Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Hopes more regular inflation reports will mean more accurate analysis for businesses.   From next July, Stats NZ will phase in monthly Consumer Price Index reporting, on top of the current quarterly reports.   Statistics Minister Scott Simpson says it'll keep businesses, households, and decision-makers, like the Reserve Bank, better-informed.   Infometrics Principal Economist Brad O...

The architect of a member's bill aiming to crack down on unreported child abuse is confident it will receive widespread support.   The bill, which would make it mandatory for people to report known or suspected child abuse to police, has been drawn from the biscuit tin.    Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly says the current laws hinder the ability of police to effectively investigate chil...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Friday 24th of July 2026 , Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly tells Ryan why his members bill on toughening up child abuse reporting is important.  The 2026 Commonwealth Games are underway in Glasgow, Newstalk ZB Sports Reader Andrew Alderson has the latest.  From, July next year Stats NZ is going to report on inflation monthly instead of...

New Zealand has kicked off its Commonwealth Games campaign in Glasgow.   Ahead of the opening ceremony, Shannon McIlroy beat Tonga's Liam Hill 2-nil at the men's singles on the indoor bowls rink.  And in the women's pairs, Katelyn Inch and Selina Goddard won a tie-break against Kenya after the match initially finished one end apiece.  Newstalk ZB Sports Reader Andrew Alderson joined...

It's possible our Defence Force could send personnel to the Middle East to help stop the Houthis.  They're the group in Yemen, backed by Iran, currently firing drones and cruise missiles at Saudi tankers.  They're the ones, along with the Revolutionary Guard in Iran, pushing up the price of oil this morning.  They're the ones blocking the B route for getting crude out of the Gulf.&n...

A plant ecologist says New Zealand would get a B on its climate change report card.   A Climate Change Commission report has found New Zealand needs to more than double its efforts in emissions reduction to meet our climate goals.   AUT Professor Sebastian Leuzinger says compared to the OECD, we're middle of the pack.   He told Ryan Bridge while we can make energy and transport chan...

The edifice of netball's ANZ Premiership has crumbled further.  Administration staff at the three Netball New Zealand-run franchises —the Stars, Magic, and Tactix— have been told their contracts will not be renewed.  Players at the affected clubs were left out of the communication chain.  NZ Herald’s Nathan Limm told Ryan Bridge that Netball NZ has remained tight-lipped on the subje...

The trajectory is thought to be heading in the right direction, despite lower NCEA numeracy pass rates.  Just over half of students passed the compulsory numeracy course in May – down more than five percentage points on last year.  Reading and writing pass rates saw little change.  Darfield High School Principal Andy England told Ryan Bridge people shouldn't read too much into the d...

The more you read about these AI hacks, the less you want to know about them.  Basically, the short story is that there was an AI bot out there that went full Terminator. It hacked into another system, another AI system, without being told to do so, acting entirely of its own volition.  It was reportedly an OpenAI model that did this. It escaped the environment where it was supposed to b...

The Middle East conflict rages on, with the US launching strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night. Meanwhile Tehran has warned Washington against targeting its nuclear facilities. A ceasefire agreed in April collapsed last week, with both sides battling over control of the Strait of Hormuz. US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge Washington's biggest frustration is Iran continuing to...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday 23rd of July 2026, there's more speculation over the future of the ANZ Premiership, NZ Herald Netball Correspondent Nathan Limm explains.  Barely half of students passed the NCEA numeracy exam this year, Darfield High School Principal Andy England shares his thoughts.  The Climate Change Commission says our rate of emission...

Fixed mortgage rates could be heading up “pretty soon”, says a New Zealand bank boss as wholesale interest rates rise on the back of volatility in the Middle East. Speaking on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, Co-operative Bank chief executive Mark Wilkshire said wholesale rates were up about 30 basis points (bps) in the past couple of weeks. “I think banks will have to start passing that on. “Even...

Our exporters are bracing to be hit with hiked US tariffs but the red meat sector is in the firing line for even more.   Trade experts suggest New Zealand could face a blanket 12.5% tariff – up from the current 10%.  The US International Trade Commission has also launched an investigation into lamb imports.   Beef + Lamb New Zealand Chair Kate Acland told Ryan Bridge it can submit e...

