Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

The nurses’ union is confident today's strike won't negatively impact patients. 

Bargaining between the Nurses Organisation and Health New Zealand is deadlocked, with workers opposing changes which would see a reduced number of nurses caring for patients. 

They say it risks patient safety and are walking off the job at every Te Whatu Ora facility nationwide between 11am and 7pm today.  

Nurses Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter told Ryan Bridge it's a necessary move. 

He says it's what the nurses want, saying they're exasperated by the bargaining process. 

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More targeted support is on the way for beneficiaries on the jobseeker benefit, but questions have been raised about punishing people who don't move for jobs.

Job losses have been a big problem in regional New Zealand this year, with two big mills closing in the Ruapehu District costing over 200 people their jobs.

Mayor Weston Kirton told Ryan Bridge there simply aren't any regional jobs around.

"We've got only a limited number of opportunities in our district. We do have one or two businesses that, on a seasonal basis, take people and we traditionally have a high unemployment rate in our area anyway," he said. 

"To have 230 jobs taken away from us has a huge impact on our economy".

An additional 8000 people went on jobseeker support in the last three months, bringing the total to over 200,000 which is pushing the government's target of bringing that down to fewer than 50,000 by 2030.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 3rd of December. More people are joining the jobseeker benefit, making the government's target harder to meet. Could jobseekers who don't move for work face punishment, and what are regions that have had big employers close down seeing? Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton joins the show. 

The Supreme Court will allow the Attorney General to appeal a decision on the Foreshore and Seabed made last year - what does it mean? Former Treaty Negations Minister Chris Finlayson speaks to Ryan.

36,000 Te Whatu Ora nurses will go on strike for 8 hours today. NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter on what you need to know.

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Why do Americans keep saying nobody is above the law and then repeatedly showing us some blatantly are. 

Biden tweeted during the campaign "nobody is above the law".

He said it many times, but he was talking about charges against Trump, of course. 

But, on principle, he said the same applies to him and his family - Including his son Hunter. 

That brings us back here - He's lost the election and quicker than you can say 'get out of jail free', he's flip-flopped and the convictions are wiped clean. 

Now Hunter won't face any jail time or have a criminal record for two separate court cases, some of them involving gun charges.

Their constitution allows Presidents to pardon pretty much anyone for federal crimes, except themselves for impeachment. 

Trump did it on the way out too. 

Obama, both Bushes and FDR hit the record with more than 2000 pardons. 

At the same time Biden proves his son is in fact above the law you've got the Department of Justice dropping cases against Trump left, right and centre.

Why? 

Well, they have a policy of not going after sitting Presidents. 

So we have DOJ policy and that pesky written constitution to blame and that's fine, it's their country, not mine. 

But aren't you glad we don't mix politics with justice here like they do in the States? When we say nobody's above the law we pretty much mean it.

I know some will argue we apply the law unevenly and there are cases to be made, but on political grounds? 

This department going after person A because their Labour or Act or whatever - It just doesn't work that like here.

The Americans do many things well but the separation of powers doesn't appear to be one of them. 

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The Black Caps have got their summer off on the wrong foot, after losing to England by eight wickets in the first test in Christchurch.

Their efforts were marred by a string of fielding errors, with multiple dropped catches in the first innings as England's Harry Brook bagged 171.

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson's efforts for last points in Qatar have been unsuccessful after finishing 14th in Lusail - as F1 Drivers Champion-elect Max Verstappen takes out the Grand Prix.

Newstalk ZB Sport Wellington reader Adam Cooper joined Ryan Bridge.

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British broadcaster Gregg Wallace has stepped back from presenting Masterchef as allegations of sexual comments surface.

There's been 13 complaints from staff and celebrity guests over almost two decades – which Wallace denies.

The 60-year-old's posted videos online defending himself.

Europe Correspondent Kay Oliver told Ryan Bridge he's pointing the finger at middle class women of a certain age.

“A question to be answered as to why at this stage, if we’re talking about crisis management, he has gone out and put this online so that now millions of people can see this.”

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Cautious optimism from the meat sector as it braces for the impact of a US presidency change.

Donald Trump's campaigned on tariffs of up to 20 percent on all imports, with higher tariffs for imports from China.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton says they're still unsure if New Zealand will actually be affected.

He told Ryan Bridge the tariffs will focus on nations which have a trade imbalance with the US.

“And I think for us, the US is very, very short on beef at the moment, and they’re going to be relying heavily on us over the next few years.”

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An ex-Labour Party high-flyer is confident Chris Hipkins will continue to lead the party.

Labour's conference over the weekend came with a vow not to join security conference AUKUS.

The party's also spoken about a potential tax shake-up should it come into power at the next election.

Former Labour MP Stuart Nash told Ryan Bridge he has no doubt Chris Hipkins will be leader.

“If he wants to be the leader, and I assuming he does, because he’s engaged, he’s passionate.”

Wairarapa-based list MP Kieran McAnulty has been announced as Labour's 2026 campaign chair.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 2nd of December. Labour has held its annual conference, leader Chris Hipkins says the party won't join AUKUS if reelected in 2026 and will rebuild Dunedin Hospital. Former Labour Minister Stuart Nash talks to Ryan.

With Trump tariffs possibly coming next year, what is the red meat sector expecting and how are they preparing as demand for kiwi products continues. Silver Fern Farms Chief Executive Dan Boulton joins the show.

The Black Caps have lost against England, the Women's Sevens are playing in the final in Dubai and F1 is on in Qatar with Liam Lawson starting in 10th. Adam Cooper has your weekend sport wrap.

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Politics is largely about trust. 

When you break it down to its most simple terms, it's about trust. 

If you see a bloke or a woman on the telly trying to get your vote, you try and work out what sort of person they are? Do they think like me? Are they smart? Are they thick? Can I trust that they'll make a good decision at an important time?

It's a magic thing that takes a lifetime to earn in a second to plunder. 

And so as the Labour Party faithful filed in for their annual conference gearing up for another year and then probably another term in opposition, voters won't be thinking about anything to do with politics right now because we're mid cycle. 

It's way too early. It's like fretting over a birth before you're even pregnant. 

But when they do, they will ask whether they can trust Chippy. Like a sugar daddy Santa he was doling out the cash quicker than you could rake it in at the weekend. 

A full price new hospital in Dunedin. How much exactly will it cost? Well, we don't know, but we don't care, they're getting it.

Same goes with the rail enabled ferries. Hipkins says he'll make it happen.

How are you going to pay for all of that is the question when, as we learned last week, our growth outlooks have been downgraded. 

Nicola Willis has hinted that we'll probably be looking at, at pushing the surplus even further out into the future, which makes you wonder whether it's ever even going to happen, no matter who's in government, it's that bad. 

So how do you spend all that money, commit to spending all that money, commit to reversing all the cuts that National has made as well and then still balance the books. 

It's like wizardry and that's where trust comes into it. 

After six years, Labour lost the country's trust on many issues because as many people have said they couldn't deliver a pizza or run a bath.

They've been quiet on tax for now, but the remit did pass at the election. 

So the question is whether Labour should at this point be promising much in the way of anything to anyone when they've lost so much capital on delivery.

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Retailers across the country are gearing up for an influx of customers keen to get their hands on some Black Friday sales.

First Retal Group managing director Chris Wilkinson tells Ryan Bridge that the best deals are the reoccurring ones.  

“It’s the likes of the Dysons that drop massively at this time of year.”  

Wilkinson added the week ahead and beyond Black Friday make a difference for the sales made leading into Christmas.

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There’s more sanctions from New Zealand for those involved in Russia's war with Ukraine. 

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced sanctions targeting those linked to supplying chemical weapons, ballistic missiles, and drones for Russia. 

He says concern is growing about illegal Russian and North Korean naval activity. 

Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge it comes as Russia has launched another major drone attack on Ukraine's power grid and warned of more attacks on the way. 

He says that around a million people have been left without power, as Russia aims to make this winter as difficult as possible for Ukraine. 

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Public transport leaders say increasing fares is counter productive.  

