Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Another surprise public appearance by the Queen - this time at Paddington Station. She's attended the opening of the Elizabeth Line, a new train line on the London Underground that opens to the public next week. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Kate Hawkesby the project is well over budget and well behind schedule. He says it was due to open in 2010 with a budget of NZD$30 billion, which has now r...

Some alarming figures out around flu jabs. Running the numbers, only around one in five people are eligible for a free one, despite the Government saying they are prepared. Official numbers out from the Ministry of Heath also show a low uptake in vaccines with only 736,000 jabs being administered. That's again not even a fifth of the population. Questions are being raised as to why it isn't free f...

So it seems the internet is killing the television star. New research out from Canstar shows more than a third of Kiwis no longer watch traditional television - up 20 percent over the past year. Along with that, nearly 80 percent of people get their entertainment mainly through the internet. Tech commentator Jordan Tini joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss how television remains hanging in there. LISTE...

Elon Musk may be getting cold feet about buying Twitter. The Tesla CEO says the deal can't move forward unless Twitter shows public proof that fewer than 5 per cent of its accounts are fake or spam. Wedbush Security managing director Dan Ives says these accounts are undoubtedly an issue. He told Kate Hawkesby the issue could be more of an escape clause for Musk, if he's looking for a way out of th...

This time yesterday I was talking about divorce – not mine, but whether or not we were collectively as a voting public slowly divorcing ourselves from this government or not. Well today I’m talking marriage. Again, not mine, but why science says that according to data, we are not dating properly.. or dating to marry.  I only know this because Glenn shoved this piece of research in my face yesterda...

New findings show autistic children are three times more likely to be stood down or suspended from school, than other students. These levels reverted back to the general population average, when autistic students received high-needs funding. Principals' Federation President Cherie Taylor-Patel told Kate Hawkesby suspension can be a strategy for schools to push the Ministry of Education  to support...

There are predictions of a few hiccups in getting more electric vehicles on our roads. The Government wants total driving cut by a fifth, and 30 percent of people driving zero emission cars by 2035. Manufacturer Singer Electrical says home charging units haven't been subsidised, and can cost up to $5,000. Marketing Manager Finn McLaren told Kate Hawkesby that's not the only issue. He says supply i...

New Zealand On Air has been slammed, over the awarding of 200-thousand dollars for  a documentary about Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick. The project, Being Chlöe, looks to explore the political and personal life of New Zealand's youngest MP. Swarbrick wasn't involved in pitching the project. Former Arts Minister Chris Finlayson told Kate Hawkesby it's a misuse of taxpayers' money. He says New Zealand On...

I’m enjoying the politicians who’ve stepped away from politics long enough to be able to look back in on it with fresh eyes and with wisdom, and then write about it. Paula Bennett has a column in the Herald on Sunday which is always a good read, Steven Joyce writes for the Herald and his pieces always make sense too. Part of it may be that it reminds me of what it was like when grown-ups were in c...

Better investment in public transport is being seen as the key to making a congestion charge work. Plans for a charging regime are expected as part of the Government's Emissions Reduction Plan, which comes out at midday. Mevo CEO Erik Zydervelt says in the past in cities like Auckland there was a feeling you needed a car to get around. He told Kate Hawkesby that's changing. “We’re right at the sta...

A wayward final stretch has cost Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox a second win on the DP Tour this year, finishing in a share of second at the Soudal Open in Belgium. Fox blew a three-shot lead with 11 holes to play, losing a head-to-head battle with England's Sam Horsfield who captured his third DP World Tour title. Horsfield shot a final round 68 to finish at 13-under, two shots clear of Fox and German Yann...

Having lived in London I feel like something of an expert on public transport because in London it’s the only way you travel. Unless you have millions of dollars to burn up, in which case you might take a black cab, but for most of us, the Tube and the train and the bus, is it. And it works. It’s efficient, it’s modern, it’s pleasant, it can be convivial, it carries every cross-section of society...

