Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Vape retailers are selling higher strength vapes at lower prices - before new rules kick in. From next Thursday, disposable vapes can't be sold, unless they have removable batteries, maximum nicotine limits, child safety features and follow new labelling requirements. All vapes will have to meet those requirements in March - and there'll be limits on flavours. Auckland University public health pro...

There's a fire sale underway at the vape retailers, and some pretty arresting advertising lines are being used.  “Stock up while you still can” ... “Get them before they’re gone” ... “Don’t be left stranded without a vape”  By gone, they mean illegal...new laws from the 21st of this month put restrictions on disposable vapes...including maximum nicotine limits.  So, at some places it's basically a...

Parliament will sit under urgency this week - with the new government pushing through the first changes in its 100 day plan. Part of this is repealing Fair Pay Agreement legislation. Former National ministerial adviser Brigitte Morten told Tim Dower every opposition complains about the use of urgency - then use it themselves when in government. She says the last Labour government used it considera...

  Now we've had a full day to digest Mark Mitchell's letter to the Police Commissioner, was he actually out of line to release that?   His Labour predecessor said on this show yesterday that Mark Mitchell was huffing and puffing, talking up a big game and chest beating.   To quote Ginny Andersen, “I think it's a demonstration of bravado”, and then saying, "He's getting dangerously close to telling...

Anger at the Government's decision to disestablish tertiary education programme Te Pukenga.   Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds announced the move yesterday, following a Letter of Expectation saying they're not prioritising it.   But the Tertiary Education Union is worried Simmonds has no clear plan on what happens next, and no vision for the sector.   National Secretary Sandra...

A grilling over Boris Johnson's decisions during the pandemic on the second day of his appearance before the UK's Covid-19 inquiry.   It's heard evidence from former advisers that the then-Prime Minister wanted to let the virus spread, rather than order another lockdown   Johnson's also accused of saying "let the bodies pile high", something he strongly denies.   UK correspondent Vincent McAviney...

Take stock of what you have and save a little where you can.   That's the advice of one financial coach to those feeling the squeeze.   ASB is predicting a $70 increase in weekly living costs for the average family in 2024, that's down from the $115 increase this year.   Enable Me's Katie Wesney told Tim Dower that people should thoroughly check all the places their money is going.    She says eve...

The Government's being told phrasing in its call for an end to violence in Gaza needs to pack a stronger punch.   All parties in the House have supported a motion urging those involved in the conflict to 'take urgent steps towards establishing a cease-fire.'   Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller told Tim Dower that the wording is telling.   He says the Government clearly didn't want to call for a...

Taylor Swift says being named Time Magazine's Person of the Year is the proudest and happiest she's ever felt.   The 33-year-old beat finalists including Barbie, King Charles and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.   It caps off Swift's stellar year, which includes her record-breaking 'Eras Tour', two album re-recordings, and becoming Spotify's most most-played artist.   US Correspondent Mitch McCa...

True story, abbreviated for time.   San Francisco, about 15 years back now, coming out of the subway following my two teenage daughters.   A group of tatty half-drunk, half-baked beggars hanging around with their paws out for money.   And I hear some leering, grubby, smutty comments being directed at my children.   I sense danger, move a little closer to them.   And the leerers embolden one anothe...

There’s a pressing need to strengthen hundreds of Wellington buildings that are quake-prone.   Experts are warning deadlines are closing in for the work, with more than 500 buildings needing strengthening, including residential apartments.   AUT Professor of construction, John Tookey, told Tim Dower that building owners need to start, or hundreds could be left homeless.   He says it's a public saf...

Good news for kiwis as the price at the pump is dropping just in time for Christmas.   Oil prices have dropped four cents since Friday and now sit at $77 USD, almost 30 cents down from September.   AA Principal Policy Advisor Terry Collins told Tim Dower that the recession may be acting in our favour, combined with a lack of demand coming out of China and Europe.   He was predicting fuel prices wo...

