Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Frustration from councils over the passing of the first of the Three Waters reforms bills. The Water Services Entities Bill jumped its last hurdle, thanks to Labour's majority, yesterday. The reforms take water assets from 67 councils, and amalgamates them into one of four water entities. Communities 4 Local Democracy Chair, and Manawatu District Mayor Helen Worboys told Tim Dower the Government hasn't worked with councils like it said it would. She says they've never had any answers on why this reform will make things more affordable. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new bill to create more flexible parental leave. National MP Nicola Willis's members' bill has been drawn from the biscuit tin for a proposal to allow a baby's parents to both take maternity leave, simultaneously or one at a time. Willis says she's hoping for cross-party support, saying it's a simple legislative change to support families. She says it's a total no brainer and parents should be able to take their leave when and how they need to. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought Harry and Meghan's new Netflix series is unlikely to ruffle too many feathers. The first three episodes of the pair's long-awaited docu-series dropped last night, after weeks of rumour about the content. Royal Correspondent Robert Hardman told Tim Dower there's nothing terribly surprising in there. He says the rest of the family will just roll their eyes and get on with it. Hardman says it's an extended version of the complaints we heard in the Oprah Winfrey interview last March. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Young criminals will now have a support plan put in place within 48 hours of offending. The Government is launching a $2 million youth crime package to fund locally-led solutions in Auckland, Waikato, Northland and Bay of Plenty. A new, fast-tracked intervention approach will be taken for children aged 10 to 13 - dubbed serious or persistent offenders. Youth worker Aaron Hendry told Tim Dower it's important children who offend get support as soon as possible. He says they need to be told the repercussions of what they've done and how it will be dealt with it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A barrister says there was potential for a dangerous precedent, had the judge ruled in favour of the parents of a six-month-old who needs heart surgery. Doctors at Starship Hospital have been granted medical responsibility of the baby until the surgery is complete, and he recovers. His parents won't let doctors use donations from the Blood Service for the surgery - over claims it's all tainted by the Covid vaccine. Barrister Simon Judd told Tim Dower there could be a slippery slope if individual patients could pick and choose the services they receive, or control how a treatment is delivered. He says you could imagine the administrative difficulties and time all of that would take. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new and efficient way of getting across the Hauraki Gulf. Fullers has teamed up with sustainable boat company SeaChange, to bring a zero-emission hydrofoil onto Auckland's waters from next year. The boat is fully electric, carries 10 passengers and can reach a top speed of 55 km/h. SeaChange founder and CEO Max Olson told Tim Dower they're much more efficient than the ferries currently on the water. He says they make them out of high performance materials like carbon fibre which gets better shapes, and they have much better control strategy than normal ferries. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been five years since New Zealand brought in compensation for live organ donors. It was driven by National's Chris Bishop, allowing living donors to receive 100 percent of their income for twelve weeks after surgery. So far, 344 people have been supported. Chris Bishop joined Tim Dower. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Waikato University sports sociologist is applauding the actions of Sport New Zealand around inclusion of transgender people in community activities based on which gender they identify with. The document takes a human rights rather than scientific approach to the issue which has tended to be the focus at elite level. Holly Thorpe says the guidelines are an important first step to navigate a complex issue. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First home buyers aren't taking their eyes off the housing market. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand's latest survey shows first home buyers remain much more interested in making a purchase than investors. It comes as agents report a new downward pressure on average sales prices. Chief executive Jen Baird told Tim Dower there's been a noticeable drop in investors in the market. She says first home buyers are seeing this as their chance to step on to the property ladder. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National is increasing its lead over Labour. Labour has slid one point to 33 percent support in the latest 1News Kantar poll, while National is up one point to 38 percent. Act has 11 percent —giving it the backing to form a government with National— and the Green Party is sitting at nine points. National Leader Christopher Luxon says it's clear the public want change. He says they want to see a Government that actually gets things done. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

St. Edward’s Crown, the centerpiece of the Crown Jewels viewed by millions of people every year at the Tower of London, has been moved to an undisclosed location for modification in preparation for the coronation of King Charles III next year. The move was kept secret for security reasons until the operation was complete, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Saturday. The palace provided no details and didn’t say where the modification work would take place. Charles will be crowned on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony that will embrace the past but look to the modern world after the 70-year reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The Imperial State Crown will also be used during the service. Versions of St. Edward’s Crown are believed to have been used by monarchs since the 11th century. The current crown was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the original, which was melted down in 1649 after the House of Commons abolished the monarchy and declared a commonwealth during the English Civil War. The original was thought to date back to Edward the Confessor, who reigned in 1042-1066. The crown includes a 2.23-kilogram (4.91-pound) solid gold frame — set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes and tourmalines — a purple velvet cap and ermine band. It was worn by Elizabeth during her coronation in 1953. Charles will be crowned in a solemn religious ceremony conducted by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, the palace said in a statement. Camilla, the queen consort, will be crowned alongside her husband. The palace is planning the coronation, known as Operation Golden Orb, as Charles and his heir, Prince William, seek to demonstrate that the monarchy is still relevant in modern, multi-cultural Britain. While there was widespread respect for Elizabeth, as demonstrated by the tens of thousands of people who waited hours to file past her coffin, there is no guarantee that reverence will transfer to Charles. - by Danica Kirka, APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Funding for a Cystic Fibrosis drug is being described as a miracle. A provisional agreement's been made between Pharmac and Vertex to fund the drug Trikafta for those with the condition aged six and over. The drug buying agency estimated it could give those people up to 27 more years of full health when compared with supportive care. Cystic Fibrosis Chief Executive Lisa Burns told Tim Dower they know from other countries the drug's incredible life-changing effects. “There is a different level of quality of life, there is the ability to put weight on, there’s the ability to work and attend school.