Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Slight GDP growth is expected in the second quarter. It follows a 0.2 percent fall for the first three months of the year. ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says while it's hard to predict at the moment, his best guess is a 1.2 percent rise. He told Kate Hawkesby while it's not a sure thing, there are some promising signs. Tuffley says air travel and construction looked like they performed well. Th...

So the Government’s looking at potential scope for a Covid review, and “taking advice”. That in and of itself should ring alarm bells given no government has ordered more reviews than this lot. They ordered reviews like a teenager ordering Uber Eats with their parents credit card. Reviews all round, bugger the expense. So now to pause, reflect, and take advice, seems out of character. It seems a s...

An announcement is expected from the Government today regarding education. One thing being looked at is how to recruit more teachers. We know we need them, especially in rural schools. Tertiary education provider Te Rito Maioha is responding to the shortage. They're launching teaching courses that are specifically aimed to get more rural teachers. Academic leader of their primary programmes Anthon...

A win for residents who've been fighting for Christchurch City Council to reject housing density plans for the city, but it's not over yet. Ten councillors have voted no to the Government’s plans to allow up to three homes of three storeys each on most sections across the city without consent. Five councillors voted yes, one abstained and one was absent The council will now write to Environment Mi...

Severe weather is being blamed by some for soaring food prices. Annual food prices have shot up to the highest rate in 13 years. Stats New Zealand says it cost 8.3 percent more to buy food this August, compared with last year. Vegetables New Zealand Chair John Murphy told Kate Hawkesby the weather's been horrendous. He says severe weather isn't something that starts in 2050, businesses are facing...

What a relief and not before time that we’re waving goodbye to the traffic light system. Big raps to the Government for getting their heads around that. We’ve moved on, and so should they. It was apparent yesterday when Grant Robertson said to Mike Hosking that they’ll ‘still take Covid seriously’ that they were laying the ground work for the naysayers, the panickers, those who’d freak out, that t...

South Canterbury will ask residents if its anniversary day should be moved to the same day as Canterbury. As things stand, South Canterbury anniversary day is September 26, the same day as the country's one-off public holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II's death. Waimate District Mayor Craig Rowley told Kate Hawkesby they're looking to change the day to November 11, Canterbury Anniversary day. He sa...

Due to global supply chain issues, some shipping companies are leaving New Zealand off their schedule entirely. This is of course causing massive headaches for companies who rely on export. Rockit Global are a Hawke’s Bay based apple company whose largest export market is China. They were concerned this year's apples wouldn't make it by sea and normal air freight was too pricey. So they've managed...

Praise for an easing of restrictions from our retail sector. Covid-19 restrictions have been scrapped almost completely, with only aged care facilities and hospitals still requiring masks. Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford says it takes away a lot of tension and confusion around exemptions that retail workers had to deal with. He told Kate Hawkesby he doesn't expect many retailers to ask thei...

So today is D-day on the traffic light system and whether it continues for us or not. Let’s hope not. I’m optimistic – but the caveat is, this Government likes control. This system was all about control, and to ditch it is to lose that. Problem is, and part of the reason I think they’ll ditch it, is that we’ve all ditched it anyway. Sick of masks and controls and traffic lights and restrictions, c...

A New Zealand Defence Force contingent will join the Commonwealth Forces marching contingent at Queen Elizabeth's funeral. More than 30 personnel from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Defence civilians have started to leave for London. Deputy Contingent Commander Lieutenant Colonel Edward Craw says told Kate Hawkesby  they'll arrive at a barracks near London and start rehearsals for the funeral proce...

UK correspondent Gavin Grey joined Early Edition as Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was carried into the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh after a crowd-lined final journey from Balmoral. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National says our Covid-19 traffic light system is no longer needed. Jacinda Ardern will announce Cabinet's decision on whether to do away with it at 4pm. National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says compliance with mask wearing is waning. He told Kate Hawkesby he reckons the timing is right. Bishop says now that cases are falling and we're past the winter peak, it's time to move on. LIS...

Auckland's city rail link is the project that appears to keep bleeding money with no end date in sight. The public has already been warned there has been a cost blowout of the originally budgeted $4.4b project. But now bosses have admitted they have no idea when the project will be completed. They even haven't ruled out works going beyond 2025. Chief executive of Auckland Business Chamber, Simon B...

I visited my parents on Waiheke yesterday and my Mum was telling me a story about an Uber driver she’d had in town who was taking her through Auckland’s CBD, which – as most Aucklanders know, is a bit of a dive these days and certainly not easy to navigate if you’re in a car. They’ve made it so impossible to drive through the city now – that like most cities these days - if you’re in a car you’re...

Small businesses are hoping to enact change in this year's local body elections. More than nine in 10 small to medium sized business owners are planning to vote next month, with one in three believing council support for them is worse than three years ago. Business NZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope told Kate Hawkesby he's not surprised by the numbers. He says if you think about the worsening of CBDs ar...

A call for an inquiry over mistakes made during our Covid-19 response. Northland was plunged into level three after two women travelled to the region and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Officials originally said they had provided false information to get travel permits, but it's been revealed they were issued in error instead. Former New Zealand First Northland MP Shane Jones told Kate...

In a legal victory for former President Donald Trump, a federal judge on Monday granted his request for a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and temporarily halted the Justice Department's use of the records for investigative purposes. The decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon authorizes an outside legal expert to review the records taken during the...

It appears advocates of legalising cannabis in this country are still smarting over having lost that referendum. This was a referendum we shouldn’t have even been having in the first place when you look at all the other things needing sorting in this country. Decriminalizing weed shouldn’t be top of the priority list. The fact it ever was, and that millions were spent on a referendum on it, speaks...

The Government is rejecting calls to review tax brackets amid rising inflation. New Zealand’s marginal tax rate system means higher rates of tax are applied as someone earns more income. Stats NZ data shows median weekly earnings increased 8.8 percent in the year to the June quarter, the biggest jump since records began. Tax expert Terry Baucher says told Kate Hawkesby tax brackets have not change...

A Rotorua mayoral candidate says the city needs to urgently shift away from emergency housing motels. National and Te Pati Maori are calling for an inquiry into the system after a TVNZ report exposed tenants in poor conditions. Some residents housed under the charity Visions of a Helping Hand are accusing that group of intimidation and abuse of power by staff and security workers. Rotorua District...

Act says it's time the Government got serious with ram-raiders. Police Minister Chris Hipkins this morning unveiled a plan to refer any child under 14 caught ram-raiding to a cross-agency board, to prevent repeat offending. But Act Leader David Seymour says anyone aged 11-to-14 caught raiding should be forced to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet, so police know where they are at all times. He says...

Potential job losses at AUT are being seen as a tragedy for staff and students. Up to 230 staff could be cut. A drop in student numbers and growing economic pressures are being cited as the reason for the proposed restructure. The Tertiary Education Union says there seems to be too much focus on business outcomes rather than academic ones. President Tina Smith told Kate Hawkesby this isn't the rig...

Fears for the impact inflation could have on those saving for retirement. Massey University research shows the savings needed for retirees to fund a basic household living, with few luxuries, sits at $191,000 dollars in the city, and $77,000 in the provinces. A more comfortable living standard in the city requires $755,000 dollars, while a provincial household needs $480,000. It shows many Kiwis i...

Liz Truss has been elected as the Conservative Party's new leader, the party announced Monday, and she will take office Tuesday as Britain's new prime minister to steer the country through an acute cost-of-living crisis. The 47-year-old Truss, who is currently foreign secretary, beat former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak after a leadership contest in which only about 170,000 dues-paying members of the...