Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

A group of first responders are preparing to lace up their running shoes for the mental health charity I Am Hope in Christchurch. Members from the police, fire and ambulance services along with defence force and civil defence personnel will take part in a 24 hour relay tomorrow. The runners are hoping to raise $20,000 dollars for the I am Hope charity which makes it easy for young people to access counsellors. Senior Constable Glen Dawson told Kate Hawkesby it's personal to a lot of the people taking part. He says they often have a front row seat to mental health and suicide episodes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another jammed packed weekend of rugby action is on the forecast. The All Blacks are hoping to bounce back from a shaky win over Japan when they face Wales in Cardiff on Sunday morning and the Black Ferns will be trying to keep their home World Cup dreams alive against the French at Eden Park. Dr Farah Palmer is a pioneer for the women’s game and former a Black Ferns captain and she joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A good lesson emerged out of yesterday – don’t forget what you're really about. Starship Foundation, in rejecting half a million bucks because it came from horse racing (which by the way is not illegal, nor is gambling) made a big mistake, and one they should have fessed up to straight away. Their remit is sick children and helping them and their families however they can, not spending time and money on public image and branding. Starship knew exactly what they had done a whole day before the story broke. Not only that, they knew Mark Chittick was going public with it. They knew because several media outlets frantically chased them for their response, giving them several opportunities to respond and offer up their side of the story. Nothing. They went to ground. A small written statement making not a lot of sense did them no favours, no one fronted on it. So the story ran and ran and ran.. it ran all day. It filled talkback shows, it filled newspaper comments sections, it filled up text machines and emails, Starship took a pasting. All the while, sick and dying children and their desperate parents were probably sitting there in shock that, a) the money was turned down in the first place, but also b) that no one was talking about it from Starship. No one was stemming the tide of vitriol coming the Foundation’s way; no one was stopping the terrible publicity and threats from people to withdraw donations. What did the Foundation do? Went into meetings with comms teams and a PR firm. And this is everything that’s wrong with charities these days – so bogged down in bureaucracy, BS, imaging and branding, that they can’t see the wood for the trees. Again, at the heart of this is sick kids remember. That should be the focus. But no, money was spent on PR consultants drafting responses for the media. An internal comms team, an external PR firm, media advisors, managers.. are you kidding me? And still all day nothing in response. So they knew the night before the story broke, had all night, all morning, as it ran endlessly on all media, all afternoon, and still no response. After 6pm last night, the finally issued another written statement, this one contradicting the previous one, yet with no explanation as to why. And that took all day. All those people. What's that costing? Remember the sick kids? The nub of this is Starship got it wrong. The person who told Chittick they couldn’t take donations due to the association with gambling was wrong. They made a mistake. That’s it. That’s how simple it needed to be. Front up, in person, apologize, we made a mistake, the person Mark spoke to got it wrong, we are sorry, we happily accept all donations, including from horse racing. End of story. Why did they make it so hard? And arguably so much worse for themselves? And at what point did a charity for sick children lose sight of the fact they’re about sick children, and not PR?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Banks are calling on their customers to reach out if they're feeling financial stress. The Reserve Bank has predicted lending rates and household debt will continue to rise, while house price will trend downwards. Bankers' Association CEO Roger Beaumont says the levels of help will depend on income, size of mortgage and household expenses. But he told Kate Hawkesby early intervention is the best option. Beaumont says the sooner people reach out, the easier it is for the banks to help. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Christmas right around the corner, we're being warned to be vigilant with online scams. A worldwide study by cyber security brand Norton shows almost a quarter of New Zealanders take more risks when online shopping during the holiday season. The study says inflation's somewhat to blame, as scammers are luring people in with promises of deals too good to be true. Norton Managing Director Mark Gorrie told Kate Hawkesby it's been the perfect season for scammers. He says an increase in online shopping during the pandemic caused more scams to pop up, and the holiday season can mean people let their guards down in search for gifts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anger from the tourism industry over the lack of action and clarity from the Government. Back in May, the Government announced a $54 million recovery fund for the struggling sector as part of the Budget. The scheme was pitched as a grant to fund innovative and sustainable tourism operations, but nothing has been paid out. Haka Tourism general manager Eve Lawrence told Kate Hawkesby all they want from the Government is action. She says the fund, its criteria and its definition of innovation needs to be clearly defined, which she says, they aren't. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not worried about Elon Musk buying Twitter because it’s a waste of energy. I’ve decided the only real currency we have these days is our energy; expend it at your peril. Think long and hard about what you give it to. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. People expend too much energy these days on stuff that isn’t real, doesn’t matter, will possibly never impact them. Don’t like Twitter? Hop off it. Delete it. Hate Facebook? Get off it. I’ve done both. It’s liberating. I don’t expend energy on it at all. My only social media outlet is Instagram, I gleefully hit the block and delete button for trolls. Why let them take up space in your head, or take up your energy and time? Pointless. If social media’s not fun or safe or informative, why bother? It seems though, that many of us do get worried about what we see online, or what others may be seeing online. Increasingly, the concern is misinformation and disinformation. I do wonder by the way, to what degree the people who're worried about this from a personal point of view, don’t understand how algorithms work, don’t know they’re being targeted with their news and stories, don’t realise they’re in an echo chamber, don’t realise they can control what they see and read with the click of a button. They’re probably also the same people who read the comments section. Again, a giant waste of energy. Since when do you care what a bunch of strangers on the internet think? Do you stop people in the street and ask them what they're thinking? Does the opinion of some random you’ve never met and ever will again, really concern you? And what can you do about it? Nothing. So why waste energy on it? Anyway, this National Security Long Term insights survey showed one in four Kiwis are worried about misinformation online. They see it as “the greatest threat to them and their families.” So 25 percent of us are worried about national security. How would we ever really know the ins and outs of our national security anyway? Let's be honest. How much is us worrying about it going to change it? The PM thinks misinformation is “impacting our liberal democracies”. I can think of a lot of things impacting our liberal democracy here in New Zealand and misinformation would not be top of my list. The Government’s peddling of it might be though. But this is what I mean. Who to trust? We’ve developed a healthy cynicism about the media by now, surely, and politicians. Do we really take at face value everything we see and hear? I get that misinformation can be dangerous and take people down a rabbit hole. Most sensible people with their wits about them though won’t go down these rabbit holes. I’m talking about the stuff you can control. Knowing the algorithms you’re a part of, or at least acknowledging they exist. Questioning what you’re fed online, deleting or getting rid of stuff that doesn’t sit quite right with you. If your media feeds are stressful, get rid of them. Is it possible that more of this stuff than we realise is actually within our control? Surely it’s liberating to just worry about what you can control, and forget the rest? It’s less the misinformation I’m worried about personally, and more the information overload that I think’s the problem.