Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A win for residents who've been fighting for Christchurch City Council to reject housing density plans for the city, but it's not over yet. Ten councillors have voted no to the Government’s plans to allow up to three homes of three storeys each on most sections across the city without consent. Five councillors voted yes, one abstained and one was absent The council will now write to Environment Minister David Parker to ask that Christchurch be exempt from being a tier one city.  Riccarton Bush-Kilmarnock Residents’ Association chair Tony Simons told Kate Hawkesby one-size-fits-all isn't appropriate for housing He says the council is now asking for a bespoke plan for the city, instead of one that was designed for Auckland. The Government could decide to put a commissioner in place, or appoint a Crown manager, to push through the rules. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Severe weather is being blamed by some for soaring food prices. Annual food prices have shot up to the highest rate in 13 years. Stats New Zealand says it cost 8.3 percent more to buy food this August, compared with last year. Vegetables New Zealand Chair John Murphy told Kate Hawkesby the weather's been horrendous. He says severe weather isn't something that starts in 2050, businesses are facing the impacts of it now. Murphy says increases in diesel, fertiliser, power costs and staffing shortages are also impacting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a relief and not before time that we’re waving goodbye to the traffic light system. Big raps to the Government for getting their heads around that. We’ve moved on, and so should they. It was apparent yesterday when Grant Robertson said to Mike Hosking that they’ll ‘still take Covid seriously’ that they were laying the ground work for the naysayers, the panickers, those who’d freak out, that they were ‘still taking it seriously’, even though they were heaving the system out.  I don’t know if that reassured mask lovers or not. I do think it’s a crock they’ve kept the mask rule for pharmacies, that seems a waste of time, I was talking to a pharmacist yesterday whose sick to death of wearing a mask all day, seems unfair they’ve been captured by that rule. The greatest irony of the whole spiel from the PM though had to be when she said, “we take back control.” Ironic when this entire exercise has been about them having control. Then there’s the public holiday announcement. I really feel for small business her

South Canterbury will ask residents if its anniversary day should be moved to the same day as Canterbury. As things stand, South Canterbury anniversary day is September 26, the same day as the country's one-off public holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II's death. Waimate District Mayor Craig Rowley told Kate Hawkesby they're looking to change the day to November 11, Canterbury Anniversary day. He says businesses are probably keen for the Queen's Memorial Day and Anniversary Day to be the same day - but the general consensus among most people is shifting it's a good idea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Due to global supply chain issues, some shipping companies are leaving New Zealand off their schedule entirely. This is of course causing massive headaches for companies who rely on export. Rockit Global are a Hawke’s Bay based apple company whose largest export market is China. They were concerned this year's apples wouldn't make it by sea and normal air freight was too pricey. So they've managed to convince Air New Zealand to stack some of their planes heading to China with the apples. CEO of Rockit Mark O'Donnell joined Kate Hawkesby on Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Praise for an easing of restrictions from our retail sector. Covid-19 restrictions have been scrapped almost completely, with only aged care facilities and hospitals still requiring masks. Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford says it takes away a lot of tension and confusion around exemptions that retail workers had to deal with. He told Kate Hawkesby he doesn't expect many retailers to ask their customers to mask up. Harford says many workers were on the receiving end of verbal abuse and even violence after asking people to mask up. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So today is D-day on the traffic light system and whether it continues for us or not. Let’s hope not. I’m optimistic – but the caveat is, this Government likes control. This system was all about control, and to ditch it is to lose that. Problem is, and part of the reason I think they’ll ditch it, is that we’ve all ditched it anyway. Sick of masks and controls and traffic lights and restrictions, coupled with seeing Covid in the community for what it really is these days, which is a non-event, we’ve voted with our feet, or our faces. I was out and about at the weekend both in town and in the country, and you can count on one hand whose still wearing masks. Those of us with school aged children who’ve been buying an endless supply of masks for our kids to wear to school are sick of buying them, the kids are sick of wearing them, and as summer approaches and the weather heats up, they’re actually finding it unbearable to wear them. Teachers too. So we know most of us won’t miss them. But will the Government miss