Finland's government declared a “new era” is underway as it inches closer to seeking NATO membership, hours before Sweden's governing party on Sunday backed a plan to join the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia has long bristled about NATO moving closer to its borders, so the developments will be sure to further anger Moscow. President Vladimir Putin has already warned hi...

A bad start to a crucial week for the Government. Jacinda Ardern is too sick with Covid to speak at today's Emissions Reduction Plan announcement and will be in isolation for the release of the Budget on Thursday. Cabinet Minister Phil Twyford has had to cancel a planned trip to Timor-Leste, also due to Covid. Political commentator Peter Dunne told Kate Hawkesby the Government is also grappling wi...

Our lab workers have had to go to Parliament for the first time in 75 years to have their voices heard, saying the industry is in crisis. The NZ Institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences delivered a petition to Health Minister Andrew Little, wanting a full and comprehensive review of their profession. President Terry Taylor joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

So some schools are getting fed up with the lack of progress in replacing the decile system. For years, schools have been told the decile system would be replaced with an equity index, but progress seems to be slow. Now it's hoped government will finally introduce the index at next week's Budget. Oropi School Principal Andrew King joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Wairoa hasn't had an adult dental service for two years, when the one private provider in the town closed. But a temporary solution has finally been worked out, with the Hawkes Bay DHB funding a dental service that will operate once a week, for a year until a new permanent solution is found. Wairoa Mayor, Craig Little joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

I see another wave of Covid going though Auckland – which is ironic because I said to my husband the other day – it feels like there’s more Covid around us at the moment. And he poo pooed it as grandmother research and me being paranoid. But I was watching colleagues, our boss, a couple of our kids, all drop like flies with Covid, slowly our newsroom started emptying out, it felt like there was a...

The Government has laid out a raft of new changes to our immigration and border rules. Urgently needed workers will now be allowed to come through a green list system, designed to fast track residency, for hard to fill jobs. While other industries not on the list can apply for residency after two years. Phil O'Reilly is the former Business New Zealand boss and he joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE...

The Government is currently reviewing our pig farming practices and wants to tighten the welfare requirements for our local pork. NZ Pork has made it clear they are not happy about this. But they have also just presented a petition asking for imported pork to be required to meet the same welfare standards as local pork. Chief executive of NZ Pork Brent Kleiss joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See...

A warning has come that kiwis in their 30's are set to run out of cash less than four years into their retirement. The findings are based on people who are currently in ‘balanced’ KiwiSaver funds, earning the average wage, have average household expenditure as well as having the ‘average’ KiwiSaver balance. Essentially working off the model that we will retire at 65 and go back to work at  68, acc...

There’s a lot to unpack with Simon Henry and his attempt at an apology to Nadia Lim. I don’t know if two minutes on the radio will do justice to how much there is to unpack here, it may need a counsellor with a lot of time on their hands to help Simon get to the bottom of what on earth is going on with him, suffice to say, it’s embarrassing.  I mean why’d he even bother? Two lines, in a token emai...

News of a full border re-opening is being met with a warm welcome. Our newsroom understands Jacinda Ardern will announce an early border opening for July, three months ahead of schedule. It's also thought the Prime Minister will lay out new immigration settings, favouring high skilled workers. D&L Law Partner Pooja Sundar told Kate Hawkesby says the skill shortage isn't just being affected by peop...

The spotlight is turning to other cases at Gloriavale which could be described as forced labour. The Employment Court has ruled three ex-residents were employees from the age of six, not volunteers. It found the work can't be described as chores or education, because of the commercial nature. Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust Manager Liz Gregory told Kate Hawkesby there's now the opportunity for ot...

In another case of theory versus reality, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is telling us we’re open as a country, but tourism groups and others will tell you – we’re not really. The thing holding us up? The Covid testing regime our government insists on keeping in place.  The problem with it is twofold. One, we are one of the few countries left in the world still doing this, and two, it’s bureaucratic...