Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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.

Creepy crawlies are continuing to pop up in food items. The latest is insect larvae which was nestled in a boy's Whittakers bar, the second bug incident the chocolate company has dealt with in less than two weeks. So what's the reputation damage? Marketing expert Bodo Lang joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been much discussion over whether or not changes to tax will be made in today's Budget announcement. The Government has ruled out any major changes to tax brackets, despite a wealth tax report showing a major gap between tax paid by the wealthy and poor. KPMG Tax Partner Rebecca Armour joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't expect any big surprises, when the Government releases its Budget at 2pm today. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby pre-Budget statements and announcements show the Government is taking a "back to basics" approach. He says there isn't nearly as much wriggle room in this Budget as there has been before. Olsen says it's good to see more restraint, following the Covid budgets of the past few years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The vaping epidemic in this country really grinds my gears, because it was all so avoidable. We let the horse bolt, for years, and then sat on our hands until it well and truly took hold, until every school in the country, alongside thousands of parents, were all crying out for legislation and restrictions around it – until we took it seriously. And then we set up endless committees, reviews, and inquiries around it – only to tell us what we already knew – it was a major problem. I was reading yesterday about a kid who started vaping at 6. She’s now 12, she said she started vaping at 6 for goodness sake. Her older brother bought her vapes, easily done, the supply chain on the vape market is unencumbered by restrictions as far as kids are concerned, so it doesn’t surprise me that kids are supplying each other. The problem with it – well there are several problems with it – but one of them is they think it’s cool. How do they think it’s cool? Because they don’t understand the dangers attached to it, they’ve been told it’s better than smoking, so they think therefore it must be fine. Half of them don’t even have a clue there’s addictive nicotine in there. Well not until it’s too late anyway. But it’s been marketed to kids on purpose – this whole – it’s a smoking cessation tool is a bit of a crock when you think about the fact vaping companies are making flavours like bubblegum and strawberry. I mean who’s that aiming at if it’s not young kids? Ironically I know of kids who started vaping as young teens, thought after a while maybe it is bad for you, so they moved onto cigarettes. How does that work? How is that a thing? How do they even compute that? You’re dealing problems like lack of awareness and understanding, but also the trouble with teens is they think they’re invincible and nothing will happen to them. Or worse, as one kid reportedly said in the story I read yesterday, “you only live once you’re gonna die anyways so you might as well.” I mean that’s what you’re up against. Once it took hold in the schools it got worse I reckon – schools that were proactive at trying to stamp it out early on were not well enough supported by legislation, so struggled to make any inroads. Exasperated parents hit a brick wall when suppliers didn’t care who they sold to and kids formed black market supply chains anyway. But they’re getting addicted – and to something we don’t fully know all the consequences of yet either. It’s a big gamble kids are taking with their lungs and we let it go for too long. Turning that ship around now is going to be hard work. All this comes as ASH wants to raise the vaping age from 18 to 21. I don’t think at this stage that will make a difference – once kids are addicted to something they’ll get hold of it either way. And they're already vaping way younger than 18. Apparently no one in this country has the appetite to go as far as Australia and ban all non-prescription vapes. But look at where we're at now. “According to the most recent New Zealand Health Survey, the number of New Zealanders aged 15 to 17 who vaped every day tripled in two years.. for young adults, aged 18 to 24, daily vaping increased from 5 per cent to 15 per cent,” according to one report. So the ship’s sailed, and meritorious as it is to try to turn it around now, I can’t help thinking we’ve left it all a bit late.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only two Firearm Prohibition Orders have been issued since coming into force six months ago. They were brought in to be used against people with a criminal history. Questions have therefore been raised as to why are police utilising them so sparingly. Hugh Deveraux-Mack is the spokesperson for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Wellington councillor says it's going to be a long road ahead for the community after the Newtown hostel blaze. A fire broke out in Loafers Lodge in the early hours of yesterday morning; six bodies have been found while 11 are unaccounted for. Councillor for Newtown Nureddin Abdurahman says residents are banding together and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mortgaged investors are choosing to buy fewer properties as interest rates soar. CoreLogic's latest monthly housing report shows a record 19.9 percent decline in purchases by multiple property owners. Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With all this pre-Budget talk I’m just not sure how invested we are in it - how much attention we’re paying it. I mean we should be. We’ve never been fiscally in such dire straits, we are laden down with debt, inflation is rampant, outlooks and optimism levels do not look flash. So what the Government and the opposition want to do with our money should be something we’re laser focused on. Luxon said a couple of things yesterday at the Auckland Business Chamber which resonated with me – one that we tend to confuse activity with achievement in this country. That if people are busy, we think they’re being productive or doing something, when many times, particularly in the public sector, this isn’t true. They’re pushing paper, but productivity outcomes don’t match. There are more people doing more ‘stuff’ but what have we got to show for it? We have a government who has never spent more money, yet what have they got to show for it? What infrastructure project have they started - and finished? How many sectors have been transformed for the better? What do we have to show for all the spending? More consultants? Yes. More advertising? Yes, more branding and rebranding – yes - but what tangible better outcomes have we seen for us the taxpayer? I mean take mental health, for example. Lots of words, promises, and numbers bandied about on how they were going to fix that. In reality, what’s happened? Nothing, money unspent, the sector still on its knees, outcomes no better for those involved. Luxon mentioned speaking with a nurse and a teacher – both in their 20’s, saving to buy a house, the rent had just gone up by $50 that week, they were looking at their outgoings compared to their income and they told him they’d actually started looking at jobs in Australia because they didn’t feel they could get ahead in New Zealand. And that’s a real travesty. If we’re seen as such an expensive place to live, that New Zealand is such a prohibitively costly existence for young people that they’re actually planning a future elsewhere, then we’re doing it all wrong. We have to do better for our kids and their futures and the future of this country. And that’s the bit that worries me – the malaise that’s wafted over this country – during Covid – and is still not lifting. The pandering to the lowest common denominator, the lack of targets, as Luxon pointed out which have been so debilitating for this country on every metric – health, crime, education, we seem to have decided that just scraping the barrel is good enough. There’s a collective lack of ambition, lack of desire to be better or want for more. Where’s our aspiration gone? Where is that 'can do' spirit that our grandparents had? I worry we’ve given up, and we’re happy to just plod along and as David Seymour put it, basically just be a big Fiji. The polls are tight – which means, if you believe them, there are a lot of people in this country happy with status quo. That worries me.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five farm deaths in three months has horrified a Waikato businessman, who is launching a safety campaign in response. Ag Drive Managing Director Andre Syben is calling for a culture change and wants better buy-in from industry corporates. As well as the five deaths, there have been 30 WorkSafe notifiable injuries from January to March this year. Andre Syben joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mayor of Ruapehu wants the Commerce Commission to investigate why there are disparities between fuel prices within the region. He's written to the watchdog to help ensure pricing is equitable, and claims it can be almost 50 cents more expensive than Te Awamutu, which an hour and a half away. Mayor Weston Kirton says says Taumarunui locals are frustrated over paying significantly higher retail fuel prices compared to neighbouring townships. He says they should investigate how retail prices compare to other rural areas. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is taking in more international students than before the pandemic, but polytechs and schools are missing out. The number of study visas issued in the past eight months is up 10 percent on 2019 figures. Education New Zealand says visa approvals for universities have increased, but visa approvals for schools and polytechs have halved. Spokesperson Geoff Bilbrough told Kate Hawkesby there is not one clear reason for this, and students look at many international factors. He says New Zealand universities rank highly on the global stage, making it an attractive option for families. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes that Gore's council can sort out a rift between councillors and the Mayor. 24-year-old Ben Bell and Chief Executive Stephen Parry have suffered a breakdown in communication. Seven councillors are calling on Bell to resign and he'll face them tomorrow at an emergency meeting. Local Government New Zealand President Stuart Crosby says that there's been trouble since the start of Bell's mayoralty. He says even Bell's attendance at a mayoral college caused issues for him back home. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farmers are dismissing Government funding for mental health support as a drop in the bucket. Part of the billion dollar cyclone relief package announced yesterday includes 35 million for the safety and wellbeing of farmers and growers. Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay President Jim Galloway told Kate Hawkesby that it'll help a little. But he says it won't go anywhere near what's needed to put fences in the ground, dig trees out of silt, or to fix tracks on farms. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So despite more money being announced yesterday for cyclone recovery, there’s still money floating around that hasn’t even been allocated or spent yet. Months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, more than 30 million dollars in donations is still unspent. How’s that possible? What is it they’re waiting for? It was reported that, “So far, only 5 million of the 24 million donated to the Red Cross Disaster Fund has been allocated, while none of the 11.7 million raised in a March Lotto draw has been dispersed… as 79 cents of every donated dollar remains unspent, earning interest of 150 thousand dollars, the Red Cross is defending the time taken, saying it's allowed for crucial planning and trials.” The Red Cross has been worried about ‘distributing the money too quickly’ apparently. Well no danger of that. “So far the Red Cross has received 140 applications for grants of which it’s approved 32,” it was reported. 