NZTA's ordering councils take a higher revenue share from users and agree to new targets by December 19.  

As an example, the move would mean a Wellington commuter currently spending $10 on buses a day would have to spend $17. 

Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair Darran Ponter told Ryan Bridge the amount coming from users has slipped, but there needs to be a compromise.  

He says this has a lot to do with the Covid-19 period and operators trying to get people back onto buses.  

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There's a belief an apology is due over some Government measures undertaken during our pandemic response. 

Phase One of the Royal Commission Inquiry has delivered 39 recommendations.  

It highlights that Government messaging was initially effective but became more challenging as objectives shifted. 

It notes some vaccine requirements were too broad and continued too long. 

Trust Litigation and Relationship Property Lawyer Lady Deborah Chambers told Ryan Bridge people who lost their jobs due to mandates remain angry. 

She says there's a large group of people who remain hurt, which negatively impacts our social cohesion. 

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This Covid phase one report – the verdict is in, and it's pretty much ‘guilty your honour’.  

Fine to begin with, and then they as the single podium of truth basically went too far, for too long. Tell us something we don't know.  

Trust in our institutions as shot, media took a hammering —and rightly so in some cases— Labour supporters and hysterical scientists and other groups went full militant.  

I never spoke about the messages I got from some of them during my interviews, challenging old Jacinda Ardern during that period, especially those outside of Auckland during the lockdown to end all lockdowns. They were threats of beatings on my social media, loads of homophobia, I was killing people with my questions, there was hate, there was vitriol.  

Now I'm not complaining about this, this is part of my job. But it just shows how wacko everyone got. Which is not to say the anti-mandate lot were angels either, but what we, the public were fed was a meal from only one of the two menus.  

Then there was the MIQ cruelty – you will never get another opportunity to kiss a loved one goodbye. Never. I watched Hipkins in his media stand up yesterday with the usual half mere culpa lines. We can learn lessons from this in the future and the benefit of hindsight is a great thing.  

What's the problem with that? Well, there were plenty of people with plenty of advice at the time. He could have listened to but chose not to. Instead, they labelled the protest as a river of filth, we wrote off entire sectors of scientific community in the name of social cohesion. Like a pack of rabid dogs attacking a limp lamb – that's what we were, we turned into that.  

Had they listened to Auckland, to the Plan Bers, some economists and experts and other fields, to Lady Deborah Chambers who bravely put her head above the parapet on behalf of the legal fraternity, Simon Bridges basically lost his job over a Facebook post, pointing out many of the problems that turned out to be quite accurate. But now it was all Siouxsie Wiles and Co. crying because we didn't go further and go harder.  

And where are we now? Kids not going to school, productivity jabbed in the face, crime out of control. Mental health and anxiety, particularly for kids, also taking a hit to the face. The wait list for critical medical treatments delayed, construction stopped, projects delayed despite the Aussies being faster and looser on both counts. It was the biggest overreach of power, both in real terms and in some cases, legally, this country has potentially ever seen. And only now do they say we might reconsider forcing a barista to get a jab that they don't want.  

Don't get me wrong, I got the jab twice, but that was my choice to a large extent. And is this all Labour's fault? No. The bigger culprits, in my mind: media hype, social media pylons, and unwavering support for the party pushing that lockdown agenda. The problem was tunnel vision. It was arrogance, ignorance or both, and now we're all paying a very hefty price tag for it.  

There was just one thing missing from yesterday. Any response from the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield, and Adrian Orr. Where were they? Grant’s on $800,000 at Otago University, Orr's doing victory laps for cutting rates he hiked too high and then flooding the country with cash. And Adern, remember, she said her single biggest driver in politics was to fix child poverty, now living in New York while the cost of living crisis she helped engineer, then deny was existing, hammers some of our poorest, and to use a word they made famous during the Covid catastrophe, our most vulnerable. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 29th of November, the first phase of the Royal Commission into our pandemic response is out, and Lady Deborah Chambers says Labour should apologise. She explained why to Ryan. 

Could you be paying more for public transport in the New Year? NZTA wants councils to increase their revenue share, so public transport leaders have written to the Transport Minister requesting a meeting. Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair Daran Ponter wrote the letter and joins the show. 

It's Black Friday. Chris Wilkinson explains how retailers have been preparing for the sales. 

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There's a belief the latest covid Royal Commission findings may provide assistance to current legal issues.  

The first phase of the Inquiry into the pandemic response is being presented today, but it's unclear when the Government will release it.  

Chaired by Professor Tony Blakely, it says mandates caused pain to a substantial minority.  

Matthew Hague told Ryan Bridge this won't directly form the basis for further legal challenges. 

But he says it may be helpful for ongoing challenges, such as the Supreme Court decision and Employment Court cases. 

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The Water Services Authority says they are expecting further results around arsenic levels in the Waikato River this morning.  

An elevated level of arsenic has been detected in the river which supplies drinking water to Hamilton and parts of Auckland.  

It says there's no risk to public health and the water is safe to drink.  

Authority Head of Operations Steve Taylor told Ryan Bridge that to impact health, people would need to drink at levels above the accepted value for 40 to 50 years.  

But he says this is a marginal increase over acceptable value, which they expect to see reduced over coming days. 

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The Finance Minister's playing down expectations of a surplus, ahead of Treasury's opening of the books next month. 

The Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate by half a percent, to 4.25 -- warning of slower economic growth. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Ryan Bridge the OCR cut is welcome news, but agrees there is still more to do. 

"Of course, we want to see the economy growing faster, that's why we're so focussed on removing red tape, making sure people can get resource consents quicker, and getting infrastructure out the door," she said. 

She says forecasts show the economy will grow much faster in 2025, compared to this year. 

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The US economy is just humming along at the moment, isn't it?

2.8% is their lucky number this morning. 2.8% annualised GDP for the September quarter.

Better than the Eurozone, better than the UK, and much better than New Zealand. 

We're still going backwards.

We went balls to the wall with interest rate hikes post Covid and we were the first to do it. Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank held higher for longer and the hangover is hitting like a 40 ounce of Smirnoff in the morning.

It's not pretty, is it?

Sure, the rates are coming down and we saw more of that yesterday, but boy, the mess that wrecking ball has left behind.

What's interesting about the Americans, even though their consumer confidence is low, as ours is well, they are still going out and using the credit card to buy stuff.

In other words, the sentiment there isn't matching the reality, which is what we're seeing in the GDP number they announced this morning, which we should envy.

Of course, they're a country that's run on domestic consumption. We run on trade and we haven't been helped by the likes of China and Europe. They're the markets that we must sell to, to make a buck.

But there is a question here for Nicola Willis, now that inflation is beat, how much further will you go with the belt tightening? Is a return to surplus at all costs, at any costs worth it?

She's repeatedly said not. How much does she mean that?

I guess we'll find out when we get the numbers for December on the 17th.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday the 28th of November. The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%. Finance Minister Nicola Willis reacts. 

Elevated levels of arsenic have been found in the Waikato river which supplies Auckland and Hamilton's drinking water. The Head of Operations at Water Services Authority Tau Mata Arawai speaks to Ryan about what it means for you.

Phase One of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry will be handed to the government today. It says vaccine mandates cause pain to a substantial minority during the pandemic. Matthew Hague is a lawyer who represented a client who didn't want to be vaccinated, he joins the show.

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The UK’s Tory party is accusing Labour of stealing their ideas around unemployment resolution.

Labour MP Liz Kendall says that her party intends on generating new jobs and an employment scheme, while her counterpart Helen Whately said that is her party’s idea repackaged.

This comes as youth unemployment is at 14.8%, up 12% from last year.

UK Correspondent Kay Oliver told Ryan Bridge that Kendallsaid the scheme her party is designing intends on getting people off benefits, getting them employed and making it easier to find work.

She says the Tories are complaining that Labour has had 14 years to come up with their own plans and they think it is quite rich for them to steal what they see as their own unique ideas.

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Nikki Kaye is being remembered as a strong voice for the Auckland Central electorate.

She died on Saturday aged 44 from cancer.