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's backdown on entrenching that part of the Three Waters legislation was about as well orchestrated as it could have been. We got the release about 8am yesterday — unusual to be honest — and Chris Hipkins was available to speak to it on ZB just after 9 with Francesca. What a stroke of luck! That opens the door to the Opposition parties to have their say and I suspect that on a bad day for them, the Government's spin team would have been willing to see it play out in the 6pm telly news. So how fortuitous that Pharmac's announcement on the drug for Cystic Fibrosis was embargoed till 6pm. And obviously, given the amount of prep work that had gone into the reports on that, there’d been a couple of days warning at least. So the Three Waters backdown came in about third or fourth — coincidence? I don't think anyone emerges covered in glory over this entrenchment. Chris Luxon's belated outrage doesn't really cut the mustard. His own team should have flagged about the constitutional issues when the paper was slipped into the urgency debate. They voted against of course, but even National's Paul Goldsmith has admitted he didn't realise the significance of it at the time. It took a bunch of private citizens — constitutional lawyers and legal academics, to wake us up to what was going on. One of the best things I've read about why Three Waters is so evil was written a couple of years back by Jason Smith — Dr Smith at the time was the Kaipara Mayor. He was involved in a lot of talks and workshops about it, and his conclusion was that Three Waters is a trojan horse. Look up that phrase online and you'll find his thoughts. You'll also see what he makes of another common phrase around Wellington right now "the tyranny of the majority". Conclusion: Three Waters is a trojan horse for a major shift in the way we run the country. And the entrenchment idea was a trojan horse, within that trojan horse. Wait till you see what they want to do with He Puapua.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kylian Mbappé scored two goals and set up another for Olivier Giroud, giving France a 3-1 victory over Poland and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals today. The Paris Saint-German forward now has a tournament-leading five goals and the 2018 champions are within three wins of defending their title. Robert Lewandowski scored from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time for Poland. No country has repeated as World Cup champions in six decades — since Brazil achieved the feat by claiming consecutive trophies in 1958 and 1962. Italy is the only other nation to have won two straight, in 1934 and 1938. France’s quarterfinal opponent will be either England or Senegal. Mbappé scored his first in the 74th minute when he was left unmarked to blast in a long-range shot following a counterattack. He added another in stoppage time when Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny could only get a weak glove on another powerful shot from the man in the No. 10. Having also provided two assists, Mbappé has easily been the most productive player in Qatar. Mbappé celebrated his second goal by waving his arms for the crowd to cheer louder. Then he hoisted himself up onto the crossbar shortly after the final whistle in another celebratory gesture in front of France’s fans. The French team took the lead when Mbappé threaded a pass to Giroud and the AC Milan striker quickly slotted the ball into the far corner. It was Giroud’s 52nd career international goal — breaking a tie with Thierry Henry on France’s all-time scoring list. France's Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring the opening goal. Photo / AP After Mbappé leaped into Giroud’s arms to celebrate, pumping his fists, Giroud held up seven fingers to the cameras — five on one hand and two on the other for “52.” It’s all the more sweet for Giroud because he wasn’t even supposed to be a starter on this year’s squad until Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out because of injury. Giroud also scored two goals in France’s opening 4-1 win over Australia. France, however, wasn’t so sure to go this far when several other top players were ruled out shortly before the tournament because of physical issues, including midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, central defender Presnel Kimpembe, left back Lucas Hernandez, and forward Christopher Nkunku are also out. On a record-setting night for France, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris matched the national team mark of 142 appearances held by Lilian Thuram. The previous defending champion to reach the quarterfinals was Brazil in 2006 — when France beat the South Americans before eventually losing in the final to Italy in a penalty shootout. France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates with France's Ousmane Dembele. Photo / AP With two European teams playing, there weren’t all that many supporters of either country inside Al Thumama Stadium except for small pockets of France fans beating drums behind one goal and red-and-white clad spectators chanting “Polska” behind the opposite goal. There were also plenty of empty seats. Poland again struggled to get the ball to Lewandowski, a two-time FIFA player of the year. While Lewandowski did miss wide on one long-range opportunity early on, he also gestured angrily at his teammates for not providing him with the ball. Lewandowski's first penalty attempt in the final seconds was saved but he scored with the second after a video review ruled that Lloris left his line too early. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big online platforms could be forced to pay a fair price for local news. The Government is drawing up legislation to make companies like Google and Meta pay local news producers for their content. They're encouraged to strike their own voluntary deals, as NZME - owner of Newstalk ZB and the Herald - already has. If no agreement is found, the Government will set bargaining terms. Gorilla Technology Chief Executive Paul Spain told Tim Dower local media are being ripped off in the current environment. “The likes of Google and Meta are taking their content and are monetising it without too much of that money heading back.