Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

I hope you had a fabulous long Easter weekend and that you got to enjoy some of the many aspects that make New Zealand a world class tourist attraction. But is New Zealand really ready to open up to the world post all of the pandemic palaver and are our facilities as good as we think they are? There’s one particular camping ground that you would never put on your bucket list of places to visit, and that’s the Gore Motor Camp. Police have visited this motor camp 16 times in the last 14 months and they’ve made two arrests. They’ve recorded six family harm investigations, three breach of bail follow-ups, two assault incidents, one each for fighting and drug offending, two vehicle-related visits and one mental health incident. Anyone who does their research before making travel plans would have that at the top of the list of places not to visit, which is a really sad thing for the country music capital of New Zealand. I wonder if some of our tour operators have given up investing in their operations and keeping them up to world-class standards, thinking that the world still wants to come here to experience everything that’s amazing? You know the old story: demand creates demand, so why would you invest in something that sells itself with little to no effort required? The camping ground I refer to is owned by the Gore district Council, and I’m sure the locals are deeply ashamed of the way one of their key assets has been left to languish. The Gore District Council have some serious questions to address and some pretty hard work to be done in order to make this an attractive campground once again. What’s your experience been over the long weekend? If you’ve been camping and getting out and about in our great outdoors, how have you found the facilities? Is New Zealand becoming world-famous for poor infrastructure and potholes more so than the incredibly stunning natural features that we the people are entrusted to maintain? Each and every one of us has a role to play in keeping our country pristine and The Gore District Council need to sort this out at speed, before the next influx of tourists arrive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Helius Therapeutics is now certified to dry and finish medicinal cannabis flowers. Now the only fully certified company in the country, patients can rely on locally sourced dried flower products. Helius chief executive, Carmen Doran joined Roman Travers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The AA says more investment in our roads is essential. Newstalk ZB can reveal Waka Kotahi fixed 54,000 potholes on the state highway network during 2022. AA Road Safety Spokesperson Dylan Thompson says potholes are the number one issue raised in surveys of drivers. He told Roman Travers simply filling them in, is not enough. Thompson says we need preventative maintenance to stop potholes getting so severe and widespread. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another half-percent on the OCR, which was harsher than most pundits had predicted and takes the cash rate to 5.25 percent. 11 hikes in a row now, yet inflation is still painfully high. The RBNZ says employment is also still beyond what's sustainable and it says recent weather events have pushed some prices even higher. The fact the economic pundits were caught off guard is more than a bit of a worry. ”No one saw this coming”...that's Imre Speizer at Westpac. Capital Economics is now picking a protracted recession, saying it'll be so sharp that rates will have to be cut again by the end of the year. The NZIER says capacity constraints are easing and now is not the time to be adding further interest rates increases it says. And on it goes. Point is; these guys do tend to be ahead of the curve with what they project. In the main, they're pretty good at weighing up exactly where we are now, rather than looking at where we were two or three months back and getting out the smoke and mirrors. And where we are now is in a recession. House prices are tumbling, the employment market is weakening and GDP is in decline. People are moving off cheap home loans and wondering where they'll find hundreds more for the mortgage, plus hundreds more to feed the family and run the car. So what we're hearing now is a fear the recession that RBNZ wanted, the recession it says we needed, won't be short, or shallow. Conclusions? After the car crash caused by printing money for the pandemic, we've got a wall of debt to deal with and a mountain of pain to come for ordinary kiwis. What we can see now is that the fallout will be there for all to see, in time for the election. Will all that translate into votes on October 14th...well...that's one for the political pundits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A claim has come that the Official Cash Rate increase will continue to hit pockets and stretch incomes The Reserve Bank has shocked many by hiking the OCR 50 basis points to 5.25 percent. Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney would like to see increases paused, so people can get used to it. He told Tim Dower lots of people are facing multiple economic strains at once. Renney says many are facing increasing mortgages on top of existing cost of living concerns. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby is pumping $21 million into a 10-year strategy to promote the women's game. It wants to get rid of old school attitudes, and rugby just being seen as a men's sport. Former Black Ferns captain and New Zealand Rugby board member Dr Farah Palmer joined Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy NZ says targeted payments are the best solution to help farmers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. The Government has approved an additional $23 million to help those affected, raising the total to $78 million. More than half of the applicants have already been approved, with $37 million paid out already. Farmer-elected director Jacqueline Rowarth told Tim Dower throwing money at the problem isn't always the best option. She says we should bring in experts to point out where the money can be used best. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So Trump is in New York being arraigned today, it’s history in the making. What's funny about this is we're actually heading to New York for the school holidays, this is the last day I'll be on air for a couple of weeks, so we're heading back at a time of Trump dramas. This is ironic because the last time we were in New York was a long time ago, 2016, and we were there for work covering the Presidential election. At that stage, back in the pre-Trump era, everybody thought Hilary Clinton would win. Nobody believed Trump could be President, bar Trump himself of course, so we did a dangerous thing people do, which is write him off. Everybody it seemed had written him off, not just us, and all media were at the same place election night – Clinton HQ. We were stationed at her campaign headquarters and I was busy having photos taken at the lectern with the flag saying, Mrs President dangling from it. There was celebrities everywhere – the whole shebang had shut down 11th Avenue, there were outdoor stages, Katy Perry was singing, live screens, food trucks, supporters up the wazoo, and media by the mile. It was all on. The mood was celebrator, until it wasn’t. We all know the story. The tables turned, the numbers started coming in, and with it the shock. Trump was going to win. Now, suddenly the mood changed. This was now a very volatile time to be in New York. My husband was, at the time, working two jobs both ends of the day - which meant he had to do shows back to NZ at 2am NY time and 10am NY time - to his ZB and Seven Sharp jobs. This also involved being woken by producers at all hours being told to go get footage and audio of protests in the streets etc. It was exhausting. The place was swarming with police and protestors. It was a crazy busy chaotic time, so we decided New York was just a hectic, chaotic, and crazy place. But we hadn’t given it a fair crack, a work trip is not the same as a