Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Australia has announced an update to their Covid isolation requirements- people will now only be required to isolate for 5 days instead of 7. Australian correspondent shares the public reaction and mass confusion with Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's still room for improvement when it comes to taxing investment fund fees... despite the Government pulling the pin on its GST on KiwiSaver fees proposal. The plan was axed less than 24 hours after it came to light following a wave of opposition. Deloitte tax partner Allan Bullot says there are two buckets here -- the KiwiSaver one, and the non-KiwiSaver one. He says the non-KiwiSaver side is messy - with swings and roundabouts on the tax front.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A theory the outpouring of grief would be much larger if Princess Diana died today. It's 25 years since the 36-year-old died in that Paris car crash. Her death highlights the relationship between the crowd and the Crown, and how that has evolved with the Royal Family today. Otago University anthropologist Dr Susan Wardell says social media might've enabled a more coordinated response en masse. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland mayoral candidate Wayne Brown is continuing to cast doubts on the value of the City Rail Link. He says the 4.4-billion dollar project was designed for a pre-Covid world, and won't deliver the benefits originally promised. “I think you’ll find when the city rail finishes, when the costs have gone up, the times have gone up, and the passengers will go down.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apparently a quarter of us intend to change jobs over the next 12 months. This would come as a shock to my dearly departed grandfather who worked at the Post Office his entire life and would never have dreamed of changing jobs. Back then when you had a job, it was for life. Not anymore. A workplace wellbeing survey of 1200 workers showed a large chunk of us feel undervalued, under supported, and under staffed at work. I can believe it. I don’t know anywhere that isn’t under staffed right now, we’re under staffed in here at the moment. It’s been a perfect storm for many employers- Covid, winter ills, long overdue trips overseas for people finally taking some annual leave and able to get out of the country. What it means for those left behind of course, is they have to pick up the slack, more work for them, fewer people to carry the load, and perhaps at a time where they're feeling fatigued with this post-Covid malaise we all seem to be suffering. External circumstances right now like a cost of living crisis and a looming recession puts a lot of pressure on people before they even get into their workplace, let’s be honest. And we know how hard it is to get staff right now, every sector in this country is crying out for help. Yet despite borders being open, help’s not coming. Add to this that the newer younger workforce coming through which simply expects more from their work. According to the survey, “78 per cent of respondents say flexible hours or hybrid working was most important." But how do already under the pump employers offer more flexi work schedules if they’re struggling for staff in the first place? Hybrid working is a by-product of Covid too. Getting to work from home was good for lots of people, many want that model to continue. In fact in the UK it’s been so hard to get people back into the office that the government’s faced with selling off whole office blocks now, as more public servants opt to work from home. Everybody wants wellbeing, but how do you define it? That’s a slippery slope many employers must be traversing at the moment. How much wellbeing is enough? How much is too much? And then if you don’t get enough wellbeing are you ‘quietly quitting’? I heard one commentator suggest quietly quitting is basically just adding some work life balance, working at a slower pace for your mental health. But if everybody just did the bare minimum and checked out mentally from their jobs we really would be in a race to the bottom, which is what it feels like in this country at the moment anyway. But is quiet quitting worse or better than actually quitting? Is an employee sitting there doing the bare minimum better than no employee at all? It’s sad if that’s what we’ve come to, just weighing up the lesser of two evils. I like that people care more about their wellbeing these days, but not if it ends up down a rabbit hole of never ending ‘wellbeing’ over and above doing any work. There’s a fine line. So with a quarter of us apparently changing jobs in the next year, I just wonder if we stay in that job, or if it's just a case of the grass is always greener and we're just going to rotate jobs more often now than we ever have? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An attempt to tidy up the GST charged on different investment products. The Government is planning to impose GST on Kiwisaver fees, which will give it an extra $225 million a year. Kiwisaver provider Pathfinder's Chief Executive John Berry told Kate Hawkesby unfortunately for investors, the tidy up is quite brutal. Modelling suggests it will raise fees and mean $103 billion fewer saved in accounts by 2070. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tweaks are being made to the cost of living payments. It comes after the Auditor-General wrote a scathing letter to Inland Revenue. The letter has essentially told IRD to get their act together, saying the process has been rushed, which resulted in compromised certainty and accuracy. With the next payments due on Thursday, questions have been asked as to whether enough has been done to solve the issues. National's spokesperson for finance Nicola Willis joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ram raids and joyrides are thought to be why car theft insurance claims are up. AA Insurance reveals car theft and attempted theft have increased by 36.5 percent nationally, and 43 percent in Auckland over the last 12 months. Head of motor claims Beau Paparoa says vehicles targeted tend to be of lower value, more than five years old and often parked on the street. He says it appears to be consistent with the increase in ramraids, but data also shows people are stealing cars simply to get from A to B. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Thomas Phillips first went missing into dense bush with his kids back in 2021, I wrote an editorial at the time saying police and welfare agencies weren’t taking it seriously enough in my view. There was a lot of talk at the time about leaving it to the community, leaving it to the family, trying to understand that rural New Zealand is different to what those of us in cities are used to. I was criticized by people who said worrying about three kids in the bush with their Dad was over the top, it was middle class angst, that the kids were “probably fine” and that they’d be used to being in the bush with their Dad. I argued that no matter how used to pig hunting or going bush with your Dad you are, being taken from your family against your will and without your Mum or anyone else’s knowledge was akin to kidnapping. That there should be more alarm around finding them, securing their safety, making sure they were well, and that was before we even got to the fact that these kids should be in school not sleeping rough in a bush. And not to forget all the police time and resources wasted looking for him, the local lives jeopardized by becoming bush hunters themselves looking for them all. But the chorus of those criticising me for being over the top was loud, and so they were very smug when he wandered out of the bush 17 days later with the kids seemingly fine, physically, anyway. So all’s well as can be, they assumed. But I argued at the time that agencies needed to step in and do more, that 17 days is in the bush was still potentially traumatic, that something was off here and that Tom Phillips should face some sort of consequence. ‘The family will sort it out’, many argued back. And here we are now. A couple of months later he was gone again - disappearing with the children a second time - and this time not for a few weeks, but for so far seven months and counting. The family are beside themselves. They’ve been searching, pleading with locals to search as well, they launched a petition asking for Police and Oranga Tamariki to step up their efforts. They’re worried the kids will be malnourished and say they’re “not used to that life”. Oh, so it turns out just because