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Council of Trade Unions says National's proposed tax plan would give peanuts to the working and middle classes. It's crunched the numbers based on IRD and National Party data. The council says the cut will cost $11 billion over three years and will mostly benefit top income earners and property investors. CTU economist Craig Renney told Kate Hawkesby says there are better ways to spend that money. He says that could be spent on health, education or protecting the poorest workers. National Party Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis has rejected the numbers saying they haven't released their entire plan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cookie Time is thanking the 'Costco effect' for a massive jump in sales. The Christchurch-based company is praising the works of the Auckland superstore, saying it's boosted sales by more than a million since opening in September. The cookie manufacturer says due to the recent success, it's now set to supply its cookies for other Costco stores internationally. Cookie Time Managing Director Guy Pope-Mayell told Kate Hawkesby the success comes as a sweet surprise. He says Cookie Time is producing one pallet of cookies per day just for the Auckland Costco store. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t think the Prime Minister's assurances that New Zealand is a great place to live will have any sway with all the potential overseas workers we could have, who’re choosing to go elsewhere. Prime Ministers have to be cheerleaders for their country, it’s part of the job description. They also have to be relentlessly positive, as Ardern is, when it’s a country you’ve been governing for five years and its reputation as a great place has, under your government, gone backwards. People used to want to come here, and did come here, in their droves - now, not so much. Just one solitary investor has lined up for the new investor category visa. A system that used to work well and attract wealthy investors, now that they overhauled it for reasons best known to themselves, is so unattractive that only one person has bothered applying. So we’re not attracting wealth or investment into the country, but nor are we attracting workforce. A recruiter just back from two jobs fairs in the UK said there’s zero interest from people to come here and work. He says he spoke to more than 300 people and none of them want to come. Why? He said crime, cost of living, housing prices and that we’ve just made it too hard for them. Slow processing on visa applications, endless delays, and confusion. We’re just not welcoming as a country. He said people want to go to Australia, Canada or Europe instead. Other countries are making it easier and more attractive to get in, they’re more welcoming, they’re moving faster. Our immigration moves at the pace of a snail and that’s before we get to the real hard truth of the matter which is that this seems to be an anti-immigration Government. Which, as one immigration lawyer pointed out yesterday, is fine if the country’s booming and we don’t need it, but we do. We are desperately short of people in every single sector, people are crying out for workers, they just cannot get them, so why the arrogance of thinking we can just keep going without welcoming foreign workers in? It’s nuts. It’s also not an answer to say, as the Prime Minister did yesterday, that we have "roughly 70,000 employers with approvals to go out and seek workers to bring in’. An approval to go out and seek workers is not the same as getting workers in. That’s a political mish-mash of an answer if ever I heard one. All that says to me is that 70,000 employers are in absolute strife, so much so they’ve jumped through all the bureaucratic hoops and time delays and paperwork to apply to even try to get workers in. That doesn’t even cover off all the employers who don’t have the time, energy or money to devote to applying for those approvals. And there’s a big gap between approvals to get workers in and actually getting them in. It’s a classic governmental disconnect between what’s happening out here in the real world, compared to what a piece of paper at the immigration department says. I just don’t think politicians burying their heads in the sand and saying "oh don’t worry New Zealand’s great!" is going to cut it, when all the stats would say that foreign workers think otherwise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An anti-Three Waters group says reform is needed, but one size doesn't fit all. It comes as Auckland, Christchurch and Waimakariri councils band together to launch a revised plan - keeping a water regulator, but ownership, control and accountability stays with councils. Communities for Local Democracy had a similar plan, but was shut down by the Government earlier this year. Chair of that group, Manawatu District Mayor Helen Worboys, told Kate Hawkesby their plan needs funding assistance, which they're happy to do. She says they support assisting communities, but their overall message to the Government is don't micro-manage them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concern Auckland's bus users will be left in the lurch, as a quarter of all the city's routes are cut from Sunday. Auckland Transport is suspending nearly a thousand bus services across the city in what they say will give public transport users more certainty amidst driver shortages. Public Transport Users Association co-ordinator Jon Reeves told Kate Hawkesby the Government has had two years to sort the problem out. He says Immigration Minister Michael Wood could have changed the settings two years ago to allow more drivers in the country. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This weekend was a big one for sports, with the All Blacks winning against Japan, even if the score was close. The team didn't get off unscathed though, with two key players sustaining injuries after the fact. Sam Cane fractured his cheekbone and Dane Coles injured his calf. Andrew Alderson, Newstalk ZB sportsreader joined us to recap the weekend in sport, between the All Blacks injuries and The Black Ferns securing a spot in the World Cup semi-finals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of all the times we hear about police not showing up to break-ins or burglaries or ram raids, we do hear about when they did show up. This weekend they showed up at Halloween parties gone wrong, to move on kids behaving badly. One neighbour at an out-of-control party in Auckland’s Mt Albert over the weekend said about 30 Police showed up. My first thought was, that’s a lot of police at one party, how nice of them. Be good if more could show up when stores are being broken into or ram raids are taking place. But the common denominator here is kids behaving badly. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves that teenagers have always been so good and now they’ve suddenly all gone rogue. Teenagers have been trouble forever, that’s what they do, but the trouble they’re getting into these days seems more intense and the age they’re getting into it is ever younger. There are more and younger gang recruits, more and younger burglars and ram raiders. There's an issue in this country with lack of respect, lack of fear of authority, poor behaviour, lack of parenting, there are too many kids out wandering the streets all hours, too many kids skipping school. There are heaps of theories around it - fractured family home environments, drugs, Covid, truancy, boredom, lack of consequences - and probably all are true to an extent. Stats earlier this month showed, “the number of children and teens seen in crisis in emergency departments rose by more than 410% in a decade, reaching over three thousand last year.” That’s according to recent Ministry of Health stats. So what’s going on with our kids? What extra pressures do they have these days that we didn’t? Internet and online existence is obviously a big one. A pandemic that derailed their social lives, yes, and interrupting their academic pursuits is another big one. But it’s not like they’re living through a war, like our grandparents did, living through the stress of rationing food, being called up to fight, witnessing the untimely death of young partners, siblings or parents. So are they just less resilient these days? And actually, by less resilient do we really just mean they’re paying attention more? They’re more in tune with what’s going on around them? Or are they actually just worse behaved? A family run store in Hamilton over the weekend hit three times by ram raiders has forced the owners to shut up shop. They say it's just not worth it anymore. The owner said, "the Government is just making it too easy for them”. Them, as in the young ram raiders. He said, "There’s just not consequences for the criminals. If they get caught they don’t get any kind of punishment and they are straight out [of court] and doing it all over again.” So is that the nub of it? No consequences? Teen development experts say that often as adults we have no idea how much pressure teens are under. But they acknowledge it's no more pressure than our predecessors had, it's just how they cope with pressure that's changed. So how do we breed them more resilient? And is that the cure all? Like the business owner in Hamilton, I can’t help agreeing with him that maybe some consequences for actions would be a good place to start. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hopes the poorest communities will benefit the most from alcohol law reform. Their aim is to give communities more of a say about new liquor outlets. Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Nicki Jackson says deprived communities are hit hardest by new outlets. She says bottle stores aren't the only issue. Jackson says supermarkets can be bad because they normalise drinking and sell alcohol for cheaper. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russia is accusing British forces of the bombing of its Black Sea naval base. A number of drones are reported to have attacked the naval base of Crimea's Sevastopol. Russia is suspending a Ukraine grain export deal as a result. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Ukrainian reports say the attack has caused substantial damage while Russia is reporting there's only minor damage to one ship. He says Russia is now saying they believe the Royal Navy was behind the attack, helping Ukraine direct the drones to attack their fleet. But British forces are saying this is not true. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More ways for New Zealanders to take to the skies. American Airlines is returning to the country this morning and will fly between Auckland and Dallas all summer. Air Asia will be back from tomorrow. Aviation commentator Irene King says we will see cheaper flights with the increased competition. But she says prices won't be back to normal straight away. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s annoying to see reports that Covid cases are on the rise again – although I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Open border equals case numbers up. That’s basic maths. But I think there’s a certain degree of PTSD for us seeing those headlines. Yesterday’s headline by the way if you missed it, was that “Covid infections jump by 1500 in 24 hour period.” The PTSD creeps in particularly for those of us who had Covid quite badly. I know for people who didn’t have it, or people like my husband who had the mildest dose imaginable, eye roll eye roll eye roll… it’s a non-event. But we do not need the alarming reports do we? Or do we? Are we still vigilant? Does anyone still care? The people at the coal face care. I felt for the poor Pharmacist in Picton the other day who said he had passengers coming in from the docked cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, which had 129 people on board with Covid. The passengers coming in were showing cough and cold symptoms he said, they were also not wearing masks. Despite the fact he had a sign up asking them to wear them, and had masks available for free at the counter. His main issue was the fact that he was over 65 with a heart condition – so at a higher risk, but also, that he was the only pharmacist there, so if he went down with Covid, the pharmacy would be without a pharmacist. It’s a fine line – which even he acknowledged, great for small towns like theirs to have so many guests around spending up large, but not great if those guests weren’t respecting the rules. I’m not sure who that’s on? The cruise liner for not being clear enough with the rules? Or the tourists themselves for flouting them? A Covid-19 Modeller told one news outlet that ‘the risk of Covid spread in a small town like Picton was significant during the days the ship was docked, but that transmission rates would depend on the town's mitigation factors.’ How can the town mitigate things if tourists are going to flout the rules though? Surely a mitigating factor is providing free masks and asking people to use them like this Pharmacist was doing? And if tourists don’t use the masks, what more can you do? The modeller claims good ventilation is key... “and good air cleaning”. But I’m not sure how feasible that is in a small shop in a small town? The risks, she admits, are higher in smaller towns obviously, than in bigger more spread out cities. But with new strains of the virus appearing all the time, I just wonder how much we can dodge it, given it’s a while ago now since most of us were vaccinated, and not necessarily vaxxed for all the new strains. My son, whose been travelling all over Europe, managed to dodge Covid, got to London, no Covid, went back to Prague to catch up with mates recently.. got Covid. Round two for him. Despite being fully vaxxed and taking all the necessary precautions, and having had it before, I guess when you’re around so many different places with so many different people, it’s still a gamble. So although I don’t want to read or hear about Covid cases on the rise again, I also want to make sure as few of us as possible get it a second time round.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fair Pay Agreements have been passed into law amidst a fiery debate in parliament. Legislation for the agreements passed its final reading in Parliament last night - making it easier for workers to band together and negotiate better conditions and pay. The bill has received major opposition from the business sector, with National and ACT vowing to repeal it. New Zealand Initiative Chair Roger Partridge told Kate Hawkesby that the bill is highly undemocratic. He says when 10 percent of workers can dictate basic terms for all employees, it removes staff freedom to negotiate their own personal terms. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A concern Kiwis are underinsured. Research from CoreLogic suggests almost a third of respondents don't think they have adequate cover for their property. It also shows the average person reviewed their home insurance cover two and half years ago. Head of Insurance Solutions Matthew Walker says that's not good enough. He says people need to know how comprehensive their coverage is, and how much it would cost to replace their home. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting to live across both city and country gives me good insight into what’s happening in both places. I can tell you first hand, rural living is where it’s at. And now stats back that up. We’re leaving the cities. In the year to June this year, Auckland lost almost 9,000 people. A lot went overseas; it looks like the rest went North or into the regions - and I’m not surprised. Our cities are a shambles, Auckland in particular is just an assault of congestion, crime and cones, if you had the option to work remote or from home – you’d be mad not to take it. Suburb-wise it was downtown Auckland from Westmere to Newmarket which had the biggest population decline, the biggest loss in the country, down 5.8 percent. Drive through the inner city Auckland suburbs one day and you’ll know why. Auckland wasn’t the only city people bailed from though. Christchurch and Wellington had net losses, so did Dunedin, but many of them didn’t go far. Christchurch’s Selwyn district saw an increase in population growth of 4.8 percent – which was the country’s highest rate. Again, not surprising if you’ve been to Canterbury lately, it’s a magical part of the world and Christchurch is turning into an extremely desirable city to live near, if not in. Likewise those in Dunedin may have headed to Central Otago. While Dunedin’s population declined, Central Otago’s grew by 2.7 percent. People aren’t just bailing to the regions; they’re also bailing overseas, with our natural increase in population the lowest since World War II. The country’s net international migration loss was 11,500. Again, who can blame them? With a country in the state ours is in, and having been closed off to the world for so long and seemingly going to take so much longer to bounce back, it’s not surprising people have left. But the allure of living rurally or regionally here in New Zealand is huge. It’s stunningly beautiful, it feels less frenetic, and it’s more peaceful. I thought maybe my love affair with rural living was just down to getting older, but I’m seeing more and more young people and younger families moving into rural areas like ours. It makes sense. Quality of life is arguably better, it’s cheaper, you get more bang for your buck, you’ll get more space, and you’ll probably feel a hell of a lot safer than you do in inner city suburbs. I used to think when we first bought a house in the country four years ago that it was a bit slow out there and I may slowly go mad. But the opposite’s happened. It’s stolen my heart in a way that I worry I’ll never be able to give it up. There’s something quintessentially New Zealand and calming about living among trees and hills and paddocks and birdsong. It’s good for your mental health, it’s good for your physical health, it’s lovely to reconnect with smaller communities where you know all the locals and you feel like you belong. I think that sense of belonging is gone from the cities, we all co-exist in our bubbles side by side, but there’s very little connection. I love country ways of living too. More sustainable, more homegrown, low key. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, I just know I’d love to be able to live there full time and join the stats of people waving goodbye to the city for good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pen licences are well and truly becoming a thing of the past. School kids will soon be able to get an ‘online licence’ as public schools roll out an interactive programme teaching them how to stay safe online. The eSmart Digital Licence programme is targeted at 10 to 14 year olds and is being brought to our schools by NetSafe. CEO Brent Carey joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the afternoon of December 9 2019, commercial helicopter pilot Mark Law sprang into action as Whaakari/White Island erupted in Bay of Plenty. Today, he's being recognised with the New Zealand Bravery Star - our second highest bravery award - in this year's honours list, recognising his bravery in a situation of danger. Mark and his workmates located 20 causalities on the crater floor - flying 12 to hospital over the course of 40 minutes. Mark joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is hope the Planned Care Taskforce's report will work to address the differing blockages in our health system. It's released 101 recommendations for improving equity, increasing access, and reducing waiting times. Thirty will start being implemented in December, while the rest will be phased in through a number of years. Resident Doctors' Association National Secretary, Deborah Powell told Kate Hawkesby a hard look at our systems is long-overdue. She says the devil remains in the detail, which is why the recommendations will take so long to implement. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 82,000 community service hours have been wiped between January and August this year, with the Government claiming Covid reasons. Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the majority of sentences that had their community hours cut were for "minor offending" - but questions have been asked as to whether delays of sentences that meant offenders would still have to carry out their hours may have been more appropriate. Victims' advocate Ruth Money joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rishi Sunak's won the day, set to become Britain's youngest Prime Minister. The 42-year-old says he's humbled and honoured to have his colleagues support, and is promising stability and unity. Boris Johnson had been plotting a comeback, but he ultimately decided against running. He claims to have had 102 backers, although only 57 MPs publicly declared their support. Political commentator Iain Dale told Kate Hawkesby those who were backing Johnson feel let down, after he led them up the garden path. He says some of them were made to look very stupid for supporting him. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was pleased this week that Police Minister Chris Hipkins finally got around to meeting Dairy and Business Owners Association head Sunny Kaushall. That only took about six months of chasing by Sunny So they met, which was good, Sunny got to express his concerns, which was good, they posed for amicable photos afterwards which was good, but what we really want to see is action don’t we? Get that money where it needs to go, and fast. We know of the $6 million set aside, that just under $200,000 grand has been spent. Pitiful. Of the hundreds of dairies and retailers hit by ram raids, only seven have seen some of the money. Not good enough. One local business association leader made the very salient point that the Government should send the money to local business associations and they’d very quickly get it sent out to the businesses that need it. It's a good idea and I don’t know why the Government doesn’t talk to local business more and engage local communities, who’re at the coalface, and enable them to help. Newmarket Business Association Head Mark Knoff-Thomas says retailers he’s spoken to are fearful. He says it’s not a crime wave it’s a “crime tsunami”. He says retailers don’t know what to expect day by day. They’re living on tenterhooks. He says the crime trajectory, particularly ram raids, has been gathering momentum since 2020, and the frequency of them has become dire. He says endless lobbying of Police Ministers has achieved nothing, and that “the lack of action to counter retail crime is a stain on this Government.” He spoke with an international visitor who he says was “shocked about how bad crime in New Zealand is”. He says bank workers are fearful too, and that’s just in his area. Many other CBD’s and business associations I’m sure have operators feeling the same way. So encouragement to a degree came yesterday in the form of some stats on arrests Police have managed to rack up. “Thousands of charges” were laid in Waikato and Auckland in relation to youth offending. “From February to September in Waikato, 205 offenders were arrested 307 times.. for ram raids and smash and grabs.. some of them repeat offenders. In Auckland, 142 youth offenders have faced, or are facing, one thousand and 36 charges.. since May.” Investigations are ongoing Police say, and hopefully further arrests and charges will be made, but the repeat nature of these offences and offenders would indicate Police Association president Chris Cahill is right when he says that it’s a core group doing this offending. Disengaged youth. Their motivation, according to the Assistant Police Commissioner, is money, peer pressure and social media notoriety. So we need to make sure all that gets taken away from them don’t we? No access to the money, no access to social media, no room for notoriety. Of course that probably hinders their rights, and a judge would probably argue these days it could reduce their ability to rehabilitate. But I think at this stage, despite all the merits of rehabbing offenders and giving people the benefit of the doubt, we are at a point now where the repeat nature and the brazenness of it all, says they’re not that interested in rehab.