holiday. We vowed when we left that we’d go back one day as tourists, to have a holiday there and just enjoy the place. So fast forward seven years and we’re finally heading back. But look whose rearing their head again just as we do? Can you believe it? Why does Trump have to make everything about him? How is it we only visit New York twice in a seven year period, and both times Trump is looming large in the news, the place is swarming with cops and secret service, with protests forecast to unfold. On the one hand we get to witness New York during two historic events – a Presidential election and a President getting indicted. But I wouldn’t mind being in New York without the protests if possible? Graham Norton was on Mike’s show yesterday, he’s currently holidaying in New York too, and he said it’s the best place in the world for ‘old peoples fun’. Which sounds right up my husband’s alley But he qualified that statement as meaning, it’s got great restaurants, exhibits, shows, they deliver things so you don’t have to walk too far, and it’s easy to get a cab anytime. It’s perfect, Graham Norton said, for the older tourist. Which I guess now is us! So I’ll keep you posted on my Instagram and I’ll let you know how it went when we get back. And I just hope all the Trump drama has died down by the time we arrive, so we can actually get around and enjoy the place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records. Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign. A stone-faced Trump entered the courtroom this morning without saying anything. Trump, who was impeached twice by the US House but was never convicted in the US Senate, has become the first former president to face criminal charges. Republican strategist Matt Terrill joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss what comes next for the GOP. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another hike is expected for the Official Cash Rate this afternoon. Most economists think the Reserve Bank will be slightly more conservative, with a 25 basis point rise. But that will still take the OCR to 5 percent, which will be the highest it's been since December 2008. ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Healthcare workers are raising alarm bells over low vaccination rates from a disease that puts babies at risk. Three babies, under the age of one, have died from whooping cough since February. Te Whatu Ora is encouraging pregnant women in their second trimester to be vaccinated, to pass protection on to their baby. General Practice New Zealand chair Dr. Bryan Betty told Kate Hawkesby the pandemic is to blame for low levels of immunisation, as it strained the health system. He says immunisation rates dropped dramatically over Covid and we really need to get back on track. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So Stuart Nash is off and I don’t blame him. Who’d hang around at this point? It must have been a tough call to make given he seemed to love politics, love people, love his portfolios and enjoy representing his home town of Napier. But it was unsustainable that he stay on after the start to the year he’s had, and no doubt greener pastures are awaiting him. And by greener I mean maybe a job in his beloved forestry sector. Still, it’s never nice to leave on a downer, it’s always preferable to leave on your own terms and he didn’t get to do that. Leaving under a cloud is a tough way to go out. He said in his post about quitting politics that, he’d had “the privilege of serving in the Ardern Cabinet during the darkest of days, managing crisis after crisis after crisis, while driving forward an ambitious and progressive agenda of continuous economic and social improvement and transformation.” Just to unpack that a little bit, did they manage crisis after crisis? Or lunge from crisis to crisis to crisis? There’s a small difference. And in terms of driving forward an ambitious and progressive agenda of continuous economic and social improvement and transformation, where are we seeing the fruits of that exactly? Where is this continuous economic improvement he speaks of? We have an economy in dire straits, inflation at record levels, we’re in a wage inflation spiral, and interest rates on mortgages are through the roof, to name but a few. Where’s the social improvement? Crime’s out of control, youth crime at all time highs, they haven’t moved the needle on poverty, social housing is a shambles, mental health money that hasn’t been spent, kids not attending school, those who do, not achieving as they should. There’s quite a long list of divisive social ills choking our society these days, in fact. So I’m just wondering about this transformation Stuart speaks of. What’s been transformational? And therein lies part of the delusion for these guys, not just him but the whole Labour government and their devout echo chamber of followers too, they can’t see the wood for the trees. They probably still think they’ve been the most open honest and transparent government ever too. They probably believe New Zealand is better off for their leadership. But I’m struggling to see it, the metrics and the data’s just not showing it. I do however believe that he’s been a good MP, after he got sacked we got mixed feedback from his constituents to be honest, some saying they absolutely loved him as an MP because he was visible and always got back to them, others saying he was a waste of space. But at least they knew him, and he had a presence in his community, which is more than you can say for a lot of MP’s. So good on him for reading the room and going. I mean he says it’s also time to address the balance with family and friends – and I get that – when you have a job that takes it out of you, those relationships do suffer, so I wish him well with his renewed connections with loved ones. I wish him well in the corporate world or wherever he ends up. I also wish that the Labour ministers left actually do a slightly better job of walking the walk, on all that big talk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra's revised forecast for the 2022/23 shows a worrying outlook for the dairy industry. The milk giant has revised down its farmgate price to between $8.00 and $8.60 per kg of milk solids. It's a sharp drop from the record payout of $9.30 last season. Head of Insight at NZX Limited and dairy sector expert Julia Jones joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Hawkesby wrote an editorial on cyclists on Monday that has ruffled a few feathers. Hawkesby had been told about cyclists using the footpath instead of the ratepayer funded "gold-plated" cycleways. It was said that it was particularly bad on Auckland's Tamaki Drive. So the idea was floated over fining cyclists who insist on using the footpath. Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network joined Early Edition to discuss Kate Hawkesby's editorial. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon says Stuart Nash had to go. The Napier MP has announced he's leaving politics at this year's election after being booted from Cabinet last week. National's leader says Nash breached trust time and time again. But Luxon told Kate Hawkesby he could've left earlier, and not caused a by-election, since a new candidate's campaign kicks off months before the voting starts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have a very smart girlfriend who is an extremely active citizen in her local community, and her city in general actually. She is a go-getter who stays informed, keeps up with local and national politics, and donates a lot of her time and energy to helping the community. She was an early adopter to the e-scooter, uses the city’s cycle ways, and is all for saving the planet and getting cars off the road. But, and here’s the big but, she raised a very valid point the other day regarding said cycleways. Guess who is not using them? The cyclists. She and her husband were walking along Auckland’s Tamaki Drive waterfront, the very same Tamaki Drive that had years of disruption as extremely expensive extremely wide cycleways were installed. And what she witnessed, was