Kaye served as Auckland Central MP from 2008 until 2020.

She was also a cabinet minister and briefly deputy leader of the National Party.

Former Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive Michael Barnett told Ryan Bridge she took the seat as a young liberal.

He says she was quite happy to have a different opinion around transport, where a port should go, or the LGBT community and same sex marriage.

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The Reserve Bank is widely expected to cut the Official Cash Rate today from 4.75% to 4.25%.

It was cut by the same margin in October.  

ANZ's already cutting most of its home loan rates ahead of this afternoon's decision.   

BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Ryan Bridge he can see some of the logic for a 75 basis point move.  

But he says those big moves tend to be reserved for crisis situations, and we're not in one of those. 

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I paid 40 cents for a paper bag while shopping at my local supermarket the other week. 

40 cents. 

Remember when they used to cost 10 cents? Back in the day when they swapped them out for plastic bags when they banned those – which used to be free. 

40 cents. 

And guess what they had printed on the side of this paper bag that you buy to put your groceries in.  

They had printed little Christmas trees for goodness sake. 

So you chop down trees, you make paper bags and then you print more trees on them – we're supposed to be saving the planet. 

This is stupid, it's dumb and it's 40 cents. 

It's a lot of money. 

It's a lot more than free, which is what we used to get the plastic bags for. 

And they're not reusable. You put a 2-litre milk in there, it's wet, it's soggy and it just falls straight through. 

It's not a reusable thing. 

People are probably over the paper bag thing and used to it by now. Take your own bags is the other thing, but I forgot, so what are you going to do? 

But here's the thing with costly environmental policies.  

This is stuff like your emissions trading scheme charged on the petrol that you put in your tank, or on farmers, or the ute tax, or the cycleway bills that we are paying for.  

The issue with all of this is getting us on board with paying to fix the planet when we're such a small part of it. 

Are we really saving all the dolphins, and whales, and turtles in the ocean by paying 40 cents for a paper bag at Countdown? 

No, because the oceans still filled with plastic. So what's the point?  

Is Xi Jinping still opening coal fired power plants? Yes. 

Is Donald Trump about to start drilling hell for leather, for more oil? Yes. 

So what are we doing? What difference are we making? 

Why should we bother? 

They just had the climate change conference in Azerbaijan, the Petro State for goodness sakes, and everyone flew there on an airplane, and I'm paying 40 cents for a paper bag. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 27th of November, 25, 50 or 75 points? All are on the table as the Reserve Bank decides the Official Cash Rate for the final time until February. How will Trump's second term and US President influence their decision? BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones joins the show. 

The Government has found $42 million for more senior doctors and specialist nurses, but what does it mean for ongoing cuts in the health sector? David Wills from the Nurses Society speaks to Ryan. 

Former MP Nikki Kaye has died at the age of 44. Michael Barnett talks to Ryan about her life of politics. 

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Businesses say the new Central Auckland Police base is a positive step towards improving the city's safety.  

The new Federal Street station will be close to Aotea Square, making it easier to deploy officers right across the central city.  

Police plan to have it open to the public 24/7 by the middle of next year. 

Heart of the City's Viv Beck told Ryan Bridge that businesses have been after more police - especially with the City Rail Link opening soon.  

She says we want a vibrant, safe, international city, so there needs to be enough police. 

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Some patients in need of hospital treatment aren't even making it to the waitlist.  

A letter obtained by RNZ reveals some referrals from an orthopaedic clinic are being knocked back. 

It says it lacks the resources to see all patients within the Ministry of Health waiting time targets. 

Royal College of GPs Medical Director Dr Luke Bradford told Ryan Bridge the acceptance level fluctuates normally, but the threshold rises as more pressure's applied to the health system.  

He says the health targets have people being seen within four months and being operated on quickly, and one way to manage that is by not taking patients onto lists in the first place. 

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The Education Review Office is recommending NCEA Level 1 be reformed.  

Its review found it's not a fair or reliable measure of knowledge and skills, and around a quarter of schools don't plan on offering it next year.  

Last year, students were almost twice as likely to achieve an excellence on an internal assessment than an external.  

Auckland's Rangitoto College Principal Patrick Gale told Ryan Bridge that within the existing framework, teachers can target standards they perceive to be easier.  

He says with internal assessment they can also offer more time, meaning they may not enter students into all externals, causing further issues as they're not learning the whole curriculum. 

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Don't get me wrong, a new police station in central Auckland is good news, as were recent stats showing crime in the city is way down, but where are all the wackos and the nut jobs going to go next? 

That's my question. 

You know the ones I'm talking about – they strut around holding their pants up with one hand, a menacing look in their eye, shouting and ranting and raving and lunging at people. 

They're pissing in the middle of the street during the day or fighting each other. 

Once the city is secured, where do these people go next? 

Parnell, Ponsonby, on a bus to Westfield New Market? 

If the idea is to make a city feel safer for people, then more cops will help do that. 

What they won't do is make these intimidating people disappear altogether like some Houdini act. 

One of the biggest problems we have is a lack of community drug and alcohol rehab centers in this country, affordable or free ones. 

And our corrections system doesn't correct people – last year it spent $400 million of our money on rehab programs. Guess how much they reduced reoffending by: less than 2% on most programs. 

So, yes, we should celebrate the fact that we're getting more cop shops, gang patch bans, and supposedly harsher sentences for violence because the last lot went a bit soft on that. 

But we shouldn't kid ourselves that it'll magically solve all of our problems or those of the whack jobs on Queen Street. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 26th of November, The Education Review Office says NCEA Level 1 is not a fair or reliable measure, and more schools are opting out of Level 1. Rangitoto College Principal Patrick Gale explains the reasons why they’re offering an alternative certificate. 

GPs are warning patients in need of hospital care they sometimes aren't making it onto the waitlist, while Labour has accused the government of gaming health system numbers by cutting the number of people who can go on surgical waitlists. Luke Bradford from the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners joins the show. 

Auckland is set to get a new 24/7 CBD police station; how could it help reduce inner city crime rates? Heart of the City's Viv Beck joins to discuss, and Ryan has some thoughts on what the new police station won't solve. 

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Deadly Storm Bert is continuing to lash parts of the UK.

Snow's fallen across Scotland and parts of northern and central England -- and heavy rain's hit southern England and Wales.

UK correspondent Kay Oliver told Ryan Bridge three people have been killed.

“We’ve got 70 flood warnings across south Wales.”

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Max Verstappen has hit the jackpot in Las Vegas with his fourth consecutive Formula 1 Driver’s Championship, but Liam Lawson left Sin City empty-handed after finishing 16th.

The All Blacks beat Italy 29-11 in their final match of the year, but it was TJ Perenara’s haka that stole the headlines.

And the Black Foils are off to a tremendous start in SailGP, winning the opening series in Dubai.

Newstalk ZB Sport reader Andew Alderson joined Ryan Bridge.

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Remember the excitement, the pride at being first, the proclamations of cleaning up our world and making it better for tomorrow.

I'm talking about the single plastic use bag ban of 2018. Remember that?

A few salient points to note this morning, six years on from when it was announced.

There's a report out this morning on plastics.

The use of plastic is expected to triple globally by 2060 most of it in Africa and Asia. Plastic waste will also triple by 2060 half of it will end up in the landfill less than 1/5 of it will be recycled.

So well done. Our Pak'nSave efforts, we're really doing well for the world.

Who's profiting from this? That's the other thing I wonder, I don't know how much supermarkets make every time I forget my reusable plastic bags and I have to buy the paper ones.

But the price of the paper one the other day that I paid was 40 cents. And I can remember when they first started selling them, it was like 10 or 20 cents.

So there's been a bit of inflation going on since then. And now they've got Christmas trees printed on them, how much extra is that costing?

I don't want a Christmas tree on my paper bag, thank you very much. I want the paper bag not to break just because I put some wet milk in it.

So annoying.

In Australia Coles and Woolworths apparently profit $71 million a year off their reusable bags.

Now, I don't know what the number is here, but I would have thought we'd be asking ourselves a few questions.

