Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

How have we survived 107 days of lockdown Auckland?  188 if you add in last year's locked down days too... amazing.  So, as we finish the alert level system and head into the traffic lights today, I'm actually putting a stop light on the old alarm now for a few weeks. This is my last show for the year. We worked through the lockdowns again this year so we gathered a lot of leave. Well, some more t...

On the dawn on the new Traffic Light System, comes new freedoms, especially for Aucklanders, who have been in lockdown for 107 days.  Waiheke island has been off-limits for visitors during lockdown, with non-residents banned.  But this morning, they're welcoming people back with open arms.  Waiheke local board chairperson Cath Handley told Kate Hawkesby they're ready for it.  "To have the island n...

Signs business leaders are becoming more aware of social issues outside the workplace.    The Institute of Directors have released their sentiment report, looking into the mood of board directors.   50-percent believe CEOs should be speaking out on social issues such as climate change and mental health.  Chief Executive Kirsten Patterson said it shows times are changing.  She said boards do need t...

A British court has dismissed an appeal by a newspaper publisher seeking to overturn an earlier ruling that it breached the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing portions of a letter she wrote to her estranged father.  The Court of Appeal in London upheld a High Court ruling in February that publication of the letter that the former Meghan Markle wrote to her father Thomas Markle after sh...

Aucklanders, do you want the following things, and if so, how much are you prepared to pay for them?  Because if the mayor has his way, you will be paying for them.  A more frequent bus route, decarbonization of the ferry fleet, 122 million bucks), $228 million for walking and cycling, $13.3 million for ‘urban food gardens’, 66 new low emissions buses, 14 thousand 800 native trees for south Auckla...

Ghislaine Maxwell's defense attorneys sought Wednesday to undermine a key accuser's allegation that the British socialite helped financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse the woman for years, starting when she was 14.  The trial witness, who has said she's using the pseudonym "Jane" to protect her 22-year acting career, had testified in graphic detail on Tuesday about the alleged encounters in the...

A Government support package which aims to revitalise Auckland by issuing families vouchers for local attractions and events has been panned by the hospitality sector, which says it's been "left to die".  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that Aucklanders will be offered 100,000 vouchers this summer for a range of activities in a bid to "reactivate" the city as it shakes off the sh...

Security experts are warning kiwis to be extra cautious when buying toys online this Christmas.   Cyber criminals are banking on global supply issues and people's frustrations, in order to offer dodgy deals online.  ‘If it's too good to be true... Then it probably is.’  Dean Williams is a systems engineer for NortonLifeLock and joined Kate Hawkesby from Australia.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/...

A warning to not put schools in the middle of the Covid-19 vaccine debate.  The Government's hoping to start rolling out the inoculation programme for five to 11-year-olds by the end of next month.  Principals' Federation president Perry Rush says most of the 14 principals on his executive support it, but some people in communities are concerned.  He says told Kate Hawkesby we shouldn't create con...

I wrote an editorial on Luxon getting the leadership yesterday once we got wind of it in the afternoon, about an hour before their caucus met and before Luxon spoke. But I had to throw that out and start again once he spoke, because when he did, he changed my mind. I was pleasantly surprised, actually, I was impressed. He came out swinging, got straight into all the issues, he talked up achievemen...

A world-first automated beef boning system made in Dunedin hopes to solve worker shortages. The high-speed technology, combining X-ray vision with robotic and mechanical automation, can process 200 carcasses an hour. Scott Technology Chief Executive John Kippenberger told Kate Hawkesby rural companies in New Zealand, Australia and the US have been struggling with labour supply. “Automation was imp...

Global stocks and oil prices fell again Tuesday after a brief respite from the heavy sell-off triggered by the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Stocks in Asia Pacific and Europe slid, while Wall Street opened weaker. Oil prices fell about 3% as more countries reported cases of the variant and imposed new travel restrictions. The mood was also dampened by a warning from Moderna CEO Sté...