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Groundswell organisers are defending yesterdays low turn-out and condemning criticism from the Agriculture Minister. Hundreds of protesters across 60 convoys jumped in their utes, trucks and tractors in opposition of the Government's proposed farm-level emissions pricing scheme. Organisers had been predicting thousands 24 hours earlier. Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor described the size of the crowds across the country as 'embarrassing.' Groundswell Organiser Bryce McKenzie told Kate Hawkesby O'Connor's comments are very disappointing. He says while he'd hoped for higher numbers, it's a very busy time on the farming calendar. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National wants to turn our attention away from the fact the number of people on welfare is going down. More than 21,000 people moved off a benefit and into work in the three months to September. National's Louise Upston says the more important figure is that 35,000 more people are staying on a benefit for more than a year. She told Kate Hawkesby the National party isn't willing to see people write their lives off and become welfare dependent. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s an interesting dichotomy going on in terms of leadership in our big cities at the moment - and I refer specifically to Auckland’s Wayne Brown versus Wellington’s Tory Whanau. We had Tory on the show yesterday, she’s great talent, bubbly, vivacious, chatty, easy to talk to. You can see why she does a lot of interviews, she’s got good chat, and media love to have people like her on. Good talent is good talent, and they often make the headlines and get the coverage because of it. But does that make her a good Mayor? Does that effusive personality make her any better at her job of running and managing a city? Because the obvious contrast is Wayne Brown. Also a guest on this show pre his election win and at the time I said to him at the end of the interview that he could probably work on his rapport with interviewers and be a bit more personable. He was gruff, direct, not interested in winning favour or friends, he was laser focussed on a job he had to do and he didn’t really give the impression he wanted to curry favour along the way. But does that make him a bad mayor? The media would have you believe so. They hate him. They hate him because he doesn’t suck up to them, he doesn’t chat, he won’t do interviews and he doesn’t care about them. The media likes people who care about the media, also known as Jacinda Ardern. Part of her gigantic swing into power was a media fuelled campaign of ‘Jacindamania’ whereby they literally could not get enough of her, smiling and beaming at everyone, waving and chatting, delivering catchy one liners and being great interview talent because she loved to talk. Sadly, though, how’s that turned out for us? All that chat hasn’t really morphed into solid runs on the board has it? For all the smiles and high fives we haven’t got poverty sorted or healthcare or housing or inflation or anything else she promised to do. But she looked good promising it all didn’t she? She was enthusiastic, relentlessly optimistic.. I think is what she said she was. Yet admirable as all that enthusiasm is, it doesn’t fix potholes or get you taken care of in Hospital. So back to Brown. Media darling he is not. It’s early days, but he is doing what he said would do. Unusual concept for a politician. But he is not grandstanding on podiums and firing out press releases and obsessing over imaging, comms and PR. He doesn’t need to. He articulated early and clearly what he would do if elected and now he is looking to do just that. At this stage he looks like a political unicorn and for his all gruffness and rough edges… you have to say, he at least seems genuine. We’re not used to that kind of authenticity. We’re not used to politicians who don’t want to suck up and smile and be all over the media. I mean obviously he’s going to have difficulty balancing his practical realities with taking on an institutionalised local body with entrenched bureaucracy, supported by a sympathetic government, who has a sycophantic media in their back pocket.. that unquestionably is going to make his delivery difficult. But can you blame him for trying? Good on him for at least giving it a crack. So while I’d far rather spend my morning chatting to Tory Whanau on air because she’s great talent, I don’t know that that necessarily makes her any better as mayor?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been a big uptick in sponsorship deals across women's sports. A major international report has revealed a 20 percent increase year-on-year in 2022, with the arrival of blue chip global sponsors further fuelling growth. It comes, of course, as we're hosting the Rugby World Cup Women's event. Rebecca Sowden, former New Zealand Football Fern and founder of women's sport sponsorship consultancy Team Heroine, joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims the entire justice system has failed the five women sexually violated by Jayden Meyer. The Crown's appeal of the teen rapist's nine-month home detention sentence, has been dismissed. Meyer was convicted of raping four 15-year-old girls and sexually violating a fifth when he was 16. He's now 18. The judge says the sentence was "manifestly inadequate" but to sentence Mayer to prison now would undermine his rehabilitation programme. Women's Refuge chief executive Ang Jury told Kate Hawkesby the women have been totally let down. She says they were brave to come forward with the process, which isn't an easy thing to do. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions for the Government over the lack of progress on light rail. It's spending $16 million on scope to cost the next phase of light rail in Auckland, a $14.6 billion project. More than two-thirds of the almost $66 million already spent on the project has gone to consultants - with none yet spent on construction. National Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown told Kate Hawkesby it's become a circular economy. He says the Government has failed light rail it had said would be completed by 2021. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guarva Sharma’s stuck it right up the Government by jumping ship before they could invoke the Waka Jumping Bill to push him off it. He was already sacked by caucus in August, but yesterday fired a new salvo – he quit as a party MP entirely. He says because he found out that the party was going to invoke the Waka Jumping Bill six months before the election, thus avoiding a by-election, but he claims it would’ve left his electorate of Hamilton West without any representation, and that’s undemocratic. So he blindsided them and quit before they could forcibly remove him. The PM, though, came out swinging – in a statement she sounded pretty angry as she refuted Sharma’s claims and said they were not considering the Waka Jumping legislation. Weren’t they though? Who’s telling the truth here? Sharma would argue Labour has form fudging the truth. He pointed out that the last time they lied was when they said they wouldn’t meet behind his back to discuss him - and as we know, it turned out they did exactly that. So he’s on pretty sound footing when he says there’s a pattern here. Part of that pattern of course is to gaslight and discredit; basically paint him out to be a nutjob. Many in the media seem willing to run that line too. But is he? Or is he brave enough to speak out against status quo, and bullies, and a corrupt system? We saw Grant Robertson come straight out with the discrediting narrative, saying there was no basis to Sharma’s claims that they were going to kick him out via the Waka Jumping Bill. When repeatedly quizzed on it though, Robertson ended up shrugging his shoulders and saying, “it is what it is.” If that’s not a sign of a government that’s given up, I don’t know what is. Mind you, tough day for Grant yesterday, that CPI figure was an absolute shocker. Maybe he was still reeling from that. Here’s the rub – Jacinda Ardern, in further gaslighting moves, said she’d like Sharma to reconsider his position because it will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for a by-election. But wait a minute, wasn’t it she who was busy promoting Paul Eagle, a sitting Labour MP, for Mayor of Wellington? And had he won that, as Jacinda wanted him to, would that not have triggered a by-election in his seat? So how is it ok for taxpayers money to be spent on that, but not on Sharma’s seat? Bit hypocritical isn’t it? The timing could not be worse for labour. Because, in a bad week for the Government, in a bad term for the Government, with ongoing bad polling for the Government, you’ve got to imagine a by-election’s not going to deliver a good result for them either. That Hamilton seat is not a Labour stronghold of course – it’s a swing seat, they won it off National in 2020, but it is a very different political scene now. It’ll be a referendum on the Government’s popularity and they know it. And they should know it won’t be good. National says bring it on. They have every reason to sound so bullish. As Grant Robertson so aptly said, ‘it is what it is’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss has an even harder job on her hands winning back the public, as well as her party. A YouGov poll released shortly after her tax cut plan U-turn, found that 55 percent of Conservative voters think she should resign. A further poll on who should replace her, found that 32 percent want her predecessor Boris Johnson, while 23 percent back Rishi Sunak. UK correspondent Kay Oliver told Kate Hawkesby another poll found her to be the most unpopular political party leader ever. She says Truss has a worse rating than former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and disliked more than Prince Andrew. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latest figures show the housing market continues to decline, with decade-low sales numbers and dropping house values. CoreLogic's latest Market and Economic Update shows the total value of residential real estate has fallen from a peak of $1.73 trillion early this year to $1.62 trillion at the end of September. Property values fell 6.3 percent over six months, with the average home price now under the million dollar mark. Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson says it shows the striking weakness of the housing market. He says it's a real downturn and something that hasn't been seen in at least a decade since the Global Financial Crisis. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior doctors at Middlemore say working conditions are so unsafe, a trainee teaching programme should be scrapped. A letter signed by 60 doctors is asking for the hospital's training accreditation to be revoked. It also follows a damning review which found its ED was dysfunctional and overcrowded. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton told Kate Hawkesby they're at the point where they can do nothing more to make the service safe. She says this is a cry for proper resourcing and a road map out of these problems, and that Middlemore has lost sight of clinically informed decision making LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It probably comes as no surprise to any of us who watched on from the confines of our homes as the Ministry of Health bungled its way through Covid, that they’ve just discovered a ’coding error’. It means the number of hospitalisations they recorded was not, in fact, accurate. Turns out when they said just over 14,000 people were hospitalised with Covid, they meant almost 19,500. Whoops. A ‘coding error’ led to the under count. Just the 5,000 odd cases out. No biggie. Unless you’re interested in accuracy of course, or facts and real hard data, which one assumes a Ministry of Health department might be, but beggars can’t be choosers. And when it comes to healthcare in this country, we appear to be beggars, sadly. From our delayed vaccine rollout, to our lack of PPE, to our shortage of flu vaccines, to our appalling lack of cancer treatment services, to our shortage of GP’s and nurses, to our bungles and errors, it’s not exactly a sector firing on all cylinders is it? And then we hear yesterday that ‘the emergency department of one of our biggest hospitals has been slammed as unsafe for patients and staff in a damning new report.’ News sites reported that in a “scathing, five-page document, Middlemore Hospital has been described as dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe.” This was written after ‘an independent inquiry into the death of a patient in June,’ who left the Emergency Department after being told the wait was too long. It was going to be hours before she could get seen for a severe headache apparently, so after they told her this, she decided to just leave and go back home. Understandable. “A few hours later she was back in an ambulance after a brain haemorrhage and died the following day.” So the report says she didn’t get triaged, hence no red flags regarding her condition were picked up. The report ‘expressed "serious concerns" about the degree of overcrowding in the ED, which it said was an indicator of significant systemic failures and made it ”clear that this institution is struggling. The evidence provided strongly reflected an overcrowded ED, a hospital well over acceptable capacity and subsequent system dysfunction,”’ the report’s quoted as saying. The upshot was, it’s “unsafe and not sustainable.” So where does that leave patients? And staff? And families in that area? What reassurances are there that anything will change? How can anything change when resources and staff are so tight? It’s hard to know whether to have faith in the platitudes that come after a scathing report like this. It was reported that, “Te Whatu Ora chief executive and former Counties Manukau District Health Board boss Margie Apa, recognised the issues raised in the report.” Is recognising the issues the same as addressing them and fixing them? Is recognising them enough? All that tells me is that you know it’s bad. Te Whatu Ora (which by the way is Health NZ), for its part says it’ll conduct a national review. So we get acknowledgement of the issues, a pledge to review the issues, and in the meantime what? Nothing. I think we deserve better from our health system than just, ‘yep we know it’s bad,’ don’t we?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A large development including more than 700 new homes near Queenstown will be fast tracked for consenting. The Te Putahi project at Lake Hayes has been approved under the Government's Covid-19 recovery act, one of three projects to be allowed to skip some of the usual RMA hoops you have to jump through. 748 houses will be built along with a park-and-ride public transport area and potentially a school. New Queenstown Lakes mayor Glyn Lewers joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cost of living pressures are expected to ease, but will remain at a much higher level than usual. Statistics New Zealand’s poised to unveil the latest inflation figures later this morning. The highly anticipated Consumer Price Index is tipped to drop from the recent record high of 7.3 percent, to closer to 6.5. That’s according to ASB, whose Senior Economist Mark Smith says New Zealand’s probably past peak inflation levels. But he says the expected CPI dip won't stop the Reserve Bank from increasing the Official Cash Rate over the coming months. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 30 Rotorua bars and restaurants have closed their doors today to protest a lack of Government support. Hospitality NZ Bay of Plenty spokesperson, Reg Hennessy, says many are turning away business because they can't get the staff they need. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says working holiday visas are a big source of hospitality and seasonal workers. She says we've had tens of thousands of working holiday visas issued in as little as 14 working days. Ardern says the issue is then when people are choosing to travel here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new U.K. Treasury chief on Sunday insisted Prime Minister Liz Truss retains control of her government despite having to roll back her signature economic policies weeks into her premiership. Jeremy Hunt was drafted in to lead the Treasury after Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng amid rising pressure following the turbulent market reaction to the new administration’s “mini-budget.” “The prime minister’s in charge,” Hunt, a former foreign and health secretary, told the BBC when he was asked whether he now held all the power at Downing Street. Truss and Kwarteng had slowly unraveled key elements of their economic vision, including tax cuts for top earners and a halt on corporation tax rises, before the prime minister gave in to financial market instability and tanking polling figures and fired Kwarteng. Hunt has now said taxation will rise and public spending will shrink, despite Britain’s growing cost-of-living crisis. He said he had been surprised to receive the call to return to the Cabinet, but he was “honored” to join the government as he shared Truss’ desire to prioritize economic growth. “She has changed the way we’re going to get there, but she has not changed the destination, which is to get the country growing,” Hunt said. It remains unclear if Truss, who throughout this summer’s leadership campaign secured the support of a majority of Conservative Party members but not of its lawmakers, can ward off any plots to oust her. Tory lawmaker Robert Halfon told Sky News on Sunday that many colleagues remained unhappy and the situation “has to improve”. Opposition leader Keir Starmer has pressed the Labour Party’s call for an immediate general election to restore stability, saying the Conservatives are “at the end of the road”. Hunt has suggested an election is not imminent election, saying Truss will be judged on how her government performs over the next 18 months. The Conservatives want to win back the trust of the public before any national vote. Recent polls have placed the Conservative Party at a vote share of around 25%, a far cry from the 42.4% share they received in December 2019 which handed then-leader Boris Johnson a commanding majority in Parliament. The current prime minister argued she still held credibility during a four-question news conference on Friday when she announced the appointment of Hunt. - by Mike Fuller, APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it just me or does it feel like Groundhog Day at the moment? As soon as I saw Winston and his ‘usual suspects’ lineup of a few hardcore supporters at the NZ First party conference, it felt like being in a time warp. How are we back here again? How are we back to him sniggering at reporters and giggling as he disparages anyone who dares downplay him? I’m pretty sure last election, or even the one before the that where he put Labour into power as an act of spite to National, that I said I was done talking about him. But here we are again talking about him. He makes sure of it. He knows this is a good time for him. There’s lots of disharmony and angst around and his is a party for the angry and disgruntled. He finds key controversial issues that he knows are bugging people – co-governance, the Treaty, climate change, immigration, gangs, you get the gist. If there’s a gripe to be had on something, he’ll elevate it for you and tell you he’s the man to fix it. But can you trust him? 2017 would tell us firmly no. In fact, in the wake of him putting Ardern into power, we got inundated with people saying they’d never trust him with their vote ever again. But six years is a long time between drinks. Do they forgive and forget? Do they move on? Do they really believe small parties can achieve any of their promises? A man wrote to me the other day and said despite everything, despite all Winston did to shaft them, he would still give Winston his vote again. Why? I just don’t get that. And let’s be honest, it’s a crowded field when it comes to discontent. ACT, also taking a hard line on co-governance and the Treaty, has been gobbling up support. Then there’s all the new fringe players, the one-percenters. The Opportunities Party, Vision NZ, the New Conservatives, NZ Outdoor and Freedom party, Heartland NZ, Democracy NZ, which is Matt King’s new party in Northland. So it’s not like we’re short of small players, and it’s not like the disenfranchised don’t have heaps of options and lots of places to go. So the key question is: can Winston swing NZ First back over the 5% threshold? And of those who choose to support him – how many are new to that particular route? And do they just want change because they’re fed up with the status quo? How many are his tried-and-true faithfuls who would follow him anywhere? How many voted for him in 2017, then when he shafted them, declared they’d never vote for him again yet will be back in 2023? And what is it they expect? Are they looking to split the field even wider? Are they hoping he’ll get to government to ‘keep people honest?’ Who is he keeping honest? What about him being honest? It’s a prediction many political pundits won’t call. Due to the phoenix-like qualities of the man, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone absolutely definitive in ruling him in or out. I always rule him out because I’ve got nothing to lose and I live in hope that people won’t be that naïve, again. But with the state our country’s currently in, with the level of discontent, and with this many minor parties on the edges agitating for the disgruntled voter, next year's going to be interesting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A third quarter comeback has helped the Silver Ferns to a 2-0 lead in netball's Constellation Cup, beating Australia 52-48 in Tauranga. The victory leaves the Ferns needing just one win from the two games in Australia to retain the prestigious trophy. The Peta Toeava and Grace Nweke combination proved difficult for Australia once again, with the visitors' circle defenders struggling to break their partnership. Australia led by one goal heading into halftime, but crucial defensive gains to goal defence Phoenix Karaka and wing defence Kayla Johnson edged the home side ahead, with New Zealand winning the third stanza 15-9. Coach Dame Noeline Taurua says her side came out firing after halftime. "When we kept ball in hand it meant we could push ourselves forward. That grind that happened out on court and absorbing the pressure - because there were moments where it was touch and go - I'm really pleased." It was once again the Toeava show, with the wing attack notching up 36 feeds. She won't be part of the Australian tests, but Taurua says she's proved herself. "It's a credit to her, the work she's done behind the scenes, her brilliant connection with Grace but also her workload and training ethic, so big raps to her." Toeava's absence will mean a new strategy, with Maddy Gordon, Whitney Souness and perhaps Kimiora Poi stepping into the wing attack bib. But Nweke's not worried about Toeava not being out in front of her. The 20-year-old says the players stepping in know the game plan. "In terms of our style, all of the wing attacks in the Ferns can play the same and do what's required, so it's nice to know we have options." Nweke underneath the hoop is New Zealand's biggest threat. The 20-year-old shot at 100 per cent, slotting all 37 attempts. Combatting