cyclist after cyclist after cyclist riding on the footpath, not the cycleways. Within a five minute timeframe she noted no fewer than 10 cyclists barrelling past them on the footpath. Worse yet, they got abused for being in the cyclists’ way. She and her husband were on the footpath, walking, where pedestrians are supposed to walk. They were abused by cyclists trying to ride along the footpath, instead of the cycleway. Now whenever you criticise cyclist behaviour you get accused of being anti-bikes so I want to stress she is anything but. She said she was on the side of cyclists when they got their gold plated cycleway paid for by 99 percent of ratepayers who don’t cycle it. She was happy for them. Right up until she got abused by them as they nearly ran her over, because they wanted the footpath all to themselves too. And this is where cyclists, some cyclists, not all, do themselves a huge disservice and lose people’s support. There were more cyclists on the pavement than on the cycleway. The cycleway was empty. My friend’s point was: why should hardworking ratepayers fund expensive and expansive cycleways if cyclists won’t even use them? She has appealed to Auckland Council and Mayor Wayne Brown to start fining cyclists who use footpaths when a cycleway is available. She said until cyclists embrace them, the vast majority of ratepayers who do not use them should not fund another metre of new cycleway. She said money raised from fining footpath clogging cyclists could be used to fund the new cycleways instead. She makes sense I reckon, it’s hard to argue with. They have expensive lanes laid out especially for them, so why aren’t they using them? Even cyclists agreed with her. Some saying if there’s no cycle way available they’ll ride on the road before they even consider hopping on the footpath. One cyclist pointed out that cyclists who ride in packs on busy roads also give cyclists a bad name, and those who think it’s their right to abuse pedestrians on the footpath are equally loathed. Someone wrote to me the other day and said in Wellington, it's the cycle lanes that are creating so many choke points that traffic across the city has been reduced to a crawl. Frustrating when the traffic's crawling past empty cycleways. It’s the same in Auckland. And I’m just not sure if those who designed the cycleways and decided they should have all that space on the road, actually thought through the winter months and how the half the year the weather precludes cyclists from even riding their bikes anyway. So bang for buck, are they all really worth it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid is being partially blamed for an increase in people being granted bail despite police opposition. The numbers jumped from just over 2000 in 2018 to slightly over 5000 last year. Police Association President Chris Cahill says some of those will be on electronic bail and will be closely monitored. He told Kate Hawkesby that the pandemic's seen more serious offenders being kept in prison while they await trial. Cahill says the increased bail may show a judge's reluctance to hold more criminals in remand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An increase to the living wage could look to help improve the labour market. From September first, it will jump to $26 an hour, $3.30 above minimum wage. It's an almost 10-percent rise since last year. Infometrics Chief Economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby that we could see businesses re-evaluate the offers they put on the table. He says paying the living wage could be a way of securing an employee from another business that isn't offering it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russia’s security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a US correspondent has been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War. The newspaper denied the allegations and demanded his release. Evan Gershkovich was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information, the Federal Security Service, known by the acronym FSB, said Thursday. Daniil Berman, the lawyer of arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, speaks to journalists near the Lefortovsky court, in Moscow. Photo / Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP The service, which is the top domestic security agency and main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Gershkovich “was acting on instructions from the American side to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret”. The Journal “vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich”. the newspaper said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.” The arrest comes at a moment of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over its war in Ukraine and as the Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups. The sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era. Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is criminalised, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose the war. Reporter for the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich (centre), is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court. Photo / AP Earlier this week, a Russian court convicted a father over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter was sent to an orphanage. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges. At a hearing Thursday, a Moscow court quickly ruled that Gershkovich would be kept behind bars pending the investigation. While previous American detainees have been freed in prisoner swaps, a top Russian official said it was too early to talk about any such deal. In Washington, the Biden administration said it had spoken with the Journal and Gershkovich’s family. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the arrest “in the strongest terms” and urged Americans to heed government warnings not to travel to Russia. An entrance of the Lefortovo prison, in Moscow, Russia, where Evan Gershkovich has been taken on espionage charges. Photo / AP The State Department was in direct touch with the Russian government and seeking access to Gershkovich, Jean-Pierre said. Gershkovich, who covers Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Journal’s Moscow bureau, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage. Prominent lawyers noted that past investigations into espionage cases took a year to 18 months, during which time he may have little contact with the outside world. The FSB noted that Gershkovich had accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist, but ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that Gershkovich was using his credentials as cover for “activities that have nothing to do with journalism”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It is not about a suspicion, it is about the fact that he was caught red-handed.” Gershkovich speaks fluent Russian and had previously worked for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and The New York Times. He was a 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was a philosophy major who cooperated with local papers and championed a free press, according to Clayton Rose, the college’s president. His last report from Moscow, published earlier this week, focused on the Russian economy’s slowdown amid Western sanctions imposed after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year. Ivan Pavlov, a prominent Russian defence attorney who has worked on many espionage and treason cases, said Gershkovich’s case is the first criminal espionage charge against a foreign journalist in post-Soviet Russia. “That unwritten rule not to touch accredited foreign journalists, has stopped working,” said Pavlov, a member of the First Department legal aid group. Pavlov said the case against Gershkovich was built to give Russia “trump cards” for a future prisoner exchange and will likely be resolved “not by the means of the law, but by political, diplomatic means”. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ruled out any quick swa