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So it’s been a long hard year. I don’t know why this year feels harder than last year. I mean last year we had Covid for goodness sake, and lockdowns, and I guess a lot of us thought it couldn’t get much worse than this – but this year has been like a bad hangover that won’t go away. Inflation, cost of living crisis, petrol prices, housing prices, health crisis, mental health crisis, surge in crime. I mean it’s an ugly laundry list of stuff that’s made 2022 not quite the shiny new prospect many of us would have been hoping for this time last year. It feels like a bit of collective PTSD after all that Covid and politics and division and now we end the year with even more uncertainty, with things not really feeling like they’re going to get much better for a while yet. But let’s try and look at some positives. We opened our borders back up, we got tourism starting to fire back up again, we had Covid restrictions dropped, we got rid of lockdowns. See now I’m kind of running out of the positives. There’s a limited amount. Oh I know, David Seymour. As far as politicians go, he wins my politician of the year award. He brought us the art of the one liner, the great grabs, the pithy come backs and the quick ripostes. He, for a big chunk of the year, felt like the only opposition in town. He worked hard, appeared omnipresent, and took all the push back against him in good grace, seemingly not letting it get him down. He’s less a whiner, and more a pragmatist and I like that about him. So he’s shone this year. The Government hasn’t. They’ve lost all credibility, their spin machine is so out of control they’re just spiralling into madness and if they have any credible supporters left by this time next year, I’ll be astounded. Anyone who’s awake and paying attention, and has a vested interest in news, should now be awake to the agenda at play and what is going on here. And if they’re not, they’re blind loyalist apparatchiks who are willingly choosing not to see the cold hard truth. So it’s draining isn’t it? Trying to hold people to account, trying to cover the twists and turns of the spin doctors who like to take us all on a big merry go round ride. It can wear you down. I hope though that we find some respite over the summer break, that there’s enough sunshine and downtime to feel refreshed and ready to tackle it all again next year. I’m tapping out at this point, and turning off my 3am alarm for a few weeks. Going to try and reacquaint myself with sleep. But I want to say thank you so much to all of you, our loyal listeners who I honestly do appreciate so much. You keep us on our toes; you entertain me as much as I try to entertain you. I love your feedback, your texts, your emails, your DMs on my Instagram. I would not be here, literally, without you all, so thank you for your loyal support for another year. I lost my producer this year, early starts aren’t for everyone, so thanks too to all the fill in producers I’ve had the past few months, teamwork makes the dream work. The show goes on for another two weeks, but I’ll see you back In January. In the interim, have a fabulous Christmas, stay safe, and I look forward to being back with you all in the New Year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A leading advocate against family violence, believes we're days away from another child being killed. Merepeka Raukawa Tait has little hope that much will happen in the wake of an investigation into the death of Malachi Subecz. The Tauranga five-year-old was killed by his carer just over a year ago, after a history of abuse. A damning report into the little boy's murder identifies five critical gaps in the system and makes 14 recommendations. They're aimed at ensuring there are interlocking safety nets in place, to make sure another child doesn't endure the same thing. The Whanau Ora Chair told Kate Hawkesby it's just another report. She says everyone gets sorry and sad about a child's death - but nothing really changes. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A long-time friend of Sir Murray Halberg says he was described as having acid, rather than blood in his veins. The athletics legend has died aged 89. He's best known for striking gold in the 5000m at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and he was also New Zealand's first sub four minute miler. President of Auckland Athletics Murray McKinnon told Kate Hawkesby he did well at secondary school, but it wasn't until he met the great Arthur Lydiard that he excelled. He says Halberg told him he would have just been an average runner and won a few national titles had he not met Lydiard. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Buskers Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Christchurch next year. The programme has officially been announced, with more than two weeks jam packed with events. It's been three years since international buskers have taken to the streets and Festival Director Scott Maidment joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Men are bigger Christmas spenders than women. New data by Banked shows people will spend an average $623 on gifts this year, with two thirds happy to fork out for a more sustainable gift if they have the option. Head of Publishing, Kevin McHugh, says when it comes to the gender differences, women tend to be a bit more sensible and conservative with their money. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think one of the great travesties of this Government, when we eventually look back on their long line of failures, will be what happened to mental health. Don’t get me wrong, no government from what I can see, has ever got mental health right, it’s forever been a sector in dire straits, under resourced and woefully misunderstood. But mental health itself has only become bigger and worse as the years has gone by, and arguably peaking as a real crisis now, post the pandemic. And yet, the Government that promised to fix it – has not. Not even close. So much for the Wellbeing Budget. It’s not like they haven’t thrown money at it – it's just no one seems to know where that money’s gone. And then we learn yesterday that, “a half-billion-dollar programme to deliver better community and primary mental health care is still failing to reach tens of thousands of people,” according to reports. So $600 million was doled out to the Access and Choice mental health programme, yet lack of staff has meant they just haven’t been able to reach people. They're "around 36,000 people short of the target,” it was reported. It’s a perfect storm of increased demand coupled with lack of staff. We know that when it comes to acute beds, we don’t have a single extra one since this Government came to power in 2017. So when it comes to targets, we’re missing them on a lot of fronts. It’s a similar scene in terms of healthcare in general; the lack of GPs and nurses, the wait times at ED departments. The wait times are actually so bad that most sensible people seek to avoid ED entirely if they can. One of our kid's broke a toe the other day and the first thing I said was - don't go to an emergency department. That's how bad it is, and has been a for a while actually. Now when accidents happen or kids are sick, parents are stopping to question whether it's worth going to an ED, given they know they won't get seen for several hours, given the hospitals are so snowed under and under resourced. It's a crying shame that in a first world country, our healthcare system has come to this. As it turned out, the broken toe needed an X-ray which then needed follow up with the GP, and then a referral to a specialist for a splint shoe to support it. And while we were lucky to get to a GP we were not so lucky to get the support shoe sorted, given they informed us they had a two week backlog of people waiting already. So what happens to a broken toe that can't be walked on or supported for two weeks? Nothing. You just have to ride it out apparently. And that's the state of our healthcare. GPs say they’re beyond frustrated, but what can you do? That appears to be what every nurse, doctor, orderly and hospital worker is asking these days, what can they do? It just doesn’t feel right that when it comes to ill health physical or mental, that you have to stop and think about what resources you can actually tap into, and once you’ve done that, what might actually be available to you. Worse yet, is a Health Minister who won’t acknowledge it’s a crisis in the first place, when all those of us experiencing it at any level, know that clearly it is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Restaurant workers are ready to lodge a claim for better wages. The Fair Pay Agreement bill comes into effect today, and unions are saying they already have enough signatures to demand an FPA for hospo workers. It means any negotiated pay and working conditions will apply to all employers in the industry. Restuarant Association President Mike Egan told Kate Hawkesby it's been a long time coming. He says members have been working hard to offer greater pay and more incentives for people to come and work as there's still a worker shortage everywhere. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra and Swiss food giant Nestle have formed a partnership to develop New Zealand’s first zero carbon emissions dairy farm. In what the parties said was a New Zealand first, the project, to be run with co-partner Dairy Trust Taranaki, will examine all aspects of farm operations to reduce carbon with the aim of cutting emissions by 30 per cent by mid-2027, with a 10-year ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions. The demonstration farm at the centre of the project is a 290-hectare property surrounding Fonterra’s Whareroa site. Dairy Trust Taranaki will work with Fonterra and industry partners to reduce total emissions on the farm, including methane. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hats off to all the kids who’ve sat NCEA the past few weeks, that’s wrapping up this week, Friday’s the last day for exams. Hats off also to all the parents who’ve managed all that stress at home, juggling kids study schedules while also running them round to rowing before the crack of dawn or all the other sports they’re doing, as well as calming nerves, washing sports gear, trying to make nourishing meals.. look it’s a process. And no matter how many times you go through it, we’re onto our fifth time, it’s always good when it finishes and all that pressure comes off. It’s also good to remember all the hard-working students who actually are bothering to attend school, who do study, and do take education seriously. We talk a lot about all the ones who aren’t or don’t, all the truancy, all the drop outs, all the youth flicking the bird at education. But in that taking up all our focus, we forget all the kids who are getting up each day, getting out of bed, putting on uniforms, lugging heavy books, bags and laptops round the place, and actually going through the paces. On that note, the teachers who’re working hard for them too. The older your kids get the more you appreciate the good teachers. They’re not all good of course, some are downright terrible. But the good ones are like gold, the ones who ‘get’ your child, who go the extra mile, who have a great sense of humour, who encourage debate and a contest of ideas. Those are the cool teachers. The ones who rule with an iron fist and a ‘do it my way or the highway’ routine, the ones who think along one line only, they’re the weakest links. Worse yet are the ones who inflict their political opinions or world view on your kids, that happens more often than you think. Yet another reason to protect kids from having to vote at 16, when their head had been filled with ideas that are not necessarily their own. But it’s funny to watch that as time ticks by, as each year passes, with each child completing another year of education, how little has changed in all this time, even since we did it. The curriculum, scarily, at High School level hasn’t changed much, the approach to secondary teaching in many respects is the same too. But I can’t help feeling like the kids these days have more to worry about. The internet is a double edged sword. On the one hand, I wonder how any of us got through school without Google. It’s awesome that these kids can tap into virtually anything they want to know, and find that information in seconds. The flipside is of course, you have to be increasingly vigilant about what that information is, and where it came from and whether it’s accurate or not. But to have so much info at your fingertips and not have to flip through endless pages of thick textbooks to find it – that’s cool. Although the internet is a tap you can’t really turn off. It’s a good education tool but it’s also often their social playground too – and that can be all-consuming and in many cases detrimental to their mental health. So, kids carry a lot these days, but so do their parents. Which is why I for one am glad NCEA is coming to an end this week, and we can all pack up the stress and pressure for another year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immigration experts are concerned a change to work rights for migrants' partners could put people off coming here. Until now, a partner could get an open work visa. But a change going ahead next month will only allow partners of green list workers to do that. Couples will instead have to find accredited employers to sponsor applications for each of them, or have a partner who can visit but not work. Sociology professor Paul Spoonley told Kate Hawkesby most migrants come with partners or families. He's puzzled as to why the barrier is there and believes it'll be a disincentive. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The southern hemisphere's largest agricultural event will be a little warmer this year. Thousands are expected to flock to Fieldays at Mystery Creek in the Waikato this morning, with more than 1,000 exhibitors ready to show off their products and services. The opening will end a 17-month hiatus after the June event was postponed this year, due to uncertainties around Covid restrictions.. National Field Days Society CEO Peter Nation told Kate Hawkesby the sun is starting to come up, which is pretty unusual for Fieldays, given it's usually mid-winter. He says they have 21 degree weather for the next four days, with a little bit of rain today which is expected to clear and everyone is excited. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major New Zealand bank is the first to move on the back of last week's historic OCR rise. ANZ has lifted its floating and flexible mortgage rates by 65 basis points - all fixed term rates are now over 7 per cent for those who don't have a 20 per cent deposit or equity. All eyes are now on how other big banks will react. Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan told Kate Hawkesby he is expecting other banks will do the same. He says it's a massive squeeze on people. Kiernan says Reserve Bank modelling suggested 46 percent of borrowers who took on a loan last year, would be paying more than half their after-tax income servicing a mortgage, once mortgage rates hit seven percent. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The PM’s post-cabinet chat yesterday was stomach churning in so many ways. The lies, the disingenuousness of it all, the theatrics and the pretence that they’ve actually been active as a government on crime. Embarrassing. No one’s buying it. This new fog canon measure is too late – they know it, we know it. Worse yet, the PM tried to deflect all blame from her Government by saying that there’d be a delay on said fog cannons – due to a global shortage. This turns out to be an outright lie. Newstalk ZB Drive host Heather du Plessis Allan smelt a rat straight away and last night called a fog cannon supplier to fact check the PM on this one. No surprises in his response.. he said to her, ‘I see the Queen of Spin is at it again..’ He said the facts are, there is no global shortage of fog cannons, the supply issue is due to the Government not placing any orders for them. They’ve dropped the ball, again. He said they’ve been waiting months for the government to place fog canon orders and they’ve just been sitting on their hands. He said it takes about 3 months to make a fog canon, then you’ve got to ship them to New Zealand, and given the Government’s placed no orders, that’s the delay. So the delay is the Government’s fault, it’s on them. Remind anyone of the vaccine rollout? This is a government of inaction and indecision. Unless it’s Three Waters legislation of course, that appears to be able to be rammed through no holds barred. But this fog canon supply shortage claim – or should I say lie, is akin to the same lie the PM trotted out yesterday, that the Government’s new increased support for dairy business owners is not based on the death of Janak Patel. Of course it is. We know it is, you know it is, why pretend it isn’t? The Government wants to pretend it’s considerate, organized and proactive enough not to wait for a death, in order to act, but that’s simply not true. Spinning us lies is just not working anymore; this Government has a credibility problem. The PM has a credibility problem. Included in her post Cab was the other audacious claim that they’ve been tough on crime. She “rejected” criticism her Government was soft on crime. She “rejected” that the Government had acted too slowly, she “rejected” the idea that it took Patel’s death for the Government to act. Hipkins, the Police Minister, singing from the same song sheet, rejected the fact that we’re currently in a crime ‘crisis’. Same way Health Minister Andrew Little rejects we’re in a health ‘crisis’. I can tell you this for nothing, rejecting this stuff doesn’t make it go away. It is a crisis for every single victim and every family member of victims in these burglaries and raids. But the other real crisis we're in at the moment is a spin crisis. There’s too much of it coming from the Pulpit of Truth. We're drowning in it; we're exhausted from being fed it. I do worry about all those who just accept it without question though, or have checked out because they don’t even care anymore. We should care; we are being fed a steady diet of BS, from a government that has no idea what the words accountability or responsibility mean.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns the Government hasn't addressed the real issue around ram raids. It's announced a $4 million fund to support local councils in Auckland, Hamilton and Bay of Plenty and a $4,000 fog cannon subsidy scheme. Waikato retailer Ash Parmar told Kate Hawkesby there have been 66 prosecutions and 10 youth referrals, but some 200 young people have been arrested. He says that means there are 129 kids who aren't going to adult court or youth court and it proves young kids are being used to do these types of attacks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposites have attracted in an unexpected collaboration of lipstick and New Zealand strong wool. In what is thought to be a world-first, Wool Source and lipstick brand Karen Murrell have joined forces to create a lipstick coloured with a wool keratin-based pigment. The new lipstick “Kera Kisses” uses wool from Ashburton's Westmere Farm. Karen Murrell says Lincoln Agritech's wool industry research team has developed a wool fibre that could be turned into protein. She told Kate Hawkesby she was asked during lockdown if she wanted to collaborate. Murrell says a year later they have a beautiful product, and describes it as a love story. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So today Cabinet meets looking to “discuss what more can be done to combat crime,” according to the Prime Minister. Sadly she’s a bit late with that statement. The irony being that her government has been inundated with people asking them to toughen up on crime for ages... they did nothing. Poto Williams, in her capacity as Police Minster dropped the ball so badly she was moved on and replaced with Chris Hipkins. There were hopes he would toughen up on crime, but sadly under his watch it’s only gotten worse. The governments’ cheerleaders asking for this tragic death not to be politicised are missing the point. It was already politicised. The government had already dropped the ball, they’d already ignored all the pleas for help, they’d already been too slow to roll out support for business owners, they already had communities living in fear of this very thing. And then once it happened, what did the PM do? She went to the Chatham Islands. She didn’t even go back to her own electorate, her own neighbourhood, her own community, she carried on – business as usual. It was an alarmingly callous lack of judgement on her part. Speaking to the family days later, doesn’t cut it. She knows how to act quickly when she wants to – but she didn’t. So now they’re trotting out the tough on crime lines. She said yesterday they’re focussed now on “prosecuting and holding to account those who are responsible”. But the other thing we know about this too little, too late, soft on crime government is that the justice system cannot be trusted to actually deliver justice. A cultural report, a check in of the offender’s background, a korero about his upbringing, a few discounts for mitigating circumstances, coupled with a Corrections Minister who doesn’t want people in prison and we know how these stories all too often end. Sunny Kaushal, who to his credit has been banging on about this for months on end, says the government needs to admit there’s a crime emergency in this country. He says it’s not just a crime emergency but a social emergency now too. The Migrant Workers Association said that many of our most vulnerable workers just don’t feel safe anymore. Many elderly people don’t feel safe in their communities anymore either. Parents are worried. But what I can’t get past is that this has all been coming, in plain sight, for months, and it’s been absolutely ignored by those who have the power to do something about it. It’s almost like it took a death, for the government to wake up and go, oh wait, what more can we do here? The problem with crime in this country and the surge in ram raids, and youth crime and gang memberships and brazen robberies is not as ‘complex’ as the government would have you believe. Offenders commit crimes, because they can. It’s that simple. They commit the crimes, because they can. They know they can, they know they’ll get away with it. Tellingly, early on in the ram raid epidemic, a teenager caught and interviewed as to why they did it, said, 'because we know we will get away with it. We do it because we can'. And that was all you need to know about how low the bar is these days when it comes to law and order. So what will change after Cabinet meets today? My guess is nothing. And whatever it is, is certainly too late for this Dairy worker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of the country's top constitutional experts are raising red flags about the Government's attempt to entrench part of its Three Waters reforms. Under a change proposed by the Greens, and supported by Labour, 60-percent of MPs would need to agree to overturn part of the bill protecting water assets from private ownership. Eight public law academics have written to the Government, saying such use of entrenchment sets a dangerous precedent. Until now, entrenchment has only been used for electoral laws that specify how electorates are drawn up, the method of voting, the voting age, and the length of the Parliamentary term. Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen —an opponent of the Three Waters reforms— told Kate Hawkesby that it's a worrying development. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT believes its truancy plan will help what it’s calling a crisis... despite some criticism. The party wants to make it mandatory for schools to report attendance daily, or risk losing funding. It would also enable parents to be fined and divert Government truancy funding directly to schools to hire truancy officers. ACT education spokesperson Chris Baillie says there'd be a process in place before a fine- with a traffic light system relating to attendance. He says more than 30 percent non-attendance at the end of the term would mean they're referred to the ministry to assess what's happening in the household. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all heard the warnings; someone's going to get killed if we don't crack down on the ram raiders and brazen dairy hold-ups. And this week it happened. Eight in the evening at the end of another long day at the superette providing a convenience service in Sandringham. One of the locals who spoke to the Herald at a gathering of 200 or so said this ‘the whole dynamic of Auckland is changing now’. Say that again. Spin the numbers whatever way you like, but what's obvious to anyone is there's a significant wave of this time of crime right now. Just before five this morning I heard a businessman talking with Roman about how his operation and those of his friend have been hammered. Some places have been hit over and over. Dairies, bottle shops, gas stations and jewellery stores. They're seen as easy targets and that I guess is why police were given that $6 million fund to help install fog cannons and bollards and the like. But to me, that's ambulance of the bottom of the cliff stuff, isn't it? Isn't it basically admitting the streets are now so lawless this is what you need if you're going to run a retail business. Frustratingly for the police, they have been catching offenders. Ccatching and releasing them because they're too young to prosecute. Only to catch them again a few nights later, another business ripped off, tens of thousands in losses and damage. What's it going to take for the Government to recognise the facts of the situation? More deaths? If so, how many? They are soft on crime and everyone, most dangerously that reckless group of offenders, knows it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top athletes are launching an employment case against High Performance Sport NZ. Mahe Drysdale and Kirstie Klingenberg are fronting an 'athletes' cooperative'. They're asking to be recognised as employees of High Performance Sport, not contractors. Clinical psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland joined Tim Dower to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fatal Sandringham dairy stabbing is causing many dairy owners to consider their own security. Auckland Police are still hunting the offender, who they say stole cash from the Rose Cottage Superette's register before stabbing the worker after he was confronted. There are reports some dairy owners in Christchurch are considering closing their businesses. Sandringham Business Association Chair Jithin Chittibomma told Tim Dower something like this was bound to happen. He says crime in the area has been on the rise for the past few months. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Calls for a shake up to immigration. Act has unveiled a new immigration policy that scraps temporary visas, charges based on demand, and allows more migrants to bring their parents. Business NZ Advocacy Director, Catherine Beard, says in a global contest for talent, other countries have made it easier for immigrants. She told Tim Dower new ideas are needed to fulfil New Zealand's future workforce. Beard says with an aging population and declining birth rate, there's no way we can fulfil the need for workers domestically. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Road to Zero looks to be the highway to nowhere we all thought it would be. Another measure the Government has not delivered on, another piece of ideology that’s proven completely unworkable in the real world. We learn now, that three years into the Road to Zero campaign, we have exactly the same number of road deaths as when we started – in fact we are heading backwards in terms of how bad the road toll is. So what has it achieved? Nothing. It’s mental health beds and child poverty and housing and healthcare all over again. A lot of talk, not a lot of action. It’s sadly what we have come to expect as the norm from this Government. Road to Zero included increasing breath testing to prevent alcohol related road deaths. Have they achieved this so far? Nope. They “fell short of the target by almost half, with 1.6 million tests against a target of three million,” it’s been reported in Waka Kotahi’s annual report. Waka Kotahi said this was "well below desired levels," no kidding. What a surprise. So let’s look at the promised road safety upgrades. Again, no sale Steve. ‘Last year it was far off its targets for highway safety upgrades..’ and it’s still behind now. ‘Waka Kotahi's annual report said only 165 km of road had reduced speed limits imposed, compared to a target of 500 kilometres. And what about mobile cameras? Well the report says, ‘it was short on mobile camera hours due to camera breakdowns’.. you can’t make this stuff up. Remember yesterday when I said living in NZ right now feels like living on the set of Fawlty Towers? Yep. Infrastructure? The campaign was ‘one project short of meeting its target for infrastructure safety projects’. OK, so what about the success rate of safety ad campaigns? Again, short of its target here ‘due to its narrow focus on traditional advertising channels.’ State highway and local road improvements.. what about those? They again fell short of targets – but more excuses – this time due to ‘ongoing Covid-19 impacts’.. whatever that means.. and ‘increased time taken to obtain consents and approvals.’ How does that not surprise us either? So what has the Road to Zero campaign got right so far? Not much apart from just rarking a lot of people up, making a lot of promises, and three years on, making a lot of excuses. Not only can this Government not meet any targets or deliver on anything, they seem permanently bewildered as to why none of it happens. Then the excuses start rolling in. So they’re good on word salads, promises, ideology and talking themselves up, but when the rubber hits the road.. excuse the pun, nada. The AA’s disappointed, ‘really disappointed’ they said, even Waka Kotahi’s said if they can’t start turning this stuff around it’s going to be ‘hugely disappointing’. I tell you what is hugely disappointing; everyone who voted for this Government believing their drivel that they’d achieve any of the stuff they alleged they could. Road to Zero is just the latest epic fail in a long line of failures proving to us once again, that this Government just does not have a clue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A call for employers to take more precautionary action, as supermarket crime soars. Since 2020, Foodstuffs says there's been a 246 percent rise in serious crime. The company has confirmed 29 of its supermarkets in the North Island are using facial recognition technology, prompting concern Foodstuffs is collecting sensitive information about shoppers without their knowledge. First Union General Secretary Dennis Maga told Kate Hawkesby facial recognition may help, but won't be enough to deter offenders. He says they'd like employers to hire loss prevention officers, train staff how to de-escalate a situation - and make sure there is enough staffing in the workplace. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six people are dead and four injured in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake in Virginia. The gunman, who killed himself, making the death toll seven, was the store's overnight shift manager. TVNZ correspondent Anna Burns-Francis told Kate Hawkesby it follows the shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado. She says the two incidents are just two of the 606 US mass shootings this year, and President Biden is once again calling for action on gun control. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hawkes Bay could be lining up for an economic boost. Japanese-owned company Tatsumi Limited is constructing a mega glasshouse in the hope of producing millions of strawberries all year round. Japan and China will make up the main export markets. Project director for the build, Mike Harper joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

