Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

There are fears unemployment could rise as many businesses look to restructure.  Seek's latest report for July shows job ad volumes dropped four percent month-on-month and are 26 percent lower year-on-year.   They're now just one percent higher than in July 2019 - while applications per job have risen by 11 percent - the highest level on record.  Employers and Manufacturers Association Head of Strategy Alan McDonald told Kate Hawkesby many businesses are looking to cut costs rather than take on more people.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says Grant Robertson can't deliver on the savings he's announced by slashing public contractors and consultants' spending.  The Finance Minister says the move will mean savings of almost $4 billion over the next four years.  He's also announced a trimming back of programmes and a limit on future budget allowances.    National Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby this won't make any difference. She says the Government has thrown billions at growing the bureaucracy and this kind of spending - so it's too little, too late.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Cabinet Minister believes Chris Hipkins has snookered Luxon very cleverly.  The Labour leader has ruled out working with New Zealand First, saying Winston Peters no longer holds policies fit to run the country.  Hipkins has labelled Peters a force of instability and chaos.  Former MP Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby that he's reinforced in people's minds that a vote for New Zealand First is a vote for National.  He says National's hand has been forced to make clear whether he'll work with Peters, which could be risky.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report reveals that the majority of New Zealand employers are contributing the minimum 3% towards their employees Kiwi Saver.   The latest Value for Money Report by KiwiSaver watchdog, National Capital, shows the average contribution rate for all New Zealanders is 4.3%.  Director and KiwiSaver expert Clive Fernandes told Kate Hawkesby that based on the average contribution rate, retirement expenses, and inflation the contribution rate average should be 6.3% .   He says the extra money saved now will take a lot more pressure off when it comes to retirement.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We went to Christchurch at the weekend, and we were waiting to board the plane and a woman comes up to us and says to Mike, “Just wanted to say I love your show, I listen all the time, but I have to say I think you’re wrong about Winston.”   First things first, this woman was under 70 years old. She looked about mid-40’s I guess, so not your average Winston supporter.   Mike replies, “What do you mean?”. She says, “You’re wrong about him not having enough support, I reckon he’ll be in government, he’s going to get at least 5 percent.” Mike replies, “Are you insane?” Which, personally, I’ve always thought is a weird way to address your listeners in public, by asking them if they’re insane, but hey, who am I to judge.   So she goes on to point out all the reasons why she thinks Winston’s in: ‘he’s getting lots of talk,’ ‘people are listening to him,’ ‘there’s buzz,’ etc. All the stuff that on a statistical graph ranks absolutely nowhere; it’s more a ‘feeling’ than anything logical or statistically based, but sh

The Prime Minister may not have been able to articulate whether he had or had not started campaigning for the election earlier this week -  but we all know he started campaigning the minute he was confirmed as the new Labour Party leader and Prime Minister on 22nd January.  What is clear is that campaigning has stepped up a gear. If the antics of this week are any indication of what’s to come then we should buckle up – I think we’re in for a messy and potentially nasty seven-week ride to the election.    This is largely a cost-of-living election. The major parties are doing their best to convince us they’re the most credible party to manage the economy. They’re both focused on ‘bread and butter’ issues and helping the “squeezed middle” and “hard-working New Zealanders”. The minor parties are offering more extreme versions of the same policies - and in the process look like they’re offering action and a real alternative.  But this week any hope the election would be focused on having constructive debates about

All eyes will be on the television tomorrow morning for the final All Blacks test before the World Cup.  They remain undefeated so far this year beating all they have come up against including an emphatic win against long-time opponents South Africa.  They're taking on the Springboks at Twickenham in front of a sell-out crowd of 82,000 - kicking off at 6.30am New Zealand time.  Former All Black captain and Sky Sports commentator Sean Fitzpatrick joined Francesca Rudkin out of the UK. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A West Auckland councillor sees hope for the community in a new flood recovery deal.  The Council will share the $2 billion cost of recovery and resilience works with central government.   It includes $774 million to purchase about 700 Category 3 residential properties and $820 million for resilience against future flooding.   Waitākere ward councillor Shane Henderson told Francesca Rudkin it includes engineering solutions like raising roads - so communities can continue living near streams.   He says that's important for a lot of communities - including those in West Auckland that were particularly slammed by rising floodwaters.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National leader Chris Luxon had little choice in the way he responded to an MP's conduct.   Tim Van de Molen has been stripped of all his portfolios after the Privileges Committee found him in contempt of the House for threatening behaviour against Labour's Shanan Halbert.   Former National Party advisor Brigette Morten told Francesca Rudkin people are unlikely to change their vote purely because of this.  She says people's view of Luxon won't change based entirely on yesterday's events - but multiple issues could have an effect as it has on Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About five years ago we started talking about how school pools where being closed. 165 school pools had closed in the previous five years and more were at risk of closing due of health and safety or maintenance costs. The big losers were, of course, the kids. We want our children to know how to be safe around water, especially with our drowning figures. But with schools struggling to build enough classrooms, let alone manage a pool only used for part of the year, it wasn’t a surprise to see schools find alternative ways to teach children water safety. Even more appallingly, a recent Listener article in the NZ Herald tells how schools are now sacrificing libraries too.   First pools, now libraries – where’s the fun in going to school?!   So here’s the thing, libraries are not mandated. It’s up to the school’s management and board of trustees to decide whether they have the space and resources for a library, maybe even a librarian, or whether they need that space or budget for something else.   It’s a fascinati