I am very late to the party on exercise. I've never been a fan of it. Even though the stats are strong, that it's irrefutably the best thing you can do for both your physical and mental health, I just never got my 'thing'. Yoga I did for years because it was enjoyable and stretchy.. ie.. you're not really breaking a sweat. Pilates I love, but again, my commitment over the years has come and gone. But I've never been a gym bunny or an exercise junkie like many of you up at this hour of the morning are. I'm always in awe of the people who text me saying they're out running or walking or on their way to the gym at this hour. That's impressive. I tend to identify more with the listener who’s still in bed and just got a bit of radio on in the background while they think about what to make for breakfast. Food is always my first thought in the morning, not exercise. Anyway, the World Health Organisation says adults should be doing two and a half hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity, as well as muscle strengthening activity. So I've been failing on that score, up until now. I'm here to report that despite all my misgivings, intense exercise can actually make you feel different. My physio told me I need to do hot yoga. Not even hot yoga but hot Pilates - with weights - it’s more intense. And it’s hot. The room is like 39 degrees and to me that sounds like hell before we even pick up a weight or add a resistance band. So to humour her, I gave it a go. The first thing I did was ask if we could turn the heat down - it was unbearable - how people do this on a regular basis is beyond me. But it’s by far the hardest workout I’ve ever done. It’s harder than the half marathon I ran years ago with my boys as I tried to prove that Mum could keep up with them. Spoiler alert - she could not. In fact all I did was sprain an ankle at the top of the Harbour Bridge but kept going on it because the indignity of hobbling and quitting precluded me from making a sensible decision which was to stop. Fast forward a few years of not doing very much and I am now a convert to the punish of exercise. I still don’t understand the people who enjoy it, I hate every second , but afterwards, I feel amazing. Sweaty and exhausted, but amazing. This week I even planked for a whole minute. The world record is 11 hours so I’ve got a way to go but trust me, in a hot room with a tired body that’s been up since 3am, I was proud of my one minute. When you're super tired it's hard to embrace exercise that goes beyond just walking the dog - but I'm starting to see the merit in working your body hard. I’m telling you this partially by way of apology to all the people I said were insane for doing this kind of thing, partially to hold myself accountable to keeping it up, and partially because I’m hoping the fitness bunnies tuning in can tell me what works for them too. Because I didn’t even know hot Pilates with weights existed before I tried it. So there must be other cool stuff out there that's not an F45 class. I don’t want to jump around a room with machines and people, but I am learning the merit of weights as we get older - especially for women. So as a convert to being put through my paces in a hot room, I’m here to say exercise can be embraced at any age or stage. And even if you feel like you’re going to collapse, you will actually feel different and more energised at the end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis are being challenged to do '100 kms in 30 days' to raise money for breast cancer charities across the country. The fundraiser was so successful in the Bay of Plenty last year and it's being brought back and going nationwide during May. People can complete the 100 kilometres any way they want; on foot, wheels or in the water. Helen Alice is the campaign organiser and joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queenstown renters are so desperate for housing they're asking real estate agents to rent out empty houses on the market. Tall Poppy Real Estate Queenstown owner Keeley Anderson says she's getting daily calls from people searching. It comes after a protest of around 100 people earlier this week over the resort town's rental crisis. Keeley Anderson joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A construction expert believes the second Auckland Harbour crossing will become a political football. The Government has brought forward construction for a second Waitematā Harbour crossing to 2029. Its offered five options that all include walking, cycling and road options plus light rail connections to the city centre. AUT Construction Management Professor John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby between a bridge and tunnel a bridge is a bit easier. A choice will be made on which option in June. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I hit a nerve clearly yesterday when I talked about the top-down malaise in this country at the moment from our politicians, to our police force, to the public polling. And there seems a general sense of 'blah' among us right now. A large number of you texted in agreeing. One said it was a post pandemic thing – that we were all just so grateful to be alive that we just meander around now saying ‘it is what it is’ to each other and putting up with below par service and standards everywhere, arguably because we’ve lost all ambition and are just happy to settle for the lowest bar. Others said once mediocrity is accepted and allowed to bloom, it’s all we get. Others said it’s been a slippery slope ever since people stopped taking responsibility for anything. Others pointed out all talent has left the building. Every sector is crying out for talent and saying what they have the least of is highly skilled workers – a recent EMA survey showed 90 percent of employers reported struggling to find workers and it’s the highly skilled ones that are hardest to find. Could it be they’ve gone elsewhere? Could it also be that we’re not attracting those people to this country anymore because they’re looking at us now and going, yeah, you know what, I’ll go to Canada or Australia instead. Many of you pointed out the crap service and experiences you have these days compared to how it used to be. Which leads me to the story about the Air NZ crew member made public yesterday. A passenger on an Air NZ flight from Wellington to Napier watched on in horror, as the cabin crew member breached civil aviation laws right in front of them, by vaping and texting mid-flight. Vaping, and texting. Right after the safety briefing. So here’s what you can’t do on this plane – but don’t mind me while I do it all anyway. I mean you have to laugh because if we don’t, we might cry. The passenger is so adamant about what he saw that he sent photographic evidence to prove it to the airline, who, unwisely as far as I’m concerned, chose not to respond to him, hence he’s now gone public with it. So, the malaise and low bar is twofold here. One, the crew member, who, has not only let the airline down and himself down, but exemplifies that whole ‘no responsibility’ thing. Flouting the rules, and if it wasn’t for this passenger, probably assuming he got away with it. And two, the airline itself for not taking this passengers’ complaint seriously. Ignoring a passenger, is not good customer service. He got no reply from Air NZ until after he’d gone to the media. That’s so often the case, and it’s again, such a low bar for corporates to wait until something’s made public, before they react. It’s actually so uncool. And it happens way more often than it should. So now all of a sudden Air NZ will investigate the complaint. About three days later than they should have. This sort of laissez-faire attitude typifies the general malaise in this country at the moment, from the top of the corporate ladder all the way to the bottom. I wish it weren’t the case, I don’t know how we got here, but I do know we will do so much better collectively if we can turn it back around. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand King Salmon's profits are going swimmingly after posting their first full-year profit in three years. The company has taken a number of measures to scale back operation costs, including a change to their farming model. Acting CEO Graeme Tregidga joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gun laws are back in the spotlight in the US, following the latest school shooting. Audrey Hale killed six people at her former Christian elementary school in Nashville. US correspondent Katherine Firkin told Kate Hawkesby the incident has sparked debate on Tennessee's approach to firearms, one of the most relaxed in the country. She says requirements for background checks have been totally removed and there are no laws allowing weapon seizures from violent suspects. Firkin says the shooter legally purchased seven different guns from five different stores over the last few years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought the Prime Minister's trying to draw a line under the Stuart Nash saga. Chris Hipkins has ordered a review of all the Napier MP's communications. It follows revelations Nash discussed a confidential Cabinet decision with two former donors in 2020. He is cooperating with the review, and intends to stay on as Napier's MP. Former Labour staffer, Kaine Thompson told Kate Hawkesby you would hope and expect the review won't find anything else. "Stuart Nash hasn't ever come across to me as particularly someone who is nefarious or malicious, but he's made a couple of mistakes here." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Demonstrations across France have turned ugly as the country reaches its 10th day of civil unrest. The backlash is in response to a controversial pension law pushed through parliament without a vote last week, lifting the retirement age from 62 to 64. Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby protests started peacefully, but things have turned, with cars and rubbish being set alight, and 23 reported arrests. He says Paris protest numbers are in dispute, with police claiming 93,000, while unions believe half-a-million protesters attended. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I miss the grown-ups. I’m desperate for some grown-ups, or just someone informed and engaged to be running this country, instead of the malaise and fly by night experience we’re currently having. Like many of you, yesterday I despaired as I listened to Chris Hipkins on the Mike Hosking Breakfast. It was cringe worthy. He literally could not answer a single question, was so ill informed, offered nothing by way of answers on anything, it was depressing. On Marama Davidson, he admitted he had not even spoken with her or dealt with her at all – their offices had talked to each other, that’s it. Acceptable for a Minister in his Government? Absolutely not. Had she apologised? No. Did Hipkins know about the health figures out yesterday? He did not. Did he know about the Government’s targets on it? Nope. Did he know about new stats around ambulance ramping? No. Shipping and supply chain issues? No. He admitted he doesn’t watch the news. I mean I get it, I wouldn’t either if I didn’t have to.. it’s tedious, but that’s my job – I have to. Which begs the question, why isn’t it his job too? Why is the Prime Minister of our country not wanting to be informed? How does he not know what’s going on inside his own government? I don’t want to harp on about the good old days but John Key once said of being Prime Minister, the bulk of the job is reading and being informed. He’d get up at 4.30am to make sure he was informed; he would not appear on the morning breakfast show to the biggest audience in the country and not be completely up with the play. And if he couldn’t get across everything, he made sure Steven Joyce did, so that he could get himself informed and ready to go with facts, stats and answers. But what’s increasingly common from politicians these days, as the bar has gotten lower and lower, is they say ‘it’s complex’ or they don’t have the stats right in front of them right now, or they need to look into that, or they’ll have to come back to you. Fewer and fewer of them have any answers or information at their fingertips, fewer and fewer of them know anything about their portfolios, fewer and fewer of them have watched the news, read the paper, gotten across news stories at all. And if you get to the very bottom of that lowered bar you get Marama Davidson, who just makes it up on the hoof and says what she likes, bugger the facts or the accuracy. Luxon’s not exempt here. He too came on Mike’s show this week having not seen or heard anything about Marama’s comments despite the fact it had been all over the news the day before. Maybe I’m old school in expecting politicians to be interested and informed, maybe the reason the polls are so wacky at the moment reflects the mood and malaise of not just the politicians but the public too. Maybe none of us care anymore? Maybe we’re all just sleepwalking around the place oblivious and unbothered? I don’t know what it is, but it feels like we’re sinking into an abyss of low bars, and low expectations, and I just hope for the sake of this country, that we all snap out of it, at least by October.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A message to wine lovers; Hawke's Bay vineyards are bouncing back and open for business. Images of devastated wineries were widely circulated following Cyclone Gabrielle, but six weeks on, the industry is keen to bring back its customers. Hawke's Bay Wine Growers Executive Officer Brent Linn told Kate Hawkesby good weather over the past few weeks has meant the region is well prepared for the Easter weekend. He says most cellar doors and restaurants will be open. Linn says while there's been lots of support locally and overseas, he wants people to continue buying Hawke's Bay produce and wine. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A handwriting expert believes just 10 minutes of practice in junior classes a day could turn around our falling literacy rates. But a survey of 850 teachers last year found almost 90 percent of those trained in the last 20 years received no instruction on how to teach handwriting. Education researcher Helen Walls told Kate Hawkesby there's been an emphasis put on ideas children want to express in writing and the fundamental technical skills have been neglected. She says until those technical skills are automated children can't think about the creative aspects. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Government ministers will be checking themselves this morning. It comes as Stuart Nash has been dismissed from Cabinet. It's emerged the Napier MP emailed donors about private cabinet information around a 2020 rent relief package. Political Editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby there will be a few ministers who will be wondering whether they've accidentally breached the Cabinet manual. He says Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has, on a number of occasions, reinforced the importance of ensuring they're on the right side of the manual. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As crime looks to be a hot election issue this year I worry about two things, well more than two things, but let’s start with these two. One - the lack of arrests being made and two - the top-down obsession from the police hierarchy with supporting offenders, not victims. David Fononga, if you don’t know the name, is the Auckland man who went on a shooting rampage in West Auckland firing at Police. They fired back and he was shot dead. But here’s the thing about him – he’d breached bail a month before this happened, and never been arrested for it. So among the many investigations and reviews launched after this shooting incident, one of them is an internal review of why the Police did not respond to his breach of electronically monitored bail in the first place. Because, while we’re on that topic, he wasn’t the only one. Five others were at large last week apparently having absconded while on electronically monitored bail. How many people need to be slicing off ankle bracelets and breaching their bail conditions and picking up guns is too many for the Police to react? How many times can offenders let their electronic monitoring bracelet batteries go flat – and not be chased up by Police? It’s not always the Police’s fault, there are others involved like Corrections and the judiciary of course – a judiciary who seem increasingly intent on having no one in jail. But I’m becoming more of the view that Police are being inactive - whether intentionally or unintentionally, I don’t know. But I do know of an incident recently in Auckland’s CBD where an American tourist was assaulted - punched in the back of the head and then kicked to the ground. He wound up in an ambulance to Auckland Hospital needing stitches to his head. That, of course, was a seven-hour wait - by which time his wound had closed up and they had to re-open it to stitch it back up because they'd left him so long at A&E, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, his whole assault was caught on video, backed up by CCTV footage, several witnesses, and what did the Police who turned up do? Nothing. Not a single arrest They stood around saying they needed to 'think about what to do' quote unquote and then suggested to upset witnesses that they ‘pop into a station sometime’ and make statements. The people involved in this incident said to me, this is why no one bothers calling the Cops. They don’t care, they do nothing. It’s hard to argue with. The other thing I worry about is the obsession with the offenders, their backgrounds, and their families. The new Police Minister said at the weekend that she promises ‘wrap-around support for families of youth offenders’. And as lovely as that sounds, it’s not really the first priority the community is looking at for a new Police minister. Certainly not during a time of the increased crime. She repeated the tried and true Labour line of it being ‘complex’ and involving offenders from ‘complex backgrounds’ and she therefore would like to see wrap around support for each of these offenders. Well, that would be nice, as would having them not offend in the first place, but where does it leave all their victims? Where is their wrap-around care and support? The balance has tilted so wildly in favour of those creating the havoc and doing the crimes, that if you’re the victim of it, as these people were the other night in Auckland’s CBD, they rightly say, why even bother reporting it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Citizens Advice Bureau is making a last ditch effort to prevent Auckland Council budget cuts. It's taking a petition with 15,000 signatures to council offices today, in a bid to halt their $2 million worth of funding being cut. General Manager Citizen's Advice Bureau Kate Anderson says the service is worth every cent. She says for every dollar invested, they get $13 of social value out of it. Consultation for the budget closes at 11pm tonight. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Online platforms are playing an increasing role in New Zealand's risk of domestic terrorism. The country's spy boss Andrew Hampton has revealed how the GCSB's capabilities were used in three counter-terrorism operations They included a person making bomb threats last year and increasingly concerning behaviour online from a white extremist. Massey University security expert John Battersby told Kate Hawkesby the issue of social media and misinformation advancing the problem has worsened in New Zealand. He says the number of people likely to be influenced by it are roughly the same everywhere, so while it may not get better, he's not sure if it will get worse, and we'll have to live with it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Serious concerns after one of the biggest data hacks in Australasia. Latitude Finance has revealed around 14 million people across both sides of the Tasman have had personal information held by the company, stolen. It includes passport numbers and driver licence details, but it's feared that even more could be involved. Australian correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby it's much more significant than the initial 300,000 it was first thought to be. She says some of the data has been held for more than ten years, with Latitude copping some criticism over holding data for so long. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support from within the family violence sector for Marama Davidson after controversial comments at the Auckland counter-protest to Posie Parker. The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence said most violence is caused by white cis men, cis meaning the gender a person's born with. She's now clarified, removing white and cis, saying when she spoke, she was in shock after being hit by a motorbike. Women's Refuge Chief Executive Ang Jury told Kate Hawkesby Davidson's correction is spot on. She says men are the main perpetrators of family violence and her initial statement, which has since been walked back, could have been delivered a little better. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Europe's human rights watchdog is accusing French police of brutality. A controversial pension law has seen protests erupt in Paris for a second week. UK-Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby that the Council for Europe's Human Rights Commissioner believes comments will add fuel to the fire. He says the commissioner believes people have a right to be protected from police brutality, and attacks against officers don't justify a heavy handed response. King Charles' visit has also been cancelled, due to security concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Posie Parker kerfuffle at the weekend in Auckland, I see the whole thing as so unnecessary. Her coming here, the publicity and noise around her coming here, the reaction when she got here, the vitriol and protests —from both sides— when she tried to speak, the fallout after it. How on earth did we end up with this much hubbub over a virtual nobody? How have we ended up with JK Rowling involved, MP’s involved, everyone seemingly imploding on each other. All over someone who should never have been given this much oxygen in the first place. Like I said last week, how many of us had even heard of her prior to the media advertising her arrival and the impending doom. It all played right into her hands though, the frenzy whipped up resulted in big crowds, big protest, and her high tailing it out of here... all documented for a new and captive audience that she previously would not have had. As my colleague, Heather pointed out, what an own goal by the Greens, Auckland Pride and Rainbow Youth. And as triumphant as the rainbow community is about seeing her off, what does it actually say about how New Zealand handles free speech? What does it say about how our country behaves at protests? What does it say about our ability to hear each other out? And where does it leave our international reputation after the chaotic scenes made international headlines - with Posie Parker herself telling the British press she had 'grave fears for NZ', adding, 'this place is f***ed.' So she was drowned out by hysteria before she could even open her mouth. No open dialogue, no sane rational discussion, no traversing of ideas, just hysteria both ways. Mixed messaging, chaotic methodology, insane behavior. And what I worry about given the performance at the weekend, is how we are going to behave on the hustings this election year. What does it say about the mindset of New Zealanders, that we feel we can trample down barriers and verbally attack or throw things at anyone who thinks differently to us. MP’s have already said they’re worried about security for this election year and in some cases, some are looking to increase it. We already know there is a general blatant disregard and disrespect for Police among young people, so how out of control is it likely to get? What assurances do politicians and their supporters have, that there won’t be clashes or fury unleashed when differing views are aired? When did we lose our radar on what constitutes peaceful protest? How is it protestors are still arguing that what we saw at the weekend in Auckland was peaceful? It’s a really ugly side to politics and it’s infiltrating