Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Nancy Pelosi's just dropped the equivalent of a NATO bomb on her old buddy Joe Biden.  The former house speaker is well connected and respected in the Democrat party.  Appearing on cable TV, she had this to say when asked about Biden's critics attacking his mental capacity during the NATO summit:  "I want him to do whatever he decides to do."  "Let's just hold off, whatever you're thinking either tell somebody privately, but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week."  She added that Biden should make a decision about whether to continue to bid for re-election.  So, what's the problem with that?  Well Biden's already said, "I'm running and going to win again!”  So now you have one the most influential people in the Democratic party saying he needs to make a decision about whether to run.  That decision should be made after NATO.  Despite the White House saying this is all over and move on, it's huge and it doesn't stop there.  Overnight, Michael Bennett is now the first demo

The Reserve Bank is expected to make a “short and sweet” announcement today.  Economists are expecting the OCR to remain untouched at 5.5%, as it has the last six times.  Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Ryan Bridge that the Reserve Bank said in May that interest rates would have to remain restrictive for a protracted period to get inflation down, so not much has changed for them. While some banks are predicting a cut this year, Westpac is holding firm on their prediction of early next year.  Eckhold said that they don’t think that will change today, and while they’re all hoping there will be some interest rate relief soon, the reality is that inflation won't go away by itself.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An EV advocacy group isn’t in favour of the changes to the clean car standards.  Transport Minister Simeon Brown's announced he's scaling back the previous Government's emissions standards, which charged importers for higher emitting vehicles.  Pollution targets for imported vehicles have been reduced, loosening penalties for importers of dirty cars.  Drive Electric Chair Kirstin Corson told Ryan Bridge that we’re heading in the wrong direction.  She said that although the legislation is set to align with Australia, it actually doesn’t.  Corson said that Australia’s penalties are a lot tougher than New Zealand’s, and they also have federal and state incentives in every state, so it’s much more appealing to go EV there.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The run at Wimbledon of New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun has come to an end.  UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge the 23-year-old has been beaten in three sets by 28-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic.  After winning the first set, and looking composed throughout much of the second in a classic back-and-forth slugfest, Sun looked on the edge of advancing further at just her second grand slam. However, she didn’t have an answer in the deciding set as the unseeded Croatian took control to book her maiden grand slam semifinal appearance.  Seven victories at Wimbledon means you’re the champion. Sun had seven under her belt before the quarter-final after coming through three qualifying wins and four more to reach the final eight, but she looked to run out of steam in the last set as rain poured down on the roof at Court 1.  Vekic will next play either seventh Jasmine Paolini or American Emma Navarro, 19th seed, for a spot in the final.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday the 10th of July it's OCR day, and Ryan speaks to Westpac's chief economist who isn't expecting a change any time soon.  A change to our clean car standards is on the way, but Drive Electric aren't in favour.  SailGP is on the way to Auckland next year, are dolphins going to be an issue? Ryan finds out.  The UK is talking about an inheritance tax of up to 40% and there are whispers of our Labour party looking at one as well.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's leg of SailGP will bring the boats to the spectators.   The event will hold its first ever leg in Auckland in January.   Auckland was supposed to hold an event last year, but that was cancelled after land use issues with Wynyard Quarter.   Sail World Editor Richard Gladwell says Wynyard Point will probably be the main spectator base with necessary infrastructure already in place.   He told Ryan Bridge the boats may even come a little too close.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm always a little bit paranoid about what governments are planning and what kind of taxes that they're scheming up.  Look at the UK, which recently elected Labour and Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. They are talking about the potential of fiddling with their inheritance tax.  They have one, we don't. On Heather's show yesterday we heard about the Labour Party in New Zealand weighing up whether to introduce one.  I hate the idea of it. In the UK it's 40% and they paid £7.5 billion in death duties last year, which is a huge increase and this is largely because property prices have gone up.  Governments all over the world are running out of money and they're running out of ways to tax people, and this one's quite appealing to a lot of them.  If you look at the UK in particular, the number paying death duties is expected to jump from 33,000 this year to nearly 44,000 by the end of the next Parliament.  That is a very tempting number for a government that needs new ways of finding revenue. And this is obvi

