Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

A handwriting expert believes just 10 minutes of practice in junior classes a day could turn around our falling literacy rates. But a survey of 850 teachers last year found almost 90 percent of those trained in the last 20 years received no instruction on how to teach handwriting. Education researcher Helen Walls told Kate Hawkesby there's been an emphasis put on ideas children want to express in...

Government ministers will be checking themselves this morning. It comes as Stuart Nash has been dismissed from Cabinet. It's emerged the Napier MP emailed donors about private cabinet information around a 2020 rent relief package. Political Editor Jason Walls told Kate Hawkesby there will be a few ministers who will be wondering whether they've accidentally breached the Cabinet manual. He says Pri...

As crime looks to be a hot election issue this year I worry about two things, well more than two things, but let’s start with these two.  One - the lack of arrests being made and two - the top-down obsession from the police hierarchy with supporting offenders, not victims.  David Fononga, if you don’t know the name, is the Auckland man who went on a shooting rampage in West Auckland firing at Poli...

The Citizens Advice Bureau is making a last ditch effort to prevent Auckland Council budget cuts. It's taking a petition with 15,000 signatures to council offices today, in a bid to halt their $2 million worth of funding being cut. General Manager Citizen's Advice Bureau Kate Anderson says the service is worth every cent.  She says for every dollar invested, they get $13 of social value out of it....

Online platforms are playing an increasing role in New Zealand's risk of domestic terrorism. The country's spy boss Andrew Hampton has revealed how the GCSB's capabilities were used in three counter-terrorism operations They included a person making bomb threats last year and increasingly concerning behaviour online from a white extremist. Massey University security expert John Battersby told Kate...

Serious concerns after one of the biggest data hacks in Australasia. Latitude Finance has revealed around 14 million people across both sides of the Tasman have had personal information held by the company,  stolen. It includes passport numbers and driver licence details, but it's feared that even more could be involved. Australian correspondent Donna Demaio told Kate Hawkesby it's much more signi...

Support from within the family violence sector for Marama Davidson after controversial comments at the Auckland counter-protest to Posie Parker. The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence said most violence is caused by white cis men, cis meaning the gender a person's born with. She's now clarified, removing white and cis, saying when she spoke, she was in shock after being hit...

Europe's human rights watchdog is accusing French police of brutality. A controversial pension law has seen protests erupt in Paris for a second week. UK-Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby that the Council for Europe's Human Rights Commissioner believes comments will add fuel to the fire. He says the commissioner believes people have a right to be protected from police brutality, a...

The Posie Parker kerfuffle at the weekend in Auckland, I see the whole thing as so unnecessary. Her coming here, the publicity and noise around her coming here, the reaction when she got here, the vitriol and protests —from both sides—  when she tried to speak, the fallout after it.  How on earth did we end up with this much hubbub over a virtual nobody? How have we ended up with JK Rowling involv...

ACT says what happened at the Posie Parker rally in Auckland is seriously concerning. Thousands protested against the views of the anti-trans activist at Albert Park's Saturday rally, seeing her quit the country early. Scuffles broke out, Parker had tomato juice poured on her, and Green MP Marama Davidson was hit by a motorcycle. ACT Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden told Kate Hawkesby that it's wha...

In difficult financial times more investors appear to be turning to art. Record levels of interest have been recorded for an auction tonight that has works up for grabs by New Zealand greats such as Tony Fomison and Don Binney, amongst others. Webb's Director of Art, Charles Ninow, says it seems the stranger the world gets, the more relevant art becomes. He says art is real and will never be worth...

So we end the week with some policy from the Nats and that's a good place for Luxon to be focussing, especially after the start to the week he had. But in defence of Chris Luxon - who by the way I don't know from a bar of soap,  I've met him in person once I think. I don't think people should be freaking out about his popularity - or lack of it. I just don't think it's a big deal that he's not wil...

