Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Kiwisaver funds seem to be doing well, despite increasingly nervous times. According to the Financial Markets Authority, managed Kiwisaver funds have grown by 10 percent in the year to March. Simplicity Managing Director Sam Stubbs told Roman Travers it shows the industry is still growing and people are still saving. He says, if the product does well in tough times like this, it gives people confi...

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has instructed King Charles to not attend the climate change conference, COP27, set to take place next month in Egypt.  UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Roman Travers that before the King's ascension to the throne, he had said he'd go to the annual conference.  "It is reported that Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, has ordered him not to attend." He says that has been deni...

Nurses are being begged to take extra shifts on their days off - but with no corresponding double pay. The Nurses Organisation has suggested its members refuse to pick up extra shifts this week. It comes after their winter bonus of 100 dollars a shift, ended on Friday. Whangarei emergency nurse Rachel Thorn told Roman Travers scrapping DHBs for the new Te Whatu Ora, has made it difficult for execu...

New Zealand’s brand value shot up 13% from 2021, according to global rankings released overnight. Brand Finance Nation brands valued New Zealand’s national brand at US$248 billion in 2022, an increase of US$29 billion on the prior year. The annual Nation Brands Report is a study into the world’s top 100 nation brands ranked by their value and strength. It has been providing key benchmarks for dipl...

If you're a fan of Shorthand Street, or the Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside, Will Hall will be a familiar face to you. Best known as the skateboarding doctor kip, and loveable cop Mike McCarthy, Will Hall recently moved back to his home town of Christchurch with his young family, and has now turned his attention to local body politics. With low voter turnout historically in local body election...

So apart from school holidays starting today, guess what else we’re heading into? Sober October. Who knew? I thought Dry July was a thing and the only thing, but turns out there’s also Sober October. All I know is having not drunk alcohol in so long, I forget that alcohol free months are even a thing until I hear about them and remember that I don’t drink. It’s become such a non-event for me now,...

Support for the Crown's decision to appeal the home detention sentence handed down to teenage rapist Jayden Meyer. The 18-year-old is serving nine months home detention, after being convicted of raping four girls and sexually violating a fifth. Meyer's victims spoke out about his sentence, and hundreds of people took to the streets in protest. Sexual violence educator and survivor Rachel Taane tol...

Drug checking services are available at Auckland stadiums for the first time from today, following a law change last year. Volunteers from KnowYourStuff NZ will be at Mt Smart Stadium's music concert "Listen In". A report for the 2021 to 2022 festival season shows samples have been tested at 40 events, nearly twice the number done two years ago. Auckland Stadiums Director, James Parkinson told Kat...

Kelvin Davis' 'how Māori are you' routine in the House yesterday was a disturbing trip backwards for a country now so bogged down in race politics that it's actually a distraction. And one I think most of us are rightly sick of. There appears to be more race division and race baiting going on inside the Beehive, on our behalf, than there actually is out here in the real world. The co-governance sp...

Hurricane Ian's most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida's southwest coast, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Fueled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight with top winds of 250km/h, according to the National Hurricane Ce...

Questions have been asked as to whether health policies are backed by the latest science. That's what researchers are asking as they call on the Government to improve the way health policy makers are informed. The 'Healthier Lives National Science Challenge' group wants systems put in place to ensure health policy makers have access to robust, up to date scientific evidence. They also want mechani...

Our Children's Commissioner believes there are complex reasons behind youth participation in ram raids. Of a group of 63, more than 95 percent first came to Police attention through a family harm event. Judge Frances Eivers says we can’t ignore the fact that for some mokopuna involved in ram raids, their home may be chaotic, unstable, and possibly even dangerous. She says it's important we focus o...

A landlord wrote to me the other day saying how many more tenants these days are applying for rentals, and on the application form are putting under proof of income, ‘WINZ’. Her point was, since when was a WINZ benefit, which is supposed to be a short term solution for people in difficult circumstances, since when has that become an income? It’s supposed to be a benefit, which you’re on for a shor...

A wine grower says more seasonal workers shows the Government is listening to the industry's concerns. It's increased the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme by 3,000 more workers this year - the biggest increase in a decade. The Government's also requiring employers provide the workers sick leave. Wine Growers Chief Executive Philip Gregan told Kate Hawkesby it won't solve labour issues, but will...

Ukraine is accusing Russia of carrying out a "terrorist attack" on two major gas pipelines into Europe. Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the Nord Stream One and Two have been damaged and have begun leaking off the coast of Denmark, creating the risk of an explosion. “The Russians say they know nothing about it, the EU says it’s too early to draw conclusions but other world leader...

One Kiwi company has secured exclusive shelf space. Everblue is the only New Zealand-made haircare brand to be stocked, despite launching just over a year ago. Chief Operating Officer, Renee Lee told Kate Hawkesby going in with a strong pitch was key. “They don’t want heaps of different brands playing in the same space, they want to find the absolute best brand and get the absolute best deal for t...

Act Party Leader David Seymour has faith Chris Luxon can turnaround his preferred Prime Minister numbers. The latest 1News Kantar Poll shows the National Party is in the popularity lead at 37 percent, compared to Labour on 34. But the preferred Prime Minister rankings aren't as rosy for the Nats, with Luxon on 21 percent and Jacinda Ardern on 30 percent. Seymour told Kate Hawkesby Luxon has a year...

I think they’re going to have to start offering danger money to work in a jewellery store these days. These clowns in hoods and masks, they’re probably just teenagers trying it on, but they’re armed, they’re yelling at people as they smash up glass cases and demand jewellery, and that must be terrifying if you’re working in a mall not knowing how it could all end up. Hamilton shoppers witnessed no...

Employers are getting creative as they fight to attract workers in our tight job market. Flexi-work, work-from-home, sign-on bonuses, extra weeks holidays are all on offer as companies scramble to fill job vacancies. Restaurateur Michele Passarello, owner of Paraparaumu based restaurant Passo has gone one step above, offering not only free accommodation and increased wages but a shared profit sche...

Kiwis are being encouraged to ditch filters on social media this Mental Health Awareness Week. Netsafe and global movement Bodyright are joining to combat photo retouching and body dysmorphia. They're launching an initiative called #beyourselfie. Bodyright spokesperson and psychologist Sara Chatwin joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Someone messaged me yesterday and said I feel sorry for you Aucklanders with your mayoral candidates being so lame – you have the choice of two frontrunners – neither of whom sound up to much. And it’s true. It’s a pretty average line up. I think I’ve rationalized it in terms of viewing it as voting for a direction not a person. I care about my city, like many of us, and it breaks my heart what’s...

For those looking for a job, McDonald’s might just have the answer for you. Tomorrow the fast-food chain is holding walk in interviews at its restaurants with 2000 jobs up for grabs. McDonald’s New Zealand Managing Director Kylie Freeland joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business leaders feel the Government isn't listening. The NZ Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey has found chief executives and senior directors' confidence in the Government's leadership in falling. They have scored Jacinda Ardern just 1.61 out of five when it comes to building confidence with the business community. Business NZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby the Government...

Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons hasn't phased Ukrainians fighting for their country. Tom Mutch, a New Zealand journalist in Ukraine, told Kate Hawkesby people no longer see Putin as the threat he once was. He says Russia has lost so many soldiers, weapons and territory, so people in Ukraine aren't scared of Putin anymore. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

I think Grant Robertson hit something of an own goal this week complaining that he needs more security and that politicians are under more pressure these days out on the streets. People have hurled insults at him and there was a threat of a lamington being thrown. Other MPs say they don’t have these issues and they consider being out and about on the streets a key part of interacting with the comm...