A political commentator says the British Foreign Secretary's visit to New Zealand is little more than a token stopover.

Boris Johnson will be in the capital to talk trade, foreign policy and security.

He will also make a fleeting visit to Kaikoura.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson to visit Kaikoura

International politics commentator Josie Pagani said any movement on the trade front looks unlikely, with the UK still struggling to form a coherent Brexit strategy.

She told Nadine Higgins most Brits don't even know Mr Johnson's here.

"The Times newspaper in the UK runs a weekly agenda column where it says what everybody's up to, this week it said Boris Johnson is visiting Japan so I don't think we are hugely high in the list of priorities."

LISTEN ABOVE AS JOSIE PAGANI SPEAKS WITH NADINE HIGGINS

The Labour Party's policy on school donations is being seen as a way to level the playing field.

The party is promising to scrap school donations and give schools $150 per student per year instead.

PPTA president Jack Boyle told Tim Dower it's going to work best if there are other steps that take us back to a free education.

He said it won't completely offset what some schools have levied through donations in the past.

"But at least it's going to level that out a bit, it's going to mean that those whanau, those communities who cannot meet those donation requests, no longer have to."

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ABOVE

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is accusing the government of sanctioned child trafficking.

The scheme saw more than 100,000 children transported to colonies like New Zealand and Australia, spanning from the 1920s to 1974.

UK correspondent Ben Bland told Tim Dower the ex-PM said some were sent without the consent of their parents, and told they'd become orphans.

He said Mr Brown is now calling for the children to be compensated The sex abuse suffered by child migrants was the UK's "worst sex abuse scandal" in terms of the number who suffered and the length of time such abuse went unchecked, Brown said. The child sexual abuse inquiry is examining the sexual, physical and emotional abuse suffered by children sent to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Rhodesia up to the 1970s. Brown said the scheme, under which around 130,000 children who were in care or whose parents couldn't keep them were sent overseas, was a "gross violation of human rights".

LISTEN ABOVE AS UK CORRESPONDENT GORDON BROWN SPEAKS TO TIM DOWER ON EARLY EDITION

The Maori Party's new internship visa is an opportunity to visit New Zealand rent-free.

Skilled migrants would apply for jobs in regions which are currently experiencing population, economic or social decline.

They would work unpaid for two years, while staying with New Zealanders in their homes.

Maori Party Botany candidate Wetex Kang helped write the policy, and told Tim Dower it's all about the experience.

"They get to come and live in New Zealand and they get to experience our culture and they get to teach a local person, a local apprentice, who will take over from them."

Mr Kang said it isn't linked to their immigration target.

The party is looking to boost the current immigration levels by 20,000 to 30,000.

LISTEN ABOVE AS MAORI PARTY BOTANY CANDIDATE WETEX KANG SPEAKS TO TIM DOWER ON EARLY EDITION

In the UK, it's the end of the credit card rip off.

That's how they're portraying the idea of outlawing extra charges when you make a payment by debit or credit card.

Massey University's banking expert David Tripe told Tim Dower there are one or two retailers here who are engaging in a bit of profiteering, but many of them don't impose a charge.

He doubts it would be worth this country following Britain's lead.

"The risk is then that if you don't allow surcharging you impose even more of a transfer, from those who are poorer to those who are in the position to use credit cards."

LISTEN ABOVE AS DAVID TRIPE SPEAKS TO TIM DOWER ON EARLY EDITION

Animal welfare rules are changing.

Almost 50 new rules will come into effect next year.

They cover everything from ensuring crayfish are insensible before being killed, to the size of farrowing crates in the pork industry - these are cages sows are confined to after giving birth.

NZ Farmers spokesman Duncan Humm told Tim Dower the pork industry in particular is having a tough time.

"I really feel sorry for anyone in the pig business here because having to compete with all these cheap imports where they don't have the same welfare codes as New Zealand, yet on the supermarket shelves they've got to compete with these cheap, crappy imports."