A New Zealand Defence Force contingent will join the Commonwealth Forces marching contingent at Queen Elizabeth's funeral. More than 30 personnel from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Defence civilians have started to leave for London. Deputy Contingent Commander Lieutenant Colonel Edward Craw says told Kate Hawkesby  they'll arrive at a barracks near London and start rehearsals for the funeral procession. He says a small group of Colonel Commandants, retired Army officers from this country, will be on a separate programme operating close to Defence staff in the UK. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey joined Early Edition as Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was carried into the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh after a crowd-lined final journey from Balmoral. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says our Covid-19 traffic light system is no longer needed. Jacinda Ardern will announce Cabinet's decision on whether to do away with it at 4pm. National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says compliance with mask wearing is waning. He told Kate Hawkesby he reckons the timing is right. Bishop says now that cases are falling and we're past the winter peak, it's time to move on. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's city rail link is the project that appears to keep bleeding money with no end date in sight. The public has already been warned there has been a cost blowout of the originally budgeted $4.4b project. But now bosses have admitted they have no idea when the project will be completed. They even haven't ruled out works going beyond 2025. Chief executive of Auckland Business Chamber, Simon Bridges joined Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I visited my parents on Waiheke yesterday and my Mum was telling me a story about an Uber driver she’d had in town who was taking her through Auckland’s CBD, which – as most Aucklanders know, is a bit of a dive these days and certainly not easy to navigate if you’re in a car. They’ve made it so impossible to drive through the city now – that like most cities these days - if you’re in a car you’re punished, they’d prefer you on a bus or a bike.  But that doesn’t work for everybody and this driver was telling Mum how he'd been transporting a passenger with a disability, who was unable to get on a bus or ride a bike, so he was driving her to her destination, and it became apparent there was nowhere for him to stop to let her out. He realised that with all the parking taken away and all the cycle lanes and enlarged pedestrian paths, he’d have to stop a fair way from where she needed to get to, and she would have to walk back.  Worried about his duty as an Uber driver to deliver her safely to her destination, he p

Small businesses are hoping to enact change in this year's local body elections. More than nine in 10 small to medium sized business owners are planning to vote next month, with one in three believing council support for them is worse than three years ago. Business NZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby he's not surprised by the numbers. He says if you think about the worsening of CBDs around the country it's no wonder businesses want to try to make a difference. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A call for an inquiry over mistakes made during our Covid-19 response. Northland was plunged into level three after two women travelled to the region and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Officials originally said they had provided false information to get travel permits, but it's been revealed they were issued in error instead. Former New Zealand First Northland MP Shane Jones told Kate Hawkesby their refusal to hold an inquiry is due to overconfidence. He thinks the Government thinks it will win the election without having to care about the north. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a legal victory for former President Donald Trump, a federal judge on Monday granted his request for a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and temporarily halted the Justice Department's use of the records for investigative purposes. The decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon authorizes an outside legal expert to review the records taken during the Aug. 8 search and to weed out from the rest of the investigation any that might be protected by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. Some of those records may ultimately be returned to Trump, but the judge put off a ruling on that question. The order came despite the strenuous objections of the Justice Department, which said a special master was not necessary in part because officials had already completed their review of potentially privileged documents. The department said Monday that it was reviewing the decision but did not indicate if and when it might appeal. The order almost certainly sl

It appears advocates of legalising cannabis in this country are still smarting over having lost that referendum. This was a referendum we shouldn’t have even been having in the first place when you look at all the other things needing sorting in this country. Decriminalizing weed shouldn’t be top of the priority list. The fact it ever was, and that millions were spent on a referendum on it, speaks volumes about this Government and where it sees value.  Kids in poverty, people sleeping cars, mental health, housing, health and education would be good starting points for a government who promised a lot on that and have delivered nothing. My bad, sorry, they have delivered something on that – worse stats in every single category. But back to weed. Not content with having lost that debate, they’re now looking at decriminalizing meth.  This insane idea comes from none other than the Helen Clark Foundation. They want a health based approach to everything, seemingly ignoring the fact our health system is in crisis, a

The Government is rejecting calls to review tax brackets amid rising inflation. New Zealand’s marginal tax rate system means higher rates of tax are applied as someone earns more income. Stats NZ data shows median weekly earnings increased 8.8 percent in the year to the June quarter, the biggest jump since records began. Tax expert Terry Baucher says told Kate Hawkesby tax brackets have not changed in more than a decade and action is needed urgently. He says people are being squeezed as their incomes rise rapidly, alongside their tax brackets. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Rotorua mayoral candidate says the city needs to urgently shift away from emergency housing motels. National and Te Pati Maori are calling for an inquiry into the system after a TVNZ report exposed tenants in poor conditions. Some residents housed under the charity Visions of a Helping Hand are accusing that group of intimidation and abuse of power by staff and security workers. Rotorua District Council member and mayoral candidate Tania Tapsell says told Kate Hawkesby we need to focus on long term solutions. She says we need to build social housing not rely on emergency housing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Act says it's time the Government got serious with ram-raiders. Police Minister Chris Hipkins this morning unveiled a plan to refer any child under 14 caught ram-raiding to a cross-agency board, to prevent repeat offending. But Act Leader David Seymour says anyone aged 11-to-14 caught raiding should be forced to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet, so police know where they are at all times. He says it's tragic that New Zealand is in this state of affairs - and this is the consequence of having no consequences for crime.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Potential job losses at AUT are being seen as a tragedy for staff and students. Up to 230 staff could be cut. A drop in student numbers and growing economic pressures are being cited as the reason for the proposed restructure. The Tertiary Education Union says there seems to be too much focus on business outcomes rather than academic ones. President Tina Smith told Kate Hawkesby this isn't the right time to be doing it. She says with our skill shortage at the moment we need educated people. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.