32. Out of 140. Why is it taking so long when these people are desperate and have been for months? When it would appear abundantly clear where the money needs to go? New Zealanders are incredibly generous and always very quick to dig deep for those in strife. People deeply affected by post cyclone scenes, threw money at the cause rapidly, and in huge amounts. This country is phenomenal at fundraising and the generosity was abundant. So to then hear that months later, a chunk of it is still just sitting there unspent, accruing interest in a Red Cross account, is disappointing to say the least. We regularly hear from people in the Hawkes Bay and Gisborne regions, who say that they’ve not seen a volunteer or had any support. People who’ve been tearing their hair out over the lack of action. And I feel for them. It’s the one thing they feared most – that they’d be forgotten about. But it doesn’t sit well with us when we see that money’s been raised, yet it’s being held onto for ‘crucial planning and trials’ as the Red Cross says. What does that even mean? What trials? Why is the Red Cross not just getting it done? It was reported re the silt for example, that Red Cross has ‘copped criticism for not helping in the cleanup’.. but that they say it’s ‘not that straightforward’. Isn’t it? Red Cross says they’re ‘enabling people to clean up rather than paying for the trucks and the diggers that are actually lifting the silt..’ They say they’re ‘supporting the families and the communities through either helping to clean out their homes to make them liveable … or providing the equipment and protective gear that helps them do the cleanup themselves.’ Well that’s all well and good if that actually works and is working, but many of these families we hear from are absolutely exhausted with trying to clean up for themselves, they have jobs and families and livelihoods to try to look after too. So it’s a harrowing time for them – and continues to be. I just think for a charitable organisation in the business of providing aid and help – and in raising so much money so quickly from extremely generous New Zealanders, it really behoves them to distribute it efficiently and quickly. And it’s not just Red Cross, it’s government money and Lotto money being held up too, by too much bureaucracy and red tape. This is a hugely productive part of our economy, left floundering, so I just don’t know why there isn’t more urgency in getting the money out to people, to get them back on their feet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So I’m not sure the Mother’s Day brunch this weekend will be including avocado on toast given the shortage of them – and therefore the cost of them. Although despite avocado being $9 and $10 each in some parts of the country at the moment, other places tell me they can still get them and get them cheap. So it might be a case of the old postcode lottery at the moment when it comes to fruit and veges. But yesterday we heard that we’ve had our largest food price increase since 1987. The cost of food in New Zealand is now up 12.5 percent. And of that, fruit and veges were the biggest driver – up 22.5 percent. Grocery food prices are up 14 percent on this time last year. “Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and 6-pack yoghurt were the largest drivers within grocery food,” it was reported. And don’t we know it. It‘s us the consumers who feel the pinch of this at the sharp end, as we empty our trolley onto the checkout conveyor belt and look on in horror as the prices get rung up. We feel like everything’s costing more.. because it is. But it’s been a perfect storm of factors – bad weather, supply chain issues, freight costs, minimum wage increases, compliance cost increases all resulting in us getting loaded up with higher price points on just about everything. We didn’t actually realise how bad this was until we left New Zealand and travelled and saw arguably more expensive cities in the world with far cheaper food prices. Blueberries in London – 2 large punnets for 3 pounds. Even for six New Zealand dollars you could only get one small punnet of blueberries if you were lucky. Raspberries the same. Bread and milk cheaper, pretty much all food cheaper bar meat. But no matter where you go, people still whinge about the price of stuff and think their cost of living crisis is worse than anyone else’s. In the UK they complain night and day about their cost of living crisis and the price of food and we’re there thinking – are you kidding? Try buying this in New Zealand! So I guess to an extent the grass is always greener somewhere else – and sometimes is actually is. But you can’t argue with the quality of our produce here. I know I don’t think twice about eating New Zealand grass fed meat but I wouldn’t always feel good about eating meat overseas, same with our dairy. We can also drink water from our taps without too many concerns. But there’s always going to be a premium attached to good quality, high standard food, like sustainably farmed meat and dairy. And most of the time consumers understand and accept that. But the other thing we could do more of I suppose is eat in season – which these days we’re not that good at, because we expect everything to be available to us all of the time. Like avocados. And usually growers can bridge the seasonal gaps with extra supply, but not when bad weather hits. The powers that be tell us these prices will all come back down – and I hope that’s true – I hope they understand that just because we’re paying more for fruit and veges now, doesn’t mean we want to keep paying through the nose for food forever.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns demand has outstripped efforts to improve frontline police numbers. Police Minister Ginny Andersen says the Government is closing in on its goal of bolstering staffing by 1800 officers. The Police Association's president says the increase made a real difference initially, but officers are again overwhelmed. Chris Cahill says the work to improve staffing represents a 20 percent increase. But he says there's a 60 percent increase in demand around family harm and mental health alongside growing gang numbers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.