Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Jacinda Ardern has taken a swipe at keyboard warriors. The Prime Minister gave the commencement speech at Harvard this morning, speaking to roughly 8,000 graduates and their families. A key theme of her speech was rallying against misinformation and calling out social media to do its part to shut it down. She also took a swipe at those who deliberately peddle misinformation, the 'keyboard warriors...

I really feel for these guys throwing in the towel on their construction businesses, there's been a spate in the past couple of weeks. Most recently, not a big one, a firm in Tauranga but bad enough if you're one of the creditors, who won't be seeing any of that half million shortfall. Since the start of the year, nearly 100 construction companies have gone unde, .nearly 1 in five of all business...

New guidelines for school uniforms are being praised as a step in the right direction . The Human Rights Commission has released non-binding standards, to help schools align their policies with the Bill of Rights. It includes consistency with the Treaty of Waitangi and consideration of non-gendered uniforms. Otago University public health researcher Johanna Reidy told Kate Hawkesby treating everyo...

A differing of opinions from Auckland's mayoral candidates, on the latest spate of gang activity in Auckland. Police have been called to about a dozen gang incidents in recent days. It includes seven gang shootings on Tuesday night, and two firearms incidents in Mellons Bay and Massey last night. Viv Beck says told Kate Hawkesby she wants a tough, urgent response from law enforcement. “We’ve got t...

Police say they’re disgusted by the shootings happening in Auckland. They can join the club, we all are. And although it’s believed to be gangs feuding in some kind of reignited turf war, two of the houses shot at had no gang links whatsoever, Police revealed. How disturbing, and as Police say, disgusting.  Police also say they’ll be increasing their presence in the area, they’re worried it’s only...

Some consumers are fizzed up over Cocoa-Cola's decision to axe two of its soft drink flavours. Coke Zero and Coke No Sugar will soon be merged into one new flavour, Coke Zero Sugar. Auckland University marketing expert Bodo Lang told Kate Hawkesby outrage caused by the move shows how attached people become to brands. He says you'd expect the criticism over a change to a product such as a car, but...

The Reserve Bank is expected to lift the OCR to its highest level again since 2016. Economists are predicting a lift of another 50 basis points, trying to cool demand while we deal with rising inflation. It's also predicted all mortgage rates will be above 6 percent over the coming year. John Bolton is the founder of mortgage broker Squirrel and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio...

New data suggests our shopping habits have changed for the long term. NZ Post's e-Commerce Spotlight report says online shopping was up 31 percent this quarter, compared to the previous year. To put it in context, it's up 86 percent compared to 2020. Even though we're out of Covid lockdowns, questions are being raised as to whether shoppers and businesses chosen a "new normal" of predominantly sho...

Hands up if you had no idea yesterday was a traffic light announcement day. My hand is up. I was so oblivious, it was like stepping back in time, I thought the Herald had the wrong headline up when it ran front page news that Chris Hipkins had announced we were staying in an Orange light. Really? No kidding.  Didn’t even know the prospect of coming out of that was on the cards. That’s how brow-bea...

It might be hard to catch people using their phones when they're driving. Waka Kotahi is starting a six-month trial in Auckland, with cameras set up to detect people using their mobiles. The Agency says it wants to find out how widespread the problem is. Crash investigator Hamish Piercy told Kate Hawkesby it could be challenging to make images from the system enforceable. He says the cameras will...

With our mental health rates looking pretty dire, we need to think outside the box to try different treatment methods. Over in the UK, they're trying stand-up comedy. Comedy on Referral is a course for trauma survivors to try stand-up. It's been so successful, it now has NHS funding to expand the programme to men at risk of suicide. Comedian and founder of Comedy on Referral Angie Belcher joined K...

A helping hand to ensure residents near Christchurch's wastewater plant can get their clothes dried in fresh air. The city's Student Volunteer Army has launched a new service, offering to pick up and dry clean laundry for people suffering from the stench. Founder and CEO Sam Johnson told Kate Hawkesby the service will be needed over the coming months - especially with winter on the way. He says it...