LISTEN ABOVE TO THE FULL INTERVIEW

Labour is relying on the conscience of multi-millionaires to stop them from taking the pension, if they don't need it.

The party has unveiled its plans to restart contributions to the Super Fund, putting in $7.7 billion dollars over five years. But no word on raising the age or setting a cutoff level for extremely rich people.

Labour leader Andrew Little told Nadine Higgins he knows wealthy people who choose not to take the pension.

He said they won't penalise a whole section of the workforce just because it rewards some people in a fortunate situation.

LISTEN ABOVE AS LABOUR LEADER ANDREW LITTLE SPEAKS WITH NADINE HIGGINS

Labour's finance spokesman Grant Robertson said for Super to remain sustainable for everyone when they turn 65, the country cannot put off payments for another day.

He said they will put in $500 million a year and slowly build that up.

"So by the time we get to the end of the period, we will be putting in $2.5 billion. When you add in the money that the fund makes in terms of the interest on the investments, we'll be talking about nearly $10 billion extra in the fund."

He said we need to spread the cost over a period of time, which is why former Labour Finance Minister Michael Cullen came up with the fund in the first place, and why they want to resume contributions now.

Auckland University Retirement Policy and Research Centre director Susan St John said there might be a case for saving for a rainy day.

But she said the government will have more pressing concerns come October.

"When we are satisfied with our social spending and the infrastructure, then talk about building up assets on the Crown balance sheet."

She said there are better ways a government could be preparing to look after New Zealand's growing senior population.

"Investing in decent state housing, a decent mental health system, patching up treatment of the aged."

Dr St John questions whether families should struggle today to keep taxes down in the future.

Americans are lamenting the Californian housing crisis... but some of the numbers would make Kiwis scoff.

The median house price has hit what the New York Times describes as a 'staggering' NZD$680,000.

That's compared to Auckland, where the median price hovers around a million.

1News US correspondent Rebecca Wright told Nadine Higgins while they're different markets, there are comparisons to be made.

"The median income in California is NZD$70,000 a year, which is much more than people earn in Auckland."

Meanwhile, the United States could have no healthcare for a time, as senators vote on repealing Obamacare.

After voting down Donald Trump's replacement healthcare system, Republican senators are now deciding whether to leave the country with nothing.

Ms Wright told Nadine Higgins there's no promise for when it would be replaced.

"So there will be a vacuum and what they're hoping is that Democrats will get on board given it's a certainty that Obamacare will be replaced and they'll be able to find something in the interim to fill that vacuum."

LISTEN ABOVE AS 1NEWS US CORRESPONDENT REBECCA WRIGHT SPEAKS TO NADINE HIGGINS ON EARLY EDITION

The job market continues to have an overwhelming gender bias according to data from Trade Me Jobs.

Eighty percent of applicants for engineering and IT roles are male, while women dominate applications for education, office and admin jobs.

Senior employment lawyer Steph Dyhrberg told Nadine Higgins they're starting to come to terms with what's stopping women progressing.

"In my profession, we are now talking about unconscious bias and realising how early those unconscious bias elements start getting laid down. It's right from when your children are very young."

LISTEN ABOVE AS STEPH DYHRBERG SENIOR EMPLOYMENT LAWYER SPOKE TO NADINE HIGGINS

A tax expert says Labour's new policy to go after multinational companies dodging paying their fair share of tax will be costly.

Labour intends to introduce a Diverted Profits Tax that will impose a penalty rate if they believe that tax has been deliberately avoided by multinationals.

Ernst and Young executive tax director David Snell told Nadine Higgins it will be difficult to pin down.

He said it applies to multinationals trying to avoid tax by shifting profits out of New Zealand, by way of transactions with little economic substance.

"No it's very hard to actually pin down what a transaction with very little economic substance is. I would say there's not a lot of them in New Zealand, in that our tax culture is pretty compliant. IRD has a long series of winning things."

LISTEN ABOVE AS ERNST AND YOUNG EXECUTIVE TAX DIRECTOR DAVID SNELL SPEAKS TO NADINE HIGGINS ON EARLY EDITION