Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Christopher Luxon is heading to Vietnam this week for bilateral talks. This visit comes as the Asia New Zealand foundation put out a report which explores potential ways that we can improve our bilateral relationship with Vietnam. The report included strengthening trade in fashion and food, and collaborating on defence and security matters.  Chief Executive of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Suzannah Jessep talks to Andrew Dickens. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition Full Show Podcast for Monday the 24th of February 2025, The Government's announced an overhaul of the Overseas Investment Act, Business NZ's Catherine Beard shares reaction from businesses.   The Prime Minister is heading to Vietnam this week for bilateral talks, Chief Executive of the NZ Asia Foundation Suzannah Jessep tells Andrew Dickens what she'd like to see from the meeting.   Andrew shares his thoughts around the Chinese Navy planting ships around the Tasman Sea.   The Vatican announces the Pope’s condition has worsened and continues to be "critical" after suffering a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis" Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey shares the latest.   Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first exit polls in Germany's snap election have been released.  Centre-right CDU tops votes so far, with leader Friedrich Merz likely to be the next chancellor.  Alternative for Germany AFD sits at just under 20-percent -- the best showing for a German far-right political party since the end of World War Two.  Correspondent Gavin Grey told Andrew Dickens immigration is a major concern, following multiple terrorist attacks in Germany.  He says recently, the person responsible has either been seeking asylum, or facing deportation.  Grey says there's big question marks about Germany inviting in more than one-million people from Syria and Afghanistan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, the weekend has been spent watching the Chinese Navy use the Tasman Sea as a firing range.   They’ve never done this so far south before and you have to wonder why.   Defence commentators call it a power projection.   Sure, but don’t project power round here. Don’t divert Air New Zealand and Qantas planes.  Coincidentally and ironically, it comes at the same time that the Cook Islands have signed a deal which includes wharf construction.   How naive and stupid is Mark Brown. New wharves are lovely until the Chinese Navy start using them as a staging point to invade the Pacific.   But it begs the question. Why New Zealand hasn’t built a deep-water base on the island years ago.  We built the international airport which is the island's lifeline. The airport is also a military base if it needs to be.   So why didn’t we build a port and why isn’t a ship stationed over there semi permanently.  The Cook Islands are a semi-autonomous part of New Zealand and should have

Building costs have gone through the roof.  A new QV CostBuilder survey revealed a significant increase to costs over the last four years.  It looked at the comparative costs of a standard 150m square home over six main centres, and revealed an average increase of 44%.  The biggest increases were seen in Palmerston North, Dunedin, and Wellington.  Blackburn Management’s Mike Blackburn told Andrew Dickens that most of the increase would have occurred during the 2021/22 period when the pandemic was causing problems with the supply chain.  The good news, he says, is that in the last 12 months, the average cost increase on a square metre basis was on 3% across the entirety of New Zealand.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a sign of heightened tensions as China deploys warships off the coast of Australia.  Three Chinese warships have been seen sailing around 280 kilometres off Sydney, in the Tasman Sea.  Defence Minister Judith Collins says the Chinese Government hasn't told us what they're doing there.  Foreign policy analyst Geoffrey Miller told Andrew Dickens it's significant, and tensions are not getting any better in the Indo-Pacific.  He says we need to be careful not to overreact, as they are quite entitled to be there.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been no change to child poverty in the last year. That's according to data released yesterday by stats NZ which shows 17.7% of all children are in poverty.  That's based on household income after housing costs have been paid.  Save the Children NZ's Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey says we need to start looking at how we can build more affordable homes and lifting incomes for sole parent families. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast for Friday 22nd of Feburary 2025, There has been no change to child poverty in the last year, Save the Children Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey tells Andrew Dickens how the Government can change that.  A new QV CostBuilder study shows that there has been a huge increase to building costs over the past four years. The New Zealand Defence Force is monitoring activity by a chinese naval taskforce, located 150 nautical miles from the coast of Sydney, Foreign Political Analyst Geoffrey Miller tells Andrew whether New Zealand needs to worry. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can we get Parliament back to work? At a time when the Prime Minister is urging us to work work work for growth growth growth, Parliament is playing around with unproductive publicity stunts.   Winston is still banging on about using Aotearoa in the house. 10 minutes debating time was spent on the topic.   There is no bill on the floor asking for a name change. We know the sorts of people who like to say Aotearoa New Zealand to make them feel good.   And whatever happened to free speech? No bill, no story, but Winston’s voters are lapping it up.   Glad you’re entertained.   Meanwhile the Treaty Principles Bill continues to frustrate.   Yesterday Jenny Shipley and Chris Finlayson turned up to rail against the law, earlier Hekia Parata.   It’s quite amazing the parade of National Party grandees who have been so keen to come out against the bill.   It shows the bill is not part of the National party DNA. It never has been.   It’s the plaything of Act and it’s 8 per ce