I note the Greens are back at it with their ‘lower the voting age’ routine. And by Greens, I mean Golriz Ghahraman. She’s calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16. Here’s the problem with that – it’s never going to happen. It’s a waste of time and energy. Golriz says that, “16 to 17-year-olds are a very engaged group and have stood for what they believe in, which has been demonstrated by the...

All eyes on what incoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will do around 501 deportees.  He took a softer stance on key issues throughout the campaign, including opposing the Morrison government's bid to increase 501 deportations  501 Support Advocate and Iwi in Aus co-founder Filipa Payne told Kate Hawkesby the policy has been a point of tension for the past seven years.  She says it's...

Manchester City clinched a sixth Premier League title in 11 seasons today by scoring three times in five minutes to come from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the finale to avoid being toppled by challenger Liverpool.  City was trailing 2-0 to Villa until İlkay Gündoğan began the comeback in the 76th. Rodri equalised two minutes later and Gündoğan put City in front in the 81st.  At one point even...

Monkey Pox is not as much of a concern as some might think.  The World Health Organisation has identified more than 90 cases of the disease across the US, England, Australia and Canada  Belgium has put in place a 21-day quarantine period for people who catch it.  Canterbury University Professor of Epidemiology Arindam Basu says told Kate Hawkesby we are in danger of over-hyping this.  He says rath...

While media were quick to report that a win for Albanese and the independents was a win for climate change and a more liberal approach to governance, I think there was a chunk of voters who just voted for change. In other words – anyone but Morrison. It’s a story the world over and one our government will be acutely aware of.  Regimes who presided over the pandemic, who locked down their citizens,...

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese are doing a last-minute blitz of marginal seats, ahead of tomorrow's Australian election. 2GB's Michael McLaren told Kate Hawkesby the vote could still to go either way. “I think it will be closer than opinion polls and in fact a lot of people suggest it might be.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time will tell how many people will actually benefit from changes to help first home buyers. House price caps for the First Home Grant have been lifted in many parts of the country, while the caps for the First Home Loans scheme will be removed entirely. First Home Buyers' Club Director Lesley Harris told Kate Hawkesby the bank's criteria is key. She says they're stress-testing people at a much hi...

A rare moment of agreement across the political divide as National's Leader says he's supportive of the idea to scrap the school decile system. Christopher Luxon told Kate Hawkesby deciles were too broad. He says what they proposed was to use data which highlights the families who are doing it tough, and schools are allocated money in an anonymised way, based on the families at their school. The G...

A group of people unsoothed at yesterday's Budget is of course the nurses - who've been crying out for support for ages - yet got nothing. And this comes as our number of Covid deaths passed the milestone of a thousand this week, just as a new round of Covid seems to be slowly taking hold of our colleagues here, and some family and friends too. You can see why the push is on to get flu jabs before...

New Wellington City Council data suggests the capital is losing its sense of mojo, and the city’s water woes could be to blame.  Wellbeing indicators show a sense of community and pride have fallen in the capital over the past four years.  Council member Fleur Fitzsimons told Kate Hawkesby the city’s under-investment in water systems is taking a toll.  She’s says it’s not uncommon for the water to...

Concern drivers are becoming increasingly cavalier around road works. Road work contractors in Bay of Plenty are reporting an increase in speeds near their vehicles, raising major safety concerns. Three road workers were killed near Whakatane in 2019 in a truck crash at a work site. AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said it's no surprise to hear motorists are ignoring the temporary speed s...

The Salvation Army says getting housing under control is the first step towards solving deeper poverty issues. It's calling for a mix of immediate rent assistance and longer term efforts to get people into affordable housing in today's Budget. Senior Policy Analyst Paul Barber says clothing and food for struggling children are essentials. He told Kate Hawkesby we need to be bolder. Barber says we...

Today’s the big day and I can’t help feeling the Government is going to miss the mark here given their obsessive focus on climate change and Māori health.  Add to that their inability to listen, or tune into where the real world is at, and you’ve got a cocktail for disappointment for the average New Zealander. But then again, it feels like the average New Zealander is not in their sights at all, i...