Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

The actions of Michael Wood and Jan Tinetti probably won't be bad enough to end their political careers. Tinetti goes before the Privileges Committee today, accused of misleading the House about school attendance figures. And the Opposition is calling for Wood to resign or be fired, after revelations he was told to sell his Auckland Airport shares no fewer than 12 separate times. Massey University political commentator Grant Duncan told Kate Hawkesby Tinetti will probably be asked to apologise, while he doubts Wood's actions are a sackable offence. He says the rules aren't set in stone, as the Cabinet Manual is fairly open about what is a conflict of interest and what isn't. Wood says he's remorseful but has no plans to resign. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I see Consumer NZ is making a last ditch attempt to ping the supermarkets on dodgy pricing or so called specials that are not specials. They’re relying on us, the customers, to give them examples to strengthen their case, they say they’re “calling on New Zealanders to be the eyes and ears at the supermarket one last time to help gather as much evidence for the Commerce Commission as possible.” They’ve even designed a new form to make it easier to share examples of dodgy pricing. But the problem is, this falls again on us. Why should we have to be the eyes and ears of calling them out, why are the supermarkets not fixing this themselves and being a bit more proactive about not ripping us off. Especially now, in a cost of living crisis for goodness sake. Apparently, back in March, Consumer brought more than 300 examples of dodgy so called 'specials' to supermarket bosses attention. And while supermarkets apparently acknowledged these examples, they’ve done nothing about it. In fact, in the last two months Consumer says they’ve had more than 160 complaints highlighting pricing issues at supermarkets. So what’s changed? Absolutely nothing. Either the supermarkets are too big to be bothered, don’t care, know that Consumer NZ is toothless therefore are not worried, or arrogantly assume we just won’t notice. I think consumers are noticing though and I think they’re fed up with it – the numbers of complaints would indicate that’s the case. Putting the supermarkets ‘on notice’ as Consumer says it did back in March, has changed nothing. They’ve shown no interest in correcting their dodgy practices. So the things they’re worried about us the consumer paying attention to, in order to hold supermarkets to account, is stuff like misleading multi-buys. That’s when products are advertised as cheaper or a better deal if you buy them in bulk, as opposed to individually. So one real life example was four packets of rice crackers advertised as ‘4 packs for $5’ when in fact the crackers were a dollar and nine cents a packet individually to begin with, so you were actually paying more, to buy 4 packets of them. Now when I hear that, it really annoys me, but it’s the sort of thing I’d personally never stop to check, so is that on me? Like whose fault is that? The supermarkets’ for being unscrupulous and trying to rip me off? Or mine for not checking? But how much time do we have to check every little thing when we’re at the supermarket? I mean we’re busy, we may have kids with us, we may be in a hurry or we may be checking other stuff like ingredients lists or nutrition info. I mean how much time and attention do we have to give supermarket shopping? See I reckon we should be able to rely on supermarkets to not be ripping us off, we should be able to relax and know that they’re doing the right thing and making sure a deal is a deal, not making us second guess everything. But does that make me naïve? Or does it make them reprobates? So although Consumer NZ wants us to do the hard yards here and bust supermarkets on their dodgy pricing, I actually think it’s worth doing if it’ll make supermarkets finally sit up and take notice. My concern though is that they still won’t, because they’re too big to care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working habits are largely starting to return to pre-pandemic norms. A survey from media company JCDecaux New Zealand has found 89 percent of workers are working from the office for three or more days a week. Employment relations expert Max Whitehead says employment contracts need to make clear where people should work from. He told Kate Hawkesby employers will be welcoming it. He says bosses find there's better engagement, better productivity and better services for clients when people work in the office. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims the new vaping regulations don't go far enough to prevent young people's access to products. From August, disposable vapes will be banned and all devices will need to have removable or replaceable batteries. New vape retailers will no longer be able to operate within 300 metres of schools and marae. Paediatric Society of New Zealand spokesperson, Doctor Colette Muir told Kate Hawkesby the Government could have gone further. She says black and white packaging would lessen the appeal to young people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red meat exports are exceeding expectations despite the current financial market. The Meat Industry Association is reporting a two-percent increase in exports in April, worth almost $1 billion, compared to the previous year. The association's CEO Sirma Karapeeva told Kate Hawkesby things are improving after a slow start to the year. She says any increase is a sign of recovery, but she doubts they're out of the woods just yet. Karapeeva says economic conditions are still affecting the industry and need to be taken as it comes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Harry has launched a fierce attack on what he calls the "vile" press. The Duke of Sussex and 100 others is accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of widespread unlawful information-gathering between 1991 and 2011. He's told the High Court in London he blames the tabloids for destroying his adolescence and later relationships. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby they looked at 140 stories over a 14-year-period since 1996, which made for interesting evidence. He says the defence keeps pointing out Prince Harry has no direct evidence that hacking took place, it's just his suspicion. He adds the defence also stressed every story he referred to had also appeared in other newspapers as well. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think what that new NZ Herald poll at the weekend on crime tells us is what we already knew, the Government's completely out of touch. It will be this, among other things, that will see them lose the election come October. Despite telling us over and over again that crime is down and that we all feel safer, you can only lie and feed us so much BS before your cover gets blown. And as it turns out, that turned up in the form of actual data over the weekend where a new survey polling New Zealanders showed in fact we feel less safe today than we did five years ago. This is not news to us, we know it, we’ve been telling the Government that for months, dairy owners, liquor store owners and retailers across the country have been telling them for months, we’ve all seen it, because it’s real. The survey showed that ‘two-thirds of Kiwis are more concerned about being a victim of crime today than they were five years ago, and harsher prison sentences and more police would make them feel safer.’ 1,000 respondents were asked ‘if they were more or less concerned about being the victim of a crime today than five years ago.’ ‘Sixty-seven per cent were more concerned, 28 per cent felt about the same and 5 per cent were less concerned. Concern in Auckland was higher than the national average. Why am I not surprised? As an Aucklander I know it’s the number one topic of conversation wherever you go. It’s forefront every time you walk or drive by shops and see all the boarded up glass, or the empty vacated shops. We don’t feel safe, because we know we are not safe. And despite government and the judiciary’s best attempts to keep everyone out of jails, Kiwis actually want the opposite. We don’t want crime and criminals emptied out onto our streets and into our communities, we want harsher penalties, we want more police. The survey asked what was important to improving their safety, ‘the most common answers were harsher prison sentences (34 per cent) and more police (27 per cent).’ The numbers when you look at them are stark, and depressing. From 2017 until 2022, reported victims of crime went up 11.9 percent. Offenders arrested went down 25.4 percent, convictions down 26.2 percent, prison sentences down 44.8 percent. That is a shocking example of statistics going the wrong way for a decent and thriving society. That’s unquestionably a government and judiciary soft on crime. How they can argue the opposite is beyond me. People imprisoned down 44.8 percent tells you everything you need to know about the ideology driven bollocks that has seen us end up here. There will always be those philosophical about crime and arguing we need to be more restorative, rehabilitative and holistic in our approach. Sure, let’s incorporate all of that, but let’s also not downplay crime while we’re at it. Because that’s dangerous and disrespectful to the victims and only sends a message to the perpetrators that committing a crime in this country is no big deal and you won’t be punished for it. Until we turn that around, we will continue to have the stats going the wrong way. And that's doing all of us, a disservice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red meat consumption is on the decline in New Zealand, as shoppers fill trolleys with chicken instead. A study out of Lincoln University shows that while nine in ten of us still eat meat, over all intake is lowering due to cost and health concerns. But it also found that chicken now makes up about a third of meals a week. Poultry Industry Association Executive Director Michael Brooks says people are more likely to continue buying chicken to save money. He says its versatility, being able to be dressed up or dressed down, will also be adding to the appeal. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An electoral law expert is supportive of some proposed changes to how we vote. The Independent Electoral Review Panel has suggested changes designed to make our electoral system fairer, clearer and more accessible. It includes changes to donations and lowering the party threshold from 5 percent to 3.5 percent. Graeme Edgeler says that change would allow greater diversity of thought. He told Kate Hawkesby it could prevent big parties going back on their promises. Edgeler says it would mean splinter groups could be more likely to get in and make a difference. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think what we’ve seen this week is indicative of what we’re going to see for the rest of the election campaign from now until October. And that is – sideshows. And that’s the real let down for us the voters. We are being done a disservice not only by the politicians themselves but also the media covering them. What this country urgently needs is the basics. Roads fixed, hospitals functioning again, schools with students attending and passing, and crime sorted out. What we don’t need is the sideshow on bilingual road signs, who gets a free prescription and who doesn’t, who’s dog whistling and who isn’t. We deserve better. We have also got to stop this collective attack on anyone who dare question anything to do with Maori culture or Te Reo, it is not racist to say you don’t think bilingual road signs are a priority right now. To question the Government’s desire for this and then be deemed racist and a dog whistler when you do, is pathetic. This government has developed a modus operandi of lecturing us on how we should behave, how long we should spend in the shower, how we should read our road signs. They’re good at telling us what we should do, because they know best and us mere mortals are just not as enlightened as them. These are fringe issues at a time where we as a country are facing far more serious ones. Crime, for a start, looks like it’ll be kicked to touch until after the election. There are very few sitting days left for the Government to actually enact much - and that should worry all of us because what it means is that what we currently have is it. If you were hoping for more or better or different between now and October, you’re probably going to be disappointed. They’ll announce stuff, they just won’t be able to do much about it. But the pettiness of politics in election year is such a turn off. Doesn’t the name calling and the descending into side shows just put voters off? Politicians looking to bait opponents, media looking for ‘gotcha’ moments - a lot of it is beltway and a lot of it is BS. It doesn’t serve us, and it certainly doesn’t move this country forward. National would do themselves a favour by not allowing themselves to get dragged into the sideshows; my advice to them would be take a stance and stick to it - believe in your policies your pledges and your platitudes, and stick to them. People don’t like uncertainty and they don’t like wishy washy. But I think we deserve better from the political media too. Gotcha moments like turning up with Te Reo signs at Parliament and asking MP’s what they mean - really? Is that your best coverage? Newshub’s Jenna Lynch, who I think is their senior political reporter, wandered round with Te Reo signs asking MP’s what they meant and when she asked Chris Hipkins what Waka Kotahi meant, he knew it was NZ Transport but he couldn’t translate exactly what Waka Kotahi means. But when he served it right back at her and said, ‘well what does Te Papa mean?’ She of course couldn’t answer because she didn’t know either. Is this the best political news coverage we can get? Or is this school playground rubbish? My husband described the country this week as weary, angry and punch drunk. I think it’s true. But we need to sober up between now and October or we’re in real trouble.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions are being raised around the finer details of a plan to buy out cyclone affected properties. The Government will help fund council buyouts of about 700 category three properties where future severe weather event risks can't be sufficiently mitigated. Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise told Kate Hawkesby the plan is a significant milestone, but there are still some unanswered questions. Wise says they will be working closely with the Crown to sort these parts of the process. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of students is demanding the Government put the brakes on Victoria University's planned job cuts. The Wellington university is facing a $33 million deficit; so to combat this they're proposing to scrap up to 260 jobs and have put 59 courses under review. Due to the planned changes the group Victoria University Students Against Cuts is holding an emergency meeting at the uni today. Group member, Marcail Parkinson told Kate Hawkesby the Government has played a role in creating the issues. She says over the past decade, per student funding has fallen by 20 percent compared to inflation. Several hundred jobs are also set to go at Otago University, where applications for voluntary redundancy close today. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A detailed bit of work in the Herald today about a critical election issue, that being crime, law and order if you prefer, or the lack of it right now. Among other things, the work has found the number of people charged and convicted actually fell faster under the last National Government, than the current Labour Government. I think the idea there is to put a question mark into the air over which party, if it's either of them, is soft on crime. Apparently, when you allow for population growth, police are laying charges now at just over a third of the rate they did in 2009. Charges and convictions have dropped about a quarter in the past five years. But under the last National government, the number of people charged fell by 40 per cent, and convictions by 36 per cent. What this doesn't take into account is whether there was less crime in those years or what other factors were at play. And there's not a lot of point going back over those figures anyway, the reporting process has changed, what gets counted has changed so we wouldn't be comparing apples with apples. And I think sometimes there's a danger of relying solely on just one set of stats or another to prove or disprove one point of view or another. The fact is, if you've been affected by crime, it's not trivial and it's not about name-calling. It's an intrusion on your life, into your property, on your family and on your liberty. If it's happened to you personally, or someone around you even if you've witnessed something in the street it's real, it's destructive, it's frightening. When we see our society crumbling around us the way it is we're going to turn to what we understand. And what we understand, even when we want to be charitable to people committing crime, is that crime has to be punished. Whatever way you try to slice the numbers, we're living in a time of lawlessness. And until we see a response, some real action, this Government will be seen as soft on crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The tide may be turning on tumbling property values after three analysts all judged fresh real estate data shows a “possible floor in [house] prices is approaching”. New reports from OneRoof, CoreLogic and ANZ Bank point to potentially