kids grow up in a rural area, they’re not “used to that life”.. as those sitting pretty in the city wrongly assumed they might be. The mother, who’s desperate, said it’s hard to believe they’re back in the same situation. I bet. But also, where was the wrap around service and care for this family after the first disappearance? Why were agencies so reluctant to step in and get amongst this? Why did Police just lay a ‘wasting our time’ charge and sit around waiting for a court date, which by the time it rolled around he’d vanished for anyway. When this family’s vanishing act presented itself first time round, many wanted to believe it was just a rural adventure and we shouldn’t worry about it. The tone from people was to just calm down, leave it to them and stay out of their business. That ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude, may well be what got us to where we are now. With three kids missing (again) and their mother beside herself. So I said it last time and I’ll say it again, this is not a ‘rural’ issue, this is a parenting issue. This is a parent failing his kids. Police and other agencies need to get involved – and fast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA's mission control will meet tomorrow to discuss their next moves, if they can get the engine problems under control. The next-generation rocket programme was meant to blast off last night from Florida's Cape Canaveral, but was delayed due to an engine bleed. US correspondent Anna Burns-Francis told Kate Hawkesby it doesn't look like this will be an easy fix. She says NASA has four days to make a decision, but there is no word yet on whether they'll go ahead with the save the date on Saturday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB sports reader Kate Wells joined Kate Hawkesby for a wrap of the weekend's sporting action. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waikato horse riders are continuing their fight to be able to ride their animals on Raglan's beaches. In 2020, the local council began enforcing a by-law banning horses and vehicles on the main beach, but a procedural error means it's not legal. The council is now planning to create a new by-law to rectify its mistake, and block horse access to beaches again. Horse Advocates Access Waikato Secretary Sarah McKinlay says it's a blow to local riders. She told Kate Hawkesby it's estimated 20 percent of the country's equine population is in the Waikato region. McKinlay says there's a lack of safe spaces for the public to ride their horses, despite the massive figure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A victims' advocate is joining calls for an overhaul of the youth-justice system. National wants tougher penalties for young people who commit robberies and ram raids. It says while there's been a halving of prosecutions of young people since 2017 – ram raids have increased 518 percent under Labour's watch. Ruth Money told Kate Hawkesby tougher punishments aren't the solution, as there are major systemic issues in the way young offenders are dealt with. She says better resourcing is needed, and it's not as simple as putting offenders through an Oranga Tamariki-run family group conference. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“All I do is cry” was the quote that broke my heart over the weekend. The ODT had a story about the state of Queenstown at the moment, and it talked to café and restaurant owners who’re still in dire straits over lack of staff. They claim there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, and that this is worse than Covid was. Hospitality NZ’s regional manager was quoted as saying that it’s such a pressure cooker situation that, ''It's becoming a luxury for our operators to open at the moment.'' Imagine that. A luxury to even open your doors. As a business, that has to be soul destroying. They’re over worked, under staffed and burning out. And I feel for them. Because they’ve been promised time and time again that it will get fixed, and it just isn’t getting fixed. So much so, that some operators are leaving hospo altogether. One café operator said that .. ''chefs don't want to be chefs anymore — [they’ll] go work as a labourer instead, and they get paid really, really well to do that.'' Even though this café owner argues she still pays top end. Famous Queenstown establishment The Cow, it’s co-owner said the same thing, ..”there are no new people at all, you could put an ad out, '$100 an hour, they're not going to turn up… in 21 years ''I've never seen anything like this before..” He’s apparently now having to close two nights a week. And that’s a familiar story for many operators, not just hospo. I heard from friends returning from Queenstown the other day that they were shocked at how much was shut, how many cafes were closed, or operating at half steam still, how many shops had staff wanted signs in their windows, how down and out many of the business owners were. The vibe had changed they said, it felt different and it felt desperate. And that’s because they are desperate. And they don’t see an end in sight. One of the café owners said.. ''We've got people that want to come and work for us but they can't find anywhere to live, so they're now looking for jobs that have accommodation with them.'' She said it’s ‘more stressful than Covid 'because at least [with Covid] you knew when you were going to get out of it, but this, you just don't know.'' So they’re at breaking point many of them, without a way out. They’re not the Government’s biggest fans, as you can imagine. Lone Star’s owner slammed the Government for its ''lack of conviction to try and fix it''. And that’s got to sting because it’s not like they haven’t been banging on about how bad it is for a long time, it’s not like Ministers don’t know what’s happening in Queenstown. ‘Restricting the labour market to drive up wages’, as Lone Star’s owner accuses the Government of doing, isn’t working. As The Cow’s co-owner said, it’s not about how much you pay, it’s the fact there’s nobody there to pay it to. There’s just no workforce. So how bad does it have to get, before the Government actually gets more people into this country? Not just 'opening up opportunities’ for them to come, but actually getting them in. Aged care, tourism and the health sector I'm sure would love to know the answer to that question too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Toni Street has a brand new podcast called We Need To Talk. I was a guest on the first episode of the season, and this is the conversation Toni and I had about recovering from Covid, Dogs and Nutrition. I hope you enjoy it! If you like what you hear, follow We Need To Talk With Toni Street here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know we can start voting for our mayors and local councillors in about a month's time? Are you going to? Apathy is the problem with local body elections. Always has been. We don’t know who anyone is, we can’t be bothered, we don’t care. But actually, we do care about our communities don't we? Don’t we care about what's happening to our local shops and our streets at the moment? I know particularly for Auckland, it's so depressing watching the decline of our city, the ram raids, the graffiti, the closed up shops, the struggling cafes, the road works, OMG the road works - you can’t move around Auckland without encountering road cones. All the new sets of traffic lights going in, new speed humps, new elongated pedestrian areas are an absolute cluster - makes the city impossible to drive around. And they seem to be never ending in every city – digging up more road to take it off cars and give it to pedestrians or bikes. I wish they’d fix the potholes and the terrible state of our roads before they did all that, but priorities seem a little off. This is why it’s so important to vote. I had to drop my daughter three suburbs away the other day - usually a 20 minute drive, it took 40 minutes... to cross three suburbs. Who has time for this? It’s so unproductive. The roadworks, the congestion, the new road layouts which mean fewer spaces for cars is making it really hard to get around. Which is what they want of course, they want us all out of our cars. But it’s a gnarly way of doing it. And I haven’t really seen enough from candidates objecting to all this and speaking out against what Waka Kotahi’s doing, there seems either a malaise or a general acceptance that this is just how it is now. I’d vote for whoever came out and said you know what? The traffic and the congestion and the road layouts suck. We will do better, we will