A Select Committee is wanting to see greater legislative change around defining sexual consent. It's asking the next government to lawfully outline what consent is in sexual offences - like many other countries have. Current New Zealand laws only state what is not. HELP executive director Kathryn Phillips joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OneRoof figures show the house price slump is over in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. The quarterly rises show a 0.3 percent increase in the value of Auckland properties, a 2 percent increase for Christchurch properties and 0.1 percent decrease in Wellington properties - but One Roof believes that will rise again shortly too. Editor Owen Vaughan says it's not a large increase but it's still significant - he joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food and fibre export revenue has hit new heights. It's drawn $57.4 billion for the year to June 30, bringing $1.2 billion more into the economy than was originally forecast. Dairy, horticulture, seafood and processed food exports have driven the record increases. Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope told Francesca Rudkin these are good headline numbers, but there are underlying factors. He says, for example, while dairy by value is up the milk price is down by what was forecast from $8.30 to between $7 and $7.75. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So our post-pandemic dining behaviours, according to this Herald article I read, talked about how much more expensive dining out is these days - $50 mains it quoted. The upshot is we appear to be getting less food for more money, restaurants are getting tougher on turning tables, and people are dining earlier. The reporter asked, ‘what’s happened to hospitality?’ and I take her point. It can feel like it’s not all that hospitable anymore. The last time we dined in Auckland’s CBD at a well-known well-regarded restaurant we felt something was amiss - a new kind of disinterest in diners, a slackening of service, an unapologetic approach to it all, and just not that much of a pleasant experience, for quite a lot of money. Like many diners, I don’t mind parting with hard-earned cash for an experience when it’s good, not so much when it’s below par.   We thought maybe we’d just struck this particular restaurant on a bad night, but have since been told by others their experience replicated ours. So how do they get a

The Opposition's blaming Labour's 'soft on crime' approach for an increase in gang members serving home detention. The number of gang-affiliated offenders sentenced to home detention has risen nearly 60 percent in six years. Corrections figures show 623 people with gang-links have been put on home detention in the past financial year. National's justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith told Kate Hawkesby he wants to make sure there are 'real consequences' for crime. He says they want to make being a gang member an aggravating factor at sentencing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pause has come on using surgical mesh for a common birthing injury. Director-General of Health, Dr Diana Sarfati, maintains it's not a ban but will allow the rolling out of measures to reduce harm linked to surgical mesh used for stress urinary incontinence. These include tailored training for surgeons, and a patient registry. General Practice NZ chair Dr. Bryan Betty told Kate Hawkesby patients will also get clear pros and cons in an amplified consenting process. He says there'd be a team of experts talking about whether it's the right choice for the patient. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns that the Department of Conservation's planned changes after the deaths of 17 kiwi aren't going far enough. An independent review has found the birds' deaths between 2016 and 2017 at Hawke's Bay's Cape Sanctuary were due to staff turnover, a dry summer and predation. DOC has given itself two years to implement changes to documentation, monitoring and complaint management. But former Forest and Bird chief conservation advisor Kevin Hackwell told Kate Hawkesby it doesn't address the conflict between kiwis' welfare and tourism. He says when that conflict arises it's vital that welfare wins over tourism. Note: A claim was made in the interview that Cape Sanctuary staff were told by management not to inform DOC of the Kiwi deaths. Cape Sanctuary denies this and the independent review commissioned by DOC does not refer to this claim.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The same Labour Party that now wants to build roads all of a sudden, also now wants to clamp down on student achievement. It wants to mandate reading writing and maths ‘core teaching requirements’ across all schools. So, in essence, they want to get serious now on education. After six years of abandoning every fundamental core principle there was in regards to student achievement and learning. Two things immediately jump to mind here, one, since when did Labour abandon all its mad cap ideology on what curriculums should look like and decide that the fundamental basics are in fact important in education, and two, what’s with now copying National? The first answer is, after six years of failed experiments, ideological tweaking, and neglect of education, record truancy numbers, teacher shortages, uni drop outs and failed achievement standards - they’ve realised the jig is up. The thought bubbles on rewriting curriculums and forcing Te Reo into every facet of every subject as a priority has left the fundamentals

The wait could be soon over for new cancer drugs in New Zealand. The National Party's promising to ring fence $280 million over four years to fund 13 new cancer drugs which are used in Australia. It will be funded by restricting fee-free prescriptions to superannuitants and those on low incomes. The Cancer Society's medical director Kate Gregory told Kate Hawkesby this would fill the treatment gap between New Zealand and Australia. She says it can be distressing for someone living here to find out they could have access to different cancer drugs across the Tasman. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Failed promises by Labour may be contributing to their slip in the polls. The latest 1 News Verian poll sees the party drop to 29 percent -- and National rise to 37. The Greens are up two points to 12 percent while Act is up one, to 13. Political commentator Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby there's a series of big pledges made before the 2017 election that haven't been fulfilled, like KiwiBuild and Auckland light rail. He says now Labour is making some big aspirational promises and people must be wondering, why should we believe you this time? LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.