Do I want us going back to plastic bags?

No, I don't necessarily want us going back to plastic bags.

But could we please know - were our bags actually ending up in the ocean in the first place or was that other people's bags?

Were you throwing your plastic bag in the ocean? When you went and checked to the beach with the bags from Countdown New Zealand?

Hm. I don't know.

And how much are the supermarkets making out of us for the bags that break before we get them to the boot of our cars?

Just a couple of things I'd like to know.

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Vaping rates are dropping across younger school students, but it's on the rise among senior students.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation survey finds 12 percent of high school students reported vaping in the seven days before the survey was taken - compared to 26 percent in 2021.

However, 26 percent of Year 13 students are weekly vapers - doubling over the last three years.

Chief Executive Letitia Harding told Ryan Bridge the increase is probably down to regulation coming in pretty late for older students.

“You’ve got this group that had very little regulations around taking up vaping and some are very, very high in nicotine doses as well, because back then, the nicotine contained in vapes had up to 53 milligrams of nicotine in them, so you’ve got this group that has probably become quite addicted to these nicotine vapes, and that’s carried on through.”

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Gangs are taking advantage of relaxed regional airport security screenings.

Stuff reports they're travelling between New Zealand's smaller centres to traffic drugs around the country, where there's little risk of having their bags scanned.

Current security settings mean flights with fewer than 90 passengers are unlikely to go through security screening.

Airports Association Chief Executive, Billie Moore told Ryan Bridge it's a regularly raised concern.

“But it’s important for us to focus on the fact that the purpose of passenger and baggage screening is for aviation security, and so that means unlawful interference with aircraft.”

She says the purpose of screenings are for aviation security -- to stop unlawful aircraft interference.

“These issues are about other illegal activities, they’re a matter for the Police rather than aviation security.”

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Morning! Early Edition podcast blurb and editorial from the show this morning below.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 25th of November. Gangs are using regional airports will leaner security screening to traffic drugs around the country, so do we need to change our security settings? NZ Airports Association Chief Executive Billie Moore joins the show.

Youth vaping rates have dropped according to the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation - but what’s driving the reduction? Chief Executive Letitia Harding speaks to Ryan about the results.

A big weekend for Kiwi sport - Liam Lawson races in Formula 1 in Las Vegas, the Black Foils win SailGP in Dubai and the All Blacks win against Italy. Andrew Alderson has your weekend sport wrap.

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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New Zealand is bracing for a high stakes poker game, preparing for Donald Trump’s tariffs to be introduced. 

The US Business Summit is taking place in Auckland, and Trump is set to be a significant talking point. 

NZ Inc Managing Director Fran O’Sullivan told Ryan Bridge that there’s likely to be an element of negotiation when it comes to the implementation of tariffs. 

She says that Trump’s selection for Commerce Secretary has suggested that there won’t be blanket tariffs, but the idea is to get manufacturing back into the US. 

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Councils are putting a range of ideas on the table to raise revenue, as they push back against the idea of a cap on rates rises. 

Rates shot up by an average of 15% this year. 

Local Government New Zealand is proposing a range of options from civil defence levies to accommodation levies. 

Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams told Ryan Bridge some of the options, like congestion charging, won't work for their district. 

He says that's why a vast range of solutions is important. 

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Almost 70% of cops want to be armed, and I say who the hell are we to get in their way? 

The new Commissioner has come in, and he's been more gung ho on this idea of regular arming of our police force than any of his predecessors. 

The fact is they're on the front line, aren't they? 

Last year, there was a 9% increase in tactical operations interactions – that means basically the bad ones. That's up to more than 7000. The number of cops physically attacked doubled from 2022 to 2023. 

It's dangerous. 

We're not the ones going out on the streets, are we? 

We're tucked up in bed with moral superiority saying, no, we don't like the idea of you guys being armed. I prefer you pull the gang member over, please. Take your chances. 

It's a little bit sanctimonious from us, don't you think? 

If they feel it would make their situation safer, then I trust them to make that call. 

Of course, you'll always have mistakes, and chaos prior to the shooting clearly shouldn't have happened, and they say they're working further at training etcetera to make that all better.  

But we can't sit here tucked up on our beds at night, all judgey, when we're not the ones out there in the dead of the night facing more violence, guns, and crime. 

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Ukraine is claiming Russia's launched a missile with greater range into one of its cities.  

It's claiming an intercontinental ballistic missile has been used, but CNN reports two western officials have said it was another type of ballistic missile.  

Europe correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge the US is disputing the claim and Russia's saying nothing.

He says it comes with escalation this week, with missiles being provided by the US given permission to fire into Russia. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 22nd of November, the US Business Summit is on in Auckland today, and Donald Trump's second term as US president will be a big talking point with possible tariffs on the way. Fran O'Sullivan joins the show ahead of the summit. 

How do we fund local government and reduce its reliance on ratepayers? Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams speaks to Ryan about possible funding fixes. 

And should police be armed? With a new Commissioner starting next week, Ryan argues for the move. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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JD Vance is facing a tricky task on Capitol Hill. 

The vice president-elect has arrived at the Capitol to shore up support for Trump’s controversial cabinet picks. 

He’ll spend the week organising meetings between Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth and key Republican senators involved in their confirmation process. 

US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge that Gaetz is with Vance today, and it’ll be a tall order to get him confirmed as people have already spoken out against him.  

He says that it would be quite the defeat for Donald Trump if he was rejected. 

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Police hope an increased focus on gang activity will pay dividends.  

The gang patch ban has been in force since midnight.  

Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham says in the lead up to the ban, there was an increase in reports of gang members wearing their patches prominently in public. 

He says they get reports on criminal behaviour all the time, so this increase was that combined with a heightened awareness from the public. 

Basham told Ryan Bridge the legislation will create opportunities to catch other crimes.  

He says targeting small groups with high offending rates has a disproportionate effect on crime. 

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There's little doubt there's unnecessary spend at the Transport Agency. 

The Transport Minister's called NZTA's costs eye-watering and excessive, after revealing a near $800 million spend over the past three years. 

That went to road cones, traffic management, state highway maintenance, and capital works. 

Temporary Traffic Management Chair Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge he believes it's a systemic issue around how much temporary traffic management is deployed. 

He says it's a prescriptive system, which doesn't give room for site-specific considerations. 

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Households and businesses are set to face higher electricity bills. 

The Commerce Commission estimates the average household's monthly electricity bill will rise by around $10 from April. 

The Commission's allowing Transpower and local lines companies to raise prices as they aim to upgrade and maintain the grid. 

Major Electricity Users' Group Chair John Harbord told Ryan Bridge the impact will be more significant on industrial manufacturers. 

He says those large businesses don't buy their electricity from retailers, so the percentage of their bill that comes from transmission is higher. 

Harbord says many of those businesses are already struggling with costs. 

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Everyone hates gangs. Unless you're in them, you hate them because they intimidate, they cause misery, they beat their wives, they do all sorts of awful things. 

But I just worry that the gang patch ban in and of itself is not really going to solve the underlying causes, is it? 

And what I worry about is the waste that could go into this. 

The waste of time, police energy and resources. Every time Betty sees a gang patch, she rings in 111, which is fine because I know it's intimidating. However, that is going to tie up some police time which could be better spent solving an actual crime. 

The other problem here is the design of the insignia, the gang patch. 

So at the moment, the police know the designs of each of the gangs' patches. 

What they're apparently doing is going down through and making subtle changes, adding words like mana whenua, or changing this logo or that logo. 

So, sure, you will take the patch, you will collect it as evidence, you will take it to court, and the lawyers will argue that it's different. 

I mean where are we now with our legal bills and our legal aid bills? What have we actually achieved in doing that? 

Have we reduced crime, or have we increased the cost of administering a fashion police policy? 

That's my only concern. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 21st of November, gang patches are now banned in public. Are police ready to enforce the new law? Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham joins the show. 

NZTA has spent Almost $800 million on temporary traffic management in the past 3 years, and that doesn't include local council spending. Dave Tilton from the Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group speaks to Ryan. 