fix the roads for motorists. But no one will say that because it's sacrilege these days to defend cars. And it’s not even like they’re doing a good job of all these road and pavement changes. A new set of traffic lights is currently going into Auckland’s busy Newmarket – these new lights are about 200 metres from another set of traffic lights – go figure. It'll unquestionably bring a busy shopping precinct to a halt traffic-wise. But when AT first cut up the road and started laying their new foundations, local businesses said wait a minute, that doesn’t look right – where’s the run off for rain, what if water pools into shops? AT had a look at it apparently and said, nope, she’s all good mate, modelling shows it’ll be fine. (Good old modelling). First big downpour came and what do you reckon happened? Water pooling everywhere and now AT has to cut the pavement back up and re-lay it properly. This is time and money-wasting bollocks. So we want to vote for people who'll get vocal on stuff like this, people who'll be proactive on things like the potholes in our rural communities. But how do we vote for people who'll get vocal on our behalf? Hard when no one wants to stand for Council. So the same old candidates get voted in unopposed. Those of us who can need to, 1) stand for council if we're able, and 2) at the very least, vote.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doom and gloom is on the economic horizon. Higher interest rates, lower spending and low population growth are all pointing towards a higher chance of recession for the first two quarters of the year. Westpac Senior Economist Satish Ranchhod says while he thinks there won't be a recession, our growth will be soft. He told Kate Hawkesby he's expecting a pretty weak end to the year in retail spending. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy owners fear someone will die as ram raids surge. There's been a 400 percent increase in the crime in the last five years, with the Police Minister revealing it's happened 129 times since May. Chris Hipkins has also confirmed almost all of these people are under 18 years old, with the median age being 15. Dairy and Business Owners Group Chair Sunny Kaushal told Kate Hawkesby we need a solution now. He says if we don't get on top of this soon, we will create a generation where crime is normalised. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is Daffodil Day. And for the first time in two years, the famous Daffodil Day street collections will be making a comeback. And with more Kiwis getting cancer this year than ever before, there's an increased need for support. Cancer Society NZ National chief executive Lucy Elwood joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of a couple of revealing surveys, I’m pleased to see businesses agitating for change a bit more. I’m talking about the traffic light system. Two surveys recently showed how much we’re fed up with all this. TV1 had a survey showing 65 percent of us want all Covid restrictions dropped, not surprising at all. Then a survey the Government did showed them the reality of what’s going on – fewer of us are wearing masks, fewer of us are reporting RAT results, fewer of us are willing to isolate for seven days. So given that, why are we still sitting in Orange with all these restrictions? We’re over it. And so it turns out are international tourists. If we truly want to be an open country, ready for business and tourism and holiday makers, then we need to unshackle ourselves from all this ideology keeping us looking like a hermit kingdom. “Global hotels and management operator Accor wants New Zealand to move to a green light setting as the industry works to bring international tourism back to pre-pandemic levels..” it was reported yesterday, they want to get the message out that we are indeed “fully completely open” for business. Accor Pacific’s Chief Exec was reported as saying that ‘green is that signal.’ She also said that, “some tourists were cautious about travelling to New Zealand under the orange light status.” And I’m not surprised, it’s out of kilter with where the rest of the world is at, it makes it look like we have a problem, which we don’t, it makes us look backward and introspective. No one feels that more acutely than the Kiwis currently all returning from their overseas jaunts to Europe or warmer climes. Having gallivanted around the world mask-less and without any news of Covid interrupting them, they come home only to be greeted by a bunch of people in masks handing them RATs. One to do straight away and one to do in seven more days’ time and to self-report on. How many do you reckon are doing that? My hunch is zero. Not even the acolytes are doing it. But if we are trying to be truly competitive and get back to pre-pandemic levels with tourism and travel, then surely we have no choice but to remove all this bureaucracy and BS. Accor for their part [were reported saying] that, we’re “competing with the rest of the world for international tourists and [we] needed to make it clear that it was easy for tourists to come and go.” We’re not though. We’re flagging impediments like RATs on arrival and masking up and being in an Orange setting – and that’s before we get to the part where many people won’t have a clue what that is, all they’ll know is that it doesn’t sound fully open. Two of our kids are travelling right now, one in the States, one in Europe, both say when people hear they’re Kiwis their first response is ‘oh you guys have been locked down for ages right?’.. They go on to ask why NZ is still closed, that’s their impression. We used to be known internationally for the All Blacks or Lord of the Rings, but sadly now when people hear you’re a Kiwi the first thing they mention is Covid and being shut. Cool. Great reputation that is for our little slice of what used to be paradise. It needs to change fast, and I just hope more businesses start to get more vocal with this Government on fixing it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More calls have come for reduced taxes to help ease supermarket prices. The Government will force Foodstuffs and Countdown to sell groceries to competitors at regulated prices, if they don't supply them on the wholesale market fairly. Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford says the real problem is how expensive it is for new businesses to enter the market. He told Kate Hawkesby the best way to reduce supermarket prices, would be to drop GST. Harford says consumers spend an average of four-thousand dollars a year on groceries and very close to that paying the Government in GST. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Disturbing figures from the Abuse in Care Inquiry. A report has found one in three children in state care end up in prison later in life. For Māori , 42 percent serve custodial sentences as adults. Voyce Whakarongo Mai advocates for children in care. Spokesperson Tupua Urlich told Kate Hawkesby he's not surprised by the figures. He says if you take a young person and fill their childhood with trauma and abuse, and they go without support, that does show up later in their lives. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Far North health provider has made the "very difficult decision" to close its after-hours services temporarily due to ongoing staff shortages. There will be no doctor available on-site at Rawene Hospital after hours from 5pm to 8am Monday to Sunday, starting next week. Hauora Hokianga announced the planned closure with "great reluctance" on Tuesday morning in a Facebook post by chief executive Margareth Broodkoorn. "Over the past couple of years, Hauora Hokianga has been challenged with the recruitment of our health workforce and more recently is facing critical medical and nursing workforce issues which are impacting our ability to provide services. Rural GP and Associate Dean Rural Health at Auckland University Dr Kyle Eggleton joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Windsor has reportedly gone to his mother Queen Elizabeth II and asked for a new role within the royal family. This comes as he retired from official duties in 2019 over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. But now he's apparently informed the Queen that he can't spend the rest of his days sitting around and riding horses. But is there any pathway for him to come back? Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams joined Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think what the protesters did yesterday was remind most of us that we’re not interested in going backwards, as a country. And it felt like that’s what yesterday’s protest was doing. Going backwards. Banal pleas like locking up the PM, ‘when I say Cindy, you say jail time’ was one of the chants. And while I’m as sick of the Prime Minister as you are, this ain’t it. This is not how you effect change, this is not how you get people on board. It’s certainly not how you get rid of a Prime Minister. To be a great leader, or to even gather a credible movement, you need to have buy in from a large swathe of people, not just your cultist followers who’d go anywhere and chant anything for you. Which is what the rabble yesterday looked like. It looked like a fringe event, filled with Destiny Church followers who would march anywhere if Bishop Brian was at the front. The annoying thing is, for all the people who say – well you’re the media, you shouldn’t be covering it, why are you giving them airtime?’ The problem is, news likes good pics - and protests, banners, crowds and flags make good pics. They also cause a lot of inconvenience which needs reporting too, like closed roads or diverted bus services. And the fact that it’s at Parliament – it all adds up to newsworthy and they know it. It gets the attention they want it to get, but does it get the results? Will they really get the PM locked up? Of course not. Are they seriously thinking the Government will drop all mandates just because they say so? Again, no. As for the ‘hands off our children’ placards, what hands are on whose children? There’s a lack of clarity in the messaging, shouting ‘freedom’ and ‘enough is enough’.. freedom from what? Masks? Look I agree with them on that front, we need to move on from the traffic light and the mask mandates, the rest of the world has, but I don’t think we have no freedom because of that. And I don’t think this is the way to go about getting rid of them. Other chants included, ‘Beehive bullies must go’… Government must go’.. Trevor Mallard must go too apparently – well he’s already off anyway to his cushy number in Ireland, but Brian Tamaki wants wife Hannah to have that job. Not sure that’s going to take off, but like I said, a lot of messages. They were calling for a snap election – they held a ‘people’s court’ to charge the Government with crimes against humanity. Then Tamaki announced a new umbrella political party and they all dispersed relatively peacefully by mid-afternoon. So let’s hope that’s the end of it. I didn’t appreciate them blocking the motorways in Auckland and cutting off traffic to busy shopping precinct Newmarket a couple of weeks ago, I’m sure Wellingtonians didn’t appreciate the disruption they endured either. And that’s the nub of all this. It really doesn’t affect the politicians who just carried on about their business expelling Sharma, but it did affect commuters, students and local businesses. All that 'people’s court' and trying to get the Prime Minister ‘locked up’ is not effective protesting, it's just a group of disgruntled people letting off steam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trevor Mallard could go down as one of New Zealand's most contentious Speakers. He's moving on from the post to become Ambassador to Ireland, to be replaced by current deputy Adrian Rurawhe. Newstalk ZB's Deputy political editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby Mallard's tenure has not been without controversy, including making a false rape allegation several years ago. He says a phrase thrown around is "poacher turned gatekeeper" because Mallard went from being one of the worst behaved MPs to being in charge of them all. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not-for-profit organisations running on the smell of an oily rag are taking aim at the Government over a lack of financial support. Plunket is being forced to sell its assets and cut services due to inadequate funding. Outgoing chief executive Amanda Malu has written a scathing op-ed saying not-for-profit services are being deliberately under-funded by successive governments. Grant Thornton Non-For-Profit Services Co-Leader Barry Baker told Kate Hawkesby these services do well managing the finances they have. He says when factors such as inflation are taken into account, organisations have to cut services or they'll fall away altogether. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The amalgamation of Wellington, Porirua and Lower Hutt is being put back on the table. A pre-election Wellington Chamber of Commerce report, released exclusively to our newsroom, reveals business leaders would like the three cities to merge. A previous merger proposal was axed by Wellington in 2015. But Porirua Mayor Anita Baker, a supporter of amalgamation, told Kate Hawkesby it should be revisited. She says with Transmission Gully, the whole region is now very connected, and becoming one city makes a lot of sense. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keeping Kiwibank New Zealand publicly owned has been dubbed a political move. The Government has announced its intent to purchase 100 percent of Kiwibank for $2.1 billion. Massey University banking expert David Tripe told Kate Hawkesby the purchase is a risk. He says many of the state owned banks around the world have been financial failures. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters says some of the claims of Gaurav Sharma are alarming. Sharma says MPs are trained in methods to avoid information being obtained through Official Information Act requests. Jacinda Ardern says the caucus will decide whether to expel him this morning and says the party doesn't intend on triggering the waka jumping law to force him out of Parliament altogether. New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters told Kate Hawkesby he's never heard of workshops to get around OIA requests. He says when the Prime Minister claims to be the most transparent Government ever, it's terrible. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A couple of weeks ago I told you guys the story of the relief teacher censured and embroiled in court action, over removing an ear bud from a Year 10 student’s ear because he refused to remove it himself, and the teacher had asked him to stop listening to music and pay attention. The student had been verbally abusive and refused to oblige and this relief teacher had had a gutsful. I pointed out that despite crying out for teachers, and not being able to get a relief teacher these days for love nor money, the Teachers’ Complaints Committee and the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal had over reacted in siding with the student. I argued that, in my opinion, it fed a growing issue with a sense of entitlement among young people in classrooms, which in turn fed into disrespect of teachers, and that this guy being told his actions could ‘adversely affect their wellbeing’ was basically over the top. Many of you agreed with me at the time. But the next day my producer received an email from the Media and Communications Advisor at the Teachers Council. He wanted to ‘share a statement’ with me from the chief exec of the Teaching Council as they felt there was “a lot of misunderstanding about the Teaching Council’s roles and functions”.. they ‘hoped I would find the enclosed letter informative and share it with my audience’. Attached to the email was a two page typed up letter on Teaching Council letterhead, signed by a Lesley Hoskin, Teaching Council Chief Executive. Kia Ora Alexander, Tena Koe Kate, it began. FYI If you want to know more about who this woman is, and why teaching is where it is these days, be sure to listen back to NewstalkZB on demand on the ZB website if you didn’t hear her interview with Mike yesterday on his show. It explains a lot about why we are where we are with the education system. I was surprised the Teaching Council was tuning in to Early Edition, I’m not so sure they were, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a google alert set up, but to dedicate time to typing up a two page letter to me, then having your media guy attach a covering letter and send that to my producer.. I mean really? You don’t have better stuff to do with your time when our education system is in the state it’s in? It may not surprise many of you that the Teaching Council is anecdotally apparently not held in very high regard by the teaching body itself. That was reaffirmed yesterday by teachers who texted in after Mike’s interview. That doesn’t surprise me given the Teaching Council appears to be working against teachers, not for them. Having heard yesterday’s interview it’s almost like they’re working against themselves too. We have record low literacy and numeracy rates, a teacher shortage, and these guys are hitting own goals by running teachers out of the profession for removing headphones from students, and now looking to make Te Reo competency mandatory, to retain your teaching certificate. Anyway the upshot of the letter I received was that the Teaching Council defended its decision over this relief teacher, and like all left leaning ideological bodies, they were just wanting to ‘educate me’.. the great unwashed, on how to think more like them I guess? This approach, this time wasting of typing up letters to radio hosts when you have way bigger fish to fry, sums up everything that’s wrong with where teaching’s heading.