Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Australia's refusing to play ball with the US, which is demanding it up its defence spend to 3.5% of GDP as soon as possible.   Australia's currently tracking to lift spending to 2.33% of GDP in the next eight years.   Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seems to be brushing off the demand.   Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge that Albanese has said what you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and provide for it, and that’s what his Government is doing.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plenty happened in the sporting world over the long weekend, and Andrew Alderson joined Ryan Bridge to delve into some of it. On today's agenda is the latest from Roland-Garros, the Warriors' win and Mitch Barnett's unfortunate ACL injury, and a social media spat coming out of IndyCar. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minimal progress in another round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.   The two countries have agreed, in Istanbul, to exchange sick and wounded prisoners of war, and those under 25.  Meanwhile, Ukraine's carried out drone strikes on several Russian air bases.   BBC's Olga Ivshina says even the loss of one plane is significant, as Russia can't replicate it quickly.   She told Ryan Bridge Russia has also launched attacks.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know what's really starts to rub me the wrong way?  It's governments telling us to do more things.  This morning, we've got the government coming out with yet another hotline. Sounds fancy. Sounds efficient.  It's a hotline to report road cones. A road cone tipline.  Sorry, but if the problem is that there are too many road cones on the road, and they're unnecessary for the work being carried out —which half of them appear to be— then why do you need us to tell you that? Surely if we just had better, clearer rules and less bullshit, we wouldn't need a road cone tipline. A pothole tipline. A 105 theft tipline. A beneficiary tipline. Either you know what you're doing and you've got smart people and smart systems, or you don't.  And every time I hear of another tipline I realise, they have no idea.  Tiplines are the equivalent of a safety calming measure. Those weird speed bumps or narrowing roads, designed to make people feel better when driving around. All they really

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Tuesday 3rd of June 2025, The Government's introducing new changes to Worksafe and implementing a new roadcone hotline, Parallax CEO Dave Tilton shares his thoughts on how it will work.  Ukraine and Russia have been having peace talks in Turkey, BBC Senior Russia Correspondent Olga Ivshina shares the latest.  Andrew Alderson has the latest on the weekend's sport.  Plus, Donna Demaio has all the details on the Australian PM  brushing off a push from the US to spend more on defence. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Significant changes at WorkSafe as it moves from an enforcement focus and launches the road cone hotline. The agency will now engage early to support risk management, starting with today's opening of a tipline for excessive road cone usage.  Parallaxx Traffic Control Training Chief Executive Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge there are good elements to this announcement.  He agrees with the collaborative risk-based approach, connecting WorkSafe, councils, and NZTA.  But Tilton says there are incompatible components to the hotline itself.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just 60% of Air New Zealand's trans-Tasman flights took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled time last month.   A report by the Ministry of Transport shows airline performance for April.  78% of Jetstar's flights between Australia and New Zealand left on time, and 70% for Qantas.   Aviation commentator Peter Clark told Ryan Bridge Air New Zealand's has a large fleet, which means more planes needing attention.  He says aircrafts have to be turned around, serviced, and catered every flight.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doubts many parents will be prosecuted for repeat truancy under a new Government directive.  Associate Education Minister David Seymour's confirmed these parents could be fined up to $30 a day as part of a firmer approach on school attendance.   Any possible prosecution cases will be referred to the Ministry.  Darfield High School Principal Andy England told Ryan Bridge they have 28 students —or 3%— who could fall into the chronic non-attendance category.  He says the vast majority have parents who are struggling financially or have health issues, and the ministry would struggle to prosecute any of them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farmers are welcoming a proposal to remove difficult rules from the Resource Management Act.  The Government's released three discussion documents proposing amending 12 current national directions and four new ones.  They include changes to freshwater management and regulation of farming practices.  Beef + Lamb New Zealand Chair Kate Acland told Ryan Bridge the Government's addressing issues they've been highlighting for a long time.  She says the rules are complex, impractical, and in some cases, impossible to meet.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British Police are still asking the public not to speculate as to why a 53-year-old businessman drove his car into a massive crowd of people in Liverpool. Seventy nine people - among those celebrating Liverpool Football Club's league title - were hurt; seven remain in hospital. Paul Doyle faces six charges related to grievous bodily harm, and one of dangerous driving. He'll first appear in court this weekend. Doyle is a former Royal Marine, believed to have served in the 90s. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, Friday the 30th of May Full Show Podcast 2025, the Ministry of Education's been ordered to prosecute parents who who don't regularly send their children to school, Darfield school Principal Andy England shares his thoughts.  Beef and Lamb NZ are praising the government's RMA announcement Chairperson Kate Acland explains it's benefits.  New data on plane arrivals shows Air New Zealand is falling behind, Aviation Commentator Peter Clark shares his thoughts.  Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney shares the latest on police naming the man charged in relation to a car crash during the Liverpool parade.  Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The price of butter's shot up 65% over the past year - you might have noticed nana's cookie jar's a bit empty lately.  Bakers are buying in bulk from the Aussies, where it's cheaper. Online discussion blames our dairy farmers, the co-op that buys their milk, and the producers who sell it.  But, there are a couple of reason its cheaper there than here.  1) We export a hell of a lot more to the world than the Aussies do.  In 2023, they exported 9.4 tonnes. We exported 441 tonnes. They exported 2% of the quantity we did.  That means our price is more susceptible to the international market price. We export most of our butter, we pay the international price.  Australia on the other hand, eats a lot more of its own and exports less.  This is good and bad. It mean we pay the trade price, yes, but it also means when the price is high, as it has been lately, our largest company Fonterra does well. Our farmers do well. They spend money here and drive growth in our economy which we al