Power prices are on the rise as the Commerce Commission allows Transpower and lines companies to increase how much they charge. John Harbord from the Major Electricity Users Group talks about what it means for the country's biggest power users. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Democracy is a delicate and fragile thing, and yesterday's protest was a good example of it working. 

People oppose something, they protest peacefully, respectfully, they present a petition, they go home. 

The bill, by the way, that they don't like, well, it's not becoming law. 

You don't have to look far this morning for examples of things going tits up in a big way, and quickly. 

We've basically farewelled freedom in Hong Kong, 45 activists sentenced to long-term prison sentences overnight, kids in the West Bank being killed.

You've got a tyrant in Putin lowering the bar for the use of nuclear weapons, plus you've got US made long range missiles firing on Russia.

But here, we have a functioning democracy. 

Now the hīkoi is over, Rawiri Waititi wants to go further. He wants a separate Māori parliament. He wants two systems.

He references on his website the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish systems. The latter of which controls its own justice, education, tax systems.

How would that work here? Who would fund such a parliament? 

Who would fall under the Māori parliament, given 75% of Māori didn't vote for Rawiri's lot at the last election? 

How would you build a nation within a nation, separated not by borders, but ethnicity? 

Serious question. 

You see, democracy works when we're all in it and we're all in it equally. 

It's true that not every group will get the same outcomes from that system, but that's no reason to throw the system away entirely. 

What it is, sure, is a call to better use that system to effect change through strong and pragmatic leadership, the likes of which Te Pāti Māori has been known for in the past. 

Whether you'll get that leadership from Debbie and Waititi... well, we'll have to wait and see. 

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Freight carriers agree upcoming State Highway 1 repairs are necessary. 

The Desert Road in the Central North Island is shutting to traffic between Tūrangi and Waiouru from January 6 until the end of February. 

NZTA says the detour will add half an hour and an extra 50km to people’s journey. 

National Road Carriers Policy & Advocacy manager, James Smith, says the entire network has maintenance that needs to happen. 

He says they've known about it since August, and the road will end up with a much better finish. 

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Many European countries are accusing Russia of sabotage after the cutting of two communication cables under the Baltic Sea.  

One of the cables links Finland and Germany, while the other connects Sweden to Lithuania.  

It comes as Ukraine's fired its first set of US-made long range missiles into Russia.  

While Russia shot down five of them, the shrapnel from a sixth caused a fire at a military facility in the Bryansk region. 

Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge other moves inside Russia are increasing concern in Europe.  

He says Russia has changed its rules around when it can use a nuclear weapon. 

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There are calls for Parliament's Speaker to dish out harsher punishments for things like Te Pati Māori's haka in the House.  

Speaker Gerry Brownlee's confirmed he's received complaints.  

David Seymour and Shane Jones have both asked him to consider changes.  

Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith told Ryan Bridge that in recent years, in consultation with the Speaker, iwi present at Treaty Settlements have been able to perform a haka or waiata.  

He says there's no reason that can't happen, but it can't just be dumped on the House. 

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Ukraine has fired its first set of US-supplied long range missile at a target inside Russian territory, just a day after the US granted permission for their use.  

Russia's defence ministry says five missiles were shot down and another was damaged, with its fragments causing a fire at a military facility in the Bryansk region. 

Russia security expert Dmitry Gorenburg says he's not expecting a massive response from Russia.  

He told Ryan Bridge they will play the waiting game.  

Gorenburg says they're waiting for Donald Trump to take over from Joe Biden to get more concessions. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 20th of November, there are calls in Parliament for harsher penalties for MPs following last week's viral haka. Former Speaker of the House Sir Lockwood Smith speaks to Ryan about the subject. 

Ukraine has used US made weapons to strike inside Russian territory on the 1000th day of the war. Russian Security Expert Dmitry Gorenburg joins the show to discuss. 

A new report has found concrete roads last longer than tar sealed ones and require less maintenance. James Smith from the National Road Carriers Union has the details. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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The Government's appointed a scam-busting minister to coordinate combatting con-artists.  

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has been named as the minister in charge of coordinating anti-scam efforts. 

New Zealand's latest State of Scams report shows more than $2.3 billion was lost this year, up from $2.1 billion last year. 

He told Ryan Bridge that there’s six ministries that deal with scams, and a lot of good work is done both within the government and also within the industry, but it’s not coordinated as well as it could be. 

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Flags are already waving and music playing at Parliament ahead of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arriving there later today.  

Hīkoi participants are gathering at Waitangi Park in Wellington City, from which they’ll move along the Golden Mile to Parliament, bringing widespread traffic disruption. 

Alistair Boyce, who runs the Backbencher pub across from Parliament, told Ryan Bridge that Police checkpoints were already in place when he arrived for work at around 5:30am. 

He says that the Hīkoi should be an economic boon for the city. 

What Mayor Tory Whanau needs to do, Boyce says, is stop thinking about attending the protest and instead think about catering for the protest – keeping businesses functioning and the streets open. 

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New crime figures are a mixed bag for retailers. 

Data released by the Police Minister shows a 61% drop in ram raids in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2023. 

But thefts at retail premises are up 12%, and there's been no change in breaking and entering or acts intended to cause injury. 

Dairy and Business Owner's Group Vice Chairperson, Ash Parmar told Ryan Bridge the ram-raid reductions are good news, as they brought a high human cost. 

He says it was too easy for too long, but a lot of the youths responsible are being picked up by Police more often now. 

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Do you know what really grinds my gears when I go to the gym? 

What I've noticed is, you know when you watch tennis, and you hear them grunt when they're playing? That is happening at the gym. 

I don't know if it's just my gym. I don't know if this is also happening at your gym. 

But can we please stop the grunting? 

Is there a legitimate physiological reason for you to do that? I don't think there is, I've never felt the urge to grunt. 

Are you dying? Why are you doing this? 

It's off putting, it's inappropriate, and it's inconsiderate. 

Have a thought for those people who are trying to work out around you and shut your mouth. 

I mean, obviously breathe, that's quite important, but other than that, just shut up. 

It's very off putting, very annoying. 

It sounds like that barbell is getting more than a deadlift. 

Sometimes I listen to it, and I think, oh my goodness, is there going to be a climax at some point?

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 19th of November, it's a big day in the capital with the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arriving at Parliament. What does it mean for local businesses? Backbencher Pub Owner Alistair Boyce speaks to Ryan. 

Andrew Bayly is now the minister in charge of curbing scams in New Zealand. $200 million was taken from Kiwis by scammers in the past year, so what is the Government doing to reduce the impact of scams? 

New police crime numbers are out and are showing a clear reduction in violent crime, but what are our dairy owners seeing? Vice Chairperson from the Dairy and Business Owners Group Ash Parmar joins the show. 

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By the end of those 8 shortened two-minute rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson, I just felt bad for the 58 year old. 

What on earth was he doing there in the first place. 

Sure, he wants a chance to get back in the right and have a crack at 27-year-old YouTube kid. 

But the real motivation must have surely been US $20-million. 

That's the amount he was reportedly paid by Netflix. 

Jake Paul reportedly got $40-million. 

Gate ticket sales at AT&T Stadium brought in close to US $18-million and 70,000 fans. 

And Netflix? Well they won the fight with 65-million viewers at peak. 

It's part of a new strategy to host live sport events lure subscribers - including  those paying less but getting fed ads on the platform. 

That ad-supported platform now accounts for 50% of its new sign ups. It's grown to 70-million new users in just two years. 

These big tech Silicon Valley giant media companies like YouTube and Chinese Tiktok and every other app under the sun that didn't start here in New Zealand are going from strength to strength. 

They're the ones who have our attention. 

According to online sources, the top 3 streaming sources here are Netflix with 1 million, Disney + with 600k and Amazon with 500+. 

And yet here we are in NZ and Australia trying to force them into news content deals with us, we're battling with taxpayers cash to reinvigorate flailing state media companies to compete with these guys in a doomed-to-fail battle. 

We're like the 58-year-old Mike Tyson, who apparently nearly died before entering the ring. 