better times ahead for homeowners, despite interest rates likely staying higher for longer. Today’s latest OneRoof-Valocity House Index showed New Zealand’s average property value fell 2.3 per cent ($22,000) to $950,000 in the three months to the end of May, as successive interest rate rises put downward pressure on prices. Auckland’s average value fell a further 3.2 per cent ($43,000) over the quarter to $1.29 million, but there were some bright spots with Northland, Otago and West Coast enjoying lifts in their average property value, while the rate of decline slowed in Canterbury, Taranaki and Wellington. CoreLogic, in its own data released this morning, said property values fell nationwide in May but the rate of change had eased. The 0.7 per cent fall in May was “tentative evidence” the downturn was winding up, CoreLogic said. Average values were 10.2 per cent down on a year earlier, but still well above pre-lockdown levels in March 2020. CoreLogic NZ head of research Nick Goodall said indicators such as moderating house price declines and the latest Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate (OCR) forecasts were positive signs for homeowners. “While the OCR is at a relatively high level of 5.5 per cent following a total increase of 525 basis points over the last 20 months, this expected ceiling for interest rates reinforces our view that a possible floor in prices is approaching,” Goodall said. Earlier this week ANZ Bank New Zealand dialled back its expectations for house prices to keep heading south, predicting a relatively sharp turn in the near term. The country’s biggest lender is now forecasting a 1.6 per cent quarterly increase in each of the September and December quarters, having previously predicted a 0.4 per cent decline in the September period followed by a 0.4 per cent increase in December. That means ANZ’s economists forecast annual house prices to increase 0.1 per cent in the December quarter, an earlier turnaround than June 2024 quarter increase predicted just last month. ANZ said the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s muted response to the fiscal impulse in the Budget surprised its economics team, who had expected looser monetary policy than they’d previously predicted. “In short, housing tailwinds now appear to be blowing a little stronger than the headwinds. But we’re not convinced the RBNZ will be able to let that run,” the ANZ economists said in their property focus report. “We expect the RBNZ will need to tighten monetary conditions later in the year once all has been revealed in the data.” CoreLogic's head of research Nick Goodall. Photo / Supplied NZ Mortgages managing director Nathan Miglani said if the interest rate peak had not already been reached, the country was getting very close to it. “We anticipate rates beginning a gradual descent from late 2023, so our general advice is to fix for a short term where possible, say one year or 18 months,” Miglani added. “With interest rates likely to fall, fixing for a long term could mean a hefty breakage cost if circumstances change and you need to restructure early.” Some buyers believed rates had already peaked, and were now making decisions based on the idea rates will go down, Miglani said. “Despite the doomsday property market stories many Kiwis are hearing, average asking prices are still above what they were before Covid-19, and this should be viewed as good news for property owners concerned about shrinking equity,” he added. There are still forces pulling against property values, however. New listings coming onto the market were at a 16-year low this autumn, plunging to almost the same levels as seen during the 2020 lockdown. New property listings are at a low. Photo / 123RF OneRoof’s report highlighted continued uncertainty in the country’s biggest housing market with a 3.2 per cent decline in Auckland over the last quarter - a signal that house prices in that region have still a way to go before they hit the bottom. Nationwide sales volumes in the three months to the end of May were down nearly 38 per cent year-on-year. OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said the drop in new listings volumes was having a draining effect on the market, with only two regions, Taranaki and Southland, recording an annual increase in May. “Nationwide new listings in May were down 12 per cent on the month before and down 21 per cent year-on-year. The drop-off in new stock coming to market was steepest in Wellington, with new listings in the region down 41 per cent year-on-year. In Auckland, the reluctance to list is hitting overall stock numbers. Total listings for the region are down nearly 4 per cent year-on-year,” Vaughan said. “Falling house prices and falling sales have kept vendors on the sidelines throughout autumn and will need a

The Police Association says a fall in prosecutions doesn't mean a fall in crime. The number of people charged with non-traffic offences has halved since 2009. Herald analysis has found between 2017 and 2022, the total number of people charged and convicted for all offences dropped by a quarter. That number fell at an even faster rate under the National governments of Sir John Key - and rose the most under Helen Clark's Labour administrations. Association President Chris Cahill told Tim Dower people don't feel as safe as they did 10 years ago. He says frontline cops say there's certainly more visible crime than 10 years ago. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Battle is brewing over those Auckland Airport shares currently owned by Auckland Council. The Council actually inherited 22 percent of the airport when it was formed and since then there's been a capital raising by the airport which has diluted that holding down to 18 percent. But it's worth well over $2 billion; enough to plug that Budget gap six or seven times over. So, the Council's in a bit of a spot. Their choices are either a great big rates increase, or some pretty serious cuts or sell part or all of the family silver. Mayor Wayne Brown wants to flick the shares - and you can see the logic of that. Part of the argument for keeping the shares has been the dividend, but there hasn't been one of those in more than three years, there may be later this year, we'll see. And until recently those shares brought with them seats on the airport's board, which something the Super City chose not to take up, but not an irreversible move if you hold the shares. Now, should local bodies be involved in business activities? By and large, the answer to that is definitely not. They should stick to core public service activities like cleaning the streets, taking away the rubbish, keeping the reserves and parks tidy or fix the stormwater and so on. But I'd argue the airport is core to the functioning of the region. Apart from being a huge employer it's a vital piece of infrastructure and that remaining shareholding, even without seats on the board, could prove crucial one day. Once you sell it, that's it, gone for good - and given the way the Council runs its affairs, that big nest egg will be gone in a couple of years. Selling the shares is a quick but only temporary solution to a long-standing and deep-rooted problem. Auckland Council is that problem. It's over-reaching, hopelessly inefficient, out of control and wasteful. Flicking off its best asset won't fix any of that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farming produces by-products and there is one by-product in particular that has become an increasing issue in recent times; effluent, and in particular, methane emissions from farm effluent ponds. A trial by Craigmore Farming in North Canterbury will test a system designed to remove nearly all of that methane. Craigmore General Manager Stuart Taylor joined Roman Travers to discuss their plans. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand has been named New Zealand’s Most Attractive Employer for the seventh time, according to Randstad’s latest Employer Brand Research. The HR and recruitment specialist surveyed 4302 Kiwis, with the market’s 150 largest employers eligible for the recognition. While Air New Zealand bumped last year’s winner, Evolve Education, it could be seen as a continuation of its dominance in the category, given Randstad doesn’t allow an organisation that wins the most attractive employer accolade three years in a row to be eligible for the award for a period of three years. The airline previously held the title between 2017 to 2019 and 2011 to 2013. And Air New Zealand overnight was named by Australian website AirlineRatings.com the Airline of the Year for 2023, a remarkable seventh time it has won that award in the past 10 years. AirlineRatings said the airline was being honoured this year for its multi award winning in-flight innovations such as the SkyNest economy beds, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff. Randstad said the national carrier achieved the most attractive employer accolade based on its reputation, interesting job content and financial health. Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said: “We’re humbled to have been named the country’s most attractive employer for the seventh time. This distinction reflects the resilience and commitment of our people, and the hard mahi and dedication they demonstrate every day. Randstad country director Richard Kennedy said Air New Zealand’s achievement recognises their commitment to moving on from the Covid-19 pandemic. In February, the airline reported an after-tax net profit of $213 million for the six months to December 31, compared to a loss of $272m in the previous period. Covid-19 paralysed the aviation industry and delivered a near-$1 billion blow to Air New Zealand that same year - and further heavy losses - which forced the Government to step in and help in the form of a loan. “We’ve had a tough time over the past few years, and I especially want to thank our customers who have stood by us, even though we struggled at times to deliver the standards we pride ourselves on,” Foran added. “The key reason we got through it was because of the unwavering support of our people. We will continue to foster a welcoming culture where our staff can be authentically themselves and feel part of the Air New Zealand whānau.” New Zealand Customs Service and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) were second and third in Randstad’s research respectively. “I would also like to congratulate NZ Customs and MBIE who continue to perform exceptionally well every year, which is no mean feat in the current economic climate,” Randstad’s Kennedy said. Nigel Foster, Customs’ deputy chief executive people and capability, welcomed the recognition alongside its key airline partner. “Customs is here to protect and promote Aotearoa New Zealand across borders and shares a great sense of pride and camaraderie in not just protecting our country and interests, but also looking after our people and those we interact with,” Foster said. “Many Customs officers who join stay with us for decades, finding the culture and purpose aligns with their own. This is testament to our values and who we are as an organisation.” The top 20: Air New Zealand New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) Department of Conservation WSP Super Retail Group ANZ Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Statistics New Zealand Ara Institute Deloitte Green Cross Health ASB Ministry of Health Oji Fibre Solutions Coca-Cola Amatil Victoria University of Wellington IBM The University of Auckland St John New Zealand See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a challenging time for transport funding. Treasury says Fuel Excise Duty or Road User Charges may need to go up in a year's time to manage pressures on the National Land Transport Fund and a loan granted to Waka Kotahi. But, Transport Minister Michael Wood says he doesn't want to foreshadow Cabinet consideration of the upcoming transport budget. Transporting New Zealand Policy Advisor Billy Clemens told Tim Dower there are challenges with the user pays model. He says there's an increasing number of EVs on the roads that aren't paying Road User Charges and inflation of the cost to maintain roads. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'll be well and truly aware that when our primary producers do well, the whole country benefits. When our farmers, orchardists and horticulturalists make a decent living, they’re able to invest a new capital and clear debt. That all trickles down through to our towns and cities. Those selling farm implements, car dealers with the latest utes and farm to town cars for the family, boarding schools looking to increase their roles, and the likes of appliance clothing retailers, all reap the benefits of a good harvest. The problem is that for a long time, even with decent payouts, the rate of inflation and rising costs has absorbed a lot of that disposable income. Some in the dairy sector have commented about the excitement of increased payouts due to success at the global dairy auction - only to have their margins smashed with rising costs. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Rural cost inflation has evidently peaked. Input prices across all farm and orchards, excluding livestock costs, dipped from an annual pace of 15.6 per cent in the September quarter down to 15.3 per cent in the December quarter. That doesn’t sound like a big dip to me, but apparently, it’s enough to make a huge difference, given the debt that some newly established and developing primary producers are facing. That’s not to say the picture isn’t still a bit grim At an annual 15.3 per cent rate, rural cost inflation is more than double the rate of a year ago. When you make the comparison of these numbers compared to what they were before the Covid pandemic, the rate before at 1.8 per cent makes todays figures look phenomenal. So where do we go from here? How does New Zealand diversify further to keep ahead of all of the global markets? How does New Zealand’s primary produce remain viable without further detriment to the environment as well as remaining appealing to markets who now look at the carbon miles travelled to get to the northern hemisphere supermarket shelves? There will be many listening that remember the early days of deer farming, along with the advent of Kiwi fruit in our orchards. So, what next for our primary producers? I feel for anyone with a deep economic link and an intrinsic commitment to the land. Rural inflation costs are forecasted to drop dramatically, which will be good news for everyone on the land. The big question is how prepared are you to stick at it - in the hope that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t an oncoming train? What will the next big primary product be that appeals to everybody nationally and globally starring through an environmental lens and with a spotlight on animal welfare issues, including the distance travelled to foreign markets? With many forestry contractors deciding to pull out of those areas affected by cyclone Gabrielle, the question of what to do next, will be relevant for a great many. New Zealand will need to keep diversifying. Whatever our primary producers decide to do long-term, will have ramifications for us all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kegs in cafés may become the new norm, but not the kind of keg you're probably thinking of. Waikato's Green Valley Dairies is supplying cafés with 18 litre milk kegs to help reduce waste. It's set to eliminate up to 10,000 plastic milk bottles per café a year. Green Valley Dairies General Manager Mark Pullman joined Roman Travers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sheep and Beef farmers are feeling the pressure of a second year of high inflation levels - which have not been seen since the 1980s. Beef and Lamb New Zealand reports show a 40 year high at 16.3 percent; that's two and a half times consumer price inflation. The most recent March figures follow a 10.2 percent increase over the previous 12-month period. Westpac Agricultural Economist Nathan Penny told Roman Travers times are tough for farmers. He says fertiliser, feed and interest rate bills have been red hot. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police pursuits are being viewed as a double edged sword. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says a new fleeing driver policy gives officers more scope to pursue offenders. The Fleeing Driver Framework factors in the threat from the driver, their suspected offence - and the chance they'll offend more. Road safety and crash investigation expert Hamish Piercy told Roman Travers Police are between a rock and a hard place - and there's always going to be risk. He says if a person decides they want to take off and aren't pursued, there's just as much risk of them continuing to behave recklessly and going on to crash. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The trades are giving a tick of approval to the Government's promise to make its Apprenticeship Boost Scheme permanent. Brought in during the pandemic, the programme was set to end this year - but was extended till the end of 2024 in the Budget. Building Industry Federation Chief Executive Julien Leys told Roman Travers that it's very good news for an industry needing lots more workers. Leys says it's going to encourage younger people into vocational trades such as building, where they're needed more than ever before. He says spending hundreds of millions a year on a sector that contributes 18-billion to the economy is worth it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delegations from nearly 200 countries are gathering in Paris to work on a Global Plastics Treaty. It's the second round of talks on an internationally binding agreement, which will lay out how to address plastic pollution globally. The UN Environment Assembly aims to finish negotiations by the end of next year. Tearfund's Claire Gray says plastic production doubled between 2000 and 2019, and it's badly affecting people living in poverty. She says about one in four people have no access to waste management and must burn or dump their rubbish, causing huge health impacts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wasn't it reassuring to hear some promising promises made by the Prime Minister Chris Hipkins over the weekend? The promises were apropos the future of apprenticeships and the blinding need to ensure that we have an ongoing supply of tradespeople being brought through the ranks. Chris Hipkins used his first major speech to his party faithful to promise to keep an existing apprenticeship scheme in place. He delivered the keynote address to about 400 party faithful at Labour's election year congress in Wellington yesterday. He said if Labour secured a third term, the party would make the apprenticeship boost scheme permanent. The programme, which was introduced as a temporary pandemic measure in 2020, pays employers $500 a month over two years for every apprentice they train. This is the dangling carrot before us that will undoubtedly secure the apprenticeship scheme and create opportunities and help ease skill shortages. If you’re an employer currently making use of the apprenticeship scheme, what does this promise mean to you? Could more be done to ensure that more apprentices are trained or is this as good as it gets? On the other side of the house, also dangling carrots, was news released by national over the weekend regarding a focus on the speed of housing plans. The National party says its housing growth plan will fast-track developments on new land. Their housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says the party's proposed housing growth policy would require councils to zone enough land for 30 years of demand. They’ll have to zone for 30 years of growth immediately, which means that there will be abundant development opportunities into the housing market. Under a National-led government, Bishop says the policy will allow councils to opt out of the existing Medium Density Residential Zone standards. Earlier this week, National back downed over its support for denser house zoning. Both parties appear to be offering very social centric policies, which drags them further into the middle ground, where the bulk of undecided voters sit. If the policies from both parties continue to emulate each other's, what is it for you that’ll decide which dangling carrot to chase - and ultimately the box you tick in a few months’ time?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turkey's President Erdogan is set to stretch his rule into a third decade. Unofficial results in the election run-off show him with about 53 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has 47 percent. Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Roman Travers that it's not beyond doubt, but Erdogan supporters have already begun celebrating. He says he's been in power for more than two decades and has seen the country's economy sharply decline recently. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have to take the polls with a pinch of salt right now, although we're closing in on the election and neither of the two main blocs has a clear lead. This time around the 1News Kantar poll puts National and ACT in the driving seat with 62 seats on these numbers - enough to govern alone. Bear a couple of things in mind though. Number one; this is another small survey with only 1000 people over the course of two days. Small polls mean a bigger margin of error and in this case it's a gnat's more than three points. Also in this poll around 12 percent said they didn't know, haven't made up their minds, or won't vote, or just refused to answer. Those people aren't counted when it comes to working out the party vote figures. Now look, any survey is basically a snapshot isn't it and it can be influenced by recent events, so it's more interesting and more useful to look at trends. Which direction the party or person you're interested in is travelling - is there a trend? When you look over time at the Kantar survey, what you see is this. Labour's lost a big slice of the ground it had back in 2017, but National's been too obsessed with its own navel it's failed to make good gains. It's actually also gone backwards since that election, but over the past year or so it's got really tight between those two - and remains that way. Down in the trenches where you've got the likes of Te Pāti Māori the Greens and ACT scrapping it out - there's really one clear trend there. And that's ACT, which has been on a steady upward trend for the past three years. Any why's that? They're disciplined and focussed and because Seymour works so damn hard, sticks to his knitting, and pumps out a consistent message. It's not rocket science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's mental health workforce is reportedly on the brink of collapse. A report one of the main non-government bodies involved in the sector this has some innovative ideas. Ember Innovations Director Taimi Allan joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Road repairs look to have lost out in the latest allocations to the Transport Ministry. Nearly $500 million less is set aside for maintenance next year on state highways and local roads. National's Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown, joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Numbers in the latest 1News political poll fall for National and ACT this time - projecting a total of 62 seats between them, should they form a coalition. Labour, Greens, and Te Pāti Māori would only muster 58. Political commentator and lawyer Brigitte Morten joined Tim Dower to discuss the latest polling. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if a cost of living crisis and a crime crisis were not enough, we also have a mental health crisis in this country, and it’s heart-breaking. It was reported the other day that, on average, 54 tradies take their own life each year, as well as 23 farm workers. They're predominantly men. So what services are available here? Well as we know, time and time again, because it’s constantly reported on, very few. The mental health sector is stretched, it’s in many cases dysfunctional, there are a lack of pyschs, a lack of outlets for people, a lack of supports to tap into. There are long waiting lists, in many cases, too long. And for farm workers in particular, in many rural areas, no help at all. Minister for Rural Communities, Kieran McAnulty was reported recently saying that “rural communities have poorer mental health outcomes and disproportionately higher rates of suicide,” he cited reduced access to mental health services as a factor, social isolation and easier access to firearms and vehicles. But what’s really concerning is that it’s his government, who made such a big song and dance about throwing more money at it, yet has still not moved the metrics on it. Where’s the money gone? It’s reported that “In 2019, the Government committed $455 million to primary mental health and addiction services..” But, and here’s the rub, “there is no specific industry focus for the funding.” Why not? Why not target it? Why not be specific about where the spending needs to go? It’s not like we don’t know where it’s needed. So what have we got to show for it? Where’s the accountability for any of it? There is none. No one appears to know where the money’s gone, we’ve certainly not seen the rapid cropping up of better rural mental health services, it certainly hasn’t improved access. Even mental health advocate Mike King got so disillusioned with the lack of funding ending up anywhere, he described the mental health scene as “horrifying and scary..” and that was a year ago, God only knows how much worse it is now. He said “the system’s broken”, and that’s what we’re still hearing, and we hear it time and time again. The system is broken. The fixes we thought were coming, didn’t come. The money we thought would help alleviate some of the pressure in the sector, never arrived. The places the money needed to go to didn’t get it. The people tasked with carrying the burden of all this frontline under resourced mental health care on their shoulders, got so overwhelmed many of them left and quit the sector entirely. Frustratingly, the point King made back then was that the money was out there, there was enough of it floating around, it just was not reaching the right places, and no one knew where it had gone. He said you could OIA the Ministry of Health and they wouldn’t even know where it was. His fear was it was getting flushed down the toilet. So how is this not only still an issue, but arguably worse, not better? How is it we have “Nearly one in four young adults suffering from high levels of anxiety, fatigue and depression”, (according to the Salvation Army’s 2023 State of the Nation report). I know the mental health sector is not a quick fix, but four years on from the Wellbeing Budget, how is it our wellbeing stats are still so woeful?