Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

As a parent whose kids are at the ‘wander the mall on their own’ age, I do worry about headlines like “Screams heard before mall stabbing in Auckland”.It’s terrifying that young people are carrying weapons; it’s terrifying that they’re so brazen about using them, it’s terrifying that Police still appear powerless to stop youth offenders.One of our kids asked us the other day why the country feels less safe these days, why there's so much violence. And the question made me sad, because it’s not how we grew up. Walking the malls and streets at night felt safe, doing it in broad daylight wasn’t even in question. But these days parents are rightly thinking twice about their young people heading off to the mall with their mates unsupervised.And even the teens themselves are thinking twice about it. And what worries me is that as the bar dips lower and lower on social responsibility these days, and public behaviour gets worse, how much are we just sleepwalking into accepting it? Why are we putting up with more aggr

Put down the drink and spare a bit of money this July.New Zealanders are being asked to give up alcohol for the month to raise funds for those going through cancer treatment, as part of Dry July.Cancer support charity Look Good Feel Better is experiencing higher demand than ever for practical services and care.General Manager Clare O'Higgins told Kate Hawkesby given the rise in the cost of living, finding some loose change could be difficult.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's new Free Trade Agreement with the European Union isn't perfect, but it may be the best we're ever going to get.The 27-country bloc has agreed to remove tariffs on most New Zealand goods.But the dairy and red meat sectors will still face tariffs, and much lower quotas than they'd hoping for.Trade Minister Damien O'Connor told Mike Hosking this may be the best deal Europe was ever going to agree to.The Herald's Thomas Coughlan is travelling with O'Connor and the PM.He told Kate Hawkesby even if the deal gets all the necessary approvals, it won't be fully implemented for another 13 years.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new dawn for New Zealand's heath sector.The country's 20 DHBs have been officially disestablished to make way for the Health NZ juggernaut and the Maori Health Authority.After years of debate and reports, the new Health NZ agency has launched with Health Minister Andrew Little promising a new way of tackling health issues in New Zealand.Along side the new agency is the Māori Health Authority responsible for ensuring the health system provides more equitable outcomes for MāoriA Ministry for Disabled People also comes into force today.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Politicians have sucked the life out of young New Zealanders” this according to a very good opinion piece in the Herald yesterday by University Macro Economics professor Robert McCulloch.He makes the point that even though students and staff returned to campus post lockdowns, “students are reluctant to physically attend class.” He says it’s because ‘they can’t see a future, their mojo and buzz are gone’, and that ‘despondency rules.’ How depressing is that? The thing is, he’s not wrong. He cites students who’ve told him they’ll leave as soon as they graduate for international jobs with higher pay and lower living costs, students who say they feel like their entire course has been done on Zoom.McCulloch argues the Government took away their dreams by sucking the air out of them, they’re lonely – he cites a NZ study showing:“Loneliness is highest among people aged 15-24. Teen suicide rates are among the worst in the OECD. Cognitive skills at age 15 are in decline. Levels of school attendance are declining and

Nominations are now open to run for your local school's board of trustees.With elections in September, New Zealand School Trustees Association wants to make sure "decent people" actually run for school boards, as during Covid, we realised how much power these boards have in our children's education.NZSTA president Lorraine Kerr joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Demand for passports has risen significantly, with a 400 percent increase since January.This now has the Department of Internal Affairs scrambling, with nearly 50,000 passports yet to be processed and around 8600 people still waiting for responses to queries.Many are worried they may have to cancel their school holiday plans due to the backlog.Brent Thomas is the House of Travel chief operating officer and joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions are being raised around the sentence given to a young man whose driving resulted in the deaths of five Timaru teenagers.Tyreese Fleming has been jailed for two-and-a-half years in the High Court at Timaru.He was just 19 at the time, driving on a restricted licence and had been drinking when his car slammed into a power pole at up to 115 kilometres an hour.Victims' advocate Ruth Money told Kate Hawkesby she sees this as a light sentence.She believes the youth justice system needs an overhaul, to ensure victims get justice.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call me naïve, and look when to comes to this stuff I probably am. It’s a mixture of not being that clued into forensically what goes on technologically with my information, but also a bit of head in the sand too. Like I sort of know this stuff happens but don’t think about it much, hence I’m always shocked at the reality of it. But you know how the apps we exist on these days are grabbing all our info and data and can track us? Well, yesterday I was confronted with the stark reality of this. To explain what I’m talking about, I’d had an online order with a supermarket go awry, again, and this was when I was really sick and just ordering groceries in, which I hate doing but needs must. So I’d been ordering them in, and I’d had such a bad experience time after time. There were broken eggs, rotten avocados or bananas, smooshed up mandarins, like every order arrived with either stuff broken, rotten, missing or damaged.I was getting fed up of throwing out groceries I’d paid for just because someone couldn’t be bo