They're their annoying 27-year-new-to-boxing but bringing in the eyeballs Jake Paul. 

Are we going to beat that little twat in the ring? No. 

Continuing to fight him could kill us off. 

We've got to somehow partner with them, rearrange ourselves and get our content on their platforms where it'll actually be seen. 

Or we can stay in ring getting beaten and bloodied then eventually KO'd. 

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Health New Zealand spent $85 million more on contractors and consultants in this financial year, compared to last. 

The health agency is putting the increase down to a global shortage of health workers. Health Minister Shane Reti says contract hires are needed to fill full-time workforce gaps. 

Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Sarah Dalton tells Ryan Bridge the 2023 Workforce Plan identified 1700 doctors missing from the system. 

“This health system continues to rely too heavily on locums to run hospitals. It means staffing remains fragile, and it means it’s really expensive.” 

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Poland scrambled its air force due to the “massive” Russian attack on Ukraine.  

UK & Europe correspondent Gavin Grey tells Ryan Bridge strike missile and drone attacks from Russia into Ukraine overnight killed 10 people. The attack was the largest coordinated assault since early September, with 120 missiles and 90 drones launched. 

European leaders have condemned the attacks. As Ukraine’s neighbour, Poland flew fighter jets in its own airspace with Russian drones flying just 20 kilometres from the border. 

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The All Blacks suffered their third straight loss to France, as fatigue and officials took hold in the second half. 

The first half started with momentum and confidence, but several baffling referee decisions and a tiring squad kept an unbeaten northern tour out of reach. The boys fell one point short at full time. 

Meanwhile, the Black Caps played Sri Lanka in the ODI series. 

ZB Sport’s Adam Cooper joins Ryan Bridge for the weekend’s rundown. 

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The APEC Summit has wrapped up in Peru. 

Leaders from 21 economies bordering the Pacific met for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to discuss strategies of the region’s major economies. 

Prime Minister Chris Luxon met with several world leaders for the first time at the summit. 

New Zealand secured trade deals with Costa Rica, Switzerland and Iceland during the summit, removing tariffs on wood and wool products. 

Otago University international relations expert Robert Patman tells Ryan Bridge eyes were on China’s role in the Pacific. Though opinions diverged, Luxon’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping went well – evidenced by Luxon’s invitation to China. 

“China gave us a free trade agreement and it’s important to consolidate that relationship at a time when the new Trump administration seems poised to impose blanket tariffs on its trading partners," says Patman.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 18th of November. Health New Zealand has spent $85 million extra in the past financial year on contractors and consultants sue to workforce shortages. What do we need to do to attract more people to work in our healthcare sector? Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton speaks to Ryan. 

APEC has wrapped up in Peru, and our relationship with China was a big talking point for the Prime Minister as he met with Chinas President. Robert Patman breaks down this years summit. 

The All Blacks loose by one point against France and the Black Caps are taking on Sri Lanka. Adam Cooper has the latest sports news. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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The Government is exploring a potential game-changer for securing future energy supply. 

Up to $60 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund has been ring-fenced for exploring supercritical geothermal technology. 

The first $5 million will be used for work in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, to help understand if it's a possibility. 

Geothermal wells are drilled to a maximum depth of 3.5 kilometres, but scientists believe by drilling deeper, more energy will be available. 

GNS Science lead Dr Isabelle Chambeforte told Ryan Bridge that temperatures reach around 330 degrees maximum in the normal geothermal systems, but by drilling a few kilometres deeper, they’ll be able to access temperatures of around 450 degrees.  

She says those temperatures offer a lot more energy per well. 

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Paris authorities are taking no chances with this morning's French football international against Israel at Stade de France. 

The game comes just days after violence between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine football fans in Amsterdam. 

About 4,000 police and 1,600 private security guards will be on patrol, with an elite anti-terror unit providing security detail for the Israeli squad. 

But correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge the stadium itself will be mostly empty, with the Israeli Government advising its citizens not to attend. 

He says after that guidance, no more than a hundred visiting Israeli fans are expected to turn up, but some local Israelis may attend. 

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Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson told Ryan Bridge that David Seymour has to realise this was never going to a civil debate due to the emotions involved. 

“The debate takes place against the backdrop of what I perceive to be hostile acts towards tangata whenua over the last year in terms of names and treaty principles… it’s a culmination of a number of things.” 

He said he might not have gone into government with the bill on the table if he was still in office. 

Finlayson said he was “appalled” by the behaviour in Parliament from all sides. 

“You don’t act that way in Parliament”. 

The former National MP also believes the party has moved away from its “conservative values”. 

Finlayson said he has had Māori approach him in public confused about who to vote for now as National no longer represents their values. 

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There are concerns New Zealanders could be priced out of their own backyard.  

The Government's seeking feedback on who should pay visitor fees at national parks and conservation areas. 

The options include charging everyone the same, charge New Zealanders less than international visitors, or only charge overseas visitors. 

Federated Mountain Clubs President Megan Dimozantos told Ryan Bridge they're open to foreign access charges. 

She says they have the means to pay, and infrastructure has already been established there to service them, but they’re against domestic access charging. 

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These are the political winners and losers from a bombastic day in the House yesterday: 

Labour: loser. 

Willie Jackson did his best to take the headlines, didn't he? 

But Te Pāti Māori's choreographed stage production well and truly stole his thunder and with it, they've probably stolen any hope of Labour regaining the Māori seats they lost at the last election. 

Why would you vote for Te Pāti Māori-lite in Labour, when you can have the real deal? 

It's highly unlikely Labour will need to lead the next government for a number of reasons, which we've canvassed on this program many times, so why wouldn't you protest vote Te Pāti Māori in 2026? 

Despite Willie's protestations about the Nats supporting ACT's bill in the first reading, Casey Costello made a really interesting point in the debate about Labour's own track record on Treaty principles. 

They did a deal with New Zealand First, the Treaty Principles Deletion Bill, back in 2005 on first reading and then later voted it down. 

Does that sound familiar? 

Yes, that's because it is. It's because the same thing is happening now on the right. 

Te Pāti Māori, they are a winner. 

They have shrewdly led this debate for their base from premeditated, dramatic Instagram ops in the House, to fronting the party adjacent led protest across the Harbour bridge, to encouraging voters to sign up to the Māori roll during Waititi’s speech against the bill yesterday. 

They have outmanoeuvred and outgunned Labour on all fronts, and they won't care what Middle New Zealand's reaction is to the antics in the House. 

Therefore, politically, it's a win. 

Luxon: winner, of sorts. Flying the coop to Peru and avoiding all this chaos turned out to berpobably the best idea he's had in a little while. 

Seymour: winner, for his base who support this bill the result speaks for itself. It passed, even if only the first reading. 

The biggest loser: Parliament and decorum. 

Barry Soper, on with Heather yesterday, said this was an unholy mess, the likes of which he had not seen in the House before. It's hard to argue with that. 

The question now is whether the same antics will be used to disrupt the Justice Select Committee. 

And if so what, if anything, will and can be done about it. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 15th of November, could DOC start charging you for access to conservation land? The Government is seeking feedback on the proposal - Megan Dimosantos from the Federated Mountain Clubs speaks to Ryan about what it could mean. 

It was a chaotic day in the House yesterday as the controversial Treaty Principals Bill passed its first reading. Former treaty negotiations minister Chris Finlayson speaks to Ryan. 

A new type of geothermal power generation could be on the way. GNS Lead Geothermal Scientist Dr Isabelle Chambefort explains how it works. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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International tourism continues its slow recovery to pre-Covid levels. 

Overseas visitor arrivals were at 3.23 million for the year to September, which is up on the same month last year, but well below 2019's almost 4 million. 

ASB Senior economist Mark Smith told Ryan Bridge that part of our struggle is that the global economy still recovering from Covid. 

He says the most important reason is that costs remain stubbornly high – New Zealand's a reasonably expensive destination, and airfares are still very high. 

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The Government's taking a new approach to Public-Private Partnerships for infrastructure projects.  