Alice Springs is under another curfew.  Australia’s Northern Territory Police Commissioner has declared another curfew, lasting three nights, following a string of violent incidents in the outback town.  Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge that this time the curfew applies to both children and adults, unlike the one in March that only applied to youth.  She said that the NT Police Minister Brent Potter says it’s been a “horror 72 hours”, beginning with a police officer being run over outside a bottle shop on Friday night.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The changes to New Zealand’s medical cannabis export regulations are being called a ‘game changer’.  Exports will now only have to meet the standards of the importing jurisdiction, rather than New Zealand’s standards.  It will also streamline the licensing process for growers, and update testing and laboratory requirements.  Sally King, Director of the New Zealand Medical Cannabis Council, told Ryan Bridge that it’s one of those examples of overregulation that is being untangled.  She said that at the moment we don’t export much medical cannabis at all, but the change is really going to open up the opportunity for New Zealand cultivators and manufacturers.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An aviation expert says Boeing's management would be in jail if it were subject to New Zealand law.   The company's agreed to a guilty plea around defrauding American regulators.   It could pay up to half-a-billion US dollars to avoid prosecution.   The lawsuit relates to two Boeing 737 Max jets that crashed in Indonesia in 2018 —and Ethiopia the year later— leaving hundreds dead.  Irene King told Ryan Bridge that prosecution is just one part of the equation.   She doesn't think it does enough to improve the company's performance or safety.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darlene Tana doesn't think natural justice has been followed.   The Green Party's requested the MP resign from Parliament after receiving the investigation into alleged migrant exploitation at her husband's business.   Tana's been suspended on full pay for 115-days, earning over $40 thousand in that time.  The former Green MP doesn't accept the findings and claims it substantially misrepresents her level of involvement in her husband's business.  Former National ministerial advisor Brigitte Morton told Ryan Bridge that Tana has all the cards in her hands.   She says unless the Green's backflip on the waka jumping legislation and invoke it, she can sit there as long as she wants.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Question: how do the greens save money on marketing photoshoot costs for the next election?  Answer: just use their candidates' mugshots.  Now that's obviously a joke... they're not all criminals.  But there were a few criminally absurd things that happened during yesterday's press conference about Darleen Tana.  Chloe got a bit grumpy when a reporter asked, repeatedly, why the Greens are asking Tana to resign and shunning her in public, when old-mate Julie Anne Genter's still in the party despite multiple aggressive bullying allegations.  The implication was the Greens must be a bit racist towards Tana cause she's Māori.  Chloe was outraged. She rejected it. She refuted it. It was a reductive argument. Tana has done x,y,z and Julie Anne a,b,c.  The irony of the party best known for calling everyone else in the room racist till they’re blue in the face not being accused themselves of racism over not one, in Tana, two in Kerikeri, but three MP's (Turei), was almost too much for new co-leader to take.  The seco

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 9th July.  The Darleen Tana report is out and the Greens have called for her to resign from Parliament, but will she actually leave?  Boeing pleads guilty to criminal fraud after the US Justice Department found they violated a settlement agreement following two fatal crashes. Ryan speaks to NZ aviation expert Irene King.  Changes are on the way for our medicinal cannabis export market, he speaks to Sally King from the Medicinal Cannabis Council.  Ryan asks why the double standard from the Greens - Darleen Tana was asked to resign but not Julie-Anne Genter who has multiple bullying allegations against her.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's looking more likely the fast tracked roads of national significance will be tolled.  Construction will begin in the next three years, but exact time frames and costs are not yet known, sparking fears from freight and transport companies.  Transporting NZ Interim Chief Executive Dom Kalasih joins Ryan Bridge on Early Edition to discuss.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second round of voting has begun in the French election, just a week after the far right National Rally Party won a third of votes.  Cabinet in the UK is meeting for the first time since Labour won the election.  French cyclist Julien Bernard is being fined for kissing his wife during a Tour de France time trial.  UK and Europe correspondent Gavin Grey discusses all of this with Ryan Bridge on Early Edition.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data from Infometrics and Foodstuffs show costs from suppliers to supermarkets rose by 2.7% in June.  Costs were up in all departments compared to last year, with around 2,000 items up in price from May to June.  Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan joins Ryan Bridge to discuss why.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 8th of July, Newstalk ZB welcomes Ryan for his first programme.  It's looking likely the government will toll the new Roads of National Significance - Ryan found out that's something the freight industry supports.  Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan speaks to the costs from suppliers to supermarkets are still increasing.  He challenges Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr to look at the "real economy" when the next OCR review comes.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The principal of an online high school is broadening the conversation about children's screen time.   In an article in today's Medical Journal a group of experts calls for breaks, the use of blinking exercises, more hearing and visions tests for children, and more research on the dangers of screens.   But Mark Phillips, Principal of online high school Crimson Global Academy, told Mike Hosking the time spent on screens isn't the primary concern.    He believes it's more about the content a child is watching on the screen, rather than how long they're doing it.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dunedin is abuzz ahead of the first All Blacks test of the 2024 season.  They take on England at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night - and it's Scott Robertson's first match in charge.   His first side includes Stephen Perofeta ahead of Beauden Barrett at fullback and Samipeni Finau edging Ethan Blackadder for the number six jersey. Newstalk ZB's Rugby Editor Elliott Smith told Mike Hosking he's expecting a tight contest.  Listen to commentary tomorrow from 7.05pm on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britain's Conservative Party is bracing for a huge loss, with only a few hours to go till polling booths close. Keir Starmer's Labour is expected to close a 14 year chapter of Tory rule. Projections expect them to have up to 431 MPs out of 650, with the Tories plummet to 102 MPs. UK Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Mike Hosking the Liberal Democrats are now fighting for third place. He says it will be a dramatic night in politics. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.