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's logistics and freight industry is calling for immediate intervention to a worker shortage. A new government study finds the labour shortage could triple from nearly 5,000 to over 18,000 in the next five years. Chair of the NZ Council of Cargo Owners Ant Boyles joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems alcohol may not hold the allure it once did for young people. Youth drinking survey results from 20 years ago show more than half of those in high school were drinking and going to parties on a regular basis by Year 10. Comparatively, Otago researchers surveyed students last year and found only one of the Year 10 students they spoke to reported drinking socially. Senior Research Fellow, Dr Jude Ball says there are reasons for the change. She says there are big shifts in how teenagers socialise, as well as increasing negative connotations towards alcohol. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some good news, and some bad news, from the Reserve Bank. The central bank has hiked the Official Cash Rate by a further 25 basis points to 5.5 percent. But it's also indicated no further hikes are likely, before the OCR starts coming down towards the end of next year. Weakening is already being felt in the retail sector, where new figures show spending is continuing to slide. Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford told Kate Hawkesby the OCR hike will push spending down even further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m bordering on feeling sorry for Chris Hipkins - and I’ll tell you why. He’s single-handedly being the face of the entire Government day in day out and spinning so much BS that it must be giving him a headache. I mean the level of ‘creative facts’ shall we call them, being espoused, is truly award winning. Yesterday he even tried to blame an international TikTok trend which has only just blown up, on our ram raid stats. He tried the old ‘it’s an international problem’ routine that he trots out for all our problems - he tried to make it sound like kids filming themselves committing crimes like ram raids was a global thing and we were just unfortunately somehow caught up in it. Sadly, what the advisors who peddled him this spin to espouse did not tell him, was that our ram raids have absolutely nothing to do with TikTok. The international TikTok trend disturbing people currently is young people breaking into people’s homes and filming their reactions. That’s very different to taking a stolen car and a crow bar and smashing your way through a front door and trashing and stealing from a shop. And that’s before we get to the fact that ram raids here have been happening for months and months now - far longer than this international TikTok trend has been around. But he’s being let down not just by the people advising him, but also by his ministers. Ginny Andersen this week hung him out to dry by peddling so much BS of her own that he spent the rest of the time mopping up her mess. He had to appear in several interviews walking back her claims that we all feel safer and that there's no more crime there's just more reporting of it. He’s got Grant there so disinterested and so obviously checked out these days that he doesn’t really care what happens, so Hipkins really is last man standing. He’s mopping up the mess that Jacinda created then upped and walked out on, covering for the mess that is his Cabinet, and all the while he must know deep down that this government is on a hiding to nothing. You can’t wreck a country to this degree over five years and keep blaming international trends or global patterns. I think this Government would actually go a long way to rebuilding people’s faith in them if they actually stopped denying and deflecting and gaslighting, and just started admitting some stuff they’ve got wrong. If they started telling it like it is. His call for us all to be more positive and optimistic is a stretch. I bumped into a neighbour yesterday who said he’s not attended political party meetings before but he’s starting now, he’s that riled up by what’s happening to this country. Ironically, he was going to a National party meeting, as he said that party needed a rocket under it as they didn’t seem to grasp how frustrated and over it voters are. I think the Opposition do understand how over it voters are, but they’re just a bit caught up in trying to please the middle voter, so they’re sitting on the fence too much. But I keep coming back to the old adage, despite what the polls say, oppositions don’t win elections, governments lose them. And if you look at the state of this country right now, and if those who choose to turn a blind eye to it all get really honest for a minute, then even Hipkins must know what we all know, that we can’t possibly continue the way we are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Act's Police Spokesman says new Police assault data is a damning indictment on the type of country New Zealand has become. Newstalk ZB can reveal the number of assaults on police staff has almost doubled in recent times - with officers reporting more than a 1,100 attacks in 2022, up from 631 in 2021. Chris Baillie says although tragic, the figures sadly will surprise few. He says the numbers show a decline in respect, and that people aren't afraid of consequences. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Official Cash Rate is expected to take another hike today. An announcement will be made by the Reserve Bank at around 2pm this afternoon. Most economists are holding out for a 25 basis point increase to 5.5 percent. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss a potential rise. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miami Zoo has announced that Paora the kiwi will no longer be offered up for paid encounters with the public after videos of the bird being paraded in daylight for selfies with zoo visitors went viral, causing outrage. Ron Magill, communications director for Miami Zoo, told the Herald that they had listened to the response from New Zealanders. “We regret the unintentional stress caused by a video on social media depicting the handling of Paora, the kiwi bird currently housed within Zoo Miami,” Magill said. Magill apologised profusely to RNZ, saying he told the zoo director: “We have offended a nation”. “I am so sorry. I am so remorseful. Someone asked how would you feel if we did that to your bald eagle, and you’re absolutely right.” He said that the concerns expressed by the community “have been taken very seriously” and told the Herald that their $40 “Kiwi Encounter” will no longer be offered. “We should have known better,” Magill told AM this morning. ”We were really not sensitive to the fact that this bird is a national symbol, that it is an icon, it is a spiritual animal.” Video of Paora being petted and put up for selfies caused outrage online, with concerned New Zealanders launching a petition to “help save” the bird. The zoo was also flooded by complaints on social media, as New Zealanders rose up to protest our national bird being petted by zoo visitors under bright lights. Magill said Paora would now be going back into the dark. “Paora is being kept in a quiet, isolated off-exhibit area where he can remain in a dark secluded area during the day and have the freedom to explore his habitat during the evening hours. He continues to be in excellent health,” Magill said. He said the zoo was committed to providing him with the best environment possible and was in the process of creating a new habitat. A video of a kiwi at a Miami Zoo caused outrage online. ‘Terrified’ Robert Webb from Whāngarei’s Native Bird Recovery Centre told the Herald yesterday that Paora appeared to be distressed by his treatment. “I don’t think that bird will last long. You’ll notice he’s got his eyes closed nearly the whole bloody time when they’re touching him. He’s terrified.” Webb, who has cared for hundreds of kiwi over the years, told the Herald that the birds were extremely sensitive animals, saying even the sound of paper being shredded “scares the hell out of them” and said Paora “won’t survive” if he continues being handled in the manner seen in the videos. Webb compared Paora’s treatment at Miami Zoo to the marine mammals at Florida’s SeaWorld. “Animals are born to be free, not kept in cages. They’ll flog the hell out of that and I bet they make good money out of it.” Webb said the zoo’s approach was “totally wrong” and encouraged breeding animals just to “show off” and make money. Magill said today that they