Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

If someone in your family suggests you have a look at Patrick Gower's alcohol documentary, perhaps you should take the hint. I watched it before coming to work this morning and I've read some of what's been written about it online. The way I understand it, Gower didn't set out on a journey of self-discovery. The plan to begin with was a serious investigation of New Zealanders' relationship with al...

Football fans will be up early to see if New Zealand can book a spot in the Fifa World Cup. The All Whites are taking on Costa Rica and the score is 1-0 to the South Americans at halftime in Doha. If they pull it off, they'll be in the World Cup for only the third time. Ricki Herbert coached the team into their last World Cup run in 2010. Herbert joined Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.c...

High demand is expected to drive up the cost of flights. Air New Zealand is warning it's going to have to hike fares due to rising fuel costs, as more people start to fly again. One aviation industry expert has compared our air fares to the same expensive prices we saw in the 1970s Former aviation boss Irene King told Andrew Dickens Air New Zealand has a lot of cost pressures on them. She says thi...

The Police Association hopes the new minister will listen to those on the front line. Chris Hipkins replaces Poto Williams as Police Minister after she faced strong criticism. Jacinda Ardern says she and Williams agreed the focus of the portfolio wasn't where it needed to be. Association president Chris Cahill told Andrew Dickens he thinks Hipkins will be more direct But he says they'd be naïve to...

A push to prioritise people over cars on Auckland's main street. Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick and the City Centre Residents' Group are calling for the council to pedestrianise Queen Street, changing it from a thoroughfare to a destination. They say it will transform the area into a cultural hub and living space for 40,000 residents. Chlöe Swarbrick told Andrew Dickens you only have to look...

Yesterday's minor cabinet shuffle became a major one after two resignations. Trevor Mallard steps down as speaker, much to everyone’s relief. Laughingly one of the least diplomatic members of Parliament is moving into a diplomatic position in Europe.  Cynics, like ACT, have suggested that it’s so he can get a knighthood before the Government changes at the next election. Meanwhile, Kris Faa’foi st...

It is no secret that tourism is struggling to recruit workers, but the extent of the shortage is becoming apparent. The sector lost 65,000 workers at the beginning of the pandemic, and they're not all coming back. Migrants on working holiday visas are not making a difference so far. That creates flow on effects, slower service and shorter opening hours, and some say this could affect our reputatio...

Tech experts say National's proposed plan to stop gang insignia on social media could be tricky to do. If it came to power, the party says it would ban gang patches in public - including online. It would also stop gang members gathering in public and accessing guns. Gorilla Technology chief executive Paul Spain told Andrew Dickens if there's legislation putting pressure on social media companies,...

I was really disappointed that Christopher Luxon hung his hat on the patch banning gangs policy, mostly because the policy is not new. It's proposed every time a political party want to be perceived as tough on crime - and it has been discredited every time it's been proposed. And it has been tried before in Whanganui.  Michael Laws argues it was a success, and yes it kept gang patches out of the...

The Queen will skip the upcoming Commonwealth Games, it's been reported today. The Games are set to take place for two weeks from July 28 in Birmingham, two hours north of London. Daily Mail reports that the Queen will not be in attendance, with Prince Charles expected to fill in for her. The outlet reports that the 96-year-old monarch, who has grown increasingly frail, will stay home, with Prince...

Twitter plans to offer Elon Musk access to its "firehose" of raw data on hundreds of millions of daily tweets in an effort to push forward the Tesla billionaire's agreed-to $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform, according to multiple news reports. Lawyers involved in the deal would not confirm the data sharing agreement. Musk made no comment on Twitter, although he has previously be...

It’s fair to say I’ve been seething for the past few days since the news that Ports of Auckland’s automation experiment has crashed and burned. This was a story that we knew was happening and yet the people at the centre of it refused to admit it. Time and time again the media and the council put questions to the management of the Port. Time and time again we were told there was no problem and the...

The building industry will have to think outside the tool box. GIB is still desperately sought after across the country, with reports of it being stockpiled, stolen and sold on Trade Me for six times the retail price. There's only one manufacturer of the plasterboard in New Zealand. Combined Building Supplies Co-op Chair Carl Taylor told Andrew Dickens the industry has to look at alternative metho...

A scatter gun approach to the cost of living. The OECD says the Government needs to do more in the inflation fight, arguing for more targeted spending, which could include delaying some infrastructure plans. Economist Cameron Bagrie says we have petrol relief and a transport package for everybody and 2.1 million people getting a cash injection. But he told Andrew Dickens you want assistance to be...

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than US$1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers said today. There's no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act, leav...

The red meat sector is urging the Government to support the alternative to the Emissions Trading Scheme. Overseen by He Waka Eke Noa, it would see those in the agricultural sector assess their own liability for levies. It also looks at rebates for any effort to reduce emissions for things like planting trees. Meat Industry Association Chief Executive Sirma Karapeeva told Tim Dower the ETS treats e...

The rush to home school our children that happened during the pandemic seems to be running out of steam. Applications peaked last November, now though; rural schools are seeing enrolment applications bounce back. Principal at Tauriko School just outside Tauranga is Suzanne Billington who joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The idea of remote earning is being expanded to overseas. Tech companies overseas already hire remote workers to take advantage of lower pay rates, but this is being expanded into sectors like law and accounting. Immigration lawyer Aaron Martin says there are trained lawyers working remotely here for British law firms, to take advantage of time zone differences. He told Tim Dower that it creates a...

There's a sense of if you can't beat them join them about this He Waka Eke Noa scenario. Farmers don't like it much, but they do know they're not going to be excused from facing up to agricultural emissions forever. Sooner or later, regulation is coming, so it makes sense to be proactive and try to influence things as much as you can. The alternative is to have some bureaucrat in Wellington who do...

Australia's 501 deportation policy will be back under the spotlight when the Prime Minister heads across the Tasman. Jacinda Ardern will travel across the ditch to meet with new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tomorrow. Otago University international relations expert Robert Patman told Tim Dower the Prime Minister has a fighting chance at getting change. He says Albanese has already ind...

After a long weekend, the idea of a regular four day working week often sounds more tempting. In the UK, more than 3000 workers are taking part in the world's largest trial of the four day week. They'll get their normal pay, as long as they can maintain productivity. Andrew Barnes is the Kiwi that helped launch The 4 Day Week global movement and he joined Kate Hawkesby from the UK. LISTEN ABOVE Se...

We don't need to revisit the injustice of Australia's 501 deportation policy - and how destructive it's been on this side of the Tasman. It's eight years now since the deportations began, it applies to any foreign citizen who gets a jail sentence of a year or more. The vast majority have been New Zealanders, well into the thousands now - and of course Australia's not just deporting the people, it'...

Nathan Brown and his family live by a golden rule: stick together. It saw them relocate several times in Brown's 20-year career as a rugby league head coach, and ultimately saw his tenure as head coach of the Warriors come to an end. Brown was relieved of his role with the club earlier this week after he informed them he would not be able to move to New Zealand to see out the final year of his con...

Auckland Central businesses feel let down by the targeted hardship fund. Only just over half of applications to the CRL Targeted Hardship Fund has been paid or accepted. Auckland Council and The Crown set up the fund in September last year to help inner-city businesses affected by City Rail Link construction. The fund has paid out more than $1 million as of last Friday. Auckland Business Chamber C...

The misfiring Warriors are set for another significant blow amid reports coach Nathan Brown could quit the NRL club as early as today. According to The Daily Telegraph, Brown is on the verge of resigning despite having another year left on his contract after telling the club he won't relocate to Auckland permanently. The 48-year-old lives in Australia, where the Warriors have been based for the pa...