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government may have missed an opportunity to address the nurse shortage. Working holiday visas have been extended in a bid to lure 12,000 more workers into the country. Some sectors, including aged care, meat processing and construction, will also be able to pay workers below the new median wage requirements. However, Aged Care Association Chief Executive Simon Wallace told Kate Hawkesby nurses have been left out of this announcement “We are short over 1,200 nurses in our sector. It’s because we don’t have nurses in aged care that we’re having to close down care homes.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Act party isn't interested in any move to make matauranga Māori and te reo mandatory for teachers. The Teaching Council has told a Royal Commission of Inquiry it believes that will eventually be the case. Act leader David Seymour says it will put people off the profession. He told Kate Hawkesby teachers already have enough on their plate, without having to worry about improving their te reo. He says the initiative is another example of something teachers have to do for the Government, rather than what students may want. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you believe Guarav Sharma or not probably depends on whether you support Labour and all that it stands for, or not. Diehard Labour fans who are still defending the Covid response and lockdowns, the people who probably proudly still own Ashley Bloomfield tea towels, will tell you it’s all a storm in a tea cup. They will have signed up for a lifelong subscription to the PM’s spin and they’ll see validity in lines like, ”I reject the premise of the question’. Others though, will see it for what it is. A party steeped in hypocrisy, preaching the kindness line, advocating for mental health and wellbeing, yet not walking the talk. A party claiming to be honest open and transparent, but instead shrouded in lies, manipulation and deceit. The workshop on how to avoid an Official Information Act request is all you need to know about how these guys operate. Machiavellian and under-handed. Denying those of us who pay their salaries and voted for their representation, to even know the truth about what’s really going in. The glaring hypocrisy of claiming to be the most open honest and transparent government ever – all the while looking to remove paper trails and deceive the public, is about as low as it goes. The ‘nothing to see here’ response is wearing thin though, and surely by now, even the apparatchiks are starting to see through it. Gurarv Sharma, unfortunately for the Government, looks a lot less unhinged than Jamie Lee Ross did, if we’re comparing ‘rogue’ MP’s. He’s a smart guy who appears to be telling the truth, who seems addicted to telling the truth at whatever cost, and has proof of his claims to back them up. He is credible, believable and articulate. And worse yet, he’s got some inside the caucus, at least one we know of for sure, who back him. That’s potentially another headache waiting to happen for Labour. But all along I’ve wondered just how beltway this stuff is. It’s hit in a busy news cycle of Nelson floods, human remains, youth crime surges and interest rates hikes. A busy news cycle means your blockbuster story is less likely to last long on the front page. But Sharma’s made sure he’s talking to everybody, getting everywhere and telling his story. And it must be causing ructions inside the party – I mean yes they’ll just expel him but it doesn’t necessarily solve their problems – it could make them worse. In all fairness – to all parties involved here - there should have been an independent inquiry ordered from the get go. That would have been the only fair way to solve this - instead Labour's made a hash of it, and tried to destroy a man in the process. Running and hiding from the inquiry option was a mistake for Labour. By not having one, all they do is look like they’re confirming everything Sharma’s said about them – that they are indeed bullies, who gaslight or shut down anyone who questions them. It’s an ugly mess for a party that likes to stand on a foundation of kindness. They’re becoming less credible and believable, it’s got an Emperor has no clothes vibe. But I guess if you blindly love the Emperor, you won’t see it that way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Communities near Nelson have been evacuated for a second night, as the heavy rain continues. Nelson's mayor says it will take years to recover. But there are others who don't see much point in trying, saying it would be better to just give up on some flood prone places. Professor Bruce Glavovic from Massey University is the former EQC chair in Natural Hazards Planning. He joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Electricity Authority has put a temporary block on bulk low-price power deals. It means power companies won't be to do cheap deals to supply more than 150 megawatts of power, without approval. The EA says it's a win for consumers. Consumer Advocacy Council chair Deborah Hart joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now, Dr Sharma. The longer it drags on the uglier it gets, and there's even a whiff of the Jami-Lee Ross about the whole thing now. I saw Dr Sharma on the TV news last night and he comes across as quite convincing, even straight-up. But then he is a politician albeit a very junior one and he's had experience of pitching himself, and doing his best to come across as an honest broker. So, how seriously do we take him? Has he been bullied, or is it actually him that's the bad guy? Nno one can work with the man. Or has he, like Jami-Lee did, got a bit carried away, does he have an overblown sense of his own importance? Thing is, back bench MPs and especially the current crop of very new members on Labour's back benches, mostly know their place. Their job is to cheer at the right time...ask a pre-prepared patsy question to a Minister if it's their turn...keep a seat warm on a select committee...and so on. Back benchers make up the numbers basically. They're allowed to visit local kindies and put up social media posts when they take their dog for a walk. But otherwise they keep their mouths shut and their heads down, toe the line, and leave the serious politics to the grown-ups. Sharma himself said as much to Newshub last night, talking about Labour's instructions to new MPs, quote "shut up, don't talk about anything...don't say anything for which the Prime Minister has to do a media stand-up". So they had a meeting behind his back to make sure all the other junior MPs were on board and they've been shunning him since. My money is that he'll be expelled from the Labour Party by the weekend. The Prime Minister has already said he's on his last strike and just like Jami-Lee Ross, Dr Sharma seems hell bent on going down in flames. Question is, does he have enough to take anyone down with him? Or will he, like Jami-Lee, fade into irrelevance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ian Foster will continue as head coach of the All Blacks until the end of the 2023 Rugby World cup. Foster has been given unanimous backing from both the board and CEO Mark Robinson, along with promoting new coach Joe Schmidt into a new attacking role. Interestingly, that was Foster's role under Sir Steve Hansen's reign. Questions have been asked as to whether it was the right call and will Scott Robertson stay or pack his bags. Former South African international and rugby analyst Kevin Putt joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waka Kotahi will today decide whether to have a dedicated cycle lane across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It had originally decided to have a lane for just special events, but a cycling lobby group threatened legal action. National Party Transport Spokesperson Simeon Brown says Minister Michael Wood should have been firmer in denying the lane. Brown told Kate Hawkesby it would be a total waste of time and money. He says closing a lane would be expensive and use of the lane may not be that high, especially on rainy days. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm wondering how long we're going to turn a blind eye to youth crime for. ACT came out with a plan to try tackle it in its law-and-order policy the other day, but that's about it. Ironically, as David Seymour was on the street talking about how to tackle youth crime, 5 storeys above him on the side of a building, youths were busy tagging. But it's no longer just an Auckland problem - we had the Palmerston North mall attack the other day - and the Queensgate mall in Lower Hutt is also proving an issue. There've been a raft of brutal assaults around there, school students being targeted for their phones, or intimidated and harassed, and the other day a 14-year-old had his front teeth knocked out in a brutal attack. It was reported he now has to wear a brace to hold his teeth in place and blend up his food in order to eat it. He's just 14. The Lower Hutt Mayor says it's 'deeply concerning', he's 'appalled' by the number of attacks in the area. But this is where it gets left to the community to fix these problems. Local parents and the Mayor want to meet with Police on what to do about this, but what can they do? What will they do? If instructions top down from Police are to go easy on youth offenders, then there is no way around that. ACT says it wants to put victims back at the centre of the justice system, and when it comes to youth offenders, they'd like to see instant practical punishments like fines and community service. South Australia has a similar model, which makes young offenders pick up rubbish or clean up graffiti. But not everyone's on board with the punitive approach and that's part of the problem. There's a lot of empathy for young offenders in terms of where they come from and why they do it. A lot of stock is put on their home environment and what circumstances they're coming from. While that may be relevant, I don’t think it's realistic that you can wind back years, in some cases, generations of behaviour inside family units. Certainly not in a swift timeframe that might reduce offending for victims right now. But some youth leaders believe you can. Te Ora Otautahi Rangatahi Ora’s Amanda Smith said recently in an article that we need to give youth crime ‘context’. She said young offenders were 'pressured by years of Covid related disruptions, social media trends, and a cost-of-living crisis. Newsflash - so are we all. Doesn’t mean we've all taken up a life of crime. But she claims they 'do know the difference between right and wrong and that 'many of them are hungry, not stupid.' And that I could believe, if, in the 400 percent increase in ram raids, the items stolen were bread, milk and cheese, but they're not. It's vape pods, bubble gum and alcohol. If they were truly hungry and not stupid, why would they ram a shop's front door down for bubble gum? She says the response to youth crime needs to be more support, but I'm just not sure how much more support and where you spread that support? Is it schools who need to pick up yet more social work and help support here? Is it local community groups who're already stretched? I think to be honest it's actually the job of Police, and I think at this point, surely an immediate punishment is more effective and instant, than spending months trying to rebuild or restructure entire family units.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two lawyers and two journalists are suing the CIA, saying the agency violated their constitutional rights when it obtained copies of the contents of their electronic devices and helped enable the recording of their meetings with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the latter part of his seven-year stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages in a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court. New York lawyers Margaret Ratner Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, along with journalists John Goetz, who lives in Germany, and Charles Glass, who lives in England, alleged that the CIA got the information through a deal with UC Global, a private security company that was based in Spain and provided security at the embassy. The lawsuit said they suffered considerable emotional distress and anxiety from the uncertainty and concerns about how their personal and privileged information was being used. They said the illegal spying may have violated the rights of over 100 Americans who visited Assange at the embassy. The CIA declined to comment. Two years ago, two anonymous witnesses who worked for the Spanish firm that provided the embassy's security testified at a London court that Assange faced an intensifying bugging operation from 2017 onwards after Donald Trump became U.S. president. Assange, 51, lived in the embassy beginning in 2012 after seeking refuge there while fearing his potential extradition to the U.S. He was evicted in April 2019 and has been in a London prison since. U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks' publication of secret American military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. Assange's lawyers say he is protected by the First Amendment for the publication of leaked documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also have said he suffers from wide-ranging mental health issues, including suicidal tendencies. In June, the British government ordered Assange's extradition to the U.S. He has appealed that ruling. Assange's lawyers have asked President Joe Biden to drop the charges against him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I can’t work out if this Sharma stuff is something voters care about or not. It’s a lot of he said / she said. It’s a lot of claim and counter claim – it’s something we may never really get to the bottom of given Labour ruled out an independent investigation. That in and of itself may tell us something actually. The way it’s been handled by the party – a clearly furious Ardern and Robertson, shows that for all the talk of kindness and kumbaya, they couldn’t have been less kind in the way they’ve dealt with all this. So Sharma’s been suspended, which really solves nothing. On top of that, and even worse in my view, is that we learn yesterday that prior to yesterday’s Zoom caucus meeting, they’d already had another secret meeting the night before. Worse yet, when Sharma leaked that info to the media, the Prime Minister’s office disputed it. Didn’t outright deny it, but disputed it. The PM was eventually forced to confirm it after Sharma provided proof of it, with a shot someone inside the caucus had sent him, of a photo of Kelvin Davidson at the Zoom meeting with his hand up looking like he was voting. So they have more trouble brewing inside the party than just Sharma by the sounds of it, if others are seeming to side with him and leak to him. But also, it surely gives Sharma’s claims credibility doesn’t it? It looks like when you weigh up his word against the party’s, he seems correct here, and they look dodgy. A meeting secretly behind his back. That’s just so Machiavellian, so under handed, and frankly just downright mean. It’s like the NZRU is advising the Labour party on how to handle things at the moment. I mean it’s shambolic. And in suspending him, what does that achieve? He’s frozen out of caucus but it’s almost like a good behaviour bond with the decision being reviewed in December so he’s on notice until then. It doesn’t matter because he won’t be re-selected for that Hamilton West seat, especially given the way the Labour party has treated him thus far. So how damaging has this whole thing been for Labour? How much of a PR cock up is this? And why didn’t they just follow due process, be fair, be KIND and give the green light to an independent investigation. I mean look how National has handled their Sam Uffindell woes by comparison. It’s kept it all above board, immediately stood him down, sent it to an independent investigation, kept it looking fair and balanced, and dare I suggest, far kinder than the Labour party who seemed to be baying for Sharma’s blood from the moment he first spoke. Sharma was a no show at yesterday’s meeting, he says because there was no point in him being there, why would he given they’d already all met in secret without him, seemingly deciding his fate behind his back regardless. So this has been a shabby, uncool, unkind, shifty