Child poverty advocates don't want promises, they want solutions. The latest child poverty figures, covering the year to last June, remain unchanged on the year before. It still shows one in 10 children are living in material hardship and for tamariki Māori, it's one in five. Save the Children advocacy director Jacqui Southey hopes children aren't being used as an election point scorer. LISTEN ABO...

National would be getting a 'F' on its education policy if our largest education union was grading it. The opposition is proposing standardised tests for children as young as seven, as well as training for teachers and a curriculum overhaul, if elected. The New Zealand Educational Institute says it's a reboot of National Standards but with a slightly different dressing. President Mark Potter joine...

A wave of Gen Zs and Millennials are setting their sights on cruise ships for their holiday of choice. Flight Centre says bookings for 18 to 30 year olds have more than doubled in under a year. Flight Centre's General Manager of Marketing, Jodie Burnard, says the increasing cost of airfares is part of the reason. Jodie Burnard joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Manhattan prosecutors postponed without any explanation a scheduled grand jury session Wednesday in the investigation into Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign, at least temporarily slowing a decision on whether to charge the ex-president. The postponement was confirmed by four people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associa...

What I can't understand about the trans activist coming into the country is how she's been given so much coverage and publicity. She's clearly a hateful woman just touring around spreading vitriol, I have no idea what the point of her is, or why she’s doing it, and I had never heard of her prior to this week - I doubt many of us had.  But the outraged made sure we did hear of her, and in doing so,...

There are currently favourable conditions for buyers in the housing market. CoreLogic figures show close to 61,000 properties were sold in the year to February 2023, the lowest 12 month total since 1983. Real estate agent Diego Traglia told Kate Hawkesby says he knows it's a cliché for him to say now is a good time to buy but prices are low. He says nobody was expecting an up to 25 percent drop in...

Claims allowing an anti-transgender activist into the country is a win for healthy debate. Freedom of speech advocates say sense has prevailed, as self-described women's rights activist Posie Parker has been approved to come here. They say allowing people to voice their views, either way, is crucial. Free Speech Union Chief Executive Jonathan Ayling told Kate Hawkesby people who disagree can voice...

Well just as the new Police Minister was fronting media yesterday and telling them she wanted communities to feel safe, Leo Molloy was making headlines for calling the Police ‘weak as piss’. His words, not mine.  The hospitality owner was furious that an attempted break in at his Auckland viaduct restaurant – which caused more than $50,000  in damage -  had elicited a ‘chat’ from the Police, but n...

How will Scott Robertson fare in the top job with the All Blacks? New Zealand Rugby confirmed Tuesday the world's worst kept secret in announcing Robertson's appointment as coach from next year. His contract will run until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Former All Black Josh Kronfeld joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warnings a hasty transition to renewable energy could be costly to New Zealand. Research commissioned by the energy sector, is recommending natural gas be part of the transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables. But it's found changing too quickly, could create $7 billion in additional energy costs for New Zealand homes and businesses. Major Gas Users' Group spokesperson Len Houwers says...

Boris Johnson's job is on the line as he prepares to face a televised grilling by MPs. The former British Prime Minister has published a 52-page defence of Partygate, arguing he misled Parliament, but assures lockdown rules were followed in good faith. He'll present his evidence to a cross-party panel of MPs who, despite the Conservative majority, have previously said he misled them. UK correspond...

Claims the cost of living continues to bite, even though more people are working. Ministry of Social Development data shows almost 25,000 fewer people are receiving the Jobseeker benefit, comparing June 2022 to June 2020. There were more than 100,000 exits into work in the year to June. But Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge told Kate Hawkesby leaving Jobseeker doesn't equate to financial se...

Australian police have arrested a decorated former SAS soldier and will soon charge him with war crimes after he was allegedly caught on camera shooting an Afghan man in a field while deployed in Afghanistan. Former Special Forces soldier Oliver Schulz, 41, was arrested in regional NSW – reportedly in the Goulburn area – on Monday morning and was expected to face court later that day. “It will be...