So the Supreme Court has ruled that traditional values group 'Family First' will no longer qualify for charitable status.The ruling is that the group's work isn't of a charity and that the organisations education wasn't fair, balanced or respectful.But questions remain as to why just Family First.They aren't the only charity with an agenda, take Greenpeace and animal welfare group S.A.F.E for example.Sue Barker is a charities law expert and joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner says human trafficking's become financially lucrative to people smugglers.It follows the deaths of 50 migrants inside a Texas truck.They were discovered inside a trailer unit yesterday in San Antonio, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius.There were no signs of water or working air conditioning.Gil Kerklikowske told Kate Hawkesby there have been warnings for decades about the dangers they face.He says despite that, many still attempt the crossing for either safety or a better life.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims the emergency housing situation in Rotorua is "out of control".Newstalk ZB can reveal the Government has so far spent one billion dollars on emergency housing since coming to power five years ago.Restore Rotorua Chairman Trevor Newbrook told Kate Hawkesby there are 40 motels in Rotorua full of people in emergency housing.He says the situation is at "breaking point" with one third of people in Rotorua emergency housing, coming from other parts of New Zealand.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like a lot of parents I imagine at the moment, I got the call up to the school sick bay yesterday to collect my daughter. Not another respiratory virus thank goodness, but a shoulder injury. School suggested I take her to A&E or a doctor to check it out.Now anyone who has been sick lately, or paying attention to the news, knows that now is not the time to try to see a doctor or try to get into an ED. So I waited to lay eyes on my daughter to see how bad it was, because if we could avoid attempting to see a health professional at the moment that'd be preferable. But as soon as I saw my daughter with her arm in a sling and the state of her pain, I knew we needed to get an expert opinion and possibly an ultrasound or X-ray. So I called ahead to check wait times. I tried our GP first. She was fully booked - she’s never not - so that was no surprise. “Could any other Doctor see us?” Not for a few hours, but yes it was possible. So I booked a slot but thought I may as well try our local ED's just in case they w

Good insulation is something we know keeps people out of hospitals, therefore reduces pressure on our health system.But vulnerable homeowners could be eligible for free insulation installation in their homes, and not even realise.The Community Energy Action group in Canterbury are offering free insulation to homeowners this winter, in a bid to keep people out of hospital.CEO of the group Caroline Shone joined Kate Hawkesby.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No time is a good time to give a child a phone.A new Canstar survey shows only 10 percent believe a child is safer with a mobile phone than without one.Meanwhile, 28 percent of people believing children should have one by the time they’re at high school.Telecommunications Forum Chief Executive Paul Brislen told Kate Hawkesby it can depend on whether they do a sport or if they have to travel to school.He says for example his youngest daughter needed a phone earlier than his oldest, due to her doing more activities outside of school.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A construction expert says we're in for turbulent times, with the slowdown in the market for new housing builds igniting fears property prices could begin to spiral.The Master Builders Association says supply chain issues and rising material costs are behind a drop in sales and inquiries, as lending becomes tougher and banks want fixed-price contracts.AUT's John Tookey told Kate Hawkesby some construction companies won't survive.He says they won't be able to function with the restraints in credit.Tookey says a drop-off in new builds will occur.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one in the history of spin has spun more than this current Government, which is why I find it so ironic that Grant Roberston’s accused Chris Luxon of ‘political spin’ when it comes to the party’s views on Roe v Wade being overturned.  Pot, kettle. What Luxon did, was clarify the party’s position, after a personal statement was made by one of his MPs who clearly momentarily forgot that he's part of a bigger machine than just himself. Simon O’Connor maybe should've kept his celebratory Facebook post between him and his nearest and dearest, and remembered that he doesn’t speak for his whole party. It does of course suit a left leaning government – and media for that matter, and their agenda, to cast Luxon as some sort of Trump 2.0 and look to whip up a storm over this.  Which is why Nicola Willis looks like the only politician speaking any sense at the moment. She said this whole thing is an attempt by the Government to import American style culture wars into our politics and it's needless fear mongering to w

Prince Charles' office has denied there was any wrongdoing in the heir to the British throne accepting bags full of cash as charity donations from a Qatari politician.The Sunday Times said the prince was given a total of €3 million ($5 million) by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar. It said the money was handed over to Charles at private meetings between 2011 and 2015 — on one occasion in a suitcase, and on another in shopping bags from London's Fortnum & Mason department store.The newspaper said the money was deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund. It did not allege that anything illegal was done.Charles' office, Clarence House, said in a statement that the donations "were passed immediately to one of the prince's charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed".The prince's charitable fund told the newspaper it had verified "that the donor was a legitimate and v

It's being suggested Simon O'Connor has created an unfortunate distraction for the National party and his leader.Chris Luxon says a social media post by O'Connor celebrating the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US was taken down because it was causing distress and doesn't represent the party's position.Political Commentator Ben Thomas told Kate Hawkesby abortion issues are traditionally treated as conscience votes so O'Connor has every right to express his belief.But he says on the other hand, he's also a backbencher in a party seeking to win power after what will be six years in opposition.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than $1 billion is spent on takeaways and fast food each year in Auckland.High deprivation areas have a higher concentration of the outlets, and fewer places - like supermarkets - selling fresh food.Nutritionist Nikki Hart told Kate Hawkesby for people with low incomes, working multiple jobs and with large families to feed, the food looks attractive after a long day.She says the industries are smart - they know exactly where to put outlets, such as where there's high traffic volume outside schools and churches.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.