were “committed to providing him with the best environment possible while respecting and honouring all that he represents”. He also said that Paora is doing well and in “excellent health”. ‘It’s a taonga’ The bird was named in honour of New Zealand environmentalist and iwi leader Paora Haitana, who was part of a delegation that visited Zoo Miami for an official ceremony after the bird hatched back in 2019. Haitana told RNZ that he was concerned by the bird’s treatment. “It’s our signature, we’re known as the kiwi, so it goes against everything the bird was given to them for.” Haitana said the bird should have been kept in darkness and was worried it would have damaged eyesight. He said it was his understanding that the bird would be looked after in a way that was consistent with how they were cared for in New Zealand. “It’s a taonga and absolutely it was given in good faith that it would be managed, controlled and looked after by Miami Zoo, so it’s a concern, huge concern.” This morning, Magill said he would be happy to have a discussion with Haitana regarding his concerns. - Chris Marriner, NZHSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So another day, another shop closing for good because they’re fed up with being robbed. That sees off West Auckland’s only Post Shop – seven ram raids and break ins have pushed them over the edge. They’ve been in business 20 years. Now, they’re closing their doors for good. It beggars belief that business owners are getting run out of town by thugs and criminals, but that’s where we are now. Remember Michael Hill Jeweller in Auckland’s Takapuna shut up shop after several burglaries and ram raids too? Reported retail crime doubled between 2018 and 2022. Auckland Business Chamber’s Simon Bridges, when commenting on the violent attack by the ferry terminal in the CBD recently, said it’s actually beyond a social issue now; it’s an economic one too. People and businesses do not want to be where the criminals are - and at this stage, they’re everywhere. Not just our big centres but small town New Zealand too. One woman wrote to me and said Palmerston North is so bad now that she worries about going into the main shops with her kids, and not surprising given the Mob behaviour and gang trouble in that part of the world recently. But according to Police Minister, Ginny Andersen, everything’s tickety boo. There’s no more crime she says, just more reporting of it. Well if she honestly believes that, then she is literally the only person who does. A fatal mistake governments make is when they deny stuff isn’t happening, especially stuff we see before our very eyes on a daily basis. It’s like when the PM said there was no looting happening post the cyclone in Hawkes Bay, when very clearly everyone else knew it was going on. You can’t gaslight your way out of a problem by telling the people most affected by it, that it’s not happening. Paula Bennett wrote at the weekend that, “We are told continuously by Police Minister Ginny Andersen that we feel safer… Retailers definitely don’t feel safer and for good reason. Ram raids are up 500 per cent since 2018. Andersen said that ram raids are continuing to trend downwards, ignoring that there were 51 ram raids in March this year, up by 24 per cent on the month before… the number of victimisations for violent crime has jumped 33 per cent since 2017,” so she makes the point, no, we don’t feel safer. And she’s right, she’s feeling the pulse on this more accurately than the Police Minister herself. We probably all know somebody personally now who has been impacted by crime, even if it’s our local dairy. And the crime’s more brazen these days, that’s one thing the Minister does accept. But when five of our police districts now have more gangs than police officers, we know we have a problem. And even when the government reaches its 1800 new cops mark next month, the Police Association says that’s still not enough, it doesn’t make up for all those who’ve left - we need double that many more now. You can’t argue with facts, and the stats say that ‘between 2017 and 2022, the number of serious assault reports increased by 121%, while reports of acts intended to cause injury went up by almost 30%.” This is not a safe country anymore, and it seems the last person to wake up to this fact sadly, is the Police Minister herself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ratio of sheep to people has dropped below 5 to 1 - the lowest number since the 1950s. Stats NZ has released its five-yearly Agricultural Production Census, which shows decreases in the national dairy herd and sheep flock. Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chairman Toby Williams told Kate Hawkesby the fall in numbers shouldn't have much of a direct impact on our exports. "It'll make our product become more premium in the marketplace." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economics professor says Working For Families abatement thresholds have fallen behind and should increase. The Government lifted the abatement threshold in 2017, from a little more than $36,000 to $42,700. But wage growth has pushed many families over the limit for receiving it. Auckland University associate economics professor Susan St John told Kate Hawkesby an increase between $52,000 and $55,000 would be realistic. She says it's very serious; more and more families are unable to balance budgets, and are at food banks. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bus drivers eagerly await their turn to discuss working conditions today. Transport Minister Michael Wood is meeting with union representatives in Auckland - the hot topics: wages and conditions. More than 500 bus drivers have been hired since November, meaning Go Bus and NZ Bus numbers in main centres will be back to full strength in coming weeks. Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff told Kate Hawkesby says the conditions need to be improved. He says some drivers are working over time and getting fatigued on the job. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Energy Minister says we can't under-estimate how effective the Government's plan to reduce emissions in the steel sector will be. NZ Steel will receive up to 140 million dollars to help replace half the coal used at its Glenbrook site with electricity. It will cut emissions by 800-thousand tonnes on day one, the equivalent of taking every Christchurch car off the road. Megan Woods told Kate Hawkesby that any plan to rely on the Emissions Trading Scheme alone wouldn't work. She says to get the equivalent, the price of carbon emissions would need to increase four times. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was disappointed the Nats dropped the ball last week and missed the opportunity to seize on what really mattered in the Budget — and it wasn’t free prescriptions. That particular political smokescreen was put up as easy fodder for media to fall for in the hope they’d miss the real story, which is our eye watering debt levels and how inflationary this whole thing is going to be. Sadly it wasn’t just the media who fell for it but Luxon too. I was just thinking Luxon was coming to life a bit and showing some real mettle – the Budget should've been an easy hit for him – on a government already proven to be so inept at economic management. So the attack on the Budget should’ve been a fait accompli. But Robertson and Hipkins instead outwitted Luxon with their political advantage – their apparent phD in smokescreens. Their budget was woeful, but their political strategy was flawless. They pre-conditioned the media, commentators, opposition and taxpayers to expect a no frills, back to basics, bread and butter budget. Then they went about releasing a budget, entirely in line with what they've been doing – spending big and borrowing bigger. In fact they added in another 20 billion of debt to top it up. But, and this was masterful – they baited the hook with the universal $5 on prescriptions, and some subsidised public transport. This was the classic smokescreen. And Luxon bit that hook hard, espousing how people like him shouldn’t benefit from the reduction in prescription expenses – it should be targeted … means tested. National would review and change this. While Luxon was pontificating over a 100 million dollar spend, where costs associated with implementing means testing would not even offset the savings, behind that smokescreen Robertson was stoking the inflationary inferno, hitting the pockets of all New Zealanders with higher living costs, less purchasing power, and expectations of further interest rate increases and ratings downgrades. While other commentators pointed out the additional expenditure and the head-scratching forecasts of Treasury, Robertson stuck to his talking points: 1) he had no choice but to use Treasury’s forecasts and historically he thinks they’ve been pretty accurate, and 2) the