Gisborne's mayor believes Rhythm and Vines’ organisers will struggle to get a venue as good as it has currently.  This year's festival will be the last held at the Waiohika Estate before it relocates to a new undisclosed site.  Organisers say the move will support the festival’s long-term future and will let it keep growing.  Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Ryan Bridge it's a tough loss f...

Chris Hipkins is floating the idea of an effective tariff on imported cement.  He reckons it could be a better way of dealing with our cement problem than $60 million in corporate welfare.  The reason Golden Bay Cement needs a bailout is the cost of buying carbon credits from 2030 onwards. The cost of carbon credits is because of the ETS.  When your builder goes to lay cement, they...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Wednesday 22nd of July 2026, Co-Operative Bank CEO Mark Wilkshire shares his thoughts on inflation hitting the highest level in two years.  Rhythm and Vines is ditching Gisborne, Mayor Rehette Stoltz tells Ryan how big of a loss this will be for the local economy.  Exporters are staring down a hike to our tariffs sometime this week,...

Critics are questioning Andy Burnham's first major pledge as UK Prime Minister.  Burnham has become Britain's seventh Prime Minister in a decade.  His first announcement was committing an extra £340 million over three years to tackle homelessness.  Financial Times Whitehall Editor Lucy Fisher told Ryan Bridge questions are already being raised over how he'll fund his wider agenda as...

The Government says some council-iwi agreements have gone beyond the initial intention of the law allowing them.   Existing iwi partnerships will be tossed out with new planning laws, despite the Government initially planning to allow councils to keep existing agreements.   RMA Reform Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court says the agreements were initially supposed to be about planni...

An economist says digging into today's inflation figures will reveal the real picture. Stats NZ is releasing Consumers Price Index figures later this morning, comparing prices between April and June against the same period last year. Economists expect it surge to somewhere around 4%. Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie told Ryan Bridge he's more interested in core inflation, which strips out food...

A $60 million corporate welfare cheque for Golden Bay Cement is fixing a symptom but not the disease.  It's taxpayer money. It's not a loan – it's free money. Owner Fletcher Building has agreed, in return, to keep the thing open till 2040 and invest $150 million, phased over time.  No doubt cement is important for building the country, but so was refined oil. We offshored that. So is mil...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Tuesday 21st of July 2026, Inflation figures are out today, Independent Economist and Founder of Bagrie Economics, Cameron Bagrie tells Ryan what we can expect.  Andy Burnham's been sworn in as the 7th UK Prime Minister in a decade, Financial Times Whitehall Editor, Lucy Fisher has the latest on who will be in his cabinet.  The way...

Labour says it's a shame the Government isn't pushing through new consent laws right now.  National has announced if re-elected, it'll ensure consent has to be actively given, meaning there must be a "yes" rather than the absence of a "no". It says it brings us in line with other jurisdictions like the UK and parts of Australia.  Labour Justice Spokesperson Camilla Belich told Ryan Bridg...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Monday 20th of July 2026, National's planned change to sex consent laws is getting very political, Labour Justice Spokesperson Camilla Belich shares her thoughts. Business Correspondent Vicky Pryce has the latest on  Fifa's giving the Spain and Argentina World Cup Final the full super bowl treatment with its first-ever halftime show feat...

New Zealand First wants to spend a billion bucks looking for oil and gas fields to make our country rich again. Well, richer. A bit more like the place our kids go to earn a living, Australia, who've pulled in $430 billion in mining royalties over the past decade alone. A bit more like Norway, where per person GDP is $153,000, one of the highest in the world, ours is only...

The All Blacks are facing a tough challenge this weekend.  They’re facing Ireland at Eden Park, aiming to continue their 52 match strong unbeaten record at the stadium.  Dave Rennie has made a few changes to the squad ahead of the match – adding more bulk to the backline with Tupou Vaa’i shifted to blindside.   Newstalk ZB’s Voice of Rugby, Elliott Smith told Ryan Bridge that by and...