Police Minister Mark Mitchell's predecessor says his letter to the Police Commissioner seems a bit redundant.   He's made his letter to Andrew Coster public.   It focuses on things like tackling youth and gang offending, supporting frontline officers, and strengthening policing in communities.   Ginny Andersen told Tim Dower that it's important that police have operational independence.   She says...

$27-28,000 a year. That's about the going rate for private secondary education in New Zealand right now.   And you'd pay it gladly wouldn't you, if you could afford it.   I hope the kids whose parents are working or on their way at five in the morning to help pay for it recognise what a privilege it is.   I referred to that St Andrew College prizegiving a little earlier, and the takeaway for me is...

Te Pati Māori's challenge to the incoming Government has been heard loud and clear, likely foreshadowing what is to come.    Thousands answered the party's call to protest the Government's incoming Treaty and Te Reo reforms yesterday, while MPs swore allegiance to both their mokopuna and Te Tiriti, as well as King Charles III.   ZB Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower that it sets the stage...

More stability in education is being floated as an idea to reverse declining test scores.   New Zealand's 2022 PISA reading, maths, and science scores have all dipped since 2018, and they show longer term decline.   New Zealand is still above the OECD average in all three standards.   PPTA Acting President Chris Abercrombie says all countries have seen a decline.   He told Tim Dower that constant...

Where shoppers are seeing food prices rise, Woolworths New Zealand is seeing profits fall, but is still walking away with $76 million in its pockets.   The latest annual figures show a 52% drop from last year, the source of which one business consultant says is ‘very opaque.’   Ernie Newman told Tim Dower that he believes the recent $400 million rebranding and transfer pricing has something to do...

So, a Day of Action called by Te Pati Māori. Organisers promise they'll target busy roads and even try to jam the motorways.   They're talking about gridlock on roads into central Auckland, and gleefully suggesting this will cause millions in lost productivity.   Wow. What a useful and worthwhile objective that is.   Now, this is supposedly about an assault by the new Government on tangata whenua...

Screen time may be making young children more prone to mental health problems.   A new study measured the link between screen time and mental health in 16,000 children in China, across the ages of three to six.   Neuroscience educator and child development expert Nathan Wallis told Tim Dower that flashing lights from screens affect the part of the brain associated with emotions and empathy.   The...

The new government's increasing the Working for Families rates.   The tax credits will rise $8 to $144 after tax for their first child, and by $6 for subsequent children.   Finance Minister Nicola Willis says there'll be a mini budget December 20th.   ANZ senior economist Miles Workman told Tim Dower that further spending cuts could be in line to maintain a fiscal balance and eventual surplus.   H...

A prediction that this morning's Te Pati Māori-organised protests could be just the beginning.   They're rallying people from one end of the North Island to the other, against policies perceived to negatively affect Māori.   Political Commentator Grant Duncan says the Prime Minister will have to make a decision on how to handle them.   He told Tim Dower that he hopes Chris Luxon offers an olive br...

Couple of canaries going off in the coal mines over the past few days. Ominous warnings actually, of how tight things are getting out there in the real world. First off...the Centrix figures showing how many people are doing Christmas on credit this year. It is normal for people to borrow a bit here and there to...smooth out if you like...the household budget over the heavy spending period. Credit...

The energy sector is pointing to international evidence to back axing the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme. Energy Minister Simeon Brown says the 16-billion-dollar project, was pouring money down the drain, at a time when we need to be reining in spending. He says axing the scheme will increase confidence to invest in more energy production. Energy Resources Aotearoa John Carnegie told Tim Dower th...

Another ceasefire in Gaza seems unlikely - as fighting resumes on both sides. It comes after a pause in fighting, which saw the release of some hostages kidnapped by Hamas, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners. Otago University international relations professor Robert Patman told Tim Dower both Hamas and Israel are saying there's no prospect of further ceasefire negotiations. He says Is...

Really interested in this Medical Journal piece about emergency departments.   The impression we often get is they're horribly overcrowded, patients lying in corridors for hours in agony, constant panic stations.   Friday and Saturday nights are bedlam, we're told: drunks staggering around the place, people unleashing their stress and anger at the staff.   And in the winter, people with coughs and...