A lack of consensus at the Reserve Bank on yesterday’s cut to the OCR reflects the global economic uncertainty.  The Monetary Policy Committee has dropped the cash rate 25-basis points to 3.25%, and now expects to reach a 2.9% low-point in December.  However, further cuts are uncertain, with the bank adopting a watch and wait approach.  ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley told Ryan Bridge they still believe we’ll get another cut next month, but it’s uncertain how far the Bank will go.  He says it’s possible we will pause at some point.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Grocery Action Group is unconvinced by a proposal to rapidly add competition to the grocery sector.  The New Zealand Initiative wants the Government to introduce a "fast track pathway" to allow new entrants to enter the market, rather than forcing any break-up of the existing supermarket companies.  It includes streamlining rezoning, consenting and investment clearance processes.  The group's Sue Chetwin told Ryan Bridge it's more of a nice to have.  She says to get more competitors, the government will need to force existing supermarkets to give up some of their stores.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an expectation it will take two years to get the number of international students in vocational education back to pre-Covid levels. There were about 75-thousand international students in New Zealand last year - 40% less than a peak in 2016. Vocational Minister Penny Simmonds says told Ryan Bridge centralising Polytech's into Te Pukenga is a big factor, as it caused a financial mess. She says it's been a nightmare, which is being unpicked. Te Pukenga is being disestablished by January, with power then going back to individual Polytech's. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another Reserve Bank rate cut.  It was largely as expected - 25 basis points. The rest of the press conference and much of the Monetary Policy Statement itself was focused on the ‘unpredictable’ global environment.  We can’t say this because we don’t know what Trump will do. We can’t be certain about that because XYZ. Trade war, etc, etc. But at what point does unpredictability become predictable, and therefore not the great threat we make it out to be? Yes, Trump went nuts on Liberation day. The sky fell in, then he calls a ceasefire in May. The markets have recouped all their losses, the indices are patchy but largely back to where they were. Trade talks are ongoing. The IMF yesterday upgraded Britain’s growth. US consumer confidence actually increased last month. China’s industrial growth for April was positive yesterday. Our agriculture exports are doing the business abroad.  Trump rants and raves on twitter. He un-announces stuff as quickly as he announces stuff.  He’s

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday the 29th of May 2025,  The Reserve Bank cut the OCR by 25 basis points, ASB bank Chief Economist Nick Tuffley shares his thoughts.  International student numbers are down in Secondary schools and for vocational training, Minister for vocational education Penny Simmonds tells Ryan Bridge what the Government's doing to help.  The New Zealand Initiative has come up with a plan to bring competition to the grocery sector, Sue Chetwin from the Grocery Action Group shares her thoughts. Plus US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on the US government halting international student Visa appointments.  Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renewed warnings that people are 'rolling the dice with their life' when partaking in 'run it straight' style games.  Ryan Satterthwaite has died after a private version of the game in Palmerston North.   The 19-year-old suffered a serious brain injury on Sunday and died in hospital on Monday.   AUT Human Performance Professor Patria Hume told Ryan Bridge Police can intervene in these games, particularly at official events.  She says event organisers are legally required to ensure the health and safety of participants.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Major questions about how a man was able to drive his car into a massive crowd in Liverpool yesterday, injuring 50.  Eleven people remain in hospital, all in a stable condition and recovering.  A 53-year-old British man has been arrested for attempted murder.  Fans of Liverpool Football Club had flooded the city's streets to celebrate its Premier League title win.  Correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge the driver defied police traffic management by following an ambulance into the area.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Port of Auckland's fee hikes are a bitter pill to swallow for transport operators.  The port has announced a 77% increase for trucks entering the Fergusson Container Terminal during peak times – going from $130 to $230 by July next year.   National Road Carriers Chief Executive Justin Tighe-Umbers told Ryan Bridge it's not so simple to work off peak, as they don't have the workforce to cover those hours.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.