There will be a reduced risk for private partners and guidance for agencies on how to lower the cost and time burden in the bidding process. 

Infrastructure New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett was Mayor of Porirua, when a Public-Private Partnership was established to build Transmission Gully. 

He says it's good to see the Government embracing the model, alongside a method to compare PPPs for specific projects to other funding models. 

Leggett says it should be about finding the best funding model for value, not just prescribing PPPs for every project. 

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60,000 Cantabrians are set to descend on the Canterbury A&P Showgrounds for the Christchurch Show. 

The three-day event kicks off today in place of the usual New Zealand Agricultural Show. 

The previous board had called it off due to financial struggles before local company, Event Hire came to the rescue in June. 

Director Phil Anderson told Ryan Bridge they're hopeful to turn a profit, although a show like this is costly. 

He says this event in particular has been a strong learning curve, with heavy amounts of infrastructure required. 

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Joe Biden has welcomed Donald Trump back to the White House in a meeting in the oval office.  

It's a traditional courtesy that the outgoing president welcomes the incoming president, a courtesy Trump didn’t afford Biden in 2020 after his loss.  

Today, the pair both spoke about a smooth transition of power.  

US correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge there were a lot of smiles and handshakes. 

He says it was a little unexpected, seeing as they usually seem to despise each other.

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There were two numbers out yesterday that prove that no one likes us. 

Number one - 87%. We're still plateauing in the high 80s for tourism, that's on pre-Covid levels. 

And number two - 55,000 for the year to September, that was our net migration loss of New Zealand citizens, which is a new record. 

Not only are we that unsexy to foreigners —they won't come here and have a piece— but our own people are off flirting up a storm with the likes of Australia. 

And they're not even flirting – it's not a weekend thing, they have left us. It's divorce. 

Sure, we're getting more people in terms of overall migration, meaning an overall net positive number. 

But next year, many economists predict for the first time in a long time, excluding Covid, we will hit net zero migration. We need migrants to support our economy here, and we need tourists to support our economy here as well. 

So what's happened to us? 

Did we stop brushing our hair and cleaning our teeth? 

Do we look like some antipodean mole at the bottom of the world that you'd rather skip over? 

The Aussies are rebounding much better than us on tourism, and they're taking all of our young workers.  

And you look at all the places that are so overcrowded by tourists they're introducing limits – in Florence, just yesterday, they announced that they're banning key boxes to stop Airbnbs in the city. 

Rome, Amsterdam, Athens, Phuket, just to name a few, they're all doing similar things. 

Last year, we ranked 157th out of 180 countries on growth and things haven't improved much there since. 

We are a very expensive place to come, and we are at the bottom of the world. 

The heart of the matter though is we've lost a bit of our mojo. 

Apart from cutting spending and focusing on the basics, which are important, what is this country's big plan to grow our economic future and fortunes? What industries are we targeting? 

Until we can answer that big question we will still look a little bit ugly to the rest of the world. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 14th of November, tourism numbers appear stuck well below pre-Covid levels, and a record number of Kiwis are leaving the country. Could we see net migration reach zero next year? ASB's Mark Smith talks to Ryan. 

A new public private partnership framework has been released by the Government - what are the industry hoping to see come out of it? Infrastructure NZ's Nick Leggett joins the show. 

The Christchurch Agricultural Show starts today after being saved in a last-minute deal earlier in the year. Event Director Phil Anderson gives a preview of what to expect this year. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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ACT is calling for an end to taxpayer-funded election ads. 

They’re calling for the Government to consider ceasing the “broadcasting allocation”, given to election campaigns to buy television and radio ads. 

MP Todd Stephenson suggested it in the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry into the 2023 election, and the report was made public this week.  

He told Ryan Bridge the taxpayer doesn’t need to be forking out just over $4 million every year for political parties to pay for their TV and radio ads. 

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After days of mounting pressure, the Archbishop of Canterbury is stepping down over his handling of abuse allegations. 

Justin Welby —the leader of the Anglican Church— has been under fire following the release of a report into abuser John Smyth. 

Smyth, who is believed to be the most prolific child abuser associated with the Anglican Church, died in 2018 without facing justice. 

Correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge the report's found Welby failed to take appropriate action. 

Specifically, he says the report found Welby hadn't followed up rigorously on reports of abuse of 100 young boys and men that go back as far as 2013.

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Commuter chaos. 

It's one of the prices we must pay for living in a democracy. 

I know this won't be popular with Aucklanders this morning or others around the country where this hīkoi is heading, but it's a cost we must bear. 

They're closing two lanes of the Harbour Bridge this morning, and if you've got kids getting to an NCEA exam, then you will be fuming about this. 

But let's remember, this is a one-off protest. 

It's not like those dickheads from the public rail or whatever they were in Wellington. Remember them? They repeatedly shut down the motorways. They did it time and time again. They repeatedly stopped the ambulances from getting to call outs, the kidney patients from getting to dialysis. 

They deserved to be swept to the curb, and it seems like for the most part they have been, which is a good thing. 

This is a one off from a group of people who feel, rightly or wrongly, that they're getting a hard time from this government. They feel they're not being heard in our democracy. 

And whether you agree with that or not is beside the point, the point is we live in a democracy and the right to protest is, well, a right. 

It can be an annoying one, but the minute you say you can't do it, we all lose. 

If we learned anything through Covid, it's that this whole system is rather fragile when people feel ostracized or maligned – we do better to listen rather than suppress and silence debate and dissent. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 13th of November, the Auditor General's report into last year's election has been released. The results have prompted ACT MP Todd Stephenson to call for an end to the broadcast allocation that sees taxpayer money used for television and radio campaign advertisements. 

Traffic chaos could be on the way for Auckland with the hikoi heading across the bridge, but it's the price we have to pay for living in a democracy. 

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The Australian Government is pushing ahead with regulating of social media and AI, despite the incoming Trump administration's opposition to both. 

It's in the process of developing "guardrails" for high-risk uses of AI. 

Donald Trump is promising to repeal American regulation of AI, claiming it hinders innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas. 

But Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge the Australian Government believes the public wants action. 

She says the Government's planning to work with other countries if possible, but is prepared to act alone. 

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Survivors are hoping the Government won’t stuff it up when it comes to the abuse-in-care reparations. 

Abuse survivor Jim Goodwin says the Government's apology is a huge moment for many people. 

But, he told Ryan Bridge, today's words will need to be followed through with actions. 

Goodwin says he's worried about how the Government will provide support for survivors and what they'll do to prevent future abuse-in-care. 

He says that compensation is important but it’s only part of what survivors need.  

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Who's got a trillion dollars to spare this morning? 

That's the value of our new climate change tab from COP29 – the climate change conference. 

This year all the officials, the politicians, the experts, the industry, every man and his dog, has flown to Azerbaijan to lecture everybody not in the room about climate change. 

And they're already cranking the classics through the stage: 

We're at a turning point, the Paris Agreement’s at a crucial tipping point because Donald Trump's going to pull out, even though we've been through this crucial tipping point before. 

This is the problem with COP-insert-number-here: no one really listens. 

Every year they make the same pilgrimage and give the same speech, and every year we shrug our shoulders and wonder why doesn't the number ever match the year? 

Shouldn't it be COP24? 

Oh well, back to the mall for another coffee at Robert Harris. I also need to pick up some presents from Kmart for the grandkids this Christmas. 

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing every year over and over and expecting a different result, then these guys are beyond nuts. 

The big push this year is finance. 

They wanted rich countries, supposedly like ours, to pay $100 billion a year to poor countries to stop them from burning coal and adapting to climate change by 2020. 

Well, we missed that goal and now they want a trillion dollars a year. 

That's 1000 billion, or four Elon Musk's. 

Despite all the talk, and flying around, and threats, and end of day speeches, global emissions went up last year reaching record levels. 

Do we care about climate change? Yes. 

Enough to change our habits in a major way? No. 

We keep electing leaders to fix other things like inflation, and until that changes, or all of our houses actually do catch fire, we'll be at the mall down at Robert Harris not listening to Azerbaijan. 

