Early Edition on Newstalk ZB

Scott Robertson’s All Blacks squad has been announced, with Scott Barrett taking the captaincy. 

He’s taking over the duties from Sam Cane, with Ardie Savea and Jordie Barrett sharing the vice-captaincy. 

Rugby Commentator Tony Johnson told Mike Hosking that he doubts there’ll be any drastic changes right off the bat. 

He said that if they’re going to change their playstyle, they’ll d...

The Cancer Society says yesterday was a momentous day but there's still a bit of uncertainty around Pharmac's funding boost.  

The Government's committed $604 million, taken in advance from next year's Budget.  

It will cover the funding for 54 new medicines, including 26 cancer treatments.  

Cancer Society chief executive Rachael Hart told Mike Hosking that it's been an incredibly st...

Auckland will soon have Police on the beat 24/7. 

Community Beat Teams will be based in major centres, with 63 officers in Auckland, 17 in Wellington and 10 in Christchurch. 

It's the Police and Government's newest plan to crackdown on crime rates. 

Police Mi...

King Charles will likely skip New Zealand during his upcoming tour to the South Pacific. 

According to The Mirror, he and Queen Camilla are set to visit Australia and Samoa - but have dropped New Zealand. 

The visit...

I think we got enough out of Nicola Willis on the programme Friday to know that today, cabinet’s gonna sign off this money for Pharmac to solve the cancer problem.  

The big outworking of this is - I hope they've learned their lesson.  

This government has a couple of problems. The biggest one is the mess they inherited. We are going to spend at least the next year deep in it.  

Two y...

The Blues dominated the Chiefs on Saturday night to take the 2024 Super Rugby title at Eden Park - beating the visitors 41-10.  

Caleb Clarke scored a hattrick as Akira Ioane and AJ Lam got a try each.  

It's the first time they've won the competition in more than two decades. 

The Government’s expected to announce a $600 million boost in funding for Pharmac today.  

If approved, it would bump the medicine budget up 40 percent - and cover the 13 cancer drugs the Government initially promised, and more. 

Patient Voice Aotearoa Chair, Malcolm Mulholland,

Labour’s lead in the UK election is holding steady as the Tories deal with a scandal. 

The party has admitted that their campaign head, Tony Lee, placed bets on the timing of the vote, allegedly just days before Sunak went public. 

The BBC revealed that Tory candidate Laura Sanders, wife of Lee, is also being investigated by Britain’s Gambling Commission. 

UK Correspondent Vincent McA...

New Zealand's officially out of a technical recession but may not be out of the woods. 

Stats NZ figures show GDP rose 0.2% in the three months to March and the same amount for the year. 

However, per capita GDP decreased by 0.3%. 

Infometrics Chief Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking that the numbers are not looking promising for Q2. 

He said that some of the importa...

Tomorrow’s Super Rugby Final is set to be an intense match. 

The Blues face off against the Chiefs at a sold-out Eden Park, kicking off just after 7pm.  

ZB’s Rugby Commentator Elliott Smith told Mike Hosking that the Chiefs have come out of nowhere in the last couple weeks. 

The Blues were expected to face the Hurricanes in the finals, the Chiefs entering the playoffs sitting fourth ...

A Northland business leader says the large power outage will significantly impact business.  

Widespread power outages began yesterday morning when a transmission tower toppled at Glorit, northwest of Auckland. 

NorthPower says supply has since been restored to the majority of Northland. 

Top Energy is showing 61 customers in Bay of Islands still without but warns there's potential fo...

Freight operators are thrilled they can deliver goods to Northland a lot faster from next week. 

State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns will reopen to two-way traffic from 11.59pm next Wednesday, just in time for Matariki weekend. 

The Transport Agency says additional space has been created so crews can work on repairs without lengthy closures. 

James Smith, General Manager of Policy an...

We'll know later today whether New Zealand was in a technical recession last financial quarter.

Gross Domestic Product figures for the three months to March are released later this morning.

ASB is forecasting a 0.1% rise.

Senior economist Kim Mundy told Mike Hosking that they're not expecting another recession, but neither are they expecting strong growth.

She says they ...

There's a renewed call for Boeing to be prosecuted after being grilled in the US Senate over its recent safety issues. 

US Justice officials have until July 7th to decide if it lays criminal charges. 

Family members of the 346 victims of two separate crashes involving Boeing planes five years ago were also at the hearing. 

US Correspondent Katherine Firkin told Mike Hosking that they'...

Dolphin advocates are celebrating SailGP's decision to move next year's event from Christchurch. 

SailGP announced the 2025 edition wouldn't return to Lyttelton Harbour, which has hosted for the last two years. 

In this year's event, the first day of racing was controversially cancelled due to a Hector's Dolphin spotting. 

Maui and Hector's Dolphin Defenders spokesperson Christine Ros...

Dozens of migrants have been rescued from a sinking ship in the Mediterranean. 

German aid group RESQSHIP said it picked up 51 people from a sinking wooden boat, including two unconscious people, and found ten bodies trapped in the lower deck. 

A second ship sank nearby, and 64 people total are still missing from the vessels. 

Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Mike Hosking that the...

Maintenance on ageing Interislander ferries is seen as a short-term solution by the Maritime Union. 

Estimated annual maintenance costs to keep KiwiRail’s three ageing Interislander ferries running could almost double to $65 million by next year, and keeping the ferries afloat will be an “ongoing battle”. 

A previous assessment of the fleet’s condition raised concerns about steel corrosion, metal g...

There’s hopes an improved vaccine against an infectious disease running rife through New Zealand cattle could ease costs for farmers. 

The Ministry for Primary Industries is backing a project which aims to develop a modified vaccine against Bovine Viral Diarrhoea. 

It impacts about 80% of our dairy and beef herds and costs the industry more than $190 million each year. 

Research lead ...

A victims' advocate says new measures to address court backlogs are doable if all players in the system play their part.  

The Chief District Court Judge has introduced maximum waiting times based on the seriousness of the crime.  

For the least serious category —where there's no risk of prison— the aim is six months.  

Independent victims' advocate Ruth Money told Mike Hosking that t...