little debacle, which shows the party up for the Machiavellian operators they are. It’s done them no favours. And I don’t know that it’s solved anything either. There's no guarantee this shuts Sharma up, but the underhanded way the party’s dealt with him I think, looks not only shabby, but just plain cruel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour MP Gaurav Sharma's future is uncertain. The Hamilton West MP has been suspended from the caucus after what Jacinda Ardern called repeated breaches of trust. A review will take place in December about whether he will be allowed to return. Former Labour and New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says politics is a tough game which not everyone is suited to. He told Kate Hawkesby Sharma could go down a couple of different paths. Jones says if he wants to make money he should move on, but if he wants to make drama he should try to set up a by-election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is expected to raise the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points again today. Making it an unprecedented fourth consecutive hike. To give us more insight is Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen who joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A nutritionist says junk food affects how well kids perform in schools. Auckland's Western Springs College is the latest school to ban food delivery services, due to environmental concerns. Nutritionist Nikki Hart told Kate Hawkesby kids have to remain cognitive in school. She says parents need to understand their kids can't do well and feel good on a diet of junk food. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese has revealed "there may be more" portfolios that former prime minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to, as he launches an investigation into the bombshell revelations. Describing the situation as "extraordinary" and "unprecedented", the Prime Minister said he simply could not understand the mindset that decided keeping Morrison's extraordinary move a secret was a good idea. So far, it has emerged that Morrison was appointed as a Minister for Health, Finance and Resources during his time in power through a secret mechanism that did not require him to make the change public. Only then-Health Minister Greg Hunt was aware that Morrison was joining his portfolio. Cabinet will be briefed on the unfolding scandal this morning, but preliminary advice suggests that the three portfolios that Morrison is believed to have been secretly appointed to may not be the full extent of the changes. "There may well be more,'' Albanese told ABC Radio National on Tuesday. "But I'll have more to say about that. It may well be that it takes some time to get to the bottom of this. "This really does undermine our democracy. Our democracy is precious and it relies upon accountability. "And this, this cowboy action, I likened it to some tin-pot regime. Well, this is Australia." Albanese said he was "not aware" whether or not Morrison secured extra pay for his additional jobs, but doubted this was the case. Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue QC is also probing the ­legality of Morrison's ministerial arrangements. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo / AP In a statement, Governor-General David Hurley insisted he was acting on the advice of the former prime minister when swearing him into the extra portfolios, and disclosing the arrangements was a matter for him. Asked if he still had confidence in the Governor-General, Albanese said his job was to take the advice of the prime minister. "The Governor-General acted on the advice of the government of the day,'' he said. "Let's be very clear here, it is Scott Morrison that initiated this extraordinary and unprecedented action. "I think that the blame for this lands fairly and squarely with the former government — not just the prime minister — clearly other ministers knew that this was going on, they chose not to make it public." On Sunday, news.com.au revealed Morrison had sworn himself in as resources minister without the knowledge of the existing minister, Keith Pitt. He ultimately used that power to roll Pitt on a plan to drill for gas off the New South Wales coast. Revelations emerged over the weekend via the new book Plagued, that in March of 2020, Morrison was sworn in as a second health minister and second finance minister. None of these moves were revealed to the public. Former Health Minister Greg Hunt was briefed on the changes but former Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was not. Morrison broke his silence on the matter on Monday, texting a Sky News journalist to say he doesn't "engage in day-to-day politics". He was responding to Sky News host Kieran Gilbert, who offered him a right of reply to Albanese, who had blasted Morrison's secrecy. "Haven't seen what he has said," Morrison texted. "Since leaving the job I haven't engaged in any day-to-day politics." Albanese said that response was unacceptable. "Well, he's a member of Parliament,'' he said. "I find that quite an extraordinary dismissal by a former prime minister." The former prime minister is still collecting a $211,250 salary as a backbench MP and recently skipped the first week of Parliament to travel overseas. Albanese has confirmed he will seek advice on the legality of Morrison's appointments. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull also slammed revelations that Morrison secretly swore himself into up to five portfolios as "sinister" and "incredible". Turnbull said he was shocked by the revelations. Asked if he had ever secretly sworn himself into other minister's portfolio he confirmed he had not. "No, I think this is one of the most appalling things I have ever heard in our Federal Government,'' Turnbull told ABC TV. "This is sinister stuff. This is a secret government. What Albanese said today about it is absolutely right." Turnbull backed calls for an investigation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talked this time yesterday about the reshaping our streets proposals coming to a street near you, and I notice the Road to Zzero campaign in full swing alongside it too. Our roads are changing, you can see it happening already, and there’s more where that came from. And the Greens are taking credit for it. Julie Ann Genter was saying yesterday it’s “years of pressure from the Greens” that is bringing this stuff to fruition. And as we talked about earlier, new speed cameras are coming now too. These cameras take two pictures at different spots in order to work out your car's average speed, rather than just a spot speed read, but not only that, as we know they’ll also capture a clear enough image to include more offences – like tailgating or drivers using cellphones or not wearing seatbelts. The Waka Kotahi is calling them "safety cameras", and according to one article I read that’s ‘a Cabinet-ordered attempt to shift the public away from perceptions that safety cameras are an enforcement, revenue-gathering tool'. They’ve worked out that we’ll see this as revenue gathering, so they’re calling them ‘safety cameras’ in the hope we fall for that. There are privacy issues around use of these cameras and the data they collect of course, but that’s “still being worked out,” apparently. I would've thought working out privacy implications might be quite an imperative before sticking up cameras that are going to zoom inside people’s cars photographing them, but that’s just me. It’s on the desk of the Privacy Commissioner. I’ve got no idea when he’s coming to some kind of conclusion on that, which appears to be like the price and cost of all this – still a bit vague. “Waka Kotahi refuses to specify the total cost of the camera system and new tolling system..” the article stated. So how is it decisions can be made without a price tag? This kind of approach worries me when you look at the record of how this Government tends to sprinkle money round the place like fairy dust, with no regard for whose actually paying that bill. It’s been reported the first phase alone, of even choosing the camera’s designs, has already cost “$21.6 million dollars, which is $10 million more than expected.” So is this just another scheme to ping people on the roads, without even a clear parameter yet on total cost or impacts to privacy laws, all under the banner of ‘safety’? The reason I’m increasingly exercised about what they’re doing to our roads and people in cars, is that it’s becoming apparent they’re just going to railroad through whatever they like in the name of climate, or safety, or whatever ideology they decide suits the narrative. And less and less are we provided with the opportunity for consultation or discussion on it. We are increasingly looking like pieces to be moved around on a Monopoly board, rather than democratic citizens with brains, voices, rights and valid views. Reshaping our streets, taking away carparks, adding speed humps and walkways and cycleways may be all well and good, but surely you have to consult on it first. The more they take away consultation, the fewer people they canvas on this stuff, the more autocratic they look, which is a worry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's special caucus meeting to decide the fate of MP Dr Gaurav Sharma will be held this afternoon. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed yesterday Labour's caucus would meet this week to discuss the fallout of Sharma's public allegations of bullying within the party against specific MPs. The meeting will be held at 2.30pm today over Zoom, given MPs are currently spread out across the country during recess. Ardern will hold a press conference following the meeting at about 4pm. The NZ Herald has reported it is almost certain Sharma will face a vote to suspend or expel him from Labour's caucus for his repeated salvoes at the party. Just prior to Ardern's post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, Sharma published his latest Facebook post concerning allegations of bullying by Labour's former chief whip, Kieran McAnulty, among others. He also attached screenshots of messages allegedly from other MPs who he claimed had also been bullied. Sharma's chances of escaping a vote appeared bleak unless he backed down: three senior MPs told the Herald his fate would depend on his own actions and ability to convince caucus that he could still be trusted. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the post-Cabinet press conference yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell One MP said if Sharma stopped his public allegations and exhibited "humility" that it could get him another chance, but Sharma's ongoing Facebook posts and public statements made that difficult. "It's difficult to see how anyone would have the sort of trust you need in a team with behaviour like that," one said. Another MP said: "There's always a way back." Thus far, no other MP has publicly backed Sharma's claims – but those MPs spoken to did support Kieran McAnulty, who Sharma accused of bullying him when he was a whip. Labour's ruling council has a separate process to investigate and decide whether or not to expel Sharma from the wider party. President Claire Szabo and general secretary Rob Salmond both declined to comment. The party has a code of conduct which covers both party members and MPs, and grounds for disciplinary action for serious misconduct include bringing the party into disrepute. Labour's former chief whip and MP for Wairarapa Kieran McAnulty. Photo / Supplied It is rarely invoked: the last MP to be kicked out of caucus and the party was Chris Carter in 2010 for undermining then leader Phil Goff. If expelled, Sharma will remain the MP for Hamilton West unless he resigned from Parliament or the party invoked the provisions of the waka jumping legislation to try to force him out. The situation was sparked by Sharma being told by the party whips that he could not hire further staff after complaints about him by staff – the NZ Herald understands that was triggered after at least three staffers voiced concerns while working for him or when they quit. Ardern has confirmed there were multiple complaints about him by staff, but he had not taken well to attempts to give him more training and management support. The staffing freeze was lifted at a meeting on Thursday – but since then Sharma has made repeated statements alleging bullying by the party whips and claiming Labour had refused to investigate his side of the story by looking into his own claims or whether claims by staffers against him were valid. - Adam Pearse, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the Government seeming to be spending money elsewhere, they've given early childhood teachers the rough end of the stick. It's come out that the Government reduced pay parity funding for ECE teachers in the May budget, to keep it's education spending within agreed limits. It also scaled-back subsidy increases for education providers. Chief executive of the Early Childhood Council Simon Laube joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cameras hidden around Auckland by a government agency have recorded the better part of 1000 drivers per day unlawfully using their phones behind the wheel, the Herald can reveal. The cameras were installed at three secret spots by Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) as part of a six-month safety trial. Police are not involved in the trial and the findings will not lead to enforcement action or warning letters, the agency said. The findings for the first weeks of the trial, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, revealed the shocking extent of illegal phone use - including texting - while driving in the Super City. Last year, the total number of infringement notices issued by police for illegal use of mobile phones while driving was 40,976 nationally. But the Waka Kotahi trial data shows there were 44,358 mobile phone use offences detected from May 24 to July 16 this year in Auckland alone, from a total of 3,662,024 vehicles travelling past the camera sites. That works out as an average of 836 per day or 1.2 per cent of all cars. A subsequent statement from Waka Kotahi following the Official Information release said a total of 50,333 "potential mobile phone use offences" were detected in the first two months, representing 1.14 per cent of the 4.4 million vehicles that travelled past the cameras. On July 23, a function of the cameras allowing them to detect people not wearing seat belts was switched on. Initial seat belt data will be available next month, the statement said. Waka Kotahi land transport director Kane Patena said the purpose of the trial was both to test the camera technology to ensure it was capable and to understand the scale of illegal phone use and seatbelt violations. "We know that driver distraction is a contributing factor in nearly 8 per cent of all crashes where someone is killed, and approximately 90 people a year are killed on our roads because they didn't wear a seatbelt," he said. "However, the scale of actual distracted driving and seatbelt non-compliance, in general, is mostly anecdotal." Patena said officials would undertake a full analysis at the end of the six-month trial. "We are only two months into the trial, and no detailed analysis has been completed on the raw data. Decisions on the future use of this technology will be made following the completion of the trial and a detailed analysis of the results." The statement from Waka Kotahi said that to protect people's privacy, drivers' and passengers' faces are not included in any stored image and number plates are automatically blurred. Images, where no phone or seat belt offence is captured, are deleted "within minutes", the statement said. Pictures showing an office are deleted within two days, Waka Kotahi said. AA motoring affairs policy director Martin Glynn said the rate of texting drivers caught by the cameras still seemed low given the number of cars that passed the sites. Glynn said the AA supported bigger fines for texting drivers as a way to improve safety on the roads. In New Zealand, the penalty for using your phone behind the wheel is $150 and 20 demerit points. "They're very, very low by international standards," Glynn said. In Queensland, drivers can be fined $1078 AUD. Statistics released last month show deaths on New Zealand's roads are set to rise again. The past two years saw lower tolls largely thought to be due to Covid-19 restrictions. The figures, which were released alongside the Road to Zero Annual Monitoring Report 2021, showed the number of people dying on our roads is currently on track to be about 350-360. According to the Ministry of Transport website, the provisional death toll as of yesterday stands at 225. The total death toll on our roads in 2019 was 352. In 2019, the Government proposed its new road safety strategy called Road to Zero, with the aim of cutting road deaths by 40 per cent during the next decade. It followed Sweden's Vision Zero strategy which seeks to eliminate road deaths. - George Block, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.