confounded more and more by the state of Auckland airport. It’s a shambles. Now during and immediately after Covid, you can accept staffing’s an issue, that a few things aren’t right, that it’s not running as well as it should be. You can forgive the dysfunction. But all this time later, it’s still a shambles. It still appears to have staffing issues, it still doesn’t function. Why? Why have they not got it together yet? Worse still, it’s the gateway to our country, it’s currently welcoming FIFA guests and tourists, and it’s just an abomination. You wait forever for an air bridge so you can disembark, then you wait forever for your bags, then you get into the world’s longest queue for MPI clearance – which in my case at the weekend involved the biggest queue I’ve ever seen and no ‘nothing to declare’ lane. It was just a seething mass of people, including flight crew, all having to queue up in an endless snaking line, as three flights descended at once – which by the way is not many, and yet the holdup turned out to be due to, I kid you not.. lack of dogs. Exasperated like so many others in the queue, and standing with some tourists from Australia who were loudly complaining about what a joke this airport was, I enquired as to what was going on. “Oh it may be because it’s busy and there’s heaps of flights in?” one airport worker hazarded a guess. This should not define busy for an airport, I’ve seen way more flights arrive at once, something was slowing it up, it was crawling, if moving at all. I asked another airport worker, “Dunno,” they shrugged, “we just do what we’re told.” Then I asked a third person, “The dogs aren’t on,” he told me. “What?” I asked incredulous, “this is down to the dogs?” “Well the dogs are on a roster and there’s no rostered dogs on so we have to screen every bag.” That’s every single bag, of every single passenger, from every single flight, including flight crew. The crowd at the airport was bristling, angry, it was a poor introduction to New Zealand. I was travelling with my sister who needed to catch a connecting flight on to Christchurch, I asked about people like her who may miss connecting flights because of this huge hold up. Another shrug. As it turned out she did miss her connecting flight – as did many others. So what I want to know is, where’s the airport management on the ground, inside the terminals? I know there’s like an overarching manager who fronts for media, and manages from a head office somewhere, but apart from the rostered workers who’re just doing their jobs and don’t have any insight into the bigger picture, whose on the ground looking at the shambles in real time and going, you know what, this sucks, we can do better, this is a bad customer experience. Where’s that person? At international airports around the world, there are so many people in high vis wandering round yelling instructions or opening up queues or connected to walkie talkies overseeing things, that you feel like it’s all in hand. Auckland airport by contrast has a Wild West vibe. No one knows what’s happening and nothing makes sense. It makes for a horrible entry to our country, and if we’re looking to build the tourism industry back up, I’d say the first place we need to start is our front door.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.