her remains one of the main tasks on Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich's list. But Marinkovich says playing against tall shooters isn't something new for her defenders. "They've played against Jamaica's Jhaniele Fowler at the Commonwealth Games, and there's no one more prominent than her in the goal shooting circle. They know that they're not going to win every ball, but those one or two that they do get, it's what we do with it. "It's about the accumulation of pressure and presence so there's much you've got to do in the 60 minutes to get those opportunities." The trip home is well overdue for Australia – it's been nearly three years since they've played a test there. It'll also be Marinkovich's first home test in charge. She expects her side to lift another gear on Wednesday in Melbourne in game three. "I think it's a huge advantage. You get familiar with your surroundings, the girls obviously play in those stadiums in Suncorp Super Netball. It'll be nice to be in a normal routine." There may be one change to the Australian team when they return home on Monday, with defender Sunday Aryang suffering a calf strain, leaving them with just three circle defenders. There are a few changes to the Ferns side for the two tests in Australia, with midcourters Gordon and Poi coming in for Toeava and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, and defender Elle Temu replacing Sulu Fitzpatrick. - by Kate Wells, Newstalk ZBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justice officials are standing by a policy incentivising duty lawyers to achieve early guilty pleas. Lawyers are paid extra for getting their client to enter a plea for all charges and for getting a guilty plea and sentencing on the same day. The Ministry of Justice says the payment takes into account the extra work involved with progressing a client's case and lawyers must still ensure defendants are fully informed. Criminal justice advocate Sir Kim Workman told Kate Hawkesby that's not how things will work in practice. “It might mean that the guy that was arrested one evening appears before the court the next day and might still be under the influence of alcohol doesn't really understand what’s going on.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The retail sector is still feeling angry and unsupported by police and the Government. Back in August, Chris Hipkins told police to move faster on allocating money from a $6 million crime prevention fund for shops to install bollards and other security measures. But only seven businesses have so far received funding. Dairy and Business Owners Group Chairman Sunny Kaushal told Kate Hawkesby it's quite disappointing. “They have not been even been able to spend 2 percent of the fund. And the seven businesses that they’re talking about — five of them were given by us to police as a pilot programme, so no progress has been made.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have a hero of the week this week. In the wash up from the local body elections, and although very excited about the country's newest and youngest Mayor 23-year-old Ben Bell of Gore, which is quite an achievement - my bouquet goes to Rotorua's new Mayor Tania Tapsell. Absolute go-getter, smart, considered, hardworking and really passionate about her city. She’s the sort of Mayor you feel happy for, irrespective of any political direction, just because they feel like they’ve earned it. They deserve to be where they are, they’re in it for the right reasons. Not platitudes and empty words, but for the real and right reasons. She’s gone hard all along on emergency housing and it speaks volumes she got voted in because that’s exactly what the people of Rotorua are focused on right now. It was a travesty of former Mayor and Labour stalwart Steve Chadwick to allow emergency housing to get so bad in Rotorua. She’s left an absolute headache and a nightmare for Tapsell to try to undo. But within her first week in the job she’s already fired a salvo at the Government over its demands for landlords to bring houses up to healthy homes standards, while allowing vulnerable families to stay in unhealthy and sometimes unsafe emergency motels. So it’s one rule for us and one for the Government it seems. All this at a huge cost to the taxpayer, as we know. Well sadly the Minister Carmel Sepuloni didn’t know exactly. When asked in an interview what it’s costing the taxpayer, she said “a lot”. Which isn’t that helpful. It’s also disturbing she doesn’t know that figure off the top of her head instantly, but that’s what's to be expected from a Government obsessed with spending other people’s money and not caring too much about having any accountability for it. The most disturbing thing Sepuloni does is defend the emergency housing. How can anyone standing on what used to be Golden Mile and is now derogatorily referred to as MSD strip, look at that, and defend it? When challenged on the shocking condition and accommodation standards of some of these motels that the Ggovernment’s funding, Sepuloni said basically it’s not their problem. She pushed it back on council and said it’s a council issue, those regulations happen at council level. So let’s get this straight - the Government handed the city of Rotorua this problem, and it is a problem, it’s a big undeniable shambles of a problem, they then made the problem worse over a sustained period of years and then they sit back and go, ‘oh now that’s your problem Rotorua’. They’re going to ‘have conversations’ with Iwi and council apparently. And I’m just so glad for Rotorua that the person they’ll be having those ‘conversations’ with, is Tania Tapsell. I have a feeling it will be a darn sight tougher for the Government than dealing with Steve Chadwick. So I wish Tania well, she’s agitating for action on this – among other things, within her first hundred days in office, and I hope she continues to get the momentum and drive she’s going to need for this battle. Not just on the emergency motels but all the crime associated with them and with getting back Rotorua’s long held reputation as the fantastic tourist attraction it is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is splashing the cash on infrastructure in an attempt to get 11,000 new homes built across the country. It's dipping into its billion dollar infrastructure acceleration fund with $192 million going to critical works like pipes, roads and waste water connections. Lower Hutt is getting the lion's share, with $98 million going to its River Link and Valley Floor projects Lower Hutt Mayor, Campbell Barry told Kate Hawkesby the investment is a great result for the city. He says the financial boost allows his council to plan without the pressures of raising the money in a local government setting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

77 children a day are being hospitalised for preventable diseases due to poor sleeping environments. These are the figures from the charity Variety which says nearly 28,000 children every year are sleeping on couches, floors or are sharing mouldy mattresses. The charity says bad sleeping environments mean children are more likely to contract preventable illnesses like rheumatic fever or bronchiolitis - which can have long lasting health implications. Variety Chief Executive Susan Glasgow told Kate Hawkesby these statistics are shocking. She says their dream beds campaign aims to address real need for children's beds in the community. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Predictions the country needs to go through two-years of stunted growth, to try to re-balance the economy. Infometrics' latest forecast shows inflation may cause problems through until the end of 2024. It's picking economic growth will slip below two percent in the second half of next year. Infometrics Principal Economist, Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby interest rates are expected to go even higher than what was thought just a few months ago. He says the housing market will continue it's downward trend, putting pressures on people wanting to borrow and the wider economy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.