King Charles has welcomed South Africa's President in his first state visit as monarch. Cyril Ramaphosa will visit Westminster Abbey before going to a banquet hosted by the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace. It's also Britain's first state visit in more than three years, after they were stopped during Covid. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby Charles is expected to layout what he sees as the future of the Commonwealth at the banquet. He suspects the next few state visits will all focus on the Commonwealth and its membership. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ice cream company Tip Top has pulled one of its challenges from its new promotional campaign after sparking significant backlash. The company's latest campaign encourages Kiwis to try something new, of the 32 different messages printed on the sticks, one reads to "take a selfie with a stranger". Tip Top is now removing the stick from their Popsicle range, and apologised. AUT marketing expert Bodo Lang told Kate Hawkesby they've done the right thing. He says the company jumped on the matter quickly once the complaints surfaced. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It may have brought Julie Anne Genter to tears and caused Golriz Gharamann to erupt into celebration, but I’m not in the same camp of jumping for joy over the Supreme Court decision to accept an appeal to the Make it 16 campaigners. Of course, this ruling only means the case has been accepted as valid by the Supreme Court, who agree it’s inconsistent to the Bill of Rights to deny 16 year olds the right to vote. The only people with the power to actually change the law are the politicians. We know which are in favour – the Greens and Labour, we know who’s against – Act and the Nats. Luxon said you have to draw a line somewhere and they’re happy to draw it at 18. I just do wonder if the Justices making these decisions, and the politicians supporting them, have ever raised teenagers and actually know how a 16 year old operates? Yes there are some superbly informed smart and diligent 16 year olds, but there are equally many who are completely out to lunch, totally ill informed, barely turning up to school, or in some cases, just out ram raiding. Now when they do stuff like that – they’re ‘children’ - cue the heartstrings - who can’t possibly be punished or sent to boot camp or put in ankle bracelets, because they’re ‘children’. There is also the argument trotted out every time a young person does do something wrong, that cognitively their brains haven’t fully developed yet. But when it comes to getting them to tick a box for a party and a candidate – suddenly they’re now cognitively proficient informed adults? It’s a mixed message. What the Supreme Court essentially ruled is that it’s discriminatory to not allow them to vote based on their age. So how far do we take that discrimination argument? Is it also discriminatory to use age as an excuse not to pay them benefits, or to use their age as a tool to means test them against their parents income for allowances? Do we lower the drinking age too, now that 16 is so responsible? Is 16 the new benchmark? Anyone who has raised 16 year olds knows that it’s still very young, and I just don’t know why we keep wanting to make childhood shorter and shorter for our young people. They already have to grow up so fast, now we expect them to know about taxes and laws and politics too? Can they not just enjoy their youth while they still have it? I know the counter-argument is that many adults who vote don’t have a clue either, but 16 in my view, is just too young to have formed a well-rounded view that doesn’t just mirror what a parent or a teacher or older person has told them. You can’t know how the world works surely until you’ve actually experienced it? Paid rent or a mortgage, left home, gotten out into the real world, earned your own money, paid your own taxes - lived a little. It’s not up to us though, or the Supreme Court, it’s up to Parliament, and it won't get the 75 percent support required so it's going nowhere. But nor should it, if Parliament’s going to devote time and energy to anything to do with young people right now it should be getting the 60 percent of kids not attending back into school and addressing the surge in youth crime. Surely that’s more pressing right now than whether they can vote or not?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legal experts say that while lowering the voting age at general elections might be politically challenging, New Zealand could see a differential voting system with 16-year-olds able to vote at local body level as a ”trial” first. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she personally wants to see the voting age lowered for the first time in nearly 50 years and announced Parliament will debate the issue before the middle of next year. It comes after on Monday the Supreme Court declared the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights, namely the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of age, and that these inconsistencies have not been justified. Amending the law for the general election requires the support of a referendum or super-majority of 75 per cent in Parliament, meaning with National and Act currently opposed change appears unlikely. But changing the age for local elections only requires a simple 50 per cent majority, which legal experts say could be included in the same bill and with Government support could offer a “trial” run. The Supreme Court ruling came after a case brought by the advocacy group Make It 16, which was set up in 2019 amid the school strikes for climate initially to find an avenue to give young people more of a say. “This is history,” said co-director Caeden Tipler outside court after today’s decision. Tipler said that they are confident the law will change. “Although we’re celebrating we still have a lot of mahi to do.” The ruling has triggered a process, set up under a new law passed in August, whereby the Government is required to respond to such Bill of Rights Act declarations and Parliament to debate them within six months. The voting age for general elections is “entrenched” under the Electoral Act, meaning any change would need the support of 75 per cent of MPs or be endorsed in a national referendum. Consequently, Ardern said as part of its response to the decision Cabinet had decided to draft a piece of legislation with a proposal to lower the age of voting to 16 for the whole of Parliament to consider. She anticipated it would be before the House before the middle of next year. The super-majority rule only kicks in at the Committee of the whole House stage, after the second reading, meaning it would also go through select committee and public submissions. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a post-Cabinet press conference in the Beehive theatrette. Photo / Mark Mitchell Whatever the ultimate decision, it would not take effect before next year’s election, Ardern said. “What I can say is that on this kind of matter, I think we should remove the politics, we should put it to Parliament, and we should let every MP have their say.” Ardern said Labour had not decided as a caucus how it would vote but confirmed she supported lowering the voting age. “For me, it is alignment around some of the responsibilities and rights that are reapportioned at these different ages.” She said people were allowed to legally engage in activities across 16, 17 and 18. “There isn’t one cut-off point that you can say in law New Zealand treated me as an adult, and that’s why I think it’s been the subject of much debate.” National Party justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith, however, was unequivocal in his opposition to lowering the voting age. “We don’t agree with the conclusion that the voting age which has been in place for half a century is suddenly unjustified,” he said. Act Party leader David Seymour was also very quick to rule out supporting any change. There would always need to be an age threshold to voting and to say not having it at 16 was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights was “illogical”, Seymour said. Green Party electoral reform spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman has long been an advocate of lowering the voting age and included it in her Strengthening Democracy Member’s Bill, which was voted down at first reading in September. She said the court had found Parliament had “for decades been in breach of young people’s basic human rights”. “Now is the time to do what’s right and strengthen our democracy to include the voices of 16 and 17-year-olds.” Ghahraman said a change could occur immediately by picking up the parts of her members’ bill, including amending the entrenching provision, and it could be done in time for the 2023 election. She said other democracies have either already extended voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds or are currently changing their laws. “Complying with the Supreme Court’s call would keep New Zealand’s democracy among the most modern and inclusive. “Not only would this change create a more representative democracy, but it would also provide more opportunities to engage young people in politics while they’re at school.” The voting age in New Zealand was lowered from 21 to 20 in 1969, and then to 18 in 1974. At each stage, it had the full support of Parliament and was in line with legislative changes across the globe. Currently, only a small -

Prison numbers are down, yet questions remain as to why is violent crime is on the rise. The prison population has dropped 24 percent since 2017, but violent crime has increased by 21 percent and gang membership has risen 51 percent. Much fewer offences are resulting in prison sentences, leaving offenders on the street rather than in prison. National's spokesperson for Corrections, Simon O'Connor, joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The classic brown L&P bottle could be on its way out, due to its effect on our recycling system. Coca-Cola is looking to swap out the brown, and go for clear to make the bottles easier to recycle. The green Sprite bottles have already been ditched for the same reason. Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams told Kate Hawkesby the L&P bottle is a huge tourist attraction in Paeroa. He says people don't like change, but recycling is important. Adams says people just need to know the reason behind the switch. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COP 27 climate summit in Egypt has wrapped up, with countries agreeing to establish a fund to help developing nations deal with climate change. But the money isn't expected to go far. The EU is likely to contribute about 120-million New Zealand dollars. By comparison, the floods in Pakistan have already cost 60-billion New Zealand dollars this year alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report emphasizes the need for parents to prioritise their children's swimming skills. Water Safety New Zealand figures show just under half of children don't take regular lessons. Last year, 90 people drowned - the highest since 2011. Chief Executive Daniel Gerrard says people must have swimming skills living on an island nation. He says they are hearing parents will only send one child to lessons, while figuring out what to do with the other two or three. Gerrard says on average swimming lessons cost about 20 dollars for about 30 to 40 minutes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s fascinating to watch the gradual implosion of Twitter. There are two camps on this. Those who believe it’s been a toxic hellscape of negativity gradually eating itself anyway and Elon just sped things up, and those who believe it is a dynamic platform for free speech, representing a wide variety of views and providing an outlet for all kinds of diversity. Those who believe the latter, are grieving the demise of their outlet, their community, their sense of connection, and the independent citizen style journalism that went along with it. They saw Twitter as a space for discourse, debate, a contest of ideas. A source for breaking news and contradictory views, a sounding board and a mine of information. But I’d be in the former category. I struggle to see Twitter as anything more than toxic trolls lambasting people and ideas they hate, with venomous Tweets which look to cancel and cut people down. I found it a cesspit, hence I left Twitter years ago and did not for one minute look back. So I was bemused when Elon Musk bought it – it was almost like that’s what Twitter deserved. A crazy person buying a crazy platform where everyone behaves terribly and the whole thing is so infiltrated with bots anyway that it’s impossible to know what’s real and what isn’t. The Twitterati though, those who live on it, and find it amplifies their voice and their views and they get a real sense of self-importance out of it – they’re ropeable. How dare Elon come along and ruin their playground. How dare a billionaire with no clue about a social media platform, come in and sack people, and reinstate Trump (even though awkwardly it looks like not even Trump wants back on it) and do all the other hectic chaotic things that Elon has done. He’s popped their self-inflated balloon of believing their echo chamber was real or important... as opposed to a tribe driven by an algorithm, supported by nothing more than hot air. So as well as staff either getting sacked or quitting, users are quitting too – in disgust. And Twitter wasn’t that big to begin with. Time says, “despite having around 240 million users, Twitter is tiny in comparison to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Google. But it does punch above its weight... it derives its power and value from three communities that depend on it: politicians, celebrities, and journalists. Politicians and celebrities love that Twitter enables them to broadcast directly... without gatekeepers. Journalists love that Twitter gives them an opportunity to build their personal brands while also giving consensus on which stories are newsworthy and which are not. For the rest of the users, Twitter provides the illusion of direct access to VIP’s who would otherwise be beyond reach. Trolls love Twitter because its algorithms give their content disproportionate weight in the conversation.” But Time says we ‘shouldn’t be surprised at how quickly and easily Twitter’s falling apart.’ And that ‘the people who rely on Twitter the most – the politicians, celebrities and journalists– those who probably can’t imagine a life without Twitter, are going to have start doing just that.’ So is it RIP Twitter any day now? That’s what 240 million users are waiting to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.