other facets of our community now too. The piles on’s are not just confined to Twitter and Facebook anymore, it seems the anger and bitterness is seeping out into the streets, manifesting itself in a physical manner now too. Protesting doesn’t have to involve tomato juice, smashing down barriers, screaming and pushing. It doesn’t have to involve threats of violence. If we can’t seem to contain ourselves in a public forum when someone we disagree with tries to speak in a public place, what does that say about how the election period is likely to unfold? How much faith do you have that Kiwis can behave themselves respectfully in public? That they can tolerate free speech? After this weekend, I don’t hold out much hope at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT says what happened at the Posie Parker rally in Auckland is seriously concerning. Thousands protested against the views of the anti-trans activist at Albert Park's Saturday rally, seeing her quit the country early. Scuffles broke out, Parker had tomato juice poured on her, and Green MP Marama Davidson was hit by a motorcycle. ACT Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden told Kate Hawkesby that it's what the party has feared: that the alternative to free speech and reasoned debate could become bullying, intimidation, and violence. She says in a civilised society like ours, you should be able to counter ideas you don't like with speech and debate, not violence and intimidation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In difficult financial times more investors appear to be turning to art. Record levels of interest have been recorded for an auction tonight that has works up for grabs by New Zealand greats such as Tony Fomison and Don Binney, amongst others. Webb's Director of Art, Charles Ninow, says it seems the stranger the world gets, the more relevant art becomes. He says art is real and will never be worthless, unlike some other forms of investment. Total turnover in the New Zealand auction market has more than doubled from its pre-pandemic levels. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we end the week with some policy from the Nats and that's a good place for Luxon to be focussing, especially after the start to the week he had. But in defence of Chris Luxon - who by the way I don't know from a bar of soap, I've met him in person once I think. I don't think people should be freaking out about his popularity - or lack of it. I just don't think it's a big deal that he's not wildly popular - because we've seen where that can end up anyway. Jacinda anyone? The higher your popularity, the further you have to fall. I also think the lack of coverage of his exploits is against him, and that's not his fault. If he's out and about but nobody's covering it, then what can he do if the media prefer to cover their beloved Chippy from the Hutt - it's a tough gig to be up against. That will change however for him the closer we get to the election and as more policy gets rolled out and some semblance of balance is demanded by election rules - media will be obligated to cover parties more equally. But at the moment, as Luxon himself says, how's he expected to have grabbed front-page headlines? He's been up against a new PM coming into the fore as the other one vanished, rounds of record bad weather followed by a cyclone and the fallout from that - the news has had other priorities. And rightly so. He's been right to keep his head down and just keep plugging away at the work of getting out there. I think the grassroots work he's doing out in communities will pay dividends and count for something - even though it's not shiny front-page news stuff at the moment. Where I do think he could look to improve, is jumping on the Government's mistakes and blunders with more alacrity and pace - like Seymour does. The other area he could look at image-wise, is de-corporatizing himself a bit - maybe fewer suit pants and business shirts and more casual attire that makes you look a little more relatable and a little less CEO. Although you want leaders to be authentic and to be themselves and if that's how he's comfortable then I guess we have to give him that. But in general, I'm not alarmed and running off down the tangent of 'does his caucus have confidence in him'.. and 'can he retain the leadership through until the election..' I think those avenues of discussion are a waste of time. The Nats are not changing out a leader again, they have a strong team, I mean just line their bench up against Labour's and have a good hard look at what you're getting. As popular as the polls may say Chris Hipkins is - which by the way is not even that popular, I still don't believe it's enough to snag this Government another term. Their record, their lineup, their failure to deliver and be accountable, their bloated public service, their record on education, crime, health and poverty all speaks for itself. There is a long way to go between now and October, I think the panic merchants over whether we like Christopher Luxon enough or not, might just need to calm down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Child poverty advocates don't want promises, they want solutions. The latest child poverty figures, covering the year to last June, remain unchanged on the year before. It still shows one in 10 children are living in material hardship and for tamariki Māori, it's one in five. Save the Children advocacy director Jacqui Southey hopes children aren't being used as an election point scorer. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National would be getting a 'F' on its education policy if our largest education union was grading it. The opposition is proposing standardised tests for children as young as seven, as well as training for teachers and a curriculum overhaul, if elected. The New Zealand Educational Institute says it's a reboot of National Standards but with a slightly different dressing. President Mark Potter joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wave of Gen Zs and Millennials are setting their sights on cruise ships for their holiday of choice. Flight Centre says bookings for 18 to 30 year olds have more than doubled in under a year. Flight Centre's General Manager of Marketing, Jodie Burnard, says the increasing cost of airfares is part of the reason. Jodie Burnard joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Manhattan prosecutors postponed without any explanation a scheduled grand jury session Wednesday in the investigation into Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign, at least temporarily slowing a decision on whether to charge the ex-president. The postponement was confirmed by four people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name. It was not immediately clear why the proceedings were postponed, but the grand jurors were told to be on standby for Thursday, another day when the New York panel has been meeting in recent weeks. When the grand jurors next meet, they may hear from yet another witness, according to a person familiar with proceedings that appear to be nearing a decisive vote on whether or not to indict Trump. The panel has been probing Trump's involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied the claim, insisted he did nothing wrong and assailed the investigation, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as politically motivated. Wednesday's abrupt development, which a person familiar with the matter said was not connected to security concerns, came amid growing anticipation that Trump could soon be charged. Grand jury proceedings are shrouded in secrecy, making it hard to predict with certainty what action might be taken and when. As the panel has been hearing from final witnesses, Trump has contended his arrest is imminent and law enforcement officials have accelerated security preparations in the event of unrest accompanying an unprecedented charge against a former U.S. president. The district attorney's office declined to comment on the postponement, which was earlier reported by Business Insider. Prosecutors had recently invited Trump himself