The Foreign Minister says New Zealand is officially resetting its relationship with the Cook Islands.   Tensions have continued to escalate between our Governments as the Cooks inked in a new partnership with China.   In a speech yesterday, Winston Peters has reiterated his concerns New Zealand was in the dark about this agreement, and is yet to see key details.  Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Andrew Dickens it’s clear Peters is well past fed up at this stage.   Walls says it’s no small feat to completely snub New Zealand in a sense, and sign such a major agreement with China without giving us a heads up.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's frustration about rubbish dumping along the Desert Road detour.   State Highway 1 between Tūrangi and Waiōuru closed in mid-January for about two months of roadworks.  The detour, which runs through State Highways 41, 47, 4, and 49 has seen a noticeable rise in rubbish.   Ruapehu District Councillor David Nottage has been picking up the rubbish himself.  He told Andrew Dickens it's more than people throwing a few things out the window.   Nottage says it's hard to believe people are carrying that much around while they travel, so they may be taking advantage.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Banks could soon be competing a bit harder for our business.  The Reserve Bank's signalling yesterday's double cut to the OCR will be followed by at least two more single cuts at the next reviews in April and May.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Andrew Dickens that's going to drive banks' rates down.  She says mortgage-holders and small businesses should be expecting to see their interest rates keep dropping.  Governor Adrian Orr says banks that don't cut their rates enough could lose market share to their competitors.  He says banks will be "sniffing and hunting" for business and may even have reduce their profit margins.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tensions are rising between the US and Ukrainian presidents.  In a post on social media network Truth Social, Donald Trump has labelled Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator without elections, who's duped the US into spending billions of dollars in defence against Russia.   It comes hours after Zelensky accused him of repeating Russian disinformation.  US correspondent Mitch McCann told Andrew Dickens this comes at a delicate time. He says the US is looking to negotiate with Russia without Ukraine at the table and Ukraine is getting impatient. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast for Thursday 20th of Feburary 2025, Finance Minister Nicola Willis reacts to the Reserve Bank cutting the OCR by 50 basis points.  Roadside dumping is an increasing problem along the Desert road detour Ruapehu District Councillor David Nottage tells Andrew Dickens, it's disgraceful. Winston Peters delivered a speech calling to 'reset' our relationship with the Cook Islands, Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls shares his analysis.  US Correspondent gives the latest on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky responding to President Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine started the war. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So yesterday I outlined the reasons why the Reserve Bank might not cut interest rates.   I got that wrong.   They chopped the rate by the expected half a percent with immediate relief for mortgage holders.   What we try to do with the Reserve Bank is read behind the lines and figure out what they freely mean for our day-to-day life.  This is what I think they’re saying, times have been tough.   But you’ve been sitting on that couch for 15 years.   You wanted to replace it 5 years ago, but everything went so crazy that you called tai hoa until times were better.  The Reserve Bank then says times are as good as you’re going to get anytime soon so buy that couch.   But please buy a New Zealand made one.   They admit there are future risks, but they promise to keep a close eye on it.   We’ve got a furlough. So, let’s get cracking.   We can wait for the government to tell us what to do.    But that’s not the New Zealand way.   We need to work fo

New medical tests have shown further complications in the condition of Pope Francis.  They reveal the 88-year-old pontiff has developed bilateral pneumonia.  The Vatican says laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father's clinical condition continue to present a complex picture.  Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Andrew Dickens that he’s being described as in stable condition and doesn’t have a fever, but nevertheless, his state is worrying.   Nevertheless, the pope is in good spirits and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economists are very confident in a 50-point cut to the Official Cash Rate today.  The Reserve Bank is expected to drop the OCR from its current 4.25% to 3.75% at 2pm.  That would follow a 50-basis point cut at the bank's last meeting in November.  ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Andrew Dickens the data has fallen in line with the Reserve Bank’s forecasts. He says it’s reasonable for the Reserve Bank to expect domestic inflation will continue to fall, and while they don’t want to cause unnecessary pain, they also don’t want inflation to leave the bottom of the band.  Zollner says that’s why they’re comfortable cutting now.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an expectation Ukraine won't be left out of peace deal negotiations.   US and Russia have agreed to appoint teams to negotiate ending the war following high-level talks in Saudi Arabia, to which neither Ukraine nor Europe were invited  Russia says it will talk with Ukraine if "necessary".  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's former chief of staff Matt Terrill told Andrew Dickens the meeting in Saudi Arabia was just a first step at getting Russia to the table.  He says ultimately Ukraine, Russia, and other key players will need to be there too.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 19th of February 2025, the inquiry into steps government agencies took to ensure personal Census and Covid vaccination data collected at Manurewa Marae could not be misused has found the agencies failed to put appropriate safeguards in place.   Marco Rubio's Former Chief of staff Matt Terrill shares his thoughts on the crucial meeting between the US and Russia on the future of the war in Ukraine.   It's OCR day, ANZ's Sharon Zollner tells Andrew Dickens she expects the Reserve Bank to cut by 50 basis points.  Lydia Ko won her second supreme award at the Halberg Awards last night, and Hamish Kerr won Sportsman of the year, Andrew believes they are both deserving of their titles.   Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vindication for whistleblowers, following revelations officials lack census data safeguards, when sharing with third parties.  An inquiry shows multiple data-keeping failures from Stats NZ, Health NZ and the Ministry of Health, and has led to the head of Stats NZ stepping down.   Employment Advocate Allan Hulse told Andrew Dickens all whistleblowers faced retaliation during this process.  Hulse says they stood up and told the truth, and without them, the report wouldn't exist.  An investigation was ordered following claims Manurewa Marae misused Census and Covid-19 vaccine data.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.