extra spending's in response to inflation & Cyclone Gabrielle. Now if Luxon was a seasoned campaigner and politically astute – Robertson would never have gotten away with that. What Luxon could’ve and should’ve done, was kick the prescriptions and free bus rides to touch – and called them out for what they were… a sideshow. He could've put the focus squarely back on the elephant in the room: the Government has been spending too much, driving the inflation, and now it's going to borrow and spend even more. And that is going to directly increase the cost of living for every single New Zealander. It is going to drive inflation further, and will lead to further rate hikes. Luxon should’ve been prepped to highlight (as Seymour did) that in the 2021 Budget, Treasury’s forecast inflation for 2022 was 1.7 percent. Actual inflation in 2022 was 7.3 percent. That forecast accuracy was off by 400%. If you extrapolate that forecast accuracy against the inflation assumptions in this Budget … we’re into recession. So Robertson and his smokescreen won, they got away with yet more BS, all the while Luxon’s probably still pondering why he’s not further ahead in the polls yet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So the crime in Auckland is now reaching the point of ridiculous, and as I said yesterday, I don't know how it even gets reported without an all-out outcry at how barbaric we are becoming. So to recap the past couple of days - a 15 year old gets shot at on the motorway while innocently sitting in the back of the family car because some losers with guns decide they don’t like how her family's driving, so they just fire shots into the car. This on the day we covered what a flop the Government's firearms protection orders are, given they're designed to take guns off bad people and in six months how many times have they used it and done that? Twice, that's it. So bad people are out there with guns and we know it - they continue to have access to and operate firearms illegally and that's a major problem. The second major problem is the violence unfolding endlessly in our CBDs. Broad daylight 5.30pm on a busy Saturday downtown at the Auckland ferry terminal where by the way all the tourists are - I mean what a show we are putting on for them - a gang of thugs, a group of out of control young people start beating up.. kicking, punching, and stomping on.. this poor person.. right in front of everyone. Heart of the City's Viv Beck said she's been demanding urgent action on Auckland's violent crime for ages; longstanding requests have been seemingly all been ignored. There's not even a Police station in downtown Auckland for goodness sake, the nearest one is Ponsonby. People do not feel safe in Auckland's CBD anymore and it's a problem that's not going away, yet no one seems to want to fix it. Simon Bridges from the Auckland Business Chamber pointed out it's not just a social issue but an economic and business issue too. It needs addressing in the form of more Police presence and that request has been made over and over and over. In the last three months, three different members of our immediate family have been involved as victims of a crime, and the underlying common thread is that Police have been lenient, disinterested, and happy to let offenders go. One of the cases involved violence in downtown Auckland - and by violence I mean a punch to the head from behind which saw a kid in hospital for stitches while Police, despite having all the evidence and the offender right in front of them, did not arrest him. Another was a breaking and entering with destruction of property, and again with an offender at their fingertips, Police let him make his own way home, no remand in custody, just be a good boy and we'll see you in court, try not to break into anyone else's house before then. The third involves a man remanded on bail, with conditions, where of course he broke the conditions and re-offended. What I can't work out is - even if the top down message from government is to go lightly on crims and turn a blind eye or keep the prisons empty or whatever the banal ideology behind all this is, it's us who suffer. Our communities, our kids, our reputation as a country. And it's the cops whose lives and jobs are made more dangerous too, as criminals get more emboldened. Their job only gets harder once crime rules; the job of policing becomes nigh on impossible - which it already is clearly. I just shake my head in disbelief at what's happening to this country and I’m not sure how we fix it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2023 Budget offered $11.5 billion over the next four years but left nothing for farmers. But it's farmers saying that more than money, they'd just like relief from the endless regulations. Federated Farmers Acting President Wayne Langford joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Multiple offers have been received in an attempt to buy the Mount Ruapehu skifields. However, locals have concerns surrounding how transparent the MBIE is being about these offers. Spokesperson for the Ruapehu Skifields Stakeholders Association, Peter Thomson, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Budget 2023 is focused on the 'bread and butter' issues.. The Government has injected tens of billions of dollars, in the hope it battles the high cost of living. Questions remain as to what it means in terms of inflation, spending and debt. Associate Minister of Finance Michael Wood joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we await Budget day announcements and an inkling as to where the Government’s interested in putting money, I hope we see some more investment in education. Our stats around education are now so woeful and so depressing that I’m not even sure more money would fix it – but it needs drilling down on as a priority for this Government given where we’re at. The latest global study shows the reading skills of Kiwi kids continues to go backwards. Backwards. Our reading score is the lowest now that it’s ever been; we are sliding backwards on every measure. So we have record numbers of kids not going to school, and the ones who do, clearly not learning anything. The International assessment of year 5 students reading abilities, PIRLS – which is the Progress in International Literacy Study, shows the lowest score for our kids in 20 years. That’s an international measure. We are out performed by Russia. Let that sink in for a minute. In our domestic measure, half of 15 years olds cannot pass a foundational numeracy and literacy test. How is it possible that we have the worst literacy in English speaking countries? Is it the curriculum and where it’s now focussed? Is it the teaching? Is it the methodology? Is it the hijacking of education by ideology? Is it a combo of all of those things? Do we really understand, how critical it is, that we teach our kids to read and write? That used to just be a given, like learning to tie your shoes. We just did it and kept going until it was auto pilot and targets and measures pushed us along. But now, we have to stop and actually remind ourselves, that these basics are not even basic anymore. They’re in the too hard basket it seems. We’ve lost sight of it as being part and parcel of growing up, we’ve replaced that with a bunch of theory and gobbledygook. I mean when Russia, a war ravaged country run by a crazed dictator, has overtaken New Zealand in terms of reading, you know we have a serious problem. It was reported that, “New Zealand students were 20th out of 43 countries. Every English-speaking country and every Canadian Province that participated beat New Zealand. The bottom half of participants is made up of countries like Turkey, Brazil, The Islamic Republic of Iran, and South Africa.” How embarrassing. Trying to make things easier for kids hasn’t worked. Dumbing stuff down hasn’t worked. Excusing stuff hasn’t worked. Continuing to decline on every metric shows none of it is working. So why do we persist with it? The ACT party has pointed out that there is no mention of spelling, grammar or punctuation in the English school curriculum here. Instead it focuses on ”Recognising and using the power and influence of literature, language, and texts (to) give us tools to advocate for ourselves and others. Exploring the effects of colonisation on our languages and literatures is an important part of understanding power relations in Aotearoa New Zealand.” What does that even mean? It’s a whole bunch of word salad ideology. ACT describes it as a ‘fad’ by the current government, which it may well be, but a) it’s not working, and b) it needs to change urgently in order to turn this ship around. We have to stop tinkering around the edges and pouring ideology all over curriculums, and actually just get back to basics. Our kids’ futures and the future of this country depend on it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.