House values continue to rise out of reach of many young Wellingtonians. The latest rating valuation has been released by QV. Over the past three years, the average home value across Wellington city has increased 60.4 per cent to sit now at more than $1.4 million. All of the capital's suburbs now have an average value above $1 million and land value across the city has increased to more than $980,...

Christopher Luxon's new deputy leader of the National Party is confident the pair can overcome the party's internal divisions. Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby National's liberal and conservative wings came together at yesterday's caucus meeting to support them. “What we saw was an uncontested leadership, we saw everyone come in behind. All 33 of us are on that same page.” The Wellington list MP w...

A big challenge for National, to appeal to almost everyone with its next choice of leader. Former Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon appears to have the numbers over former party leader Simon Bridges, ahead of a caucus meeting this afternoon. Simon Bridges says the leadership will come down to a vote of MPs which insiders say Luxon is likely to win. Former National Cabinet Minister Jonathan Co...

I don’t know why we keep getting our hopes up for these announcements, they’re always such a letdown. I mean I guess we knew Auckland was starting in Red, and not just Auckland but a total of ten other districts around the country as well. That’s a lot of Red. The rest of the North Island starts with Orange, the whole of the South Island Orange. No one’s in Green, because guess what? They’re takin...

Auckland Police officers might need better protection as they respond to more firearms events. Three police officers are recovering in Auckland Hospital after being shot in Glen Eden. The offender was shot dead. Former Justice Advisory Group chairman Chester Burrows, who's also a former cop, told Kate Hawkesby police need more to respond with than pepper spray and a taser. “The Police Association...

The Australian federal government has "paused" its plan to ease border restrictions from Wednesday, December 1, delaying the move by a fortnight as the world grapples with the new Omicron Covid variant. This means fully vaccinated visa holders will not be able to fly into Australia without an exemption. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Monday night after a meeting...

Understanding from Whakatane about why it's moving into Red under the traffic light system from Friday. Most regions will start in Orange, apart from Auckland and places with low vaccination rates, including Northland, Gisborne and parts of Bay of Plenty. Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner told Kate Hawkesby she isn't surprised because the area's still working on vaccination levels. She says a large perc...

As Aucklanders endured their last weekend of an alert level lockdown, waiting to move into our red traffic light this weekend, Covid reminded us that it’s in the driving seat, not us.  Relative freedoms just a handful of days away, inching towards some kind of normality, and then boom, news erupts over the weekend of this new variant Omicron.  With hope having been dashed to shreds over this past...

So it's November 29, a date we've all been waiting for.  Originally the D-day for the announcement of all announcements, we already know on Friday we're heading to the traffic light system.  But today we find out what colour each region will be going in.  Sociology professor Paul Spoonley joined Early Edition.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new heavily mutated Covid variant has been identified named Omicron.  It's been rapidly labelled a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation, and is already spreading to other countries, including Australia.  Originating from South Africa, there's a shortage of real-world data, and no one really knows how big of a threat it poses.  Principal scientist at the Institute of Environmental...

Surprise from Judith Collins' former and current colleagues, about how her time as National leader came to an end.  MP Jacqui Dean has told the Otago Daily Times she's surprised and disappointed Collins used a conversation from some weeks ago to demote Bridges.  But speaking exclusively to Newstalk ZB, Collins says she has no regrets about demoting Simon Bridges.  Former colleague Chris Finlayson...

Who’d be in politics, eh? I mean talk about brutal.   How do they just keep getting knocked over and get back up again. It’s so so tough. I don’t know what came over Judith, apart from obvious desperation and I actually feel a great deal of sympathy for her; she clearly felt so backed into a corner she lost all perspective. And I don’t know whose advising her anymore or if anyone did, but it goes...

England and France are at odds over how to deal with illegal migrants crossing the Channel, after 27 people died trying to get across.  It's the largest loss of life there in a decade.  Europe correspondent Vincent McAviney told Kate Hawkesby 25,000 migrants are trafficked across each year from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Eritrea.  He said they're smuggled by gangs from the Netherlands, Belgium and Fran...