to appear before the grand jury, and on Monday heard from a witness favorable to his case as a way to ensure that the panel would be presented with any information that could conceivably be considered exculpatory. Trump over the weekend stated that he expected to be arrested Tuesday, though the day came and went without that happening. - MICHAEL R. SISAK and ERIC TUCKER Associated PressSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What I can't understand about the trans activist coming into the country is how she's been given so much coverage and publicity. She's clearly a hateful woman just touring around spreading vitriol, I have no idea what the point of her is, or why she’s doing it, and I had never heard of her prior to this week - I doubt many of us had. But the outraged made sure we did hear of her, and in doing so, helped publicize her brand and her message. I think we can all agree it’s just an attention-seeking tour on her part. And I think Chris Hipkins fell right into her trap when he said he’d get Immigration to look at not letting her in – that’s just the sort of headline she was looking for clearly.. and it certainly helped publicize her cause even more, and galvanise her base. So that was naïve bad form on his part. But she seems to have garnered way more publicity than is necessary. The screaming and yelling about not letting her in has only promoted her presence and her message more. I’m not sure why the media and politicians didn’t just ignore her and give her zero air time. Critics have raised the hypocrisy of the government here, a government hell-bent on attending Rainbow and Pride parades, hell-bent on controlling hate speech, yet not prepared to step in to protect the trans community when the rubber hits the road. But we are a democracy that upholds and values free speech. How do we suddenly start making up our own rules around who can and can’t come into the country – if they haven’t actually committed any crime. I mean the threshold for immigration and why she’s coming in is apparently because she meets the criteria set out in the Immigration Act. Apparently their assessment ‘took into account the events in Melbourne.. and decided it does not meet the threshold for ministerial intervention.’ Could Michael Wood have intervened though if he still wanted to? They reviewed all the intel on her, sought advice from others, and ‘concluded that there is no reason to believe that she is, or is likely to be, a threat or risk to the public order or public interest.’ So the Immigration Minister said his hands are effectively tied. I was surprised by that to be honest, I would've thought given the white supremacist types she seems to attract, that that would've been enough of a red flag to stop her coming, but at the end of the day we have to support free speech, in a free country. We have a Bill of Rights for a reason. So she’s doing rallies in Auckland and Wellington and to be fair to her in the interests of balance, she doesn’t actually tout herself as an anti-trans activist. The media call her that. She calls herself a supporter of women, and someone who opposes trans people using women-only spaces like bathrooms. Why you need to tour around preaching that message at rallies is beyond me. And there will of course be counter-protests at her appearances, which will potentially outnumber her supporters. But I hope out of all of this brouhaha that those in the trans community who may be feeling scared or intimidated or worried, take encouragement from the outpouring of support and the outpouring of anger around this woman, Posie Parker. I hope they realize that this is not an attack on them, it’s just an aggrieved person spouting hate, who should never have been given all this attention in the first place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are currently favourable conditions for buyers in the housing market. CoreLogic figures show close to 61,000 properties were sold in the year to February 2023, the lowest 12 month total since 1983. Real estate agent Diego Traglia told Kate Hawkesby says he knows it's a cliché for him to say now is a good time to buy but prices are low. He says nobody was expecting an up to 25 percent drop in less than two years, and we're getting back to what prices used to be before Covid. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims allowing an anti-transgender activist into the country is a win for healthy debate. Freedom of speech advocates say sense has prevailed, as self-described women's rights activist Posie Parker has been approved to come here. They say allowing people to voice their views, either way, is crucial. Free Speech Union Chief Executive Jonathan Ayling told Kate Hawkesby people who disagree can voice their opposition freely. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well just as the new Police Minister was fronting media yesterday and telling them she wanted communities to feel safe, Leo Molloy was making headlines for calling the Police ‘weak as piss’. His words, not mine. The hospitality owner was furious that an attempted break in at his Auckland viaduct restaurant – which caused more than $50,000 in damage - had elicited a ‘chat’ from the Police, but no arrests. He had CCTV footage of the offenders, police had shown up and spoken with them, but did nothing more. They were free to go. So as Molloy is telling this story, newly minted Police Minister Ginny Andersen is busy saying ‘community safety is her focus’. She told reporters that her focus would be ‘targeting retail crime and youth offending’. And that ‘part of that would be making sure police were available on the front line and responding.’ She said that her ‘single focus will be improving community safety. I want New Zealanders to feel safe,’ she said. So do they? Well if you ask Leo Molloy, probably not. If you ask retailers, probably not. If you ask those in the suburbs getting confronted with drive by gang shootings, probably not. But the key point she made I reckon is in regard to her job being about making sure police are responding. She said she wants police ‘available on the front line and responding’. So my question is: are they? Is turning up and having a chat with young offenders responding? Is that good enough? Is making no arrests a response? Does a response include just having a chat with reprobates and sending them on their way? Is leaving a business owner with thousands of dollars of damage and lost revenue while he pays for repairs, a response? Because although I’m not entirely sure all of this is the police’s fault. I do think there’s an optics issue here if police are seen to be too soft. And we know where that’s coming from, they’re hamstrung, we get it, it’s top down. The commissioner we know beyond a shadow of a doubt is too soft, this government has a reputation for being soft on crime and they’re not really making big inroads to address that. More utterances and promises to make communities feel safe doesn’t fly when communities just don’t. When those very communities are still being targeted by thugs and vandals and people who couldn’t give a toss about the community, or the law, or any consequences. And this is where National is gaining some ground in terms of cut through, they sound serious about crime. Luxon was out yesterday saying crime needed to be tackled ‘really hard’ and there needed to be more progress on it. He said ‘serious consequences for serious offenders were needed..’ and that.. ‘we need to be on the side of victims of crime, not on the side of offenders..’ And he’s right. The balance is tipped too far the other way, though the Government indicates the opposite – that the plight of the offender is more important. And I think this will be one of the things that could undo them this election year if they don’t radically address that perception. Because it’s one thing to roll out another new face to lead the police portfolio, it’s quite another to have police actually able to get tough and make some headway, other than just pulling offenders aside for a quiet chat, and then letting them go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.