Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

An economist says it will be tough to achieve the numbers set out in Labour's fiscal plan.  The party says all its election commitments are fully costed - with the country returning to surplus in 2028/29.  Labour would keep the Budget operating allowance tight at 2.4 billion dollars - and reinstate its pay equity scheme at a cost not yet determined.  Economist Cameron Bagrie tells A...

The cost of living is once again a key issue in the election  But what seems strange to me is that somehow New Zealanders believe it’s a problem that only  affects us. A cursory skim through international papers shows it’s an issue for every market on earth  Here much blame has been heaped on supermarkets  Our duopoly of massive supermarkets are viewed with suspicion with many,...

Election campaigning is well underway, with the first week complete.  So how are all the parties faring?   Political Commentator Brigitte Morten told Ryan Bridge so far, National seems to be on the front foot and Labour on the back.  She says they both started out strong with their campaign launches, but PREFU bolstered National's position, while attention on Labour's student loan p...

Strong support from tourism operators for more domestic-like trans-Tasman travel.  If re-elected, National will trial a fully digitised airport process for Australians travelling here or Kiwis heading across the ditch.  Eligible travellers could get through gates on facial recognition without the need for a passport.  Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism CEO Mat Woods told...

A commercial law expert's hesitant over whether Labour's proposed fee and subscription laws would actually do their job.  The Party's promising to protect consumers from hidden costs by requiring all mandatory fees be included in the upfront price.  It would also see subscriptions as easy to cancel as it is to sign up.  But Auckland University Professor Alex Sims told Ryan Bridge sh...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Friday the 2nd of October, week one of the campaign down, political commentator Brigitte Morten provides analysis.  Labour's campaigning on getting rid of "hidden fees", Auckland University Professor in Department of Commercial Law, Alex Sims explains how much control a government can have over businesses's.  National's promising pa...

Trump's getting desperate to fix gas prices ahead of the midterms and usually when he's trying to do something for America, there will be losers and that could well be the rest of us.   We spoke a few weeks ago about the fact he was looking into a ban on diesel exports. The industry didn't like it – they thought it wouldn't bring prices down. They lobbied the White House and said the idea cou...

A warning our Emergency Departments are in a state of crisis.  A report from the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine finds admissions rose 21% over the past decade, far exceeding the 13% population growth.  It says more money has to go into building capacity and numbers of doctors working in EDs.  Association of Salaried Medical Specialists' Sarah Dalton told Ryan Bridge the...

There are concerns funding cuts will have even wider impacts on the screen industry's future.   The New Zealand Film Commission is cutting its annual Core Funding Programme, saying it wants to put the money into fewer and higher investments.   It currently provides more than a million dollars in support to ten industry groups each year.   Screen Production and Development Associatio...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast 2026 EDs saw a record 1.4 million patients last year, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director, Sarah Dalton shares her thoughts.  The NZ Film Commission’s cutting its core funding supporting 10 film and screen organisations, SPADA President Irene Gardiner tells Ryan how this will impact the film industry.  The...

The debate over AI marking in schools is back, with secondary teachers warning the tech could eventually replace human judgement. A paper presented to the PPTA says automated marking is likely to expand under the qualification replacing NCEA, and assessment decisions must remain in human hands. Canterbury University Associate Professor of Digital Education Kathryn McCallum told Ryan Bridge AI coul...

Health is one of those areas where you can churn through cash.   It's expensive to visit your GP, but also expensive to fund.  The amount taxpayers spend on health has gone up 100% over the past decade. It was around $15 billion in 2016, it's now up over $30 billion.   The population has not increased by that much – only roughly 15%.   But there are always better medicines to b...

The owner of ChatGPT has scrapped its latest AI model after safety concerns.   OpenAI says its GPT-6.1 Astra model missed the bar, as it would've performed tasks, like browsing the web, by itself. Debate's intensifying about risks posed by the tech, with Reuters reporting rival AI company Anthropic plans to warn investors of potential existential threats.  Tech commentator Oskar Howell t...

ACT Party leader David Seymour says while the PREFU numbers are “hopeful”, they rely on there being further significant reduction in Government spending by the end of the decade.  Asked how reliable the forecast was, Seymour told Ryan Bridge the 2023 PREFU had promised a $2 billion surplus by the current financial year, with debt at $193 billion, and in reality it was now at $209 billion.&nbs...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Wednesday the 30th of September 2026, Treasury’s now forecasting a $4 billion surplus in 2028/29, up from $2.6 billion, Act Leader David Seymour shares his thoughts.  Auckland Council is ditching postal voting, Auckland Councillor Richard Hills explains why he voted to ditch it.  Open-AI is scrapping the rollout of its new model, te...

The form of democracy used in the country's biggest city is about to change.   Auckland Council members have voted to shift from postal voting to in-person booth voting, making them the first to do it since 1992.  The current proposal has been costed at between $31 and $40 million, but the council's asked staff to drive that down to $20 million.  Councillor Richard Hills told Ryan B...

How much cash will we get back from tax cuts?  Nicola Willis will soon make an announcement about their timing and potential value, if they get back to the Treasury benches.  The good news out of yesterday's PREFU is that the books are out of structural deficit this year.  That means when the Government borrows new money going forward, it will be for capital spending, not to keep th...

The Government's books are being opened today, giving a financial read of the state of the economy.  Treasury's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update will show how Crown debt, expenditure, and revenue are tracking.  National's Nicola Willis has let some small details slip, saying people will like what they see.  Infometrics' Brad Olsen told Ryan Bridge they expect a slightly rosie...

There's disappointment from a building voice over MBIE's slow response to working on overheating new homes.  The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment say they're working on the issue, but changes will require more technical work and sector consultation.  Officials told RNZ hot homes wouldn't be part of the Building Code review in 2028, but instead the next one five years away...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast 2026, Treasury is set to open the government's books for the pre-election economic and fiscal update, Brad Olsen Principal Economist at Infometrics tells Ryan what we can expect. New research released to Newstalk ZB shows 68% of schools surveyed have accidentally published an image despite parental privacy restrictions, Darfield High SCHOOL P...

Schools appear to be finding it tough to keep track of students with image restrictions. New research by Christchurch tech company Hail has found 68% of schools have accidentally published a student's image online despite restrictions. Just 12% are confident they could find and remove an image once it's online. Canterbury's Darfield High School Principal Andy England told Ryan Bridge there's a lot...

There's an irony to this latest poll which won't be lost on Labour.   It is, of course, one poll and should be read as such.   The big parties are getting smaller, and the smaller parties are getting bigger.   This trend will reverse course a bit on polling day because not everyone who's polled bothers to vote and not everyone who votes is polled.   But the fact the Greens have...

Five men have been arrested near a US military base in the UK, with counter-terror police investigating further. Reports claim police were called after three suspicious vehicles were seen travelling towards RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, in the early hours of yesterday morning. The five men were initially arrested under the Explosives Act, then further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terror...

Over in the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to bring 'stability' back to the UK's economy as Labour heads to Liverpool. However, economic concerns like the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices are threatening to have a significant impact on UK households. Business correspondent Vicky Pryce says interest rates in the UK are also quite high and the pressure's on for Burnham to...

The US President's throwing out another deal, as an Iranian official says negotiations are his only way out. Donald Trump's says Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz 'wasn't acceptable'.  But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says they're the same conditions included in the deal signed by both sides, in June.  US Army Former Major General Randy Manner says Trump's tried al...