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Fonterra is expected to receive global interest when it sells off some of its most well-known brands. 

The dairy giant has confirmed plans to sell its consumer arm, including brands like Anchor, Mainland Cheese, and Kapiti Ice Cream. 

The sale could bring in up to $3 billion. 

Forsyth Barr Senior Analyst Matt Montgomerie told Ryan Bridge he expects large dairy companies like Nestle would make a bid if it's put to a trade sale. 

He says there could be multiple buyers at play, or the brands could be sold through an IPO. 

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It's hoped today's Cup Day in Christchurch will be bigger —and better-behaved— than in years before. 

Addington Raceway is reporting higher ticket sales after slashing general admission ticket prices from $40 to just $25. 

Christchurch City Councillor Jake McLellan says the event is huge for Canterbury's economy. 

He told Ryan Bridge he hopes everyone will keep their behaviour in check. 

McLellan says misbehaviour been in an issue in the past, but Police have made progress in improving the situation in recent years. 

Gates open at Addington at 11am. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 12th of November, it's a big day in the capital as the Government is set to deliver the national apology to survivors of abuse in care. Survivor Jim Goodwin speaks to Ryan ahead of the apology. 

Fonterra is selling its consumer products businesses – why, and how much would it cost? Forsyth Barr Senior Analyst Matt Montgomerie joins the show. 

It's Cup Day in Christchurch. Councillor Jake McLellan speaks to Ryan about what this day means for the city. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Tens of thousands of people are expected to join a nine-day hīkoi, which has left from Cape Reinga bound for Parliament. 

It will follow the route taken by Dame Whina Cooper in the 1975 Māori land march. 

The Act Party leader says he hasn't got any extra security, and doesn't think he will need it. 

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Since 2021, there have been nearly 96,000 new cases of diabetes in New Zealand - bringing the total to 324,000. 

Diabetes NZ says this is a "worst case scenario" which will only get worse. 

CEO of Diabetes NZ Heather Verry joins Ryan Bridge with more. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 11th November 2024, David Seymour talks ahead of the planned hikoi against his Treaty Principles Bill.

Diabetes is on a rapid rise in New Zealand, Diabetes NZ CEO Heather Very shares her concerns on the latest statistics.

Ryan vents about what has him riled up this Monday including questioning how slow is too slow in a 110km zone, after a slow trip on the Waikato Expressway.

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Labour's questioning the Government's decision to bring forward the introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill. 

The bill was introduced to the House yesterday ahead of its first reading next week. 

If adopted, it would set treaty principles into law to be used when interpreting legislation. 

Labour's Justice Spokesperson, Duncan Webb, told Ryan Bridge that introducing the bill 11 days earlier than expected appears to have been a strategic move. 

Webb says introducing it during US election week has helped keep it on the "low down". 

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The meat sector is bracing for the impact of a Donald Trump presidency. 

The President-Elect has campaigned on tariffs of up to 20% on all imports, with higher tariffs for imports from China. 

The US is our largest market for red meat. 

Meat Industry Association Chair Nathan Guy told Ryan Bridge the tariff plan will hit the sector pretty hard. 

He says it will hit US consumers even harder as they'll have to pay more for the red meat and burger patties we produce. 

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Rosemary Banks – remember that name.

She now has one of the most important jobs for New Zealand – a potentially $2 billion job.

She's woman in Washington DC, our ambassador to the United States.

Her mission: get us an exemption from Trump's tariffs.

The scale of the problem: massive.

Early estimates show that at 20% it could cost us $1.7 billion every year. Total exports currently $8.8 billion.

It can be done: the Aussies got an exemption on steel and aluminium in 2018 under Trump.

Is she up to the job? I'm told yes. If anyone can do it, Rosemary Banks is the person you want up there.

I'm told she has excellent contacts in the Republican Party and is working the phones hard.

She was asked to stay on by Winston Peters back in May, in anticipation Trump might get in.

She's the same ambassador who was in charge when we nearly got an FTA during Trump's first term.

Of course, it's not all on her. Winston and Todd McClay and Luxon will play their parts too. But the ground game is on Rosemary.

We may have some advantage here in that we export food, and food is something Trump probably doesn't want to make more expensive.

Then there's the uncertainty of whether Trump will actually make good on his campaign big talk.

Rosemary's not waiting round for that certainty, they have a plan and by God it better be a good one.

We like to hate on diplomats - oh they just go to nice dinners, drink wine and shmooze. Well, it's time to crack out our best pinot, use the contacts and make the deals happen.

The weight of our export nation is on your shoulders.

Best of luck.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 8th of November, what could Trump tariffs mean for our red meat industry? Nathan Guy from the Meat Industry Association speaks to Ryan. 

New details on the Treaty Principals Bill which has been introduced to Parliament. Labour's Duncan Webb joins the show to discuss. 

Can the All Blacks win against Ireland this weekend? Newstalk ZB's Voice of Rugby Elliott Smith is on the ground. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 7th of November, in a historic win - Donald Trump is set to head back to the White House for a second term. Former Prime Minister John Key talks to Ryan about why a Trump victory is good for the economy. 

Famous Election Analyst Sean Trende discusses the win for Trump and Republicans, who are set to take back control of the Senate. Republican and former Marco Rubio staffer Matt Terril has rection from the GOP. 

Markets have reacted positively to the news - what does it mean for the New Zealand dollar and our markets set to open later this morning. Mitch McCann is live in Detroit Michigan, where the state is yet to be called - and when are we expecting to hear from Kamala Harris. 

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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It’s been a successful night for the Republican Party. 

While control of the House is still up for grabs, Republicans have won control of the Senate, and Trump has claimed the Presidency. 

Trump says his return to the White House will usher in a ‘golden age’ for America. 

Matt Terrill, Marco Rubio’s Former Chief of Staff, told Ryan Bridge Trump has been clear throughout the campaign what he plans to do with the power of the Senate, Presidency, and likely the House of Representatives.  

He says that it’s one thing to win the Electoral College, but to have control of both chambers of Congress, that mandate will allow him to go in and implement the policies he campaigned on. 

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In the space of 12 hours the whole world has changed. 

Not only is Trump back baby, but he's more powerful than ever. 

Republicans have flipped the Senate and are on track to retain the House of Representatives. 

That gives the GOP enormous power to set budgets, start or stop funding wars, and impose tariffs on anyone they like. 

Kiwi farmers and primary producers, our exporters, the backbone of this trading nation, will be waking up this morning with a pit in their stomach. 

America is our second largest export market, overtaking the Aussies last year. Tariffs on our meat and dairy could be a brutal blow. 

Plus, our number one trading partner in China is about to whacked even harder by Trump's Washington. 

A trade war could wipe almost 1% of global growth in the next year, which is tipped to be around 3.5%. That's massive, and will send shockwaves around the world, and we will feel it. 

Add in Trump potentially pulling support for Ukraine's war and his bullish comments on the Middle East and you've got yourself a highly unpredictable and, to use a couple of overused terms, unprecedented and consequential, set of variables. 

For all the hand-wringing pre-election that Trump was an existential threat to democracy, that very system has elected him the 47th President, serving his last term with more power. This is Trump unleashed. 

Buckle up and brace yourselves. Everything we knew yesterday about the global economy and global conflicts is about to change. 

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Having a clear winner so early in the US Election process could give some certainty for investors. 

Donald Trump is set to return to the White House, having claimed more than the 270 Electoral Votes needed.  

Markets are reacting strongly to the win, the US dollar surging in value, and bitcoin hitting a record high. 

But, Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Ryan Bridge, there could still be some nerves and jitters until Trump is sworn in. 

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There’s a range of emotions in the United States following Election Day. 

Donald Trump has claimed a likely win, securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency. 

While Kamala Harris is yet to formally concede, CNN projects that Trump will secure 276 votes, and Harris only 223. 

US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge the mood was sombre at the Democratic watch party in Detroit, the event even closing down early as everyone was going home. 

On the other hand, he says there are a lot of happy Republicans, with one of his contacts feeling “like a million bucks!!!!!”. 

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